My embarrassment would have been in that context. I never said I chose the seat for them. And I would have been embarrassed if they had spent $500 on a seat that they couldn't use for as long as it was advertised for initially.
I do not I understand why people here are defending the company. If it were Diono or Britax, there would have been a huge pile-on. I assume that it must be because Clek has formed personal relationships with techs. Pretty smart move, as it turns out
Diono and Britax have both had their turn at the whipping post and in being defended. I tend to look at the facts and talk to the company (when possible,) before passing judgment.
Looking back, the times when I've been on the side criticizing companies, it has been almost exclusively when they haven't been up front or haven't been willing to even discuss.
We've had other seats come in to Canada with lower than advertised weight limits before. Maybe they weren't a $450 seat, but still, we've seen websites continue to advertise the incorrect rf'ing weight limit for months after the seat is in stock.
I guess my surprise at this whole thing is that a) Clek didn't choose TC's interpretation. b) It's still a 40lb rf'ing weight limit which is more than the vast majority of families will ever use. c) they keep getting compared to Diono, but I have never gotten crash test results and information from Diono in the way that Clek has freely given them. (That being said I do have a good professional relationship with Diono and don't feel that they deserve half of the beating up that they get on the forum either - and they give more information on crash test results than what most of the other companies give, so I'm not criticizing them, only mentioning them because they seem to be the company Clek keeps getting compared to.)
I still don't think a tech should feel embarassed for presenting options and leaving a parent to choose what is best. Those of us who have been around the block a few times for new seat releases know that pre-released spec's sometimes change. Maybe that's why there is such a dichotomy in how upset some people are vs. others.
Nobody is "winning" on either side of things here. The truth is, Clek has suffered for something that in the weight limit regard, isn't their fault - and people have passed judgment on them under the assumption that other companies must be passing rebound with the 6yr old dummy. People are assuming that because others are certifying above 40lbs that others are passing rebound testing with the 6yr old. And in the end, we don't know that. We're talking about a clarification from TC that is a week old. And if Peg and Diono aren't using the 6yr old in their rebound testing, my question becomes, are they going to just lower the height and weight limit rf'ing - or are they going to appeal to TC and hope they can get a different interpretation?
If they are only testing with the 3yr old for rebound, what would be the *safer* thing for them to do - appeal, and if they convince TC to see things differently, then leave the height and weight limits up even *if* they couldn't pass with the seated height of the 6yr old? Or just lower the height and weight limits and upset people?
Which would most people rather? A lower weight limit upon clarification that the 6yr old must pass rebound? Or an appeal and keeping of the higher weight and height even if it meant that it didn't pass rebound at the higher heights?
Chances are we're not going to get the answers to these questions from other companies. We're lucky to have gotten them in this case, and that is why I defend Clek. I have seen seats show up on the store shelf with a lower weight limit despite customer service reps telling people on the phone just days before that the weight limit was higher than what it actually is. A reduction to 40lbs isn't something that is going to impact the majority of people. (I will admit that I would be really upset if it was 30lbs instead of 40 though. 40lbs is great, 30lbs is inadequate for the average family.)
I still don't see how giving a parent choices reflects badly on an individual tech. Being disappointed in the lower weight limit I understand, but embarrassment is really just a reaction I don't understand. I do my best to help parents choose a seat that they'll be happy with based on the information I have at the time. If they end up not liking it - I don't see that as a personal reflection. I've had seats of my own that I loved when I purchased and didn't like after I'd used them a bit. The only time I can foresee true embarrassment, would be if I promised somebody a seat would fit in their vehicle, and then the seat was incompatible. I would find that embarrassing... but that's really quite different.
If you told somebody that if they bought a Britax they were getting a 40lb rf'ing weight limit, and then without anyone knowing it Britax had made a running change that dropped the weight limit to 35lbs, would that be embarrassing? It would be frustrating and I'd certainly tell the family to complain to the manufacturer - especially if the seat was already purchased and not-returnable and the family had a heavier baby. But I fail to see how a company's decisions reflect on you either personally or professionally in a way that would cause embarrassment.
I understand people who are upset and disappointed because they want/need that extra rf'ing weight limit. I understand people who are going to choose another seat because their child *needs* a new seat or because they're simply tired of waiting. And I'm sure that some of the frustration is coming not from just any single event, but the combination of all of them. I just don't think the company itself deserves to be attacked or blacklisted and I would encourage anyone with concerns to call and talk to Clek about your concerns. I think those who do that will realize the differences in the company itself.
Now I'm curious how everyone will react if we do see a silent change to the rf'ing weight limits on the Diono seats and the Peg and it just suddenly shows up in stores with a 40lb rf'ing weight limit. If that happens, the public knowledge we have now of the Foonf prior to it being available for purchase might suddenly seem impressive... But ultimately it would still come down to parents needing to check the height and weight limits on the seats they're purchasing. When we get new seats in at work - even when the model name is identical, the first thing I check is the weight limits. Because small changes that the average person might not notice really do happen that often. Thankfully in recent years, the weight change is usually up and not down. :shrug-shoulders: