KARORI MALL SANTA OFFERING "PLATINUM TIER" PHOTO PACKAGE FOR $89.99
Standard package is a printed 6x4. Platinum gets you a USB and a longer chat with Santa.
The Santa stationed outside the Karori Mall Specsavers has been accused of upselling photo packages to parents, with one mum quoted $89.99 for the top tier.
Santa offers four tiers — Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum — printed on a laminated sheet propped against the sleigh. Bronze gets you one printed photo. Platinum is, per the sheet, "the full Santa experience, USB included, ask about framing".
Karori mum Felicity Doerr, 34, said she'd queued 25 minutes with two kids and a flat white. "I asked for one photo. He said, 'are you sure, the Gold is much better value'. My four-year-old started crying because Santa was doing a sales pitch."
Another parent, Hamish Beattie, said Santa had asked his son what he wanted for Christmas and then "gently steered him toward suggesting the Platinum to mum". Beattie added: "That's not Santa. That's a Harvey Norman manager in a beard."
The Lower Hutt events company that contracts Santa told The Daily Yarn the pricing was "industry standard" and Santa was "performing within scope". Asked if Santa got commission, the spokesperson said that was "commercially sensitive".
Santa is back on the sleigh Saturday from 10am. The candy canes, a Specsavers staffer confirmed, are from Pak'nSave.
Know someone this is about? Send it to them.
Spotted something like this in your area?
Send us a photo and a sentence. We'll write the article.
SUBMIT A YARN →Free. Anonymous if you want. Takes 60 seconds.
Reader Letters
Trev_Hornby
Who pays 90 bucks for a photo with Santa? Just put your kid in front of a tree and snap it yourself. Bloody madness.
Margaret_F
I knew a chap back at the Newtown mall who did this in '05. He was selling tee-shirts and Santa hats as upsells. Didn't last the season!
BarryBishopdale
Council should investigate this. Clearly exploiting parents. It's like parking fines all over again!
Hamish_W1
Mate, look at the positives. You've got a USB stick, which is worth at least $10 on its own!
couchgremlin
Lol at getting a USB from Santa. Very 2023.