Blick Art Materials — Local services in Dearborn

To start, this is my favorite place to buy my art supplies, I do illustration, and other mediums, and this is hands down the best place to buy the supplies one needs - I've never had a problem with stock, things are always organized, it's wonderful. However... I've rarely ever had good customer service here. Some of the general staff are polite and ask if I need any help, which I don't normally do, but on the supervisory level... I witness them complain about people, they laze around a lot and the associates seem to do the work while they fiddle behind the counter, and all these things have irked me. I have over ten years of retail experience and worked for years on the management level, but the thing that made me finally write about it, was when I was in on Sunday a couple days ago... I came in about a half hour before close, and I hate being 'that person', but I just needed to pick up a couple items in a rush, so I knew I would be quick, and I kept asking my husband what the time is so I wouldn't be a bother and to check out before store closing. I was asked a couple times if I needed any help, which was fine, but what irked me was... Several minutes before the store closed still, I was looking through some of the sketchbooks, and the man who was working walked past me, turned off the lights directly above me, and then walked past me again. Not a single time did anyone inform anyone in the store that it would be closing soon, they just started turning off the lights. It was eight minutes before closing time. That is just, unacceptable. If any of my employees ever did that, it would be a serious discussion, and I have had plenty of times in the past where I've been extremely irritated, or had rude customers, who dismissed polite warnings about the store closing, or already being closed, who lingered and made me get home late. I know the annoyances. But you can't shut things down, or treat people that way, when the store is still in open hours. It was immature, unprofessional behavior by the employee; they should have first verbally informed people the store would be closing soon, and to come up with their purchases within the next couple of minutes - not communicating, and turning the lights off when the store is still open is absolutely,...

My son is currently taking a college art class and was in need of additional art supplies. We made a visit to the Dearborn store on Tuesday, September 10th. Shortly after entering the store, the cashier quickly asked if we needed help and came from behind the counter to help us. Now, I would not normally have an issue with this except for the fact that she seemed to single us out. We were the only african americans in the store. I watched to see if she would respond in the same way to others walking into the store and she did not. They were all white. We needed to return to the store on Sunday 09 15 19 for a few items missed. I was glad at first to see that there was a different clerk behind the counter. Perhaps, we would have a better experience. On the contrary. She greeted us as we entered but after she cleared her line, she sought after us to see if we needed help. I guess we had a sign on our foreheads saying "please help" So, I obliged her and told her what we needed. She wasn't that kind or polite. After getting our first items, she did not give them to me, but told me that we could retrieve them at the register. My son also needed another item. She pointed it out to us then walked away. But, then had the audacity to come back to the aisle to see why we had not come the register. In the meantime, there were plenty of others shopping in the store with additional people coming in. The store is small and I never heard her ask anyone else if they needed assistance. Again were the only african americans in the store. So, I give them one star. They had the materials we needed. But were being...

This was my first time at this location; I usually go to the one in downtown Detroit. While shopping, I noticed some very strange things. An older gentleman seemed to be following me around the store. For reference, I’m an Arab woman (with an olive complexion and black hair), so I don’t look white. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence. However, a worker named Becca came up to ask if I needed any help and continued to follow me around the shop, at that point I knew something was off.

I also felt like the workers were hovering near me and watching me. Let me tell you something—if you don’t like Arab people or people of color, you’re in the wrong place. Dearborn is full of Arab people, and Detroit is full of people of color. I have never personally experienced this level of discrimination before. The downtown Detroit location is much friendlier and...