WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (UPI) — The hottest toy of the holiday season, Hatchimals, and its maker Spin Master, are coming under fire from parents who say the item is not working as advertised.
Picking up steam on Christmas Day, the company has been slammed on social media as countless children excitedly received their desired Hatchimal only to be disappointed later when it would not hatch.
“I have a 5-year-old in tears over a toy that doesn’t work. He can’t understand why Santa would send him a broken toy,” noted one mother on Spin Master’s Facebook page, where thousands of unsatisfied customers have complained.
“I am so disappointed with this product And feel that it will take me ages to try and replace it as they are still sold out everywhere,” reads another comment on a post by Spin Master that attempts to explain how to get the toy to hatch properly.
On Wednesday, Spin Master addressed the negative comments on Facebook writing, “While the vast majority of children have had a magical experience with Hatchimals, we have also heard from consumers who have encountered challenges. We are 100% committed to bringing the magic of Hatchimals to all of our consumers.”
The toymaker went on to explain it had hired more staff to work its consumer phone line in order to handle the high volume of complaints.
In addition to the toy not hatching, some parents have posted videos to YouTube claiming the Hatchimal is swearing in its sleep.
Inside the egg or out, clips show the duck-like animal uttering a phrase that to some sounds like “[expletive] me.”
“Hatchimals speak their own language made up of random sounds,” a spokesperson for Spin Master said in a statement to Mashable.”We can assure you that the Hatchimal is not saying anything inappropriate. The one in the video appears to be sleeping.”
Launched in October, Hatchimals were hard to find over the holiday shopping season with some parents paying up to $150 above the item’s $59.99 retail price.
