Gymboree Play & Music

If you’re a parent of babies and/​or toddlers, then you likely know how necessary it is to get out of the house sometimes. A bonus is getting to interact with other grown-​ups! You probably have also found that most classes and activities are geared toward school-​age children. There is relatively little for the 1s, 2s and 3s So many of us have thrown up our hands, and handed over our credit cards for automatic monthly billing to Gymboree. For some, the $ 60+/month is just barely worth it…
If the rating were based on the facility alone, it would easily get 5 stars. The (relatively) new owners* decided to move to a new location near I-​25 and paseo, sandwiched between 2 family-​friendly restaurants. The equipment is brand-​new, modern, attractive and so much fun for the kiddos. There are plenty of surfaces catering to the «sensory» experience that the modern parent seems rather obsessed over: slides, slides with climbing grips, swinging «tires», stairs, bridges, balls, squeaky things. The bathrooms (even at the last location) are always clean, and there are 2, which is super important with potty-​goers in training. It is advertised to be ADA compliant and more classroom room for music, art and other programs (this review can only apply to the most popular/​regular play program as that’s all we’ve experienced).
The only mistake I feel was made with the new facility is the lobby. Like in the old location, it gets very crowed at the end of class and sometimes there aren’t enough cubbies for everyone’s shoes and belongings. A bigger lobby, or better configuration of cubbies would have been nice.
Now if this rating were based on Gymboree’s customer service alone, it would get 1 star. The teachers and owner are nice enough during class or if one has a question before or after class, but they need the most work on communication with their customers. In the past, when I have emailed a question, I never received a response. When I called to find out if there would be class on a particular day (or if it would be closed due to a holiday), the voicemail recording was outdated and didn’t mention anything about upcoming closings. Makes it kind of hard to plan. And we know how disappointed little ones can get when their expectations of fun times are squelched.
The latest customer service blunder was the inspiration for this review. For months I have been attending open gym for about an hour during that oh-​so-​pleasant before dinner time. The open gym offered a much needed distraction for post-​nap, cranky kids. One of my children has always been officially enrolled with Gymboree, and the other has not. But no one ever batted an eye when I brought both kids to the open gym. I assumed they understood the conundrum of having a child older than 3 who had «aged out» of the play class and a younger child, and not being able to leave the 3 year old at home by him/​herself for legal and other reasons. Yet, when I came in one day for open gym, the same employee who has seen us numerous times told me they would be charging me $ 10 for the non-​enrolled child. The same happened to one friend, but not to another that day.
The problem is not so much that Gymboree is charging for bringing an extra kid, it’s the way it was done and the hefty fee. A much better way would have been to consistently enforce this rule, or if they recently decided to enforce it, then they should shave notified all customers in advance that they would be doing so. I’m pretty sure no one likes getting blindsided with a fee. And $ 10 seems pretty steep for such a service; they are not providing anything more by allowing a sibling to come. Other «open gyms» in town charge less.
I would have been very understanding, and way less annoyed, had they informed me in advance that I would have now have to pay $ 5 for the additional sibling. And I would have still come to open gym time; however, now I don’t feel I can.
One friend told me she asked an employee if Gymboree would consider an «open gym» membership for the extra sibling. She said the employee scoffed and said, «we’d never consider that.»
I have never seen a «comment card» box, received a survey or been verbally asked my opinion. The fact that many class times seem to interfere with many kids’ nap times is an indication they don’t seem to care about parents’ preferences.
Finally, Gymboree needs to catch up technologically. The local website is a shoot-​off of the main company website. One must enter her zip code to access it each time, only to find it outdated and leaving much to be desired.
So even if you are very wealthy and don’t mind the financial insult of joining Gymboree, you may still find it’s not quite the happy place it claims to be. Gymbo the Clown needs to be a friend to parents, too.
* The previous review from Howie K. was from the old management.

Some people are just born to play a part.
The popular, famous examples are personalities like Richard Simmons, Mr Rodgers and Julia Child, but there are everyday people all around us, as well, that just seem born to play a role in society, and even when they’re not particularly up for taking off their shoes while they sing a neighborly song, they do so wearing a smile. At Gymboree, that personality is Ms Suzette. God bless these kiddie professionals, I’m sure there are plenty of mornings that they roll out of the sack and mumble under their breath, «Help me, Jesus. I don’t want to sing the song about the f*$king clown today.»
But then they put on their happy pants and show up to work with a smile. This would be Ms Suzette.
For the uninitiated parent, Gymboree is a big corporate line of kiddo clothes, toys and activities. They have Play & Music centers all over the country, and ABQ has one of its own (Bounce & Boogie is right around the corner and seems eerily similar to this place, but by comparison, Gymboree has ‘em hands down). Play sessions run about 50 minutes, they’re structured, featuring music and exercise and stories and song and dance and a parachute and a chipper, happy day instructor who wraps the whole thing up with a bow. It’s cute, your toddler will love it, and depending on your demeanor, you’ll either join along in the the clapping and singing (someone else’s parent) or sit there, numb, just glad the kid has something to do for an hour (me).
You’ll find daycare options, dad and mom specific play dates, birthday party planning and other delights at a fair price. And you’ll find Ms Suzette, along with other happy-​happy joy-​joy friendlies leading the way. It’s one of the best options I’ve found for numbingly bringing good cheer to your Daddy Day (or mommy, of course).