Arcade Staff Allegedly Took Back Crane Machine Prize & Didn’t Take Well to Threats

You’ve eyed that certain prize in a crane machine for ages. In fact, you’ve exhausted your entire supply of piggy banks, burnt bridges and even broken down for that one prize.

And one day, you finally land your hands on it.

But before you can even take it for a long-awaited victory walk, one of the arcade staff members comes over and snatches it away, demanding that you pay an extra $6.50 to claim it.

What would you do?

While your response might be something like…

Image: Imgflip

This arcade goer chose to rant on Facebook instead.

Although granted, the staff allegedly told her family to post about the incident on Facebook if they aren’t satisfied.

What really happened?

This particular incident transpired on 31 Dec.

A frequent arcade goer had managed to land a plushie from a toy catcher machine, at Cow Play Moo arcade at Downtown East. However, her joy was short-lived, as her prize was reportedly confiscated by the staff, who then requested that she fork out an additional S$6.50 for it.

If you’re wondering why, it’s apparently because the toy she caught was not actually part of the game.

Subsequently, the staff reportedly told the arcade goer, who was with her family, to post on Facebook if they so wish.

And they did (although the Facebook post has since been taken down).

The arcade has responded

It looks like the arcade has retaliated, with their side of the events:

Image: Cow Play Cow Moo Facebook Page
Image: Cow Play Cow Moo Facebook Page
Image: Cow Play Cow Moo Facebook

Transcript (this might be long):

We would like to clarify on a post about an incident at our Downtown East store.

1) The Mochi Winnie the Pooh Bear (as shown in the picture) was a premium prize on display that required a $6.50 top up if you want to exchange for it, with a sign on it that says 1 Win +$6.50 to get me.

2) During the gameplay, the claw hit the Mochi Pooh Bear on display and it fell and was won when it fell into the chute.
However, the Mochi Pooh Bear was not part of the game
Only the bait which is the Mochi Chip and Dale (as shown in the picture) is part of the game and do not require any top-up.

3) Staff explained the situation to Miko, a regular customer.

4) After some discussion, realizing it’s our fault for not securing the toys properly, staff gave the Mochi Pooh bear to Miko, a regular customer on the spot without collecting the $6.50.

Edited in :
Also for our machines, we have a gurantee win. If you play 28 games and do not win, we will give a prize anyways.
The price for the 28 games is the about the same as the retail price of the item.

These are the facts that were not included in the sensationalized story and did not illustrate the whole picture of what happened.

During this festive period, it was mad crowded and we were swamped. We are extremely grateful for your kind support. 
We apologize in advance for any tardiness in service and will work to improve ourselves this year.

Here’s a brief breakdown of the main points (in case you’re the TL;DR gangsta)

  • The Mochi Pooh plush is a premium prize that needed a top-up in order to be redeemed.
  • It wasn’t actually part of the game. It had fallen into the chute by accident. Only the bait (Mochi Chip) and Dale can be won without any top-up.
  • Staff explained the situation to Miko (the regular customer in question), and ended up giving the prize to her without the $6.50 because it was “their fault”.
  • Their machines have a sure win system. After 28 games, you will get a prize (which costs around the same as 28 games).

Miko’s side

According to Mothership, Miko recounted that the staff told her that “all toys in that machine would have needed a S$6.50 top-up.”

The arcade’s answer? “The crane game is not as straightforward as winning the prize immediately when it falls into the chute.”

A player has to catch the toys that are appointed as bait, which they can then exchange for the toys on display.

Some toys might need a S$6.50 top-up, while others might require two wins. The rest are available for instant exchange.

Post on Facebook lo

If you recall, the staff had reportedly asked Miko’s family to post on Facebook if they want.

According to Lianhe Wanbao, the staff’s words were purportedly “misunderstood in anger”.

The staff had been asked to provide her boss’ contact no., but because she was unable to (for privacy reasons), she had told the affected family to leave a message on Facebook instead, where the boss would respond.

The arcade has offered tokens to the family as “compensation” for this particular episode.

Nevertheless, I’m glad that things ended on a ‘positive’ note.

Although I highly doubt whether Miko will turn up at the arcade again.

After all, free tokens can’t really erase a bad impression, just like how chocolates will not work on that girl you dumped so heartlessly before.

#justsaying

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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Featured image: The Wacky Duo