[Joe Moore]

Toys R Us Acquires FAO Schwarz Stores

[MegaPrime33]

I haven't been in a FAO Schwarz in years. Did they sell actual known toys, like Transformers and such, or did they just do novelty stuff like giant stuffed animals and humongous keyboards?

[ZeoVGM]

I assume this makes things look better for TRU, financially?

[Joe Moore]

FAO was really dying a painful and slow death. TRU saw it as another revenue stream to help them battle Target and Walmart. They only gave their short term plans though. Who knows what they will do in the next couple years.

[ludovicotek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MegaPrime33

I haven't been in a FAO Schwarz in years. Did they sell actual known toys, like Transformers and such, or did they just do novelty stuff like giant stuffed animals and humongous keyboards?

FAO sold all toys. It was pretty much a high-end TRU. They do sell all the same stuff as you'd find in any toy aisle plus the other stuff you mentioned that are too high of a price point for the average consumer. It's pretty much a rich man's TRU.

[Snowflakian]

FAO was dying pretty slowly, but then again that's what happens when you attempt to be a high society toy store and price gouge.

And then being bought by another crap toy company that price gouges, well now it won't be long before TRU completely stops carrying toys in favor of this market crap.
It's bad enough damn near none of the employees they hire locally even knows the difference between Power Rangers, Ben 10, or Transformers.

I don't know, maybe I'd be more supportive if their alleged toy experts, actually knew jack shit about toys instead of the typical 'next truck' spiel they give. I've even tested this before, tell them a figure you know isn't made anymore, and watch what they say. Ben 10 figures especially are good for that if you use the ones before alien force to ask about. It's pretty damn funny to hear the responses. 'Oh you want vilgax? He'll be in on one of the cases soon! Probably next week! Come back or call then!'

Is it too much to ask that people who sell products, actually know things about their product? Cause IMHO, toys r us isn't far behind on the others, and it's rightfully so as much as we don't want them to go. They are driving themselves into the ground.

And with all this bitching and moaning of no shelf space for all these new lines, what do they do? They reduce even MORE, by alotting an entire massive section to R Market goods. That aren't even toys, or baby apparel, etc.

As you can tell I'm pretty fed up with dealing with Toys R Us.
And don't even get me started at how unhelpful their managers even are. I've personally watched them lecture employees for giving good customer service in front of customers, just to turn around and ask that customer if they need help. At that point it's pretty much, yeah not from you, and if you ask the employee who got lectured for giving good service, will they still give good? And if they do, are you going to be the cause of them getting lectured again? Isn't good customer service supposed to get a Pin or something? Not lectured like they did something wrong because the customer is happy and praising them?

As far as I'm concerned, Toys R Us is run by greedy pain in the ass uppity A-Holes who don't give a rats ass about the consumer, just their money. And if it wasn't for exclusives, I wouldn't even shop there. As far as I'm concerned, I want them to go out of business for their crap business ethics they use locally, but alas, they'll probably get a bail out citing the economy, when it's really their own damn fault for hiring and promoting employees who don't know wtf they are doing.

9 times out of 10 target has what I want
8 times out of 10 Walmart does.
Once toys R us did, but the manager was such a pain I put it back and went to target.
and another time, I was told MU was being put on the shelf the next morning, went in to buy some since it was a fresh case and was told they sold out. I got there right as it opened, had them check the numbers, they had two cases, oh wait the system is off, all 48 figures aren't really there or so I was told. So that store wasted two hours of my time, just to tell me 48 figures just walked off because of their incompetence. And that was a manager who tried to rationalize how two cases just up and walked off. None of the employees even knew what the line looked like.

Oh and christmas time is fun, everything in their ads, unless they have a map in their pocket for 'green' friday they don't even know where anything is. Let alone on a normal sales day, you're better off just hunting yourself, cause they're no help. And if they try to ask anyone else who may know on the walkies? They don't even get a response. Whatever happened to caring about repeat business and customer satisfaction?

Screw Toys R Us. Let walmart and target kill em. They deserve it. It's a sad sad day, when you can walk into walmart or target over toys r us, ask about a figure, and they take you right to it. Whereas at toys R Us they just stare at you blankly like "what's that?"

(I used to shop TRU pretty regularly to build my armory, now I refuse after everything I've seen from visiting it multiple times in a week. Hell, I rather pay the BBTS price gouging over shopping at TRU now.)

[Runamuck]

Hey, I work there and know the difference between Power Rangers, Bakugan and Transformers.

But then again, I'm not some cashier.... (no offense to any cashiers...)

[ludovicotek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowflakian

Is it too much to ask that people who sell products, actually know things about their product?

Amen!

I used to work at TRU and it is true that a majority of the employees don't really know about toys. But the real travesty is that TRU truly does not care about its employees. One time I was told by my manager that if I did not like my schedule I could quit and get a job somewhere else. In truth, it was only one manager. Not all of them were like that. Some actually did praise you when you did well. But still...

Anytime I go in to a TRU now the majority of employees are completely incompetent, regardless of location. Thank God there are some, vert few, knowledgeable people working there.

Oh yeah, hey Runamuck, the best thing about working TRU is the "personal layaway", yes?

[Snowflakian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludovicotek

Amen!

I used to work at TRU and it is true that a majority of the employees don't really know about toys. But the real travesty is that TRU truly does not care about its employees. One time I was told by my manager that if I did not like my schedule I could quit and get a job somewhere else. In truth, it was only one manager. Not all of them were like that. Some actually did praise you when you did well. But still...

Anytime I go in to a TRU now the majority of employees are completely incompetent, regardless of location. Thank God there are some, vert few, knowledgeable people working there.

Oh yeah, hey Runamuck, the best thing about working TRU is the "personal layaway", yes?

As long as you aren't off two days in a row. Yup

And while I love the fact of employees who know what they are doing there. I just tend to hate the fact the ones who take the time and care to help customers right get reprimanded. It's not all managers, but often enough sadly it's the ones with real power, whereas the ones actually out in the 'trenches' who know who's a good keeper or not, often enough are ignored. While the ones with power don't ever even come out on the floor to work. Just stay up in their nice lil offices, conference calls, walking out to ring to look like they do work near their lunch break.

And the worst thing I hate about them, telling employees they need to come up to ring, and then repeatedly bombarding them with asinine stuff while they are trying to do their job that they just asked them to do. Or harassing them verbally because the manager has an inferiority complex about what you know about the stuff they sell that they don't. Etc. I've seen managers question the intelligence of employees of whether or not they could read, or even bemoan said employee to customers just because they are giving them good service. It's laughable how my stores locally treat employees and customers. At several of my local stores, I can easily point out a list of who needs to be fired, trained better, or transferred. It's not even that hard to spot. But corporate won't do crap about it. Even though they have about 3-5 actual liabilities going on constantly.

I can't work for the TRUs locally. If I ever did, the first words out of my mouth when they try any of that crap would be 'You do know this state's employment laws right? Cause if you keep this up, I'm going to sue.' I've dealt with it before at other jobs, and have learned nothing changes unless you make an effort for it to change. Which obviously they don't like either.

Actually, sounds like a good idea, and would actually teach TRU to start paying attention to who they promote, and start promoting people who can do the job as opposed to promoting those who create liabilities so they can be sued. When the lawsuits start happening, I'm just going to laugh at TRU.
It's already happened once for not following child labor laws in several states. It was a class action lawsuit about in either 2001 or 2004 or both.

[ludovicotek]

@ Snowflakian: it sounds like the particular manager you are speaking of is a complete douche. Unfortunately, the higher-ups at big businesses like this are just yes-men who take it out on the lower level employees.

The GM at the TRU I worked at stated on several occasions that he hated kids and hated toys. I was like, "What the hell are you doing here, then?" How does somebody like that even end up working at a toy store?

[Runamuck]

personal layaway? Not sure what that means. Never heard of the term. What it comes down to it, the people in the front don't much...if anything about the toys around them. Talk to a stocker or the back of house folks....they're the ones that make the store run.

[scarecrow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludovicotek

@ Snowflakian: it sounds like the particular manager you are speaking of is a complete douche. Unfortunately, the higher-ups at big businesses like this are just yes-men who take it out on the lower level employees.

The GM at the TRU I worked at stated on several occasions that he hated kids and hated toys. I was like, "What the hell are you doing here, then?" How does somebody like that even end up working at a toy store?

I posted a thread about this awhile ago, but one of the last times I went to TRU I tried to explain to one the "experts" that someone had replaced the MU Iron Man with a ML Showdown Iron Man. He told me it was a variant and that they MIGHT sell it at a discounted price later. Fucker.

I told him I just thought that I would let him know, and if it mattered maybe something would come of it. The fucker just laughed at me as I walked away. What a shithead. Oh well. After that I decided I fucking hate TRU workers.

[Runamuck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scarecrow

I posted a thread about this awhile ago, but one of the last times I went to TRU I tried to explain to one the "experts" that someone had replaced the MU Iron Man with a ML Showdown Iron Man. He told me it was a variant and that they MIGHT sell it at a discounted price later. Fucker.

I told him I just thought that I would let him know, and if it mattered maybe something would come of it. The fucker just laughed at me as I walked away. What a shithead. Oh well. After that I decided I fucking hate TRU workers.

Don't hate me. not all of us are numbskulls!

[scarecrow]

But I do!

No, not really, obviously. I'm not gonna judge a whole race of "toy gurus". I only visit TRU once or twice a month... Don't have the money or the time to drive there often. And I know which assholes I hate there. I'm sure I'll have a trick question waiting if I ever go to Texas, just in case it's you

[Runamuck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scarecrow

But I do!

No, not really, obviously. I'm not gonna judge a whole race of "toy gurus". I only visit TRU once or twice a month... Don't have the money or the time to drive there often. And I know which assholes I hate there. I'm sure I'll have a trick question waiting if I ever go to Texas, just in case it's you

ha! I'm usually the one pointing it out to a higher-up in the store that something was repacked. Like the last one I saw was a McFarlane Ben Roethlisberger in a LaDanian Tomlinson package a few days ago.

Before that was a Animated Activator Bulkhead package with a Lugnut from Burger King or something. So, yeah...I'm one of the ones that actually does the right thing.

[ludovicotek]

@ scarecrow: I remember reading that post. I see repackaged Joes all the time at Wal-Mart, especially with the vehicles.

@ Runamuck: "personal layaway" is just the term that I came up with for the under-the-shelf hiding spot.

[Runamuck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludovicotek

@ scarecrow: I remember reading that post. I see repackaged Joes all the time at Wal-Mart, especially with the vehicles.

@ Runamuck: "personal layaway" is just the term that I came up with for the under-the-shelf hiding spot.

Ah, I see. I never did that myself...and I never saw anyone doing that. But I heard of it being done. Being a stocker has its perks. If I want something, I just wait till I get off work to get it. I'm not a scalper or anything like that, just a collector like most everyone else here.

[ludovicotek]

Yeah. I would just hold it until I got off work. Didn't want to take the chance of somebody snatching it up before I had the chance.

One time, though, this guy came in looking for Mer-Man from the MOTU relaunch several years ago. I hooked him up with the one I was holding and he told me that he worked at Hot Topic. In return he would hook me up with the McFarlane figures that TRU didn't stock.

[scarecrow]

I do the personal lay-away thing a lot actually. I rarely do it if I'm not going to buy it but sometimes I do. I once hid a 25th anniversary commando Snake-Eyes for half a year, and finally went and bought it on my birthday. That's pretty much my pride and joy of my MOC figures, as the commando version was the version of Snake-Eyes I always wanted and never got the full black version.

[Snowflakian]

I don't hate all the employees just most of the managers as some have pointed out. xD

It varies store to store, but majorily that's a common thing I've noticed. People just aren't into their jobs or trying, and reprimand the ones who do or see bigger pictures.

I'm pretty much done with TRU as a brand, but exclusives are my way of showing I support the local employees I guess.

[FlaBat]

FAO was way overpriced so I don't understand why TRU would want it. Then again I don't understand why TRU gets beat by Target and Wal-Mart on toys all the time. I mostly only buy the TRU exclusives as Target gets the toys I want cheaper and sooner.

[BlackRazor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludovicotek

FAO sold all toys. It was pretty much a high-end TRU. They do sell all the same stuff as you'd find in any toy aisle plus the other stuff you mentioned that are too high of a price point for the average consumer. It's pretty much a rich man's TRU.

That's true. I recall going there as a kid in Philadelphia one summer & the cost of their Star Wars figures was almost $10 each & this was the late 70's, early 80's.

I think I was in one in Vegas a few years ago too - it was an expensive one too.