Today at Target, Bug fell out of the cart and hit her head on the floor. She's ok, scared and has a small bump, but thankfully ok. She was sitting in the molded part of the kid friendly cart and was buckled in. The buckle gave way when she leaned over the back.
I am livid. Not at her but at Target. It has always been our rule that when you're in a cart, you wear the seat belt for safety. It only takes seeing one kid fall out of a cart and hearing the horrific noise their head makes when they hit the ground (years ago when I was in college), to make sure your child always has it on.
I have run into numerous problems with the seat belts at Target, and other stores for that matter, where they are broken to the point they could cut a child, don't have any clasp on them to buckle, or seemingly latch but leave you with a bit of doubt because you're not totally sure you heard it click. This is what happened today. I latched the buckle and wasn't positive it was secure so I tried to pulled it apart to make sure it didn't unlatch, which it didn't.
It happened at the check out lanes when I walked around to the front of the cart to unload it. She leaned over the back of the cart and that's when the buckle gave way, sending her head first into the ground. I rushed to her and sat on the floor of the checkout lane hugging my sweet little girl while the cashier proceeded to walk around me to unload my cart and continue to ring me up (how nice) without even acknowledging me or my daughter. When I finally had Bug calmed down enough and was able to check her head, I was able to pay. Again, no acknowledgement of what happened. But Bug got a sticker. When I finished paying I asked to speak to a manager. He came over and I explained what happened and how I was upset that Target doesn't do more to ensure their carts are safe for their guests. The only thing he said to me was he would be sure to pass this along to the right people to have it addressed. While he didn't do anything wrong, I certainly think it could have been handled with more compassion. It was like I was talking to a wall. He showed no emotion and never asked if Bug was alright or if we needed medical treatment (I wasn't looking for any of this but it would have been nice to know that he cared--or at least pretended to).
How is it that a company that makes millions of dollars and is anal about safety, can miss one of the biggest safety issues in their own store? I was playing by the rules. I was being safe. I buckled Bug into the cart, made sure the straps were tight and she still fell out? This is about a company providing a false sense of security. Giving parents the illusion they are doing the safe and correct thing when in truth it's no different than doing nothing at all.
I will be following up with the store to see if anything has been done and taking this as far as I need to. Have you ever experienced anything like that? Know anyone who has? Do you think this is the customers issue or should the store be held accountable? At what point is being safe just not safe enough? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
-Jo
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