A mother of three bought a boxed Fisher-Price Stand 'n Ride Duo Stroller off the showroom floor of the local Toys R Us. Street value: $150.
When they got home and opened the box, eight boxes of Legos Bionicles fell out. Street value: $320, and much more eBay-able than a stroller.
So after dinner, mom and kids troop back to TRU for the 2-hour explanation/escalation/exchange ordeal. On the phone, dad Googles around for the instruction manual, in case so they decide to take the floor model home. He finds online discussions of product recalls and defects--whoa--and so they just get a refund and go home, exhausted and stroller-less.
Dad then writes the whole thing up in a sardonic post on his blog.
Shopping at a customer-service-challenged bigbox retailer sure sucks, especially when you get broadsided by their wacky, box-swapping antics. BUT--and I don't want to sound like too much of a dick here--the dude's stomach's acting up after his after-dinner bikeride, so his wife goes back to the store, fine. But why do the three kids have to go back? Brother can't even watch them for an hour from his deathcouch?
And also, why does his online research only come after the stroller purchase? TRU's behavior is inexcusable, but I don't think the dad here has really earned the right to tell this story as his own.
Not to mention the missed opportunity for a truly spectacular blog post about building a double stroller out of robotic Legos. Just think of the possibilities.
Lego Stroller [ericcarroll via consumerist]
Previously: Fisher-Price Active Gear Strollers For Where You LIVE: The Mall
Okay, so I am the above mentioned mother of three with the stroller woes. First off, my husband is an incredible father who spends more time with his children than most men would ever even think of. Secondly, the internet research done after the purchase was my fault, see as a mother of three I do not always have the time to do a lot of research. I saw a stroller that I liked, it seemed to fit my needs and seeing as how it was being sold at a large supposedly well respected retailer I did not ever consider that it had been recalled. It was a funny, yet annoying event that my husband shared, and yes, you do sound like a jerk.
[welcome to the site, thanks for clearing things up. -ed.]
This is more reason why I avoid going to Toys R Us ever. I only have one kid (at least for another couple of weeks) but I swear I get unbelievably angry every time I venture into one of these stores. Or Babies R Us. If it's not the helpful staff, it's the customers. Sheesh.
TRU really does suck. They have lousy LOUSY customer service, especially for their online division. Orders are cancelled on a whim, shipping prices are astronomical, I HATE them with the fire of 100 burning suns.
Target is second with online suckitude, I waited 3 1/2 weeks for a stroller toy to arrive. Not ok.
BUSTED! haha, this story really made me laugh, especially the fact that the mom of the story wrote in. Yeah, I was wondering why Italian food + bike ride = not watching the kids, but there you go.
What about the TRU employee who thought he was going to walk away with a box full of Legos for $150? Dude probably got stuck with a stroller.
[yeah, and how the mgr was all, "oh, it was packed to be sent back to Lego." about it. -ed.]
What an interesting story, it's a bit worrying to find out that TRU are just as abysmal on the other side of the pond.
However, I'd have kept the lego and waited for my little darlings to construct their own strollers!!!