Hamleys demo lady left dd 6 in tears.

[Bornfreebutinbiscuits]

Summer hols day out, theatre and hamleys.

Having fun trying all the toys on display and v small budget to buy a toy.

Older dd goes to lady for hand tattoo. I asked younger if she wanted one she was shy and said no. However once older has one she wants one. So she gets in position and very curtly lady says 'no. Its not a freebie for all children it's a demo. I can't do another child' no smiles, no kindness and she looked as hard as nails as dd face crumpled and starts to cry.

Not a big cry! In the past they have always dine both dc, in hamleys and harrods.
And we have actually brought the set into the past but it's the fun and part of the toy shop experience to have something done there!

Not the experience I expected from hamleys of all places. Or was she right!

People almost unanimously think OP was a cheeky F.

Another one saying: 'no, we don't.'

It is ‘retail theatre’, not just ‘theatre’. It’s an experiential way to shop, involving some demos, which the OP got.

Oh yes we do.

Oh no thread has turned into a punch and Judy show and its not free entertainment for you all oh dear!

YABU. Also if i posted about everything that had made my 5yo cry today it would be a loooong post (hes tired).

One child got, not the other.

One child got, not the other.

You got the demo. That’s what they were offering. 🙄

The ones who don’t think op was a CF won’t be the type of customer they’re trying to cultivate, Carol.

Most people wouldn’t take against Hamleys because someone bleated on about not being allowed two bites at the cherry for a toy they had no intention of buying.

One child got it, the other got a dose of negative energy and bad feeling.

But, we did leave the store having purchased some stuff..
So the overall intention of the business was for filled.
Dd wanted to return to do build bear for her bday but we won't go back there now, we will find another one.
I think anyone in toys, talking to a child like that is bad cs but hamleys has a big reputation. It's a destination store people travel too, go out of their way to visit.
If this was a random demo in sainsbury I wouldn't have been happy but it's the context here. Ie I wouldn't expect much of demo in sainsburys.

One child got it, the other got a dose of negative energy and bad feeling.

From you!

high dose of negative energy . They heard the word no.

I don't think she was a CF. I take my children to Hamleys at least once a month and ds saves up to buy Oxford Diecast Cars for his model railway layout. They have a great selection there. Dd also had a party at Build a bear there as well. Are you saying I am not the kind of customer they want 😲? My money certainly seems to be accepted gladly enough and we've never had anything but positive experiences there apart from the adult visitor - not a Hamleys employee to be clear, who shoved my teenage autistic son after he bumped into him accidentally. I've certainly never witnessed what the OP describes which makes me think it's not usual or desired behaviour.

Nope. Myself and dh brushed it off, and moved on. Jollied her along.
. The negativity and unpleasant behaviour came from her

Carol, to be fair we have found the other staff to be what one would expect.

It's the specific way she spoke directly to dd that took me aback.

YANBU. Mumsnet seems obsessed with jumping on people as being entitled and grabby, but if there wasn't enough product to demo they can be kind about it, it hurts no-one.
Hamleys has sold itself as different to other stores, that's a big selling point for them or they would be no different from toys R Us. I think it helps to build a good reputation. I was treated like shit in Harrods as a teenager for no reason and so now even if I have money to spend I will never go back. Of course it's no big deal to them in the scheme of things but I could have been life long customer if it had been a good experience.

Yes, it sounds like she was rude, but some people are rude. She should have handled it better, but what do you want? It’s done, so no point in fretting over it.

About 20 years ago my brother briefly worked doing demos in Hamleys. I had completely forgotten about that.

Well that's good OP. Maybe try in fit in the Harrods toy hall sometime. It's smaller than it used to be since the refurb but still worth a visit and the food hall and Cafe Godiva - chocolate cafe are well worth a visit too. My kids also love the Egyptian staircase and having a quick lie down on the Fendi beds . Great fun.

OP I understand your point about thinking Hamleys could offer more in demos as customers will spend elsewhere. But a lot of the "stalls" selling and demonstrating particular things are actually independents who rent space at Hamleys. They do not care if you buy elsewhere in the store. What they care about is their small business.

Yes but the outcome is still the same to a six year old.

Do you really believe this, or are you just trying to argue? That a child reacts only to the words said, and not the language or the tone?

You're living in a different universe from me, if so. The way an adult frames a disappointment makes all the difference IME. And, they don't need to be an arse about it!

The logical conclusion of what you're saying is that if you're going to disappoint a child, it doesn't matter what you say.

"No shreddies for breakfast, bitch suck it up!"

vs

"We'll have to get shreddies from the shop after school. Would you like porridge this morning?"

No difference, then?

Nobody working in a toy store should EVER make a child cry!! Of course if she’s doing shiny hand tattoos all the kids will want one, that’s the entire point. If she doesn’t like that then she should get a job somewhere she can be miserable. Have you complained to Hamleys OP? They may be able to give you a voucher or something.

If this was a random demo in sainsbury I wouldn't have been happy but it's the context here. Ie I wouldn't expect much of demo in sainsburys

TBF my Sainsbury's experience sounds much better than your Hamleys one @Bornfreebutinbiscuits.

I went there yesterday morning and as usual, there was a free food promotion. This one was Lindt Excellence chocolate. I didn't jostle like the cheapskate riff raff some people on this thread are horrified by.

Instead, I was greeted cheerily by the saleswoman. I told her no thanks because I'd just cleaned my teeth and didn't fancy chocolate at 9am.

She put generous chunks of all her flavours into a pot for me to try at home. My husband ate it last night. He's a bigger chocolate fan than me and he liked all of them. I might buy it for him in future, though she didn't know that.

But she was playing the game: speculate to accumulate.

Nope. Myself and dh brushed it off, and moved on. Jollied her along.

Great. She was fine then and no harm done. The woman did her job. Your DD could easily have had the tattoo if it meant enough to you to spend your budget on it. It didn’t.

Great, someone’s now encouraging op to complain, and you might get a voucher

The demonstrator had already speculated, limited, and op hadn’t bitten.
Why don’t you try your luck in Sainsbury’s again tomorrow and see if she’s happy to provide you with more free chocolate when you still haven’t bought any?

Why don’t you try your luck in Sainsbury’s again tomorrow and see if she’s happy to provide you with more free chocolate when you still haven’t bought any?

She will be, though. Her job will be to stand in Sainsbury’s and hand out chocolate for 8 hours until the end of her shift. Why would she care who gets free chocolate?

The posters here comparing this to food samples in a supermarket have clearly forgotten to give this any simple economic thought: that the tattoos are one-off, impulse purchases selected on rare trips to the store; that the salesperson’s job is to sell, not simply market a product; that the salesperson is on commission; that the salesperson isn’t employed by the store. Etc.

Apples and oranges.