Jennifer sent a message to Antonio Urcelay Chairman and CEO, Toys R Us, Inc. that said:
Dear Mr. Urcelay,
As you can see below, my name is Jennifer and I am a teacher with 2 boys at home ages 7 and 10. The reason I am writing to you is to address a concern I have for which I'm not sure who to properly contact. It would be greatly appreciated if you could take a moment to hear me out and possibly forward this with those in charge.
This morning we celebrated Christmas like many Americans in the United States. My boys woke my husband and I up at 3 a.m. and I had to coax them back to bed until at least 6 a.m.! When it was time to come down they were so excited we blew through opening presents in 10 minutes. Both my boys received electric Razor scooters from Toys R Us. It was the highlight of their morning. That is until we opened up the 10 year old's Razor. Unfortunately the Razor we purchased was previously returned and went back on the shelf before Christmas. As you can see from the pictures attached it is obvious it had been used/broken. My son Jack was heartbroken and the magic of Christmas was ruined.
You see Jack just started 5th grade and he was on the fence about if Santa really existed. We never lied to him and he never asked directly but would drop questions here and there to kind of feel out the idea. My husband and I knew this would probably be our last year with him so we wanted to make it extra special. Because of the condition of the Razor we were forced to come clean about where it came from. It was either have the conversation now about us being Santa or Santa's reputation was tarnished and this Christmas would be Jack's most disappointing year.
I'm sure this is a situation that thousands of parents go through every year and we knew it was coming, however in all honesty Toys R Us forced our hand, and that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
I write to you not to threaten a law suit or demand compensation, rather to seek out a policy change around the holiday season. I believe I can't be the only person out there who's had to come clean about Santa due to a big ticket item being returned and then sold again broken or used. In order to avoid this happening again I think a policy should be in place from September to December that if an item is returned to one of the chain stores it 1) does not go back on the shelf until after the new year 2) gets inspected before going back on the shelf 3) it's labeled and on discount so that customers know the risk.
I understand that this is a problem that happens to all big chain stores, however your store is the one place parents go to with presumption that you understand the trends our children are interested in, you're well stocked, and you play a huge part in making our kids' Christmas wishes come true. How sad would it be if the company chooses to ignore a heartbroken mom with a valid point who's not looking for a handout but a hope that this will be a conversation worth discussing.
Thank you for your time. Hope you have a nice new year.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
