It's time to go to that dark place again -- when I bash a website. I purchased the Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden for my son at a local toy store for $19.99. When we got home I realized that the box only included the habitat and a coupon to order the larvae and food online. So, I headed to the Insect Lore website and ordered the balance of our Science experiment. That's when the whining started ...
"Mom, when will my butterflies be here!"
I assure him, "In about a week."
Well, more than a week goes by and I call Insect Lore to find out when we should expect our package (Please note: Jacob has asked no less than 100 times where his butterflies are at this point). When I call customer service, they show the order was shipped and should have been received, so they re-ordered.
Another week goes by (and as you can imagine, Jacob is REALLY patient - NOT). I call Insect Lore, AGAIN, for them to say they will re-send, AGAIN. (So annoying, not to mention I wish I could get that 30 minutes of my life back that I spent re-explaining the situation).
Finally, the larvae come and it was a really fun and educational activity (and goes great with the book, My, Oh My -- A Butterfly . The boys loved watching their butterflies grow. It was a great lesson but such a pain to get to that point! I think the picture shows it all, Jacob grew attached to his little babies and was sad to let them go. When we see a butterfly go past, Jacob still asks if it was the one he grew :) It should have been a really great experiment if the process had not been so difficult.
In retrospect, I know now that you can buy the larvae and food included in the package. This certainly would have made a whole heck of a difference (and probably a completely different review).
Website Review: Ugh. Total frustration and poor customer service. (I guess this post is more about customer service, but you get the point :)
★☆☆☆☆
Product review: A great activity if you have the patience to wait for it.
★★★★☆
