finally! good customer service!

Well, I had high hopes of publishing my first post about digital scrapping but I'm having trouble attaching my files (they keep showing up at the top of my posts).  So, while I buy some time I'd like to rave about the company Summer Infant.  I have their hand-held day & night color baby monitor (pictured above, since I can't get this freakin' post to put my pictures in the right spot mid-post).  I just L-O-V-E this monitor.  It's truly a "Top 10 Must" in my book!  But more on that later.  

Anyway, I had to call Summer Infant today to inquire about replacing one of our cameras.  I have two video cameras (one for each child - both transmit sound/video signals to the same hand-held monitor) and the one in baby girl's room suddenly produced a large amount of static and really was no longer use-able from a sound perspective.  I searched high and low for my receipt and could not find one anywhere (which is so unlike me since I still have receipts filed away from years ago!).  I called Summer Infant assuming they would not be able to help me because of either the fact that I didn't have a receipt or because any warranty they might offer I had expected to be expired by now.  I'm happy to report that I was proven wrong.  The Customer Service Rep simply asked for an ID number on the back of the camera and confirmed it was still within warranty (FWIW they offer a year full warranty and 50% discount on a replacement product post-warranty).  My information was already on file from my purchase and they are sending me a fed-ex return label.  Upon receipt of my faulty camera they will send me a replacement free of charge.  THANK YOU SUMMER INFANT.  It's so nice to have experiences like that with no hassle.

So, back to making my Top 10... I know it sounds crazy that I consider a video camera a "Top 10 Must".  I mean, do I really *need* a video camera?  No.  But absolutely, definitely, positively it is my fav baby gadget.  I got it when my son was about 14 mo. old and I wish I had it from the beginning!  It allows me to see if he's sleeping without walking in the room and inadvertently waking him!  I've learned all sorts of funny things about what my little guy does once doors are closed.  And best of all, now that he's in a big boy bed it allows me to see if he's getting out of bed and into mischief.

The monitor has 2 channels so I can switch back and forth between my son and daughter's room.  The only problem is that you can't have the sound/video displayed from both rooms at the same time.  So before I go to bed I have to choose which room I want on.  Luckily the kids are right next door to each other so if I have the sound/video on from my sons room I'll still hear my daughter via my son's camera if she gets up.

This camera has night vision too, which is important because for us even nap-time is dark since we close the shades.  In fact, we get little use out of the "color" feature on this monitor because 99% of the time the room is dark and the night vision is on (it turns on automatically when needed, something not every video monitor brand does).  Another thing it has that not all hand-held video monitors do - rechargeable batteries.  Just plug it in & charge!  No AA batteries!

My only gripes about the monitor?  Well, the fact that one of my cameras broke suddenly of course (which is being remedied by Summer Infant).  I also wish the sound dial had numbers on it so that I could turn the dial to a specific spot each night before bed.  Some complain of static but I believe that could be a problem with virtually every monitor depending on what kind of frequencies you have running in/near your home.

I want you to know the hype is not just from me; everyone I know with a video camera can't imagine life with out it.  It's certainly indulgent but I justify it by knowing just how much I use it.  It's probably my most used baby product.