Melissa & Doug Figure 8 Train Set

My husband and I purchased this Figure 8 Train Set as a Christmas gift for our 2 1/2 year old daughter as it appeared to be a great price for the layout we wanted. After she opened it a couple months later at Christmas, however, we realized that there is a bit of false advertising with the product. On the box we have, the front has a picture of the figure 8 layout titled "Featured Components" and shows the track going under the bridge section in the expected figure 8 layout. On the back of the box, it shows the kinds of pieces included in the box and how many. It was not evident until we attempted to put together the layout with the included paper layout instructions inside that there is a short male-to-male piece needed to do the layout (featured on the front of the box but not on the back) that is not included in the box. In other words, you cannot make the featured layout as you are required to purchase this single piece separately.

I contacted Melissa and Doug about this issue and when they returned my phone call after the holidays I was told that yes, it is a piece that must be purchased separately, but they would send me the piece free of charge. It is now January 18, 2013 and we just received the package they mailed to us, but rather than leap for joy at being able to finally recreate the layout for my daughter, I am just as disappointed as before. Instead of the male-to-male piece I spoke to them about, they sent a duplicate bridge ramp piece!

This is our first time purchasing Melissa and Doug products, but after this experience I will definitely be more skeptical before purchasing them again, especially if the item is packaged inside a box. The customer service would have been amazing had they actually sent the correct piece. Instead, I feel they were humoring me by sending me something without really taking customer satisfaction seriously and making sure it was the right piece. As it was a lot of trouble to bring up the issue and receive this piece, it does not seem worth bringing up to them again at this point.

As for the product itself that was in the box, we were able to create a simple loop layout with the bridge but that results in leaving a bunch of pieces out of it, making it a smaller layout altogether. My daughter seems to like the train set enough despite these problems and for that, I am satisfied with the product.

Save 39% Off