-
September 2024 by Girl Taipei
Erroneously applied charges to a 13-yr old and refusing to refund unless we bring the bear and the receipt back into the store in person, which is one hour away. I had offered to send video clips of the bear, and to send photo of the receipt. But they will not consider any of it. They also didn't seem interested in learning what actually happened. They did not ask what we bought, what time we were in the store, which staff member helped us (we have all that info, wouldn't it be easier for the staff member who helped my daughter to verify our statement?) Why did their store staff take advantage of a 13 year old girl?
They also sold an unnecessary gift card, taking advantage of a 13-yr old's vulnerability. That will also go to waste because how can we shop at this store again when their basic stand is that "we need the customers to verify their story but we will never question our staff?"
Here are more details below if you are interested:
My 13 year old daughter went in with her friend to build a bear yesterday (Sat 9/21 at 3pm) at the Natick Mall in Massachusetts. I was not there with them as I have been home self-quarantining as I recovered from COVID. So apparently nobody checked the receipt for accuracy. This morning (Sun 9/22) my daughter came to me with tears in her eyes..."OMG build a bear charged me for personalized recording even though we didn't have one.... They charged us $9 extra! Mommy can you call them to get the refund for the over-charge?"
My daughter was in tears because we have been teaching her to make smart choices. Don't waste money, don't fall into scams, etc. so she was very proud that she said "no" to the personalized recording, and I was proud of her too. So you could imagine her disappointment when she realized that the store went ahead and charged her anyway without her consent.
I called the store immediately and their position was firm. You have to come in with the receipt and the bear or else there is nothing we can do. I explained that the store is one hour away, and I am still recovering from COVID, but the store would not budge. What bothers me the most was when the store manager said:
"You have to present both in person in our store. As long as the receipt and the bear check out with what you are saying, we will process a refund"
This statement is so accusatory! It assumes that I am lying. Not once did the store manager ask me more details: who helped your daughter? What time did your daughter shop at our store. Etc. There is no interest in learning more about the circumstance so that they can avoid this from happening again in the future. His only focus seems to be get your *ss here in person before I will entertain the idea that what you are saying might be true...
I explained to him that because you are one hour away and because I am still getting over my COVID, I would appreciate another way to deal with this. In this day and age, I offered to send video clips of the bear to prove that there was no personalized recording, and to send in picture of the receipt. But he didn't want to hear any of that.
Stepping back: build a bear is a nice concept and apparently all kids have a soft spot for this. But you know you are dealing with kids, shouldn't the Manager be more interested to ensuring that that is a safe environment for the kids? My daughter is heart broken because she used her allowance which she saved up over time to buy this bear, so the lack of refund even for a mistake clearly by the store's staff was not comprehensible to her. Build a bear needs to evolve with technology and with time. Is this the store you want to do business with?
I am definitely not going to drive two hours round trip just for this. It is not worth my time. If we go back to the Natick Mall on another occasion in a few months, would I want
-
September 2024 by John Drolet
We took our granddaughter here for her birthday and she picked out her birthday bear and a outfit for her bear. She is happy.
-
March 2024 by Ashlee Gray
We had a great experience for our little guys 4th birthday yesterday! Robin and Julia were both extremely helpful and made my son feel super special and even went the extra mile at check out making sure all my discounts and rewards were applied to make the price as low as possible. We will definitely be back!
-
March 2024 by Jack Segal
Built-a-Bear in the Workshop, felt like i was at Shien
-
February 2024 by n varjak
Laurie was so awesome and nice and found me the last Baku friend plush!! Best build a bear ever, tysm!
-
November 2023 by Mark Rutter
It’s brutal. We waited over an hour in what was actually a pretty short line. To the point where the kids absolutely did not enjoy it. If I had to pick between building a bear and having a root canal, the dentist wins that one every day of the week.
-
October 2023 by Lissy (Lissy)
They have a good selection!
-
October 2023 by madeline orawe
Wonderful experience with the best staff.!
-
October 2023 by Liz Madison
Great staff
-
October 2023 by Ramon Ham
I love this store!!!
-
October 2023 by flor miranda
The staff was amazing and very accommodating and understanding. They were so patient with my son and gave him the time he needed it to make his decision. I got one ver happy kid and the end of the experience.
-
August 2023 by Meghan Graham
I normally don’t write reviews but I just had to. The girl who was working this morning (I’m mad that I completely forgot her name) had a very busy store and managed everything so well. She was so patient with each and every kid and gave each kiddo the same amount of time and didn’t rush through the process. She literally had the patience of a saint!
-
June 2023 by Kelly Taranto
Perfect place and pricing for a kids birthday party. Staff was wonderful.
-
May 2023 by Elora Campos
Terrible experience. Honestly they need more charismatic people at the store. You literally work with children and have zero sympathy for the little ones. It was my two girls birthday, we picked the birthday bear and went to the line. The operator didn’t listen to what we asked for at all and kept ignoring our request. We said cuddly and soft but he made the bear super stuffed. Then the bear got ripped, I said I want another one. Be proceeds to tell me with attitude it’s not a big deal and they can sew it. I said well I dont want to and would like a new one. He kept saying it’s not a big deal and Im going to have to take out the cushion and take out the recorder and our name was on the tag. I said thats ok we can wait, he rolled his eyes and said “okaaay, it’s really not a big deal hut whatever”. Jeez, what a terrible experience. I actually took out the stuffing and the recording in 5 seconds. Such lazy worker, extremely unhelpful. I also said it was the girls birthday and they told me at the desk they would get a sticker and a hat and he also choose to ignore that as well. I have 5 kids, but to be honest I will not come back and do not recommend this store to anyone! Very bad service. The other guy Jose was a lot more friendlier and did the second bear for us with no problem.
-
April 2023 by Joe Scalise
Way overpriced but the kids enjoy it
