*picks up mic*

"Testing 1,2,3"

Okay, Last Thursday Build-A-Bear was doing the biggest promotion ever called "pay your age." The deal was that anyone from ages 1-29 could pay their age (anyone over 29 pays $29) for a Build-A-Bear. However, it was for bonus club members only, which anyone could join for free. It was horrible planning that caused malls over the U.S, U.K, and Canada to close down before the deal even began.

All over the news, the Build-A-Bear deal is a big fail, and I agree with that. They gave 15 dollars off coupons for those in line, which is very generous since they did not have to, but they did because at the end of the day it was horrible planning from those up in headquarters. It's no doubt that Build-A-Bear did horrible planning

With that being said, it was the PARENTS CHOICE to stand in the long lines, and some were ignoring their crying kids wanting to go home because they (the parents) wanted a good deal.

As I was reading the comments on Facebook, some parents are saying that their kid's hearts were broken. As a parent, you don't guarantee anything that is OUT OF YOUR CONTROL. You knew that everyone and their moms were going to be there, so why even risk the chance of disappointing your kids.

I also read comments saying their kids had autism, ADHD, and anxiety was crying because they were over-stimulated by the hundreds, if not thousands of people in line and the fact they did not get a bear. If you know that your kid suffers from issues being in large crowds, you should not have taken them in the first place. Even if it was trying to get them to come up with coping mechanisms, you should try to take them to the mall on a normal day before putting them in a Black Friday situation.

As someone who has terrible anxiety, crowds are not my thing, in fact, I can't be in a small space with too many people without panicking. I've been known to take the stairs because I would see too many people in an elevator. When I saw the offer, I knew that the lines would be long and that I couldn't handle it. I went two days later with the $15 voucher and paid less than my age (I got a Jigglypuff because they did not have an NY Giants Bear). My mom and I were asking the workers if they were okay.

The workers told us that they had been cursed out to no tomorrow, because of the event. Because of parents who could not read the fine print and waited in lines, even though they did not have to. It is not the worker's fault that YOU CHOOSE TO STAND IN LINE. The workers did not create the promotion (some probably didn't even support it). They did not deserve the treatment they got because of impatient, entitled people. Not only that but you are teaching your kids that this is right, that they can behave that way to those who don't have what they want.

Some people did it patiently, or use the money that they were going to spend at Build-A-Bear and went somewhere else with their kids and had a fantastic time. Not getting a stuffed bear is not the end of the world, I promise. If you play your game wisely, I.E limiting the selection of bears your child can choose from, you can get a better deal than the pay your age.

At the end of the day Build-A-Bear messed up bad, but the retail workers did not deserve the treatment they got. Also, don't guarantee anything that you can't control and you should not put your kids in extreme situations unless they are comfortable with it.

*mic drop*