The guy in the fabric shop

[ClareC]

John Lewis had run out of red felt when I went there today.... may well pop to Fabric for some and check it out, I am definitely intrigued!!! Perhaps I should take the dog too ;-)

[Asset]

I expect he'll be extra grumpy after this thread

[Gubodge]

cleopatra Wrote:

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> He seems fine to me. I've been in a few times

> just for a look, once bought an off cut at very

> reasonable price. And the last visit all I wanted

> was some button's. He was really friendly and

> helpful. Bought 5 button's, no problem.

You were lucky. I went in when I needed a tiny amount of fleece, so asked where he kept the off cuts. He was very scornful of the possiblity that he might sell such things. Perhaps he uses the ends of rolls to string up rummagers at the back of the shop.

[i*Rate]

Cherryred,

Yes, he was rude to me the one only time that I went into his shop. I wanted to buy a small piece of velcro, not a full metre which was too expensive for what I needed. He refused to sell me a small amount and told me that everything was expensive in East Dulwicha and I'd have to expect that.

How do people like that survive in business?!

Kind wishes.

[TheAllSeeingEye]

How do people like that survive at all ?? .... without someone gunning for revenge.

[Gimme]

I don't know how he manages to put up with a continual stream of people looking for scraps when they are trying to run a business. I'd go mad. If he sells velcro by the metre then why ask for less than a metre. You don't go into Somerfield and complain that they were rude not to give you half a pot of yoghurt or a couple of biscuits out of a packet.

[HonaloochieB]

TheAllSeeingEye Wrote:

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> How do people like that survive at all ?? ....

> without someone gunning for revenge.

Stop that TASE, we don't encoursge violence.

Though if the economic downturn or whatever it is starts to bite Fabric and Target Arms might consider a merger.

I'd go for Guns & Ruches if I were them.

[huncamunca]

TheAllSeeingEye Wrote:

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> How do people like that survive at all ?? ....

> without someone gunning for revenge.

this is a clever pun innit ?

anyway, he sells good quality shit and has come along to Huncamunca acres a couple of times to fit stuff weve ordered and sorted out problems when they arose

he may be robust & doesnt suffer fools or sneering arrogance gladly I admit , but the service is good all considered - he may not be a subservient forelock tugger, but knows his stuff - be nice to people and you may be surprised

oh yea, hes a L*verpool supporter FWIW

no issues here

[Goodliz]

I have been in the shop about 3 times since it opened and the man has ALWAYS been really helpful and friendly.

[craigy]

i bought curtains recently and he was fine and very nice to my son and have been in a few times previous purchases of less than ?20 and found him polite and helpful and even, dare i say it, chatty to the point that i could tell you how many kids he has, how old they are and how long he and his wife have been together.....

[savvygirl]

He's definitely a local boy and has lived in ED for many many years. He's a real family man too as he's always talking about his wife and kids. He's definitely not English. I wondered if he was Turkish. It's hard to tell if he's joking sometimes, he seems to have a weird sense of humour. He's never been particularly unpleasant and can sometimes be quite helpful. He did say, when he first opened, that he didn't particularly need to earn money from the shop - I got the impression he did it because he liked fabric. He worked in London and I think he used to supply fabric to film makers. Could it be that the premises are owned by his family so maybe the overheads aren't too high and selling his fabric from the family premises is more hobby than anything else. I think the old lady who sits in the shop is his Mum. He may also have a bit of a chip on his shoulder as he remembers East Dulwich before it got trendy but is happy that some of the old foks who have lived there all their lives are now seeing how much their properties are worth. A bit of a love/hate thing going on, so maybe that accounts for his dual personality!

[charliecharlie]

I've been in there once and he was very helpful... very very flirty though!!! with a real cheeky chappy glint in his eyes

Seems like he's a man of many parts.... maybe he's one of those big mood swing types...

[Amelie]

Gunay (spelling?) of Fabric 205 is a Seljuk Turk by descent. He has lived in the area all his life and went to school at what was William Penn. He is a brilliant haberdasher and the blinds he made for me are fantastic, Gunay could not have been more helpful and accommodating when I was choosing the fabrics I wanted and the day I wanted the blinds installed.

I am baffled by the criticism of him here and know that the first time he was the subject of an unkind thread on this forum was the first and last time that he looked at the EDF. Those of you who are complaining about Gunay here are wasting your time because he will never see this thread.

[ruffers]

huncamunca Wrote:

> oh yea, hes a L*verpool supporter FWIW

>

No wonder he's miserable

[Annasfield]

ruffers Wrote:

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> huncamunca Wrote:

>

> > oh yea, hes a L*verpool supporter FWIW

> >

>

> No wonder he's miserable

Pah, apparently he always has been.

[cherryred]

ok, lots of feedback both positive and negative. I had no idea it would generate this much feedback as I'm very new to the forum.

Basically, he's upset me a number of times and I don't think that is fair or nice, and the last time I was really angry and just thought 'why should someone treat me like this when I'm trying so hard to be polite' and because I really do want to support local business. I'm glad some people have had a positive experience with him and are happy with his service.

However, as I said I didn't realise so many people would respond, and I do feel a little uncomfortable about it. I think we've all had a chance to say our piece but maybe it's time for this thread to come to a close.