#but many of our customers do not

[ub-sessed]

How Not to Break Your Sewing Machine

I work in a shop where we repair sewing machines (a LOT of sewing machines), and unsurprisingly we see a lot of the same problems over and over again, so I'm here with some advice on how to keep your machine running longer.

When you break a needle, dig around until you have found the broken piece. If you leave it in there, it can end up in the wrong place at the wrong time and break something vital.

SLOW DOWN. The function of your sewing machine depends on the different moving parts ending up in the right place at the right time. Having to go through a lot of/heavy material slows the needle down, but it doesn't slow down the mechanism underneath the needle plate. If you try to go your usual speed, the needle will arrive too late and collide with something it shouldn't, breaking either the needle or the bobbin case. If the material is especially heavy (say you're sewing several layers of denim, or sewing webbing onto canvas), take your foot off the pedal and turn the machine by hand.

Clean out the bobbin area after each project. Really. Your machine comes with a little brush for this purpose. If it doesn't, a little dollar-store paint brush will work just fine. Remember what I said above about things being in the right place at the right time? Everything needs to be able to move freely for this to work. I know it looks like it's just a little dust and fluff, but it will jam up your machine eventually.

If you can, get your timing adjusted by a professional. I know most people don't have a sewing machine repair shop in their neighbourhood, but if you can do this, it's worth it. If the machine's timing is good, then you're more likely to have a little leeway for heavier fabric or a lintier bobbin case. When the timing is just a bit off, it takes less of an obstacle to put the needle in a place it shouldn't be.

If you can, buy a machine built before 1980. If it's still working 50 years after it was made, it's gonna keep working. Those older machines are made with metal gears and therefore weigh a ton, so they're definitely not a good choice if you don't have a permanent setup for your machine, but it means they basically last forever. Newer machines are made with plastic parts, and no matter what you do, they will break.

Don't buy a Singer Heavy Duty. I'm sure those machines have their benefits, but they are absolutely not heavy duty. We repair more Singer Heavy Dutys than any other single model of sewing machine. If you're already stuck with a Heavy Duty, then follow my advice above even more scrupulously, and start shopping around for a replacement if you can. You can get a used sewing machine of better quality for significantly less than a new Heavy Duty.

To keep things working properly, make sure you're:

threading your machine properly

using the right kind of bobbin

adjusting your tension properly

and using the right kind of needle for the fabric you're sewing!

(These things are unlikely to break your machine, but they will keep it from sewing properly.)

Other than that, get your hands on your machine's manual and read it carefully. If you can, bring your machine in for a cleaning and adjustment now and then. Your machine will need repairs every once in a while: it's a lot of little moving parts! But these are some basic precautions you can take to avoid some common problems.

[feral-ass-raccoon]

hey yall. where the FUCK can i find a consistent aroaceflux flag???? like theres 6 different kinds and i cannot figure out which one is the most commonly used.

[pardonmydelays]

the funniest thing that always happens to me is that every time we have a customer who doesn't speak polish and they ask me if i speak english i'm like "no, i don't think i do" only to realize a few minutes later that i do, in fact, speak english

[creepyscritches]

Love my job, love my company. I only work ACA, and it is so nice that our megaphone to thousands of employees is "The patients are the point. The people are the purpose!!! If we do our job with purpose, things get better for tens of thousands of people!!!!"

I don't share my employer for a few reasons, but it is very reassuring to know we are not unusual in ACA spaces. I highly encourage you to scrutinize your options as heavily as you see fit. Good options are made to withstand your investigation bc good options want you to have agency in your care and confidence in your health literacy! Marketplace options change state to state, year to year - - check what your options are this year!

[ambersky0319]

New Employee aquired today

My manager: Hey Grace maybe you can show NE some things, but don't overwhelm her

Me:

Me: so like. make sure it's not a repeat of my first day???

[ilkkawhat]

just reflecting today on the 7th poured drink tonight and recalling how when i was venting to my co-workers about yesterday and the panic attack i had and all that, she mentioned how I needed more help when I was drowning and i swear to you the immediate thing that came to mind when she said that was alan wake

[cryptid-crusader]

One of the funniest things about any customer service job is when customers think you are supposed to care when they threaten to do business elsewhere. No customer service agent or low level manager has ever in their life cared if you are taking your business elsewhere. You are going against a corporation in a capitalist hell that doesn't care about you at all my dude, I don't know what you think telling me "I'm gonna take my business elsewhere" is gonna change. 🤷‍♀️

[jinzouacting]

periodically people have to be reminded that you should be against these large generative ai models because its aggregate content theft and not because of like "laziness" or whatever

[tauforged]

the fucked part of this update is that i remember back in ye olden days when the dashboard layout was much more similar to the current look, except it had all the stuff on the right side bar (where the current dash layout has the reccommended blogs and the tumblr radar iirc) and we still had the top bar with the little icons, and the stuff on the sidebar wasnt NEARLY as cluttered as it is now. and i remember when they got rid of it in favor of the top bar with little drop down menus and everyone fucking LOATHED IT, we were all clamoring for it to be rolled back. and they somehow managed to finally put the blog info back into a sidebar like we wanted all those years ago and they somehow fucked it up so bad that we all hate it and want the old layout back . what a website

[arosebyan0thername]

Is it bad to say that I just want a conclusion? Is it bad to say that I'd rather something just end badly so I can move on than to end well but be drawn out for who even knows how long? I'd just like to move on, for better or worse. I'd like to stop worrying.

[prospitfox]

.

[joelletwo]

guh i didnt get to complain abt this at work but while i was in reptiles rearranging stuff someone walked over talking on their phone goofin off and offhandedly said 'oh that geckos dead, how sad.' like not sad at all just like. lackadaisical. while i am two feet away staring at them bc i know the gecko is not dead bc i Just saw it and they dont make eye contact so i cant even like. try to say anything. and they clearly didnt say anything to any other employee when i brought it up after they left they just thought they saw a dead animal in a pet store and like. didnt care? and im so sjdfg irritated and baffled.

[anotherpapercut]

sometimes people will ask me about working in a library and I have to find a gentle way to tell them they literally would not last a day working in a public library

[ceasarslegion]

Gonna be honest the longer i spend in adulthood and the more unfair shit i have to deal with, the more impatient and intolerant i become of other perfectly functional and capable adults whining that life isnt fair (and implying that they dont have to try because of it).

No its not fair, but you know what? Its not fair for anybody. That doesnt mean you deserve extra special treatment to make it fair for you only which will only realistically come at the expense of others. Crying to other people actively cleaning up other peoples messes that it's unfair to ask you to clean up other peoples messes isnt as revolutionary as you think it is. Yes it sucks, but you can deal with it like the rest of us.

Not to sound like your dad but there is a point where you just have to suck it up and deal with it. No it's not fun, no it's not fair, yes it sucks, but youre not a child bro, suck it UP.

The amount of fully functional adults out there who act like children when the world doesnt function on fairy tale rules is truly baffling. And ive noticed that theres ALWAYS this weird implication to their logic and reactions that its perfectly fine for other people to take on MORE bullshit if it means they dont have to deal with anything they deem unfair.

Obligatory reading comprehension question: what does the use of the term "perfectly functional and capable adults" imply about the type of people OP is referring to in this 30 second vent post? Is the OP really referring to legitimate disability accommodations or desolate life circumstances, or people who have every ability and resource at their disposal to deal with BS and choose not to because its a little hard?

[perenlop]

kinda insane how bigotry infects everything. i still dont feel good checking out the campus lgbt group despite being a senior now bc of the passive aggressive lesbophobia i got earlier

[dsgustng]

Something I really really really wish customers would understand is like. How much really dumb pointless shit matters to corporate. How if you liked your service please don't leave a review with anything other than 100% across the board because giving us an 80% or a 70% just makes our review score stay the same or drops it. It's never good enough and they're always barking at us to do better no matter how good we do it doesn't amount to anything unless we're at 90-100% . Please if you do surveys only ever leave 100% if your happy with your service please I beg you