Crib Recalls Leading to Sleepless Nights?
07-06-2010
By Mike Rozembajgier
The recent recall of more than two million baby cribs by Evenflo Co., Delta Enterprise and five other children’s furniture manufacturers has parents once again wondering if their children are at risk every time they put them down for a nap or a night’s sleep. These recent additions to the crib recall list bring the five year crib recall total to more than 9 million units. No wonder the media are buzzing. As we hear more and more about crib recalls, there is a real concern that consumers are starting to ignore repeated recall announcements, making recall communication and recall compliance even more challenging.
One of the biggest challenges manufacturers and retailers face when recalling a product is recall notification. Communicating with retailers and consignees is hard enough. But getting your message through the clutter and communicating with consumers is the critical step in achieving an effective recall. Some of the most difficult recalls to manage are those in which the products are already in consumers’ homes. So how do you make sure your message is heard and that affected consumers will respond?
Manufacturers should contact consumers at the personal level whenever possible. For example, any consumer who is on record as purchasing one of the recalled cribs should be contacted directly.
It is also helpful to offer an enticing rebate or reward as part of the recall remedy. Consider compensating consumers not only for the crib itself, but also for the inconvenience of responding to the recall.
As Storkcraft learned at the end of last year, managing a product recall requires a vigilant team that is always ready to respond to the inevitable flood of calls, e-mails, and website visits from parents concerned for the safety of their children. It is important to ease consumers concerns and fears quickly so that you can maintain trust and regain business once the crisis has passed.
But when it comes to drop-side cribs, manufacturers may not need to worry much longer about communicating with consumers or managing the crisis. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) plans to issue new crib safety regulations by the end of the year. Meanwhile, state regulators aren’t waiting. The New York State Legislature has already passed a bill banning drop-side cribs and sent it on to the Governor.
Manufacturers need to understand that the CPSC could ban drop-side cribs at any time. Are you prepared to announce an immediate recall and remove from commerce all drop-side cribs that remain in your manufacturing and distribution facilities across the country? Recall plans aren’t just for an occasional recall. Having in place a recall plan that outlines your recall logistics and procedures can help you effectively remove any product from commerce at any time.
Stericycle ExpertRECALL™ is the industry leader in recall logistics and regulatory compliance for consumer product, pharmaceutical, medical device, juvenile product, and food and beverage recalls. ExpertRECALL’s professionals are experts in recall management who can help you streamline the entire product recall process.
Just need to know if my crib is one of the recalls. It is delta 5 in one & bed model # 4850-2. order# pp24079. M.I.G. date Nov. 2004.
would like to know if the crib i have is on the recall list. Delta Lov crib model #4624-1 MFG#s5400 Date Sept. 19 2006