Play N Learn

We purchased a play set from Play N’ Learn Columbia in May 2020. During the purchasing process, the sale representative (George Humphreys) was readily available via chat, email and phone to answer my questions and provide me with information regarding the purchase (as we were not able to see the sets in the store due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Our set was installed in June 2020 and upon inspecting the installed play set, I noticed that many of the beams were split, damaged, and splintered. This was extreme concerning to us, given that it is an expensive purchase and we worried about the safety and quality of the product (Note: the split wood got worse with use in just the past month). I contacted George to make him aware of the damage and, over the course of a few days, continued to contact George regarding additional beams that I realized had damage. I requested over and over via email and multiple calls that George call me to discuss the problems and a resolution and not once did he call me to discuss. He offered, via email, to have some of the beams replaced but had to seek approval from his manager (Frank Goldstein). Due to the lack of responsiveness from George and the lack of any indication that he cared one bit about the damage to our brand new play set, I began contacting Frank directly. Frank offered to come to my house to look at the damage that I was complaining about and to decide what can be done to fix it. I appreciated his willingness to come to look at the product himself; however, he showed up at my house with an attitude and was very impolite and unprofessional in his demeanor. Frank insisted that the “damage” I identified was normal and, over and over again, he told me “if you are expecting perfection, maybe a wooden play set isn’t for you.” It was not until I pointed out how unprofessional and rude he was being to me, that Frank change his tone. Eventually, he agreed to replace some, not all, of the damaged beams. I was, and still to this day am, taken aback at the way that I was treated by both George and Frank, but I wanted to wait until the damage beams were replaced before I posted my experience. This is a word of mouth business and I want everyone to be aware of my experience and this company’s complete disregard for its customers. Most customer service oriented companies would have apologized that the product and/or installation was not up to par and would have immediately offered to make it right. Unfortunately, I have yet to receive one apology, they charged me $399 for installation and Frank informed me that I was lucky to even get a play set in the first place because of the high demand. This is not a cheap product and I suggest taking your money elsewhere to avoid all of the stress, regret and disappointment that this experience has caused.

Woodplay play system was purchased and delivered in June 2011. At that time the installation of the product generally went well. Play and Learn were punctual and completed the delivery and setup in timely fashion, however, there were installation quality check type issues I discovered later on.
Quality check issues which were missed at time of delivery: The play system has a tire swing located under the treehouse, my kids had difficulty climbing into the swing as it was high off the ground. It turned out that the tire swing was the wrong swing for that set which I only discovered after visiting the play and learn showroom to pickup an accessory item and noticed how low other tire swings were on the models. It was my responsibility for bringing in the old swing and picking up the new one from their showroom. Second issue which should have been caught by a quality check was the paint on the bars of the treehouse ladder had slight uniform wear on them all in the same location on each bar, across most of the bars for the ladder. Looking at the pattern, this was not from kids use, rather the ladder must have rubbed against something or been dragged along a hard surface prior to delivery. I didn't notice this until several months after installation and didn't think it would be an issue as there was still paint on the bars, it was just dull.
Now, 2 years later there is rust on the bars in all locations of the paint abrasions. The large A frame supports holding up one end are both now split up the middle. Woodplay warranty covers replacement of these items. Play and Learn does not cover anything after 90 days with regards to delivery or installation of these items, even if you pay for initial delivery and setup of the equipment. You either pickup and install the replacement items yourself (in this case 10' redwood support boards) or pay for a service call. For the price of the unit and due to the fact that this is a structural load bearing issue, I'm surprised that there is no additional coverage by Play and Learn. I see someone wrote in a review that Play and Learn stands by their product. I cannot not concur with this statement based upon charges for structural warranty issues. In addition, warranty coverage has not gone smoothly. When I noticed the cracks in the spring I immediately tried to reach them in May, as I was concerned about the structural integrity of the set. I was given over to a voice mail and was only contacted back by email with a request that I send photos of the damage. I had hoped that someone from the company would come out to inspect the damage. Later I found out that I would have to pay to have them complete a site visit on the damage. They do not make warranty service calls without payment. Also when speaking with the owner on this issue I was told that they are not engineers and cannot inspect for integrity issues, only for damage.The overall value of the product and service they are offering is average. There are several other warped boards and I still have the rust issue. While most of this should be covered by Woodplay, Play and Learn brings little value added other than savings on freight delivery of replacement parts. Delivery and setup fees are comparable to handyman rates.

Same as above.

They were on time. They did a great job fixing everything. They made it safe for my kids. We bough it from them. It shows that they stand by their product. They come out and fix it, if you need it. They were professional. The installers knew what they were doing.

They were very responsive and the price was good for the product.

I originally spoke with Ken on the phone. He professionally answered all of my many questions. We went to see the play set and Betsy was also very helpful, friendly and professional in person. She explained the installation process, space requirements and time frame. We purchased subsequently over the phone. The installers were punctual, professional and cleaned up after themselves completely. Most importantly kids are very happy with the set and not watching TV or playing computer games!

The quality of these swings is unbeatable, price is an issue but, by timing the purchase to the off season, we were able to get a great deal. Installation went smoothly. Afterwards I noted a loose piece on the climbing wall which needed an extra screw and the company came out promptly to fix the problem.

This was the finest shopping experience I have ever had. My salesperson, Rob, was the most knowledgeable, personable, and funniest salesperson I have ever had. I have never been more comfortable making a $5000 purchase in my life. Installation was also a breeze. We got Jeff who had our playset up in under three hours and actually arrived on time. I highly recomend Play N' Learn to anyone looking for a high end playset. They are the best!

THE KIDS HAVE LOVED THIS. WE WERE HAPPY WITH THE WAY THE PLAYGROUND WAS INSTALLED. I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED AT FIRST BECAUSE IT DIDN'T LOOK REALLY STABLE. BUT IT TURNED OUT FINE.