While the frontline associates at this location are wonderful and do their absolute best to work as a cohesive, supportive team, the shopping environment created by Chief Manager Lisa makes visiting this store a deeply uncomfortable experience. Customer service at this location has taken a back seat to aggressive metric-pushing. The checkout process feels high-pressure and forced, particularly with relentless gift card pitches. Chief Manager Lisa routinely pushes these sales onto customers to the point of discomfort, making it clear that hitting internal numbers is prioritized over delivering a positive, welcoming retail experience. Beyond the aggressive sales tactics, the atmosphere on the sales floor is noticeably tense and hostile due to completely unprofessional leadership behavior. During a recent visit on a Saturday, Chief Manager Lisa was seen publicly yelling at a sales lead right in front of active customers. When the manager tried to force the lead to "talk in the back," the associate repeatedly requested another team member be present for safety and support. Instead of handling the situation professionally or de-escalating, Chief Manager Lisa became visibly upset and angrily stomped off to the back room in front of everyone. Witnessing management publicly demean and yell at staff in front of shoppers is appalling and completely unacceptable for a retail store. Beyond these public outbursts, staff are clearly walking on eggshells, and basic operational information seems constantly withheld by leadership, resulting in floor confusion and delayed customer assistance. Customers shouldn't have to navigate an uncomfortable sales pitch or witness toxic, unprofessional management meltdowns just to shop here. Between the relentless gift card upselling and the deeply negative store culture driven by Chief Manager Lisa, I strongly advise taking your business elsewhere. read more

Went in tonight to get 2 bears for my dad who passed away recently. We were blessed to have Lisa help us out and walk us through the whole process. We wanted memorial bears with sound and the whole works. Lisa was very sweet and patient with us. This was very emotional for me as losing my father has been so difficult. But she understood and offered her condolences and a big hug. (She asked me first if she could) Thank you Lisa for having such a big heart and just being you. You truly made our experience at build a bear amazing and I hope the company truly knows how much of a blessing you are to them and to us!! read more

Build-A-Bear Workshop - Toy Stores Near Me - West Covina, California

We went for our daughters 1st birthday and enjoyed the experience. They have a variety of bears and outfits. I knew the deal with the 1 cent bear so we weren't surprised. read more

I love this place Kaitlyn and her buddy were very sweet and friendly to me when i came to replace my audio for my sonic stuffie :3 they also stiched him up and gave him new stuffing kaitlyn is the sweetest lady ever :3 God bless you kaitlyn if u see this =D read more

Background On Visit: It was my nieces birthday so I decided to order a bear online and picked it up at the shop. Costs: Customizing a bear can add up really quick. So choose wisely if you want all the extra stuff. Location/Parking: Located on the 2nd floor of the Plaza West Covina Shopping mall. Plenty of parking for all. Ambiance/Decor: Pretty neat ambiance with plenty of bears and accessories to choose from to make your bear unique. Order Of Operations (Online): 1) Go to www.buildabear.com and click on the Bear Builder tab 2) Peruse through the different bears that they have and pick 1 or 2 3) Choose the clothes/shoes (optional) 4) Choose sounds and scents (If you do the personalized message online, it'll be louder than when you do it in store) (optional) 5) Click on finish building/and add to bag. Then put all your credit card info, address, shipping to a address (shipping is $9.95) or pick up at the shop (no shipping cost, and click on checkout. Service: Service was great. Krista, staff member, was friendly, attentive, and offered great suggestions. I called her after I made my online purchase and she informed me that she could leave out the personal message so if I wanted to change the greeting I could. She also didn't upsell me on other accessories.. Bear Of Choice/Clothes And Shoes: Decided on the happy hugs teddy with a happy birthday tshirt, jeans, and converse shoes. Build A Bear For Thought: Thought the bear was cute and my neice loved her birthday gift! Would definitely come back to buy more customized bears. read more

Build-A-Bear Workshop - Toy Stores Near Me - West Covina, California

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I love this Build a bear I've come to this location many times and always have a pleasant visit. They have great customer service, a good variety of plushies, and personally I think they have affordable offers as well. At the entrance they have a big teddy bear so it's good for photo ops. They have a pretty good amount of staffing that are always willing to help. 5/5 read more

Came here last week to celebrate Ezra's birthday. We came because Danielle had heard about the count their candles promotion. This is where the age they are turning is how much it costs to make their own Birthday Treat Bear. To participate, my wife had to be a Bonus Club Members which was free to sign up in the store. Although we paid more than 4 dollars (a couple bucks for the sound machine, a couple bucks for the beating heart, and $12 dollars for the outfit) he seemed to enjoy it. The two young ladies working there were nice as well. Overall a 5 star rating for this visit. read more

Build-A-Bear Workshop - Toy Stores Near Me - West Covina, California

We are here for a birthday party. The girls are fabulous! They are so patient with our group of 17 kids. Krista, Alyssa, Becca and Sam will be handling all our parties from now on!! The selection is a little small but the value is great. These animals last a long time. read more

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So today I went to just walk around and my little man loves stuffed animals as soon as we were walking by Build-A-Bear he had to stop and it ended up costing me almost 100$ for that stop lmao , as a kid I never really cared for the build a bear hype , for quite a while it was like a trend to go get one made for your specific other but anyways here we are almost 15 years later and I'm now buying my son one it's pretty cool for your kids crazy how they charge for every little thing even the sound that goes in the bear id think that would atleast be free . But nonetheless it was a cool time my son was happy as you can see I'll most likely be back since my fiancé found a broncos outfit now she wants to make one for herself ‍‍ read more

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Everyone was rude ! They literally look so lazy! The only one look presenting was I'm assuming the manager ! Yes I understand your closing but omg never met such lazy people in my life ! You guys work for presentation to make kids happy ! Re hire your people so sad ! read more

I love that place and it's a good place to have your birthday there and it is good staff and nice staff they tell you information

Unfortunately, I don't have names so I can't give names here. My family went on Jan 19 2025 for my baby's first bday. The first girl who helped us was so sweet! She was wearing glasses and was very helpful, me and my husband had never been before so we didn't know the process. BUT there was a cashier with long brown hair who was so incredibly rude! We were trying to record a message and she made sure to tell us we were standing in the wrong spot and needed to move. Then we asked if we could re-record it at home (the store was loud) and she said "yes if you wanna rip the bear and take the recorder out" umm ok lady just politely say "no, it needs to be done here since it will be sewn in". Then our bear needed to be stitched up because it had a tear, we were waiting patiently for a while then we finally asked if the bear was ready and she said "oh this has been ready for like 10 minutes I didn't know I had to tell you guys" smh! Lady if you wanna be this rude don't work at a kids store. A little friendliness goes a long way especially when dealing with kids and families. read more

My experience fully related to one employee: Krista. I went in frantically because my Darthsy's voice stopped working and I have no way to re-record the voice. Krista tried to help me but she can't. She gave me pointers on how to contact the corporate office, what should I say, and what to expect. I managed to get a sound replacement from the main office and have it shipped to this store. When I came back she recognized me immediately and cheerfully assisting me. I am close to 40 yo and Krista made me feel like I am an 8 yo being assured that the world will be well again. Krista, if you are reading this, I know you probably just did your customer service mode. Yet for me you made a world's difference. I cried on my way home feeling so relief my bear got fixed. I cried right now when I write this review because how grateful I am still. Thanks for the amazing experience. read more

Build-A-Bear Workshop - Toy Stores Near Me - West Covina, California

Went with my wife and two children on July 9 after my wife had called about a "pay your age" sale that they were doing and being told by the worker to "come on down!" Once we got there we noticed they weren't particularly busy which we found to be kind of odd given the supposed sale that was going on. The kids picked out the ones they wanted and when we were approached by an employee were told "Oh yeah that's not today that's Thursday the 12th!" The employee didn't seem to know how to address the wrong info we were given so she brought the male manager over who was completely unsympathetic and did nothing but give excuses such as: "It was in the news" "All of my employees know it's the 12th" "None would have told you that" etc etc... When we asked if he was calling us liars and showed him the call history from earlier that day proving we called that exact store, he just doubled down on insinuating that there was nothing he could do and gave us the corporate number. But that's not where the story ends... Fast forward to today, July 12. Wife takes a half-day and brings the kids back (despite the terrible treatment on the first trip) around lunch time where she is greeted with a line so long outside the store that the store had stationed employees outside telling people that they weren't accepting any new customers to the line and would be closing after the people currently in the line were done (see pics). So, not only did the store give us wrong information which resulted in wasting our time/gas and letting our kids down on Monday, but they wasted our time/gas and let our kids down a SECOND time be telling us to come back and then refusing to let the kids pick out bears AGAIN! For a store that supposedly prides itself on catering to children, it has a great track record now of screwing them over and disappointing them. read more

Build-A-Bear Workshop - "Come back Thursday" they said, then get greeted with this travesty and told they are closing early and not taking any additional customers. - Toy Stores Near Me - West Covina, California

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Probably the best Build a Bear I've been to. This is our go to location and the employees are friendly and helpful. My daughter has recently become a fan of My Little Pony and Build a Bear has high quality stuffed animals plus my daughter loves adding heart beats, songs and voices. We've bought almost all of her ponies from this location (minus a few ordered online), and had them all stuffed here. On a few occasions we've gone back to have songs or voices added and the employees do a great job of sewing them up by hand afterwards (which is a big deal). Just a over all great environment. 5 stars. read more

Build-A-Bear Workshop - Our collection from West Covina Build A Bear. - Toy Stores Near Me - West Covina, California

Kaitlyn and Jason helped me and my son with our bears. They have a high expertise with old and new bears. Thank you for a memorable experience every time guys. Thank you thank you thank you. read more

It's a build-a-bear workshop, where your kid will ask you to buy everything. Parents beware. If you don't want to spend at least $50, make sure you cover your kid's eyes when you walk past this store. A top for a teddy bear can cost $15. Unless if its on clearance, then it's $7. I only come here for count your candles when it's pay by age. Honestly, they don't even play with the bear after buying it. It just lays there on the floor. Also, your personal information is stored in here, by wary of this when donating it to goodwill. read more

Service was perfect! All 3 ladies that helped us were very sweet and extremely helpful! Definitely coming back to this location

I went to the West Covina location on Wednesday 12/20/2023 around lunchtime. The store was super busy. All the staff was wonderful. Although, Alyssa made my experience magical. She was truly an Angel. She went above and beyond to make my experience magical. I can't thank her enough for the time and care she took. Her heart is pure gold. read more

This place is Great to buy your grandkids bear. Birthday day. Or special day. The customer service is outstanding. They show the kids to build their bear. read more

Had an issue with ordering online, Jelly and Andrea were very helpful in taking care of me in store. I appreciate both of them going above and beyond to ensure their customer was happy. read more

This place is amazing. Very friendly staff who are always willing to go above and beyond to make your experience great!! read more

Build-A-Bear Workshop - Toy Stores Near Me - West Covina, California

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I love this Build a Bear location! All employees are very caring and generous. As a frequent customer at the mall; sometimes the store can get busy on weekends and holidays. But the store does their best to optimize a great experience during the current pandemic. Capacity is limited due to the current pandemic, and that does mean stores have a certain cut off time that falls before the closing time of the mall if they have a line. If you want to have a great experience without having to rush to the mall before closing, I advise to arrive very early before closing time. This store gets a lot of traffic, and the employees are only human and following protocol to limit the spread of COVID 19. They're doing amazing jobs, and continue to pour in all their time and energy to give their customers the ultimate Build a Bear experience! 1000% recommend to visit this store if you want to get a thoughtful and memorable gift for a friend, family member, or loved one. read more

I love going here to see the new Pokemon and Nintendo characters when they come out.

Amazing workers! I took my teen daughter and friends to this store for her birthday and the customer service is outstanding. They really make the experience special and it's all very safe! I appreciated all of the safety protocols. read more

Super helpful manager Cindy, I spoke to her on the phone because Montebello was unreachable for hours. She called the Montebello location to see if the items I wanted were in stock, and she was super patient and helpful with all my questions and even increased my enthusiasm for the company and product itself. read more

Nice place to take your kids they will love it. Secret hack go to samsclub first and buy gift cards it's like getting 20% off

Went in to build a bear for a loved one and was assisted by andrea and austin. Could not ask for a better experience they were very helpful and friendly. If you are ever at this location definitely ask them for there assistance read more

Absolutely looove this location. Everyone here is so helpful! The employee Andrea went above and beyond to help me find a special gift for my niece! Would definitely recommend this location to everyone. read more

This is my go to Build-A-Bear ever since they opened at my local mall! I've always gone to the Downtown Disney location but this one is a lot less crowded and busy, so you are able to get the full experience without feeling rushed or cramped. The staff here is amazing! They always make my niece and I feel so welcomed and always tend to our needs, all while being friendly yet professional. The store manager is so enthusiastic and you can see he genuinely loves his job! read more

Went to Build A Bear to celebrate a birthday, experience was just "OK" nothing special, I've had great experiences at other Build A Bears but unfortunately that wasn't the case in West Covina, when paying for the bear, Rhea the cashier lacked any Customer Service skills, she seemed annoyed when it took 2 attempts to locate my rewards account and then gave me an attitude when I declined to purchase the Gift Card promo she offered me. She then was ready to walk away without giving my son a Box for his Build a Bear, I had to ask for it, she automatically gave it to the customers before us but failed to provide us with the same ... Quite frankly she ruined my evening with her bad attitude. read more

It was my first time coming to this location, it was an excellent experience we got awesome customer service from Justine she was very friendly and helpful such a Beautiful upbeat attitude thank you read more

Took my niece here for her birthday and had a great experience. Ask for Austin, he was amazing with her. Went on a Friday so it wasn't too busy. I've been to a couple build a bear locations but loved how everyone here was so attentive. read more

I absolutely love this store. My daughter and I went in over the holidays. It was our first time in and the sales associates are super friendly and helpful. The only complaint I have is they have no customer restrooms. Other than that we had a great time choosing, stuffing, and dressing our bears. read more