Leap Frog: Great Products, Liars and Cheap Bastards

Posted on 03 15, 2008 under Doodads by Noodad | Comments

l-max.jpgLeap Frog makes some pretty cool and educational products. My wife and I actually attribute the Fridge Phonics toy as the reason our daughter is advanced in speech. Now my 2 oldest kids have Leapster LMAX units and to see how much they are learning form these things amazes me daily.

But as much as I love the products, I can tell you that Leap Frog is a bunch of liars and cheap bastards trying to take advantage of the uneducated and uninitiated. Here’s why:

We gave our daughter a Leapster LMAX for her birthday last October. The unit came with a flexible plastic cover that hinges from the top of the unit and snaps into the frame round the LCD screen to protect it. This is important as, even with careful hands, things get dropped and a scratched up screen will pretty much render this $89 toy useless.

We have taught my daughter to always put the protective cover on her LMAX and it has definitely saved us from some damaged goods.

So imagine our surprise when we bought the identical unit for our son this past february and the LCD screen cover was missing. “that is weird.” we thought. But the picture on the outside of the box has one on the unit. Maybe it was a mistake.

So I wrote Leap Frog customer support. Here’s what I wrote:

Hello,

I just purchased a Leapster L-Max for my son’s birthday and it did not come with the plastic screen protector attachment. How can I get one so that the screen on his Leapster is protected? I purchased the identical Leapster for my daughter 2 months ago and it contained the cover. I also checked your store and it is not an option of an accessory to purchase so I am pretty sure it was a mistake that it was not included. Please let me know how I can get that replacement part sent to me.

Thank you. Gregory Ng

I received an email back immediately saying, “Thank you for your inquiry to LeapFrog Enterprises. Your business is important to us, and we want to let you know we received your email today created. Our standard turnaround time is 24-48 hours. Due to a seasonal increase, our current turnaround time is 48-72 hours. ”

leapster_cheap_bastards.pngA week went by. To be precise it was 166 hours later (well over the 72 hours) and still no email reply. So I decided to go online to find out more information. Sure enough in the frequency asked questions was this answer (screenshot on right):

After July of 2007 Leapster and Leapster L-Max units are not equipped with a screen cover. The shape of the L-Max & Leapster screen area was slightly altered and the cover previously available will not properly fit the new models. For added protection, use the Leapster case (sold separately) to protect the unit.

And this is why Leap Frog is a bunch of liars. Because when we took the cover off my daughter’s LMAX and tried it on my son’s, it fit perfectly. From our measurements, even if the screen area was slightly altered, it was not altered enough for the screen cover not to fit. Something was fishy. Was Leap Frog just trying to save a buck and sell people the Leapster case which sells for around $20?

I needed to know, so I called the number. And this where Leap Frog revealed that they are cheap bastards. When I called the number, a nice customer service woman told me quite adamantly that it was not that the covers didn’t fit a new shape but, “The truth of the matter is, they ran out of stock for the Leapster and LMAX covers.”

They put me on the list to “request a free replacement part” when it becomes available. Great. But what about the people who don’t get pissed off enough to call? I think Leap Frog is banking on that. Because if they truly wanted to make good on their product, they would be putting some sort of documentation in the box telling people they would send out the replacement part. Beware. Do not waste your money on the carrying case, call Leap Frog and demand a replacement cover for yourself.

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Viewing 11 Comments

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    Isn't that funny, we just did the samething, however they never offered to put us on a list for replacement parts. That was the dumbest thing to do. My poor friend at Christmas time went through her garbage because she was sure hers was thrown out. I wouldn't hold your breath on getting that part.
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    I have been going through the same rigmarole that you have. Ours was purchased in Nov. 2007, but we did not realize the screen cover was missing until Christmas Day. I have been trying to get a new cover since early January. The same old poor customer service that you got is what I have been getting. Except I was actually told that mine had been sent out and should reach me within 10-15 business days. It never came. When I got back in contact with Leapster, all they could say was "Sorry, no one should have told you that as they are on back order and should go out in March." Notice it is April and we still have no screen cover!
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    OK, I had the same thing....on order, but backordered. Finally received the pink one for my girslfriend's daughter. I was told blue still on backorder. Finally called weeks later and told "We are no longer offering these. We can offer free cartridges." So I have tow free cartridges coming but no LCD cover. I agree that it was very cheap and decptive of Leapster to pull this cover from the product without warning or indication in advertisment. I've thought about filing a class action lawsuit against them.
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    Here is the truly awful thing. We were on the waiting list for a replacement cover since the end of December of 2007. Every time we called to check on the status, we were told the cover was coming but they had a large volume to ship out. That was until the end of April when the finally admitted they were never sending a cover. They said the waiting lists had been destroyed and that no one was receiving a replacement cover. They offered me a free game in apology...one of their cheap/on sale games, of course. I am truly disgusted with this company. They have literally ripped off thousands of customers!!
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    I am so irritated with his company! My daughter accidentally broke her stylus for her leapster. Her sister did not. Considering they are 3 and 4, this is a HUGE inconvenience because they fight constantly when one gets to play and the other cannot. I called to re-order another stylus. They said it would be there in 7-10 business days. Two weeks passed, finally I called and they said that they were in back order and they'd ship it when they came out. I was so angry! We already payed for the stupid thing and were checking the mail daily. It has now been over a month and we haven't heard anything. I called today to check on the status (again) and they aren't answering. They said to call during regular business hours. Last time I checked 2:00 IS normal business hours! I HATE LEAPFROG and I will NOT buy any more of their products again.
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    I had a very similar experience- "Santa" brought Leapsters for my twin daughters last Christmas. The green one had a cover, pink did not. I e-mailed and got the same response as Noodad. Called in January and got the "10-15 business days" line. Called again and got the "3-6 months" line. Waited 6 months. Called today. Got the "no longer in stock, we can send you a cartridge for your inconvenience" line, even when I talked to a supervisor. I asked where customer service is located. Now, how do I tell my little girl that Santa's elves work out of the Phillipines and won't be fixing her toy that I promised they were working on? I told the company I would NEVER buy another LeapFrog product and that they USED to be one of my two favorite companies. If I had known, I would have taken the blasted thing back to the store in January. But I trusted them and now it's too late. I even asked for a refund and they refused. I'm glad you got your pink cover, Greg (btw, great name- that's my son's name, too). Now I feel like I'm up sh*t creek. If you file suit, let me know. I'm furious!
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    FYI folks, check out ebay. As of today there are a few auctions where people are selling the covers for around $10.
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    I too have experienced the horrific customer service. I needed a new stylus for my daughter's Leapster but wanted to be sure the pen offered on the website would fit my daughter's Leapster as it was an older one. Long story short, and I swear I am not making this up, I would call the 1-800 number, select the choice to order a new pen, and GET CONNECTED TO A HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP. The first time, I thought I was losing my mind. By the fifth, the girl at the dealership and I had gotten to know each other, and she assured me that this happened all the time. And she had reported it, although Leap Frog has done nothing to correct the problem. I'm not sure what was worse, attempting to relay my problem to a person who could not speak English, or talking to a lady at a car dealership. It probably doesn't matter either way. I am appalled by the lack of customer service at a company that one would assume is reputable.
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    Same thing happened to me with the covers. We were given a referrence # for a new cover but everytime I called I was told they weren't available and to call back in a few months. 4 calls later I was finally told they were no longer available and there was no way to get them. I feel like they've wasted my time and now I have to tell my daughter she's not getting her cover (our son's leapster came with one).
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    GOOD to know!! Just purchased our second leapster and I was just searching to find out why the heck it was not included. I will have to give them a call. Courious to know if you ever did recieve the cover yet?
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    thanks
 

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