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Inglesina Twin Swift

Zehava of Woodmoere NY (1/6/04):
I recently purchaed the Inglesina Twin Swift stroller. It is a double side-by-side stroller. I have three steps outside my house that I need to go up before I get to the door. On my first outing with my 2 children, I attempted to go back into the house with the stroller. When I turned the stroller around to "bump" it up the stairs, the brakes would get caught under the steps, lock, and then prevent the wheels from rolling up the stairs.

Basically, if I wanted to get the stroller up that first step, I had to physically lift it up. Imagine lifting a stroller that initially weighs 29 pounds, and then an 18-month-old and 5-month-old. This happened repeatedly as I tried to get up the stairs. In the end, I needed help from someone inside my house because it was absolutely impossible to get us all in by myself.

When I called Inglesina, the person who answered the phone did not identify herself but over the course of the conversaton she said she was the office manager. I told her the problem I was experiencing and she said, "That's correct. This stroller is not designed to go up the stairs." In complete shock I asked her what was I to do to get my kids into the house. She said that I needed to take them out of the stroller, bring them inside, then go back out, fold up the stroller and bring it inside.

I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. I asked her, "If this is a known fact about the stroller and its design, why isn't it listed on the description of features, along with the height, weight, etc. "DOES NOT GO UPSTAIRS." She replied that I should have taken the stroller for a test drive around the store. I told her that I did but how many stores have steps inside where you can go up and down and "test" it out. None that I know of.

I told her that the only way to see how it performs on stairs it to buy it, use it, go upstairs, and then see that it's terrible. But at that point, you can't return it to a store because no stores that I know of take back used strollers. She wouldn't let me talk to someone in higher authority and then hung up the phone on me.

Now I am stuck with a stroller I can use only to go out of the house with but not to return inside with, and I am out $200. I feel that a company should stand behind its product and when it's no good, is expected to provide customer satisfaction. At this point, it seems that the only way to get any satisfaction is to spend more money and buy a new stroller (from a different company.) Thanks for listening!

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