Cow Play Cow Moo Customer Asked To Pay “Top-Up” Fee For Prize After Beating Claw Machine
Arcades are supposed to be filled with enjoyment, happiness and most importantly, fun.
Just like Cow Play Cow Moo, which features the widest selection of prizes to chose from such as collectables and plushies from Japan in Singapore.
Unfortunately for regular Miko Quah, a negative experience at the hands of a staff might’ve just driven her away from the arcade for good.
Guess you can say she has beef with Cow Play Cow Moo now.
Beating the claw machine
On 30 Dec 2017, Ms Quah decided to drop by Cow Play Cow Moo at Downtown East — a place she regularly frequents.
At this point she presumably asked herself one question – whether she was feeling lucky – because she proceeded to try her hands on one of the store’s claw machines.
This one to be exact.
Now as we all know, claw machines are notorious for being impossible to win.
Trust us, we’re kinda professionals when it comes to sucking at the claw machine.
However, as fate would have it – or bovine intervention as we would say – Ms Quah was able to defy the odds by successfully nabbing Winnie the Pooh after knocking it off the platform.
Actual product may differ from picture shown.
Unfortunately, what followed immediately after was a staff snatching the plushie back and demand that she pay an additional $6.50 before she could bring it home.
Oh bother!
But pay up extra for your prize
Needless to say, Ms Quah didn’t take too kindly to the situation and did what any rational Singaporean would naturally do when faced with an issue in public — air her grievances on Facebook.
To her defense, she did mention that the staff had repeatedly challenged her to write about the incident on Facebook and await management’s reply — instead of you know, speaking directly to them right there and then.
Kind of an unorthodox way of handling customer service, but who are we to judge?
All this over a claw machine and Winnie the Pooh, what a load of bull.
Cow Play Cow Moo’s response
Turns out, ranting on social media actually worked.
Because just one day later on 1 Jan, Cow Play Cow Moo’s official Facebook posted the following response:
They explained that the Mochi Pooh Bear was a premium prize that could only be obtained by exchanging Dale the chipmunk and paying the $6.50 top-up fee — Pooh was never actually part of the game.
This meant that Chip ‘n’ Dale were baits for the premium prizes, or could be obtained on its own without any top-up.
However, they also admitted that they were at fault for not securing Pooh Bear in the first place and gave it to Ms Quah free of charge after much discussion.
Basically they tried to steer clear from their perceived negative image in the “sensationalised story”.
Problem solved, right? There’s no way this situation can escalate further, can it?
Accused of improper management and bad customer service
They always do.
Not satisfied with the response, Ms Quah updated her original post with an even lengthier rebuttal calling Cow Play Cow Moo out for their lack of internal communication and inappropriate customer relations.
Here’s what she wrote but be warned, it’s long.
Let’s summarize this wall of text for you:
- Staff snatched Pooh away, locked it back in and rudely demanded the top-up fee
- Staff claimed that all prizes required a top-up, even Chip ‘n’ Dale
- No signage stating top-up fee, could’ve possibly been intentionally omitted
- Staff repeatedly challenged Ms Quah to write about the incident on Facebook
- Ms Quah given Pooh Bear, but faces a possible top-up fee upon her next entry
Essentially, Ms Quah felt that the staff’s actions was inconsistent with what was stated on Cow Play Cow Moo’s reply and sought clarification on the apparent internal miscommunication.
Who do you think is at fault in this case? Now that you’ve read both sides of the story, who do you believe?
Other netizens vouch for her
Before you answer, let’s take a look at it from a third party’s perspective — other patrons of the arcade.
Flocking to Ms Quah’s Facebook post, many netizens chimed in and – oddly enough – shared their negative experiences.
According to them, this had been happening since two years ago.
One even lamented about the services of Cow Play Cow Moo’s second outlet at Suntec City — claiming that even the staff there were impolite and unprofessional.
Could it simply be a coincidence that these customers were unlucky enough to have visited the arcade on a bad day, or is there more than meets the eye? Does Cow Play Cow Moo have some explaining to do given the overwhelming amount of negative feedback?
Either way, here’s a 100% tip to guarantee success at every claw machine.
Hellfire and brimstone not included.
Where do you stand?
What do you think of this incident? You’ve read Ms Quah’s first-hand account, seen Cow Play Cow Moo’s rebuttal and learnt of others’ experiences at the arcade.
Do you feel that Ms Quah was simply overreacting or does the arcade franchise in need of a review in management?
Let us know in the comments below.
Unfortunately, no one here seems to be asking the most important question — is Winnie the Pooh truly worth more than Dale the chipmunk?
Featured image from Facebook.
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