I'm giving it 1 star because I am Not allowed to give it "0" otherwise I would. I had a very disappointing experience at Build-A-Bear at the Chicago Premium Outlets. The customer service was absolutely horrible. It honestly felt like the employees did not want to be there at all. One employee was more focused on scrolling through her phone than helping customers, while the other--who was assisting us--had a very rude, rushed, and dismissive attitude. This visit was supposed to be special. My son wanted to gift his niece her very first teddy bear for her first birthday, complete with a voice recording. Instead of making it fun or memorable, the process felt rushed and uncomfortable. The employee assisting us (named Genesis) barely spoke to my son at all while filling the bear. When she handed him the teddy to feel how soft it was, he pressed the paw to hear the recording. She abruptly stopped him and said, "We are checking for softness right now, not the voice." That completely took the joy out of the moment. To make matters worse: * My son was not allowed to dress the bear himself, which is a huge part of the Build-A-Bear experience. * At checkout, I was not offered a bag or a box--I had to ask. * When I asked for the box, I was charged $1.05 and told I could only pay with a card because they "didn't have change." * The box should have been offered during the initial transaction instead of being handled so abruptly afterward. * As soon as the transaction was done, the employee went right back to scrolling on her phone. I am paying for an experience--not just a stuffed animal--and this location completely failed to deliver that. It's disappointing to see such poor customer service, especially at a store that's meant to create special memories for children. I also just realized that didn't even give us a birth certificate for the Teddy- I'm so disappointed. I would not recommend this location unless management seriously addresses staff attitude, engagement, and basic customer service expectations. read more

100% would recommend this spot and Brad!! We had a great time picking out our bears, stuffing them and choosing outfits for them! Brad made the whole experience so lovely and didn't rush us and even opened the shop a tiny bit early to service us. I will be going back for more outfits and bears again, only because the customer service was 10/10. Dinah and Charlie loved our bears and Brad's kindness! read more

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This was my first time visiting Build-a-Bear at Fashion Outlets of Chicago, and it was a great experience! The employee that helped me build my bear was super friendly and so very kind. This location surprisingly had a decent selection of bears to choose from as well as clothes, accessories, and scents. They even had quite a few of the Sanrio characters too, which was nice to see. I actually prefer this location over the Woodfield one despite being smaller. My overall experience was just better and they actually had the items I came for, unlike the one at Woodfield, which never has any of the items they claim to have in stock on their website for some reason. read more