Had not been back for 20 years since my kids were little. Brought my 4 yo grandson. Jose was alone managing the store. It was fairly busy, but he was checking people in and out, helping us with questions, and being totally kind and amazing to us. He clearly made it a terrific memory! Jose was great! read more

Erroneously applied charges to a 13-yr old and refusing to refund unless we bring the bear and the receipt back into the store in person, which is one hour away. I had offered to send video clips of the bear, and to send photo of the receipt. But they will not consider any of it. They also didn't seem interested in learning what actually happened. They did not ask what we bought, what time we were in the store, which staff member helped us (we have all that info, wouldn't it be easier for the staff member who helped my daughter to verify our statement?) Why did their store staff take advantage of a 13 year old girl? They also sold an unnecessary gift card, taking advantage of a 13-yr old's vulnerability. That will also go to waste because how can we shop at this store again when their basic stand is that "we need the customers to verify their story but we will never question our staff?" Here are more details below if you are interested: My 13 year old daughter went in with her friend to build a bear yesterday (Sat 9/21 at 3pm) at the Natick Mall in Massachusetts. I was not there with them as I have been home self-quarantining as I recovered from COVID. So apparently nobody checked the receipt for accuracy. This morning (Sun 9/22) my daughter came to me with tears in her eyes..."OMG build a bear charged me for personalized recording even though we didn't have one.... They charged us $9 extra! Mommy can you call them to get the refund for the over-charge?" My daughter was in tears because we have been teaching her to make smart choices. Don't waste money, don't fall into scams, etc. so she was very proud that she said "no" to the personalized recording, and I was proud of her too. So you could imagine her disappointment when she realized that the store went ahead and charged her anyway without her consent. I called the store immediately and their position was firm. You have to come in with the receipt and the bear or else there is nothing we can do. I explained that the store is one hour away, and I am still recovering from COVID, but the store would not budge. What bothers me the most was when the store manager said: "You have to present both in person in our store. As long as the receipt and the bear check out with what you are saying, we will process a refund" This statement is so accusatory! It assumes that I am lying. Not once did the store manager ask me more details: who helped your daughter? What time did your daughter shop at our store. Etc. There is no interest in learning more about the circumstance so that they can avoid this from happening again in the future. His only focus seems to be get your *ss here in person before I will entertain the idea that what you are saying might be true... I explained to him that because you are one hour away and because I am still getting over my COVID, I would appreciate another way to deal with this. In this day and age, I offered to send video clips of the bear to prove that there was no personalized recording, and to send in picture of the receipt. But he didn't want to hear any of that. Stepping back: build a bear is a nice concept and apparently all kids have a soft spot for this. But you know you are dealing with kids, shouldn't the Manager be more interested to ensuring that that is a safe environment for the kids? My daughter is heart broken because she used her allowance which she saved up over time to buy this bear, so the lack of refund even for a mistake clearly by the store's staff was not comprehensible to her. Build a bear needs to evolve with technology and with time. Is this the store you want to do business with? I am definitely not going to drive two hours round trip just for this. It is not worth my time. If we go back to the Natick Mall on another occasion in a few months, would I want to bring the bear and the receipt then? Not sure. It still seems like a very big production just to waive an erroneous charge, when the Manager could just speak with the staff who helped my daughter at the time (we have her associate number) read more

Build-A-Bear Workshop - Toy Stores Near Me - Natick, Massachusetts

Amazing and cute 1st experience. Got my significant other an Isabelle plush and she loves it! The girl who helped us I believe her name was Leslie? (Correct me if im wrong) was also amazing and loved Animal Crossing as well! She really knew her stuff (no pun intended), also good luck with the Assistant Manager position at Journeys! Coming back here again soon! read more

I went here yesterday for the first time as part of a daddy-daughter bonding day with my three year old daughter. Overall we had a great time spending over 2 hours here and had quite the experience. We entered and and I must have had a deer in the headlights expression as an employee quickly came over to greet me and explain the process. It took me a while to get her on board with the program as we spent a while playing with the computers and checking out the clothing before we actually chose the animal of choice. She finally ran over to the wall and gravitated right to a panda bear. Having her stuffed was a bit of a challenge as their was a party going on while we were there and the parents all congregated in front of the machines preventing others from getting by. The staff definitely should have done a better job of shuffling them into the back corner of the store with their kids instead of gumming up the works for everyone else. While I didn't find the price of the bears to be too bad, you must be care full with the accessories as the are pricey and quickly add up. Dr Panda was only $16, but her scrubs and medical bag quickly took me to a $40. checkout. I suppose if you include the entertainment value it wasn't a bad deal. Give them credit though. This morning I already had an email from them and a $5.00 coupon for a return visit. read more

Met and exceeded my expectations. First time customers here, my 3 year old had the greatest time. She knew instantly what she wanted (some sort of rock star bear with wild hair), she was listening and following the instructions the sales associate was giving (stepping on the pedal, choosing a sound box, scent, and the adorable heart routine). It was expensive but we got an outfit, shoes, and 4 accessories because go big or go home, right?!. Also, the associate was absolutely perfect, she was engaging and fun, shout out to her (of course I forgot her name, sorry) made it fun for everyone. read more

Build-A-Bear Workshop - The best associate ever! Full disclosure it was our first time, but the experience was fabulous! We had a blast!! - Toy Stores Near Me - Natick, Massachusetts

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I came here a few times with my son. We usually drop if if its on our way to another destination. He loves that he can make the bear to his liking. From the amount of cotton to the accessories. The prices are a bit high, but other than that, no issues. During the weekends there might be a line at the stuffing machine since the staff interact with each child before stuffing the bear. They take a small stuffed heart and ask the child to do a little ritual with it, then put it insiode the bear to seal it up. After the bear is stuffed, the child can give it a "shower" on the table next to the machine. It's basically a shower head that shoots air down to clean up the dust and fuzz on the bear. Afterwards, it's time to dress it up! You can make the bear a football star, a ballerina, army general, a skater,....The list goes on and on. After the child gets the bear dress, it's time to give it a name and set up it's birth certificate. This part can take a while since coming up with a name is no easy task. Some parents have 9 months and still have no clue what to name the child. These kids have a few minutes to do it. Overall it's a good experience, but after all the accessories add up, you're paying quite a bit for that bear. read more

We had gone here over the past weekend! The new Christmas line up caught our eye! Now to start they are now offering Rudolph and other characters from his movie. Its pretty cool! So we went in to take a look and we ended up picking up the Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster! It was alot of fun to do! After picking him out we went ahead and got a few items to put on him. We got the reindeer antlers, and a beating heart to put inside of him. They did not have the bumble booties or a voice box for him sadly! The booties were sold out. They just didn't offer a voice box at all. After picking out our items we had him stuffed! The girl who stuffed him for us asked if we would like to have him soft, hard or somewhere in the middle. We went with the middle options. They make sure your happy with the stuffing before they seal him up! After that you then get to go to the computer and print out and birth cert for the bear. This would be great for a gift! It was still very fun to do. It sorta lets your inner child out! So its a plus really! Even for adults! While we where paying for the bumble we also got a free $10 gift card and a free stocking because we spent over $35 in the store. So that made a good plus! Not sure how long this is going for though. So over all it was ALOT of fun! The only things I took stars off were for some minor things. One is not having our booties! I ended up giving this star back because of the free gift card. So they are pretty much free! The second one was for the addons just costing ALOT. So we only ended up getting the bear a few things. I mean $7 for a shirt for a bear? Come on! I know its where they make their money but I still cant believe how much some of the items cost. The third issue I had was when they asked who the bear was for they gave us a funny look. I think because we are adults. I mean come on even adults can enjoy the bears too! Though I let it slide cause it was sorta funny! So they got that one back too! Just be ready to spend money on clothes! We will for sure be going back for the boots! Also if they offer cool bears every holiday we will for sure be back! Check them out! The store was alot of fun! Solid 4/5! read more

Besides the prices, this place is pretty good. They recently have a Xmas collection featuring Rudolph and its pretty neat with voice and all even singing the song. Pretty cool how you can choose a design and they stuff it and then you outfit it. The problem I see is that don't believe the one price listed because in the end with outfits and accessories, you end up paying a lot more. Not bad, but give us a break. I mean you don't walk out of here for less than $40 bucks! read more

Went here today for the 1st time. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by one of the people working, and he walked us through the process. There are bears/animals ranging from $10-$20+; you can choose a sound chip to put inside, and/or a beating heart, clothes, etc. These items are optional add-ons. My son chose a bear and a sound & another staff helped him stuff it, and kept him involved in powering the stuffing machine, picking a heart, asked him where inside the bear he wanted the sound chip, giving the bear "a bath" with air jets, etc...he had fun & loves his new bear. They give each bear a box and say thank you for coming in, with a smile. It's kid-friendly and reasonably priced. Totally worthwhile & my son asked to go again another time. read more

Me and my daughter have came across Build-A-Bear Workshop a handful of times while in the Natick Mall. The facility is a friendly, fun and interactive experience for all ages. The prices are a bit high, but well worth it. Planning on coming back. read more

I was getting My bear stuffed a few days ago but i had a meltdown because i have autism, but, the person who stuffed my bear aiden, has helped me before helped me and told me to come anytime so come to the bab in Natick and She'll be awesome read more