Once Upon A Child Ocoee, FL — Local services in Ocoee

If I could give 0 stars I would. I went in today 1/12/25 about 20mins after they opened and went to the sell counter and gave my bag full of clothes; they said to put in a phone number and they’ll let us know when it’s ready. That’s all they said. Okay fine, I’ve done this before at other locations. So I walk through the store, collecting items I’d like to purchase but waiting until I’m called so I can use the credit toward the purchase. I walk around in store 30mins without any notification before I decide I will just buy my items and come back for the money from what I’m selling. Keep in mind, I’ve driven from another city to drop off these items as there are not many Once Upon A Child’s. I go to another store and spend an hour with no notification before I decide that perhaps I should call to check and see how long it will be. So it’s been 2hrs now since I dropped off items. I call and I give my name and ask how long it will be and the person who answered was probably the most incompetent person I’ve ever dealt with. I provide my name and ask approximately how long it will be, she says, “well it looks like it’s going to be minute” okayyyy, is that 1hr, 2hr, 5hrs? She says, probably a few more hours. So keep in mind, this is already 2hrs after I’ve dropped off items so now you’re saying it will take 5-6hrs to go through 1 bag. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would wait 5hrs to sell some items unless they live 5-10minutes away? And that’s not even the part I’m upset about. It’s the LACK OF COMMUNICATION. So let me give you all some free business consulting advice since the staff and manager on duty don’t know what they are doing. When customers come in to sell, ASK IF THEY ARE JUST DROPPING OFF OR IF THEY’LL BE SHOPPING IN STORE AND TRYING TO USE THE CREDIT. Because then common sense would then say to check and price the items for those deciding to remain in store to wait. Secondly, when people drop off items it should be common courtesy to inform them of the approximate wait time. When I called after 2hrs of waiting the incompetent staff said, “well we were already backed up from opening”, if you are days backed up then staff isn’t doing their job but forgetting that point they SHOULD HAVE TOLD US THAT WHEN DROPPING OFF THE ITEMS, not after a 2hrs wait. A simple, “hey, we’re pretty busy today, we may not get to your items while you’re shopping” or the fact that it would take a DARN NEAR FULL WORK DAY to get through. So I got my items and left. And let’s not ignore how dirty and unorganized this location is 60% of items are not even in the right size area. AND the cherry on top, when I bought items I did the 10x$10 onesies and the receipt shows the person rung it up each $1.50, without the discount and YES receipt shows 10 items each $1.50, so I was charged $5 than I should have been, but I didn’t even bother paying telling them...

I often visit this store whenever I have the time, even though it's quite far from where I live. This usually means I spend a lot when I make the trip. I know they buy used items, and I have a considerable amount of baby items for ages 0 to 3 years. Before bringing my items, I call and message them to confirm they are open and accepting items that day.

Today, I brought my toddler's used clothes, several khaki uniform pants, a mattress, and some sheets. The woman assisting me gave me a receipt and informed me that they would need some time to sort through my items. She mentioned that I should expect a message in about 4 to 5 hours, so we decided to stay in the area to avoid making another long trip.

Later, I received a message saying they would see me soon, so we headed back to the store. The woman asked if I had received the message, which I confirmed. However, she then began looking for something, and another staff member said they hadn’t even started processing my items yet. This was incredibly frustrating, considering we had been there since 11 AM and it was now 5 PM.

I tried to understand why they hadn’t started yet and mentioned that I live an hour away and today is my only day off from work. I told them they could have at least informed me if they weren’t able to process my items today to avoid unnecessary waiting. The staff were rude, and one even mentioned they have customers who travel three hours. What’s the point of that? It felt like they were doing me a favor, and I couldn’t take my items back because our car was almost full with purchases, plus my daughter was waiting. I explained this, but they suggested I just come back tomorrow. Seriously? I had already explained that today was my only day off from work and that the store is an hour away. They asked if I could wait another hour, but I couldn’t, as my other kids were waiting for us at home. We had been out for almost a day for nothing. If I had known, I wouldn't have come.

No one even apologized for the inconvenience, so this must be a normal thing for them. They used their system issues as an excuse, but how are they going to explain the message I received from their system? And when I arrived, the woman even asked if I had received the message, which I confirmed.

I have been a customer since 2019, and today will be my last visit to this store. They might not care about losing a customer, they may say who cares? but with the experience I had today, I will never recommend this store and will...

I decided to give this location another chance, even though I’ve had mixed experiences in the past. To be fair, some of the staff members are nice and professional—but it’s inconsistent. It feels like half the team understands how to treat customers well, and the other half doesn’t. In a business, everyone should be on the same page when it comes to respect and customer service.

My husband and I came in with our two kids after I got off work. He wanted to look for a dollhouse for our daughter and shoes for our son. We were all in the same area of the store, closely supervising the kids while we looked at a dollhouse priced at $90 (originally $175), which included accessories. I was comparing prices online and taking my time to decide if it was the right buy, while my kids were quietly checking out the dollhouse next to us.

Out of nowhere, an employee yelled, “If they break it, they buy it!”—loud and clear for everyone around. That one comment completely shifted the tone of the experience. It felt rude, uncalled for, and incredibly unprofessional, especially when we were clearly being attentive and respectful.

As a general manager myself, I would never allow an employee to speak to a customer like that—and as a human being, I would never talk to anyone that way. There are better, more respectful ways to handle concerns.

I left the store without saying anything in person because I didn’t want to react emotionally in front of my kids, but I did call afterward to express my frustration. I really wanted to support this business—I came ready to buy—but I left feeling disrespected and unwelcome.

I’ve given this place multiple chances, but this was the last straw. It’s unfortunate, because a few staff members do seem to care—but in a business, consistency matters. Customers shouldn’t have to hope they get the “nice” team when...