Learning Express Toys

I absolutely love this place! My special needs child seems to be hard to shop for at most other toy stores, but here I can find so many toys that not only are fun, but engage him. Free wrapping isn’t too happy either.

Tonight we headed to the Galleria Mall to celebrate my daughter’s 8^th birthday. Her Aunt spent over 2 hours yesterday approaching businesses about a treasure map she was creating, asked permission etc. The treasure map had about 10 locations on it in the mall. This store was 2^nd on our stop. We started at Nordstrom that went out of their way to help us celebrate. Bags for the 3 girls (that included the birthday girl) with their names hand written on the outside, cookies, stickers & balloon. Way above anything expected. So I was not only disappointed but in shock when we went into our 2^nd stop, Learning Exchange and were treated poorly. Apparently the older gentleman (maybe the owner? Manager) working the register was not happy about this. We learned the plan was to give each girl a balloon on a stick. Maybe .40 cents each (I would have gladly paid for the balloons, the look of excitement was worth more than the cost of the balloons). Not only did the gentleman talk down to the employee about this, telling her «we don’t do that EVER» and «don’t ever do that!» He did so in front of my mother, husband & myself. So that is 3 customers that will NEVER EVER step into his store, now this Unilocal review & the 2 other children parents that attended the party. I understand business, you can’t just give things away etc etc, but as far as I’m concerned this was a poor choice.
What made this experience even worse, was all of the remaining stores were amazing. I’ll be Unilocaling my praise to them after this review. I will be thanking pottery barn teens, Gymboree, kids foot locker (they actually sang happy birthday & did the whip), The Disney store who also sang happy birthday, gave her a pin & put her name on the wall, jelly belly store & build a bear. I spent money in every store but this one. My daughter had a one of a kind birthday & I’m grateful she didn’t hear a word the gentleman running the store had to say!!!

If you like to be watched like a hawk, accused of shoplifting and treated with disrespect, then it’s your lucky day… this store is for you!
My friend and I were in this store with my 2 year old son for about 20 minutes. We chatted while he played with the activity tables in the back of the store. He was playing with an alligator stuffed animal, then with 2 toy cars, and then a green train. He had these toys with him when we were getting ready to leave the store.
Anyone who has experience with children know that you can’t just pry a toy out of a toddler’s kung fu grip (unless you’re in the mood to witness an epic meltdown). The art of distraction is a powerful skill that you develop as a parent, and often used… especially in toy stores.
As we were heading out of the store, I strategically distracted him with something else and took the 2 cars out of his hands and put it back on the shelf. Next, I swiftly removed the alligator stuffed animal with another distraction, and put that back on the shelf. Lastly, I briefly distracted him with another toy and was able to take the green train without him really noticing. Before I could put that back on the shelf (note that I was still INSIDE the store at this point), I was approached by younger store clerk. And here is how it went down:
CLERK: Umm… excuse me (rudely). Did you put the 2 cars back?
ME: Yes, I did. They’re on the shelf where we found them.
CLERK: Mmmhmmm… both of them?
ME: Yes, they’re right there. (pointing to the shelf where the 2 cars were sitting)
CLERK: Ok, well, did you put the stuffed animal back?
ME: Yes, I did. The alligator stuffed animal is on that shelf where we found it as well.
CLERK: But what about the train?
ME: It’s right here in my hand. I was just distracting him so that I can take it out of his hands.
She took the train and walked away without saying anything else.
W-​O-​W. Did that really just happen? First of all, I was still INSIDE the store. It’s not like I was outside the store and still had the train. Secondly, the store clerk didn’t have to be so accusatory and rude about it. She acted like she was trying to catch an inmate escaping the penitentiary. Thirdly, there was another younger store clerk watching the whole incident, and she had a huge grin/​smirk on her face… almost like she was gloating because they caught some «criminals».
I understand if theft is a common occurrence in their store, but their store clerks need to be better trained at how to tactfully and professionally handle these situations. Or better yet, if they’ve been watching every move my son makes or I make, she should know (or check) that I put everything back where I found them. Instead she chose to be accusatory, rude and unprofessional.
Tonight, Learning Express, you have lost my business. I was a loyal, frequent customer who made many purchases, attended your Story Time Fun during the week, and recommended your store to many other mommies in this area. Not only will I be sharing this experience with fellow parents, but I will be taking my business to other stores who will value their customers and treat them with respect.

What a great place to get unique and interesting gifts for kids — definitely my new go-​to place for all birthdays an holidays! Plus I feel good spending my money on a local business — win /​win!

We are always impressed with the staff at this toy store. They are very helpful, knowledgeable, and play different games with my son. We try to buy all our toys, games, etc. here. I hate shopping at Toys R Us … very impersonal and difficult to get help.

I am a music therapist who works primarily with children with developmental disorders. I shop at Learning Express for many of my tools that I use in my sessions! I can always trust them to have fun yet educational and high quality toys (musical and nonmusical), books, puzzles and tons more. They also have great events and weekly storytime readings for kids! Its your neighborhood toy store!