Toy store bears the brunt of chaos over cut price offer
A toy shop promotion day descended into chaos yesterday after parents at stores across the country were forced to queue for hours before being turned away empty-handed.
Hundreds of shoppers headed to the Build-a-bear store in Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh expecting to make the most of the retailer’s Pay Your Age day event where the sought after stuffed toys were being sold for as little as a few pounds. The bears usually cost around £50 at full price.
One shopper said: “There were kids everywhere and the queue tailed right back to the car park. There must have been over a thousand people there.”
Families were overheard consoling crying children as they gave up on the sale, while other frustrated shoppers were turned away after the queue was cut off around 1pm. Staff told those waiting that they could be there for another six hours until the shop closed its doors at 7pm. One father, who had been patiently waiting since 9:20am, had not even entered the shop by lunchtime.
Staff from Marks & Spencer handed out free bottles of water and sweets to the waiting hordes.
Tanya Quigg, 37, a motherof-four who planned a day trip to the Edinburgh Build-abear store from her home in Auchtermuchty with her two youngest sons, was outraged when staff closed the store after she had been waiting for five hours.
She said: “We were right at the front of the queue when a member of staff came out and started roaring at people. It was the most horrific thing I have ever experienced.”
Her 12-year-old son Thomas, who has autism, was so distressed by the scene that he retreated into a corner. When she tried to explain the situation to staff she claims they told her “it wasn’t their problem”.
She said: “It was ridiculous people were rattling the shutters after they came down. It was so badly managed.”
Last night Police Scotland
confirmed they had received calls about the “disturbance” at the shopping centre.
Another angry customer took to Twitter after being turned away from the Livingston store. She said: “Very disappointed with Build-a-bear today! Told by Livingston store we could no longer join the queue at 9.45am! Fouryear-old is very disappointed.” Similar scenes unfolded at Glasgow’s three Build-abear stores.
At Leeds’ White Rose Shopping Centre police were called when queues of “about a mile long” formed, with chaotic scenes reported in other cities including Sheffield and Birmingham.
Long queues were also seen at Build-a-bear stores in the United States where the same promotion was in place for the day.
In a statement, Build-a-bear said: “The response to our Pay Your Age Day event at all of our UK locations has been overwhelming and unprecedented in our 21-year history.
“The crowds have greatly exceeded our expectations
and, per local authorities, queues are at capacity and we cannot accept additional guests due to extreme crowds and safety concerns.
“We understand our guests are disappointed, and we are working to address the situation. We will reach out directly to our valued guests as soon as possible.”