Hobby Lobby — Local services in Coralville

I've had mixed experiences here. Sometimes the employees are crazy helpful and sometimes they're incredibly rude. I like to think I'm pretty easy going and laid back, I try to find things on my own before giving up and asking. I understand retail employees are underpaid and overworked... that being said if someone asks you politely where something is please never ever say "I don't know, ask someone else." then go back to what you're doing. But even with the few pepperings of bad experiences, I've had good ones too. Awesome employees who don't just tell me where something is but show me and recommend a better product!

Price wise it's alright unless you're doing leatherworking, then it's a bit overpriced (even when used as an emergency option!) their model paint is nicely priced though, and you can usually snag a sale in their framing department.

So it's not bad,...

The customer service here is so bad. The store itself is nice and clean with decent prices, stocked shelves, and a nice variety of whatever you're looking for. The people that work there are a different story completely. They act like they're herding annoying cattle, instead of helping customers, rarely smiling and obviously only saying "hello" or "please" because it's required. I love the yarn selection at Hobby Lobby, but will have to start ordering online if they can't get nice people to work there. I've given the store a few years, hoping the service would improve, but it just keeps getting worse. Ellen, in particular, is severely depressing to even watch work, and worse to interact with. Why would you work in customer service if you are so miserable that you can't even be...

Putting ownership's poor politics aside, this individual store is a good one. Prices are reasonable on most things (even fabric, despite the fact they have little local competition). Staff here is generally personable and will help you find things with a good attitude, although they don't feel as passionate about crafts as the folks you find at Michaels, for example. Checkout will take all day, but that's not the employees' fault. They just use an ancient POS system. This is your number one destination for celebrating Christmas before Halloween, which can be super handy for getting a jump on seasonal crafts! Despite setting seasonal up very early, they never really seem to run out of anything. Whoever handles their materials...