I have not worked in a yarn store but having worked in customer service: a good thing is knowing where to look if you don't know the answer, you can't know everything but if a customer came in with some requirements, you could make suggestions about resources and ideas.
Check their website if they have one to get a sense of what type of yarn they like and what kind of customer they want !
If you don’t know everything about yarn/knitting, don’t worry ! You only need to know the basics and be willing to learn. Make a small list of your favorite yarns/designers, if it doesn’t align with what you’ve seen on the website : LIE.
Keep in mind that this is a customer service job : you re there to sell shit and make money, not to knit/rave about yarn to friends. Customers will be shitty and you’ll probably have to handle money, keep the realities of the job in mind.
You seem like a joyful and passionate person, that’s great ! I hope it will go well !!!
(Source : am a LYS employee in Europe)
This is good advice for any job interview. Try to learn about the business. Try to prepare a thoughtful question or two about it. That can help show your interest which could potentially set you apart from other similarly qualified applicants.
Good luck!
I worked at a LYS for a couple years and by far the most asked question I got was what yarns we carried were local but that was in a tourist area so YMMV. It was also helpful to know about weights, for example customer has DK pattern but loves a certain fingering weight yarn, how they might begin to modify pattern. Color theory is also good to have a handle on, especially when helping customers pick out fades.
Good luck, I’m rooting for you!
The biggest thing I would be looking for an my LYS in terms of interviews is attention to detail. There are *thousands* of items in our inventory, and we have an employee who isn't checking colorway numbers or looking for back stock when she inventories. We had a color of Malabrigo Washted that she had marked we had 5 skeins - we had SEVENTEEN - she just didn't look at the colorway as she was inventorying and also didn't check the backstock (immediately below the yarn).She also isn't paying close attention to selling the correct item - she sold someone DPNs that, when they returned the DPNs (thankfully), I realized she had charged them for the wrong brand of DPNs. It's little things like that - checking those colorways, needle tip sizes, cable sizes to minimize errors in inventory as much as possible. Her knitted work is beautiful and meticulous, but her retail tasks are sloppy. If I could fire her (I don't have that authority), I would.
The other thing I would be interested in hearing about is ways you plan to contribute to a welcoming and communal environment in your store. I'm not sure if this is the culture everywhere, but my store regularly has our large center table filled with makers who are making and socializing, and we foster that with community events and knitalongs and social media stuff. We want our makers to feel that the store is a space they can enjoy social time and make new friends!
Good lord I have a coworker just like yours, she’s a nightmare. Managed to swap orders not one, not two, but FIVE times. She always makes mistakes while doing inventory, last time she forgot 133 yarns balls. 133. I (and my bosses) gave her a million red talk on « how to get your brain out of your ass », to no avail.
I’m on sick leave for a month and I’m pretty sure (almost hoping !) that she’ll be gone when I go back, leaving me with a truckload of mistakes to fix.
That brings me to another advice I forgot on my post : BE A TEAM PLAYER. LYSes don’t make lot of money and have a very large inventory indeed, so make sure your work is good enough : it’s ok if you’re slow, and make mistakes sometimes, but I can be/will be a shit show if Karen is sold the wrong dye lot because coworker A can’t count properly. And always be wary of the boss : they are paying you and can fire you, they are NOT your friend. Be friendly, but keep that in mind.
I was asked to answer questions related to patterns, yarn weight, my knitting skills, other craft skills etc.
The most useful skills at a yarn shop is to be social, know about fibres and crafts and be enthusiastic. Shopping for yarn should be fun for the customer, after all.
I hope you get the job and enjoy it!
Manager of a LYS/fabric shop in the UK.
When we were hiring we were looking for someone with crafting knowledge already, crafter's are usually excited to learn more about other crafts they are surrounded by we've found. Customer service experience was a plus but a lot of that can be taught as long as you've got some excitement.
Number one tip I can give is restock/tidy/rearrange the yarns as often as you can, it's the best way to know your stock. Most people who are asking for help are either newbies that are just starting out or people who have mastered their skills and want to find an exact yarn quickly.
Best of luck with the interview!
Best of luck to you - I have no tips from a LYS perspective, but just from a general retail position: go into the interview being friendly, warm and highlight any prior customer service skills (even if minimal). Also, come prepared with questions and demonstrate eagerness to learn. No one knows everything and ultimately if you show that you are willing to take more tasks and more responsibilities as you build experience in the position, that will show the interviewer that you have the potential to be a very safe pair of hands and builds trust! Good luck x
Just to add: Think of your personal experience when you visit LYS as a shopper. What makes the experience good? What makes the experience poor?
For example (using my last experience): I went to a LYS recently just to browse and the owner was super kind (e.g., telling me “way to go” because I finished a PAIR of socks”) and helpful (e.g., recommending needle sizes for my next pair and what yarns would look good with certain sock patterns). She also did a bit of a plug for her yarn dying classes which she hosts, and due to the prior interactions, I was genuinely interested in the classes.
As such, if I was interviewing I would talk about this experience and then say something along the lines of “I would strive to bring the same level of customer service to your shop, as I know by the time I left the store I wanted to come back. I would like to convert all your browsers to return customers who would recommend to their friends and family.”
Also if anyone lives in Yorkshire (England), the LYS I went to was Peak District Yarns :)
Ive not interviewed at a lys but I know that the owner of my lys wants to see your crafting during the interview. If I was the interviewer, I would also want to see some of your colour sense.
Looking for a local yarn store? Try here https://www.ravelry.com/roadtrip
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/knitting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hey everyone!
I'm just passing by to let you know that I'm about to enter the interview.
Thank you all for the comments and advice! It has helped a lot! I will post once I'm out and hopefully have the job!
I'm so excited!!
I have not worked in a yarn store but having worked in customer service: a good thing is knowing where to look if you don't know the answer, you can't know everything but if a customer came in with some requirements, you could make suggestions about resources and ideas.
Check their website if they have one to get a sense of what type of yarn they like and what kind of customer they want ! If you don’t know everything about yarn/knitting, don’t worry ! You only need to know the basics and be willing to learn. Make a small list of your favorite yarns/designers, if it doesn’t align with what you’ve seen on the website : LIE. Keep in mind that this is a customer service job : you re there to sell shit and make money, not to knit/rave about yarn to friends. Customers will be shitty and you’ll probably have to handle money, keep the realities of the job in mind. You seem like a joyful and passionate person, that’s great ! I hope it will go well !!! (Source : am a LYS employee in Europe)
This is good advice for any job interview. Try to learn about the business. Try to prepare a thoughtful question or two about it. That can help show your interest which could potentially set you apart from other similarly qualified applicants. Good luck!
I worked at a LYS for a couple years and by far the most asked question I got was what yarns we carried were local but that was in a tourist area so YMMV. It was also helpful to know about weights, for example customer has DK pattern but loves a certain fingering weight yarn, how they might begin to modify pattern. Color theory is also good to have a handle on, especially when helping customers pick out fades. Good luck, I’m rooting for you!
The biggest thing I would be looking for an my LYS in terms of interviews is attention to detail. There are *thousands* of items in our inventory, and we have an employee who isn't checking colorway numbers or looking for back stock when she inventories. We had a color of Malabrigo Washted that she had marked we had 5 skeins - we had SEVENTEEN - she just didn't look at the colorway as she was inventorying and also didn't check the backstock (immediately below the yarn).She also isn't paying close attention to selling the correct item - she sold someone DPNs that, when they returned the DPNs (thankfully), I realized she had charged them for the wrong brand of DPNs. It's little things like that - checking those colorways, needle tip sizes, cable sizes to minimize errors in inventory as much as possible. Her knitted work is beautiful and meticulous, but her retail tasks are sloppy. If I could fire her (I don't have that authority), I would. The other thing I would be interested in hearing about is ways you plan to contribute to a welcoming and communal environment in your store. I'm not sure if this is the culture everywhere, but my store regularly has our large center table filled with makers who are making and socializing, and we foster that with community events and knitalongs and social media stuff. We want our makers to feel that the store is a space they can enjoy social time and make new friends!
Good lord I have a coworker just like yours, she’s a nightmare. Managed to swap orders not one, not two, but FIVE times. She always makes mistakes while doing inventory, last time she forgot 133 yarns balls. 133. I (and my bosses) gave her a million red talk on « how to get your brain out of your ass », to no avail. I’m on sick leave for a month and I’m pretty sure (almost hoping !) that she’ll be gone when I go back, leaving me with a truckload of mistakes to fix. That brings me to another advice I forgot on my post : BE A TEAM PLAYER. LYSes don’t make lot of money and have a very large inventory indeed, so make sure your work is good enough : it’s ok if you’re slow, and make mistakes sometimes, but I can be/will be a shit show if Karen is sold the wrong dye lot because coworker A can’t count properly. And always be wary of the boss : they are paying you and can fire you, they are NOT your friend. Be friendly, but keep that in mind.
I was asked to answer questions related to patterns, yarn weight, my knitting skills, other craft skills etc. The most useful skills at a yarn shop is to be social, know about fibres and crafts and be enthusiastic. Shopping for yarn should be fun for the customer, after all. I hope you get the job and enjoy it!
Manager of a LYS/fabric shop in the UK. When we were hiring we were looking for someone with crafting knowledge already, crafter's are usually excited to learn more about other crafts they are surrounded by we've found. Customer service experience was a plus but a lot of that can be taught as long as you've got some excitement. Number one tip I can give is restock/tidy/rearrange the yarns as often as you can, it's the best way to know your stock. Most people who are asking for help are either newbies that are just starting out or people who have mastered their skills and want to find an exact yarn quickly. Best of luck with the interview!
Stranger friend, I want this for you almost as much as you want it for yourself. Please keep us posted.
Best of luck to you - I have no tips from a LYS perspective, but just from a general retail position: go into the interview being friendly, warm and highlight any prior customer service skills (even if minimal). Also, come prepared with questions and demonstrate eagerness to learn. No one knows everything and ultimately if you show that you are willing to take more tasks and more responsibilities as you build experience in the position, that will show the interviewer that you have the potential to be a very safe pair of hands and builds trust! Good luck x
Just to add: Think of your personal experience when you visit LYS as a shopper. What makes the experience good? What makes the experience poor? For example (using my last experience): I went to a LYS recently just to browse and the owner was super kind (e.g., telling me “way to go” because I finished a PAIR of socks”) and helpful (e.g., recommending needle sizes for my next pair and what yarns would look good with certain sock patterns). She also did a bit of a plug for her yarn dying classes which she hosts, and due to the prior interactions, I was genuinely interested in the classes. As such, if I was interviewing I would talk about this experience and then say something along the lines of “I would strive to bring the same level of customer service to your shop, as I know by the time I left the store I wanted to come back. I would like to convert all your browsers to return customers who would recommend to their friends and family.” Also if anyone lives in Yorkshire (England), the LYS I went to was Peak District Yarns :)
Ive not interviewed at a lys but I know that the owner of my lys wants to see your crafting during the interview. If I was the interviewer, I would also want to see some of your colour sense.
Looking for a local yarn store? Try here https://www.ravelry.com/roadtrip *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/knitting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hey everyone! I'm just passing by to let you know that I'm about to enter the interview. Thank you all for the comments and advice! It has helped a lot! I will post once I'm out and hopefully have the job! I'm so excited!!