Monday, December 10, 2012

Amazon ROCKS!: Seeking a Cute Girl in a Wheelchair Decal

Rae is going to get a wheelchair. I was told that this was a strong possibility about a year ago and it really threw me for a loop. I held onto hope that they were wrong (and they gladly let me) and she was going to just excel beyond everyone's expectations and walk by the age of two.

I was wrong.

She did not walk by two and she may not walk till three...four...???

About four months from now, we will start the process of ordering a wheelchair for Rae. This is not met with much celebration, but it is a milestone for her (in a sense) and we are going to smile and do whatever we have to do to make it the best experience for all of us. This may mean getting some crazy color, having a friend do some custom airbrushing on it, and embracing it because it (the wheelchair) will help Rae and us. I've accepted this and everything that comes with it (a wheelchair ramp leading to our front door).

With acceptance comes personalization (of a sort) and I went to trusty (don't fail me now) Amazon.com, searching for a decal of a little girl in a wheelchair for my car (yes, its a bit early, but I wanted to see what was available to determine if I needed to have something designed). Most of what I found were the typical blue and white images one finds on the parking signs. But then one caught my eye and after I read it, all I saw was violent, angry, red...
"After I cook the Vegetables what do I do with the wheelchairs?"
Is that supposed to be funny? I'm all for having a twisted sense of humor, but that statement is NOT funny by anyone's definition of the word (I'm not the only one that felt that way). My initial reaction was intense anger. Here I am struggling with the fact that my daughter is getting her first wheelchair, not sure if she'll get out of it (hoping for the best), finally accepting it and searching for the silver lining (like front row parking...its not much of a silver lining, but I'll take it!) and this idiot is cracking tasteless, offensive jokes about cooking vegetables people who use wheelchairs?

I vented to my online group (Hypotonia Parents Connection...Facebook Group) and then walked away from the computer to cool off and cuddle my daughter.

When I returned...about a hour later...the other parents were in full blown outrage mode with me. One of them (thanks Tricia) even sent emails to Amazon and the seller (who shall remain nameless, but not because I don't want to name them...you'll see why) . Here's a small snippet from one of her emails:
"...there are thousands of other families in the situation that my friend finds herself in today - trying to somehow accept that her precious daughter who just turned two years old - that she must somehow accept this situation and move on with her life. And moving on she tried to find a sticker that would celebrate NOT denigrate her daughter. Shame on you. Shame on you for making a buck on this and every other tragedy."
I was finally calmed down enough to try to compose a tasteful (less soap boxy) complaint to the seller about their bumper sticker (seriously...who would put that on their car?!?). I clicked on the link and was immediately redirected to:
"Looking for something? We're sorry. The Web address you entered is not a functioning page on our site."
I always loved shopping on Amazon.com. Their customer service (if you can find a number...which I did last year when there was a shipping error) is awesome and they actually like to resolve issues (that has been my experience). The fact that either they or the seller (but I'm pretty sure it was Amazon) removed this product in under two hours is astonishing. I now love, Love, LOVE Amazon.com! They don't play when it comes to their customers...especially ones that can rally large numbers of angry mothers all around the globe (if need be).

Here's an example of what I was actually looking for:

Brought to you by Beach Graphic Pros

3 comments:

  1. Well now that just sucked! Glad to hear that Amazon did the right thing. There is so much 'wrong' going on in the world right now, it's nice to see somebody finally take the high road! Good for you and your friends for speaking out! I would have done the same thing.

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  2. You can upload your design at Vistaprint. I tried it to see (with your design idea) and this is what I got so far. Here is the link. (sorry the link is so long...not sure why?
    http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/ns/easypath/studio.aspx?ref=2&page=1&doc_id=2447882822&pf_id=061&combo_id=74806&ink_pad_color=1&orig_combo1=24469.120.1.195042%7c195042%7c137%7c0&upimg1=618679896&image_list=-618679896&click=2&icparts=yes&ow=yes&combo1=24469.120.1.195042%7c-618679896%7c137%7c0

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  3. Other individual can post such thing because they haven't experience what your daughter have to go through or even encounter people whom need special care. As parents, it is actually painful for us that other people are so insensitive towards other's feelings. Glad to hear that Amazon did their part. Anyways, the sample decal sticker you have posted is beautiful, indeed. :)

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