BRU told me about Britax

So I went to BRU to play and a young guy working there comes up to me. I have my 7 mo in an SS1 & I'm looking @ the Evenflo Titan ( I like the new speedway design) he ask if I would be using the seat RF (the way he said it was like he assumed I wouldn't need to RF anylonger, okay...) I told him no I want to RF as long as possible. He then points to the Britax down through the Evenflo & says these all have flat bases. huh? I said I like Britax & have used them before. He said they cost more because they are from Europe & are tested @ 70 mph compared to the US testing the seats @ 35 mph. (is this true?) Then he points to the like umm 5! AO in there, I said "Absolutely not!" Now I'm trying not to laugh as he talks down to me about carseats. I'm no expert, but I know WAY more than him! Oh ! & the other young guy was talking a couple into a Chicco travel system & bashing the Graco ones by saying they weren't good! Anyway thanks for listening, no one else would get my frusteration w/ these ppl!

Grrrr...Are these people just dumb...Oh wait...yes they are! I would LOVE to smack them all! I completely understand your frustration on car seats & people giving out the wrong advice! I would have more than likely lurked around to see if the sales person walked away from the other couple & then went & offered better advice. But that is just me!

Just like anywhere else in life, you will find some very knowledgeable people and some who are not as knowledgeable.

I have interacted with some BRU employees who are wonderful and really know their stuff. Others have not been very knowledgeable. It is a crap-shoot (just like anywhere else you go. ).

lol, makes me wonder what the general teaching about Britax is. When I had my "tour" of the carseat section of BRU my first shift, I was also told how Britax were special because they were European carseats.

Me, being the smart aleck that I sometimes am, made a comment about how "it's really great, because if someone is wanting to be something made in North America, Britax is manufactured right in North Carolina in the USA." The lady talking to me dropped that subject pretty fast. (She knew I was a tech too, so don't ask me why she felt the need to tell me stuff about seats that I knew so much more than her about.)

Anyways, yeah, most employees at BRU really don't know diddly when it comes to carseats - and I'm sure you can tell the ones that do by talking to them.

lol! He did tell me that Britax was manufactured in Europe, I think that's when my smirk appeared. Our BRU is full of teenage/early twenties guys. Not that they can't know about CPS, but they just don't. I don't get. I think I'm going to avoid that section of BRU from now on, gets me into trouble anyway

When we were looking at a Regent at BRU, the guy told us we should use LATCH *and* seat belt to install it. At least I knew better.

I wish they would all be at least 8 hour trained. But, I wish all Baby Depot associated were too. I have two techs (including me) and two eight hour trained.

Ugh. I've learned never to listen to BRU employees. It's infuriating. They actualy told me that the only different between the MA, BLVD and DC were the cover choices . I asked him if ever bothered to LOOK at the seats. Most of the differences are quite plain to see at first glance. Stick here for getting accurate info and ignore most BRU people.

To be fair, we do have ONE employee at our local BRU who actually cares and knows a but about car seats. It's a refreshing change from the other morons that work there.

A sad commentary on the staff at our local BRU, but I automatically say 'no' now if any sales person comes by and asks if they can help me (not just with carseats). I restrict my questions to 'where is so-and-so in the store?' or 'when do you expect to get more of item X in stock?' -- even these questions seem to pose a severe challenge sometimes, LOL, especially the one about when something will be on the shelf again. Not sure why that's hard to answer, with today's computerized inventory systems. As for actual advice about baby items (not just carseats) I've given up on the place.

Probably frustrating to any knowledgeable person who goes to work there, as they start realizing the general level of apathy/ignorance among most of the employees.

Just commenting on our local BRU; I assume others may have a different atmosphere and more knowledgeable staff members.

Katrin

clmchrissy said:

He said they cost more because they are from Europe & are tested @ 70 mph compared to the US testing the seats @ 35 mph. (is this true?) !

Click to expand...

Some one posted the exact same info on one of the car seat safety threads on mothering.com today. I thought it was a bit odd.

My first experience with BRU and car seats: I went in to purchase my first convertible car seat in 10 years. I'd already decided on a Roundabout thanks to Consumer Reports (at the time I thought they were the authority on car seats). The salesgirl tried and tried to get us into another seat. She said the only reason I'd want a Britax is if I was going to fly to Europe since the US seats aren't approved for that?? She said Britas seats aren't wide enough for most kids, but since I had a girl I *might* be fine. DD still has shoulder room in the Roundabout, even though she's much much too tall for it.

Had she known what she was talking about she could have sold me on the more expensive Marathon/Boulev/Decath. In hindsight, it would have been a better choice.

In the end, I left with the Roundabout because the color really matched my car and I couldn't get over the ugly ugly brown cover on the seat she was trying to push.

I can't complain about our BRU in Wilkes Barre. *Most of the time an older lady (60ish) works the weekend shift. I think her name is Billie Jean or Billie Jo. She know her stuff. Knows about ERF and higher harness weight limits! She tries to shy people away from the 3-1s and trys to lean them toward the EFTA or Marathons.

She can chew the fat about car seats! She tells some good stories too. Like the one about a lady with a BMW and a ring on every finger saying a Britax was too much! The she walked over to the OHS Evenflo Tribute for $49!

We could chew the fat forever but DH gets bored.

I've had a mix of experiences, which should be expected anytime you encounter a mix of people.

Buying my Nautilus was frustrating since the employee was not cooperative at all. I had been waiting and waiting for BRU to have the Nautilus in stock. Finally, one day I saw a pallet of them as I was casually passing the stock room. I asked the man in the carseat aisle about them and he said, "They aren't being made yet. Those are just boxes." HUH? I didn't have time to argue.
A few days later, I went back and there were several Nautiluses on the shelf. I started rifling through them to find the one with the most recent DOM. The same guy who told me that the seats were just boxes came over and asked what I was doing. I told him I was looking for a Nautilus with the most recent DOM. He looked at me like I had two heads and said, "Uh. They just came out." I said, "I know, but I want the most recently manufactured one." He said, "It doesn't matter. They are the same age. They just came out." While I understood what he was saying, I still wanted the most recent one.


I have complained about several employees who were giving out potentially dangerous information such as "You can move your baby from the SS1 to the SS3 if you can't afford the SS2" or "The weight limits aren't important. As long as your kid is comfortable, it is fine. They test the seats with much heavier dummies, so don't worry about the weight limits." Those employees don't seem to stick around long.


I have also had some great experiences. Many employees are quite knowledgeable and aren't afraid to admit when they don't know something. Many of them know to read the manual, recommend seats based on general guidelines, and know that not every seat fits every vehicle and every child. Some of the employees are wonderful!

I guess I could have also complained about a recent experience at a local baby specialty store (that is here & in TX). This store specializes in Britax & Recaro, yet they know nothing the lady that's always there said the roundabout goes to 30lbs ff! They tried to sell me an after market cover for my SS1 & they have an MA on display w/ this after market cover (which cost $90!).