Early Learning Centre (ELC)

Art Centre Starter Kit from ELC – I am very disappointed with this purchase- mainly because the paints are not washable and it does not mention this anywhere on the package.This starter kit is aimed at small children and to then include non washable paint I find a joke. I mean little ones love to and should be able to be messy.All the other accessories are okay, but could be found anywhere for much cheaper ( the kit is $ 25). Do not bother with this! Non washable paint

Don't order online – Couldn't track our order when we realized the address we'd given was incorrect. Wouldn't return phone calls. Each customer services person we eventually got to talk to had no idea what the other had said. Clearly could not cope with the Xmas rush. How naive are they, to think that lots of customers would want help around Xmas time. Range Lack of customer service and accurate information

Disgracefully poor online shopping experience – Ordered multiple products weeks out from Christmas and was assured the products were in stock and would be dispatched within a couple of days. Attempted to contact ELC by phone prior to Christmas and was unable to speak to anybody either through the sales contact number or the Head Office contact number. Having left a message to call me on my work… Read more

phone number, I received 2 missed calls on my mobile whilst at work, no message was left. Christmas came and went without delivery of my order or correspondance from ELC. Suffice to say my wife and I had to purchase extra gifts for our children for Christmas. Having attempted to contact ELC numerous times through the contact numbers online, I resorted to phoning one of their retail outlets to get some kind of response from the company. A lovely professional young lady answered my call from the Mt Gravatt store who took down my details and emailed them off to be delt with by somebody else. When you do get to speak with someone they are great horrid online shopping experience, won't be shopping with ELC online again

Won't buy from ELC again – My daughter received 2 exact same toys from ELC for her birthday. I bought one of the toys and tried to exchange one of the toys with the receipt. However, I was told at the Wellington shop that because it was sold on promotion, their 2 for 3 promotion, it is against company policy to exchange the toy. This was very frustrating since the receipt… Read more

specifies that only full price items will be exchanged. The 2 for 3 promotion require the purchase of 2 full priced items - at full price - to receive a third free. It was one of the full priced items that I wanted to exchange. I also contacted the ELC head office in Auckland but without any success or reply.

I had a really good experience at ELC until this incident soured my enthusiasm to return again.

Bad customer relations

Exellent service – We were trying to track down a particular toy & the sales assistant spent A half hr on the ph tracking one down for us. She was extreamly helpful & an absolutE pleasure to deal with. Very polite & helpful

I Love This Store – I absolutley love The Early Learning Centre, it is my favourite store to buy toys and educational products from for my child. They have a huge range of products and it is often things that are either very hard to locate elsewhere or are simply not available elsewhere. There products are well made and hold my child attention for a long time. They… Read more

last very well and i have even passed some items onto family members and they are doing well with them too.

I find that they also have a wide range of wooden toys which i really love but cannot locate elsewhere. good prices, unique products

Excellent – I remember being a little girl and going to the early learning centre to pick out a toy was the biggest treat ever as they had such a massive wide range to choose from i would normally pick out a dolphin figurine. I think the early learning centre is an amazing place for children and i try to buy a lot of my kids pre school toys from here. A great… Read more

range of toys that young children really enjoy, they are toys that stimulate and engage your child's brain and encourage them to use there imagination. They don't stock the violent fighting games that many other stores sadly do. Although there items are quality they are rather expensive too.