WELCOME BAY MALL SANTA ACCUSED OF UPSELLING PHOTO PACKAGES TO CRYING TODDLERS
The Bronze package is one photo. The Platinum is eleven photos, a keyring, and a chat about your credit limit.
A Santa outside the Welcome Bay shops has been accused of upselling parents to the $89 "Platinum Sleigh" photo package. His method, according to several mums, is telling the kids the $15 Bronze one "doesn't really count".
The grotto sits between a vape shop and a bakery and has been going since early November. Renee Kapua, 34, went in for the Bronze. She left with the Platinum, a keyring, and a "digital rights fee" nobody can explain. "He looked at my daughter and said, 'Only one photo? That's a shame.' She lost it. I paid. Everyone pays!"
Hone from the bakery has watched the whole thing from behind the pie warmer. "He does the ho-ho-ho, then pulls out a laminated sheet. Laminated! Bloke's got a brochure. My cousin sells insurance and he doesn't have a brochure."
A second parent, Lisa Fenwick, 41, said Santa asked her son if Mum "still had the bach at the Mount" before pushing the top tier. "We do not have a bach. We have a mortgage and a caravan in Papamoa. He said the caravan package was the same price. Piss-take."
The company running the grotto said Santa was "an independent contractor". A spokesperson said the packages were "clearly displayed" and the Platinum tier was "excellent value for families who want to remember Christmas properly". Asked if Santa was on commission, they said that was "between Santa and the elves".
Santa is on shift until Christmas Eve. Hone says he's started taking Afterpay.
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Reader Letters
★ Garry (Halswell)
This Santa sounds like a right charlatan! Charging $89 for photos is a downright scam. Back in my day, you simply got a snap with Santa and moved on, none of this upselling nonsense. And what's with that extra 'digital rights fee'? Ridiculous!
nickyfromnell
@Garry (Halswell) You're always banging on about the past. Times have changed, mate!
★ JoannePetone
Honestly, the whole thing is a bit of a piss-take. Kids should enjoy the magic of Santa without parents getting pressured into buying expensive packages.
ropeable_dave
Mate, that's not upselling, that's extortion! The grotto's turned into a bloody sales meeting. Who even needs a keyring?
★ Margaret_F
Well, Gerald would have never stood for this kind of commercialisation. In our day, Santa was about joy, not commission.
★ BarryBishopdale
Santa's gone corporate, eh? Wouldn't be surprised if next he's selling timeshares instead of sleigh rides.
Trev_Hornby
Taking Afterpay now? What a stitch-up! Next he'll be offering mortgages. Probably get a better rate with him anyway!
couchgremlin
He's a bloody menace!
tired_in_riccarton
You can get a whole photo book online for less than $20, but people are paying for this nonsense? We're all buggered.
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