Pleasant Run Structures

Let’s face it: these Rainbow System swing sets are *really* expensive. Buying one is like putting a down payment on a car. So you want to believe that they are going to last, and that your experience of buying one is going to be positive. The owners of Pleasant Run Structures were professional, enthusiastic, helpful, and made the experience of putting out this much money, well, much more pleasant!
We spent about an hour on their property letting our kid try the different swingsets/​playsets to see which model she liked more (Castle or Clubhouse). She took to the Clubhouse, and we were sold on the quality of the models there. I got up in them too, and they were substantial enough for me as an adult to feel secure. But we were stilled pretty stunned by the cost. So we slept on the purchase for several weeks, weighing whether to buy a less expensive non-​modular version, or the fully modular American Redwood set. We eventually went with the more expensive one. Why? Because the quality was just excellent, we liked the fact that we can add on when we have the funds (or if we have more kids), and if/​when we move, we intend to take this set with us. I never thought buying a playset could be like getting an addition to your house, but this one really is, in a great way.
We have only had ours for a few months, but every time I go in our backyard I look at it and grin and think, «I am so glad we bought this for our kid.» The cheaper models elsewhere were still close to $ 1000 and it just felt right to put in the extra to get the best one available. We did not really have the money for it, but we bought it anyway, and it is really more than just a swingset: our kid calls it her «playground» and she can spend hours out there hanging in the clubhouse or making up games, and we like to spend time out there with her too. It’s just excellent for all of us.
As for the customer service at Pleasant Run: Dan and his wife were great. They clearly love doing what they do, and we just got a really good vibe in their storeroom when we were working out the details of the purchase. They understood that this was a big deal for us, and helped us figure out the best way to finance it. More important, they engaged with our kid during the whole exchange. They like kids. It was awesome to buy a playground from people who love selling happiness.
Only one issue came up and it was resolved within a few weeks: one of the «extras» we purchased — a commercial grade swing — was missing from the initial delivery. It was on the order (so no mistake by Pleasant Run Structures) but the sub-​contractor who built the set didn’t pick it up from the warehouse. This seems to be one of the issues with this playset business: there are three different groups handling each order: Rainbow Systems, the sales people (Pleasant Run), and the contractors who build. So there is potential for miscommunication. We get it. We just wanted it resolved. There was some back and forth about how it would be delivered and when, but Dan and his wife were on top of following up with the screw-​up, and the swing was delivered by hand within a few weeks. Good enough for us. And in the meantime, we had a fully operational set that was already being used hours a day.
The real clincher, though, and why I’m writing this review, is that a few weeks later, in the mail comes a box of homemade fudge from a business in Flemington that we pass all the time on Rte 202. Who is sending us fudge? Dan from Pleasant Run Structures supporting another local business and saying thank you to us for buying from them. It’s just a box of fudge. But it’s also an acknowledgement that our business is important to them, and that they remember who we are. We made this huge investment, and yet, it was a simple box of fudge that made me think, I’m really glad we made this investment at Pleasant Run Structures. They’re good people, they run a good business, and our kid could not be happier. Thumbs up.