I spent some time last night looking into getting Charlotte a personalized learning laptop or computer. I was excited when I cam across the positive reviews of the Fisher Price Computer Cool School toy. It was perfect! I loved all the elements to it and the fact that she could even practice writing. Charlotte is almost 4, so she is just hitting the time where this is all making sense to her. Woo, Hoo, Christmas gift! Right? WRONG.
You see, my daughter is a leftie. And this toy is only made for RIGHT handed children. So what did I do? I called Fisher Price. I have always wondered what those 1-800 numbers were for, and today, I used it. I call them up and get a person.
Him: how can i help you (very nice, poor guy didn’t know what was coming)
Me: I want to know more information about the Computer Cool School toy….it appears to be only for right handed children and I want to know if it converts to left handed.
Him: (pause) gooooooooooood question. Can you hold for a minute?
Me: Sure
(holding…holding…holding…)
Him: Ok, Im back. Can I get some information from you first.
Me: Sure
Him: Address….phone…..email….(me giving all that out)
(at this point he tells me he likes my email address….i know he is preparing me for the worst now with buttering me up)
Him: I went and got one of those and I’m pulling it out….(pause)……Looks like it cannot transfer to the left
Me: So, what your telling me, and I don’t like to throw this word around that much, but that you discriminated against my left handed child and we cant use it.
Him: (uncomfortable silence) Im not a toy engineer, but we don’t make a lot of parts that can bust off, so if its movable, its more likely to break.
Me: Why didn’t they just make it as a separate piece that plugged in and had a longer cord, like a mouse, where you can sit it on either side.
Him: (silence) Well, your daughter can slide down to use it so its on her left.
Me: Ok, so you expect me to sit this up in front of my computer and have her slide down to write and slide back to see it on the screen , and then back down….isn’t that a bit much to ask of a 4 year old?
Him: Um. Was that your only question?
Me: Yes, and you have answered it, but I would like to put in a formal complaint to Fischer Price and I want you to note that this toy cannot be used by LEFT handed children and I guess Ill just fight back by blogging this and emailing the company.
The conversation ended right after. The guy was pretty nice, it wasn’t HIS fault that the “toy engineers” suck.
So am I right and they should have made this toy a little more compatible? We are in the computer era. They should have had this as either detachable and a stand alone that could have went on either side OR connected to both sides and engineered another way. But ill tell you, I don’t believe for a second they didn’t do it for fear of “breaking” more often, but rather, they just didn’t THINK about it.
How annoying.
~Trisha
ps not done today w/ rants..stay tuned.
im sure when they made it, it just wasnt thought out, but would be nice if they Re-release itand would be nice to offer you something too
I should call TRU and complain that they sell it. Just to make a point. LOL I cant find a Fischer Price email ANYWHERE. Only the phone number….no shocker there.
im pretty sure my son is going to be left handed, that would really upset me if i wanted to buy it!
maybe i should call and complain too LOL
talk about poor thinking on the part of who ever made this toy! Hopefully they have gotten a lot more calls, and they go back to the drawling board to fix this major problem.
They really should consider that all children are not right -handed. Call back and ask to speak with a supervisor -send a letter to the head of Fisher Price. Search twitter to see if Fisher Price is on there and tweet the problem too.
Trisha – either way, bust or break, it really should come off. They obviously had to manufacture the parts separately, why couldn’t they have done exactly like you said and made it able to switch sides? As the wife of an engineer I just can’t believe no one that had a part in the design process didn’t think of it.
Reason #4815 why MOMS should be in charge of EVERYTHING!
It really kind of blows me away that a company as big and well established as Fisher Price didn’t think this through. They’ve been making toys for how long now?
That’s really frustrating.
I’m coming from having Reagan being a total leftie and anything she tries to do with her right just doesn’t work. Most times she chooses her left hand, with the occasional use of her right hand for eating, but that’s it.
This looks like a great toy, but like you I wish it would’ve been best for them to make it accessible for everyone.
I bet they really just didn’t think about it. Me not being a lefty, I doubt I would have thought about it either. I bet if they get enough complaints that they will come out with one for a lefty, since it is not an uncommon thing.
I had a feeling this is the product you were talking about earlier. It’s one of the first things on my list for Haley this year.
I agree…it would have been better to make the mouse pad area separate so it could be used on either side.
Let us know if you get a response.
I never would have thought of that. It’s totally lame of them too cause the VSmile game system controller slides around so it can be locked in place for left or right hand.
Trisha, while I’m not left handed or have a left handed child, I feel your frustration. I would be angry as well because they have discriminated against a portion of the population. These days you find just about any toy either gender neutral, or two of the same toy designed for each sex, race, etc…but they couldn’t offer a toy for left handed children or at least universal options….very bad business on their part!
Well that just sucks. You had every right to complain. I think they should have been a little more gracious, too, seeing that THEY are the ones who didn’t think long and hard enough about a product before they released it.
Maybe we should all call to complain… even if our kids aren’t left handed. If enough call, they may come up with a better design!
I hadn’t thought of that, either! I planned on getting this for Lily, but she is right handed, so I didn’t even think about it! That sucks!
jen, he may have said BREAK off instead of Bust off. It was one of the two. Either way…they could have made it SEPARATE imho
Krystyn, nope..it just sorta ended. I kept waiting for the talk to this person, or send an email here, or were gonna send you a discount code….lol….nothing. He basically answered my question and it was over. But i think i made it clear i was displeased, I was NICE about it, but it was still annoying.
Left handed is not THAT uncommon. My brother is a leftie, my sister is ambidextrous…
trisha
The most shocking part is that he said they don’t make parts that “bust off.” It’s a good thing he’s not an engineer, if you ask me. That’s not exactly professional terminology. And it doesn’t sound like any of their real engineers gave it much more thought than he would have. Sucky!
I just saw this toy and thought how cool it was. I think my daughter is going to be a lefty…and now I’m upset with you. Did he offer anything else, or for you to talk to anybody else? Usually fp aims to please.
That really stinks for Charlotte…and all other lefty kids out there.
Maybe they will take your call to heart and come up with a lefty one.
That does shock me that they didn’t think of making it compatible for both left and right-handed children. They probably spent hours making sure each part was safe for other reasons, but didn’t think about the actual use of this item. I have always been very happy with the durability and quality of Fisher Price’s toys.
hmmm interesting…my dh is a leftie…oldest DD is a rightie…they should give that some more thought.