My family is done expanding and so I went off to St. Cloud/Waite Park, which is about an hour away a week ago, Friday. I thought I’d try and get rid of some baby equipment and a few clothing items that got missed in storage earlier. I have given away most items, but there are some that I was hoping to get a little back on investment and visited Once Upon a Child.
I had been there once before to sell a baby swing over a year ago. I got $10 for a swing that I had purchased for $25. I had to wait under an hour and the associate certainly wasn’t super friendly, but I got in and out with what I feel was a reasonable amount of time.
I arrived about 1:30 p.m. to Once Upon a Child and after hauling all my items in with my daughter, I was then told I could come back a few minutes before they closed at 8 p.m. or tomorrow. Sheesh! I didn’t realize it would take that long! Why the didn’t warn me at the beginning for the excessive amount of time needed??
There were four female employees in the store at the time. I was in town for a 2:30 p.m. dental appt. for my daughter and to fulfill a small shopping list. I contemplated taking everything back out of the store, but figured I would then be late then for the appointment.
Thankfully, my hubby had got off work that afternoon to watch the two youngest children at home so it was just my oldest and I. I tried to make a day of it with my daughter by seeing Frankenweenie, the new Disney movie by Tim Burton. As not quite a six-year-old, a few parts of the movie were a bit scary for her. It did have a good story line – a boy’s devotion to his best friend, his dog, and the reciprocated feelings from his beloved pet. It is done in black and white, in typical Tim Burton fashion, with some great celebrity voices. We did a little shopping too to kill the time.
I arrived back at Once Upon a Child a few minutes after 7 p.m., just to see if by chance they were done early. Nope, had not looked at any of my items yet. My items were still by the front counter, near the store entrance. They had been there all day, a location that could be easily accessed by children coming into the store.
My daughter and I went to a KMart nearby to kill time and checked in again at 7:45 p.m. I did have some items they would buy and some they would not. I had a Fisher Price Bright Beginnings Baby Basketball 
in the mix and I asked one of the three gals working the store where the three balls were that I brought it in with when loading up the items they would not buy. I was told by one of the women, “if it had the balls, we would have bought it.” I told them the colors of the three balls (blue, yellow, and green) and I knew they were brought in with the stand when I came initially to the store. I would not have brought it in to the store if it was missing parts.
None of the three associates would apologize or even lift a finger and attempt to help look for the missing balls. Two of the associates continued folding and pricing clothes. There was one family checking out with the third associate at the cash register. There was a mess of toys visible upon entrance in the north end of the shop at the time. Granted, it was near closing, but I thought it would have been better maintained throughout the day.
I know this is a business that sells products, but customer service plays a big part in its success too. I was very disappointed with the service. Granted, maybe I should have taped the balls to the toy, but I did not expect the plastic balls to be lost off the toy. I thought they would have been responsible and fair, not lacking empathy. I took home my basketball stand with now the missing plastic balls and other items they would not buy and hope to never return to Once Upon a Child.
I calculated what I was given for items sold to Once Upon a Child that day compared to their prices currently as new and I was given 2-16% of that price.
