Dear Blog Reader,

I have departed from the usual rant to allow Debbie from Seattle tell of her encounter with our 10News I team. It's a swell letter, full of praise and insights. Debbie not only survived working with us, she seemed to enjoy it.
The truth is, her efforts benefited many who will never know but you will.
Read on.

"Last night I had the unusual experience of watching myself on the evening news. It was fun to see myself and the kids on TV, and it was also very emotional.

First of all I feel incredibly proud. Because of the article I wrote and my work with 10News in San Diego, Advantage has destroyed all of their old and/or unsafe car seats. They've also instituted a new policy to inspect car seats after every use, to provide product manuals, and have pledged to remove car seats from use after just two years of service (the recommended maximum lifespan of a car seat is five years). What a fantastic response! It remains to be seen whether this is lip service or a real commitment, but if they follow thru, it's a huge improvement and every parent who rents a car seat from them in the future is better off." Read more from this blog post here.

Debbie Welcomes Readers From The Consumerist Blog

"We got a great write up today on Consumerist. Consumerist is a popular blog focused on helping consumers share complaints (and good experiences) that would normally be silenced or shared among just a few close friends." Read more from this blog post here.

Why go to the News? Why Not a Letter of Complaint?

"Several people have asked me why I chose to work with local news instead of choosing another, less public route, to resolve our concerns over Advantage Rent-A-Car's child safety seats. My reasons are as much personal as pragmatic. While I'm not particularly thrilled with the idea of airing someone else's dirty laundry in public, I'm pleased with the end result: Advantage's San Diego office has destroyed their dilapidated and hazardous car seats and they've instituted a strong corporate policy governing car seats across all of their 150+ offices." Read more from this blog post here.

From The Consumerist Blog:

When mother Debbie rented a car from Advantage Rent-A-Car she was surprised to have to paw through rows of shoddy, dirty, car seats, some missing parts, to find one that worked. When she complained to the manager, he insisted that the car seats were thoroughly cleaned and inspected after each use. Her blog post about the issue caught the eye of the local news station, who did an investigative report on the matter. Read more from this blog post here.

Pretty neat blog, don't you think? Thanks to Debbie for such an insightful look at the process she went through. It's people like Debbie who help the I-Team do the kind of stories that can make a difference.

jwblog@10news.com