Build-A-Bear Workshop Reviews 

I was worried after reading reviews and getting an email about my order being shipped so soon, on the same day I ordered it. Also my tracking number was not recognized so I was a bit unsure. However today I received my order exactly as I wanted and very fast with DPD- so I thought I would add this positive review because I was happy with the fast delivery. I would have liked a tracking number that works and would have preferred the teddy to be in a waterproof container because DPD left it outside behind my bin (not inside as indicated…) and the teddy was right inside the cardboard box and not in a sealed bag - luckily it didn’t rain till later that day…

My husband ordered me a special sanrio pochacco build a bear online for our anniversary with some outfits. The shipping we selected would take quite a bit of time which was fine, after about a week of the expected delivery date (3 weeks total post order) I reached out to the online chat. Was told i would receive a follow up but never did. I then emailed customer support directly. All I wanted was a replacement of the order. They offered that or a refund, later to be told what I ordered what already out of stock. So they had to do a refund anyway.

I am not usually one to submit negative reviews but the entire process was so frustrating. It showed travel updates on tracking and then just stopped for a week straight. Ive read elsewhere that build a bear is notorious for taking money but never actually fulfilling orders, likely hoping a busy parent won't notice.

Build a bear was a staple of my childhood and its disheartening to see how far its fallen from grace.

Ended up ordered 3 stuffies from another company for the same price as one from build a bear. The cost and experience just aren't worth it anymore. So sad for the kiddos growing up nowadays.

I had complications with tracking my Order because I purchased items as a Guest & the WiFi Crashed.. They helped efficiently & nicely!! I love build a bear they are SO helpful & Kind

Buildabears shipping is a complete mess, steer clear from ordering online if you want to actually get what you ordered. I ordered a bear night it came out. Got the order confirmation and got the "your package has shipped" email the next morning. But buildabear never sent the package. Customer service said it had probably been "lost in transit", and I understand mistakes happen, but I have seen a disturbing amount of people online recently saying their packages were never sent or that they received the wrong thing altogether. Since the bear I ordered was sold out by the time I contacted them (went out of stock super fast) they were only able to give me a refund, but I had used about $30 in rewards that I now don't have (though they did offer a $10 coupon as compensation.) I won't be ordering online again.

Excellent services as usual 🥰 Build a Bear US always provides amazing services 🥰👍

So very disappointed with my recent experience, an order from the website. I placed an order when they had a "drop" and was sent an order confirmation, saying it could take 2 to 5 business days until the order would be shipped. That was fine and expected. It ended up taking 12 business days and there was ZERO follow up, no apology, anything. Then my order was stuck at the warehouse for several more days. At least if you are taking more than double the time to ship, that you quoted, you could upgrade my shipping to I don't have to wait another two weeks for the item to arrive. Still haven't received the item I ordered THREE weeks ago and the item was in stock. Terrible customer experience and I will never order via the website again.

Came in for the "Pay Your Age" bear and walked out completely shocked after paying $60! The staff was super pushy with upselling extra accessories instead of just giving us what we asked for. It really ruined the experience when paying at the register felt like a total surprise. Not cool.

Alex was absolutely amazing with my daughter during her first Build-A-Bear experience at the Trafford Centre on Monday. My daughter had just turned 3, and Alex made the whole experience so special and magical for her.
She was incredibly kind, polite and professional, and went above and beyond to make my daughter feel excited and involved. She was singing, smiling and making her laugh, which made the experience even more memorable.

We were so happy to have been served by such a lovely lady. Alex is a real credit to Build-A-Bear, and we truly appreciate the effort she put into making my daughter’s first experience so wonderful.

Thank you so much, Alex, for making her special day even more magical! ❤️🐻✨

Absolute nightmare when It comes to having a bear delivered! Don't bother paying extra for next day or expedited. They will send it when they feel like sending it. I'm so upset about my experience.

This was the worst experience I've ever had with Build-A-Bear. I placed an order on a Sunday and selected express shipping. The order was supposed to arrive on Thursday. I spoke with customer service two days later (tuesday) because I hadn’t received a tracking number via email yet, and I was assured multiple times that the order would arrive on Thursday. I checked the status of my order regularly. And the whole time, it was listed as “pending.” On Thursday, I wrote with a customer service representative via chat and asked when my order would arrive—or if I could at least expect it the end of the week. The response was that they had a lot of orders and it would take some time. They said they would give me a $14 discount. Please note that standard shipping costs $10, while express shipping costs $28. The agent, Seleni E, wasn’t helpful at all, nor did she address my questions. It doesn't get any worse than this.

If you are considering doing business with Build-A-Bear Workshop, I strongly recommend reading my experience before placing an order. I have now contacted customer service multiple times regarding an order that I attempted to correct while it was still pending, and despite being told that my requests would be documented and addressed, the package was still shipped to the incorrect address. Since then, I have continued reaching out to Build-A-Bear in an effort to resolve the situation, including speaking with additional representatives and a manager, yet no one has followed up with me regarding my original complaint or provided a resolution. I am now being told that I am responsible for contacting FedEx myself to deal with a package that I specifically tried to prevent from being shipped to the wrong address. I am sharing the original complaint I submitted below so that customers can see exactly what happened and make their own informed decision.

⸻

Formal Complaint Regarding Order Handling Failure and Failure to Honor Cancellation Request

Dear Build-A-Bear Workshop Corporate Customer Relations,

I am writing to formally escalate an issue regarding an order that was mishandled by your customer service team and has now resulted in my order being shipped to an incorrect address despite my efforts to correct the issue before shipment.

I placed my order at approximately 4:00 a.m. during the Halloween product release. Shortly after placing the order, I noticed that the shipping address was incorrect. Because the order was still showing as pending, I immediately contacted Build-A-Bear customer service for assistance.

After waiting to speak with a representative, I explained the situation and requested that the shipping address be changed. I was specifically told that a request would be submitted to change the address and that if the address could not be changed, the order would need to be canceled. I was also told that I would receive a follow-up email regarding the outcome of the request.

I did not receive any follow-up email. Later, I contacted customer service again and spoke with another representative. I explained the situation again, and I was told that the order was still processing. The representative stated that they added a note to the order documenting that the address needed to be changed and that the order should be canceled if the address could not be updated.

Despite these documented requests, I received an email informing me that my order had shipped to the incorrect address. I immediately contacted customer service again and spoke with a manager. I was informed that there was nothing Build-A-Bear could do because the package had already shipped, and that I would need to contact FedEx myself to see if they could redirect the package.

I do not believe this is an appropriate resolution. I understand that once a package has left a warehouse there may be limitations on changing a shipment. However, the issue is that I contacted Build-A-Bear while the order was still pending and provided clear instructions. I was told that the company would either update the address or cancel the order. That commitment was not followed through.

I was then advised that I would need to wait for the package to be delivered and file a claim stating that I did not receive it, with a potential resolution timeframe of 60–70 days. This is unacceptable, as I should not be responsible for a lengthy claims process for an order I attempted to correct before it was shipped.

I am requesting that corporate review the call notes, timestamps, and actions taken on my order. I would also like a resolution that does not require me to wait months for a refund or attempt to recover a package sent to an incorrect address due to a failure in Build-A-Bear’s internal process.

I am requesting that this matter be escalated and that Build-A-Bear provide a reasonable resolution, whether that involves canceling and refunding the order, replacing the order, or another appropriate solution.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to a response from someone who can properly review and resolve this situation.

Sincerely,

Amanda

Commande passée en janvier, jamais livrée. Nombreux mails au service client depuis le mois de février. Ils me promettent un remboursement.
Nous sommes en août, jamais rien vu venir malgré des relances tous les 15 jours.
Arnaque. Escroquerie.
A fuir.

Terrible online experience -- I placed an order but mistyped the address. Immediately contacted Build-a-Bear to ask to edit the address or cancel the order so I can place it correctly. I was told there's nothing I can do and just wait till it is delivered (which it won't be since the address is wrong) and then I can dispute it??

Complete waste of time and resources when they could very easily just cancel the order, but instead they're going to waste resources/money shipping an item that will never be properly delivered, given to the wrong person, or thrown away. Makes zero sense.

This was one of the worst experiences I have ever been through. Some employees are very nice. Others than the employees which don’t really help and don’t help you, I’ve tried to get help with the district manager which was even worse, does not care and does not communicate, and will get random texts which were very rude.?If you want a build a bear good luck and if you want to talk with higher ups. Don’t even try

Schaumburg, Illinois location Woodfield Mall.
Bad experience dont waste your time . Do not recommend going to this location. Enter store no greeting . Two older people at the filling station just give you the side eye. One lady older short hair (must be the manager) was very rude to me and a few younger kids trying to purchase at register. Honestly this lady who should never be working in customer service. Especially in a place where the focus should be on the kids having fun experience. Lady so not friendly and should be fired.

Absolutely shocking service. I ordered my kids 2 hello kitty bears on thr sale, used gift cards to pay and had no issues. I noticed afterwards no email confirmation, no record of sale on my account. Checked the gift cards and they were all empty. Then I had to try get in contact with them, which is not easy as the live chat doesn't work and there's no email. Eventually I got someone whom refunded the gift cards but won't honour the order or the price to reorder. Avoid using this shop, looking at the reviews they do all the time.

I ordered a moodicorn for my gf and put in a lil cute note for her. I even paid next day shipping which of course got delayed. When we got the package it was in poor condition with a tear large enough to see the moodicorn inside, and that cute lil note was printed upside down on the wrong end of the paper (which was also crumbled up a bit) overlapping with the build a bear logo I almost missed it.

My daughter purchased a bear from the stephens green branch and had a horrific experience with the staff including the manager , careless and down right shameful. When recording the voice she was rushed an cast aside because of a que. The staff proceeded to sigh heavily an shake their heads. She was heartbroken as the message she was recording the voice of her recently deceased grandad and the staff deemed it appropriate to rush her out of the shop. Being in the service industry i understand what it's like to deal with a busy environment and ques but your staff need to be performing better customer service because what they see as a simple transaction , actually means the world to someone else . I hope karma takes its course on the staff an they are met with the same treatment on one of their purchases, disgraceful treatment considering the purpose of the bear the staff ought to be ashamed

Had a great experience today in Basingstoke. Jamie, the Manager was amazing, he was polite, attentive and helped me search for an item. He was such a lovely person to talk to and I am so grateful for his time and his help.

I ordered a build-a-bear goat with a t shirt online. It came in good time and was very cute. However, the t shirt is cut unevenly and therefore looks awful. I haven’t been able to get them to replace it.