Jo-Ann Fabrics and Craft

Delia and Sylvia are the sweetest! Very accommodating and they helped me a lot with tips for my project. They bring more life to the store. :)

Update: I will NOT be coming back here regardless of how «easy» it is for me to get here. I’ve had a couple run ins with the manager here. At least I think she’s the manager since she referred to it as «her store» but today was the last run in. I went to return ribbon I had got Tomane a gift for a baby shower. She told me «this cannot be returned at my store since its final sale». I replied that I had asked when I got it if it could be returned. She said no it’s on sale so it’s final sale. I’ll make one exception for you this time but not again. Ok. I just took my stuff and went back to return it in San Mateo where I got it. Funny how the girl had no problem returning it. You need to step up your customer service game at the redwood city store. I could understand if I used it that you won’t return it. But I didn’t even take off the plastic!
Service isn’t the best here. But it’s closest to my house. So when I need to pick something up quick I come here. Unfortunately when I need fabric, I better not be In a rush. The workers seem to always give me a hard time when I ask for several small pieces of fabric…
Came In today, on Presidents’ Day, and there’s only 1 person working at the cutting table. However there’s 3 other people walking around behind the cutting table. Not once did they say we’ll be right with you. Or hello. Or anything… Not to mention there’s a lady in normal street clothes walking around behind there. When someone asked her for help she said «oh I’m not working» then why be behind the desk at all… I felt sorry for the woman Dori who was cutting all the fabric. It was so hot in that store. She was alone. And no one was helping her! Come on guys. People spend money when they have good customer service… Just saying

I give this place an C on costumer service. In the entire store there is only 1 person in the cutting center.
The line was 5 people long. It’s was weird for me to not encounter anybody else that could help me to get Voile. I was getting the fabric to make my own nut milk bag for Almond milk. I went to the cashier an Joe was there. I ask him if there was anybody else in the store that could help me to find the fabric. He looked down with an upset face, wiggle his wake talkie and said to me that there was 6 people in the store. I was waiting there for a while then I ask him can you get anybody to help me and he said no, I can’t.
Then I went back to the cutting center. After doing the line she said I don’t know if we have the fabric, if we have it it will be there she sent me to the wrong place because after I looked there. I came back and show her the name and an example and she send me somewhere else.
I did end up finding the fabric!
Daria the lady that cut the fabric was very un attentive and even upset to answer questions I had making sure I was getting the correct fabric. Now, when I went to pay Joe even was apologizing to me for been not polite and attentive when I ask him for help. I’ll try San Mateo location next time. I won’t recommend this store to anybody isn’t knowledgable about fabrics and have questions.

I’m pretty much shocked that this place had bad reviews considering I go here almost all the time, I find the staff courteous and helpful in finding things because I went here on Sunday because my grandma wanted a small iron for her quilts and pattern making; however, I couldn’t find the kind she was explaining to me about therefore I asked one of the staff members and she was nice and had me follow her to where the mini iron was, she also explained to me about the product and asked if I needed anything else.

Came here to pick up fabric really quick. There was one employee cutting fabric and no one was around so I grabbed a number and browsed at some fabrics nearby. Within 5 minutes, I heard the first employee call a second cutter so I walked over with my fabrics. When I got there, there were two more people waiting to get their fabric cut. They didn’t grab a number, but they were helped before me because I wasn’t there. The first employee ended up cutting my fabric and I asked her if they do the number system. She told me it’s store policy, but they help other people because it’s too much of a hassle to call out numbers and whatnot. I completely agree with her, but employees should be following store policy and NOT their own policy! But, that aside, I was more annoyed that the second cutter didn’t even look up at the customers. I was holding up my ticket with an annoyed look and not once did she see. A lot of the employees also gossip and whatnot, which I honestly don’t mind, but maybe it might not be your cup of tea.
If you live in the area, sure, go there. But you’ll find better service and the same, if not possibly better, selection at other JoAnn’s. As for me, I will never go there again.

Service isn’t the best here. But it’s closest to my house. So when I need to pick something up quick I come here. Unfortunately when I need fabric, I better not be In a rush. The workers seem to always give me a hard time when I ask for several small pieces of fabric…
Came In today, on Presidents’ Day, and there’s only 1 person working at the cutting table. However there’s 3 other people walking around behind the cutting table. Not once did they say we’ll be right with you. Or hello. Or anything… Not to mention there’s a lady in normal street clothes walking around behind there. When someone asked her for help she said «oh I’m not working» then why be behind the desk at all… I felt sorry for the woman Dori who was cutting all the fabric. It was so hot in that store. She was alone. And no one was helping her! Come on guys. People spend money when they have good customer service… Just saying

Barely any selection. Every single time I go in here thinking I’ll spend a bunch of money and walk out with one item if I’m lucky lol. :(

Nice workers, but understaffed. Have been here 5 X in past couple of months. Never waited less than 30 min for fabric cut and slow check out lines.

This place has the worst staff. They are rude, not helpful in finding things, and when asked, leave out important information, e.g. some items will only be returned in a merchandise card. It is their own return policy but, of course, no where it is written out in the store so that you know your options. I am never shopping here again.

Awful experience here yesterday. The girl with blonde hair working there couldn’t be bothered to stop and answer my questions. She very grudgingly price checked and cut my fabric. Avoid if possible.

I was in the area and had to look for a JoAnn’s nearby to pick up some materials for my kids school projects. I found this JoAnn’s and its really small. I am used to the one I go to in San Jose off of Almaden which is super big. But I did find what I needed at this particular store. I did walk around to see what they had and their store appeared a little messier than other JoAnn’s and there wasn’t as much variety of fabrics. The workers were really nice.

Helpful people, well stocked, and a smooth checkout. On floor Salesperson rather than pointing me to the row walked me over and help me find the seam ripper I was looking for. Nice lady at check out helped me with a referral for a place to help me with the mechanics of my sewing machine (that I bought from online vendor). I’ll be back!

This is by far the worst Jo Ann’s on the Peninsula. The employees that work here are condescending and rude. This location has been on a downward slope for the past few years.
I will drive to Sam Mateo or Mt. View from now on
I second Solange S.‘s review

The store is neat and well organized. They used to discount their end of bolt fabric pieces pretty well but not anymore.

This isn’t my regular Jo-​anns, but I do love Jo-Ann’s as a chain. I normally go to the one in Colma but this one wasn’t bad.
The store itself was alittle small and cramped but not too shabby. It defintiely has everything that you need for all your arts and crafts. It just might be a little hard to find with everything overflowing. I was a little messy.
The fabric selection was quite large considering the store was kind of small, I was surprised. The wait time for fabric cutting wasn’t that bad for a Saturday afternoon either. I love how all Jo-Ann’s have their number ticketing system as a line, that way no one gets confused as to who’s next.
The service was okay, I’ll admit this was one of the youngest Jo-Ann’s crew I have ever run into and probably the least friendly. Nothing bad, just not as friendly as some other that I have met.
Overall, it’s a JoAnn-​s that gets the job done, nothing too spectacular.

This has been «my» Joann’s for the past 2yrs, and it’s not that bad! The employees I’ve had the pleasure of working with are kind and courteous. I usually know what I’m looking for though and don’t often ask for help. The cut counter is a little slow at times, but I’ve found that’s normal at Joann’s stores in general.
They recently re-​did this store with a brand new layout though, and I HATE it. Docked another star for it. I talked with one of the employees about it — apparently it’s a big corporate change. People from corporate came in and managed the entire «grand re-​opening», and the store management/​employees aren’t allowed to change the layout. It’s terribly confusing and doesn’t make sense. I’m getting used to it now that I’ve been a few times… but I wish I knew who at corporate to complain to about their crappy organization ideas.
This Joann’s does have less «apparel» fabrics, a smaller selection of quilting cotton prints, and less buttons compared to other Joann’s stores, but I can usually find what I need.

I came here a few days ago because I needed change for a 50 $ bill. The lady was soo SASSY. She told me with a mean stare that I would need to purchase something in the store before she would give me change. Then she did that thing where she grinned ever so slightly in anticipation of the annoyance I would show towards her.
But NOPE I was in a good mood and I was with my friend and together we bought a single ghirrardelli square for 50 cents (kinda expensive for those) and I got my change. She obviously hates her job haha.
Also the store looks dumpy.

Here is the message I sent to their corporate office, which received a totally canned response. Do they even care anymore?
«I was at your Redwood City store on Tuesday, January 7. I took my item up to the checkout line at 12:17 p.m. There were two customers already in line but no cashier. (I took photos of the empty registers.) We waited as four more people lined up behind us. One woman put her items down and walked out. At 12:29 the cashier finally walked up — in no hurry — no apology or explanation. She made no eye contact as she started ringing people up. I’d tell you her name, but her name tag was not visible. It’s okay to have no sales help on the floor, but completely unacceptable to have no one covering checkout. Employees at that store need to be trained to ensure there’s coverage at all times, especially when people are giving up their lunch hours to spend their hard-​earned money in your store.»
Jo-​Ann is understaffed. It’s a long wait for the cutting table. Their employees would rather talk on the phone or make themselves scarce than help customers. The few decent people they’re lucky enough to hire don’t last long.
On the plus side, good selection of merchandise. Constant stream of sale items (including Waverly fabrics). Easy parking. Facebook app with lots of coupons that can be scanned at the register… when there’s someone there to ring you up.

This is the store closest to me but I’ll drive a little farther from now on. The employees have never seemed to really have any common sense but now there are at least two who are outright rude. These are low skill jobs, ladies. What does it say about you that you do them so badly?

It is what it is!
A convenient but pretty low end fabric store. Good for the quick thread-​stop. Fabrics are not that great unless you’re looking to make a cartoon-​witch themed polyester jump suit. But who isn’t, really?
Although they have all the major categories of sewing and craft items, this is not the place to locate that specific brand of whatcha-​ma-​call-​it, or be inspired to make a authentic Victorian era ball gown. I hope that’s not what you’re expecting when you come here.
Service is friendly but sparse in my experience.
But hey, I’m glad Jo-Ann’s is around. I still enjoy coming here and poking about. I usually end up finding something close to what I need if it’s a replenish or replace type of pit stop. I haven’t yet embarked on a major sewing project since I’ve lived out here (Halloween this year will be the first) so we’ll see how Jo-Ann’s holds up to that. Update to follow.

I’m changing my rating from 1 star to 4 stars. Since my last review this place has improved a bit. They hired a young man (wish I knew his name, but he’s white, brown hair, and has plugs) who’s so much better than some of the people they have. I seem to go when he’s working too which is good. He will ask if you have questions, need help, and is super polite working the register. I was getting so sick of the sour pusses that work here. Not sure where they have been hiding, but I haven’t seen the two ladies that are always rude. They seem to be running more efficiently which is great. I havent been over in the fabric area lately, so I’m not sure how the cutters are with people.
Today when I went in I heard two different workers asking people if they needed assistance (trust me this is normally out of character at this store), and they had a good selection of things in stock. May not sound like much, but compared to what it was this is a big improvement.
Keep it up Joannes!

I went in here recently to get some stuff together for my stepdaughter’s halloween costume. I am taking the time to update this review because of Janine, the gal at the register who was super friendly. I remember her from McWhorters (which closed unnecessarily!). Anyway I just want to say, Janine is the kind of customer service person who actually makes me want to go into a store MORE, and buy more stuff. She was super helpful in every aspect of my shopping. I wish I could say that about all the women who work here, but first the woman who cut my fabric was pretty unfriendly. I was pretty friendly to her but it seemed like she practically glared at me when I just asked her to cut some fabric. Thanks to people like Janine who are genuinely helpful and actually try to encourage customers to come BACK.
And besides that… Joann fabrics is always a fun place to go to. They have sales on so much stuff… this is actually kind of a dangerous place for me to go: D

As I said in my review of Michael’s Craft store
, the main difference of these two is that Jo Ann is a fabrics store as well.
After going there last night, I think Jo Ann earns one less star than Michael’s in terms of crafts items, since they call themselves «Jo Ann Fabrics and Crafts». Michael’s definitely carries more stuff than Jo Ann, including all sizes of low priced picture and art frames, art supplies (painting, blank canvas, etc.). Especially cake baking and decorating supplies; Michael’s definitely has more, including that $ 29 plastic cake/​cupcake carrier. (Yeah I still am reluctant of shelling out $ 29 for a piece of plastic container). And Michael’s provide the Wilton’s cake decorating classes while Jo Ann does not.
If they only sells fabrics, then that will be a different story. So if you want fabrics by yard this is the place to go. If you want art supplies or cake decorating supplies go to Michael’s.