Spotlight

Mybwife loves this store she bought our bedding from here our towels kids bedding and a few other girly items great prices huge store

Huge store. Great parking. So much to choose from. Sometimes difficult to find staff to help but generally the staff do give great service. Very good return policy.

I buy a *LOT* of fabric, so I have used this store a lot over the years. Unfortunately they have changed the way they deal with customer service now, and it is so terrible that I will drive a lot further away to go to other Spotlight stores so that I don't have to go to this one.

It used to be that you could get your fabric, take it to the cutting counter, have it cut, pay there and leave the store. So while there was often a long wait to be served at the cutting counter (and as others have said - often the staff would be chatting to each other rather than serving), if you managed your time well, you could grab a number while you were still looking around, so that when you were finished browsing, you only had a small wait for your number to be called.

While the chatty staff can be annoying when it causes longer wait times, I do though appreciate their chattyness when they are serving you. Several of the ladies there would greet me each time I was there.

Now, with the new redesigned store, they don't allow you to pay for your purchases at the cutting counter. You still have to queue to be served, but instead of taking the few extra moments to pay there - they print out barcode stickers for each piece of fabric you buy, and you then have to go to the normal registers to line up there again and pay for your fabric.

They claim this system is faster, but I have timed it and it is not. Especially not when you are buying several pieces of fabric. And as I say, before you could manage your time so that you weren't waiting as long. Now you have to spend time in 2 queues, which is just annoying. I'm sure they are doing it this way to try to force people to use the self service registers, so they can reduce the number of employees they have to have (I refuse to use self service registers, a it puts people out of jobs)

I went there recently to buy a new bulb for my sewing machine, but they have moved the sewing machine centre now too. Before it was in it's own little space outside the store, with a staff member there that you could ask questions to. Now is it in a section of the store, with no staff members around. I couldn't find the bulb for my brand of machine, and with nobody around to ask, I left - unhappy.

I'm also not sure what pet supplies are doing at a Spotlight store? The new design just feels like a big warehouse of random things. They seem to have reduced the size of their fabric section too. So a store that I always knew to be predominantly a fabric store, has reduced the amount of fabric it stocks, made fabric buying more complicated and time consuming, and now sells pet supplies? I just don't understand...

I find the Springvale store has a much larger selection of fabric (doesn't have the annoying double queue system, and no weird pet things) so that is where I shop now.

If you want (cotton) fabric in Bayswater, there is a great little Quilter's shop just down the road ("Patchwork with Gail" - in the Tile shop). It's a bit more pricey, but a far better selection than Spotlight has.

I wanted to get some interfacing material to make a handbag so I went to this store. They used to stock a lot more fabric but not anymore. A lot of items in the haberdashery section have bar codes but do not have price tags on them so it's very hard to make decisions.

Customer service in fabric cutting department was very disappointing. There was only one customer before me, but I had waited 10 min to be served. When it's my turn, I realised there was another staff behind the counter chatting with the lady serving me. They kept chatting with each other while cutting my fabric, so it took me another 5-10 min to get my purchase (1 fabric + 2 ribbons). The service was unbelievably slow and unprofessional.

This store carries a good selection of art and craft supplies. Customer service was better when I came here last year. I think I will find another store to get cut fabric in the future, or perhaps go online.

Approximate cost: $50

this store is enormous and has ample parking. there is so many things in there facbric, kitchenware & bedroom decor. also a really awesome party section.

This is the nearest Spotlight branch to my place. It's big and has sufficient car park adjourned with The Good Guys and opposite is Bunnings. There are always lots of discounts for VIP members and sales are good. I did my custom made roller blinds with them for the entire house. The person came to measure and compared pricing & materials for what I wanted. I had discount and also points for my membership.
Professional and it has everything you needed in 1 roof.

Approximate cost: $Varies

A handy place to go for your craft supplies however some items seem really expensive. Great range of fabrics but there is ALWAYS a really big que at the fabric cutting register, there have been a few times I have just given up on waiting and gone home. Overall they have a good range of products.

Great range, very large store. Loved their kids bed sets, but they are SO pricey. $30 for a polar fleece throw? Kids size?
$5 for an open ended zip...
They are the size of a warehouse, but not warehouse prices.
Where else can you really get your sewing needs from for any cheaper these days though?

If you can't find what you want for your craft, manchester or fabric project it probably doesn't exist. I have always used Spotlight staff's knowledge if I have a problem and come out pleased and knowing what to do. There's plenty for the kids to do in the craft department and sparky's covers all your party needs. Go have a look you won't be dissappointed.

Approximate cost: $varies

I love this store, it's big, it's full of product, staff always help. Any product they don't have they will source for you and order it in. Sparty's the party supply section is great and have very competitive prices. Fabric selections are better than any other spotlight i have been too and sales tables are well worth looking through

After searching for a while for a material, i finally choose the material and then getting it cut. a number waiting system, but not a very long queue

Approximate cost: $31

Lack of customer service. Requires additional service areas for cutting of material. Unfortunately some staff chatter between themselves and forgetting about the customer.

Approximate cost: $200

Ordered some balloons from the Sparty's section. Lovely lady helped me with prices and suggestions. Said come back in 5 Min's for purchase and true to her word everything was ready.

I nearly always find what I'm looking for at the Bayswater Spotlight. The staff I have asked when looking, have always tried their best. I sometimes think there could be a few more staff about, but I suppose when you have such a big store, they can be around somewhere working and you just don't see them.

Umm... my second home ;)

I have to agree with other reviewers, their customer service can be shocking at times, but then I've shopped in other Spotlights and found a similar case, so I don't think the Bayswater store is much different to others there. There are some lovely ladies there, and also some less than polite ones. Some of the chattier ones do seem to chat more than cut. I usually tell them to just bundle up the fabric rather than fold it neatly, because it saves some time.

I do think that if you want lovely customer service, go to a smaller fabric store, and if you're after cheaper fabric, go to Spotlight. Its a shame they can't have both, but I suppose the cheaper fabric comes at a price.

The seasoned spotlight shopper knows to go grab your number before you've actually finished shopping ;) You can then potter around the nearby racks until your number is called, and the few times you've not finished by the time your number is called, you can always swap numbers with someone else, who will appreciate getting served quicker.... and you have longer to shop. Or maybe bring a book :)

If you go there when there is a big sale, you need to get in early to avoid them running out of the fabric you want, and you may want a packed lunch for the wait. All jokes aside... the getting a number early method is really the only way to shop at Spotlight.

They always have a discount rack, with fabric from $2 a metre, which is great, and you can join their free VIP club, which gives you a discount on some fabrics (and also mails you out their catalogue and discount coupons). They also have "Sparties" party supplies stuff, homewares and crafty things too. So they do have a good range.

Love going to Spotlight. It is a big mega sized store and has everything that you could possibly want. I went there recently and they had put out tables and tables of bolts of fabric all selling at $2.00 per metre. This is great value for money. Spotlight has a huge range of products all in the one location. Easy parking without having to worry about shopping centre crowds. Where it lets itself down badly is that they do not always have enough staff on the fabric cutting tables. It is good that they use a numbering system but a wait of 25 minutes to have your bolt of fabric cut is unacceptable. The problem is that you may have one customer with 10 bolts of fabric all needing to be cut to specific sizes. This then blows the queue wait right out. It is not the staffs fault. Management should have more staff available when they have huge sales.
The store is great if you know what you want and don't need any assistance. Sometimes you will find the young staff standing around and talking at the counters in their section-you have to interrupt them to get their attention.

I've been to this store 5 times and I have always left disapointed with thier customer service... if any! Some of the women and girls working there treat you like they're doing you a favour when serving you. Today I was being served by a woman who while cutting some fabric started chatting to other staff and I had to wait until their conversation was over. When I asked for my receipt which she had put in the bag she rolled her eyes to the next customer which was so rude and uncalled for. I don't know where they get these people but it seems they don't have education or manners. I'm very, very disapointed. Also another thing, prices are always wrong and you have to remind them that products are on special! Just not good enough....