Unorthodox LEGO Investing Tip #2 - Complaining

In my last post I briefly mentioned that buying Lego for someone else could be quite a good ‘investment’ as they may possibly reciprocate. Here’s unorthodox Lego ‘investment’ tip no. 2: complain to Lego.

When my local Lego store opened (I say store, I mean shop, because I’m British) I went along pretty sharpish. I was desperate to bulk out my budding Lego collection and headed straight for the Pick A Brick wall. I was informed by a very friendly member of staff that they’d run out of large PAB cups and that instead they’d let me fill the one cup they had left and then put it in a carrier bag to take home and that they’d give me a pound of for the inconvenience. When I paid I asked them if I could have the usual money off sticker and they were delighted to oblige, sticking it on the bag and assuring me it would get me the money off a cup on my next visit.

Months later and my brother (16) and sister (26) were headed for the city. I gave them the bag and asked them to fill a PAB cup on my behalf (after giving them many tips on how to get the most for the money). The story from now on becomes second-hand:

They filled the cup, took it to the counter and presented the voucher. The shop assistant would not allow it. The duty manager told them they wouldn’t accept it. My sister was told they’d never run out of large PAB cups and that they’d never have given the sticker out. The Lego store staff talked and laughed behind the backs of my family. The positive Lego brand ethos was shattered as it was insinuated that my brother and sister were liars.

Eventually, my sister summoned up all her anger (bearing in mind that she had just been through the toughest time in her life – see also the last post) and delivered a blistering repost (no further details) to which the Lego store staff conceded and gave them the money off.

My other sister (who was also there) later emailed Lego from the website detailing the incident. Lego responded in less than 24 hours and offered her the choice of 200 VIP points (£10) or ‘some bricks’. In consultation with me she went for the VIP points which were credited to my account.

I now have ten pounds worth of free money solely for the purposes of ‘investing’ in Lego. Cashback.

Disclaimer: I am in no way advocating fraudulent complaints to the Lego group. Do not go out of your way to engineer a situation about which you could complain. Do not deliberately break your Lego so you can write a narky email. Do not write narky emails – write polite and eloquent ones. Do not screw our beloved Lego group over, even if one or two of their employees sometimes can be a bit daft. If you are a Lego employee, remember ‘the customer is always right’ and that Lego means ‘play well’. If you are a Lego customer who receives great service, don’t hesitate to feed this back to TLG either.