Spate of Complaints on LEGO Facebook page

Kevin_Hyatt

Over the last week I've had loads of complaints popping up on the LEGO Facebook page which generally go along these lines:

'My little Boy/girl, who is autistic/blind/deaf/in hospital/insert other ailment/disability, has been traumatised when they opened a LEGO set to find a piece missing. It has ruined our entire families Christmas and I don't think my child will ever recover. What are you going to do to pacify my honest rage/outrage/attempt to start social media war on you?'

Am I being a cynic or are these people just trying it on to get freebies?

Captain_Eyebrow

Sadly in some cases but not all (and that's a very important distinction) almost certainly, social media is often used as a way to generate momentum in the hope that negative publicity shy companies will quickly offer compensation to prevent things getting bigger.

Besides if a part is actually missing TLG are very good at sorting things out, posting comments like that don't really solves the issue especially if its on a day that in all likelihood no one is working in the marketing department at TLG to respond.

If you've got a problem social media should be the last resort not the first.

margot

Kevin_Hyatt said:

Am I being a cynic or are these people just trying it on to get freebies?

I've been wondering about this too. I feel like some of the posts I've seen are definite fakes.

SuperTramp

Ive had at least 5 messages through Ebay asking if they could have a discount on a item (usually video games or toys) for there son/daughter who is disabled because money is tight etc.

I honestly don't know what to put to such a question and usually ignore them.

Cant comment on Facebook or any other social media has i don't have any.

akunthita

The culture of entitlement and ripping others off is really spreading. It is very sad and this is what parents teach to their kids these days - not all, of course, but alarmingly large numbers... I believe it has to do with this whole smart-phone and selfie culture. People don't have real bonding experiences as children because their parents don't pay attention to them, instead they are constantly looking at their phones (both parents and children). I see it all the time. So these kids grow up with no meaningful relationships and therefore all they care about is themselves. They don't consider other people as real, nor do they really value themselves either. We are back in the jungle where it is all about one creature taking advantage of another and taking everything for themselves...

In the world of LEGO we are only seeing a small sample of this. It was rare years ago, but now it is very common. Buyers on eBay ripping off sellers by claiming that their package never arrived. Sellers on eBay selling junk inside LEGO boxes to their buyers. People buy LEGO sets at stores, empty the content, fill it with junk and return it. Minifigures get stolen out of packages right at the store... should I go on? :(

Chubbles

I've seen dozens of those lego books that come with minifigures with the minifigures missing. From various stores too from different places.

dannyrww

I have never found a missing piece in a set. I did find a cracked brick on a business Kitty once. Went to the Lego missing parts site and they took care of it quickly. The person (or people...though I'm pretty sure it is mostly one person) who handles the Lego facebook page is amazing. She answers and comments on mostly every post that is made and handles the complaints with a lot of dignity and grace. I just wish that people would not be so mean about their complaints....and all the sob stories about a child whose Christmas is ruined are a bit much. I still think Lego has some of the best customer service around.

Jdslater

SuperTramp said:

Ive had at least 5 messages through Ebay asking if they could have a discount on a item (usually video games or toys) for there son/daughter who is disabled because money is tight etc.

I honestly don't know what to put to such a question and usually ignore them.

Cant comment on Facebook or any other social media has i don't have any.

Agreed. I put an Alien Dropship toy for sale on eBay and within 2 hours I had a messaage saying would I sell it for £40 (start bid of £50). He said it was for his son. He made ot out the kid was 10 years old which it abit young for a toy of that type.
I just said I have just put it up and that I would see. It went for £130 in the end.

madforLEGO

I think part of this stems from LEGO's own generosity as well unfortunately.
Remember when the kid with asperger syndrome who wanted the Emerald night, but by the time he saved for it it was sold out? LEGO sent him an Emerald Night set.

Nice story, and shone a positive light on LEGO, but I think there are those that see that type of response and it is like ringing a dinner bell for them.
As they say, 'No good deed goes unpunished'.

The real unfortunate thing here is that those who may really have that situation get drowned out by the scammers and outright thieves.

vynsane

akunthita said:

The culture of entitlement and ripping others off is really spreading. It is very sad and this is what parents teach to their kids these days - not all, of course, but alarmingly large numbers... I believe it has to do with this whole smart-phone and selfie culture. People don't have real bonding experiences as children because their parents don't pay attention to them, instead they are constantly looking at their phones (both parents and children). I see it all the time. So these kids grow up with no meaningful relationships and therefore all they care about is themselves. They don't consider other people as real, nor do they really value themselves either. We are back in the jungle where it is all about one creature taking advantage of another and taking everything for themselves...

Is your DeLorean still plutonium-based, or have you already refitted it with a Mr. Fusion? How do you know how the current generation of children grows up?

"Kids, these days!"
- Every generation, ever

madforLEGO

vynsane said:

akunthita said:

The culture of entitlement and ripping others off is really spreading. It is very sad and this is what parents teach to their kids these days - not all, of course, but alarmingly large numbers... I believe it has to do with this whole smart-phone and selfie culture. People don't have real bonding experiences as children because their parents don't pay attention to them, instead they are constantly looking at their phones (both parents and children). I see it all the time. So these kids grow up with no meaningful relationships and therefore all they care about is themselves. They don't consider other people as real, nor do they really value themselves either. We are back in the jungle where it is all about one creature taking advantage of another and taking everything for themselves...

Is your DeLorean still plutonium-based, or have you already refitted it with a Mr. Fusion? How do you know how the current generation of children grows up?

"Kids, these days!"
- Every generation, ever

The sad thing is it is not just kids. It is the adults. Too much reality TV and social media making people feel they are more important than they are. It is good to feel empowered, but not good when you try to abuse it.

krklint

Once the Lego Movie hit, and around that same time announcements were made that Lego had become the largest toy company in the world (based on sales), those willing to cash in through "entitlement" ideas looked to the biggest fish in the toy pond for their freebies.

Also, the greenpeace anti-oil people might be trying to hurt the Lego image. In this day and age, it does not seem to be a stretch to think they might.

On a note attached to the original post's specific message, if someone's child can become traumatized by a broken piece of Lego, they need to learn that good parenting comes from teaching a child that sometimes expectations and outcomes are not the same. Take a broken piece and turn it into a positive learning experience. Ok, good, I got through this post without swearing at/about bad parenting techniques.

SirKevbags

Perhaps unsurprisingly we receive lots of requests from individuals asking for free stuff because of this and that. The reply is always similar, that donations are made to institutions so lots of children can benefit and not just the individual.

If you're a UK seller and want a sure fire way to deflect these requests via eBay simply make your listing a charity one and donate 10% to FB. Then you can reply guilt free that you're already doing your bit to help the less fortunate ;-)

sonatine01

The year before last my then 4yr old was lucky enough to get Helms Deep from Father Christmas. He was so excited building it on Christmas Day with me until there was a missing piece. There should have been a left and right sided piece and he got 2 left sided pieces. I ordered a replacement part but obviously had to wait a while for it to turn up, unfortunately Lego didn't have the right colour in stock either.

However disappointed he was he wasn't traumatised, although explaining how Father Christmas messed up was interesting :-p .

Either way my point is you can speak to TLG and they'll sort it. No need to over exaggerate with such messages on Facebook etc. Then again some people may not know how and who to contact when this happens.

madforLEGO

sonatine01 said:

Either way my point is you can speak to TLG and they'll sort it. No need to over exaggerate with such messages on Facebook etc. Then again some people may not know how and who to contact when this happens.

Agreed,
Though I would be very surprised if LEGO's facebook page did not have some mention or major notice saying if you are missing parts or a part has broken please contact our Customer Service line to assist you further. If that is not put on the page someone prominently then a bit of shame on LEGO on that (I do not have facebook access so I cannot tell).

KiwiLegoMeister

Chubbles said:

I've seen dozens of those lego books that come with minifigures with the minifigures missing. From various stores too from different places.

Agreed; but its the kids removing the parts, as they are surprisingly easy to get to them. It is straight-out shoplifting, which is theft. Most of these books don't come from TLG, but are licensed, however the manufacturers could do more to secure the parts.

KiwiLegoMeister

krklint said:

On a note attached to the original post's specific message, if someone's child can become traumatized by a broken piece of Lego, they need to learn that good parenting comes from teaching a child that sometimes expectations and outcomes are not the same.

Parents also need to teach resilience; and that the whole world does not revolve around their child.

margot

KiwiLegoMeister said:

Agreed; but its the kids removing the parts, as they are surprisingly easy to get to them.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's more often adults taking them...

LEGOCollector2504

Woah... definitely a lot of weird cultural extrapolation going on in this thread! I feel like a sudden spate of complaints on the FB page is probably due to LEGO receiving a lot more attention this year (with TLM and sales growth) than previous years, and more people entering the FOL fold. If anything, opportunists are just flocking to LEGO as a result of LEGO's growing popularity and monetary value, as opportunists will always be there for the "next big thing". Then again, if you're looking for sanity, Facebook comments are generally not the place to go.

On the downside of LEGO's surging popularity and sales, it seems the days of great 50% off sales are over :(.

lulwut

TLG needs to warn builders that small pieces can sometimes entrap themselves in the crinkles of the plastic baggies.

Hard to believe how big Lego has gotten over the last few years. I remember Toysrus having less than an aisle for Lego sets in 2007.

GIR3691

akunthita said:

The culture of entitlement and ripping others off is really spreading...

Is it spreading, or is the social media as you mention just better representing the occurrences that were happening anyway?

Captain_Eyebrow

LEGOCollector2504 said:

Then again, if you're looking for sanity, Facebook comments are generally not the place to go

Never has a truer word been spoken, Social Media has it place but the arbiter of common sense it is not!

GIR3691 said:

akunthita said:

Is it spreading, or is the social media as you mention just better representing the occurrences that were happening anyway?

Nope, take it from one who deals with Social Media everyday on a professional level, it does not represent the regular it highlights the irregular!

mountebank

This thread puts me in mind of Cicero's O tempora o mores from over 2000 years ago.

margot

mountebank said:

This thread puts me in mind of Cicero's O tempora o mores from over 2000 years ago.

I was thinking exactly the same thing... ;-)

Coyotelily

Simple solution- don't do Facebook - I've managed to get through life without it, and the world hasn't stopped turning! Incidentally only ever had one piece missing from a new set, rung lego, sorted it and sent me a keyring as an apology nice but unnecessary as it's this generosity which leaves the group open to abuse.

superstarbeejay

Stepping back from the knee jerk reactions here, I have had many more problems with missing pieces recently than ever before. Most recently a WVC missing an entire bag. I do think that there is a possibility that the increased demand and popularity has resulted in an increased number of missing pieces. And it can be massively disappointing finding that a critical piece is missing meaning that you can't continue the build without it.

The missing pieces from my town hall haven't arrived after about 3 weeks since the request was made and my email about the missing bag hasn't been responded to at all.

While I have had plenty of very positive interactions with Lego customer services and had the vast majority of sets without any missing pieces, it is arrogant to assume that anyone having issues is either a scammer or unable to look in a packet properly. And if the latter is a recurring problem then it is in Lego's gift to make it harder to for this to happen.

cheshirecat

I remember one bricksetter claiming they had missing pieces regularly, in about 10% of sets. At that point I'm fairly sure that they're just not very careful opening bags.

Sethro3

I've had a large number of missing pieces, but it has been better lately. But then again, 2013 I was opening up A LOT of sets and this year hardly any, so maybe that is the change also.

One could assume it is by opening bags haphazardly, but when they are poured into a separate container and the bag then flattened to make sure no more pieces in there, it can throw that argument out of the water (at least in my experience).

The other problem is broken pieces. Not all of them right away out of the bag, but a handful not long after being put together. This has been talked about to death here and on eurobricks, but it is still an active problem to be aware of.

madforLEGO

superstarbeejay said:

Stepping back from the knee jerk reactions here, I have had many more problems with missing pieces recently than ever before. Most recently a WVC missing an entire bag. I do think that there is a possibility that the increased demand and popularity has resulted in an increased number of missing pieces. And it can be massively disappointing finding that a critical piece is missing meaning that you can't continue the build without it.

The missing pieces from my town hall haven't arrived after about 3 weeks since the request was made and my email about the missing bag hasn't been responded to at all.

While I have had plenty of very positive interactions with Lego customer services and had the vast majority of sets without any missing pieces, it is arrogant to assume that anyone having issues is either a scammer or unable to look in a packet properly. And if the latter is a recurring problem then it is in Lego's gift to make it harder to for this to happen.

Sethro3 said:

.......The other problem is broken pieces. Not all of them right away out of the bag, but a handful not long after being put together. This has been talked about to death here and on eurobricks, but it is still an active problem to be aware of.

There is no doubt that LEGO QA is woefully lacking as of late but not surprising considering where they are manufacturing the sets these days.

Memo to LEGO: You get what you pay for. Cheap labor often means uneducated labor, or those who just do not care about quality of what they are building, producing, boxing for their company. I see this all of the time in services provided in certain parts of the world, and also with quality of these products in certain parts of the world.

Quite frankly I'm surprised this QA issue is not brought up to every LEGO exec that visits a major LEGO convention.

CCC

For damage, it seems to be more down to design rather than location of manufacture.

For missing parts, surely this is down to machinery that packages bags / boxes than expecting someone checking each set. How does that vary from country to country?

monkeyhanger

It's amazing how seemingly normal people can do dishonest things when a huge company is taking the hit. They think it is a victimless crime.

I investigate technical complaints for a French pharmaceutical company (Sanofi) and do lots of analysis on the patterns (links to certain pack sizes, geographical similarities, complaint types etc), and I have found one thing that stands out. For our most expensive product, coming in at an eyewatering 260 Euros for a pack of 100 tablets, there is only 1 nation claiming underfilling on a regular basis. In most of the EU, their health service picks up the tab, but in Germany you buy the tablets yourself and can claim a certain proportion of the cost back, depending on your circumstances.

6% of our output for that product goes to Germany, but 99.6% of "shortage" complaints come from Germany. There are 4 different security measures to ensure complete filling (tamper evident seals, vision systems, check weighers, blister counters). Whenever we get another German complaint of this type, we know they're lying through their teeth, but our company reimburses them in full the moment they send a partial pack back, no matter the investigative outcome. Funnily enough, we also make the same product and package it for a German company and they never get complaints from the German market. Seems the Germans we encounter think its ok ripping off a French company, but not a German one.

People in general are getting more selfish and being looser with their morals, always looking to get something for nothing. My sister lives the life on Riley on benefits ("earning" about £38k tax free as a single mother of 4), but my dad's work when we were kids was very "feast or famine" - there used to be a fair bit of shame and humility in relying on handouts (even getting free school dinners when my dad was out of work), now it's a badge of honour.

mountebank

I'm not convinced that complaining about the benefits system of the UK educates readers about products produced by TLG.

monkeyhanger

Aye, a bit of a detour there (apologies), but it does demonstrate an extension of the "something for nothing" mentality that is rife these days and gives some people a sense of entitlement for massive compensation when some very minor inconvenience has befallen them (assuming they're not just trying it on).

mountebank

If it helps, I did enjoy reading paragraphs 1, 2, and 3.

cheshirecat

Personally I havent noticed any change in lego quality, whether its the parts, the packaging, missing pieces, instructions.

Legoboy

Definitely. The bricks appear more plasticy (if that's possible) and the box cardboard is thinner in my opinion. My faith in missing parts has risen tenfold. I refuse to believe a part is missing now and lo and behold, it appears.

DadsAFOL

Regarding Lego QA, there is an interesting factoid in the 2013 Responsibility Report. Their target for calls to customer service is 950 per million products sold. In 2013, they received 781 calls per million products sold. That's a defect rate of 0.08%. In other words, your chance of getting a set with a missing piece/broken piece/defect of some sort is 1 in every 1280 sets.

mathew

Western civilization is doomed. No, it really is. Research beyond what the history books 'tell' you and don't think for a second what your government or news media tells you is true. The rabbit hole goes deep. Deeper than most will be comfortable with. Interestingly, The Lego Movie touched upon on this. At least as much as a corporate produced, product based, animated kid's movie can.

CCC

DadsAFOL said:

Regarding Lego QA, there is an interesting factoid in the 2013 Responsibility Report. Their target for calls to customer service is 950 per million products sold. In 2013, they received 781 calls per million products sold. That's a defect rate of 0.08%. In other words, your chance of getting a set with a missing piece/broken piece/defect of some sort is 1 in every 1280 sets.

I disagree with the last statement. The number of calls they receive is not the same as the defect rate. No doubt some complain if there is no defect, but I reckon a larger number don't complain when there is a defect, as either they do not know they can complain / how to complain, or don't even realise there is a problem if their kid made the set.

Goldchains

mathew said:

Western civilization is doomed. No, it really is. Research beyond what the history books 'tell' you and don't think for a second what your government or news media tells you is true. The rabbit hole goes deep. Deeper than most will be comfortable with. Interestingly, The Lego Movie touched upon on this. At least as much as a corporate produced, product based, animated kid's movie can.

We are all going to be either conquered by aliens within the next 100 years, or we'll go back to the stone ages some time within the next 10000 years(according to the Drake equation), or we'll be burnt to a crisp when the Sun becomes a Red Giant in a few billion years anyways, so enjoy it while you can!

Captain_Eyebrow

Whoa, this thread has taken an unexpected turn, I'm off to hum a few bars of always look on the bright side of life . . . . . . .

caperberry

As far as I'm concerned, the sudden spate is down to Facebook changing their algorithms. I never used to see people's comments to Lego in my newsfeed: a few weeks ago they suddenly started appearing all the time. Anyone else notice the same thing?

So I suspect people have been using Facebook to moan at LEGO for a some time, but everyone's only noticing and commenting on it now because it's actually coming into their newsfeeds. This in turn probably does slightly increase the number of people then trying it on just to get a freebie, but what has increased massively is the number of people moaning and complaining about people who are moaning and complaining. It really makes me want to moan and complain.

dannyrww

I've been reading the facebook posts on Lego for a long time, but you are right they are coming through the newsfeed more often. Usually the complaints are people reposting and latching on to a trend (lashing out about friends, complaining about Shell). People actually post Porn on the threads late at night which is another problem they face. The thing is if you weed through all that there are some wonderful posts from people who are positive. I always post my students' projects from out Lego Creativity club there and those at Lego always take time to give personal feed back and make nongeneric comments. I still hold their customer service and interactions are well above that of most companies...especially in light of a lot of uncalled for negativity.

margot

Did you see the post where someone complained that their kid cut his foot on a brick?

Jern92

margot said:

Did you see the post where someone complained that their kid cut his foot on a brick?

I saw it on my News Feed but can't seem to read it, so I think it's been deleted.

margot

The poster got slammed for stupidity so I think they took it down out of embarrassment.

empire

My sister swallowed a Lego brick about 25 years ago, aside from a doctor's visit and some "supervision" to make sure it came out, not really a big deal. Today i'm sure there'd be a lawsuit and everything else. Everyone wants something for nothing, and suing over one's own incompetence seems to be the easiest route to that.

I've been opening Lego sets since the 80's and not once have I been shorted on pieces. Got a big Ziploc full of extra parts, but never missed anything. That's pretty damn impressive considering how many pieces go into a set.

Dougout

mathew said:

Western civilization is doomed. No, it really is. Research beyond what the history books 'tell' you and don't think for a second what your government or news media tells you is true. The rabbit hole goes deep. Deeper than most will be comfortable with. Interestingly, The Lego Movie touched upon on this. At least as much as a corporate produced, product based, animated kid's movie can.

Seriously mathew, you can't be so drastically negative. The power of good will always trump the power of evil. The only reason you are seeing a few opportunists pop up is because groups of nice, hard working people have been governing people, protecting people, and inventing things like the internet for people for centuries, with such efficiency that some people can now take advantage of the system without offering any contributions to their own communities. A few opportunists don't represent a fall of Western civilization at all.

Yes, the rabbit hole goes much deeper, watch the Matrix series if you want to interpret subliminal messages about governmental control. TLM is aimed at a young generation of kids, messages (even though many are wrong, and most are poorly conceptualized) found in TLM are mainly for a younger generation that will have to deal with things like the largest amount of corporate control than ever before.

Legopassion8

Heh. I enjoy the opportunity to insult the Polish on the Lego Facebook page. Nah. I'm lying...

Redbullgivesuwind

^what has polish ever done to you. I have a lovely veneer on my decking.

I think that the increase in complaints, people chancing their arm is only because it is now easier to get in contact with companies in a public domain. Previously you had to phone up or write to company. This made it a very one to one situation. However, if you look through history it is simply taking human behaviour and making it more public. People have always tried to chance their arm to get free things, made up fake stories to gain stuff. And people have always been claiming that children are badly behaved; Hesiod in 8 BC said "I see no hope for our future if they are dependant on the frivolous youth of today." He even said "when I was young...." Peoples attitudes aren't right but hardly symptomatic of the decline and fall of the west. Unless you think coming down from the trees was a bad idea.

margot

Is it true that you can't return items, from online shopping, to the store in the UK? Someone was complaining and I just checked return policies and they are completely different between the US and the UK. In the US we can take things back to the store, no problem. As long as they are less than $200. (which is odd)