Fisher-Price won't be under my Christmas Tree

[threeboysmom]

OP, I do understand your frustration and I do understand why you called Fisher Price directly.

However... your decision to "boycott" anything FP is simply punishing YOURSELF since they make such great toys for kids far more than punishing the company.

 

[WDSearcher]

The reason I called Fisher-Price was the toy was a gift to my daughter. As such my mother has the receipt. Also I did not keep the cardboard box. Ultimately, I wanted the company to know they had a defective product, and it is possible that the "batch" was problemed.

I am not going to deceive the store, I am merely going to buy a new one and return the broken one as broken. It will get charged back to Fisher-Price.

I was just completely disappointed in the customer service I received. This is the first time I have ever called Fisher Price regarding a toy and like I said I will be revisiting my Christmas list and excluding their products. Silly me I just expeced a company to want to stand behind their product.........

The bolded part above is where you go overboard, to me. This was the FIRST time you had EVER called regarding a toy. You had a bad customer service rep. And because of this ONE instance, you are now excluding every single product the company makes. That seems extreme.

It would be like walking into WDW, meeting ONE grouchy CM, and deciding to never go back to any Disney park again.

Just because this one customer service rep did do her job well doesn't mean that the entire company doesn't want to stand behind their product.

 

[akcire]

The bolded part above is where you go overboard, to me. This was the FIRST time you had EVER called regarding a toy. You had a bad customer service rep. And because of this ONE instance, you are now excluding every single product the company makes. That seems extreme.

It would be like walking into WDW, meeting ONE grouchy CM, and deciding to never go back to any Disney park again.

Just because this one customer service rep did do her job well doesn't mean that the entire company doesn't want to stand behind their product.

The customer service representative being grouchy was a fact of the day.

The initial policy to have a customer return a defective toy at the customers expense is where as a company I feel the customer service policy has failed. Then after I put up a stink the lady offered to cover the postage, but my daughter would be out the toy for 3-4 weeks. No thank you.

There are other company's that make similar products. I will make my daughter happy without Fisher-Price.

Clearly as consumers many of you find this level of customer serive to be satisfactory, I however do not nor do I wish to reward Fisher-Price with continued purchases this holiday season. Instead I can buy little tykes, playschool, haba, leapfrog, v-tech----there are many non-Fisher Price options.

 

[msjprincess]

In fact, I'd do it that way too - return the defective toy as defective and get a new one. Why mislead the store, since this wasn't their fault in any way?

Who said anything about misleading the store?

 

[daughtersrus]

OP, I do understand your frustration and I do understand why you called Fisher Price directly.

However... your decision to "boycott" anything FP is simply punishing YOURSELF since they make such great toys for kids far more than punishing the company.

I agree. Not only do they make Fisher Price but Mattle's line includes Disney, Hot Wheels, American Girl, Barbie, Polly Pocket, Pixter and a lot more...
My kids have enjoyed them over the years!

The customer service representative being grouchy was a fact of the day.

The initial policy to have a customer return a defective toy at the customers expense is where as a company I feel the customer service policy has failed. Then after I put up a stink the lady offered to cover the postage, but my daughter would be out the toy for 3-4 weeks. No thank you.

There are other company's that make similar products. I will make my daughter happy without Fisher-Price.

Clearly as consumers many of you find this level of customer serive to be satisfactory, I however do not nor do I wish to reward Fisher-Price with continued purchases this holiday season. Instead I can buy little tykes, playschool, haba, leapfrog, v-tech----there are many non-Fisher Price options.

That may not be the company policy. As I said, the rep that I had offered me a coupon for MSRP and told me that I could keep the toy if I wanted. They only needed the codes off of the bottom which I gave her over the phone.

 

[WDSearcher]

The customer service representative being grouchy was a fact of the day.

The initial policy to have a customer return a defective toy at the customers expense is where as a company I feel the customer service policy has failed. Then after I put up a stink the lady offered to cover the postage, but my daughter would be out the toy for 3-4 weeks. No thank you.

There are other company's that make similar products. I will make my daughter happy without Fisher-Price.

Clearly as consumers many of you find this level of customer serive to be satisfactory, I however do not nor do I wish to reward Fisher-Price with continued purchases this holiday season. Instead I can buy little tykes, playschool, haba, leapfrog, v-tech----there are many non-Fisher Price options.

Certainly your daughter will be happy without FP. Lots of toys out there. The thing to me is that you are assuming that FP condones the actions of this one rep without even, say, calling back one time to speak to someone else. I'm sure if FP knew that's how a customer service person acted, they'd have a problem with it.

I get the part about the postage, but 3-4 weeks is pretty standard. What did you expect? That they'd get the package from you and instantly turn around and send you a new one? If that's what you wanted, then you return it to the store and let the store deal with the defective toy. If your point in calling -- as you said upthread -- was to inform the company that this toy was defective so they could check others in the batch, then why the big stink over a very standard 3-4 week turn-around?

 

[PatMcDuck]

Broken toys should be returned to the retailer. The store then applies for credit from the manufacturer in some cases, other times they just absorb the loss.

I have only contacted manufacturers if a toy is older and I need parts. Fisher Price used to be fantastic about carrying parts for their toys, including some for toys that were not longer sold. They even had a catalog back then listing all the parts they carried.

However, FP should not be rude, they should just instruct you to return it to the store.

 

[rchristiansen]

The customer service representative being grouchy was a fact of the day.

The initial policy to have a customer return a defective toy at the customers expense is where as a company I feel the customer service policy has failed. Then after I put up a stink the lady offered to cover the postage, but my daughter would be out the toy for 3-4 weeks. No thank you.

There are other company's that make similar products. I will make my daughter happy without Fisher-Price.

Clearly as consumers many of you find this level of customer serive to be satisfactory, I however do not nor do I wish to reward Fisher-Price with continued purchases this holiday season. Instead I can buy little tykes, playschool, haba, leapfrog, v-tech----there are many non-Fisher Price options.

It's not satisfactory, but it is what it is. They are a business, not a charity.

---
I, agree, that your decision to boycott the WHOLE company is overboard. As someone said, you are punishing yourself and your kid. Don't set yourself up for it.

Also, just some free unasked parental advice: You will have to deal with this stuff for the next 18 years - making decisions as to what you want your kids and family to be involved in, exposed to, etc. Don't let something so trivial be the start of a huge lifetime decision. There will be plenty of those soon enough.

 

[Missy1961]

The customer service representative being grouchy was a fact of the day.

The initial policy to have a customer return a defective toy at the customers expense is where as a company I feel the customer service policy has failed. Then after I put up a stink the lady offered to cover the postage, but my daughter would be out the toy for 3-4 weeks. No thank you.

There are other company's that make similar products. I will make my daughter happy without Fisher-Price.

Clearly as consumers many of you find this level of customer serive to be satisfactory, I however do not nor do I wish to reward Fisher-Price with continued purchases this holiday season. Instead I can buy little tykes, playschool, haba, leapfrog, v-tech----there are many non-Fisher Price options.

The reason they would charge you is because you have the option to return it to the store if it's a 2 week old toy. You could have informed the retailer that it is defective, and they would have returned it to FP & let them know. But you threw out the box & your mom has the receipt. (mom should have gotten you a gift receipt, almost every store has them now. and I always hold on to boxes for a bit, just in case....) And then you decided to call FP & you weren't happy with their response, which I understand. And again, next time you'll know to ask for a supervisor or hang up & call again. But in my experience, the 3-4 week turnaround is normal. They aren't going to take your word for it that the toy is defective. They want to see it first, then they'll ship you a new one.

And I have to say that boycotting FP after 1 bad experience is overkill. Many of the FP toys I got as a kid (and I'm 50!) still look good & work fine.

 

[kwelch10377]

Clearly as consumers many of you find this level of customer serive to be satisfactory, I however do not nor do I wish to reward Fisher-Price with continued purchases this holiday season. Instead I can buy little tykes, playschool, haba, leapfrog, v-tech----there are many non-Fisher Price options.

I don't think it is a case that we find the level of customer servcie satisfactory, we just don't consider ONE instance of unsatisfactory service basis for boycotting a company.

I am just wondering how you are going to handle things when someone gives your daughter a Fisher Price toy as a gift and you have to tell her she can't have it or once she is old enough to play Barbies how you are going to tell her "Sorry you can't have those bc mommy is boycotting the company that makes them".

 

[Coconut36]

Who said anything about misleading the store?

I agree. I have worked retail off and on and it's no big deal to return an item as defective. The store has process/procedures with the manufacturers and sends it back to them and gets credited for the merchandise. No big deal.

I have had a great experience with FP and our Laugh and Learn house when I went to replace the stickers/items that went with it they happily and kindly replaced them at no cost to me at all and were nothing but nice.

One shouldn't judge a company on a single experience with one agent much less ban their products.

 

[luvmy3]

The customer service representative being grouchy was a fact of the day.

The initial policy to have a customer return a defective toy at the customers expense is where as a company I feel the customer service policy has failed. Then after I put up a stink the lady offered to cover the postage, but my daughter would be out the toy for 3-4 weeks. No thank you.

There are other company's that make similar products. I will make my daughter happy without Fisher-Price.

Clearly as consumers many of you find this level of customer serive to be satisfactory, I however do not nor do I wish to reward Fisher-Price with continued purchases this holiday season. Instead I can buy little tykes, playschool, haba, leapfrog, v-tech----there are many non-Fisher Price options.

That is a pretty standard practice in many companies so before purchasing from some of the ones you listed, be sure to check just in case.
And really, your baby is 6 months old, are they really going to care that they don't have that toy for 3-4 weeks? Like others have said, it was still within the time frame to be brought back to the store, she really didn't have to be without it for that long anyway.

 

[DebIreland]

I am not sure why you called the manufacturer in the first place. I would have just taken it back to the store if it was only a week since I bought it. Why was that not an option?

I agree. I always take a defective product to the point of purchase, not to the manufacturer. The only time I didn't do that was when I couldn't find my sales receipt for a tv so I called Samsung directly and they honoured it because they knew it was in warranty going by the date of manufacture! Generally, it's back to the store with it though.

 

[pigletgirl]

Wow. Is this your first baby? What happens if a family member decides to buy her a FP toy? Is the world going to end?

Don't you have other things to be more concerned about rather than a rude FP customer rep?

 

[LuLuO]

I had to call FP to return one of the pink Little People castles. DD got one for Christmas from a family member and it stopped working after a few days. TRU would not take it back because I had no box or receipt. Had to call FP and after a bit of a run around, they agreed to send me a new one. Had the new one within two weeks and was told to throw the old one away. It is still working great after 3 years.

 

[DVCLiz]

It's not satisfactory, but it is what it is. They are a business, not a charity.

---
I, agree, that your decision to boycott the WHOLE company is overboard. As someone said, you are punishing yourself and your kid. Don't set yourself up for it.

Also, just some free unasked parental advice: You will have to deal with this stuff for the next 18 years - making decisions as to what you want your kids and family to be involved in, exposed to, etc. Don't let something so trivial be the start of a huge lifetime decision. There will be plenty of those soon enough.

I am just wondering how you are going to handle things when someone gives your daughter a Fisher Price toy as a gift and you have to tell her she can't have it or once she is old enough to play Barbies how you are going to tell her "Sorry you can't have those bc mommy is boycotting the company that makes them".

OP, this is excellent advice. I hope you can take a minute, take a deep breath, and decide you are probably over-reacting. You have a long, long, LONG way to go in your parenting journey if your child is only 6.5 months old. Please get some perspective from this thread and make it easier on yourself in the long run. Maybe you could adopt a three strikes and you're out policy instead of this harsh banned for life stance you are currently taking.

Because you are going to want to be able to buy that sweet baby her first American Girl doll so she can go to the tea party with her friends and if she has to say, "Mommy won't buy that for me because when I was a baby someone at Fisher-Price was rude to her on the phone" she is going to think you are crazy. And it is hard enough to deal with a preteen without adding fuel to the fire.

 

[mpls_mm]

I own a retail store and have to deal with people that buy something super cheap online or on Ebay or a garage sale and then expect me to repair or replace it free of charge. If it is my customer I will eat the shipping of sending it back to the manufacturer and give my customer a new one but why should I do that for someone that didn't purchase it from me in the first place? Why don't people go to the original purchase place? I hear from them it's because they don't answer the phone or tell them what they want to hear. Or sometimes people out and out lie, I bought this from you when I know it's something I have never sold or they say it has been more recent than it really was. If your mom has the receipt, just return it where she got it from. Don't stick some unwitting retailer with it. I am also an authorized repair center but that doesn't mean I have to take back or repair anything a certain company makes, it's at my discretion, and the quickest way to get me to say no and try to get something done is to be dishonest.

 

[wdw_girl_18]

I bought a fisher price toy- some kind of race track, can't remember the exact name. It was missing a ramp. They said they did not have the ramp in the replacement parts yet so they would mail me out a whole new race track! They did not want the one with missing parts back. They were very nice and helpful. I would try calling them back and getting a new person to talk to.

 

[mdsoccermom]

I can't even imagine a childhood with out Fisher Price toys in it.

 

[bumbershoot]

The customer service representative being grouchy was a fact of the day.

The initial policy to have a customer return a defective toy at the customers expense is where as a company I feel the customer service policy has failed. Then after I put up a stink the lady offered to cover the postage, but my daughter would be out the toy for 3-4 weeks. No thank you.

There are other company's that make similar products. I will make my daughter happy without Fisher-Price.

Clearly as consumers many of you find this level of customer serive to be satisfactory, I however do not nor do I wish to reward Fisher-Price with continued purchases this holiday season. Instead I can buy little tykes, playschool, haba, leapfrog, v-tech----there are many non-Fisher Price options.

You didn't have to return it at your big expense. Ask your mom for the re opt, take it back to the store, and THEY will follow their procedures to get it back to FP. Returns for defects aren't ignored...

Your little baby won't miss the toy much. And you guys can certainly help her work on sitting up without the toy...just playing with her helps her get those skills.

Haba toys is great! Go with them because they are excellent, not because FP disappointed you. But...learn how to return things properly. Calling the manufacturer for a toy inside the return period isn't the right way to do it.

Just in case you aren't already subscribed, be sure to sig up for recall notices through the CPSC! That and "pay attention because it goes by quickly" are the best bits of helpful info I got.