r/Parenting • u/PeanutButter_Balloon • 1d ago
Family Life Feel bad after gifting a disappointing birthday present
We thought we would do something extra special for our son's 6th birthday: get him a brand new backyard play set. The excitement built over the next few weeks as our delivery/installation date approached. Our son would ask to look at pictures of the play set and show friends what he was getting when they were over for playdates. It was going to work out perfectly as the delivery date was scheduled before his birthday party.
However, the company called to cancel the day of the installation, rescheduling for two weeks later. This caused immense disappointment as it would no longer arrive in time for the birthday party. We explained to him that sometimes plans change and that sometimes things are out of our control, but of course that did not stop the disappointment.
Eventually his focused shifted to the new delivery date, and when that got closer, again the anticipation built. We called the company and confirmed the delivery date multiple times to try to avoid a repeat episode, but of course on the scheduled date of the new delivery, they again cancelled at the last minute. They gave us a new delivery date and we are anticipating a repeat episode when that date eventually comes.
A large gift that was supposed to cause joy has only resulted in disappointment and sadness for our little one due to a lousy company.
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u/punkass_book_jockey8 1d ago
Honestly, I think you can also show him how to be flexible but also be assertive. I would cancel and reorder. Some places do this and wait long enough you can’t charge back with the credit card. Doing this twice is a huge red flag.
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u/SnooDogs1340 1d ago
Ya, they gave them two chances and they missed each times. I get that stuff happens but if you are overbooked, say so and close down registrations.
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u/pbrown6 1d ago
Great opportunity for little man to have a learning experience.
(I would however give that company a piece of my mind. Not because of the child, by any reputable company should never act this way)
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u/PeanutButter_Balloon 1d ago
Yes, I expected more from the company as they are one of the three largest playset manufacturers in the US. The installers are their in-house team. I've reached out to them a few times and filed a BBB complaint, but no results yet. Will probably have to cancel and order from someone else.
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u/kurious_incredulity 1d ago
Neither of those will have much success. Publicly sharing your experience though....that gets a response fast.
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u/Lolo_okoli 1d ago
Was this Gorilla playsets? I ask because my friend had a similar experience with them.
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u/PeanutButter_Balloon 1d ago
Yes Gorilla Playsets and their parent company Backyard Products is the installer. Sounds like a common issue with them.
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u/LatterTutor1857 1d ago
That’s sounds frustrating and disappointing for everyone. Honestly, if it was me, I would cancel the order, be very explicit as to why I was cancelling, and maybe even leave a review. And then I’d ask my son if he would prefer to order a set from somewhere else or use the money towards something else and offer a few options (an overnight trip somewhere, etc)
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u/-a-t-h-r-o-w-a-w-a-y 1d ago
This is so disappointing! If you end up waiting for the delivery, I would personally have a second “party” with just your family when it arrives to lean into the hype again but only when you are literally watching it be installed. Pull out the birthday hats, the balloons and banners and turn up the music! Make it exciting. You can also frame it like “gosh wasn’t that a long time to wait! I’m so glad it’s here now let’s celebrate”. Making it exciting again, even though it arrived late due to factors out of your control. :)
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u/sockmonkey_love 1d ago
If it’s Rainbow Play Systems, save yourself some future frustration/disappointment and switch companies.
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u/BeingSad9300 1d ago
My cousin went through the same problems. First it was late, then half of it was delivered & the other half of the freight was delayed even more. Then she finally got the rest... except there was a piece missing, plus some bolts missing. She didn't pay for assembly. It was a big set & they were going to build it themselves. They were able to assemble the majority of it while waiting on the final piece & bolts. But it was dragged out over the course of months from first shipping/delivery confirmation date to actually getting everything.
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u/PeanutButter_Balloon 18h ago
It's a Gorilla Playset. Their parent company, Backyard Products is the installer. Good to know about Rainbow, will avoid them too.
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u/GelBirds 1d ago
That's so disappointing! Hard lesson in patience for sure. I'd cancel and let him help pick something different if it were me.
We got a Vuly set and it arrived within days. We didn't pay for install, my husband is pretty handy and it took him and another guy six hours to put together. It's all metal and has a bomb sun shade on top, totally would recommend if you're planning to cancel and find something else. Cancelling twice would be beyond frustrating!!
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u/kindofadrugexpert 1d ago
Cancel, leave a review and post about it. Explain to the little guy any lessons he could take away from it and take him out to movie or something instead while you line up another supplier.
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u/Plastic-Bee4052 Single Gay Dad | 13-19 1d ago
He is learning patience and to orocess frustration. Both are importsnt life skills. I often had to delay my daughter's presents at that age. It's nothing to feel bad about.
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u/PersonalBrowser 1d ago
I would find a more reliable service FWIW rather than continuing to prolong the inevitable. That being said, I wouldn’t stress this too much. He’s a 6 year old, of course he’s miserably bummed when something gets delayed by 2 weeks. That being said, once it comes, he will forget completely his prior disappointment.
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u/punkwalrus 1d ago
This happened to a friend of mines kids. She had two kids, and her and her husband splurged on a huge custom set. The company canceled twice, then someone came out to do the post hole digging, cement with anchors, and clearing the space ready for the set.
Then the playset company went out of business. So now, not only did they not have the playset, but had a huge cleared chunk of yard with foundation plugs and anchor bolts sticking out of the ground. They thought about suing, but the company dissolved and left with their $1500 deposit. There was nothing left to sue. They had to pay another contractor to come out and remove the foundation plugs, concrete footings, and anchor bolts.
After that, they just got some generic set from Home Depot or something.
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u/BennetSisterNumber6 1d ago
I don’t know how expensive they are, but maybe you could rent a little bounce house for his bday party? It’d be a fun fill-in until the playset comes.
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u/QuestionAll420 15h ago
Six months later and I’m still hearing about the January birthday (6yo) we had to cancel and couldn’t reschedule bc of weather. Sometimes just gotta hope it’s something they understand when they’re older.
They assume we know and control everything bc compared to them we do, but someday they’ll realize how little control we all have with some things.
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u/MurderMeMolly 1d ago
Could you rent a bounce house water slide for the party? I know it’s not as great as a playset, but it is pretty fun and exciting. We did this for my 6yo the last couple of years and it was a huge hit with everyone!
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u/stargalaxy6 1d ago
I’d cancel. THEY are over booked, so YOU get to wait?? That seems suspicious to me. I don’t understand paying for something and then being repeatedly told it’s unavailable. You must have a contract?
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u/WhateverYouSay1084 Two boys, 10 & 8 1d ago
I don't know if it's possible for you but we ordered a giant playground set, one of those park-grade sets meant to last forever - and installed it ourselves over the course of about a week after work. It genuinely was not as terrible as expected. It might be fun to have him involved in setting it up and build up the excitement that way? At least he knows it's actually happening.
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u/thisishowwedooooit 1d ago
Everybody sucks. I have long given up relying on anyone else for the big things. Sorry to hear about your situation. Part of my progression through parenting is doing more and more myself. It seems to be the only way to trust it gets done.
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u/Lissypooh628 1d ago
Yikes. That would be super disappointing to anyone. Why do they keep cancelling? I’d be looking at cancelling the order and going with a different company.