(updated November 10, 2005)
http://www.deluz.com/Boycott%20Babies%20R%20Us.htm The Problem Solvers
UPDATE: November 10, 2005: Mellisa Arelano of Naperville, IL has reported that Babies R Us sold her diapers that caused her baby to break out in a severe rash. She says she has called a Joanne in "Guest Services" at 973-617-4559 on at least a couple of occasions and is only getting a run around. Why won't Babies R Us listen to their customers - and take care for the safety of our babies???? Their bottom line is the dollar and NOTHING else matters. I say hit them where it hurts. DO NOT SHOP AT BABIES R US OR TOYS R US!
UPDATE April 19, 2005: Joel Tenneberg as well as the people at Jardine claim that all the defective gliders have been recalled and that the chair has been redesigned. I dispute that and continue to work to attempt to get Babies R Us, Toys R Us, Jardine and Amazon.com to actually take action. So far corporate profits are much more important to all these organizations than the safety of consumers and their babies.
Meanwhile here is a couple of more recent reviews from the Amazon.com / Babies R Us website for these chairs that have supposedly been redesigned:
All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
STOP SELLING THIS CHAIR!!! , April 8, 2005
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
STOP SELLING!! , February 19, 2005
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UPDATE April 11, 2005: Nobody from Babies R Us, Toys R Us, Jardine Enterprises or Amazon.com have bothered contacting me at all. These companies have all shown their true colors and blatant disregard for the safety of their customers and infant children. I have been told that the number for James Woods of Jardine Enterprises has been disconnected. The lying, scamming representative from Jardine has made himself unavailable as soon as I showed good faith by allowing Toys R Us to pick up the chair that nearly killed Jackie Kennedy. I'm sure he's having a hard time sleeping - I certainly would if I knew my company was selling products that are injuring people and putting infants at great physical risk.
UPDATE March 15, 2005: Mr. Joel Tenneberg an attorney for Toys R Us called me again today and left a message saying that he had seen this updated website and wanted to discuss it with me.... Last time I spoke with Mr. Tenneberg, he told me that Toys R Us was in the process of getting all these dangerous chairs out of Babies R Us stores and off the BabiesRUs.com website. Maybe they were, but as soon as they got that chair from me and I took the website down, they started selling them again - and took all the negative reviews and feedback off the site. They know they are selling a chair that has been proven time and time again to be dangerous and have a very defective design. If Mr. Tenneberg or anyone else wants to discuss this issue with me, they will be doing it in writing or in court. I can be emailed at ProblemsSolved@TheProblemSolvers.biz
If Mr. Tenneberg or anyone else from Toys R Us, Jardine or Amazon.com want to solve this problem, they better be ready to permanently remove these chairs from the market AND write me a LARGE check for my injuries, hassles and mental distress caused by their ignoring and then lying about the situation.
UPDATE March 12, 2005: I just found out that a person Patty Smith is a person who works in media relations for Amazon.com and her phone number is 206-266-7180 if anyone has some feedback for her.
UPDATE March 10, 2005: These guys are real jerks!!! Last month James Woods assured me that these products were being recalled from all the Babies R Us stores and the websites, he sent me a personal check for $250 as a refund for this death trap and I allowed a delivery service to come pick it up. Now, less than 30 days later, I find that they are selling them again! BOYCOTT BABIES R US AND TOYS R US, AMAZON.COM and anything made by Jardine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I take everything back I earlier wrote about James Woods and I will never listen to his lies again. By the way - his phone number is (201)217-4383 and I would appreciate as many people as possible calling him up and telling him what they think about his lies. Babies R Us sold us a glider that is proven to be defective in design and very dangerous to babies and their parents. Shame on them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even more deceptive is that they have apparently deleted all the consumer reviews on these chairs by people who bought these chairs for over $200 and had them break and/or cause injuries.
I am really pissed off that I gave James Woods and Jardine a chance to make this right and have the chairs redesigned - only to be lied to and have these very dangerous chairs being sold to unsuspecting parents. Now the media blitz begins. I will do my very best to make sure that Babies R Us and Jardine will be taken to court and made to pay multi-million dollar damages to anyone that is hurt by one of these chairs breaking or tipping over. I shudder to think that a baby might actually be severely injured or even killed by these gliders.
I will also now be pursuing my own personal injury lawsuit against Babies R Us and Jardine. I tried to handle this without courts and lawyers, but apparently nothing is more important to them than the almighty dollar.
UPDATE February 17, 2005: I spoke with James Woods a few more times. I don't know how much this guy gets paid, but I'm sure he deserves a raise. He has appeared to diffuse this whole situation in a couple of days. He confirmed that there was a recall on the gliders and that they would be taking a hard look at them. He is arranging for our refund and a transport company will be coming to our house tomorrow to pick up the chair, pack it up and send it to Mr. Woods back east.
UPDATE February 16, 2005: Got another call from James Woods. He said that a recall was in progress and that he personally wanted to see the glider. He seems to understand where I'm coming from.
UPDATE February 16, 2005: Got a call from Joel Tenneberg, an attorney for Toys R Us. He said there had been a directive to all the Babies R Stores to remove these gliders, he also said that they were planning to take them off the BabiesRUs.com website but that he didn't know when that would happen. He also said that a refund would be coming to us. He then asked me to take down this webpage. I told him that I would consider doing so, but not until the gliders are not available for sale and we finally get a refund.
UPDATE February 15, 2005: Got a call from James Woods, who said he was calling on behalf of Jardine, the manufacturer of these dangerous chairs. He said that action is being reviewed and is being taken. He seemed like a genuine person who said that he wanted to see this situation through. He didn't seem to know exactly what was going to be done, but did mention some type of recall. He said that would get back to me, hopefully within the next 24 hours.
UPDATE: February 15, 2005: The Better Business Bureau has "closed" my complaint against Amazon.com due to their response (and the fact that they are a dues paying member). I told them Amazon's response was inadequate and asked them to keep the complaint open. Amazon.com does indeed have control over what they offer for sale and have a moral and legal responsibility to take any products that are known to be dangerous (especially to babies) off the market.
UPDATE: February 15, 2005: I received the following email from Cathy Ceely at Amazon.com - it is very apparent that Amazon.com takes no responsibility for the products they profit from and are sold on their site - and the boycott will continue!
Greetings from Amazon.com. My name is Cathy Ceely and, as you may recall from our prior correspondence, I am a member of the Executive Customer Relations team at Amazon.com. I am writing to you in response to a complaint we have received from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) on your behalf. I will include the BBB in our correspondence.
Thank you for again contacting us regarding your concern about the sale of the glider rocker chairs on our web site. Rest assured, Amazon.com does value product safety and we do take these matters very seriously.
As you are aware, this matter has been brought to the attention of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). We feel that the CPSC, the chair manufacturer, and retailer are best positioned to investigate and determine if this product is defective and creates unreasonable safety risks.
Please know that Babiesrus.com, not Amazon.com, chooses which of their products to merchandise on the Amazon.com web site.
Babiesrus.com also determines when to discontinue sales of its products. Babiesrus.com, not Amazon.com, procures this product from the manufacturer and is the retail seller.
Amazon.com has filed a report of this incident with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We understand that the CPSC has assigned a staff member to review this issue. If CPSC, the manufacturer, or Babiesrus.com decide that sales of this product should be discontinued, the product will no longer be available through Amazon.com.
Lastly, you have requested a full refund of your purchase of this item. We are happy to accommodate your request, however, I do need to ask that you provide me with the order number of your online order. If your chair was purchased in a Babies "R" Us store, please contact that store for assistance.
Thank you for your interest in Amazon.com.
Best regards,
Cathy Ceely
Executive Customer Relations
http://www.amazon.com
UPDATE: February 15, 2005: Still have not heard back from John Grus at the Toys R Us/Babies R Us claims department, despite promises that he would be contacting me last week.
UPDATE: February 15, 2005: The Better Business Bureau has notified us that the case has been filed against and mailed to Amazon.com.
UPDATE: February 11, 2005: A check of the Better Business Bureau's records showed that Babies R Us has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaint(s). Surprise, surprise. I'm not going to bother wasting my time filing a complaint against them - it is very obvious they don't care about consumers (or even babies) at all. Shame on them! Boycott BabiesRUs, BabiesRUs.com, Toys R Us, ToysRUs.com and Amazon.com.
UPDATE: February 11, 2005: A complaint against Amazon.com has been filed with the Better Business Bureau.
UPDATE: February 9, 2005: Although I was promised last week by Cathy Cookivich at Toys R Us that John Grus would be calling me today, I never heard from him. Even worse than that, Amazon.com and BabiesRUs.com are once again selling the same chair (along with other chairs of the same inferior design) on their website. I really don't think they understand how dangerous this chair really is - or why they can continue to sell it when they know it has caused multiple injuries (not just us - see the reviews from other consumers on their website). I have given them mulitple opportunities to contact me and take care of the situation, but they obviously just don't care about their customers or babies in general. Shame on Amazon.com and their CEO Jeff Bezos (who is aware of the situation), Shame on BabiesRUs.com, Shame on Toys R Us, Babies R Us and their President Elliott Wahle. There is no way they would let their children or relative anywhere near these chairs, but they surely don't mind profiting from them.
UPDATE: February 3, 2005: I am getting tired of being put off by Babies R Us and Toys R Us and will be sending out press releases to local and national media at noon on February 4th. This includes newpapers, radio and television and will not stop until these dangerous products are recalled and taken off the market. It will certainly be bad publicity for all companies concerned, but will hopefully alert people not to buy or use these products - or patronize these stores.
I might even organize groups to picket various Babies R Us and Toys R Us stores (starting on the West Coast) - we will apparently have to take our case to the media and the streets ........
UPDATE: February 3, 2005 : Cathy Cookivich (sp?) called again at about 12pm PST. She asked where we purchased the chair and was told the Vista, California Babies R Us. She said that John Grus handles claims from that store and he would be out of the office until next Wednesday, but that he would be getting back to me. (it is more than apparent that Cathy and Toys R Us are way more concerned about who does the job than getting it solved and preventing injuries to babies). His phone number is supposed to be (800) 524-0898 x 4136. I told her that I would continue to let everyone I know about the problems I have had with this glider, Babies R Us, Toys R Us and Amazon.com.
She asked if we still have the chair and I told her yes we do. She said to hold onto it because they will want to check it out (I guess we will just have to continue to store it until they get around to seeing if they want to inspect it). She also asked me if we had the receipt and I told her we might and she seemed surprised. Then she said that she needed a date of incident to put into her computer and I told her various.
UPDATE February 2, 2005 : In again reviewing past reviews of this product and seeing it's many failures and the injuries it has caused, I am even more determined to get this glider and all those with the same design taken off the market. Kudos to Amazon.com if they do file a report with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but I really don't think it is right that BabiesRUs.com (and Amazon.com) is now selling similar gliders (with same design?) under different headings.
UPDATE February 2, 2005 : I received the following email from Cathy Ceely in Amazon.com's Executive Customer Relations Department:
Hello from Amazon.com.
My name is Cathy Ceely and I am a member of the Executive Customer Relations team here. As I work closely with our Customer Service Department, your e-mail message to Jeff Bezos has been brought to my attention.
Thank you for contacting Amazon.com about your experience with the Glider Rocker Chair. I'm very sorry to learn of the problems you and your family have encountered with this item.
Our customers' safety is of paramount importance. Rest assured, we share your concern for your child's safety. Therefore, I have passed your concerns along to the Babiesrus.com team so they can be aware of this potential hazard, since they are responsible for selecting the items for sale on the Babiesrus.com web site.
Further, we are in the process of filing a report of your letter and product review with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
We appreciate the time you took to notify us about this product.
Regards,
Cathy Ceely
Executive Customer Relations
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com
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ref_id:=bhuqehre1103628782
For general information, the email address she responded from was resolution@amazon.com
Thank you Cathy. Babies R Us, and BabiesRUs.com are both aware of the situation and have not responded at all, except with some chicanary with the gliders they are offering on your site (the one we bought and that has all the bad reviews is "not currently available, but there is a "new" model that looks strangely exactly like the other one, made by the same company with no reviews that is available - that isn't really concern about consumers is it?
http://www.deluz.com/Boycott%20Babies%20R%20Us.htm
Very Sincerely,
The Problem Solvers
www.TheProblemSolvers.biz
UPDATE February 2, 2005: Today I received a voice mail from Cathy Cookivich (sp?) in the Toys R Us claims department (800) 524-0898 x4140 and promptly returned her call, but had to leave her a voice mail. I have not heard back yet, but even when I do, will not stop the boycott until they take this death trap off the market. I just don't want to see anyone else injured.
This is one of the models of very dangerous furniture sold by Babies R Us even after their CEO and VP of Operations were notified of the design problems. They have chosen to ignore the problem and not even acknowledge the injuries it has caused.
Here is a copy of the letter faxed to Babies R Us President Elliott Wahle and VP of Operations Dave Schoenbeck on January 26, 2005. There has been no response from either of them or Babies R Us. Though this particular model is listed on their website as "not currently available", they are still selling different models of the same design despite the fact that they've been notified of numerous cases of the $200 + chair breaking with people in it.
Mr. Elliott Wahle
President
Babies “R” Us
1 Geoffrey Way
Wayne, NJ 07470-2030
FAX 973-617-4006
Dear Elliott:
I am writing to you in regards to a chair sold in your Babies R Us stores, as well as online.
The chair in question is titled online as “Glider Rocker Chair – Natural Wood – Biege Microfiber” It retails online for $229.99.
This chair is known to your company to have a defective design, is very dangerous and has caused injuries. Continuing to sell this chair is extreme negligence and opens you and your company up to lawsuits and damages. If you have any doubt, please check out the online reviews of this product. I have not yet put up my review of this product as I want to give you a chance to have a bad situation handled before it gets worse.
The first week we had this chair, there was nearly a tragedy. Very late at night (or early in the morning), I was holding my 3 day old daughter and sat down in the chair to rock her to sleep. I sat back and the chair, tumbled over backwards, spilling Jackie Kennedy (my daughter) and myself into mirrored closet doors behind us. We were very lucky that the mirrors didn’t break and that I was able to keep Jacqueline from being severely injured or even killed.
I wanted to get rid of the chair immediately, but we had spent a lot of money on it, my wife needed a glider and persuaded me to let her keep it. Six months later, when she was trying to rock Jackie to sleep, the back of the chair completely broke off and they were both sent tumbling. She called the local Babies R Us store and was told that her problem was with the manufacturer. She then called the manufacturer and was given a hard time by their customer service person, who told her that she needed to send them a letter explaining exactly what the problem was, with pictures and a copy of the original receipt and if we did they would send us a “repair kit”. We did not have the receipt at the time, so we were unable to get it fixed – or replaced (The Babies R Us store had refused to replace it).
The other day, I purchased some hardware to repair the damn thing – and it was as good (to use the term lightly) as new. I sat down in it and the back seemed sturdy again. Jackie came over to me and I picked her up and started rocking her – and we flipped over once again and my back was hurt. I went to tell my wife what happened and Jackie climbed back onto the chair and it tumbled over backwards with her it and she started screaming again. I am so very thankful that she wasn’t injured.
Elliot, please believe me when I tell you that this chair is very dangerous and has serious design flaws. I am still in pain from the other day – and I feel very fortunate that my daughter has not been seriously injured as a result of this chair.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take this chair out of your stores and off your website immediately. Not doing so, would be a serious crime against your customers and disrespect to those of us who have already suffered injuries. I’m pretty sure that by now you realize that.
As far as our damages, I have not yet contacted a lawyer, because as a business person, I would like to give you the opportunity to take action and try to fix a bad situation. I feel this is generous on my part, especially considering the treatment my wife got from Babies R Us store and the manufacturer’s customer service personnel. If I do not hear from you within 48 hours, I will assume that you have ignored my warnings (as well as the many online reviews) alerting you to the fact that this chair is a danger to babies and their parents – and are not willing to take any action. If that is the case, I will be certain to keep you posted to all the many actions that The Problem Solvers WILL take to correct this problem.
Regards,
Here are the reviews currently (2/1/05) on the Babies R Us website:
From Babiesrus.com & Amazon.com
Editorial Review
A comfortable glider is a wonderful addition to any nursery or living room. It affords a smoother ride than the run-of-the-mill rocking chair which, ideally, leads to babies dozing off with more ease and housecats that aren't nearly so skittish. This simple wooden glider features soft beige padding on the seat and back to ensure that parents will be just as comfortable as the baby they're trying to comfort. Assembly is required but it's a fairly simple five-step operation following the included instructions. --Charlie Williams
From the Manufacturer
This contemporary styled glider, incorporates a luxury padded cushion set, with matching arm covers. A pocket on each side, accommodates the storage needed for a relaxing chair for baby accessories, or magazines. Made in solid wood and fashionable micro-fibre fabric.
See all from babiesrus.com & amazon.com ...
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
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After spending several trips to BRU to sit in gliders and test them out my husband and I decided on this one. The padding is great and the chair is easy to get in and out of. You would think that is the case of all chairs but if you test drive a few you'll soon realize that its not.
Two main reasons we bought this chair and matching ottoman:
1: MICROFIBER!!!!!
We have microfiber on our family room furniture and living room furniture. We found out quickly with two cats and a dog that this material is THE BEST!!!! We figured if it can hold up to all the activity our cats (who still have their claws) and dog can throw at it then a baby would be a breaze!
2: My husband is 6'4 and Im 5'8. We needed a chair that would be comfortable for him. The first month he spent almost everynight in it rocking/sleeping with our daughter.
I love the pockets on the side, it makes stashing a book in their really convenient. Overall this is a great glider for the price, check it out if you can.
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
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I did like this chair at first. I quickly noticed that it made a lot of sqeaking and craking noises. Then when my son was only 8 months old the back of the chair broke while we were sitting in it!! The whole back support fell backwards!! I paid TOO much money for this chair to only have it for 8 months! DO NOT BUY THIS CHAIR!!!! I am going to contact the manufacturer. I will update this to let you know what happenes.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: Very Comfortable and a GREAT price, July 19, 2004Reviewer: A baby enthusiast The fire retardant smell was horrible at first. It actually made me sick from the other room. Fortunatley, after about a week the smell aired out. Just give it a little time. I tried out almost all the gliders at Babies R US, and this one is even more comfortable than the higher end ones. Some of the others have you sitting up so high. This one is strudy and comfortable. It glides very smoothly. I've only had it for about 3 months. So, I hope the back doesn't break in a couple months from now (like other people have complained about). So far, I am very happy. I love rocking my son in this. It's such a precious time. Was this review helpful to you?  
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: Very poorly made - broke, June 6, 2004
The back of my chair also loosened and then snapped off completely. I returned it to Babies r us but they would only exchange for another chair. I hope the next one works out better Was this review helpful to you?
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful: Absolutely a GREAT glider! Update: my chair BROKE!!!!!! , June 1, 2004
This chair broke on us this weekend after 6 months!!! My husband was rocking our baby back to sleep in the middle of the night and the entire back broke leaving the chair in two pieces. It could not be fixed and we ended up exchanging it for an entirely different chair. This chair is not good and Im sorry if anyone bought it based on my good review. Like I said, it used to be a good chair until it broke! First off let me say that I think every company produces a "bad apple" now and then. It must be whats wrong with the other reviewers because my glider is great! After spending several trips to BRU to sit in gliders and test them out my husband and I decided on this one. The padding is great and the chair is easy to get in and out of. You would think that is the case of all chairs but if you test drive a few you'll soon realize that its not. Two main reasons we bought this chair and matching ottoman: 1: MICROFIBER!!!!! 2: My husband is 6'4 and Im 5'8. We needed a chair that would be comfortable for him. The first month he spent almost everynight in it rocking/sleeping with our daughter. I love the pockets on the side, it makes stashing a book in their really convenient. Overall this is a great glider for the price, check it out if you can. |
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: Back of Chair Snapped Off -- Caused Injuries, June 1, 2004Reviewer: A baby enthusiast On 5/31/04, my husband and 7 month old baby were sitting in the glider. After about 10 minutes, the entire back of the chair snapped off (the wood completely split) and my husband went flying backwards, injuring his back and hitting his head on the wall behind him. We are still hoping that our little one is okay. We called Jardine's customer service at 1-800-295-1980. They are located in Montreal, Canada. However, the corporate headquarters are located in Taiwan. The customer service representative in Montreal was unable to help us and their office didn't even know the address or phone number to the headquarters in Taiwan! I would never deal with this company again. The chair looks beautiful, but it is poorly made and is extremely dangerous. I haven't heard good things about Jardine in general, and now I know why. Looks like the more expensive gliders are worth it. Please don't let the same thing happen to you. I hope they take this off of the market but, like most companies, they probably won't until someone sues them. Was this review helpful to you?
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: Good chair for the price, May 27, 2004Reviewer: A baby enthusiast This chair is very comfortable. I love the material, and the cushions are nice and thick. We got the matching ottoman as well. I sit in this chair about four hours a night for feedings, and the only thing I would change about it is the angle of the back. I would rather it reclined a bit more in its stationary position (without having to push back). It's a little too upright. With a little lumbar pillow, though, it's fine. The seat is nice and deep, so you feel like you're sitting IN the chair rather than ON it. Was this review helpful to you?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Good for about a month, May 24, 2004Reviewer: A baby enthusiast We loved our chair when we brought it home. After about a month the padding seemed thin and after hours of rocking our butts were sore. Our chair did creak a bit and if you lean to the side to pick something up the chair tips. Now after just five months of use the back of the chair fell off while feeding our daughter. If you are considering this chair, I'd keep looking. This one is not comfortable or safe. Was this review helpful to you?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Very Comfortable- Reasonable Price, May 14, 2004Reviewer: A baby enthusiast I bought this chair in my eighth month of pregnancy. I found it very comfortable and the fabric is very soft. Now that my daughter is a few months old it gets even more use. It still works great but the arm kept squeaking.But I finally got the bolt tightened enough that it stopped. Also, the fabric is difficult to get stains off of. But the chair is holding up very well, even with my 4 year old daughter constantly climbing on it and rocking it very fast. I dont regret buying this chair at all. Was this review helpful to you?
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