Expert Recall

By Howard Aughinbaugh

First there were strollers. Then there were cribs. Now the CPSC has recalled millions more window blinds and shades for fear that the cords could cause strangulation and death among children. Parents are again panicked about the safety of their children. So how will these manufacturers handle the recall?

We offered crib manufacturers our advice, encouraging them to learn from mistakes made by Maclaren. But the largest crib recall in history announced just before Thanksgiving garnered an overwhelming response –resulting in the company’s website and 800 number being overloaded.

As a result, scores of parents could not, in a timely manner, determine whether or not their child was at risk. To make matters worse, owners of affected cribs could not quickly secure the part necessary to render the crib safe.

The headlines proclaimed the intense consumer frustration associated with the busy signals and the lack of web connectivity. Parents were effectively kept from doing something. Not only were their phone calls and questions left unanswered, the anxious parents were deprived the reassurance that they had done what was necessary to protect their children. .

Any consumer responding to a recall announcement wants and needs to know two important facts. First, does my product have a problem? Second, if so, what do I do?

The CPSC in their Recall Handbook states: “Historically, the Commission staff has found that most company systems for handling consumer relations or for ordering products, repairs or accessories are unable to respond effectively to callers about recall announcements, particularly during the first few weeks after the initial announcement.”

As this most recent example points out, a serious product hazard that results in injury or death only exacerbates this problem.

Existing customer service and customer relations organizations typically have call centers capabilities to handle normal day-to-day business activity. A recall, however, represents an atypical event with a workload over and above what company systems have been sized to deliver.   

Could the results of these past children’s recalls have been different? The answer is most likely yes. Recall professionals will tell you there are a few things that could have made a difference:

1. Pre-planning employing data modeling to appropriately anticipate response rates;
2. Technology and resources that could be rapidly scaled to adjust to demand; and
3. Expert advice and guidance predicated on extensive recall experience.

During a recall, the inability for consumers to get through on your company’s recall hotline can result in frustrated consumers, who turn into lost customers or something potentially far, far worse.  Window blinds and window shades manufacturers take note: while regulatory compliance is critical to effectively closing the recall, it is not necessarily enough to ease the concerns of your #1 audience – your customers.

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.