Bear promotion creates PANDAMONIUM
Demand forces customers to be cut off by 11 a.m.
Parents and their little ones were sent away after a crushing number of people swarmed Build-A-Bear stores in South Florida on Thursday for a teddy bear promotion.
Lines topped 1,000 people in Coral Springs alone, police said.
It was a scene that was repeated at stores throughout the rest of the country, Canada and the United Kingdom, where Build-A-Bear Workshop organized a Pay Your Age Day event that involved buying a stuffed animal for a number amount based on your child’s age — making the teddy almost free for toddlers. Bears typically start at about $12.
Around 11 a.m., however, the St. Louisbased company posted on its Facebook page that lines would be closed: “Per local authorities, we cannot accept additional
Guests at our locations due to crowds and safety concerns. We have closed lines in our U.S. and Canada stores. We understand some Guests are disappointed and we will reach out directly as soon as possible.”
A Build-A-Bear spokesperson could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Coral Springs Police Officer Tyler Reik, a spokesman for the agency, said there were “no issues” at Coral Square mall but that police assisted with crowd control. He said Build-A-Bear had to close the line and turn parents away.
Build-A-Bear also has locations inside Pembroke Lakes Mall, The Mall at Wellington Green, The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens and The Falls in Miami.
The line in Wellington reached 700 people at one point Thursday, according to Teri Barbera, with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
One local mom was able to snag a bear and a dog, though unstuffed, at Coral Square mall. Coral Springs resident Hilary Del Dotto said she arrived with her daughter and nephew, both 2, at 8:30 a.m. — about a halfhour before the early opening — and there were already 30 families in line.
Del Dotto said the store allowed two or three families in the door at a time. They waited about two hours.
“It was tough, but I came prepared with snacks and tablets,” she said. “The line ended up through the mall, outside. I couldn’t believe it.”
Once inside, there was another line to stuff the bears. The children chose their stuffies, she paid, and they’ll come back another time to complete the toys.
“Two hours was my daughter’s limit,” she said. “It was a madhouse.”
Gary Malone, of Tamarac, made the cutoff in the line before employees shut it down. He was accompanied by his daughter and two grandchildren, who range in age from 2-6.
He declined $15 vouchers to “tap out” and come back another day. His wait included 1 ½ hours in a line that snaked around the mall’s perimeter. “It’s been more pleasant once we made it in the A/C,” he said.
Over at Pembroke Lakes Mall, Melanie Woodward also waited in line for about 1 ½ hours.
The Pembroke Pines resident said she and her 2-year-old twins and 10-year-old niece got there more than a half-hour before opening and opted to take the stuffed animals home unstuffed and return anoth- er day.
“The lines when we left were ridiculous,” she said. “It looked like hundreds” of people.
Just before 4 p.m., the company posted on its Facebook page that people turned away were given vouchers.
“Our first-ever Pay Your Age Day event generated an overwhelming response resulting in long lines, extensive waits, and disappointed Guests,” the company wrote. “We understand that many Guests were turned away due to safety concerns created by the crowds when authorities in certain locations closed Build-A-Bear stores or we were forced to limit the line. Given these circumstances we were unable to serve all of our Guests for the event.”
While the lines were cut off at stores throughout the United States and Canada, stores had to be closed in the United Kingdom because Build-A-Bear could not keep up with the demand, according to BBC reports. Shoppers there described it as “chaos.”
The company celebrated 20 years in 2017. That same year, it also made the Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the ninth consecutive year, according to its website.