How a restaurant’s ‘Bluey’ day was a total failure leaving parents and kids ‘so disappointed’
A Las Vegas restaurant tried to boost sales by hosting "Bluey Day" Unfortunately, the only thing that was blue were the kids who were disappointed by the event.
"Many traveled across town to this event and waited for employees dressed in Amazon pajama Bluey onesies," says Maria Hardly, who brought her 4- and 5-year-old kids to the event.
She tells TODAY.com that the kids "were pretty bummed they didn’t get to meet Bluey. They kept saying, 'Why is that guy wearing the outfit? Bluey is a girl!'"
In case you're unfamiliar with the beloved cartoon, "Bluey" is a worldwide sensation that focuses on the Heeler family, their two daughters and the imaginative games they play together.
Bluey Day, scheduled for May 11, was supposed to have face painting, games, giveaways, desserts and meet and greets. The Vegas location of the Dirt Dog restaurant chain hosting the event created a Facebook event for families — 341 people indicated that they would be attending the event and another 2,600 indicated they were "interested."
Based on the comments on the event page, Bluey Day attendees were seeing red.
"We were there at the very start of event at 11. It was already crowded and couldn’t get past the hostess area. The face painting line went to the back of the restaurant. The face painting was worse than MacKenzie’s Mum!"
"My grandbaby is so disappointed. We waited in line basically just to order food. Bluey isn’t Bluey ... just a man in pjs, and they ended face painting early. Half the screens are playing 'Bluey.' The other half are playing sports."
"Do NOT waste your time. The 'games' are just board games at random tables. 'Bluey' is a dude in pajama onesie."
On the other hand, some comments pointed out that customers get what they pay for.
"All the disappointed parents need to learn to do their research and temper their expectations a bit. A little chain fast food restaurant on the outskirts of Vegas holding a major character event without Disney’s participation? For free? Unlikely to be amazing."
"It was a free event. Stop whining."
Because the customer response was so strong, Dirt Dog ended up posting an apology on their Instagram page. It read:
"To our Bluey families, we are truly sorry this event wasn't the expected experience! We take pride in putting on community events for you and your families to enjoy. We have staff play out host characters for an added personal touch. We were overwhelmed with the turnout to this event. We will continue to improve on our events so we can ensure nothing like this will happen in the future. We apologize to the families that miss out on what we had to offer. We hope to repair our relationship with all of you."
Comments on the apology are similar to those on the Facebook event page.
On one hand, there are comments from people who are furious with Dirt Dog: "Overall horrible experience that you guys did and your apology sucks. Had kids crying because you guys were too cheap to do a proper event for families when you guys made a s--- ton of money yesterday."
Others say that complaints aren't warranted.
"I don’t understand people complaining about a free event. It is a risk you take. Everything costs money," someone wrote. "Next time charge $20 a kid/$30 parent but provide the actual characters. I bet a lot of you complaining wouldn’t show up. You did nothing wrong @dirtdoglv."
Whether you blame the restaurant for the event's failings or not, one thing is clear: families are hungry for more Bluey.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
