Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has 123 locations, listed below.

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  Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.

  415 S 18th St Ste 102 Saint Louis, MO 63103-2269

  
• 

  Build a Bear Workshop

  14700 E Indiana Ave Spc 1126 Spokane Vly, WA 99216

• 

  Build-A-Bear, Inc.

  1250 Baltimore Pike Springfield, PA 19064

• 

  Build-A-Bear

  2901 Cap of Tx Hwy S Austin, TX 78746

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  Build-A-Bear, Inc.

  228 Park City Center Lancaster, PA 17601

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/03/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I went to the Build-A-Bear Workshop in ************* to make a bear, and they printed my bear's birth certificate from a malfunctioning, ill-maintained machine that failed to produce a clean, complete background and print of the certificate. the bear was very expensive, and this certificate was part of my purchase. When I complained, I was told "we only have one printer", and the store staff did not know how (or simply refused) to maintain it by putting in more toner to make a good print! The staff guy also folded my certificate in half to stuff it into my bear bag without my permission, so now it is creased! I wanted to display it in a frame, and that ruined it. As a customer, I should not have to suffer for poorly-maintained store equipment, and poorly-trained staff - especially at the only Workshop within many hundreds of miles of my home, and at a major tourist attraction (******* in **). I had to fly out the next day, and the store staff knew I couldn't come back to complain to management, and so were rude to me. I would like my birth certificate for my bear that I paid for properly and completely reprinted, and sent to me FLAT, without being folded.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/06/2022

  A new birth certificate is being sent to ******** for her bear. Thank you!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/07/2022

  Complaint: 18163123
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  Although I did receive a prompt email response from the company, and a promise of a new, properly-printed birth certificate for my bear, I have not as yet received either the certificate (which I expect to arive flat, uncreased/unbent, etc), nor any tracking number for that item.

   

  I will hold open this complaint until the matter is truly resolved, at which time i will make appropriate comments here also.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/18/2022

  The company finally sent me a birth certificate for my bear via regular mail, and also in a plain large envelope that was not reinforced, and did not have "Do Not Bend" written on it.  It was only by providence that it was not damaged in transit.  Also, the new birth certificate did not match the design of the one I got at the workshop despite my sending an actual photo of it to the company as part of the information they requested. This disappointed me because my original (but defective) birth certificate for my bear was a "25th Anniversary" special edition print!

  Nevertheless, I consider the issue resolved.  I do hope when I go back to the build-a-bear in *************, that the quality of printing and customer service will be improved!
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/02/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Earlier this year, 4/15/22, I took my 4 kids in to get stuffed animals and accessories. One of my daughter's got the Pastel bear, along with several accessories. When we got home she showed me that the foot stitching was loose and the foot was halfway falling off. So next chance I got I took it back to the store and they told me they could stitch it in house. Almost immediately the stitching came loose and I had to take it back again. With the faulty nature of the stuffed bear I asked for an exchange and was told they don't do exchanges, but would stitch it again. After they stitched it, I immediately put a medical wrap around it so my daughter could pretend it had come back from the doctor. She was out of town when it got fixed this time, and when she got home and took off the wrap, the stitching was not fixed. It had been wrapped, no one had played with it, and still it was not fixed. The store refused to replace it despite being unable to repair it. One of their employees even told me that the spot that was having trouble is a hard spot to fix. When I contacted customer service, they refused to help. They said it was past 90 days so I couldn't exchange, even though I had been in multiple times within 90 days and had been told they didn't do exchanges by the store. They refuse to do anything about my daughter's faulty stuffed bear, and she won't play with it because she's afraid it will fall apart again. After months of not responding to my emails, they finally responded that they were going to offer me a $10 voucher, but that doesn't cover the cost of the bear my daughter won't play with. That doesn't cover the time and money going back and forth to their store for repairs that never held. That doesn't cover the lies of in-store employees telling us that they didn't do exchanges and pushing us off until we were outside of the window where we actually could have. That doesn't cover 6 months of my daughter not being able to use the bear she was so excited for.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/04/2022

  We forwarded a gift card to **** to replace the damaged bear. Thank you!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/09/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************