Mother says Build-A-Bear rejected request to make a bear in memory of infant daughter who died
Build-A-Bear's CEO, Sharon Price John, personally called a grieving mother to apologize after the mom was initially denied using her late daughter's age with the Pay Your Age promotional ticket to build a bear in her memory.
Ashley Guevara and Joey Duvall, a couple from Wake County, North Carolina, tragically had to bury their six-month-old daughter, Dahlia, on Monday, according to ABC11. Dahlia, who was born with a rare genetic disease, passed away last Thursday due to complications from pneumonia.
The Pay Your Age promotion at Build-A-Bear, which proved to be so popular in 2018 that stores had to close down their lines due to "crowd and safety concerns," allowed customers to pay only their age, instead of full price, for a stuffed animal. To avoid the chaos it caused the previous year, the in-store promo became a sweepstake in 2019. On the same day of Dahlia's death, Guevara learned that she had received a ticket to the promotional event at Crabtree Valley Mall.
Guevara was hopeful that she would be able to use the ticket to build a bear in her daughter's honor so that she and her family could have a memento to remember her forever.
On Saturday, Guevara posted on the company's Facebook page to ask if she would still be able to use the promotional ticket. Build-A-Bear initially said no, and directed her to their ticket policy online.
"We are so sorry for your loss," their response to her request read. "This is designed to be an in-store experience for our Guests. Therefore, the Guest must be present to pay their age."
Duvall told the news outlet: "To me, it just felt like they wanted us to dig her up out of ground and bring her there."
After social media users called out the company on their seemingly callous refusal, Build-A-Bear contacted Guevara again, ask her to privately message them so they could set up a time to speak.
On Tuesday, the company's CEO reached out to the mother personally to apologize.
While Build-A-Bear did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle's requests for comment, Dorrie Krueger, chief strategy officer at the toy company, provided the following statement to ABC11: "Our CEO has spoken directly with the mother, Ashley Guevara, and expressed our regret for our original online response. We are working with the family to find a time when they can visit our store for a personal — and hopefully special — complementary experience at a time that is convenient for them."
Guevara responded: "It would mean the world to us. It would just be a piece of her that we would have forever. So we can have a little Dahlia with us, always."
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