Some questions, concerns and a bit of a rant

not sure if this is the right place to post this or not.

I have some concerns about an istallation place called Canadian car seat installation Centre in Toronto.

They are charging $45 or free installation when you buy a seat from them or a store they are affiliated with.

Anyway my friend went there to see about having her AOE seat (that exp in a year) installed RF for her 10 mon old who just outgrew the bucket in height. They refused to install the AOE seat at less then 45 degrees angle even though the baby is 10 mons and crawling and has excellent head support. There wasn't enough room for the front passenger seat with the AOE installed at a 45 degree angle, so they suggested the Britax Marathon that they of course sell.

Then they just did the install themselves, they did not teach her how to install the seat or have her do the installation herself My friend wants to keep her DD RF till at least 2 years and I told her that she should really learn how to install the marathon RF herself. I also told her that a good tech teaches the parent how to install the seat and should have them do the final install themselves and the tech can then check it.

This makes me very frustrated that there are techs out there giving bad advice and quite possibly misleading people so to sell them an expensive seat (I read another thread on the forum regarding this same place saying that they couldn't install an infant seat and saying untrue stuff about the seat) and in some cases installing seats incorrectly. I few years ago a tech installed my first Radian with pool noodles when my DH took our car in to have the installation checked (not at the same place). Is there a governing body that these instances can be reported? Is there anyone verifying that these "experts" are actually installing seats safely?

Man I so want to be certified.....some day.

Unfortunately, there is no governing body, and some of the "techs" aren't certified anymore or weren't certified through the national program. Some programs also operate more as installation services - when it's associated with a store that's actually quite common - though a very detailed explanation with parental involvement should happen as part of the process.

So far as the seat, well, it's possible that is simply a knowledge level. Depending on the age of her seat, it's possible that "line level to ground" wasn't even accurate. Some of them ended up with lines so inaccurate the child was practically laying down when installed according to the line. (There's no regulations regarding level indicators in Canada.) So it's going to depend on exposure and training as to whether or not the tech is aware the seat can be more upright - and training depends on instructors.

It is possible that they pointed her towards the Marathon simply because they sell it, and that's unfortunate if that's the case. I have worked with stores before, some of which have sold seats, but I still try and make the existing carseat work whenever possible. Parents spend enough money on carseats without being told to replace a carseat that could fit their vehicle if the right way was figured out - and once a tech figures out the right way, it's simple to tell the parent what they need to do.

I will tell you that the structure of the US with parents doing most of the install is ideal compared to what happens in most areas in Canada. But some parents also just want an installation service - for the better or for the worse, that's not something that I can control.

The 3in1 seats are usually simple once you're familiar with them, but it could be that the techs there haven't seen enough to become familiar with them. And there is a difference between inexperience and incompetence.. I'm not able to speak for what is happening at that particular store without observing the techs in action.

I'm sorry your friend had a bad experience, I'd suggest complaining to the store but I suspect in this case your most powerful tool is simply going to be bad word of mouth to friends so that they don't go see the same techs. If the store is benefiting from the techs they're likely to not do anything to change things.

Thank you snowbird for your insight and info. It is too bad there is no governing body and that people can use the designation "tech" whether they are or not or whether they stay updated or not.

I did stress to my friend that she should learn to install her seat herself in case she is in a situation where she needs to take her seat out and install it again and how she really doesn't want the first time to be when there is an emergency. The first time I installed our Radian it was like wrestling with an alligator for an hour

butterfly_mommy said:

Thank you snowbird for your insight and info. It is too bad there is no governing body and that people can use the designation "tech" whether they are or not or whether they stay updated or not.

I did stress to my friend that she should learn to install her seat herself in case she is in a situation where she needs to take her seat out and install it again and how she really doesn't want the first time to be when there is an emergency. The first time I installed our Radian it was like wrestling with an alligator for an hour

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LOL about wrestling with an alligator. The Radian is a special brand of "challenge" when it comes to installing. The Britax she got is actually really straight forward - I know it was less than a 5 minute install for me when I got mine and that was before I ever became a tech. The seats are slightly different now, but still very easy to install. :thumbsup:

Still a good recommendation for her to learn to do it herself though.

I have "fixed" 40+ seats that have been "installed" by that place. You or your friend can contact me, and im willing to help her learn how to properly install/use her seat.

carseat_techs @yahoo.ca (no space)

I will vouch for Trudy when she says that the 3-in-1 really take a special knowledge. I thought I had one in good and tight this weekend, and both grama and I were fighting with it. I get it 'tight' grama would check it, and bam loose again. I think we both fought with it for a good 30 mins or so. Had Trudy come over to take a peek. I went to grab a seat my from my van for Grama to look at, and in like 3 minutes she had that thing installed perfect. lol

I was quite impressed.

Yeah I might know what store your talking, I think when I took my tech course there were 2 or 3 guys there that were from a baby store than provided trained techs to instal seats for a price!

butterfly_mommy said:

Thank you snowbird for your insight and info. It is too bad there is no governing body and that people can use the designation "tech" whether they are or not or whether they stay updated or not.

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If someone is trained to the national standard (which is a St. John Ambulance certification), they should have a card that says so. You can always ask to see the card. Really anybody can say they are trained to do anything - but they should be able to back it up if asked. :twocents:

Now, that doesn't guarantee they are actually any good at it...