David B.
Google
I don't normally post for non-small businesses, but figure with excellent toy stores (or toy stores in general) becoming a rarity, I wanted to share the great experience my family and I had thanks to Dustin at FAO Schwarz. This is a long review, so TLDR: awesome people, awesome experience.
First, FAO is an amazing visit that brought me back to my childhood; seeing so many cool toys, workers that were legitimately excited showing off at displays, and just amazing customer service all the way was a breath of fresh air. Keep in mind that this was two weeks before Christmas, when crowds were insane and the employees were already long into their busiest season.
I hesitatently paid for the personal shopper/express shopping (just over $100 total), BUT found this to be the most worthwhile expense of our trip to the city, and highly recommend during the holiday season. First, we bypassed the hours - long wait outside, then we were able to pick an experience to do (Jellycat Diner in our case-the Chef was amazing!), bypassing another long line. That time value alone was far worth more than the money spent, which I can't say for most experiences around the city. However, it was Dustin who made the experience perfect. He met us at the door and gave us the most outstanding tour, taking time to show us each area and talking about each one (the history, what was unique, and even his history and why FAO was special to him, etc.), making sure we got to experience each area without feeling rushed, and really making this a magical experience for our family. We even had time to hit the funko maker to make a personalized pop figure,which I did not think was going to happen. We were able to do everything in an hour that would normally require a 4+ hour experience. I can't stress this enough that although the store itself is fun, it's the people who made this visit amazing, and Dustin was at the epicenter (with the support of every other employee we encountered along the way). Thank you Dustin and all for making FAO outstanding.