The quality of customer service might depend on when you call? A lot of large companies have to hire seasonal help because the number of orders increases dramatically over the holidays, but drops off other times of the year. So it could be that the seasonal help doesn't know the products.
And of course AG is much larger than it was 10 years ago, which probably contributes to the customer service being less personal...for instance, if they get hundreds of letters from girls every week, that makes it difficult to send handwritten replies like they could when they got 30 letters a week.
But I agree that it is a disappointment.
Regarding changes in product quality...I would think that when AG changes a product, that might be due to any number of reasons--safety, durability, etc. It doesn't automatically mean Mattel is just looking to make an extra 5 cents.
And in some cases, making a product cheaper to produce might be the only alternative to retiring that product.
So, which is better? Make something out of cheaper wood/plastic, or retire it?
When I call AG, especially when looking for a replacement part, I always have Meg's guide up so I have the proper name and stock number (is that what you call it, those letters?) handy otherwise it takes forever. If they had a complete catalog every now and then it would be easier for everyone!
I agree that if they came out with even just one complete catalog a year, it'd make life a lot easier for everyone. I'm always looking through many different catalogs to find different dolls' items. I'd even be willing to pay $5 or something for a complete catalog.
As for the retire vs. lower quality thing, I wish they'd consider a third option- just telling their customers that it is really expensive to make X item and upping the price a little bit. I'd personally rather pay more for a higher quality item than see it retired or made out of plastic. Judging by the prices and interest on ebay, others would too. I just don't know why Mattel doesn't consider that option.
I'm glad someone posted about actually having got an ice cream freezer that is (for sure) plastic. My husband's a carpenter, and I trust any woodworker to know the difference. Thanks for posting- I now know to look for a pre-mattel one on ebay.
I agree with judiaci, the spokes do look cheap, not what we have come to expect. Julie [img]frown.gif[/img]
I don't know the ultimate answer on whether the current freezers and prams are wood or not. But I do have some observations...
The newer prams are thinner and do seem more plastic-y. However, I could see how they could have switched to a more composite-type of wood that is thinner, and they could have changed the paint/coating to one that is more plastic-y in texture.
I wish that I had gotten a freezer from earlier days when there was no question and they were all made out of wood. I got one last July at the sale that I think is wood, but I'm not sure. It seems to have grain and rays, but those can be replicated in plastic with proper molding.
The only way that we will ever know for sure is if someone will buy a current version of either one of those items and then systematically take shavings off and/or cut them open, in the middle of the "wood" pieces, where molding wouldn't have an effect. And if someone did that, it would be good if they could take pictures at every stage of the process and post them here.
But what collector could bring her/himself to do that??!! It would take someone's spouse or friend or parent--someone who would be willing to spend the money, view it as an experiment rather than as a toy, and not have the emotional wrenching that most of us would have. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Also, I am one who believes that the caliber of the current PC Customer Service people is often different than it used to be, in terms of how much they know about the products. I think that it's pretty hit'n'miss. Sometimes you can get someone that's really informed and helpful, and other times you can get someone that you can tell has no idea what they're talking about. The latter type of situation is probably even more common with the regular phone people (non-Customer-Service). I do think that most of the time they just tell you whatever they're reading on their computer monitor--and who knows how much of that info is accurate?!
I really wish that a pre-requisite for ANYone working the phones for PC/AG would be that they would have to read all of the historical books for all of the dolls, and take a quiz every week.
I may be wrong, but I think that at some time since Mattel took over, the phone answering was handed over to an agency that handles calls for more than one business--which I think is part of the problem. I think that with that kind of system, there is less loyalty and investment in, and first-hand knowledge about, any one product or company.
Joy
<font color="#020176" size="1">[ February 19, 2004 12:55 PM: Message edited by: djsnjones ]</font>
I am just guessing, but I think Nellie Girl is referring to the fact that the "seams" in the plastic ice cream freezers are fake, that is, they are only molded onto the front of the freezer and aren't real seams like in real wood freezers, which are made out of multiple pieces of wood held together by the metal. I have seen top view pictures of the supposedly plastic freezers and the seams do not appear to be real- they are just molded onto the outside of the freezer and are not on the inside.
I know wood heavily painted/varnished can appear plasticy, but a woodworker or carpenter would know the difference no matter what. My husband can easily tell the difference by the feel/weight/sound of it, as well as telling the quality of the wood if it is wood. So if a woodworker has said someone's freezer was plastic, I'm inclined to believe it.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I think you meant to say plastic instead of wood regarding black market knock -offs.Originally posted by moperperp:
If anyone has ever seen and known for certain that either of these were made of wood they were black market knock-offs.
These items have never been made of plastic. Often times when wood is finished really well by painting or varnishing it can look like plastic. A very simple test is to drill a small hole in the item in question in an unseen area (like the bottom) and examine the material brought out by the drill bit. You will see that it is made of wood. If you need further proof, drill a similar hole in a childs toy that is made of plastic to see the difference.
Nelliegirl, when you refer to seams on the ice cream freezer, are you sure you're not seeing gaps between pieces of wood?
Welcome to the board, sprite 99, and moperperp! I hope that you both enjoy your time here!
Please tell us how you come to know with such confidence that these items are not made out of plastic, in their most recent forms. We'd be glad to hear from both of you about this!
Thanks,
Joy
<font color="#020176" size="1">[ February 20, 2004 01:45 PM: Message edited by: djsnjones ]</font>
Anyone know anything about Kirsten's St. Lucia tray? I think I heard once that this is plastic now too, and if so I will be very sad because I don't have it and I definitely want a wood one! If it's plastic, I should probably start looking on ebay now. It would be a shame if this were plastic too.
Ann it's hard to tell but the tray looked like wood to me. It's more rustic looking than the old one I have. It looks like rough cut wood and painted blue
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks