Happy Hippo Toys — Local services in Haddonfield

Had a really upsetting experience here that I felt like I needed to share… I already don’t love going in here because it’s chaotic, the staff is very slow, and there always seems to be something going wrong (two visits ago, their card machine wasn’t working, one visit ago there was a fire alarm that went off for 2 hours), and they have a train table out to play with but no trains, so my 3 year old always gets really sad about it.

Anyway, this time we went in so my older son could spend his Christmas money on a new toy he remembered seeing there specifically and brought my younger son along. He found what he wanted and we waited in line for over 10 minutes with someone ahead of us because apparently their card machine was down. Again. No apology, no real explanation, no acknowledgment of me or the two other people waiting behind me. The owner or manager finally rebooted it and charged the people ahead of me, but when it was my turn to pay, he took my card, apparently swiped it, and there was silence for another 2 full minutes (again, no explanation, no apology), until I finally asked my stepmom who was with me if she had any cash and whipped out enough to buy the plushie my son had picked out. I was pretty annoyed at this point and said I’ll buy this in cash but honestly I’m not going to shop here any more because every time I come in here something is going wrong and it’s stressful to wait here with two small impatient kids so it’s not worth the gamble.

The owner angrily shoved my cash back at me and said “well maybe you don’t get to have this toy then!” And my sweet 6 year old son wailed in anguish and said “please, can I have the toy?” And he said “I don’t want your money” - we turned around and left while my son was weeping and pleading, and the owner yelled “Merry CHRISTMAS” at us on the way out.

I’d really love to shop local, but this store is never getting our business again. I’ll be heading to Tildie’s Toy Shop down the street which is nicely organized and has always been helpful and friendly. This kind of behavior should not fly, and you certainly shouldn’t be in the business of selling toys to children when you’re willing to rip something from a kid’s grasp and lose a sale because you refuse to acknowledge your issues.

Woof. I know this place is beloved by many but thought folks deserved to know what kind of business you’re supporting. The other 1 star reviews on here tell a...

I was excited to visit this shop with my son. He always enjoyed looking in the windows and recently we were finally able to actually go in for a reward after his first dentist appointment. All was going well until a woman came in looking to speak with someone about buying a product she was selling. The two salesman were extremely standoffish to her and were hesitant to offer her any information about when a manager might be available to speak with her. She left and they continued to speak about her and criticize her for wanting to speak with someone. The most upsetting part was that this woman was clearly Muslim and wearing traditional clothing and at some point one of the salesman brought up something she was wearing and that it was meant to keep sand out and that she should just take it off. He’s saying this while my 4 year old and I are standing feet away from him. It baffles me that someone who works at a TOY STORE would use this kind of offensive language in front of a customer and child or that someone with this attitude would even be hired at a store meant for children. I thought this store would be a part of my sons’ childhood and was excited to have a small business as a staple for children’s gifts and just good memories but I will not...

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. I was greeted at the door with a smiling face by a guy that can juggle. Neat. I was looking for a simple toy snake that looked real. And i found one here. I needed it for an a prank scince tommorow is april fools day. I looked online and it would have to be shipped from a store so that wouldnt work. I got there 10 minutes before they closed. They let me take my time and look around. I found a cool kite with a dragon on it also. Scince im an adult that still likes to fly kites. It was perfect and wasnt like those cheap plastic ones they sell elsewhere. Cool stuff in there. Old stuff too. Neat stuffed animals all sort . Elephants snakes tigers if your looking for something out of the ordinary or popular i bet you can find it there. Cool barbie dolls. I loved the stuffed octopus and they even had courous george. All sorts of toys. Cute shop. Definitely will be back. I loved the fact they had exactly what i was looking for and for a friday night it wasnt really that busy or crowded. Thanks for giving us time to browse around your...