Hasbro's been getting a lot of negative press lately, some of it legitimate. We recently received an e-mail from reader J. Cap that was quite refreshing that we had to post. Regardless of Hasbro's missteps in 2012 and what direction the toy company will take going forward, their customer service, at least in this case, was stellar and on point.

Hi, this isn't "news" so much as a desire to have a rebuttal to all the brutal fan press Hasbro has been getting lately. Sure, people are upset over size differences in upcoming figures or that their favorite character hasn't been made or re-made or that a production paint job isn't up to the detailed standards of a prototype or whatever, but they try and this time - for me - they just came through big time.

I have been collecting Star Wars for over thirty years, but have had to keep the majority of it in storage for the last five years. I recently decided it was time to start getting everything out of dank attics and storage lockers and get it up and displayed in my basement for me and my son to finally enjoy. Last night I unearthed the AT-TE, which I had purchased new back in 2009 or so and never opened. Much to my dismay, when I did  open it there were no instructions and no decals.

Remembering that Hasbro has a great online presence, I surfed over to their site this morning and logged into their chat. I told the Customer Service Rep about my situation and she was able to locate decals for me in minutes. That's right, a four plus year old toy and Hasbro still had some decals on hand to help me out with. I also mentioned hearing about certain issues with the AT-TE's legs, and the CSR offered to throw a replacement set in just in case I needed them. All shipped free of charge. All taken care of in five minutes or so.

So while, yes, Hasbro may be struggling to find its place in the wake of the 3D movies getting yanked and a struggling economy that requires some creative planning/decisions (some I'm not a fan of but so what?), but they are clearly a company that overall cares about taking care of the fans/consumer. Think of the time and money spent to maintain a CSR and replacement resources for a global company. The CSR could've easily told me to take a hike as the toy had been out of circulation for sometime. 

So I just wanted to share my kudos to Hasbro! They deserve more respect than we frequently give them. (I mean, on the whole, what other toy company could give the fans this many toys, this many vehicles, and this much FUN for so many consistent years?)

They will always have the benefit of doubt from me and they will probably always have a decent chunk of my annual salary. 

Thanks,

J. Cap