RANT - My light hearted rant to Sportscraft on folding up kids toys

I sent the following to Sportcraft customer service just to see what
they had to say. I thought others might appreciate where it comes
from


SUBJECT: Bounce N Playhouse - What kind of orgami master do you hire
to fold these things?

I bought the Bounce N Playhouse. Once I treated the slide with Armor
All my kids stopped somersaulting down the thing it was fun. I still
like it so the rest of this email is written in good humor.

The only reply I hope for is "Yes or No we do or don't have additional
instructions on the 40 step process of how to properly fold this
thing."

-----RANT STARTS HERE---------------------

But how about folding this thing back up? Getting it into any kind of
container is like trying to get a cat into a 5 gallon bucket of water.
I knew I had no shot at fitting this thing into its original box, but
who are they kidding with the itty bitty "Handy carrying harness."
The buckles won't even get within 15 inches of each other.



My only real gripe is that the instructions don't even scratch the
surface. I actually read them before I inflated the toy and paid
attention to how it was folded. I recall that it said fold it as I
would a tent. I have folded tents hundreds of times and am pretty
decent at that sort of stuff. But I really think you should have an
appendix or an online video showing how the pros do it.



If the marketing and retail world were a more realistic place I would
love to see something like on the back of the box.

- Unless you are an Orgami master you will never get this
item back into this box.

- Putting this away will take you about 30 times longer than
it takes to setup.

- After initial use expect it to fold up to about 4 times
this size.

- The handy carrying case is included only to remind you of
how small this thing can actually get after you have labored long and
hard in preparation for your that glorified day when you will master
the folding technique. It is kind of like handing you Rubics cube in
its solved state.

- Some consumers may find it necessary to build a water proof
shelter just for this toy. Said shelter may cost 4 times more than the
Bounce N Playhouse

- Before committing to your children that they can play with
it you should check the weather for the next 3 days. If not - between
wet feet, evening due, and your work schedule you may never be able to
get it clean and dry until the next drought.

- The 800 number is boldly written on the inflation tube
because we care about supporting our consumers - unless they call
outside of business hours. People who don't work should have no
problem getting through but people who do work and only play on the
weekends should set aside about 30 minutes to be on hold.

- * If you use speakerphone make sure you are capable of
picking up the phone within 3 seconds of a service rep answering,
otherwise they might hang up. They have a lot of people on hold and
can't wait for you. Please note that it sometimes takes as long as 2
seconds to recognize that the human voice differs from the pre-
recorded decoy voice that made you run towards the phone yelling
"HELLO" the first 10 times it cut in. Please also note that the on
hold music may cut out every once in a while for a second or two just
to keep you on your toes. People with high blood pressure problems or
a quick temper may want to avoid this situation because no matter how
hard you reason, something inside you may fear that the call was
dropped and start getting mad prematurely.


----RANT ends ----------

I'me thinking about sending something similar to the people who make
those play tents. They pretty much explode out of the package into
full size. But to learn how to fold them up you pretty much need to
sign on for an apprenticeship with an experienced parent. Printer
instructions are useless for this kind of stuff.

Steve Blake wrote in
ups.com:

I sent the following to Sportcraft customer service just to
see what they had to say. I thought others might appreciate
where it comes from


SUBJECT: Bounce N Playhouse - What kind of orgami master do
you hire to fold these things?

heh.
i bought a bounce house a year ago (mid-winter clearance. a US
$350 bounce house for $75). we set it up & took it down
several times last summer. we just folded it most of the time,
until fall, when we put it back in it's zipper case.
seriously, it's not rocket science to fold back up, but it
does take about half an hour and two people (at least one of
whom must be willing to roll on the bounce house to get *all*
the air out. this sometimes includes rolling on the slimy
bottom part. pick the worms off first).
lee

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:28:46 +0000 (UTC), enigma wrote:

Steve Blake wrote in
ups.com:

I sent the following to Sportcraft customer service just to
see what they had to say. I thought others might appreciate
where it comes from


SUBJECT: Bounce N Playhouse - What kind of orgami master do
you hire to fold these things?

heh.
i bought a bounce house a year ago (mid-winter clearance. a US
$350 bounce house for $75). we set it up & took it down
several times last summer. we just folded it most of the time,
until fall, when we put it back in it's zipper case.
seriously, it's not rocket science to fold back up, but it
does take about half an hour and two people (at least one of
whom must be willing to roll on the bounce house to get *all*
the air out. this sometimes includes rolling on the slimy
bottom part. pick the worms off first).
lee

I always wondered how people got those giant inflatable waterslides to dry
before folding. It's the only thing keeping me from buying one.