Those Eyes....
Late last year, I purchased my second silkstone Francie, Nighty Brights. To my horror, while one of the doll's eyes was perfect, the left eye had eyelashes that weirdly went up to her eyelids. I figured, ok, mistakes had been made. I went ahead and got my doll exchanged. Life went on.
My second doll came and the photo below shows how the eyes looked....
I was even more horrified at this point! Not only did Francie's eyelashes on the left eye have the same problem, now the right eye had paint problems as well. I was getting extremely frustrated at this point and almost asked for my money back, except that I really wanted my Nighty Brights Francie doll. I just wasn't willing to settle for a subpar job. What's more frustrating was that the person at customer service I had been exchanging emails with regarding the problems I'd been having with the doll had the nerve to suggest that if I wasn't satisfied with the product at all, then I should perhaps "think" of just returning her altogether. As if I didn't know my own options! I'd only been a collector for many years! Newsflash: If I didn't want the doll, I wouldn't go through all the trouble to get her exchanged! Maybe if the company made their dolls the way they were supposed to, this kind of situation would not be happening...and repeatedly no less!
I suppose the third try was the charm as I finally got a decent looking Francie doll. She even made her debut as one of the dolls chosen for my Twelve Dolls of Christmas 2011 feature.
Fast forward to now May 2012....Here I am still trusting Mattel's services, just because I like Barbie. I had pre-ordered the Party Dress silkstone Barbie a month or so ago and she's finally arrived last Tuesday. It's sad to say that seeing her with her poorly done eye make-up did not surprise me in the least.
This time, I think I'll take up the Barbie Collector customer service representative's previous suggestion and just get my money back. I had looked forward to this doll and now I'm beyond frustrated that I don't even care to have her anymore.
Whew, that's that. Ranting's not something you often see on my blog. I like to keep things light and enjoyable, as this doll hobby should be. Being a collector for years, however, has not kept me safe from running into certain exasperating doll purchases. And sometimes, it's just good to vent.
Oh my goodness, what terrible luck! It's like they're singling you out to send bad eye work too!!
ReplyDeleteHello from Spain: you were right to return the doll. I hate that the dolls are expensive are not maintained to the maximum in every detail. The failure of the tabs are seen to be a failure. Keep in touch
ReplyDeleteThis has happened to me before. Nothing kills the enjoyment of a new long awated doll quite like finally getting her only to find that she has a wonky face, especially if she's limited edition/rare.
ReplyDeleteGo Girl! Too many people accept faulty or poor workmanship (or just don't recognise it) and I think that's the reason we keep receiving such crap.
ReplyDeleteIf more people did what you have done, perhaps the suppliers would learn to lift their game.
Oh! The horror... How frustrating is that! We pay for a lot of money for these dolls. If any flaw seen on the doll heads in the factory should be at least thrown into a reject box and be somehow reworked to perfection. I for one don't settle for flaws. I'm such a perfectionist like that.
ReplyDelete