BabiesRUs online registry

[RJsMom]

Ugh, where do I begin?? The Babies R Us (BRU) location my husband and I go to is in Amherst, NY. When we walked in, we had to walk around and find someone to meet us at the registry desk. The girl who registered us FLEW through the process. I like stuff done quickly, but if you're talking so fast that you're slurring words, you need to sloooooooow dowwwwwwn. There was no fire, no lines at the register, hardly any business in the place at all. She signed us up for the BRU rewards card, which had us excited- if someone buys an item off our registry, the reward points go on our card! That was cool to know. (Short-lived excitement.) Then some of our papers got jammed in the printer but instead of reprinting them, she handed us the small stack of accordion-folded papers (uh, thanks?). Once she flipped through all the info and stammered through what we were getting in our kit, she sent us on our way.
We had no problem using the scanner. The girl had assured us that if there were two items alike, but one was blue and one was pink, if we scanned the item itself (vs the shelf tag) it would register in the system as that particular color. (We know that we are having a boy, so we scanned blue items). Keep this in mind- I'm revisiting in a minute.
Towards the end of our "session" here at BRU, I remembered that I had a coupon for a free Bumbo seat tray with the purchase of a Bumbo seat. We thought this was a great deal so we found the aisle, picked out a Bumbo seat (of which there were only two left- green and pink), and then looked in the aisle for the tray. Well above the empty Bumbo seat section was an emptier section of shelving that we could only assume was where the trays were supposed to be. *sigh* Well, maybe we can get a raincheck. So we grabbed the green Bumbo, topped off our registry on our way to the register, and got in line. The girl checking us out was the same girl that did our registry. We had been shopping for less than 45 minutes. She did not recognize us. Really?
Whatever. We told her about the lack of Bumbo seats and that we had a coupon but there were no more trays.
"Oh, we're getting more in tomorrow," she said.
Ok, but the coupon is good for one day (today) so can we get a raincheck?
"We don't do that."
Fabulous. We left the Bumbo seat, and the coupon, at the register.
Later that night, I hopped online to check our registry. This is when I found out that my password didn't work. I triple-checked my original paperwork, typed it in exactly as I had written it (and I have very clear handwriting) and still no luck. So I requested that my password be sent in an email. It took a half hour to receive the email. I found out my password had been registered all in CAPSLOCK! She never double-checked that the password she typed in for us was correct- uh DUH. I got into the registry, found that my due date was also entered wrong (I am not carrying this baby for an extra three months, thank you) and ON TOP OF THAT, half our items listed were PINK or had GIRL in the description!
Are you kidding me???
So I went through each item, deleted it if it was wrong, searched for it on the website, re-added the correct item (if I could find it on the website), and moved on.
One small issue I have with editing the registry is that when you click something that refreshes the page (i.e. deleting an item and then the page refreshes) it doesn't take you back down to where you were. You have to manually scroll down to your previous spot. May not seem like a big deal, but when you're constantly refreshing the page by deleting an item or updating an item, it's a pain in the you-know-what to have to scroll back down each and every time. After replacing many items, I called it quits, saved my changes, and logged off.
The next time I opened my registry (maybe a day or two later) ALL the items I had previously changed to BLUE or BOY, were back to PINK and GIRL!!!!! (AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHH!) I still change them back every time I log into my registry, which is a HUGE hassle, but I hope that one of these times the changes will stick! It is so frustrating. If I get a pink bottle brush for my baby shower, I'm going to scream.
So be forewarned, moms and moms-to-be: BRU may seem like a great, knowledgeable user-friendly place to set up a baby registry, but IT IS NOT!! Though I kept some things on my BRU registry, I ended up registering at Target also, which was MUCH easier and hassle-free. Just be sure, with any registry that you view and update online, that you read the specifics on each item you add- some are only available online and may not be very convenient for guests to buy if they try to find it in the store.
I wanted to share my experience with everyone. If you have had a similar experience, or one completely different, I welcome your stories! BRU needs a good refresher in my book!

***I will add that I was impressed with some things in the store itself. There was a special "mommy room" in the back of the store that was dimly lit and had comfortable places to sit and nurse if you needed to, and there were also special seats attached to the stalls in the restroom to buckle-in a young child when you have to do your business. There were also special parking spaces close to the doors just for expectant and new moms in the parking lot. I think all big-box stores should incorporate these conveniences. (Maybe not the mommy room, but the other things at least.)

[AnnieW625]

I HATED my registry with BRUS too w/DD1 in 2006. For starters I had already started it online so we went in on Saturday afternoon (first mistake) and I had to wait 45 minutes for a scanner because there were only 2 in the store. Second mistake never make a 7 mos. pregnant mom wait for a scanner. I thought things were overpriced and I found pretty equal counterparts at Target. Most of my gifts came from Target or Pottery Barn Kids, and those that bought at BRUS bought things that weren't even from my registry which didn't bother me. I will say though at least my store I haven't had an issues with returns, but registering there was PITA!

I honestly think I came home from registering, and registered on this site too, that's about the time I started looking for things I would need.

Good luck, and congrats on your new little one, and welcome to the BBB boards!

[Neelloc]

I would call the store back, ask for the manager, and complain. Have them set up an appointment for you to re-do it so you know it can be done correctly. Because their return policy is SO CRAPPY now.....if there is no receipt or gift receipt, they will not return it. And if you try to return say, a blue Bumbo when a pink Bumbo was listed on your registry, that won't be an allowable return either. I was in there a few months ago exchanging something and I watched the woman in front of me leave in tears because it sounded like the exact same thing happened to her.

[pampers37]

oh no. im sorry to hear that. it won't make your BRU experience go away.. but if a buybuy baby is near by try that, they were extremely nice.

[kaharris83]

Your story isn't the first story that I've heard where those exact things happened to them. I registered in the store to receive a $10 gift card and get my registry started but we added most of our items at home. I had the same caps lock issue with my password, so it's possible it's a system issue. We didn't have the pink blue switch issue, but I've heard others who used the store scanner have the same problem. BRU corporate even acknowledged the problem and said there wasn't anything they could do. It was suggested that the registerer make a note on their registry that they were having a boy so people could buy the appropriate colored items. I haven't had any problems returning items that were on my registry without a receipt. And if it wasn't on my registry I add it online before going to the store and still no problem. I've been told the registry remains active for a year after it was created. I've returned things as late as last week, my baby is 6 months old now. They just give you store credit for it. That said I did think Target's registry process was much better, I did that all mostly online too though. Sorry you had such a rough time.

[BDKmom]

Not sure how the above poster has been able to return things 6 months later, as in my experience they have a VERY strict return policy. No credit for ANYTHING if it wasn't on your registry or you don't have a gift receipt (either/or will work, though, or if you have the CC used to purchase), even if it is a BRU brand item, and the limit is 90 days out (from purchase if not on registry or from due date if on registry). I have left there several times mad as a hornet over returns. One issue was a bumbo that someone bought in the wrong color, and I don't know if they didn't give the registry for it to be taken off or if the color thing made it not come off, but they wouldn't take it back or give credit. I took it to Target, even though I know it didn't come from there, and they gave me cash back for it. The other time was a pack of the disposable changing pads (not from our registry) that we ended up not using, but didn't take back in the 90 days. It was their store brand and still wouldn't take it back. At that point I expressed to the manager that the person setting this policy obviously didn't have kids to understand that you get a lot of crap when they are born that you have no idea whether you will use or not.

Also, Target and Walmart have much better prices on many things (diaper genie, bumbo, play mats, bouncy seats, etc). The one advantage of BRU is selection/variety. My advice is remind everyone you can to give a gift receipt or make sure it is scanned off your registry. If not, then there is always regifting.

[BayGirl2]

I've pretty much stopped dealing with BRU. I just get too frustrated by so many things there.

One thing that happened to me was that the crib and dresser I registered for got discontinued within less than a month and they didn't notify or warn me. I had registered for them because my Mom planned to buy them for us. So when she was finally ready I went to the store, ready to get them, to find out that they wouldn't sell them to me. At that point I was very pregnant and pissed, because it meant starting our crib shopping from scratch. We ended up buying the floor model crib at a discount and getting a dresser from Ikea. Now its 2 years later and they don't have the toddler bed kit anymore (if they ever did). It was a brand manufactured for BRU and the manufacture's site says to buy kits through BRU special order, so I think I'm out of luck.

Every time I go there and I'm disappointed they seem not to care. Maybe its just my store, but I feel like the customer service there sucks. (With the exception of a few super helpful BBB moms who work there.)

[momm]

Boy, I totally understand and BTDT

The colors switching up, the sucky customer service, the CAPSLOCK on the password & the wrong due date (come on - the SAME thing happened to me), even the refreshing of the page every time you do something - it's so frustrating!!

I have a friend who ended up with pink things for her boy, and BRU refuses to exchange!!!

But I do have to warn you about Target registries. I've heard so many stories about this and it happened to me, too. You add your list, and somehow, days later, magically, large pieces of furniture that you never even viewed, show up there. Dressers, cribs etc. Unsuspecting people view it and buy it for you for your shower. Target *refuses* to acknowledge a mistake or take it back even if you have a print out of your registry without the item.
You are then stuck with a large item your friends thoughtfully bought for you, and none of the items you wanted, because everyone spent their money on the large items!

All that aside, I hope your registry issues get resolved. Good luck!

[BayGirl2]

Yeah, I keep hearing frustrations from both stores. I think this time around I am going to stick to Amazon, and possibly a local store. That is if its even appropriate to register for a 2nd baby, haven't figured that out yet.

[jbbhb]

The pink/blue won't stick, no use in wasting your time. What I ended up finally doing was to just put a note to my friends in the additional info place (I think this is where BRU suggests you put "gift cards welcome") it was something like, "BRU has a flawed system which doesn't distinguish pink/blue or girl/boy items, we are very excited to be having a little boy" or something like that

For what its worth, I had no trouble returning anything I received as a gift as long as the store carried it.

Good luck and congrats