Hobby Lobby — Local services in Houston

Bad service , horrible customer service. My mother who is a retired and spends her time making arts and crafts with products from hobby lobby (in which she has spent well over 1,000$ This season alone) had a very unwelcomed surprise at the store.

After over an hour of shopping for things there she was followed for that hour by an “under cover employee” and then accused of switching prices on items. We have plenty of money as a family and she has no need to do this as she always shops there. She was accused of stealing and humiliated by the staff in front of employees and customers. I’m not sure if it’s because she is elderly, Hispanic or because of how she’s dresses but she stoked nothing nor changed prices on anything. After being humiliated she was asked that she couldn't check out the items in her cart. After making a scene they finally let her check out on the items she had. After paying for it they tried to get her name and ID to limit her from the store and maybe press charges if she trespassed because she was asked not to come back. Kind of sad when your a paying customer and a returning customer at that.

With that said myself nor anyone in my family will be customers of hobby lobby and will be visiting Michaels and their competitors instead, they seem to have nicer staff and do not have any prejudices against their customers. Management did nothing during the event l, never stopped the employee from defaming my mother, never tried to de escalate the situation, did not offer support the customer and instead harassed her after paying to get her personal information. The under cover employee should be reprimanded and maybe trained in some social skills, managers also need a visits from Human Resources to identify better practices between customers and staff. Shame on this store, y’all skip it and go to Michaels down the street, there worried about the wrong things...

Hobby Lobby is a total disappointment. They claim to support local and ethically sourced goods, but in reality, most of their stock comes from China, like billions of dollars worth of imported goods from China, and the quality is shockingly poor—even by mass production standards. The store is full of dated, cliché decor (think “Live, Laugh, Love” everywhere), and the arts and crafts supplies are outrageously overpriced. Items like Cricut supplies can be marked up 3-4x more than what you’d find on Amazon (don’t take my word for it, just Google search the item while in the store and thank me later) and even then, they’re often out of stock.

The employees seem disengaged, but honestly, who can blame them? The low pay and depressing atmosphere probably don’t give them much to care about. Every store I’ve been to across 3 different states feels run-down and full of junk. If you’re serious about supporting local artists or finding quality materials, skip Hobby Lobby and go somewhere that actually values its customers and workers. There are plenty of better options out there, like Etsy or real local art shops. If you like basic, cookie cutter stuff, with a lack of uniqueness or identity, definitely...

I am a total shopaholic and recently, came across a bit of saved up money. Since (so far!) I've survived the Covid-19 crisis. Celebration equals: "Shopping!!!" Usually I shop, at Friendswood location, however, Metrolift has Houston area boundaries. Westheimer , was selected. I guarantee!!! Upon entering the store, I felt as though I was in heaven!! "Okay, so I don't get out much!". Everything was neatly placed. Employees: attentive, cordial, professional. Manager was more than cooperative, not to mention empathetic, which is a rare quality , to find in a manager. By empathetic, I don't mean gullible!! He was aware of all employees needs, yet firm on conveying, to them, how he wanted the store to be represented. Professionally conscientious, yet profitable. I Found an item, which caught my eye, however it was damaged. I ventured, to locate store manager, asked if he would grant a discount?! Assessing my dilemma, he granted the discount. A win-win situation: product sold, customer contented, satisfied, etc.! In my excitement, I failed to acquire, manager's name. I hope, that his superiors will honor his initiative, & grant him, well...