If you don’t have a pre-school child you could (just about) be forgiven for not being aware of possibly the loveliest animated programme to hit our screens since Pingu. Any fans of Mark Rylance’s sophorific tones will be delighted to know that he’s the voice of our favourite character – the rather wonderful Flop (pictured below holding the beach ball).
There was high excitement this week with the much-anticipated launch of the Bing toy range by Fisher-Price. Due to be available for pre-order from June 1st (although Fisher Price doesn’t actually plan on releasing the toys until July 1st*), Monday saw hoards of Bingsters poised from the early hours ready and waiting to fill their virtual baskets with such gorgeous items as these bath squirters:
Very sadly, the heralded pre-order time came and went with very little actually appearing online anywhere, and the few items that did appear quickly ‘sold out’ leaving frustrated fans scratching their heads and asking for answers.
TV production company and brand owner, Acamar Films, acting in good faith on the information provided by the manufacturers, was equally as confused, and we worked with them to mitigate the effects of the black clouds of frustration and give people the answers they were looking for.
It’s an all too familiar story, and one the will be repeated time and again – even the best laid plans can be subject to inexplicable delays, and sometimes the ONLY thing that can be done in these situations is to keep communicating. If you’re present on social media these are the times when the customer service element really counts – don’t ever let people feel ignored, or that their frustrations have no validity. If you can’t answer a question there and then, it’s okay to explain that, to tell them that you’re waiting for information and will report back as soon as possible. It’s true that you can’t keep everyone happy all of the time, but you can try; you can say sorry; and you can do the best you can to make a tricky situation just a little bit better…
*Bing toys will be available from the following retailers: Amazon, Argos, Asda, Boots, Debenhams, Hamleys, Harrods, John Lewis, Littlewoods, Smyths, Tesco, The Early Learning Centre, The Entertainer, Toys ‘R Us, Very, Wilko and many other independent toy shops.