Hundreds Of Parents And Children Flood Build-A-Bear In Modesto
MODESTO (CBS13) — Chaos at the mall, hundreds of parents and their children rush to malls across the country including the Vintage Faire Mall in Modesto to get their hands on a popular teddy bear.
It's not just a teddy bear. It's a Build-A-Bear. The company offering a special deal for Thursday only, but things got out of hand fast.
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It almost felt like Black Friday inside the Vintage Faire Mall where hundreds stop by to take part in a special summer deal.
Raj Sahota of Modesto waited four hours outside the Build-A-Bear Workshop. She walked away with two bears for her children, spending only four dollars.
"I think (it was worth it) so, they got the ones that they wanted and that was what we wanted so at least we got our first choice," she said.
Sahota has been to the Build-A-Bear Workshop before but didn't become a member until she saw a promotion the company was offering. She immediately signed up and so did thousands of other parents.
"I think there was probably another way to do it, maybe they could of given out vouchers early, like maybe they could have gone online, the first 500 people to sign up and then they could have given time slots, you know come this time during this day," she said.
Build-A-Bear decided to give parents a break on pricing for one day only. The deal, parents had to enroll in the free bonus club rewards program in order to pay for a bear based on the age of their child. The promotion generated an overwhelming response.
"We've been here since 7:30 in the morning, and so it was intense," said Nicole Bravo of Modesto.
Massive lines all around the country forced some retail companies to close off lines. The company released a statement to apologize. It read in part, "We understand some guests are disappointed and we will reach out directly as soon as possible."
"It's literally ridiculous, the line is actually wrapping all the way around the mall and then all the way upstairs. So, I feel kind of bad for the other stores because you can't really get into them, but oh well," said Bravo.
Those who couldn't get a bear, instead are getting vouchers. The company hopes it will allow for a better flow of traffic into the stores and cut down on waiting times.
"There was like people everywhere, kids running everywhere, but it was totally worth it, and mine was a dollar because I'm pregnant and it's cool that they honor that. I think it's really cool that they are bringing it back," she said.
The vouchers, the company says are for Build-A-Bear bonus club members. Customers will have to log into their account by midnight July 15th. The vouchers will be honored through the end of August.
