A small rant about quality control

[pukunui]

I contacted Hasbro NZ about this, and this is the initial response I got:

"Thank you for your email and feedback. I have passed your email on to the Product Manager once again and will remove these items from stock to check. I will get back to you as soon as I have a response."

We'll see what the product manager has to say.


In the meantime, I managed to find myself another Sunny Rays who has an ever so slight improvement in terms of color match-up (she looked more or less perfect under the artificial lights in the store, but now that I've got her out of the box and am looking at her in the natural light at home, I can see there's still some discoloration. Sigh ...).

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I think it's sad that the quality control of the G4s bothered you so much that you felt your Father's Day presents weren't up to your standards.   

I think perhaps you are expecting a bit much for toys that are generally aimed at a target market between the ages of 3 and 7.  Regardless of the number of collectors out there, Hasbro's manufacturing is not concerned with how the plastic looks under a photographer's spotlight, or whether or not the paint jobs are perfect.  They are concerned with choking hazards, sharp edges, stray plastic pieces that can break off, and plastics that don't contain high levels of lead and other toxic chemicals.

Even toys produced in small batches, like anime snap-together models, have small flaws sometimes.  Those are toys one is paying $100+ for, too! 

It's just part of the game when one manufactures with plastic.  Of course, if they carved MLPs from wood, I'm sure people would complain about how the wood grain didn't perfectly align.  :-p

[pukunui]

Although I am a perfectionist, I know and accept that nothing in this world can actually be perfect. I can put up with minor flaws and blemishes. As I said initially, just about all of my ponies have some discoloration between head and body, but for the most part it doesn't bother me. It's only when the discoloration is glaringly obvious that it bothers me enough to complain about it. And so far I've only noticed really bad discoloration with a few ponies; namely, Dewdrop Dazzle, Feathermay and now Sunny Rays.

I have never seen a Feathermay that did not have a hot pink head and a duller, dark pink body. I *have* seen Dewdrop Dazzles that had bright blue bodies that matched their bright blue heads, but the first one I got had a duller, greyish-blue body that was noticeably different to her bright blue head. I managed to find a new one that had matched better. I have also just found a Sunny Rays that isn't as bad as the first one I got either.

Also, to be completely honest, I had actually found the ponies and was going to buy them for myself, but my wife insisted that I let her have the girls give them to me for Father's Day, so I pretended not to know about them. Just thought I'd mention it by why of explaining why I seem somewhat ungrateful.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

*pony hugs*  At least they don't cost any more than they already do!  You've pointed out that the price difference in NZ is quite higher...  Canada has a similar problem.  I found blind bags at TRU finally the other week but they are $3.99 apiece!  How can I spend that when I can spend $6.99 and get something brushable?!  And blind bags just DON'T have ANY QC whatsoever so I can't justify collecting them.  I would go nuts thinking, "I can re-paint that..."

Sometimes I think I would be willing to pay whatever it costs to have an individual MAKE and PAINT *my* pony.  LOL

[pukunui]

Thanks. Yes, everything here is more expensive. At least with MLP, though, we seem to get some of the new stuff as soon as, and sometimes even before, the States gets it. Whereas with Monster High, we tend to be about 6-9 months behind on releases. We don't get everything from both lines, either, because there are no Targets, TRUs, or Walmarts here, so we miss out on most of the exclusives (although the local dept store chain, Farmers, did recently start selling that Canterlot set with Starbeam Twinkle that was originally exclusive to Target, I think).

Anyway ... I've started a new thread asking for hairstyle ideas for my two new ponies. Check it out!

[ButtercreamDream]

Pukunui, if you are upset about their quality control, maybe you should stop giving them your money.  Do you collect any of the other generation that you could concentrate on instead?  Because wallets speak louder than words and protests, and as long as people are still buying them, it's not financially worth it for them to modify their factories.  It's the same reason I don't shop at walmart.  I don't agree with their ethics as a company, so I don't give them my money, even when they are cheaper.

[pukunui]

In general, I would say Hasbro's quality control isn't that bad. It's just this one occasional issue.

Oh, and no, I don't collect any ponies other than G4s. I do collect Monster High dolls, though, and I'd have to say that Mattel's quality control is much, much worse. Their customer service leaves something to be desired as well.

I've just heard back from Hasbro NZ and they've said I can send them my Sunny Rays and they'll have a look and maybe send me a replacement.

[hathorcat]

I think LBS hit the nail on the head on a product like this Hasbro are more concerned about these toys being "safe" for their market and being "cheap" for parents than being accurate in colour/paint etc as the majority of purchases are for little girls who I am sure will love their ponies no matter their minor issues.

A statement like "will remove these items from stock to check" could be a little worrying. As although QC have some issues, I am would be reasonable sure clearing every Sunny Rays from shelves in NZ is going to cause much bigger disruption!

[pukunui]

I think she just meant from the warehouse stock. Not a full-on product recall.