Game Tokens

So let me get this straight your son buys these tokens and you think
that just becuase he cant use them all at once he should get a refund
for the remaining tokens?
Life doesnt work like that but it is reasonable. still you should save
them for the next time your there.

I would of given you your money back. I sure would anytime someone
wants a refund it's best to give them what they want plus some. I
would of given you $20 plus a slap in the mouth because I like you.

Why did you let your son buy $5 worth of tokens if you knew you
weren't going to be there long enough for him to use them up? I could
be wrong, he could be the greatest video game player of all time but
some how I doubt it.

They also don't give you your money back in Vegas if you don't win on
the slot machine. Kind of the same concept.

What type of values are you teaching your children? Think about it!

I wonder if her son really did put the five dollars in the machine or
if she is just saying he did so she can get $5 and using her son to
get the money that he "lost." If he had really put in the money than
she would have saved the tokens for next time. I think she just wants
a free $5. It may not be much but it's enough to probably buy a pizza
or drinks for herself and her son.

Why not just save them for another day???

Well, first of all you should have told your son not to put his money
in the machine to get tokens. Second he can use them next time he
goes. However he did put his money in without asking you if it was
okay, let this be a lesson to him that because he put the money in and
got tokens he will not get the money back and will not be able to play
the games until you go there again.

Why did you allow your young son to do this? Were you not properly
supervising this young son of yours?

And where were you when your son was feeding his precious $5 into the
token machine? Why didn't you stop him??

If there was a sign that said that the machine (or whatever your son
used) dispensed quarters, or if there was a sign that said that tokens
would be bought back, then I agree that your son should have gotten
his money back.

Games, however, often take tokens (for one thing, it allows people to
spend more than a quarter at a time while still only putting one thing
in the machine, so that they don't know how much they're spending),
and some things are non-refundable (if he'd gotten a damaged token
that didn't work, of course, that would be different).

I assume that he's capable of understanding things like "If you spend
your money you don't have it any more" and "We don't stop to play
games while we're on our way out of the store", because if he wasn't
I'm sure you'd be holding his money for him. Buyer's remorse is
actually an excellent way to start thinking about impulse purchases,
so this $5 lesson may actually be a blessing in disguise.

Sally,
What a great opportunity to teach your son about money. Yes it sucks
that he wasted $5. He made a choice and there was a consequence. I'm
sure there is a lesson worth learning in this experience if you choose
to see it that way.

JoeConsumer I think there are some helpful responses here with
thoughtful suggestions. So what's your problem? I think Sally doesn't
understand how these tokens work but if she reads the responses she
will.
The only thing I would take issue with her is that she seems to expect
special treatment because there is a child involved.

Sally,

We're talking about $5.00 here. If you feel that bad for your child,
just give him a $5 bill, or better yet, take him back to the pizza
place and let him spend all of his tokens on the games of his choice.
I see no reason to blame that establishment of "preying" on kids.
After all, you are the parent, and you do have the final say on how
your child spends money, no matter if it's his money or money you gave
him. The pizza place's offer is pretty reasonable - play the games
using our tokens, or don't play at all.

So, with that in mind, you have two choices: Go back and use the
tokens on their machines, or eat the $5 and consider it a lesson
learned. The restaurant is not the one out of line.

I don't understand. Can you not go back there so your son can use the
tokens? If it was really that important for him to not get screwed
out of his $5.00, stay there a little longer and let him use his
tokens. If he's anything like I was at that age, it would've taken
about a half hour. Sorry, but I don't think they owe you anything.

Children need boundaries. This is nowhere NEAR exploitation or
"preying on children" It's simply bad parenting. Mom or Dad should
have watched junior more carefully and said "No, junior, we must leave
soon and you will not have time to use them"

The reason for the tokens is to ensure people don't use "slugs" (fake
coins) that are usually made the size of normal monies. If there's a
sign that says "tokens not redeemable" then you're basically stuck
with three options. Go back and use them, auction them on E-Bay, or
keep them as a momento.

If you knew that your son would not be able to use $5.00 worth of
tokens FROM A TOKEN MACHINE during a visit, why did you allow him to
do that? You should have told him to change it out for 5 ones and only
ALLOWED him to put in $1 at a time.
It is your responsibility to watch your kid's money, not the managers.

Preying on kids? If he told your son he would get his five dollars
back if he took off his pants would be preying on the kid.

Save the tokens and use them when you come back. It's the company's
way of making sure you do come back. That's business.

This is yet another example of members offering criticism of a letter
in a non-contructive manner. I think both PFB and the author would
benefit from responses that are directed toward offering suggestions
for improvement rather than flat criticism and rejection. These are
the author's opinions, and it is poor form to arbitrarily dismiss the
validity of her opinions without soliciting additional information or
offering suggestions for improvement.

Sally, there are three responsible parties here. You, as a parent,
have a responsibility to supervise and educate your child. Your child
has a responsibility to learn responsible spending. Peter Piper
Pizza has a responsibility to conduct its business in an ethical
manner. Your letter might be more effective if you focus upon these
respective responsibilities and determine what, specifically, you feel
the problem is.

When I read this letter, it was difficult for me to determine exactly
why you feel Peter Piper should reimburse your money. Did the change
machine indicate that it dispensed tokens rather than quarters? If it
didn't, then I would base my letter upon the fact that the company did
not meet its responsibility to forewarn its customers that tokens
would be dispensed. Was the food or service sub-standard? If it was,
then I would base this request upon the fact that I do not intend to
return to the business because of poor quality food or service, and I
therefore have no future use for the tokens.

If you don't articulate a specific argument that bases your claim upon
the company's responsibility, or lack thereof, the reader is left to
wonder whether you are making a legitimate claim or whether you are
merely attempting to avoid accepting the responsibility that you
and/or your son have in this matter.

My $0.02, for whatever it's worth. Good luck.

I don't understand why he couldn't use them. Did he use any of them?
Why couldn't you stay until they were used? Or, save them and take him
there for a special treat for being a good boy.

You know, I just re-read this letter and it really is pretty bad.

"put $5.00 of his own money in..." In what (yes, we all know, but
we're not morons).

"to get change" - apparently he got tokens.

"he could not use them" - she doesn't say what. We know it's tokens
because of the title, but if we didn't have that tip-off, we'd not
know what she was talking about.

Either way, this is a really bad letter and the situation is the OP's
fault entirely.

Sigh. Sally. Please. Get real. Next?

Use them next time! Why do people complain about things that they
caused? I just don't get it!

The other posters have said it all.

Nice try - - live and learn.

If you knew you were leaving, why did you allow your son to buy the
tokens?

I see no reason you should get a refund .

PREYING on kids? You have got to be joking. As the parent, you
should have had a say in whether or not your son spent that money.
You allowed him to do so. Your fault, not Piper Pizza, or whatever it
is.

Just go back another time and use the tokens. Simple as that.

Otherwise, you're out of luck because your son being out $5.00 is
entirely your fault, as well as his.

Exactly! There's a reason they use tokens and not quarters.

In this case, the decision to buy tokens was your son's. The decision
to leave the restaurant was your's. Neither of these decisions was
made by Pizza Hut.

The tokens, I assume, are usable when you come back.

This is not preying on kids.

I think this is simple: If you're about to leave, you tell your kid
not to buy tokens.

What am I missing?