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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Graco, you suck

Dear Graco,

I trusted you when Matt and I bought our baby products. We bought your Graco Lauren drop-side crib, after we were assured by exhaustive research and earnest salespeople that you thought it was safe. It was on clearance at BRU (Babies R Us), and the salesperson said it was the only one left, and they wouldn't be getting any more. Of course I knew about the complaints regarding drop-side cribs, but you reasurred me they were fine. We bought ours at Wal Mart, and we liked it.

A few months later, you recalled our crib. Why? Because it was dangerous, and it had injured many babies. You know what I think? I think you knew about these problems a long time ago, and the fact that you weren't providing any more cribs for BRU is a huge hint. Of course you knew! You've been getting complaints for months, possibly years.

We purchased your drop-side crib because I am short (5'2") and have FMS, so we thought it was the perfect solution, despite my misgivings. I should have listened to that instinct. After the recall, Matt called your number that was listed on the news articles and reports, and you offered to send us a repair kit. You said it would take 2-4 weeks to get here.

Are you kidding me? Where are babies supposed to sleep in the meantime? We were fortunate because Audrey was still sleeping in the co-sleeper, but what about those other parents out there who had no alternate sleeping plans for their babies?

After I figured out that you'd probably known about this danger for months, I decided your repair kit was not going to be enough. I couldn't trust you to make a safe crib, so how could I trust you to make a decent repair kit? I don't think so.

You caused me so much anxiety that I decided I had to have another crib that weekend. Why? Because the recommendation was that we needed to keep the drop-side stationary until we received the repair kit. That didn't work for me, because of the aforementioned shortness and FMS. I could not lift Audrey out of the crib when the side was up.

I considered writing you a nasty letter, but then it faded from my mind because, well, I've been busy taking care of my baby and dealing with my health issues. But now you've really ticked me off. You see, we have your iVibe baby monitor. We've recently transitioned Audrey to the crib (thank God she was sleeping in the co-sleeper and not your death trap in her nursery during her first 6 months), so we weren't using your monitor. Guess what? IT SUCKS. When I woke up this morning, all I heard was static, just as I'd done for the last couple of nights. Kind of hard to sleep when that's right beside you, by the way. Something told me to go check on Audrey, and she was in her crib (new one, not your inferior merchandise), and she was screaming her head off.

Wonder how long she'd been screaming? Who knows. But my baby girl has an ear infection, is teething, and is experiencing diarrhea. So the last thing she needs is a prolonged crying spell. Did I mention that I heard nothing from your monitor but static? Oh yeah, I think I did. It bears repeating, though.

From now on, it will be a cold day in hell before I buy anything else with your label. We have your infant carrier seat, but we will be transitioning Audrey to a convertible seat very soon. I cannot wait to get her out of your so-called safe infant seat. The problem is, our convertible car seat is also your brand. And I wouldn't dream of putting Audrey in it, so we'll be trying to return that to BRU in the next couple of days. If they won't take it back, since we received it in November, we will be selling it on eBay (although I have serious doubts about subjecting other innocent parents to your products), and buying another, safer seat.

The point is, you have just lost a very valuable customer. And believe me, I will tell everyone I know who has babies about my experience with your company. I know a lot of people, by the way. And I don't have to limit giving out my info to other parents; people buy baby shower gifts all the time, and that's the perfect opportunity to tell them about you.

To reiterate, you suck. And I hope your owner(s) and executives can sleep at night, considering the substandard products you're producing.

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