Yesterday, Thursday July 12th was Build-A-Bear's special price day where they allowed customers to pay for your bear with the price of your child's age. It was a great idea but one they were not anticipating would create such chaos...Sure you can expect some lines and to wait your turn but Build-A-Bear was not anticipating the high volume of customers that showed up. Parents and children flocked to the stores across America and the UK in such a high capacity police had to be called and some customers were turned away at numerous locations among the two countries.
For those who don't know what Build-A-Bear is, it was established in 1997 and it is a store where children and adults alike can come into the store and literally "build their own bear". They get to choose an animal, watch and partake in the stuffing of it, pick out it's clothes and accessories, and then get to name it! Kids love this place! I love this place! When I was little I remember going to Build-A-Bear birthday parties and it was AWESOME! So much fun! I still have some bears that I made or were made for me for a special occassion like graduation or get well soon bear. I can see why parents and kids would come out in droves to the stores! Build-A-Bear should have anticipated or planned better. Maybe put a cap on the hours and say between 12noon and 5pm "first come first serve" so people understand there is a chance they might not get a bear. Because this was the first time ever they did this, there were a couple kinks, big kinks that needed to be worked out...
The large crowds turned into a safety concern and so the stores had to shut their doors. Kids were left crying without getting bears after some waiting as long as 8 hours. Parents were naturally disappointed and outraged over their upset children. It caused a bit of a PR nightmare for Build-A-Bear. They handled damage control by offering their upset customers a $15 voucher for their Bonus Club members. What if you were a regular customer? Do you not get a voucher unless you're a member? What if you were a regular customer? Build-A-Bear put out a tweet addressing what they are doing to make up for it.
If you were a parent who tried to get a bear with your child, we'd love to hear your experience! Tell us in the comments!
-Producer Lightning