Not happy with my Lab playset

[Luke]

Hey Jess

No offence to Ken, but i think the goo thing is terrible but i'm sure thats pretty obvious to him so i won't bang on about it .... other than to say obviously any product that has a fault/error that even looks like something very serious, even if it isn't, looks terrible on not just the product line but the whole entire Muppet franchise. That said, mistakes happen, errors occur and theres nothing much that can be done now other than make sure it doesn't happen again. Maybe Ken will look into exactly how it happened so much so they can prevent it seeing it was a substance that actually stained some of the playsets.

Legal wise - Palisades would score points when the substance was tested and it was found to be non-toxic and maybe non-harmful, and they do have the safety checks and markings. They'd lose points for the whole confusion of the goo, and the fact it was present on quite a wide scale, though not on the ones sent for testing. I'm not sure how it would go - maybe either way but obviously the embarrasment is more the thing, no toy company is gonna want something like that but then they can't be in China watching the factory 24/7.

 

[Jackie]

LOL, we officially dubbed it, Gorrilla Goo.

Ken's doing his best, and everyone who had the Goo cleaned, or tried to clean, it off. So everyone should be happy.

As far as a kid, who should be of the age listed on the box or above, I think parents would check out a playset such as that to make sure the pieces aren't too small and would notice the goo right away and clean it off before their kids had the chance to touch it.

 

[Luke]

Ken's doing his best, and everyone who had the Goo cleaned, or tried to clean, it off. So everyone should be happy.

I don't think anyone is doubting whether Ken's doing his best, and anyway i don't think Ken is in any way to blame for this - the calls on this would be at the factory/QC inspection end and we have seen many other minor errors and faults from them already. There were reports of the 'goo' staining plastic so not everyone seems to be happy and will need a replacement which aren't easy to find. Whether something can be cleared up or not isn't the point though, the manufacturing process needs to be watched a lot more closely when Ken isn't there to stop silly mistakes happening and 'it happens to other people too' isn't the most responsible explanation.

I think parents would check out a playset such as that to make sure the pieces aren't too small and would notice the goo right away and clean it off

Yup a responsible parent would do this, but unfortunately not all parents are responsible enough nowdays. If this was say a present for a five year old at Christmas and it's been wrapped and put under the tree, chances are they are gonna rip it open and play with it before anyone gets the chance to check it. We still don't actually know what the substance is yet - even if it's not toxic it could be something a person could have an allergy to - we need a 'Muppet Labs' investigation into the goo !

I'm not disputing Palisades have done a great job, and it seems like they work to very high standards during the production process based in the states but something like people finding mystery liquid in a Muppet licensed product should be jumped on and sorted out by the Henson people immediately because its the kind of thing that can be very serious and affect the reputation of the brand. Just because we have a personal relationship with Ken and Mike shouldn't mean we brush aside anything we normally would have shown concerns about - we may be 'in' on the development process but we are still the consumers who have to buy this stuff - if you bought licensed Gonzo panties and they had 'goo' stains i'm guessing you would be 'hopping mad'.

 

[FellowWLover]

Hey we all know that Ken would certainly not choose to have gorilla goo on his products! I just was saying that it may be a problem if someone turns out to be terribly allergic to it, not to mention how upsetting it *could* become if a kid does eat some of it... imagine how a non-MC parent might react!

I think that it would also be pretty annoying if, say, a kid gets it for a birthday gift, and then tears it open, causing gorilla goo to ruin a party frock... or something like that. (White rug under your Christmas tree? Granny have a beige couch? You get the idea.) These products are intended for kids, right (Ages five and up)? That means they should be seriously checked over before any goo gets out.

I also bet that gorilla goo is what made certain other figures sticky. Remember all those reports awhile back? Seems goo might be the source for a few figures calamities. AND... If I can think of a way to blame goo for that Nibbles thing, you bet I will!

 

[Jackie]

I see exactly what you both are saying! I don't know what I think about the goo yet. I'll let you know when I think of something

 

[EmmyMik]

I don't blame Ken for the goo. I blame ladybugs.

 

[Luke]

Emmy, as one of the lucky goo recipients maybe you could send some to Jackie for her opinion ? ;-)

At least it's not battery acid ..... i've been there, done that and ended up trouserless !

 

[Jackie]

Originally posted by Luke
Emmy, as one of the lucky goo recipients maybe you could send some to Jackie for her opinion ? ;-)

At least it's not battery acid ..... i've been there, done that and ended up trouserless !

LOL!!!!

I remember that well!

Maybe Emmy can send some of the goo to her local college laboratory to get it tested! hehe!

 

[EmmyMik]

Originally posted by Jackie
Maybe Emmy can send some of the goo to her local college laboratory to get it tested! hehe!

Eh. If the want to test it, they come to me! I ain't touching that stuff (I blame the ladybugs, and ladybugs = trying to kill me)...

 

[ResidentLilly]

I know exactly what the goo is and why it's there.

If I have seemed unusually silent on the subject it's because frankly it's just embarrassing. It's the result of laziness on the factory's part, yet another example of the absolute struggle it has been with them on Series One and all the more reason to be here for all of the production of Series Two. Needless to say...they aren't doing Series Three. Have been lining someone else up to do that while I have been out here.

It is not a safety issue, so at least there is that...it just plain sucks to hear people unhappy with product especially when it is something like that. I mean, if it is a bad product design or sculpt or that kind of thing I can live with that...I am used to crits and have been dealing with them since high school, good and bad. It is monumentally frustrating to have designed and produced a good product and have it tarnished by a couple of things like lateness and the goo and wires being weak and so on, that could so easily have been avoided with the right resources at the factory...by resources I mean management on the QC level.

I have said it before and I'll say it again...in the scheme of things all the things I have heard have been minor and not commonplace. Most of the stuff I hear is gonna happen no matter what...the occasional paint migration, the splot or sploot of a color, a stiff joint, a figure getting warm and appearing to be defective as it bends. That I expect and still expect on Series 2. Happens on every mass produced line. This other crap stings though and so I even try not to read this thread anymore although I am sucked in like a moth to a porchlight. There just isn't anything I can do about it, and as someone who takes this job very seriously and passionately and personally it is a major bummer and a half to hear anyone who is disappointed because that was the last thing on Earth I or anyone at Palisades would want. That's all...it's like finally having that dream date with Heidi Klum and that's the night she breaks out in hives from some allergy. Still awesome...I mean it is Klum after all, but just wasn't as great as it could have been.

Anyway...I am on these guys over here right now like flies on...um...you get the point. So hopefully we can avoid little maddening things like a "goo" on round 2.