Had a REALLY bad experience at BRU last night.

So. Last night my husband and I decided we would go take a ride to Babies R Us, an hour away, to take a look at carseats for Ben, 18 months, and booster seats for Alexa, 6 1/2 years. When we got into that section, an older saleslady asked if she could help us.

I was interested in a Britax Parkway booster seat for Alexa and I saw they only had one (which wasn't all that aesthetically appealing), so I asked if they had any others. She said: "No, that's the only one. It is being discontinued; they're going with that one instead" (and she pointed to a $269 five pt harness booster made by somebody else.)

Then I asked if they had any of the Fisher Price Safe Voyage ones, and she said "No, all fisher price ones have been recalled from the store, and Britax tends to get recalled a lot." (IS that true, btw?)

Stumped, my husband wandered over to the Graco Turbo Boosters which were on sale and started looking at them. I commented to him: "I've read good things about the Graco Turbo Boosters...they don't have those Side Impact Protection wings though..."

The saleslady interjected: "Yeah but those side impact wings, the kids don't like them. They give them tunnel vision and they can't see out the windows."

I ignored this and continued to my husband: "And I read that they are a little bit bigger than the other ones so we might have a hard time fitting them in the car."

The saleslady interjected: "They aren't bigger, they're all about the same size."

So at this point I asked her if we could take the Turbo Booster, as well as the single Britax Boulevard carseat they had, and try them both in my car. We did so, with her again commenting on the side protection wings, this time in regard to the carseat, and how kids don't like them.

We get to my car and my husband goes to put the Britax Boulevard carseat in first. He wasn't paying attention and for a second he started to put it facing forward (Ben's always been rear-facing and my husband knows that he's staying rear-facing, he just didn't pay attention to what he was doing for a second). So I call, "turn it around, it has to go rear-facing."

The saleslady who is standing in between my husband and I says quite emphatically "No. It goes forward facing."

Um. Okay.

So I say just as emphatically, "No, he goes REAR facing."

And she shakes her head and insists, in a very know it all manner, "No. 20 pounds and one year, they go forward facing."

By now I'm getting irritated with her manner, let alone her misinformation. I look at her and say to her: "20 pounds and one year is the MINIMUM allowed for turning a baby forward facing. But a baby is SAFEST rear-facing until at least THIRTY pounds. This is what all of the experts say. And my son will be REAR FACING until he weighs at least 30 lbs."

She says: "I'm just telling you what they told me in my training. I know 30 is safest but they can only go rear-facing if their feet don't touch the backseat."

I said: "What are you talking about?" I'm so beyond annoyed right now lol.

She repeats what she said and informs me that if their feet touch the backseat and we get into an accident, it can break their legs or hips.

I inform HER that a forward facing child is at risk for spinal and neck injuries and that kids sit cross legged quite comfortably all the time and that injuries from facing forward are a much bigger risk than any potential leg injuries from rearfacing.

She shrugs and tells me that one of her nieces has hip problems and trouble walking because her parents felt the same way and had her sitting cross legged in a rear-facing carseat all the time, "but," she announces, "it's up to you."

WTF?! She was ignorant and she really rubbed me the wrong way. And I find it highly upsetting and unsettling that a huge store like Babies R Us is training its sales people to make parents believe they HAVE to turn their infants forward facing at 20 lbs and 1 year. THOUSANDS of parents must take that advice without question, which puts THOUSANDS of babies at risk.

I am going to do some looking around right now to find specific links and quotes and sources talking about the importance of rear-facing that I can include when I put together an email complaint to send to Babies R Us. If anyone already has anything specific bookmarked that I could use, or has some sort of corporate address I can write to, and/or has anything they think I should add in this letter, please let me know. And let me know what you guys think of this; am I totally over-reacting?

P.S. before we left the store my husband went into the rest room and the soap dispenser squirted soap all over his shirt...lol...but....when he informed the manager, the manager just kind of nodded and walked away and didn't even apologize to my husband. It was a really really crappy experience overall.

P.S.S. For anyone interested, it's going to be tight, but it seems we will be able to fit Ben in the Boulevard behind the passenger seat, Alexa in the Turbo Booster in the middle, and my teenage daughter behind the driver's side, which is how it has to be so that Alexa can buckle herself (and not accidentally unbuckle Ben!). Although by the time all this was said and done I was so irritated and ready to be out of that store that I got home and realized I never even tried putting Ben INTO the Boulevard. Ah well, I'm sure that part of things will be fine!

P.S.S.S. I already have this link and intend to quote much of it; but if anyone has any others please let me know! http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx

They do seem trained to hate Britaxes, and the FP's.

I'm rarely in BRU, but both times the sheer volume of mis-information was mind boggling.

One lady insisted emphatically to the couple who came in with printed research in hand that they were WRONG to want a Britax. That all Britaxes were "totally just Graco knock-offs with pretty covers". So, instead of the MA, she steered them to a ComfortSport. She repeated that statement over and over "Graco knock-offs, pretty cover". Umm, never mind that additional weight and height limits?!

She was also spouting all manner of nonsense re: top tethers and lower anchors. It was so off-base I can't even recall what it was.

Luckily, she got distracted and I told them I loved my MA and it still fit my 4-something year old daughter. The ComfortSport on the other hand would have been too small 1.5 years ago or so.

Call the manager and compain. Then call the district manager and complain. Then the regional manager, and on up the food chain. Only when parents start making a stink will their policies change, unfortunately. And her "advice" could kill a child.

skaterbabscpst said:

Call the manager and compain. Then call the district manager and complain. Then the regional manager, and on up the food chain. Only when parents start making a stink will their policies change, unfortunately. And her "advice" could kill a child.

Click to expand...

DITTO!

If she's not a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, she has absolutely NO business trying to "teach" parents anything about carseats -- her job is retail for crying out loud.... Does the company really want to face liability because of her dumb ___ :soapbox:

(my website has detailed information on RF)

Yes, definitely call corporate and complain.

I worked at BRU back in college, and whenever corporate got a call about our store, they would hold a store meeting and we would all get a lecture

papooses said:

DITTO!

If she's not a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, she has absolutely NO business trying to "teach" parents anything about carseats -- her job is retail for crying out loud.... Does the company really want to face liability because of her dumb ___ :soapbox:

(my website has detailed information on RF)

Click to expand...

Unfortunately I cannot remember what her name was...ugh! I have no idea if she was a CPST...I'm guessing not, and she certainly didn't tell us that she was, and I'm sure she would have if she was. Sales people at BRU do not tend to be CPST's, do they?

I plan to write a letter that will be sent to the store manager and I would like to "cc" it all the way up...so I can call the store and ask for the names of the district manager and the regional manager...who else specifically after the regional manager should I cc it to once I get those names? I have no idea who is above "regional manager." I did manage to track down the address for the corporate headquarters of Toys R Us, which I assume is the same as for Babies R Us since Toys R Us is the parent company. I found the name of the president of Babies R Us, who I assume can be contacted at Corporate Headquarters of Toys R Us in NJ?? And I'll even have her name on there. But who else should I send it to in between "regional manager" and "President"...? I'd like to send it to as many people as possible. I'm even thinking of sending it to the NJ Record who did a story late last year on the 'new president' and her 'mission'. So any specifics you guys have would be really helpful!

It's been posted here that TRU/BRU will not hire techs. So it makes you wonder WHAT training the woman was referring to.

I haven't ever bought a carseat from them...so I haven't got any experiance (though ds2's infant seat/travel system was from BRU, I didn't buy it). But dang that would piss me off.

It's only all about the pretty covers for the clueless parents. For the safety freaks, the pretty covers seem to be a perk of sorts. lol

FWIW, I don't believe BRU *allows* their employees to even take CPST training. The BRU employee who coordinated and helped keep our SafeKids events at their store running smoothly wanted to take the class, but they wouldn't let her. Not just not let her off from work for it, but absolutely not allow her to work there AND be a tech . She wasn't the only one, either. Our SK coordinator had worked with several employees of BRU (for our events in the past) who wanted to become techs and couldn't while working there. And the "information" they spout (the employees in the car seat section) - OY! I don't know how many times I saw Eddie Bauer Eddie Bauer Eddie Bauer being pulled off the shelf and demonstrated for parents . And one older lady who worked there would only talk about the Snugride, since all of her grandchildren had used it and it was clearly the best. Whatever. Not knocking the SR, but um, there *are* other seats . . . I digress.

Sorry you had such a poopy experience and I hope your letter gets some results!

All of my experiences with bru have been bad. It has been my experience that the only seats they push or have any experience with are snugrides, AOEs and turboboosters. I think they do a great disservice to parents who want to buy the best seat for their kids and get pushed towards the cheaper seats because the more expensive seats are "just a marketing ploy with pretty covers" My dh won't even go in there with me anymore because I go straight to the carseat aisle and talk to other parents there looking to buy seats and totally contradict everything the salespeople say. At my bru its run by a bunch of young guys who don't have kids and know absolutely nothing about carseats and spend the majority of their time there goofing off. I think its extremely unethical to be one of the biggest sellers of carseats in the us and absolutely refuse to train any of their salespeople on the products they're selling.

skaterbabscpst said:

Call the manager and compain. Then call the district manager and complain. Then the regional manager, and on up the food chain. Only when parents start making a stink will their policies change, unfortunately. And her "advice" could kill a child.

Click to expand...

I totally argree, I definatly would call!

I don't think that employees are trained to stear people away from Britax and FP like PP said though. And not all of their people give out the wrong information. I was in BRU earlier this week and in the car seat section (of course) looking for a friend when I came across the Regents. Well, I was kinda peeved as they had told me the week before that they had no plans to carry them in the store only on line. I informed the guy that was working there helping other people. He was very upset that I had been told this, asking if I remembered the person's name (I didn't) or what they looked like. He told me that they had a meeting the Monday prior instructing them on the Regent's arrival and of all of it's features. He said they where instructed to push them instead of Boosters because their ability to harness a child for longer periods of time. I also stuck around and "listened" to him give advice to other customers and his advice was very good. He informed 2 customers about extended rear facing and that it was best to keep the child in a 5 point harness as long as possible. Needless to say I was impressed.

OK guys, what do you think? I am considering sending this letter to the Staff Writer I am about to refer to and would welcome any and all thoughts on this letter!!!.....
-----

On October 6, 2006, Joan Verdon, Staff Writer, printed an article in The Record, appearing on NorthJersey.com, titled "Babies R Us has eye to expand." Here is an exerpt from said article:

"Babies President Deborah Derby, who was appointed to the top job in May, sees her mission as making Babies' sales continue to expand like a toddler on a growth spurt, as the division gets older."

If I may, I would like to suggest that Babies President Deborah Derby, and Babies R Us (who consider themselves "The baby authority," who offer "educational seminars," who affect the lives and decisions of hundreds of thousands of parents and infants, come up with a new mission: Keeping babies SAFE so that THEY may become toddlers on growth spurts as THEY get older.

This article quoted Derby as saying: "I think they look to us as not just selling the products but as actually having a lot of knowledge about them and about parenting." I am glad to hear that Derby is aware of this fact. And being as she is aware of that fact, doesn't she (and everyone else trained to work at Babies R Us) have an absolute moral and ethical OBLIGATION to provide up-to-date, relevant SAFETY information to those parents?

Allow me to tell you about my personal experience at Babies R Us in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania yesterday (May 14, 2007). My husband and I walked in, after spending literally days researching various car-seats as well as car-seat safety issues, intending to purchase a Britax Boulevard carseat for my 18 month old, 24 lb son, and a Britax Parkway booster seat for my six year old, 45 lb daughter.

A saleslady, whose name unfortunately I did not note, came over to help us. We were looking at the booster seat first, and saw that they only had one, so I asked if they had any others. She said: "No, that's the only one. It is being discontinued; they're going with that one instead" (and she pointed to a different booster made by somebody other than Britax.) Then I asked if they had any of the Fisher Price Safe Voyage boosters, and she said "No, all Fisher Price ones have been recalled from the store, and Britax tends to get recalled a lot."

Now, as far as I know, as of May 10, 2007, the FP Safe Voyage has never had a recall. Britax recalls have been for mostly minor things in the past 10 years - a misplaced/misworded sticker, inconsistent directions, and mainly problems with tether straps with children over 50lbs.

My husband wandered over to the Graco Turbo Boosters and started looking at them. I commented to him that I'd read good things about them, but that they didn't have the Side Impact Protection wings that the Britax had. The saleslady interjected, telling us that kids "don't like" the side impact protection wings because it gives them "tunnel vision" and they can't see out the windows.

I continued speaking to my husband, telling him I'd also heard somewhere that the Turbo Boosters may be a bit bigger than some of the others, and wondered if we would have a hard time fitting them in our car. The saleslady again interjected, telling us that they are all about the same size, so I asked her if we could take the booster seat, as well as the carseat, out to my car to try them out. We did so, with her again commenting on the side protection wings, this time in regard to the carseat, and how kids don't like them. Ought salespeople talk down important safety features to parents? Personally, I don't think so.

When we got out to my car, my husband went to put the Britax Boulevard carseat in first. Distracted, he started to unintentionally put it facing forward (My son has always been rear-facing and my husband knows that he will continue to be for quite some time). So I called to him, "turn it around, it has to go rear-facing."

The saleslady, who was standing in between my husband and I watching, said quite emphatically "No. It goes forward facing."

To which I replied, just as emphatically, "No, it goes REAR facing."

She insisted: "No. 20 pounds and one year, they go forward facing."

The carseat in question, by the way, is rated for remaining rear-facing for 30 lbs, which is one of the reasons I chose it. By now I was getting irritated with the saleslady's manner, let alone her misinformation. I informed her that the "20 pound/one year guideline" is the MINIMUM allowed by law in the U.S. for turning a baby forward facing, but that every expert out there says that a baby is SAFEST rear-facing, for as long as a seat allows, preferably until at least THIRTY pounds.

The woman continued: "I'm just telling you what they told me in my training. I know 30 is safest. But they can only go rear-facing if their feet don't touch the backseat."

I could not believe what I was hearing as she proceeded to tell me that if my child's feet touch the backseat and we got into an accident, it could break his legs or hips.

I had to inform HER that a forward facing child is at risk for head, spinal and neck injuries which are a much bigger risk and threat than any potential leg injuries from rearfacing, and this is aside from the fact that as far as I know, there are no documented cases of children's legs or hips breaking or being injured in a crash due to remaining rear-facing for longer than a year (and even if there were, the greater concern is and should be an injured neck or spinal cord, which can be life-threatening, and not a broken leg, which is not).

But the woman insisted that my son's legs could be broken and also felt the need to throw in the fact that a niece of hers has hip problems and doesn't walk well due to remaining rear-facing in a carseat. "But," she announced, "it's up to you."

Is it up to me? Indeed it is. Because I have informed and educated myself. But what about the hundreds of thousands of parents who walk into Babies R Us, seeing their salespeople as "experts," as "baby authorities," as "having a lot of knowledge" about their products, "as well as parenting," ...is it up to them? Perhaps it isn't. It is not a stretch to say that hundreds of thousands of parents blindly follow the advice, anecdotes and instructions given to them by Babies R Us employees, because of the way Babies R Us portrays itself.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that Babies R Us does not hire certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, or train their employees as such (and I've even heard that they actually refuse to ALLOW their employees to be trained as such) and with that said: hat woman had absolutely no business trying to teach parents anything about carseats, let alone spewing one carseat myth and incorrect statement after another. Her job is retail. But if part of 'retail' according to Babies R Us involves instructing parents on carseat safety, they had better get on the ball when it comes to training so its employees can get their facts straight.

Here are "the facts."

"While most parents are aware that they must keep their children rear-facing "until they are AT LEAST 1 year old AND 20 lbs", very few are told that there are significant safety benefits when a child remains rear-facing as long as the seat allows. For most children, rear-facing can and should continue well into the second year of life.

Research studies suggest that until children are at least four, they are incapable of withstanding crash forces as well as adults - and should remain rear-facing. In a crash, life-threatening or fatal injuries are generally limited to the head and neck, assuming a child is in a harnessed seat.

When a child is in a forward-facing seat, there is tremendous stress put on the child's neck, which must hold the large head back. The mass of the head of a small child is about 25% of the body mass whereas the mass of the adult head is only 6%! A small child's neck sustains massive amounts of force in a crash. The body is held back by the straps while the head is thrown forward - stressing, stretching or even breaking the spinal cord. The child's head is at greater risk in a forward-facing seat as well. In a crash, the head is thrown outside the confines of the seat and can make dangerous contact with other occupants, vehicle structures, and even intruding objects, like trees or other vehicles.

Rear-facing seats do a phenomenal job of protecting children because there is little or no force applied to the head, neck and spine. When a child is in a rear-facing seat, the head, neck and spine are all kept fully aligned and the child is allowed to "ride down" the crash while the back of the child restraint absorbs the bulk of the crash force. The head is contained within the restraint, and the child is much less likely to come into contact with anything that might cause head injury.

'Won't my child be uncomfortable? Where do his legs go?'

Many parents have the misconception that children are uncomfortable or at risk for leg injury by having their legs up on the vehicle seat or bent when kept rear-facing. These concepts are completely incorrect. First, children are more flexible than adults so what we perceive as uncomfortable is not for children. Think about how your child sits in everyday play. Do they sit with their legs straight out in front of them? When they sit on the couch, do they purposely sit so their legs dangle out over the edge? No. In real, everyday life, toddlers and preschoolers CHOOSE to sit with their legs folded up - that IS comfort to them.

Second, there is not a single documented case of children's legs, hips, etc. breaking or being injured in a crash due to longer rear-facing. There are plenty of cases of head and neck injury in forward-facing children that could have been prevented if the child had remained rear-facing. However, even if a leg or hip were broken or injured, it can be fixed. A damaged spinal cord (from forward-facing too soon) cannot be repaired and subjects the child to lifelong disability or death.

'What if I am hit from behind? Won't my child be safer facing forward?'

Frontal and side impacts are the most common type of crashes. They account for 96% of all crashes. They are also the most deadly type of crashes (especially side impacts) and rear-facing children have MUCH more protection in both types of crashes than forward-facing. In the 4% of rear impact crashes that a rear-facing child would be in, they have at least the same amount of protection that a FF child would have in a frontal impact, with the added benefit of less crash energy being transferred to them, and the fact that the rear impact is usually not as severe.

The forces in a rear impact crash are much different from the forces in a frontal impact crash. In a frontal impact, the forces are much greater because the vehicles are usually traveling in opposite directions. Experts suggest that a frontal crash is the same as hitting a concrete barrier – the vehicle and all occupants come to a dead stop within less than 1 second.

When you are struck in a rear impact, the vehicles involved are traveling in the same direction, and the vehicle that is hit in the back has room to move forward. The crash force on the occupants is much less than in a frontal impact. The movement of the impacted vehicle, in addition to the crush zone, absorbs a lot of the crash energy, so it is not transferred to the child. Additionally, the majority of rear impacts are at low speeds.

In short, if your child is rear-facing, he has optimal protection in the types of crashes you are most likely to be in. If he is forward-facing, he may have optimal protection in a rear-end crash, but statistically, that is the least likely to happen and he is 60% more likely to be injured or killed in the types of crashes (frontal, side impact) you are most likely to be in.
In the US, motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for children. The extra protection offered by rear-facing seats is something that parents should take advantage of as long as possible. This, of course, is according to the experts. Here are a few of "the experts" and their comments:

Rear-facing CRs provide the best protection from injury for any child that can fit in one.
- SafetyBeltSafe USA technical encyclopedia, written by Kathleen Weber, retired Director of the Child Passenger Protection Research Program in the University of Michigan Medical School

...a child should remain rear-facing for as long as possible...even beyond their first birthday, increasing their protection until they are 30 to 35 lbs.
- Dr. Michael Sachs, Pediatrician and Child Passenger Safety Expert

...for optimal protection, the child should remain rear facing until reaching the maximum weight for the car safety seat, as long as the top of the head is below the top of the seat back
- American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement

A child should stay rear-facing for as long as possible
- Flaura Koplin Winston, MD, PhD, principal investigator of Partners for Child Passenger Safety, a research collaboration between The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Company.

Basically, the longer a child can ride rear-facing, the better protected his or her spinal cord is in the event of a collision.”
- Joe Colella, Child Passenger Safety Training Manager for the National SAFE KIDS Campaign"

All of this and more can be found here: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx

I find it highly upsetting and unsettling, not to mention unethical, that a huge store like Babies R Us is either training its sales people to dispense false information (such as information that makes parents believe they HAVE to turn their infants forward facing at 20 lbs and 1 year), or, refusing to properly train and/or hindering the training of their salespeople in the proper and safe usage of the products they are selling. I must repeat: Hundreds of thousands of parents must take that advice without question, which puts hundreds of thousands of babies at risk of injury and death. Forgetting about the liability issue this most pose to Babies R Us, what about the moral, social and ethical obligations an entity like Babies R Us holds to the parents and infants it serves, to its shareholders, to the public at large? I'd like to hear Deborah Derby's mission on that and very much look forward to a response from Babies R Us indicating that this issue will be taken seriously and addressed with the due diligence it deserves.

Sincerely,

Nancy ________

cc:
(and here I would like to cc the store manager on up to and including Deborah Derby herself.)

Thoughts on this letter???

Looks good but the boulivard rear faces to 33 pounds

Clarissa

Simplysomething said:

It's been posted here that TRU/BRU will not hire techs. So it makes you wonder WHAT training the woman was referring to.

Click to expand...

I know we see this posted from time to time, but its not true everywhere. Maybe some BRU stores refuse to hire techs, but not all.

As a matter of fact, a new BRU opened in my city about 1 year ago. The store mandated 2 employees to become techs and they attended the same class I took last fall. Unfortunately, there are still tons of other salespeople in that store giving our bad advice, but they do have 2 techs on staff. It certainly doesn't sound like the woman in this story had any training other than Idiots Guide to Being and Idiot.

Renee

spokaneCPST said:

I know we see this posted from time to time, but its not true everywhere. Maybe some BRU stores refuse to hire techs, but not all.

As a matter of fact, a new BRU opened in my city about 1 year ago. The store mandated 2 employees to become techs and they attended the same class I took last fall. Unfortunately, there are still tons of other salespeople in that store giving our bad advice, but they do have 2 techs on staff. It certainly doesn't sound like the woman in this story had any training other than Idiots Guide to Being and Idiot.

Renee

Click to expand...

Hey, that is awesome! I wish all BRU stores would make it a priority to have techs on staff! :thumbsup:

spokaneCPST said:

I know we see this posted from time to time, but its not true everywhere. Maybe some BRU stores refuse to hire techs, but not all.

As a matter of fact, a new BRU opened in my city about 1 year ago. The store mandated 2 employees to become techs and they attended the same class I took last fall. Unfortunately, there are still tons of other salespeople in that store giving our bad advice, but they do have 2 techs on staff. It certainly doesn't sound like the woman in this story had any training other than Idiots Guide to Being and Idiot.

Renee

Click to expand...

Yeah, I really think it depends on the store. The Cranberry, PA store has a CPStech working in their car seat section (I can't remember his name, I think it starts with a J), and I had an hour-long (I kid you not) conversation with the girl who works full-time in the car seat section in Monroeville (PA) about becoming CPS certified, and she took down the addresses and everything. She was REALLY awesome, to the point that I told the store manager that she was fantastic, and to never let her go. She had only been working there a few months, but took her job really seriously and "went online to research about car seats, so [she] could make sure to tell parents the right information" (quote from her). I really hope that she looks into certification.

I actually have a lot of retail experience (I was a manager at The Children's Place before DD was born) and have toyed with the idea of getting a job at BRU or similar when DD gets older. I think the more "good" people selling seats the better.

Ah, then I will take out the part about them not hiring certified techs just in case.

I wouldn't mind if they didn't have techs AND said that they we simply salespeople, NOT safety experts. Its that they try and come off like they ARE authorities, that they spout about "training" on the subject while showing (to someone who is in the know) that they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Britaxes are NOT Graco-knockoffs. The jibberish she was spouting about top tethers and lower anchors made no sense whatsoever, I can't even remember what she was saying it was so off the mark.

I doubt they are "officially" trained to bash Britaxes, but there is clearly a pervasive bias. If the two or three more senior employees dislike them and spout them as being "too expensive" then the newer employees will likely adopt this stance too. Or, if the managers push Gracos because they know the profit margin is higher, then the newer employees will follow suit.

I know, they ARE expensive, but if I come in wanting one with printed research in hand, why try so darn hard to steer me away into another seat that isn't exactly cheap either, but will last for a lot less time? It always seems so PERSONAL that they don't want you to buy a Britax!

I've seen it 3 times in three different stores in two different states. Its very strange indeed. I've only probably been in a BRU three times in the last three years too!

NanceXToo said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that Babies R Us does not hire certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, or train their employees as such (and I've even heard that they actually refuse to ALLOW their employees to be trained as such) and with that said: hat woman had absolutely no business trying to teach parents anything about carseats, let alone spewing one carseat myth and incorrect statement after another. Her job is retail. But if part of 'retail' according to Babies R Us involves instructing parents on carseat safety, they had better get on the ball when it comes to training so its employees can get their facts straight.

Click to expand...

I think you meant that

That is a great letter and I am very interested to hear if the issue gets addressed. I try to avoid carseat sections for that reason. The misinformation out there can be astonishing!

by the way I just called the store I went into yesterday and asked the woman who answered the phone if they had a certified child passenger safety technician on staff, and she said no.

Then I spoke to an assistant manager and explained what happened and she apologized and agreed with me that rear facing til at least 30 lbs IS safest, and then she told me that their training is very general and that the salespeople are allowed to discuss the carseat itself, and they are allowed to make parents aware of what the laws are, but they are not trained to or supposed to give out advice or information or anything along the lines of what that woman yesterday said to me.

Also when I told her that the woman had said that there was a recall on the FPSV and that as far as I knew those had never been recalled she said "they might have just been removed from our store." And when I told her how the woman commented on the kids not liking the side impact protection wings she said "but that's a safety feature." I said "yes, exactly, and I don't think your salespeople should be downing safety features to prospective customers".

She gave me the manager's name and address and said she would call me back with the District Manager's name, phone number and address.

ETA: ^ yes, I did mean "that" lol...fixed, thanks!

It sounds like you encountered someone who wanted to think she knew more than you. When I go in to our BRU, I can tell who knows stuff and who just is there to get stuff off the shelf. I kind of ignore the fact that they are there and they leave me alone. LOL