things that should be really easy but are made difficult by clueless "customer support" people

So I'm still trying to get Charles to put together the Exersaucer that we got as a gift before Drew was even born.

Charles, however, kept blowing smoke about not being able to put together, without directions, something that was invented by NASA scientists as a way to cause parents to commit themselves to a mental institution.

On a side note, I can't wait until somebody I know has a baby shower. I'm soooo going to give them an Exersaucer as a gift, but before I do, I'm going to remove the directions. HA! HAHAHAHAHA!

Anyway.

OK, so what we need is 1 (one) set of assembly directions for the Evenflo Exersaucer Ultra.

No problem. I'm a computer-savvy kind of go-to problem-solving gal. What I'll do is, I'll pop on over to the Evenflo website, where no doubt I will find a handy-dandy list of printable assembly instructions for all of their baby products.

Let's see. I guess I would find assembly instructions under...um....FAQs? No doubt people are frequently asking Evenflo, "How the *&^%^ do I put together this &*(*&^ing piece of %^$?"

Whoa. Their FAQ is divided into categories. Like, 400 categories. OK, I'm not a customer service specialist, but if people have that many questions about your product, maybe you're not explaining yourself clearly enough in the manuals.

OK, let's try Category: Playtime: Bouncers.

Huh.

Now I need to choose a subcategory. Exersaucer, exersaucer....

Wait. I thought the Exersaucer was a bouncer. Apparently it's not. Apparently it's some other type of Category: Playtime.

Ohhhh. It's a "Category: Playtime: Activity Centers." Gotcha.

OK. There's like five different kinds of Exersaucers and none of them say "Ultra." Let's just try the basic "Exersaucer."

Click.

"Matching FAQs for Activity Centers, Exersaucer:"

(a lot of blank space)

Huh.

If you don't have a FAQ for it, then WHY WHY WHY does it have its own FAQ category?

Maybe it's under "Category: Playtime: Activity Centers: Exersaucer Baby."

"Matching FAQs for Activity Centers, Exersaucer Baby:"

(more blank space)

Yay! Another useless FAQ category!

Obviously, assemblage of their insanely complicated baby toys is not one of their frequently asked questions. I bet one of their most frequently asked questions is, "Who the hell designed your website?"

So. Back to the beginning. Let's try...."Replacement Parts"? Are assembly instructions considered a "part"? If so, are they replaceable? Or if we lose them, are we banished to a locked room full of unassembled Category: Playtime: Activity Centers: Exersaucers and forced to put them together sans directions in order to get out?

Clicking on "Replacement Parts"...

"Please enter the model number and the manufacturing date from your product in the fields above. See the diagram below for help in determining your model number (in purple) and manufacturing date (in blue):

6161263 10 APR 2003 (USA)
6161263c 10 APR 2003  (CANADA)

This information can be found on the back or bottom of most our products."

Huh.

See. I'm at work. And I regret to say that I DIDN'T CARRY THE FREAKING EXERSAUCER PARTS TO WORK WITH ME.

What is this unholy mess? Why can't I just click on "Exersaucer: Ultra assembly instructions" and get access to a nice, orderly PDF document that I can print out and take home to my poor, embittered husband? Why do I have to jump through your model number/manufacturing date hoops in order to access this crucial information? Are there so many different varieties of the Exersaucer Ultra that you can't keep track of all of their assembly instructions without model numbers? If so, do you think maybe you should try FOCUSING a little bit and not being so ADHD and SCATTERBRAINED? Do you think maybe it wouldn't be too much to ask that we be able to find some damn assembly directions on your website without having to search every single one of the 435 Exersaucer Ultra parts to see if it might contain the secret and apparently vitally important MODEL NUMBER? These aren't national secrets here; they're ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS for a BABY TOY.

And by the way, who the hell designed your website?

Comments

[Dan]

Hey,

I've got into the same problem.
Were you able to find something???

I've got an exersaucer from a frind and I have to assemly it.
I can't figure it out.

Would you be so kind to direct me to whatever links you found?

Thanks a lot,

Dan

[John]

The hilarious thing is... I'm at work, trying to get a replacement part for an Exersaucer, ran into the EXACT SAME PROBLEM with the model #'s, and Googling for some kind of Exersaucer model number directory directed me to your rant. I love the Web.

[Bruce]

Heh! Our daughter has outgrown her exersaucer and I'm giving our exersaucer to a friend who recently had a child. So... I thought I'd just download the instructions from evenflo's site and give them to the friend along with the eversaucer.. But no.... Evenflo has decided they aren't going to provide any kind of helpful information whatsoever on their nearly useless website. I'm going to find the original instructions and scan them in. If I can find them, I'll put them up in .pdf format on my website for all you poor souls. ;)

[Chas]

I too have an exersaucer and like every other intuative soul here, went to the evenflo site for some instructions. Can't find any.

So, I would like to commend Graco, as I have found numerous manuals of their products online.

[Joe]

I had an Evenflo sauser for my son 5 years ago. I remeber it beening a pain then WITH the instructions. Since he outgrew it, we had disassembled it and put it away. Today I tried to get it out for my duaghter (no 4.5 mo) and I have misplaced the instructions. My googling also led me here - no closer to getting the seat put together!

[Russell Hoorn]

Yes, It's a pain, but if you go to https://plweb.evenflo.com/replacement_parts.aspx
You do simply have to put in your model number and manufacture date in and the item that is $0.00 also says (View Instructions)

Their site still sucks, and It would be nice to have an "Instructions" Section. I do understand putting in the model number and mfg Date so that you get the right instructions

[Brian Carter]

Arrgghhh...my 4 month old is now using my 4 year old's previous exersaucer (evenflo ultrasaucer) - however all the "chewtoys" have since been tossed so I went through the same evenflo.com hell you all did to find replacement toys. I found my model # and date of manufacturer (extend the saucer to it's tallest position and it's a white sticker on one of the yellow posts) - however they don't offer the toys I need as replacements (I believe it was a bee and a flower) - as a result, I've lost 90 minutes of my life that I'll never get back and I've gotten no further in my search for replacements - by the way, in case anyone else is trying to avoid the heck I wen through:

Evenflo Ultrasaucer (green base, yellow posts, blue tray):
Model #: 6002N3 P1
Mfg date: Nov 14 2000 (have to put it in as 11/14/2000

Sometimes the Internet helps you win - other times you end up worse for the wear than before you started....

[Jim Squires]

Russell Hoorn - you're a god! I'm trying to fold up my daughters Exersaucer now that she's outgrown it, and I've been fighting with it, and then the internet, for the better part of an afternoon. Thanks to you, I know what what the hell I'm doing!!

[bwertz]

I am trying to locate instructions for putting the seat onto an ultra-saucer Model# 6001N3. Anyone know where I can download/print these?

I have submitted a request for the instructions from evenflo (after searching forever), but am sure it will take a LONG time to get them.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[DIxie]

Thanks to all of you, I will try to enter the info above to help me get some help with putting the cloth seat back on after washing, my husband took it off and doesn't remember how to get it back on... :( of course it was a pre-used model also....so thanks, hopefully by this afternoon my little one will be playing in his exersaucer!

[Kelly Berryman]

Who would have tought that I'd have to go to the comments section of a blog to find instructions to fold my ultrasaucer? Alas, even using the method described above, I'm told that they no longer have parts for my model - even though it was manufactured less than a year ago. "No instructions for you!!" Ah well, I guess it will be stored without being folded!

[Martin Sommerness]

Evenflo, Shmevenflo. Two university faculty members with 6 college degrees and 42 years teaching experience between them have wasted an entire afternoon trying to get the @*#%&!$ seat back on after washing. Of course, the folks who designed the website somehow didn't think to put the instructions on-line. Go figure. Not exactly user-friendly and not exactly intuitive. Who designed it, Alfred E. Neuman? It will be an extremely cold day uno where before I ever purchase anything from Evenflo, the baboons of babyhood!

[JJ Morris]

Well, I'll be adding another Exersaucer Ultra to the landfill. After jumping through all Evenflo's website hoops (yes, I found the product number and the date of manufacture), it appears I will have to pay to have directions shipped to me. Sorry, Evenflo, you're not getting anymore money from me!

Oh ya, who did design your website?

[Robert]

Hi All,
I have figured it out for a 1995 EvenFlo ExerSaucer. However, given that these postings are 2005, and it is now 2007, I'll just let people know to email me if you want specific instructions on how to attach the soft seat back onto the saucer. Happy Bouncing!

[Rob]

A sincere thanks for this blog post. You saved me hours and a broken exersaucer. Of course, even after I got the instructions - they are not that easy to follow.

Apparently nobody at Evenflo bothers to read their press. Considering you are the #3 hit at google on "evenflo exersaucer instructions", you think they might get the hint.

[Jason]

Yep I have to say as someone in technical support this is a useless website full of useless links. I recommend just buying from someone who actually cares about what the customer needs.

[Jeff]

Hey, everyone, I found this blog (as y'all did) trying to get my Exersaucer together. It looks like Evenflo (sort of) got the message about their website, as I finally was able to figure out how to assemble the darn thing. They actually have posted some instructions on getting the seats together, but it's not easy to figure out. Here is how I was able to access them:

First, go to https://plweb.evenflo.com/faqs.aspx. You will see the section at the bottom labeled "Browse by Category." In the "Category" section, choose "Playtime - Activity Centers" from the drop-down box.

Second, you will see the screen refresh, and the drop-down box next to "Sub-Category:" will now have the text "Aerosaucer" in it. From this drop-down box, you can choose the correct model of Exersaucer. The fun part is trying to figure out your model if you don't have a manual. The various models are:

Exersaucer
Exersaucer 3 N 1
Exersaucer Baby
Exersaucer Classic/Deluxe
Exersaucer Deluxe
Exersaucer Jr.
Exersaucer Limited Edition
Exersaucer Plus

After some clicking around, I found that mine was the plain old Exersaucer. In any event, once you choose your model and click the "Go" button to the right, in the FAQ's, there is usually a link that starts off with, "How do I put the seat pad on the Exersaucer xxx?" Click that, and the instructions ensue.

I found that as crazy as they sound (e.g. "Line up the red diamond on the warning label with the raised triangle on the back of the peak of the seat ring"), they are accurate. Odd, but accurate. And once I started, I realized why I didn't figure it out on my own. :)

I hope this helps!

[dassa]

Im happy to see that Im not the only one who is having issues with this.

Can anyone reccomend a website or somethin that will tell me how to fold my
Exersaucer Smartsteps? I could really use the room in my 2x2 apartment

Thanks in advance

[Mark Vane]

Hi, Added a new value add to my blog this weekend - a news widget from www.widgetmate.com. I always wanted to show latest news for my keywords in my sidebar. It was very easy with this widget. Just a small copy paste and it was done. Great indeed.

[Plissken]

Nicely done. I wasted way to much time on the evenflow website before coming here.

[Kristen]

WHY WHY WHY would you make a product that a person with two degrees can't put back together intuitively?? Many thanks to Jeff, the bit about the little plastic tabs not hooking to anything was what was stumping me. Sheesh. At least the baby is happy now.

[Marlo]

For anyone who is interested, I was able to get replacement toys (for $5 a piece) and free instructions for my evenflow exersaucer (2003) by calling 937-773-3971. They were very helpful and I should have my products within 2 weeks. Hope this helps anyone who is feeling frustrated.

[sara]

I too found this blog while attempting to find instructins for my grandsons bouncer. I have 6 children and so I have a little experience with these things but this one beats all. I got it used and have tried unsuccesfully to find instructions on how to fold the @#$% thing down. I've tried all the suggested tips on getting instructions but NONE of then cover folding the blasted thing down! Does anyone know how that thing folds down. Mine is the ultrasaucer,just twist and turn. HA-HA-HA-HA

[Kevin]

Thanks folks! I found this blog on time! I would've gone nuts otherwise...

[Desiree']

Help! Please email me to help me get the seat back into my 1995 excersaucer by evenflo!
Empressonelove@gmail.com