In the life of ... a toyologist

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Working at a toy store could be many people’s idea of being in hell, but Rachel Ybarra, a “toyologist” at The Toy Store, says she loves it.

Ybarra, a former KU student, has worked at The Toy Store, 936 Massachusetts Street, for two years. Her job entails showing customers toys they might be interested in.

Photo by Adam Schoof

Toy story: Rachel Ybarra, former KU student and The Toy Store employee, says it’s important to treat children as customers, too, to get their input on toys.

Instead of just talking with the parents, it’s important you treat children like customers and get their input, Ybarra says.

One of the difficult aspects of the job, Ybarra says, is parents who have a vague notion of the toy they want to buy their children and often expect her to know what they are talking about.

“I get people looking for a toy who say, ‘It’s orange, it bounces, and it’s ten dollars,’” Ybarra says. “The description could be for several toys in the store. It takes time to learn all the products the store offers.

The worst part of her job is unsupervised children, particularly teenagers. Ybarra says they’ll ride on toys too small for them, knock things off shelves, and disrupt other customers.

In the summer, The Toy Store offers “kidtivities,” during which Ybarra supervises and teaches kids how to build volcanoes and make birdhouses, among other activities.

The Toy Store also has lots of classic toys adults can enjoy, Ybarra says, so it isn’t all about the kids.

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