We went to this store in Alpharetta that was nothing but strollers. (Baby on the go, or something like that.)
Now, you would think that a person working in a store that specializes in strollers/carseats, they would be the end-all be-all know-it-all about all things strollers.
Not so.
Holy Cow, if we weren’t there to help her figure out how to break down this stroller and install the adapter to allow the Britax car seat to be used with it, I’m pretty sure that she would have died of starvation by now.
It wasn’t really the best presentation, however, it was excellent in determining which strollers to avoid. She kept saying that “we would get used to working with it after the first few weeks.” Umm, I’m pretty sure that we’re already going to have our hands full after the kid is born, stroller with a steep learning curve isn’t something that I’m going to want to add into the mix.
We really liked the new Britax car carriers, but, man alive, they be expensive! (And, of course, that’s one of the few things you really don’t want to buy second hand.)
So far the best outfit that we’ve seen thus far, has been the Bumbleride with the Britax car seat in it.
Though, a friend of mine sent me the Consumer Reports article on them. (Believe it or not, the Graco was one of the tops. I’ll check it out and get back with you guys at a later time.)
Tomorrow is ultrasound day, so I need to get some sleep, going to bed at a reasonable time tonight. (The trick is to get only a couple of hours of sleep the night before, and then work until almost 9pm…)
See you later!
-D
How do the wheels hold up though? We were looking at them and they looked to be hard foam rubber. At least the Bumbleride has “real” tires on it, and man, that frame on there looks like it came off of the space shuttle. (I’m not saying that I’m going to be “off roading” or anything, however, you know I’m not easy on equipment.)
It doesn’t look like it would be as handy, mainly because of it’s size… but it should be able to handle the kid well into his teenage years. (Just kidding.)
-D
Hmmm, I don’t know how I missed your comment. Sorry it took so long for me to respond. Thanks for commenting!
Anyways, you’re right, this was our first impression… but like they say, you only get one chance at a first impression. She just didn’t seem all that knowledgeable on any of the strollers that we looked at that day. I really wished that you were there, because she also didn’t mention that you guys had child safety classes or that you even had a blog.
And while it may not seem fair that you were judged on the first impression, you have to realize that you’re always going to be judged on your weakest link or your “purple cow.” (To put it in Seth Godin’s vernacular.)
It’s kind of like when my wife and I were going to buy a car. We went into one dealership and didn’t get waited on. (We left after 20 minutes of standing in the middle of the showroom waiting.) Now, they might have been the best dealership in the area, but they probably aren’t going to be getting our business anytime soon because of that first impression.
Think of it this way. If you went to a restaurant and you didn’t like the food the first time, how many times would you go back, especially if there’s other restaurants in the area that you could go to that would give you the same cuisine?
As a business owner, you should make it a point to train your people to make sure that they do everything in their power to make that first impression as good as they can. Especially on high-ticket items like strollers/carseats that cost over half a grand.
But hey, that’s just my $.02… do what you will.
-D