I took my sewing machine in to the local quilt shop July 11th for a cleaning. My tension was also off and no matter where I set it, it wouldn't change the stitches. I like to support local businesses and they had been advertising their machine technicians so I dropped it off. They called and said they needed my embroidery foot and a hoop. So I took that in. Then they said they needed the manual. Then, 2 weeks later, they called and said it was fixed. We live 25 miles from town so there's no running back and forth, but DH needed to take his ranch rig to the mechanic and he had a board meeting on Tuesday so we combined everything and I was glad to have my machine back.
We roped again on Wednesday morning and once we finished and I lined out dinner, I was excited to sew a little. Ummm...it's not fixed. Still have the same exact problem and I'm out $130.00. Plus, the little storage compartment that sits at the front of the machine wouldn't click back into place - yet nothing was said when I picked it up.
I was a little fed up after over 2 weeks. I KNOW there is a reliable place for servicing sewing machines about 2 hours away because I've taken it there before and although I could have taken it back to the original shop and given them another crack at it, I just didn't see a different outcome. We also had a wedding to attend just up the road apiece from the shop on Saturday so I dropped it off there. The next week we had a family reunion of sorts to celebrate my FIL's 85th birthday and it's in the same vicinity so that made it fairly convenient, but I didn't want to miss out on one minute of family time so I picked it up the next weekend when we were up there again, fixing up a railing for a ramp at my in-laws'.
This is such a great shop. I've blogged about it before, but they have since moved to a new location and expanded by adding a retreat center called Stitch-N-Pines. Here's a link to a walking tour
And not only is A Quilting Stituation a great shop, I think the owners, Eugene and Jackie, are the icing on the cake - the nicest, kindest, most genuine folks you'd ever meet. They are in the process of adding another building, but they are working around the addition and Eugene is hiding behind Jackie because he said he was wearing his painting clothes - they are doing the majority of the work themselves:
They are working on fun displays
I don't think DH has ever been in a quilt shop before. He loves the quilts I make, but I'm not sure he understands the addiction. We all visited for about an hour and he was pretty impressed with Jackie and Eugene and what they were building
And I for one, have learned my lesson - it's worth a 2 hour trip one way and it only cost $52.00 (not counting the $130.00 I had to shell out at the first shop). The tension is spot on and the little storage compartment fits as it should. He said everything wasn't put back together properly so things weren't aligned. After 33 days, I am happy to be back in business - thank you Eugene!
10 comments:
I'm glad you got your machine up and running now. I would have complained at the first shop though and asked to have my money refunded. They may not have given it but at least I would have tried.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you are sewing on now, happy stitching!
I have an older Pfaff sewing machine which I use for piecing, patching blue jeans, etc. My Cowboy has always been able to fix anything that has gone wrong with it--so far! So frustrating when you have things like that happen--and you live so far from anything!
I know the pain. My machine needs to be serviced too and I don't know where to have it done that I trust to do it right. Ugh.
So glad you are back to the sewing business. Sounds like a fun shop to go to! Happy quilting.
How distressing to be without your machine all that time and then get it back in worse condition. They apparently didn't check their work or test the stitches before handing it back and didn't want to tell you they have no experience on your brand of machine.
As to the longer ride, it gives you more time to anticipate all the fun you'll eventually have looking at the new fabrics and catching up with friends.
It's so nice when we find a shop that really does sewing machine repair properly. You might call up that other shop and tell them your woes, and that they need to learn from Jackie and Eugene how to repair sewing machines...
Glad your machine is back and in working order. I think I would call the first shop and tell them that your machine was not fixed, and in addition, your storage box was not able to go back in place. Even if they don't give you a refund, they would know their work was not correct.
Wow! Yes, I also try to support local people, but with service and quality of work like this, I don’t think they will be local long. Glad you were able to get it repaired and are now back into making quilts.
I live in a major metropolitan area and had such bad luck with sewing machine repair places that just made my poor things worse and then tried to sell me an expensive substitute instead that we are just limping along with 2 machines that both need work but can do one thing adequately. Meanwhile a friend in a very small town has 2 places near by with craftspeople who repair and rehabilitate machines beautifully and don't sell new machines so they aren't constantly upselling. I am toying with the idea of shipping my girls off to them, but what if something goes wrong?
Looking forward to sharing the fun of your next projects!
ceci
Good customer service just can't be beaten!!
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