Beyond the Blackboard — Local services in Arvada

This store is a gem and such a great resource! I teach adults and went in the first time around the winter holidays to find table top toys for my classrooms. They have a great selection of fun little hand puzzles, mini games, and my fave- mini packs of clay. (like the little crayon packs restaurants give out but clay. I put them out at a work conference and everyone went crazy over them and asked for more. I tried to get them back afterwards and no one wanted to part with them lol. ) While I was chatting with the sales associate she mentioned they were clearing out old inventory and restocking so they had a free selection for teachers of outdated items in the back- it was such a generous and unexpected treat! Thank you for that, and you’ve got a customer for life! Since then I’ve been back once to browse (for fun for me) and bought some puzzles for my 3 year old nephew, which he’s obsessed with (highly recommend the ravensburg space/rocket ship puzzle- our favorite part is the space octopus which has inspired all sorts of imaginary games and arts and crafts). Now during the pandemic, my parents ordered some activities and puzzles online for my nephew. I stopped by today to pick them up curbside and the whole package was put together beautifully with ribbons, a handwritten thank you card, and what I assume is an additional treat of some riddles and stickers that I know will be a huge hit. The sales associate stayed late to make sure I could pick them up, which was another kind gesture, especially considering the state of the world right now. Thank you very much- you have a lovely, high quality store for both adults and kiddos! Your staff clearly put care and consideration into your products and interactions with customers, and it shows. I look forward to...

KNOWINGLY sent me a defective/damaged jelly cat. These are not cheap stuffed animals! After bringing it to the owners attention she asked for a picture. I sent a picture and a video. No response. So I call the store, gentleman tells me they knew it was defective and that they would issue a refund. No refund came through, so I email the owner again saying I sent you a picture/video and got no reply so I called the store and still so no refund the guy told me I would get. NOW she wants to reply and say she’s adding a rep in the email and will send an update shipping by today. So now I’m like ok no refund I will be getting a new one, cool. But then the rep says “here is a link where you can buy from another store and a return label, once we get it back we will refund” So now as a customer I have to dish out another $50 and hope I get this new one shipped in time for Xmas, not to mention possibly getting another defective one. All while still not getting my money back for the original one I bought due to return shipping/bank processing time. I called and spoke to the owner to explain my frustration in how they should use the money I already spent to purchase from this other store and have it shipped to me and I can still use the return label to send the defective one back. But she didn’t want to do that. As a business owner myself, I’m not selling defective products and if my staff did, I would make it right without inconveniencing my customer. Do not buy from this store unless you get a picture/video confirming that they won’t send you something defective just because it’s...

Jacque reached out to me and has made this situation right, so I am changing my review from one star to five. Thank you for taking the time (in less than 24 hours from my review!!) to rectify this matter.

I would like to start by saying I very rarely write reviews for anything. However, the customer service that I received at your store yesterday was very unfortunate. I purchased a Spirograph toy for my son as well as two puzzles, a puzzle mat, a fun color changing pen and some pop rocks. I was so excited about these purchases and was planning to tell my in laws about this store and what great games and toys they carry. The unfortunate part is that the Spirograph that I purchased did not preform as shown on the box. It was difficult to use and the stylus almost broke on the first use. I tried to return this product the same day I purchased it and was told by an employee that I could only return it if it was broken. I replied that although it wasn’t broken it would not work as advertised and we couldn’t use it. I asked if we could get store credit instead of money back and was told this wasn’t possible either. I left with my son in tears and feeling very disappointed that this isn’t our new favorite place anymore. It’s really a shame that this store doesn’t stand behind their products and would rather make a child cry than give a measly $20...