Machine Dealer Rant - long

Yup, that's the one! I will look at the Babylock at the store in
Selden. They have been really great with me with the Bernina. Also, I
bought my first real sewing machine from Harvey at Sew Right. It's a
bit far to travel, but they carry Babylock too. Unfortunately, I have
yet to find a Brother dealer I'd want to do business with on a regular
basis, although I do like their machines.

I'm working summer school again this year (saving for that ultimate
machine). Do you want to meet for lunch again one day after school?

Linda

On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 13:15:28 -0400, "Mika"
wrote:

Linda, are you talking about the one on Hwy. 112? I love some of the fabrics
they carry but I won't go there because of the snootiness.

I have only been to the Selden store twice. The first time I was totally
ignored and they acted like I was committing some crime for asking
questions. The second time I was in there, the lady had no clue what she was
talking about. I was considering buying a Singer Quantum XL6000 embroidery
machine and had done the research so I knew what kind of prices they had on
them. Since they are a Singer dealer I was thinking about purchasing from
them. When I asked about it, she knew nothing about the machine and didn't
even know the price of them. She said they go for about $800 when they
actually go for more than $3000. I have pretty much decided to go with the
Brother though. I really like Brother products so I think I'll stick with
them. But that is not written in stone.

Would love to meet up for lunch. Just let me know when it's convenient for
you and where you want to meet. The 17th is the only day I have anything
going on other than taking care of Gregory. I may have to bring him with me
but he's a good baby so he shouldn't be a problem.

Mika

"witchystitcher" wrote in message
...
Yup, that's the one! I will look at the Babylock at the store in
Selden. They have been really great with me with the Bernina. Also, I
bought my first real sewing machine from Harvey at Sew Right. It's a
bit far to travel, but they carry Babylock too. Unfortunately, I have
yet to find a Brother dealer I'd want to do business with on a regular
basis, although I do like their machines.

I'm working summer school again this year (saving for that ultimate
machine). Do you want to meet for lunch again one day after school?

Linda

On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 13:15:28 -0400, "Mika"
wrote:

Linda, are you talking about the one on Hwy. 112? I love some of the
fabrics
they carry but I won't go there because of the snootiness.

Mika, I heartily second your opinion of Pocono Sew 'n' Vac! While they
have tried on occasion to sell me a new machine, they have been
friendly and helpful in keeping my old machines working. In fact, when
I needed a tiny screw for the bobbin case of a 1960s Singer (which I
had seen online for $2, but NO WAY was I going to pay $6.95 shipping
for it) they GAVE it to me. They have parts for an amazing variety of
vintage machines and their prices are very reasonable.

They are happy to give advice and talk quilting, and they love to have
quilters come in with their quilts for show 'n' tell. And they always
have beautiful fabrics on their half-price table. I never go to
Stroudsburg wihout stopping there.

Maria in NE PA

... I plan to get a Brother Embroidery machine soon and will go back to Pocono Sew and Vac in
Stroudsburg, PA. It's a bit of a drive but for the customer service and
selection of machines, notions and everything else, it's worth the drive. I
bought my Viking MegaQuilter and frame there and would have gotten the
embroidery machine too but at the last minute DH decided he didn't want me
to finance anything. But the guy was very patient, answered all our
questions and was just great to deal with. Everyone there was great. NAAYY
but they have my business over 112 anytime. In fact, DH stopped in there one
day and picked up some bobbins for me and they were very friendly to him
then. You might want to check them out.

Mika

Customer service is a biggy with me. As long as I have a choice of where to
take my business, if I get lousy customer service, I won't go back there.
But when I get good CS I take pleasure in letting people know.

There is a fabric shop in the Ft. Lauderdale area that has less than
mediocre CS but they have such a HUGE selection of fabrics and so many that
are in the color schemes that I like. In a case like that, I can tolerate
the mediocre CS to get fabric that I can't find anywhere in my area. So
sometimes, product outweighs the CS but not very often.

Funny thing about Pocono Sew 'n' Vac. When I bought my MegaQuilter and frame
I got the Quilters Cruise Control with it. Well it had to be special ordered
to fit my machine. They normally keep them in stock but were out at that
time. I was told it would take about a week and they would just ship it to
me. Well, a week went by and no QCC. Before I knew it almost a month had
passed and still no QCC. So I called them and was told it was on back order
and wouldn't be in until the middle of June. This was around the middle of
May. I was so disappointed as I had a baby quilt that I really needed to get
quilted and I wasn't confident enough to do it without the QCC. There was
nothing I could do but wait. The very next day it was delivered. I was so
happy and pleasantly surprised.

Where in PA do you live? I'm on Long Island. My husband goes to Allentown
frequently for his job. I occasionally talk him into taking me with him so I
can visit Hancock's.

Mika

"Maria O" wrote in message
ups.com...
Mika, I heartily second your opinion of Pocono Sew 'n' Vac! While they
have tried on occasion to sell me a new machine, they have been
friendly and helpful in keeping my old machines working. In fact, when
I needed a tiny screw for the bobbin case of a 1960s Singer (which I
had seen online for $2, but NO WAY was I going to pay $6.95 shipping
for it) they GAVE it to me. They have parts for an amazing variety of
vintage machines and their prices are very reasonable.

They are happy to give advice and talk quilting, and they love to have
quilters come in with their quilts for show 'n' tell. And they always
have beautiful fabrics on their half-price table. I never go to
Stroudsburg wihout stopping there.

Maria in NE PA

Mika, I recommend Pocono Sew 'n' Vac every chance I get. I am in Pocono
Summit, about 15 miles from Stroudsburg and 35 miles north of
Allentown. I like the Hancock store in Bethlehem, and the one in
Dickson City, near Scranton, is about the same distance from me. That's
also a nice place to shop, with friendly help and lots of wonderful
fabric.

Maria in NE PA