Fan Review: San Francisco Vinylmation Release
When there is a release, it’s always good to hear the point of view of the collector on the scene. As a reminder, we publish the reviews from the fans as they are written. This is their account, not ours.Last week, we brought you a review of the situation at Walt Disney World’s D-Street. It went well. The same cannot be said from the multiple reports we read on Facebook and Twitter from the Vinylmation Kingdom community. Multiple reports say that the San Francisco store received only 100 of the 3 inch vinyls and 100 of the 9 inch vinyls. The first people started getting into line at 1am! The following is the recap from one of our Facebook fans, Jeff Wagley who was present for the release.
3 inch San Francsico Vinylmation
San Francisco 9 inch Limited Edition
Here’s my personal review/experience at the SF release this morning.
I got there right at 6:30am and there were 32 people in line in front of me. I figured there were people going for coffee or breakfast and I was probably around number 40 in line, this was counting everyone including kids. Everyone in line was great, we had a lot of fun with the group in front of us! There were people walking up and down the line with trades so that was cool too. I was having a good experience up to that point. As you know today was Gay Pride day and the parade was literally 50 yards behind us so the place was packed! At around 10am a male CM who said he was a Manager and two female CMs came out. They would not say how many they had but did say they were limiting people to 2 9″ and 2 3″. As soon as they walked out I did a final count. I was number 39 in line. The group behind us did a count as well and came up with the exact same number. There is no doubt where we were in line. The CMs started taking down orders and stamping hands. They kept looking at us and shaking their heads but we were confident because 39 x 2 = 78 and there’s no way they had less than a hundred right?!? Well, they got to the group in front of us and announced loudly that they only had 100 of each and both were now sold out. I was really polite and asked how that was possible. I explained that I counted as he was going and there were only 38 in front of me. He was unreal rude!! WE ARE SOLD OUT! I asked to see the list but he refused. A few people quite a ways behind us were really mad. They too had done the count and knew they should be included. One guy asked how it was even possible and the CM Manager said that was none of his business. I also heard him answer “oh well” to another person but I didn’t hear the question. When someone asked why they didn’t control the lines like Apple does, he said something about it not being his job.
I was really disappointed in the process and the attitude of the employees. If Cast Members grabbed some for themselves that’s fine, but don’t lie about it. Very frustrating.
Line in front of Jeff at the San Francisco Release
The line behind Jeff at the San Francisco release.
Thanks Jeff for your report. I know from reading other accounts on our Facebook page that they stuck with the limit of two 9 inch designs and 5 three inch designs that was published originally. I do think that since they only got in a limited stock, maybe they should have limited the numbers allowed to be purchased on release day. On a whole, it was a bad day for everybody. Bad for the Vinylmation collectors who drove in from as far away as San Diego and for cast members who cannot control the numbers they receive. However, if there is one thing a manager should do is to make a judgement call to make sure he can satisfy the most people. If the shipment they received was a fraction of what they expected, they should have limited the vinylmations per person. Yes some people would have been upset but not nearly as many who were this day. I also hope that in the future that the Disney Store/Vinylmation teams help inform the stores of how frenzied these releases can be.
On a bright side, the San Francisco
Sounds frustrating for those involved. Both cm and guests.
These should be around for some time. The fact the there were only 100 of these stocked boggles my mind.
I wa steer as well and was number 100 in line. At around 9ish the nice guy behind me called the store and we were informed that the CM had no idea how many they had but there were “4 shelves full”. Ok clearly you don’t have all 1540. So now the tension increased. Then came the moment RJ came down the line and attempted to let everyone know that they were sold out! Seriously???? I thought he was going to get shot. It wasn’t his fault about the shipment number, but his communication all week was por when I called and others around me called to ask questions about the release. Everyone around us wanted to know why there was no wristbands passed out EARLY. To avoid pol leaving and coming right before 11. Why the store wouldn’t have modified the store hours for the release, especially with the parade going on, and even changed the limits. Upon asking about changing the limits RJ rudely replied “that’s not store policy” but we all know from the UP release in CA on Friday that the limits can be changed because I was limited to 1 of those. rJ clearly had no control and no real skills about what to do to help the situation. About 300+ fans were left disappointed and tired. Disney is aware of the situation and is working to fixing it in the future
Yeah, it’s really hard to fault the Manger cause he had such limited stock. I think the main frustration was with his attitude and with the lack of wristbands or some sort of control. This was the first time SF did a release but it was not the first time Disney did it by a long shot.
I’m still cracking up thinking about the kids in front of us dancing and having fun so it wasn’t a total loss. LOL
i purchased one from an ebay seller, however I was told he/she cant fulfill my purchase because disney limited 5 per person, so if there 30+ people in front of you, you definetely have no chance to purchase… not even 1. This is a sad day for all VM collector and sad for Disney continue screw us. I dont know how many upset parents, collectors or even crying kiddos there that day….. what a waste of time however I do like some of your positive attitude… dacing kids, conversation with each other…. hopefully Disney can make some kind of change
This happens too often with Vinylmations becoming more popular. I have to believe that with Disney’s experience with pins and lines in the past that the Disney Store’s Management Team can draw experiences from Disney Parks Management. One of the mantra’s my old boss used to say was when you get overwhelmed and are over your head, “PIVOT” was his answer. In other words, if your original plan isn’t working, CHANGE DIRECTION. If I was in that SF line, I would have had my iPhone out recording what the manager was telling everyone. His bosses need to see how he handled the situation and instruct him how to handle it in the future (or fire him). No, it was not his fault as to the stock he received, but it was his responsibility to make sure as many people as possible had a MAGICAL EXPERIENCE. If they had 100 3″ Cable Cars, then let 100 people have one, not 50 people (store employees or friends of employees that had some set aside for them) have two each. Or give everyone a choice, you may purchase ONE vinylmation today. It can be either a 3″ or a 9″. At least 200 people would get something for their trouble.
We can all assume that the Disney Store will get more. If you make enough folks mad, they simply won’t buy or they certainly won’t make the journey to get an item like this Cable Car on the initial day of release. Disney loves to sell a bunch as early as they can. When their money is not recovered as quickly, that cannot proceed as quickly on the next project. When someone at a store, like W…..rt, makes my day miserable, I will simply boycott them and not buy ANYTHING from them for 6 months. That’s when a company listens, when their pocketbook takes a hit. If enough people do, they will listen.
I hope The Disney Store gets their stuff together quickly or Disney Corp may be looking to sell it off again. They have such a great potential, but are falling flat on their faces too often lately. I love DS so I hope it gets straightened out before Texas gets an exclusive Vinylmation!!
I think we – VM collectors … I mean “REAL” collectors not those fake collectors purchase 20 and sell high price…. anyways, we should do what Brad B said… boycott disney and I said ebay too… not purchase anything from Disney or those disgusting ebay sellers maybe that may teach them a lesson. When we stand up for our believe and love of VM, they will not take advantage of us.
BTW… disney employees working ethics…. sad to say but they got no work ethics. First of all they are not well train, second even they are train and go through classes, disney hires anybody so that mean sometime you’ll deal with some ghetto DS employees. I experienced both Disney and Disney store…. very sad that Disney not notice those low life employees they just hire. Of course not all Disney employees are like that…. just enough to ruin Disney image.
I know the line that day was crazy but I think it went smoothly. Can’t wait we are almost going to have a relaunch! now that is really going to be a crazy day.
Hey!! On the first released, I was the first one in line at 1am
it was a great morning