Once Upon A Child

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CLOSED NOW - Opens at 9:00am

From coast to coast, the deals are there. Its easy to fill up a shopping cart of clothes and goodies. Got a great, solid wood kitchen set there once. I love it even more when they have a clearance. It helps to know prices of what you're buying.

Really disappointed it's a kids store the staff is really rude to kids specially the "manager" if you don't like kids then don't work there you should know what to expect if your working with kids stuff don't sale toys if you guys don't want the kids to get them like come on now tell me your kids don't do the same thing really bad service and sometimes they don't let you use your 15% off card it's just so many things that is so ridiculous they need to get a new manager because employees follow their steps or maybe the owner is the same way it use to be different ..one word RUDE

I used to go to this store a couple years ago. They had decent prices and a good selection. Now the franchise is seeming to take over with alot of new stuff you can get cheaper at Walmart. The new location is in the ghetto I definitely liked the area on Mchenry better, and the clientel has also declined with the area. It is always nice to find quality 2nd hand items. Although the reviews are horrible on selling merchandise so I will steer clear in that aspect..they have some decent items that are some what affordable. For the area it is a toss up between them and their direct competition in the parking lot and their competition has a much better return policy.

On June 8th I purchased a summer infant 3 stage super seat. I got it home, put my son in it, and part of the tray fell off in his lap and he almost fell out of the seat but I caught him. So I called the next day as they were already closed. The owner, Marilyn Corona, not only didn't apologize but told me it was my fault and I should have have checked it before putting my son in it, never once apologizing and refused to give me a refund as their policy is store credit or exchange only and hung up on me. So I called back Monday June 11th, and talked to the store manger, Jamie, who told me over the phone to come in and she'd take care of me no problem. I did make it clear to her on the phone Marilyn refused me a refund and that was part of the reason I was upset. So I went to the store on 6-12-12 and talked to Jamie and she refused to give me a refund also even though it was their error in not ensuring the seat was safe. She also claimed they could "fix" the seat, which she did by putting 2 screws in the seat that were not from the manufacturers and were a tad too small, and asked if I wanted to keep the seat then. Again, I said no due to safety since these clearly were not the right screws. Obviously this store cares more about sales than it does what may be safe for a child. She excused them missing this being broken by saying sometimes they "are rushed". I understand the item is used but I also feel like this being a store that specializes in this type of merchandise, they should be safer and more trustworthy than say, a yard sale or Craigslist. I told her I would be willing to do an exchange if they had another one of these seats that I could check for safety but they did not have another or anything comparable. I also think their customer service should be better considering they should have caught this and never purchased the seat to resell to begin with. I could not find a palce in their store that the return policy was posted except the receipt, catch being once you've bought the item to see the policy, it's too late. The worst part is not the $26.84 in store credit I will NEVER use, it is the fact that they have placed this same seat with the incorrect screws back on their sales floor for another Mom to take home! As a Mom, I would want to know if this happened to someone so I could avoid shopping there to protect my child. When I told her I would never use the store credit she recommened I "sell it" to someone who would want it.



**UPDATE 6/20/2012**

THis is the response to the BBB filed by the store manager. This is how she talks to her customers and why there are so many negative reviews online for this store:

We will refund her $26.84 when we receive her Store Credit slip that was issued. She was never denied a store credit refund as it is our store policy. A check for $26.84 will be issued within 5 days of receiving her store credit receipt.

We are proud of our store, our employees and our customers. We are sorry that her experience was not pleasant.

The social media attack that she waged against the store is immature and lets everyone know how she goes about handling things. Perhaps this will be a learning experience for Shannon; treat others as you would like them to treat you.

We are kindly inviting her to never come back to our store again.

I like that they are picky about the items they accept for resale. Also the way they stay on top of the toy and furniture recalls which adds to my satisfaction.

The new store is definitely less cramped. But the location is not very desirable. They have a large selection but are not family owned like the other two stores and I am more of a small business shopper. The prices seemed a higher than most on clothing...push toys were pretty reasonable however all their new items are full retail and you can get them cheaper at Walmart, since they are right next door I think thta might be bad planning. 3 stars. I may go back.

i like this store and the fact you can sell them your lightly used clothing,but they are SO picky about what they buy.and harly give you any thing for it. and the comment above about them buying car seats. they dont buy car seats inless are new in box. and why would some one sell a car seat tha was a car reck? i find this store is all about big name brands on thier clothing. they sell it for a little less than brand new. some idems are a good deal but others can be a bit much. great store though!