How important is CS to YOU?

Everyone probably knows about the problems I've had with Recaro re: our Como's locking clips. It took no less than 5 phone calls, 7 emails and one week to get a return/refund arranged. On a seat that doesn't perfom according to the manufacturer's specifications in the owner's manual.

Today, when I took the BV I bought last month out of the box to install for DS, I noticed that the cover is coming apart. Called Britax, and in less than 20 minutes, I had the promise of a new cover set being mailed on Monday, as well as an email with a pre-paid UPS label to ship the defective cover back. No hassle, no one trying to get me to settle for less than I was asking (Katherine at Recaro emailed me this morning with the offer of a newer DOM Como, and a separate locking clip, which I declined and, once again, asked for the seat to be shipped back and my money refunded)

Not only are Britax seats so darn easy to use, they are so easy to work with. This is our 2nd cover replacement- the first was WAY out of warranty, but they replaced it free of charge and never requested the old one back. This one was under warranty. We've owned 9 Britax seats, all registered, and I've NEVER had a complaint that they didn't rectify in a very timely manner. I'm one of those people who believe that if I'm spending close to $300 for a seat, I expect a quality product and good customer support.

So how do YOU feel about the importance of customer support when you purchase a child restraint? Is it super important, good to have, or not that big of a deal?

Super important. First, because we're talking about a life-saving piece of safety equipment and second, because some people do not have or cannot afford more than 1 carseat, so if they have trouble with their seat they need to addressed immediately.

Sorry you had such a hard time with your recaro. I am glad to hear how happy you are with cs @ britax. i've heard nothing but good things about the cs there.

I think CS is important when it comes to our kids seats. doesn't it reflect on the company as to whether they stand behind their products or not.

I've also had very good experiences with Britax customer service. I am much more likely to purchase Britax and recommend them because of their customer service.

It's nice to know that when you spend that much $ on a seat, the company will stand behind it.

CS is very important to me; however, I have to say that Britax has not always had the best CS. I have a Como and feel that Recaro is going to reasonably rectify the situation for me. With my Boulevard, I had one of the ones that was recalled for the tether issue and in the beginning, they were just not going to do anything at all but tell me not to use it. In the end Britax agreed to replace my seat, but it did take some work and it certainly was not what they had planned to do to begin with. I was very frustrated with Britax for a while when their solution was just not to use the tether past 50 lbs. Clearly, I had purchased a seat that could be used longer than that.

Recaro was somewhat easy in their "solution" for me, but when the new seat comes I will test it and if it doesnt work, I will demand for them to pick up the seat and refund my credit card. I can buy a Regent and then some with the $$ the Como cost us.

I was not at all happy with Katherine's pat solution/immediate offer of a locking clip. I didnt pay $250 for a seat to use a freakin LOCKING clip. What a pita.

Britax CS is awesome, can't deny that. They've had snafus, but normally if you don't get the answer you want, you can keep calling and eventually get somewhere. They've replaced several seats for me, some way out of warranty, no questions asked.

Super important. I read about someone having problems with their cover lining up with the velcro on their Marathon and I had been having the same problem. I called and there was NO hassle to get a new harness (I would have liked an extra cover but who doesn't ) But they sent me a new harness right away.

I've heard WAY WAY more stories about good CS with Britax then bad for sure, between here and another board I probably "know" 100 people that have called for one thing or another and I can think of only a handful that didn't get what they needed the FIRST call.

ANY company with good CS is probably going to get me back, even if there was a problem, if they rectified it that goes a REALLY long way in my book.

Good CS is of supreme importance to me, irregardless of the product purchased. If you're going to talk the talk, you need to be able to walk the walk...

Oh yes... CS outsourced to India? BAD! Here's a secret on how to bypass the crummy outsourced CS. When asked what language you want to choose, always choose Spanish. Why? Because all of those reps are bilingual, and they all are in the US.