Received the Prepaid Stamp

I received the prepaid stamp through e-mail today several hours after talking to Fisher-Price. Much better than the estimated time of 24-48 hours. In the e-mail it states that my refund will take 4-6 weeks. Wow that is quite some time for $5.49.

Called Fisher-Price for the Second Time

I just got off the phone with Fisher-Price for the second time. I spoke with a women by the name of Diane and she was more helpful and understanding than the employee and supervisor yesterday. I told her that I had not received the e-mail with the prepaid stamp. She verified my e-mail address and the women yesterday had entered the address in wrong. If I had not called again I would have never received the e-mail. Diane said that it can take anywhere from 24-48 hours to receive the e-mail. I still feel this is an urgent matter and if it was important to Fisher-Price the e-mail would be sent right away. If I developed a product that was defective I would want it back ASAP to get the problem resolved to prevent a lawsuit.

Diane was not fully aware of the process of getting a product recalled. However she did say that once the manufacture gets the blue ring and if they determine there is something wrong with it and decide to recall the Rock-a-Stack, customers in their system that have purchased the item would get an e-mail or a call. Not really sure how you get in their system, but at least some people will be notified?

Time will tell if Fisher-Price truly cares about our children.

Called Fisher-Price to complain about the blue dye

Today I called the 800 number on the bottom of the box to complain, and notify them of the problems with the blue ring on the Rock-a-Stack. I first spoke with a woman and explained what happened. She asked for the product number on the bottom of the box, which is 71050. She said that she could send me a replacement product, but I am not interested in another one. Then she said she could send me a refund. Her system showed that most of the Rock-a-Stack's retail for $3. I couldn't find my receipt at the moment, but I knew that I had paid more than that. She said she could send me a check for $4. I can get all my money back right now if I just take it back to Target. Since I was not satisfied with getting $4, she said to find the receipt and send it to her and she would refund that amount. She also asked for my name, address, phone number, and e-mail address so that she could send me a prepaid stamp to mail the blue ring to her. She said she would then send the ring to the manufacturer and they would inspect it there.

I asked about how long this process would take and how long it would be until the product could be recalled. She did not have answers for these questions. She told me several times that the product has not been recalled, so I don't think that she understood what I was asking. Since she was unable to answer my questions, I asked if there was someone else who might be able to, such as a manager. She was getting frustrated with me by this point and put me on hold. She transferred me to Dave the supervisor. I asked him the same questions and he did not have an answer either. I asked him if I would be updated to let me know what will be done about the defective product. He said they would not do that, but if the product was recalled I would here about it through the media. I am not happy with this answer or their unhelpfulness. I was being kind and helpful to Fisher-Price by taking the time to share my concerns about this product, but I don't believe that they really cared. I am more concerned that other consumers will buy this product. Possibly giving it to their child without washing it, which could ruin their clothes, stain their skin, and maybe even make them sick.

Near the end of the call I advised Dave, the supervisor, that I found my receipt and that I paid $5.49. I kindly asked if it was necessary to send a copy of my receipt in, since he could easily go to Target's website and see the retail price there. He was understanding and said he would change the check amount to $5.49 and send it to me once I sent the blue ring in. I was a bit irritated about having to send the ring before I would get the refund check, but I didn't want to start another discussion. The refund is the least of my concerns and I really just want the product to be taken off the shelf and for Fisher-Price to show they truly do care about our children.

Another fact that you may be interested in:
-Both of the employees stated that "the paint used on their products is non-toxic and that even if a child were to put this in their mouth it would not harm them." i don't buy it. It may not kill them, but it certainly can't be good for them to eat!

I understand that these employees may not have all of the answers, or have the authority to do much of anything. However, I do feel that it is part of their job to make sure their customers are satisfied. If I worked for Fisher-Price, I would have said that I was not sure how long the process takes, but I would be happy to find out and call back to let the customer know.

It has been a few hours since I got off the phone with Fisher-Price customer service and I still have not received the e-mail with the prepaid stamp.

If you have the same issue with this product, I encourage you to call the customer service number at 1-800-432-5437. The more people who complain, the faster we can get this poor product off store shelves.

Purchased a Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack for my baby

I purchased a Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack for my 6 month old son on Friday April 3, 2009 from Target. As I do every time I purchase a new toy for my son, I washed and sanitized it. As I was washing the rings, I noticed the water was turning blue. I then looked at my hands and they were stained blue as well. I soon realized that the dye on the blue ring was coming off. I was very upset at first, and then was just grateful that I had washed the toy before giving it to my baby. After scrubbing the blue ring for a couple of minutes there was still blue dye coming off. My hands and arm had blue dye on the that took a couple of days to come off of my skin. The picture to the right was taken after scrubbing my arm with soap.I would have been really upset if I had given the toy to my son before washing it. The paint would have been in his mouth, on his clothes, his blanket and possibly the carpet. What a mess that would have been. plus, who knows if this stuff is toxic or not?! I know that BPA, and lead are allowed in some small amounts in toys, and even those are toxic. So I suspect that this blue dye is toxic too.

I called the 800 number on the bottom of the box to complain to Fisher-Price. But, of course, they are closed on the weekend, so I will call on Monday.