Complaint Review: Walmart - Wal-Mart - Fort Walton Beach Florida

Then 'Google' this- WALMARTS DEAD PEASANT SUIT AGAINST INSURERS ESCAPES THE GRAVE, and read it!

You panicked, plain and simple.  It is obvious from your initial actions.

Instead of flagging a customer down in the parking lot to break the window, you ran inside like a scared chicken.  You asked the employees for help?  Sorry sister, that's called liability, and they aren't assuming any.  Police?  EMS?  Do you think that Slim Jims open a locked door 1-2-3?  They don't.  It takes time and finesse.

Go out and buy one of those key chains that looks like a phone cord and keep it on your wrist.

to the customer refused help by walmart in an emergancy situation. i am a former walmart employee of one of walmarts distrabution centers and i am very aware of walmarts employees -not haveing common sence at all and not careing about the customers who basically pay there wages. if it wasn't for walmarts customers basically walmart would not exist. there lack of common sence for your situation shows there moral and ethical values for human life in general . i have no respect for walmart at all and feel that because of there lack of care for people as human beings first and customers second they will go far in the future as a company -hopefully they get what they deserve in the end -and to the person who believes you dilibratlely locked your child in the van to seek some sort of lawsuit against walmart -well i say to you " get a brain " no one who would panic for the wellbeing of there childs health would even think -(well let me put my child in danger so i can gain money form a company)your a moron! im glag your child is safe -im sorry that walmart was so lame as to not know how to handle a life and death situation like yours . you and everyone should remember that walmart is a company that only cares about makeing money -and if they have to step over a person in need of anything to get what they want they will, thats just how they are trained. this world has become a big joke -no one cares for another in need today -its all about "me" ---sad but true -train yourself to look out for you and yours and help others in need if you can -and the so called out for "me" people will recieve what they deserve in the end (nothing). someday those lame "me" people after treating others with ill intent, or just not careing at all will oneday be in need themselves and god willing will get exactly what they give out.

It is because of your neglience that your baby was stuck in the hot car and you want to sue. It was your neglence that almost cause your baby to die.  Why did you not grab something.  Why did you need permission.  I would not be surprised if that baby was purposely locked in the car to make her sick so that you can make money by suing.  Sounds to me like you care more about your window being smashed than your child.  Honestly someone should take that baby away from you incase it happens again.

you can get a key cut tha will not start your van that WILL open your doors. If it's a LATE MODEL ford with the PATS (passive anti-theft system) keys, then only a programed pats key will start it. You can get a normal key cut that will open the doors, but WILL NOT start the van. Then can still steal all your stuff, but the van is safe :)

Rita, I have always and will continue to always carry a cell phone. I work at a grocery store currently, now it's not Wal-Mart but it's almost the same thing. I can't believe the way you were treated. Had it been me you ran up to, and I partially wish it was me the first cashier you ran up to. I would have first called 911 from my cell phone in front of whoever! Secondly I would have left my register to help you with your van, window, child, WHATEVER! If Wal-mart had fired me over something like that I would have been able to sue them for wrongful termination. The least someone could have done was call 911 or something from their d**n cell phone. I wish I had been that cashier!!!

Rita, I have always and will continue to always carry a cell phone. I work at a grocery store currently, now it's not Wal-Mart but it's almost the same thing. I can't believe the way you were treated. Had it been me you ran up to, and I partially wish it was me the first cashier you ran up to. I would have first called 911 from my cell phone in front of whoever! Secondly I would have left my register to help you with your van, window, child, WHATEVER! If Wal-mart had fired me over something like that I would have been able to sue them for wrongful termination. The least someone could have done was call 911 or something from their d**n cell phone. I wish I had been that cashier!!!

Rita, I have always and will continue to always carry a cell phone. I work at a grocery store currently, now it's not Wal-Mart but it's almost the same thing. I can't believe the way you were treated. Had it been me you ran up to, and I partially wish it was me the first cashier you ran up to. I would have first called 911 from my cell phone in front of whoever! Secondly I would have left my register to help you with your van, window, child, WHATEVER! If Wal-mart had fired me over something like that I would have been able to sue them for wrongful termination. The least someone could have done was call 911 or something from their d**n cell phone. I wish I had been that cashier!!!

Rita, I have always and will continue to always carry a cell phone. I work at a grocery store currently, now it's not Wal-Mart but it's almost the same thing. I can't believe the way you were treated. Had it been me you ran up to, and I partially wish it was me the first cashier you ran up to. I would have first called 911 from my cell phone in front of whoever! Secondly I would have left my register to help you with your van, window, child, WHATEVER! If Wal-mart had fired me over something like that I would have been able to sue them for wrongful termination. The least someone could have done was call 911 or something from their d**n cell phone. I wish I had been that cashier!!!

You should have called 911 yourself from the walmart or had someone do it for you via cellphone. The police would have arrived and got the baby out. Walmart isn't going to reimburse you for your error. Even though it's their lot, they have no liability in this circumstance. Unfortunatley your on your own as far as the window goes....Glad the baby was ok...

i am happy that the baby is OK. people at WalMart are not the most "aware". i am not surprised that this happened although it is sad. thank God the baby is OK. God bless you!

So lets get over the fact of figuring out who to blame and all that nonesense, the bottom line being that both Rita and her child are O.K. But what my question is, is since when does a normal, caring human being that is either working and or checking out completely ignore a woman that is obviously in a state of panic. To have not one person offer some assistance to her is absolutely mind blowing to me. I think this expierence for Rita for Rita should of also been traumatizing in the fact that not only did employees help, but one of the 100 customers standing around cared to offer assistance. Im not going to think of myself as a better person knowing that had I been in the store that day that I would of ran to assist Rita, I'm just going to hope that any of those customers there that day are not the first ones to witness another life or death situation. Some people have lost their morale.

Rita I know it's been awhile since your incident in the parking lot at Wal-mart. I just read your report and would like to "put my 2 cents in." Under the circumstances, anyone with the physical capabilities should have dropped what they were doing to help you in any way possible. It is simply a matter of humanity to assist another human being in a crisis, especially when a weaker person such as a small child, elderly, or handicapped individual is involved. What happened in your circumstances could happen to anyone. If it never has, there might always be the possibility of a first time. Many comments were rendered to you telling you what you should have done, what you might, should and could do next time. Given the anxiety and despair you experienced, I'm sure you learned anything one could ever learn from such an incident, and still, there will be first times for other things which do not always go as planned or intended. You know who you are and what you are. You accidentally locked your keys in your car, a very easy thing to do, especially while you were having to focus on the management of two other people. It's so easy to be distracted for a split second, as it is human nature. Just close your eyes and take a slow deep breath and thank God for who you are; and try not to punish yourself. You reactions as a mother in that circumstance was completely normal. Marilyn Conway, SC

things happen, accidents happen....yes it is the responsibility humanitarian wise of the public to help out those in need-- in this case it's a corporate store with many people around...if someone comes in asking for help, they should help without question!! this is an emergency and a serious situation! the fact that they didnt' help and could care less, and is acting as if this is an irate customer complaining about a bad experience, is absurd. It shows teh downfall society is and has gone into...what kind of place is it that you can run into a place asking for help for a trapped child and no one helps a person out, and instead of people reprimanding those idiots, you have people trying to blame it on the 'parent' or anyone else. this is very scary overall....whether you can 'sue' wal-mart, stores or companies is another question...that may not be possible, but the manner in which wal mart employees or others acted towards the situation is not only wrong and ridiculous, but it is downright sick and cruel. Those people really need some help....

I see these situations all the time. Yours sounds a little far fetched though. And is kind of odd that you happen to have a camera and are calm enough afterwords to take pictures for evidence JUST IN CASE YOU WANT TO SUE WALMART OR FORD. Your story is full of BS.

In response to whoever posted the part about Wal-Mart being responsible for any damages or injuries on their property, they have signs releasing that liability. And as far as injuries, I see children injured because they're careless parents let them fall out of the cart and Wal-Mart is NEVER liable for this. So both of thos points are false. As for the policy part, its a shame that the world has come to the point it has where policices have to be put in place to do these kinds of things but in our world where everyone is eager to sue it is necessary for companies to protect themselves and thats exactly what those policies do. I feel bad for what happened to you but you need to look at it from their point of view. A customer could ask someone to break their window and turn around a day later and sue the store for damaging their property saying she never asked for that. And as for the part about calling 911 and not having to break the window. I dont know how fast your Emergency services respond but here it would be more than 2 minutes before they got there and got the child out and you said you felt you had 2 minutes before your child would suffocate in the heat. Its a terrible situation but you have no case against Wal-Mart, they were well with in their rights.

First of all I want to say that I am happy the baby is ok. That is the most important thing. Now on to the rant! What is WRONG with people these days? This policy says this...this one says that. I don't give a crap what anyone's policy says! What I do care about is a baby locked in a car (or any life/death situation). I would have been more than willing to help, had I witnessed your situation. People these days are so afraid of being sued, or being fired from their jobs. They won't help a person in distress but by golly at least they didn't lose their job! It sickens me. Rita, I'm sorry you had to go through this. I don't have any kids of my own, so I don't even know how I would react to something like this. But nobody does. Everyone says do not panic, stay calm. But truthfully, nobody can even say what they would do, unless it happened to them.

I'm a CSM at my Wal-Mart, and we have a policy (at least at my store, it's been made VERY clear to us) that only management may use 911. I really don't know why, and it kinda defeats the purpose of everything I was taught as a child. I was taught that in ANY emergency situation, wherever it may be, dial 911. I'm just trying to say, and you may wanna look into this with the incidental Wal-Mart, that this may be a Wal-Mart with the same kind of policy. If this is the case, I really plea that you do not blame the hourly associates for their powerlessness. For some unknown reason, it's commonplace for management to make hourly associates FEAR for their jobs... Even the hourly supervisors (me) have some trouble with the way they conduct business in emergency situations. I hate to seem like I'm jumping around, but I'm just responding to alot of stuff mentioned above as I remember it. ALL Wal-Marts in the nation have pay phones, but I"m telling you that the reason you missed them was because you were in a panic. Your mind was racing faster than your eyes, so you may have caught a glimpse of them, but your mind didn't process what they were. That's understandable, because I've been in that position millions of times. There's plenty more to say, but I can't find the words, this situation has left me almost in a speechless state. I'm very sorry for the way you were treated, Sorry this happened to you, I apoligize on behalf of the powerless hourlies, I'm glad that everyone's ok and safe, and I'd like to thank you for taking the time to listen to me and hear me out. And please, don't let this situation turn you away from Wal-Mart completely, because not all Wal-Mart stores are evil and cynical like this one you talk of. If you wish to discuss this more with me, I'll be happy to find some way to give you my email, because they won't let me post it on here.

I understand all of what happened to you. We all make mistakes. I was placed in a simular situation where I work. An 9 month old baby fell limp in the grandmothers arms. I work as a stylist in a Salon where it happened. We were extremely busy, but come on, the baby was far more important than haircuts. I happened to be lucky and have a nurse in my chair. She went over to the baby to see wht she could do. The receptionist asked permission to call 911 . Hello outthere. Thats called common sense. No waiting, no taking a chance on the innocent baby. Was it the grandmothers fault the baby was sick? no. Its about human nature, and caring. Our salon consists of nine stylist, and we usually have a at least an hour or so wait. Did money matter at a time like this? no. Do we need training? no. Walmart isnt worth suing as they are protected for any situation. Personally, I rarely go there for various reasons. Yours was a situation that could happen to anyone, and no one should cast judegment here. You are very fortunate it ended as it did. Personaly, I would have grabbed anything in the store without asking and let them follow me to the car,. What a great way to get thier attention. Your baby would have gotton help sooner, the cops would have been called, after all, walmart would want the money for what you took, and the cops would have helped you. My child comes first, not Walmart and thier unprofessional greedy policies.

Hello Rita, First of all, I want to say that I am happy your baby is ok. It has to be scary to accidently lock her in your vehicle. I am a Walmart Associate. When you asked the cartpusher for help, he should of stood right there with you, picked up his walkie talkie and called for a manager with An Emergency Situation. The Manager would of come out to the parking lot immedicately to assist you so that you would have never had to leave your vehilce to begin with. (Walmart takes an emergency situation very seriously)Since this didn't happen, when you went into the store, the cashier should have called for the Manager for Emergency Assistance. The phones that are at our registers don't go outside to the public, they are only for in store use. But we do have an "action button" on our cash register that we can put a code into it and call for the manager under emergency situation. I am appalled at the lack of response you had at the Walmart in your area. I'm sorry but I feel that Walmart is responsible for not assisting you in an Emergency situation. You should pursue the store to make sure this type of situation doesn't occur for anyone else. Each store is ran by a different manager. It is up to them to train there employee's in how to handle emergency situations. This one was completely screwed up. To completely not assist you is rediculous. It should be human instinct to assist you. If they couldn't do it, they should of gone to get assitance that could help you. Not let you stand there and walk away from you. I would have been as upset as you if this were to happen to me. As far as asking for something to assist you in breaking your window, I would have grabbed the first object I could find and break my window. If you took it from the store, you could of handled that after your child was safe. The store management would have understood this situation if they were any kind of human being. About the pay phones, each store has them located at each entrance and exit. They are normally at the end of the soda machines. They aren't really visable but they do have them. All Walmarts have greeters and they could of assisted you in finding a pay phone to call for help. Since none of that happened, My first priority is to get my vehicle opened. You could of asked for assitance from a passing car or someone walking to get a jack out of their car and they could of given that to you to break your window. There could of been alot of different things you could have done, But you reacted as any mother would have and did the best you could under the circumstances. The thing that comes to mind is that this is a learning experince. I always make sure my keys are in my pocket or if you don't have a pocket, I tuck the keychain part in my pants so my keys are not in my purse so that if my vehicle gets accidently locked, I have the keys on me. Many people can say what they would or could have done, but unless it directly happened to them, No one really knows how they would handle "An Emergency Situation". I think you have alot of good suggestions on how to prevent this from happening again. Take what you want, leave what you don't. I hate the ones who are trying to say you are spending alot of time on here debating what can or can not be said or not said. This is what rip off reporting is. How to resolve an issue. There are many people out there with alot of ideas, suggestions,ones with simular experiences. It doesn't make them wrong. It doesn't make them right. You have every right to feel the way you do or you wouldn't have taken the time to post at all. I wish you luck in finding peace with this situation. Indiana/Rhonda

So let's say someone came to your rescue other than the white knight who eventually did. What if..... An employee broke the window, saving your child, but in the process got some glass on the child giving it a cut. After your initial happiness, you feel the employee could have done something safer to rescue the child. What then? An employee breaks the window, saving the child, but does more extreme damage to the vehicle than the situation demanded. Let's say the whole door needs replaced, hubby's mad, insurance won't cover. Lawyer time. Let's say it's a distraction to take attention while some compadres waltz out with a tv while everyone's outside watching the action? While it is a sad case of humanity these days, trained employees are under strict instructions to not do more than call 911. They'll no more assist someone like you than they would attempt to stop a shootout. That's the world we're in and they acted correctly in a corporate sense which is all we're dealing with here.

Craig, thank you again for your concern. :) It is greatly appreciated. I will be keeping this short (time for bed), but to Jack, I would just like to compliment you. You say you are fresh out of high school? You seem like a very intellegent, mature person for your age. Just wanted to say I think that is refreshing. Good luck with school. Take care and thanks for the feedback.

Craig, thank you again for your concern. :) It is greatly appreciated. I will be keeping this short (time for bed), but to Jack, I would just like to compliment you. You say you are fresh out of high school? You seem like a very intellegent, mature person for your age. Just wanted to say I think that is refreshing. Good luck with school. Take care and thanks for the feedback.

Craig, thank you again for your concern. :) It is greatly appreciated. I will be keeping this short (time for bed), but to Jack, I would just like to compliment you. You say you are fresh out of high school? You seem like a very intellegent, mature person for your age. Just wanted to say I think that is refreshing. Good luck with school. Take care and thanks for the feedback.

After all that's been said, I can only offer you one more penny pertaining to your recent situation. As a Wal-Mart employee, I am responsible for a number of things, and none of them are to save anybody's life. As pessimistic as it sounds, Wal-Mart is a retailer, not a rescue team. But I digress. I'm a young girl, fresh out of high school, and I'm taking classes at The University of West Florida. I work there part-time and have a satisfying hourly wage (but only because I'm living at home). Sometimes working there is all right. I'm not a cashier, I'm a salesfloor associate. Sometimes, though, the unexpected happens, and it's not uncommon for plenty of people in such a mundane situation as shopping to get frustrated and stressed out. Whether it's a big spill, a slip, or the wrong price tag, we all suffer. For the bigger things, though, like your emergency, we are not trained. We are not. The extent of our customer service training involves telephones, communicating verbally with other associates and customers, and plain old common sense. Now. The Wal-Mart you were at doesn't sound like it has the most attentive employees, which is no one's fault. If you had been at the store I'm working at and had caught me, you probably wouldn't have had to file this report. Why? Because everybody has a different way of dealing with their own circumstances. Maybe those employees were having a bad day, or maybe, like someone mentioned above, you were scaring the bejeezes out of them and they just didn't know how to help you right then. Probably both. It was just your luck to lock your daughter in your car, to have asked the wrong people. I realize you may have already calmed down about the situation in regards to Wal-Mat's obligations (or lack thereof0 to your plight. At the Wal-Mart I'm working at, our receptionist uses the PA system for almost any kind of situation that requires attention. Several times a week while I'm on my shift, I will hear calls for lost keys, even stolen buggies (don't you hate it when you turn around for one second and then it's gone? Even in my blue "How May I Help You?" vest, it happens to me!). Also, I've heard several pages for pet owners to return to their cars where they have left their animals in the heat while they went inside to shop. I extent my sympathies for your bad experience, and hope you have thought over the dwindling rationale for your anger at the company and its employees as a whole. I am one of thousands of employees who probably would have been responsible enough to help you within our limitations. Please don't let your discrepancies encompass the big picture. Be safe and be careful.

Let me just say that I'm glad your daughter is alright. Didn't know if I inferred that or not. --Craig

Hi Craig. Just wanted to clarify a few things. :) I did ask the first 3 employees if they would call for help. I was refused all three times. It wasn't until I got to the third and final employee that I asked for something to break my window (after having asked her to call for help). I was frantic, but my mission was to get my child out. I was keeping as cool I could. I would not say that I was being unintelligable. Don't get me wrong, I was not as calm as I should have been, but I was trying. Now about them being drastic. I did not ask anyone to break my window for me.(When I did ask for something). I asked for an item, so I personally could go break it. I understand them thinking of their liability, but under that scenario I don't see them being responsible. Sorry if my posts seem hard to read (in the way that things happened). Thanks for the post.

Rita, the thing is, you went into WalMart askinf for something to break your window. But, just a few posts down you "Admitted" that you probably wouldn't have had to break the window if someone had acted fast enough. Well, what would have happened if the first person you pleaded for help to, the WalMart buggy-pusher, had gone ahead and Chuck-Norris-ed the window and saved your baby? Would you, a few days later, have second thoughts about breaking your window, as you have in this thread. You see, in this scenario, Wal-Mart would actually be in danger of having to pay for the window. You could always say that "I never asked him to actually break my window!!!". That's the reason the employees aren't supposed to do something that drastic. And with your sudden change of heart regarding the damage done to your car, it is highly possible you would have gone back on your decision and blame them for the window. Secondly, you said it only takes two minutes for an infant fatality due to the temps in a confined car. Even with your child being as you described her, limp, hot, etc., you have second thoughts about breaking the window, as I pointed out before. If all your windows were up, it would be nearly impossible to get in the car within two minutes. And how many people actually carry around a jimmy? Police, almost definitely. But you weren't gonna wait for the police, were you? You did what every parent would do (and not the wrong decision, IMO) and broke the window, immediately getting your child out of danger. Thirdly, you said you were frantic. How frantic were you? Enough to be unintelligible? It's quite possible. IF you were working your dead-end job and a frantic, possibly insanely acting woman ran in the door, would you immediately shift into fireman mode and know exactly what to do? You're the kid's mother and you didn't stay calm and ration enough to make a phone call to the police/ambulance/911, so why are you getting mad that an unassuming retail employee didn't either, JUST LIKE YOU. A bit hypocritical, isn't it. It isn't everyday a screaming mother locks a baby in a van. Wal-Mart can't exclusively hire lifeguards, firemen, and off-duty policemen. The price of your Tampax and photo-developing would skyrocket. So, in short: 1: You wanted your baby out within two minutes, but with time allowed for a locksmith or professional car-jacker to show up and do it neatly. 2: You wanted an employee to break your window, then changed your mind to think that it wasn't necessary. Wow. If I had been the guy who broke your window with the jack and had knew you were going to change tunes so easily, I would have lent you the jack and let you do it yourself while I cheered you on furiously. 3: You, the baby's mother and supposed guardian of all things infant, PANICKED and went completely APESH*T. You, instead of staying with the baby and begging passersby for help, left your baby and ran into the store for help. Where you encountered what was probably a teenage girl or boy who had absolutely no idea how to get a baby out of an accidentally locked van... JUST LIKE YOU DIDN'T! If I were you, instead of wasting my time looking for ways that it isn't my fault, I'd do some research on ways to get out of trouble when it happens. Horrible thought, and I hope it never happens, but what would you do if your van plunged off a bridge into deep water? Your kid's in the backseat, strapped into her carseat. Can you swim or not? Are you going to panic like you did here? I admit, I don't know what to do in that casw, cause I'm no more-informed than the next guy. And I'm not calling you a bad parent, by any means. And for all the people who accuse me of praising Wal-Mart, I'd feel the same way if it were outside K-Mart, Target or my Aunt Bettie-Lou Wig and Weave Shoppe. Craig

"Fist, the people you refer to are PROFESSIONALS, not some guy on the street. THAT is what covers them. That, and the enormous insurance policies they pay for, because people DO sue them...all the time. Do you really think Attorneys advertise for fun? Second, the reason the "Good Samaritan" laws are passed in some states, is BECAUSE people got sued for helping. Please stop replying. You're digging a hole you can never climb out of." LOL Robert, seriously. What's up? I wasn't trying to offend anyone with what I said. I had to laugh at how upset you seemed to have gotten. See, I have done some research on Good Samaritan laws, and what I read was that you are only protected when you help someone out, without pay, or reward from victim. So I was just trying to make a point that if anyone WOULD legally be in trouble for helping ANYONE it would be the PROFESSIONALS. They are compensated for their actions. I have never heard of a personal account of someone suing the EMTs, because they got called out for a choking victim, and though saved the victim, broke some ribs in the process (just a scenario, though that happens most often due to the technique used). And I seriously would never want to see a judge say "you know, you DID save his life. but you broke ribs, though hard not to, to SAVE HIS LIFE. Now you must pay! That's a scary thought. I do understand that this happens. But under an emergency situation I can imagine most judges would throw it right out the door. So, going off my own experiences (watching the news, and hearing of accounts from others), this is what I am basing it off of. I never said they DON'T get sued. I just said that I don't think it's as bad of a problem as some people fear. I was not attacking anyone. You act like I had attacked you personally, and that we've been bickering over this for months. I wasn't thinking, hmmmm. I wonder if this will piss Robert off. LOL This was the first time I brought this up! I was making an innocent comment, you need to deal with that. Please, understand that this whole "report" was started by me. So please don't tell me to "stop replying", it's my post. Secondly, to say that I am digging a hole I can't get out of. What??? What hole? Just by making a statement? Wow, for a first time offense, it must have been a d**n deep hole to begin with. Anyways, take it easy, it's just a forum. Don't give yourself a heart attack over it. Just smile, it's better for you.

Sounds like he's experienced a similar occurance. I get people walking in with open slippers on concrete, steel-toe required floor right underneath the huge sign that says to keep out. I do everything but string an electric fence across the entranceway, but stupid just can't be stopped. Either that or I have to assume they're looking to sue.

Sounds like he's experienced a similar occurance. I get people walking in with open slippers on concrete, steel-toe required floor right underneath the huge sign that says to keep out. I do everything but string an electric fence across the entranceway, but stupid just can't be stopped. Either that or I have to assume they're looking to sue.

Sounds like he's experienced a similar occurance. I get people walking in with open slippers on concrete, steel-toe required floor right underneath the huge sign that says to keep out. I do everything but string an electric fence across the entranceway, but stupid just can't be stopped. Either that or I have to assume they're looking to sue.

Sounds like he's experienced a similar occurance. I get people walking in with open slippers on concrete, steel-toe required floor right underneath the huge sign that says to keep out. I do everything but string an electric fence across the entranceway, but stupid just can't be stopped. Either that or I have to assume they're looking to sue.

Walmart may have a policy along the lines of the best way to avoid financial liability is to avoid involvement. However, we all recognize the human responsibility to help each other out in serious situations. To the extent that Walmart's corporate policies or lack of employee training or for whatever reason they were unwilling or unable to assist in this situation, they should be criticised in the forum of public relations. Everybody knows the correct response in terms of human life and safety would be: 1. Just Call 911! 2. Empower all employees and especially managers to assist in any way that might be helpful, including volunteering use of company resources. 3. Worry about who pays for what after the baby is safe. To the extent that Walmart's legally-defensible but morally questionable policies caused them to not do what everybody easily knows is the right thing, they should be criticized. This forum is an appropriate place to do it. I saw the opposite response in action at a Wallmart competitor, and I was very impressed. A lady in the parking lot had been stung by a bee. I was walking past on my way into the store and her boyfriend asked me to go inside and ask the store management for help. Seconds after I explained the problem to the lady at the customer service desk, she was on a walkie talkie. Quickly after that, several manager-level employees hustled outside to check out the problem. Within 2 minutes, two police cruisers arrived, and another 2 minutes after that the paramedics were there. They took NO CHANCES and it was only a bee sting. It also reminds me of a lawyer who told me once that he doesn't shovel the snow off his sidwalk because its easier to defend if somebody slips. They can't claim it was his fault for not doing a good job shoveling. He is actually increasing the chance of injury for the sake of decreasing his potential liability. What a jerk! - Rick

"Think about it this way, if there were that big of a problem with people getting sued and charges pressed against them for genuinely helping out, there wouldn't be an emergency system out there. Paramedics, police, firemen/women, all of it. Because they wouldn't be able to stay in business, everytime they went to an emergency, they'd be out of funds, paying back everyone they've saved. They don't even have some of the laws protecting them as good sameritans." Fist, the people you refer to are PROFESSIONALS, not some guy on the street. THAT is what covers them. That, and the enormous insurance policies they pay for, because people DO sue them...all the time. Do you really think Attorneys advertise for fun? Second, the reason the "Good Samaritan" laws are passed in some states, is BECAUSE people got sued for helping. Please stop replying. You're digging a hole you can never climb out of.

First off, thank you Craig and Pam. I feel the same way, and it should be more important that there is a human life saved, than worrying about financial woes. It's a sad day, when money becomes more important. I hope the people out there that don't help others out in situations like this don't ever get in a jam themselves. They would really be wishing that someone would care more about them. But that's the world we live in. You know, ya, you hear alot about good sameritans getting the boot, and sadly being punished for helping out in a situation. There is something mentally unstable about the judge, to rule in that favor, and the "victim" for pressing such charges in that case. But if you really look into it, you'll find far more cases of good sameritans getting awards, and recognition for doing something selfless for someone else. Think about it this way, if there were that big of a problem with people getting sued and charges pressed against them for genuinely helping out, there wouldn't be an emergency system out there. Paramedics, police, firemen/women, all of it. Because they wouldn't be able to stay in business, everytime they went to an emergency, they'd be out of funds, paying back everyone they've saved. They don't even have some of the laws protecting them as good sameritans. There are laws for good sameritans that protect them from mallous suits, and legal obligation to the problem. People just need to realize this, and see that when they hear of a good sameritan story gone bad on the news.. it's news for a reason. It's not that common. It's like when someone here gets bit by a shark in Florida. It's news because it's rare to happen. Thanks everyone for the responses.

While Wal-Mart was obviously more interested in saving their own financial necks, they seemed to be oblivious to the fact that there was a living, breathing human being inside that car who could have died...if that good samaritan hadn't intervened when he did. All Rita was asking for was help in order to save her baby. And I would have done the same thing, faced with the same situation.

An award .. ?? Where are you getting your information from, Craig? Actually, Craig, Walmart prohibits employees from getting involved in situations like this for insurance reasons. In this situation, had a Walmart employee broken this woman's window to save her offspring, she would have then pressed charges against the store for breaking her window and tried to make a few bucks off of it. (This is not my personal opinion, this is fact based on what the OP has already stated in her numerous posts.) Where would that leave the store and the employee? Walmart certainly would NOT be giving that employee an award, especially since that employee failed to heed Walmart policy AND cost the store money and negative publicity ... unless that "award" comes in the form of a pink slip!

I am am employee of wal-mart. Not the one listed in this report, but in New York. You don't need to be a trained in EMT services or CPR to have common sense to help a child or women in distress. It is our responsibility as human beings to help one another when a situation calls for it. I just think that the employees that you had asked for help, did not care or were just worried that the would get fired for helping out. Which they would have not been fired for helping. walmart would have given them an award or something to that extent. Hey accidents happen, we learn from them. Thats what makes us human. Thank You, C.A.

This entire thread...unreal. "Steve, instead of rambling on about "I ALWAYS do this" and "I ALWAYS make sure I do that" why not consider this: have YOU ever locked your child in a car before in extreme heat? Probably not. You DONT know whether you would have been so calm cool and collected as you so brag." Maybe the reason Steve, nor any of the men, have done this, is because we engage our brains well before we do anything. Studies have proven that men will nearly always use logic in all of their decisions, while women will nearly always use emotion in theirs. This is not debatable. What does Dr Phil ask the women..."How does that make you feel?". He asks the men..."Why did you...?" Logic versus feelings. Try it our way. It works. BTW, I've never locked my kids in a car either. How odd.

Just had to write to you and say it is nice to have a woman stick up for my situation. As a woman something like this happening is so scary, because this was a life that you harbored within you for 9 months, this is the most precious thing in your life, and the thought of it slipping away is frightening. It only takes a second to change your life. You feel so stupid when these things happen, though accidental, and it is something that as a mother you will ensure will never happen again. I always leave my window cracked now, and make a mental note of if the keys are on me or not before the door shuts, AND to top that off, I make sure the driver's door is open before I shut the side door. So far so good. Actually, this is how strongly I've been mentally aware. I was at my home just yesterday, and my husband and two older daughters just took off to a softball game, and I had my darlin 1 year old with me. I was holding onto the driver's side door, and was about to shut the side door, when I looked over and saw my driver's side door was locked. I stopped the side door from shutting immediately. Now of course, my keys were in my purse, which I had on my shoulder, so it wouldn't have mattered, I had the keys out to unlock it, but just out of sheer rememberance, I stopped from having my child in the van with all doors locked. Even if under controlled situations and everything was ok... I just can't do it, even for a split second. :) So again, thank you for you compassionate words as a woman. It's nice to hear someone stick up for the accidents that sometimes, unfortunately happen, and say, hey, it happens, let's not prey on the stupidity that hits people sometimes, and just say, let's not let it happen again! Take care.

Just had to write to you and say it is nice to have a woman stick up for my situation. As a woman something like this happening is so scary, because this was a life that you harbored within you for 9 months, this is the most precious thing in your life, and the thought of it slipping away is frightening. It only takes a second to change your life. You feel so stupid when these things happen, though accidental, and it is something that as a mother you will ensure will never happen again. I always leave my window cracked now, and make a mental note of if the keys are on me or not before the door shuts, AND to top that off, I make sure the driver's door is open before I shut the side door. So far so good. Actually, this is how strongly I've been mentally aware. I was at my home just yesterday, and my husband and two older daughters just took off to a softball game, and I had my darlin 1 year old with me. I was holding onto the driver's side door, and was about to shut the side door, when I looked over and saw my driver's side door was locked. I stopped the side door from shutting immediately. Now of course, my keys were in my purse, which I had on my shoulder, so it wouldn't have mattered, I had the keys out to unlock it, but just out of sheer rememberance, I stopped from having my child in the van with all doors locked. Even if under controlled situations and everything was ok... I just can't do it, even for a split second. :) So again, thank you for you compassionate words as a woman. It's nice to hear someone stick up for the accidents that sometimes, unfortunately happen, and say, hey, it happens, let's not prey on the stupidity that hits people sometimes, and just say, let's not let it happen again! Take care.

Just had to write to you and say it is nice to have a woman stick up for my situation. As a woman something like this happening is so scary, because this was a life that you harbored within you for 9 months, this is the most precious thing in your life, and the thought of it slipping away is frightening. It only takes a second to change your life. You feel so stupid when these things happen, though accidental, and it is something that as a mother you will ensure will never happen again. I always leave my window cracked now, and make a mental note of if the keys are on me or not before the door shuts, AND to top that off, I make sure the driver's door is open before I shut the side door. So far so good. Actually, this is how strongly I've been mentally aware. I was at my home just yesterday, and my husband and two older daughters just took off to a softball game, and I had my darlin 1 year old with me. I was holding onto the driver's side door, and was about to shut the side door, when I looked over and saw my driver's side door was locked. I stopped the side door from shutting immediately. Now of course, my keys were in my purse, which I had on my shoulder, so it wouldn't have mattered, I had the keys out to unlock it, but just out of sheer rememberance, I stopped from having my child in the van with all doors locked. Even if under controlled situations and everything was ok... I just can't do it, even for a split second. :) So again, thank you for you compassionate words as a woman. It's nice to hear someone stick up for the accidents that sometimes, unfortunately happen, and say, hey, it happens, let's not prey on the stupidity that hits people sometimes, and just say, let's not let it happen again! Take care.

Just had to write to you and say it is nice to have a woman stick up for my situation. As a woman something like this happening is so scary, because this was a life that you harbored within you for 9 months, this is the most precious thing in your life, and the thought of it slipping away is frightening. It only takes a second to change your life. You feel so stupid when these things happen, though accidental, and it is something that as a mother you will ensure will never happen again. I always leave my window cracked now, and make a mental note of if the keys are on me or not before the door shuts, AND to top that off, I make sure the driver's door is open before I shut the side door. So far so good. Actually, this is how strongly I've been mentally aware. I was at my home just yesterday, and my husband and two older daughters just took off to a softball game, and I had my darlin 1 year old with me. I was holding onto the driver's side door, and was about to shut the side door, when I looked over and saw my driver's side door was locked. I stopped the side door from shutting immediately. Now of course, my keys were in my purse, which I had on my shoulder, so it wouldn't have mattered, I had the keys out to unlock it, but just out of sheer rememberance, I stopped from having my child in the van with all doors locked. Even if under controlled situations and everything was ok... I just can't do it, even for a split second. :) So again, thank you for you compassionate words as a woman. It's nice to hear someone stick up for the accidents that sometimes, unfortunately happen, and say, hey, it happens, let's not prey on the stupidity that hits people sometimes, and just say, let's not let it happen again! Take care.

"Your panic is what nearly killed your child, not Wal-Mart. I always start my vehicle, unlock all doors and start the A/C before ever unloading groceries, etc. from my cart into the car. It is always a good idea with children to put a window down a few inches as they sometimes play with the locks. It appears to me that you were just not paying attention, and want to blame someone else for it." Steve, instead of rambling on about "I ALWAYS do this" and "I ALWAYS make sure I do that" why not consider this: have YOU ever locked your child in a car before in extreme heat? Probably not. You DONT know whether you would have been so calm cool and collected as you so brag. In fact I think it's pretty nervy of you to come here and recount all the things she should have done. Im sure she has done that herself, Im sure she doesnt need some man sitting behind a computer screen to do it for her. In the end we are humans, and when you one day forget to turn the AC on before shutting the door to put your groceries in the backseat after you just put your kid in his carseat (that's a mouthful), I wonder if you would appreciate being spoken to in the high falutant manner you have exhibited here. I hate to say this but....only men would take an opportunity such as this to create a list of what should and should not have been done. Live in the solution, not the past. People make mistakes, and you're one of them. Someone mentioned walmart is not financially obligated to call 911. Has our capitalistic society become so depraved that we must now have a standard recital to employ when an emergency happens? "When there is an emergency, say: "I have an emergency, I authorize you to call 911!" Yeah...sure.

Hi, just wanted to respond to a concern you had in your post. About how I could even think of having them pay for my window vs. my daughter's life. My daughter OF COURSE comes first and foremost. That was not a concern above my daughter. I was upset because, even though I know the window would have been most likely smashed in anyways (even if by emergency workers), because between the time taken to arrive, and time to jimmy the door open, could have been too long. BUT, I was holding Walmart responsible, because they would not even give me the CHANCE to see if it was even a possibility to have gotten her out in time, with out smashing a window. This was not a concern while the situation was happening. Not once while my daughter was in the van did I say to myself, "I will do anything to not smash in my window". I promise that was the least of my concerns. My only concern was figuring out how to quickly and safely get her out. :) I'm sorry if that was not made clear before. But all said and done, the window is already fixed, and has been for a while. So we're good on that end, and above all else, my precious little girl is fine. Thanks for posting! Take care.

some people do. I would think that any normal person would drop what they are doing to help. Who cares if they are allowed it's a natural response and no life is more important then my job. Why ask for some thing to brake the window? I would of grabbed the first thing that I could find weather they liked it or not, and dealt with it later. Like I said, we do not all respond well under stress. I have never had a job where emergency situations wern't covered during orientation. I do see them somewhat at fault. They prevented an emergency from being reported. BUT YOU LOST ME WITH.... THEY SHOULD PAY FOR MY WINDOW. HOW IS THAT EVEN OF CONCERN CONCIDERING YOUR DAUGHTERS LIFE! IF THERE WAS A MALFUNCTION IN YOUR CAR I WOULD TAKE IT UP WITH THE MANUFACTURER. WALMART ASSOCIATES NEGLECTED TO RESPOND TO AN EMERGENCY! OR WALMART HAS NO POLICY REGARDING EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. EVEN IF YOU WERE AT FAULT. AN EMERGENCY IS AN EMERGENCY. MORALLY AND I WOULD THINK LEGALLY.

There is a fine line indeed where cases are concerned with children these days. There was a case in a Ohio about three years ago that shocked quite a few of us here. Here was the case: The mother usually took the child to daycare. One day, she was very sick and asked the husband to take the kid for her so she could go back to bed after she called off of work. She put the child in the car seat for him and he drove off. It was late june, if i remember correctly. He forgot the kid was in the car and didn't realize it until he was leaving work some 8 1/2 hours later. The child died. the investigation was huge and very sad. One of the people i work with knew him in high school and said there was no way he intentionally did that. That got me to thinking about peoples daily routines and how much we can sometimes act on auto-pilot early in the morning. I guess the bottom line is, accidents happen. Fault or no fault, they ahve to live with that the rest of their lives. This event caused Ohio to get, perhaps, a bit over zealous in their investigations. I'm glad your child is okay.

I'm so sorry Kelly... I wasn't meaning any of those things towards you. I'm sorry if it seemed that way. Trust me, I understand exactly what you mean. (I just was recently there, with locking my own child in my van). There really is too much of a fine line between accidents, and abuse it seems, with them. I was really unaware of the record they kept! They might as well call you a felon while at it. I would love to know how many of them have done something similar in their lives. I would also like to know how many of them have records on themselves! So sad that is. About the licensed daycare, that is really scary. They really shouldn't be doing this to anyone unless there IS a pattern. I really don't understand their logic on this. One thing I hope will change with them, is that they will start giving chances to people that deserve them (with no other track record) and start taking more care in other cases. I have been hearing SO MANY stories over the years of neglect, and sexual abuse cases that get overlooked or flat out dismissed with them. I guess it's a more forgivable crime than accidentally locking a child in a car, huh? Terrible. Take care of yourself Kelly.

I understand your points, but I want you to know 1 thing. In most states, according to CPS, even if you are found to be a perfectly fit parent you actually have an open file wile CPS until your child turns 18 after an investigation. They keep the record. When I asked why I was told it is to "make sure" there isn't a pattern. During the investigation CPS even went to my other children's (I have 3 older) school and asked them if mommy loved the baby. My kids said they were even asked if mommy ignores the baby when she cries. When the incident happened with my youngest, she didn't even have a diaper rash and had been seen that morning for a routine check up. It's disheartening to know that CPS felt that I would purposely lock my child in the car. The state I live in now won't allow me to run a licensed in home day care because I have a so called record with CPS. I have been certified by a Red Cross emergency first aid program and keep my CPR current at all times.

Sorry to hear about your situation Kelly. Over the last week and a half I have talked to so many people, and it seemed that majority of them had the "that happened to me too" story. Wow, it's wild how many people have had that situation happen to them. At least I don't feel alone. I'm glad to hear that your child was ok. You know, about child services. I have such mixed feeling about it. A part of me thinks, wow, people make mistakes, and how sad that they have to add salt to the wound by investagating your parental skills. BUT, then I hear of sad stories of children dying in cars because the parent purposely left the child in the vehicle for hours to run in a store and shop (or whatever else they are doing). So on that note, I can see them wanting to investigate, because they are just doing their jobs, and want to rule out neglect. So I guess that has to be looked at positively. They just want to keep kids safe. About the breaking of the window, because the jimmy can take too long, ya, you nailed that one on the head. It's true, trying to unlock the door (with out the key of course) can take a bit of time. I have a friend, that I was talking to the other day, that accidentally locked her 2 month old baby in her vehicle, while leaving a friends house, and they had coat hangers, and whatever they could use to try to unlock the door, and after a couple of minutes trying, they didn't see it happening for a while, so she ended up just busting out one of her windows with something from the house. (This was years back). But just shows you, sometimes you have no choice in this kind of unfortunate event. Thanks for your input! Have a good day.

Sorry to hear about your situation Kelly. Over the last week and a half I have talked to so many people, and it seemed that majority of them had the "that happened to me too" story. Wow, it's wild how many people have had that situation happen to them. At least I don't feel alone. I'm glad to hear that your child was ok. You know, about child services. I have such mixed feeling about it. A part of me thinks, wow, people make mistakes, and how sad that they have to add salt to the wound by investagating your parental skills. BUT, then I hear of sad stories of children dying in cars because the parent purposely left the child in the vehicle for hours to run in a store and shop (or whatever else they are doing). So on that note, I can see them wanting to investigate, because they are just doing their jobs, and want to rule out neglect. So I guess that has to be looked at positively. They just want to keep kids safe. About the breaking of the window, because the jimmy can take too long, ya, you nailed that one on the head. It's true, trying to unlock the door (with out the key of course) can take a bit of time. I have a friend, that I was talking to the other day, that accidentally locked her 2 month old baby in her vehicle, while leaving a friends house, and they had coat hangers, and whatever they could use to try to unlock the door, and after a couple of minutes trying, they didn't see it happening for a while, so she ended up just busting out one of her windows with something from the house. (This was years back). But just shows you, sometimes you have no choice in this kind of unfortunate event. Thanks for your input! Have a good day.

Sorry to hear about your situation Kelly. Over the last week and a half I have talked to so many people, and it seemed that majority of them had the "that happened to me too" story. Wow, it's wild how many people have had that situation happen to them. At least I don't feel alone. I'm glad to hear that your child was ok. You know, about child services. I have such mixed feeling about it. A part of me thinks, wow, people make mistakes, and how sad that they have to add salt to the wound by investagating your parental skills. BUT, then I hear of sad stories of children dying in cars because the parent purposely left the child in the vehicle for hours to run in a store and shop (or whatever else they are doing). So on that note, I can see them wanting to investigate, because they are just doing their jobs, and want to rule out neglect. So I guess that has to be looked at positively. They just want to keep kids safe. About the breaking of the window, because the jimmy can take too long, ya, you nailed that one on the head. It's true, trying to unlock the door (with out the key of course) can take a bit of time. I have a friend, that I was talking to the other day, that accidentally locked her 2 month old baby in her vehicle, while leaving a friends house, and they had coat hangers, and whatever they could use to try to unlock the door, and after a couple of minutes trying, they didn't see it happening for a while, so she ended up just busting out one of her windows with something from the house. (This was years back). But just shows you, sometimes you have no choice in this kind of unfortunate event. Thanks for your input! Have a good day.

Sorry to hear about your situation Kelly. Over the last week and a half I have talked to so many people, and it seemed that majority of them had the "that happened to me too" story. Wow, it's wild how many people have had that situation happen to them. At least I don't feel alone. I'm glad to hear that your child was ok. You know, about child services. I have such mixed feeling about it. A part of me thinks, wow, people make mistakes, and how sad that they have to add salt to the wound by investagating your parental skills. BUT, then I hear of sad stories of children dying in cars because the parent purposely left the child in the vehicle for hours to run in a store and shop (or whatever else they are doing). So on that note, I can see them wanting to investigate, because they are just doing their jobs, and want to rule out neglect. So I guess that has to be looked at positively. They just want to keep kids safe. About the breaking of the window, because the jimmy can take too long, ya, you nailed that one on the head. It's true, trying to unlock the door (with out the key of course) can take a bit of time. I have a friend, that I was talking to the other day, that accidentally locked her 2 month old baby in her vehicle, while leaving a friends house, and they had coat hangers, and whatever they could use to try to unlock the door, and after a couple of minutes trying, they didn't see it happening for a while, so she ended up just busting out one of her windows with something from the house. (This was years back). But just shows you, sometimes you have no choice in this kind of unfortunate event. Thanks for your input! Have a good day.

Rita, I do understand the problem. I locked my 3 month old in the van on an extremely hot day. I went to the nearest pay phone, and yes I was panicky. I explained the situation to 911. I even stated it was a 3 month old. The first question they asked me? Can the child unlock the door? They sent help. It took about 5 minutes from the start of the phone call to help arriving. The police had a jimmy, BUT because of the heat they broke the window to get my daughter out. The reasoning was that trying to jimmy the lock can take to long. Depending on the temp depends if they will do anything but brake the window. I was greatful that my child didn't suffer any long term problems, but she did remain in the hospital for 2 days and I was visited by the Child Protection Services for possible child neglect.

Rita, If you had no intent to sue why did you make the statement that you took photos of the van as it was parked in the parking lot with the broken out window. This does not sound to me like a person that is taking responsibility for their own actions or inactions. You made other statements defending yourself here and only created other questions. If Wal-Mart had called the PD/EMS and you had waited for them to come and unlock your door with a tool(that I also agree they no longer carry for liability reasons). What was your guaranty that they would respond quickly enough to keep your child from being severily injured, and to hell with the damage to the vehicle. I agree with an earlier post here that you most likely hit the lock on your keyless entry accidentally and were unaware. I am not sure how it would stand up legally in court but Wal-Mart parking lots have signs up that state that they are not responsible for damage to vehicles in their parking lots. As far as going to the people for assistance in the manner that you describe, any of the employees that you spoke with should have addressed this by having someone call 911 and then stepped outside to determine the status of the child while trying to calm you. I can understand your anger towards them concerning their inactivity and lack of concern, however I(do not work for Wal-Mart I was fired about 10yrs ago) do not believe that their offices would agree with their behavior. Please do not look for someone to blame(ie...Wal-Mart, Ford)for the damage to your vehicle. You, authorized someone to bust the window. I am also sure that if you were to contact Wal-Mart offices and addressed your concerns that there is a good possibility that they will make you at least feel better(I would considering the curcumstances if I were them). P.S. T-odd probably has a good legal team already set up for his class action suit against Wal-Mart as they have a conspiracy against Christians and families. lol ;)

With three kids, a purse, and at one time a diper bag, I could never find my keys, I locked me and my children outside of our apartment and my husband had to come home early from work. I had separtated my keys and grab the wrong set. The next day I went to the dollar store and bought one of layernets with a clasp on the bottom and attached my keys. When I leave the car it goes around my neck, and doesnt leave until I am sitting the driver seat. It is long enough to reach the door lock without being removed. That way with everything I had to do, one thing I never had to worry about is where my keys are. Hope this helps.

With three kids, a purse, and at one time a diper bag, I could never find my keys, I locked me and my children outside of our apartment and my husband had to come home early from work. I had separtated my keys and grab the wrong set. The next day I went to the dollar store and bought one of layernets with a clasp on the bottom and attached my keys. When I leave the car it goes around my neck, and doesnt leave until I am sitting the driver seat. It is long enough to reach the door lock without being removed. That way with everything I had to do, one thing I never had to worry about is where my keys are. Hope this helps.

With three kids, a purse, and at one time a diper bag, I could never find my keys, I locked me and my children outside of our apartment and my husband had to come home early from work. I had separtated my keys and grab the wrong set. The next day I went to the dollar store and bought one of layernets with a clasp on the bottom and attached my keys. When I leave the car it goes around my neck, and doesnt leave until I am sitting the driver seat. It is long enough to reach the door lock without being removed. That way with everything I had to do, one thing I never had to worry about is where my keys are. Hope this helps.

With three kids, a purse, and at one time a diper bag, I could never find my keys, I locked me and my children outside of our apartment and my husband had to come home early from work. I had separtated my keys and grab the wrong set. The next day I went to the dollar store and bought one of layernets with a clasp on the bottom and attached my keys. When I leave the car it goes around my neck, and doesnt leave until I am sitting the driver seat. It is long enough to reach the door lock without being removed. That way with everything I had to do, one thing I never had to worry about is where my keys are. Hope this helps.

Hey there. This will be quick, but wanted to say that your advice is heeded about Peter. :) That's all I can do. Some people just post on things to rile people up. I understand. He may not be a bad person, just someone that takes it as a good argument, and wants to run with it. Take it lightly as you have said. Next, sorry to hear about your situation! That is terrible, and I hope all works out well for you. Children are so precious, and when they are spared, it's the most wonderful thing. I am glad to hear that they are ok. How scary that must have been though. Talk about feeling helpless (at that moment). You take care!

Hey there. This will be quick, but wanted to say that your advice is heeded about Peter. :) That's all I can do. Some people just post on things to rile people up. I understand. He may not be a bad person, just someone that takes it as a good argument, and wants to run with it. Take it lightly as you have said. Next, sorry to hear about your situation! That is terrible, and I hope all works out well for you. Children are so precious, and when they are spared, it's the most wonderful thing. I am glad to hear that they are ok. How scary that must have been though. Talk about feeling helpless (at that moment). You take care!

Hey there. This will be quick, but wanted to say that your advice is heeded about Peter. :) That's all I can do. Some people just post on things to rile people up. I understand. He may not be a bad person, just someone that takes it as a good argument, and wants to run with it. Take it lightly as you have said. Next, sorry to hear about your situation! That is terrible, and I hope all works out well for you. Children are so precious, and when they are spared, it's the most wonderful thing. I am glad to hear that they are ok. How scary that must have been though. Talk about feeling helpless (at that moment). You take care!

Welcome back Todd. If you believe their may be a defect with the locks, check for Recalls and maintenance bullitins. The latter can be found a several sites on the web. some insurance company websites also show these bullitins (sp?).

I haven't had a chance to look at this thread for several days. My, what interesting assumptions people make! A lot of good points were made, and a lot of idiotic statements as well. And yes, as an avid reader and infrequent contributor, I suggest that you take "Peter" from "Pony", Alabama with a grain of salt...he is usually quite bitter and judgemental about things. Myself, I got hit last week by some #$%&ing idiot who ran a red light and totaled my car. ("The last thing I remember is that it was yellow, then I looked again and it was already red." Honest to God - it's in the police report.) Thank God my children were not injured or killed, but the real torture now is dealing with her insurance company. I may have a report about THAT soon!

Actually, I should be the one to appologize to you. I went a bit far on my post to you. I've been very stressed out the last couple of days, and have no right to take it out on you or anyone else. So please, accept my deepest appologies. I really can see your point. I always try to see the best of people (for the most part, I am only human), and at first it seemed that you were getting ready to jump on me because you didn't like his post, and because I was trying to be kind back to him. Right or wrong, he was just trying to bring my spirts up I believe. To tell you the truth, I can see some of your points on it. It isn't right to jump on people (let alone tell them they are going to hell) just because they are not "agreeing" with you. That is not fair, when people are just coming on here trying to give you, as a rip off report poster, the other side of view. It's only fair to listen. So my foot is in my mouth on this one. :) Thank you for your concern. I know you were just trying to save me some hassle. Oh, and I got my back window fixed today! Hurray.. you never realize how much you miss something til it's gone. It was all out of pocket (due to the fact that it cost less than my deductable), but well worth it. I'm not flying around town with a big blue tarp taped to the back anymore! LOL.. Take care to everyone!

But as you mentioned in a previous post, why should you accept advice from someone who walked outside with unpaid merchandise, Todd did the same thing and also blames Wal-Mart for it. And although I understand (a little) why people would think that the first person who disagrees with their complaint is a worker (or even more) Todd told every one on who disagreed with his complaint that he was a Christian and they were going to Hell for disagreeing with him. That is why I mentioned looking at his post (that has been going on for YEARS) I didn't mean to offend you or anything else. Just trying to warn you of what was to come. (and it did didn't it?)

K, look, since this seems to be a problem for you let me explain it to you. You are quite the nasty one aren't you? First off, isn't the whole point of this posting site to talk to other people, get some advice? So, what is your problem with me responding back? Look, like I said, and this is the last time I will explain. I only come on here when my kids are sleeping (sometimes while they are outside playing). I am not a neglectful parent. The comment about my kids being locked in the car was completely unnecessary don't you think? Did you get hurt by a family member as a child? Why are you so hostle? I really don't quite understand. I'm not going to stoop down to your level, because you really seem to get enjoyment out of trying to pick a fight with people. I'm going to let this "dead horse" lye. Good day.

Hi, I would just like to thankyou for your comment. I would like to start by saying that I understand how it can be a problem between "call for help" and "call 911". Because you're right. If that WASN'T what the person meant, then there's a problem with liability. I just wish that if that was the case, they could have tried to make the situation more clear by asking maybe "WHO do you want me to call?". To clearify. In all honesty, I just wish that lawmakers would come up with better good samaritan laws, and really enforce them. That's why so many people are scared to help anyone, because we've turned into such a sue happy world. Maybe some day there will be a better solution, and we can get back to the days of "helping our fellow man". Now about the "stealing" situation. I was not intending to steal anything. I'm not sure where you got this idea from. (Scratching head), if I had asked, and if she had said yes, I'm sure they would have sent someone out with me. Or let me go on the honor system (probably the first). What, would they have said yes, and then when all was over, come out and arrest me for shoplifting? Seriously now. That makes no sense. They obviously didn't let me take anything. I wasn't about to grab and run. Because there's no way I would have gotten to my baby in time. Considering that Walmart is notorious for getting people right out the door. (and no, this has never happened to me, lol) I wasn't about to do something stupid that could keep me from getting back to my van, or get me in trouble (as in shoplifting). So, no, it wouldn't have been stealing if I had gotten permission. I could just see them taking me to court for that one. The judge would laugh that one out. (under the circumstances).

In response to a rebutallist, Rita stated: "You're beating a dead horse as of this point, and it is only making you look silly" Rita, do you not realize how "silly" YOU look? After all, you are beating this "dead horse" clear into the ground with your daily long, drawn-out contributions which have gotten very off-track. I agree with the others who asked if you have anything better to do with your time (i.e., care for your children perhaps?). What are your children doing while you are online all day? I seriously don't believe that they are sleeping whenever you are online .. no one sleeps that much. I certainly hope they are not unexpectedly locked in the car while you're online! I cannot help but wonder .. do you sit in front of your computer all day long waiting for the next person to respond to your "complaint" so you can fire off another lengthy analysis in response? This is getting old Rita ... really old ...

I work in retail (though not Walmart). I've been working at a very popular department store and have been for a little over a year. During the time I've been working there, I have personally been involved with roughly 4 or 5 "accidents". What we're required to do is announce over our walkie talkies "Code Green in (name of department the accident has happened in)" and announce it three times. There was one case where a man was standing on a shelf, tripped, and fell, causing him to hit his head on the floor. The manager asked the man if he wanted an ambulance and he said no. Therefore, an ambulance wasn't called. We do this because if we call for an ambulance without the person's consent, the store may be forced by the person to pay the hospital bill (claiming that the store offered to send an ambulance without asking the person if he/she wanted one). So yes, asking for help and asking for someone to call 911 are two totally different things. Also, the customer shouldn't have asked to use an item and then come back into the store to pay for it. Walking out of the store with an unpayed item is what we in the retail business like to call "stealing".

Hi, to Steve first. Thank you for your post. First off I would like to make something clear (this seems to be something people are not understanding). I am NOT SUING WALMART! Please, stop lecturing me like I have stated that I was going to. That is rediculous, and not even an assumption anymore. I said in previous posts that I was not going to sue them. Especially not for the millions you so generously put in my mouth. I'm over that, you should be too. Please, all I ask is to read through everything before you start speaking. You're beating a dead horse as of this point, and it is only making you look silly (to those that have already read that I have no intention of suing them). Now, onto how many "hours" I spend on here. LOL. First off sir, the hours you estimated that I spend on here responding to people is by far off (like the MILLIONS I want to go after bwahahahah). I check once in the morning (before my kids get up) and once at night (during my time to unwind, when my children are in bed). So how am I taking away from my kids? This is another rediculous assumption. And to give you a better idea of how many "hours" I've spent here. Maybe a total of 2-3 hours altogether. (This is over the course of 5 days) No big deal. I respond alot back to people because I like to let them know that their advice was looked at and thought about. Sometimes I write a message asking more questions for people to think about and give my responses to others when I feel I need to. Again, no big deal. Now to Jamie. Thank you for your concern, I DO understand why people are upset, but do not think it's a big deal (about Todd). I already made it clear that I have my own mind, and am not going to go and "sue" just because Todd told me too. Wow.. I'd be in a sad state if I did. I simply appreciated his concern, and he really puts his foot forward on what he believes. I think that's great. But you know. If everyone is offended by his posts (on his own rip off report(s). Just say your two cents (because how could you resist right?) and then don't go back to him. If he comments on somebody else's rip off report, don't worry about it. Look, my final words on this is that I am not suing walmart, so everyone needs to take that for what it is. Please stop telling me how much time I spend with my family, becuase you are not here, and stop worrying about Todd. Yes, he goes overboard on his suspicions (of people all being employed by the store from h**l) but maybe he was really wronged by them. Who knows. I'm not going to worry about this anymore. So, thank you and take care. PS. This post took me a total of 9 minutes to write. Not an hour. (Yes, I can type fairly well, I don't have to use my forefinger for every key) :)

Go read his complain against Walmart. He's out there. Everyone on here who refutes what he says is a Walmart attorney out to get him. I work for Walmart right Todd? Please ignore him.

Rita, I have two kids and a baby on the way so I hate to think of being in the situation you were faced with. For me I think it would be an easy decision to get into the van as fast as possible and that, of course, would mean breaking the window. It's obvious that there aren't any other options except for maybe seeing a police officer right there in the parking lot and "maybe" he could do something within a minute or two. Right upfront I'll tell you that I would lean towards not suing anyone unless someone blatantly hurt you, your family or your stuff. I know from personal experience that anyone (myself included) can make a mistake or do something stupid at any given time. The fact that you just did it should give some grace to some $6.50 an hour kid working a register at Walmart. Keep in mind you didn't ask MacGyver for help. People work at Walmart because they couldn't pass their Barr exam, they flunked out of Med school or more possibly didn't even finish high school. I can't see how a company is responsible to train their employees for every conceivable situation and is also responsible for every stupid, insensitive or unthinking they do or don't do. They are just people who have their minds on their jobs, their lives and their own problems. I believe the time and money you would need to sue would be a great disservice to your family, though the lour of money can be very intoxicating. In fact, as I was reading all of the posts here I considered how much time I was spending and how it was taking time away from my family and my job. I also considered since you have written at least half of the posts here how much time you have spent on here writing, reading and thinking about all of this. Maybe 18-20 hours? Wouldn't your time be better spent with your family and thanking God for your child? Hey, but I wonder if you did sue and won say a million dollars and then when your child found out later in life what happened, could your kid sue you for that same money.......plus interest? It sounds silly but I bet some lawyer would do it if he thought he could make a buck off it. I guess what I'm saying is you reap what you sow. Just count your blessings.

Mark. Thank you so much for your idea! I was really impressed with this one. Like you said, it is totally hidden (most the time, who would ever think about looking there for it?), and yes, it would be easy to get a coin to unscrew the tag. Perfect. Thanks man, I appreciate this idea profoundly. I am putting this plan into action first thing in the morning. :)I'm "empowered". LOL.. sorry, read above post from me, it'll make sense then. I lost my mind on that one. Just want people to stick to the task at hand, instead of poking me with pointed fingers for being polite and open minded. Take care and thanks again. Seriously, best idea yet!

First off, I would just like to say that I am humored by the responses I've had so far to my post thanking Todd for his feedback. Let me explain (which I shouldn't have to, because me thanking him is not hurting anyone). I thanked him, because I appreciated what he said. Let me tell people now, that if you actually read through a lot of my other posts, they are "thanking" individuals for their responses. Are you offended by those too? I like to hear all sides, and like to take them into consideration. That's how I deal with situations and learn. No big deal. Second off, sorry to have offended anyone because I said in my thank you post that I was "empowered". But again, I am empowered by alot of people (and yes, alot of other posts that people have left here for me have "empowered" me. But just because I said that to Todd, that doesn't mean I ran out to the courthouse today with my lawyer... get real. I have my own mind, and will make it up on my own. I will not go out on a whim just because he said to, just like I wouldn't because someone told me NOT to. Now, I DID mean what I said in that post, that he should stand up for what he believes in and that's what makes this world great! EVERYONE should stand up for what they believe in, and what they feel is right. I don't care that he is Christian, good for him, I'm pagan. Is that what I was supposed to look for in his "ripoff report"? Other than that, I really didn't see the big deal.. He may have exagerated, he may not have. I wouldn't put it past Walmart to treat someone that way. I'm not saying this about Walmart stores. But some of them are trash that should be taken out with the rest of the garbage. Terrible. Since my ordeal, I have run into soooo many people that have been wrongly treated by the local Walmart here. But if people don't stand up for themselves, who will? So please. If anyone gasped at my thank you post to Todd, and is offended, or appalled, please, don't read through my posts. K? Not hard to do. Sorry, but nothing peaves me more than people coming on to a post, and leaving comments that have nothing to do with the original post, but instead leave a disapproving post about me thanking someone! Like I said, I try to see the good in all the advice that I get. I take it and think it over, and file it in my mind with all the other advice I get. Go out to a club or something if you're that bored. Thank you.

First off, I would just like to say that I am humored by the responses I've had so far to my post thanking Todd for his feedback. Let me explain (which I shouldn't have to, because me thanking him is not hurting anyone). I thanked him, because I appreciated what he said. Let me tell people now, that if you actually read through a lot of my other posts, they are "thanking" individuals for their responses. Are you offended by those too? I like to hear all sides, and like to take them into consideration. That's how I deal with situations and learn. No big deal. Second off, sorry to have offended anyone because I said in my thank you post that I was "empowered". But again, I am empowered by alot of people (and yes, alot of other posts that people have left here for me have "empowered" me. But just because I said that to Todd, that doesn't mean I ran out to the courthouse today with my lawyer... get real. I have my own mind, and will make it up on my own. I will not go out on a whim just because he said to, just like I wouldn't because someone told me NOT to. Now, I DID mean what I said in that post, that he should stand up for what he believes in and that's what makes this world great! EVERYONE should stand up for what they believe in, and what they feel is right. I don't care that he is Christian, good for him, I'm pagan. Is that what I was supposed to look for in his "ripoff report"? Other than that, I really didn't see the big deal.. He may have exagerated, he may not have. I wouldn't put it past Walmart to treat someone that way. I'm not saying this about Walmart stores. But some of them are trash that should be taken out with the rest of the garbage. Terrible. Since my ordeal, I have run into soooo many people that have been wrongly treated by the local Walmart here. But if people don't stand up for themselves, who will? So please. If anyone gasped at my thank you post to Todd, and is offended, or appalled, please, don't read through my posts. K? Not hard to do. Sorry, but nothing peaves me more than people coming on to a post, and leaving comments that have nothing to do with the original post, but instead leave a disapproving post about me thanking someone! Like I said, I try to see the good in all the advice that I get. I take it and think it over, and file it in my mind with all the other advice I get. Go out to a club or something if you're that bored. Thank you.

First off, I would just like to say that I am humored by the responses I've had so far to my post thanking Todd for his feedback. Let me explain (which I shouldn't have to, because me thanking him is not hurting anyone). I thanked him, because I appreciated what he said. Let me tell people now, that if you actually read through a lot of my other posts, they are "thanking" individuals for their responses. Are you offended by those too? I like to hear all sides, and like to take them into consideration. That's how I deal with situations and learn. No big deal. Second off, sorry to have offended anyone because I said in my thank you post that I was "empowered". But again, I am empowered by alot of people (and yes, alot of other posts that people have left here for me have "empowered" me. But just because I said that to Todd, that doesn't mean I ran out to the courthouse today with my lawyer... get real. I have my own mind, and will make it up on my own. I will not go out on a whim just because he said to, just like I wouldn't because someone told me NOT to. Now, I DID mean what I said in that post, that he should stand up for what he believes in and that's what makes this world great! EVERYONE should stand up for what they believe in, and what they feel is right. I don't care that he is Christian, good for him, I'm pagan. Is that what I was supposed to look for in his "ripoff report"? Other than that, I really didn't see the big deal.. He may have exagerated, he may not have. I wouldn't put it past Walmart to treat someone that way. I'm not saying this about Walmart stores. But some of them are trash that should be taken out with the rest of the garbage. Terrible. Since my ordeal, I have run into soooo many people that have been wrongly treated by the local Walmart here. But if people don't stand up for themselves, who will? So please. If anyone gasped at my thank you post to Todd, and is offended, or appalled, please, don't read through my posts. K? Not hard to do. Sorry, but nothing peaves me more than people coming on to a post, and leaving comments that have nothing to do with the original post, but instead leave a disapproving post about me thanking someone! Like I said, I try to see the good in all the advice that I get. I take it and think it over, and file it in my mind with all the other advice I get. Go out to a club or something if you're that bored. Thank you.

First off, I would just like to say that I am humored by the responses I've had so far to my post thanking Todd for his feedback. Let me explain (which I shouldn't have to, because me thanking him is not hurting anyone). I thanked him, because I appreciated what he said. Let me tell people now, that if you actually read through a lot of my other posts, they are "thanking" individuals for their responses. Are you offended by those too? I like to hear all sides, and like to take them into consideration. That's how I deal with situations and learn. No big deal. Second off, sorry to have offended anyone because I said in my thank you post that I was "empowered". But again, I am empowered by alot of people (and yes, alot of other posts that people have left here for me have "empowered" me. But just because I said that to Todd, that doesn't mean I ran out to the courthouse today with my lawyer... get real. I have my own mind, and will make it up on my own. I will not go out on a whim just because he said to, just like I wouldn't because someone told me NOT to. Now, I DID mean what I said in that post, that he should stand up for what he believes in and that's what makes this world great! EVERYONE should stand up for what they believe in, and what they feel is right. I don't care that he is Christian, good for him, I'm pagan. Is that what I was supposed to look for in his "ripoff report"? Other than that, I really didn't see the big deal.. He may have exagerated, he may not have. I wouldn't put it past Walmart to treat someone that way. I'm not saying this about Walmart stores. But some of them are trash that should be taken out with the rest of the garbage. Terrible. Since my ordeal, I have run into soooo many people that have been wrongly treated by the local Walmart here. But if people don't stand up for themselves, who will? So please. If anyone gasped at my thank you post to Todd, and is offended, or appalled, please, don't read through my posts. K? Not hard to do. Sorry, but nothing peaves me more than people coming on to a post, and leaving comments that have nothing to do with the original post, but instead leave a disapproving post about me thanking someone! Like I said, I try to see the good in all the advice that I get. I take it and think it over, and file it in my mind with all the other advice I get. Go out to a club or something if you're that bored. Thank you.

Duct tape is easy to see. Get a key, drill a hole in the top and put the tag screw through the license plate an then through the key. Tighten it with a coin, it is flat, hidden, and it is a lot easier to find a coin or flat piece of metal to unscrew the tag if you need it.

Duct tape is easy to see. Get a key, drill a hole in the top and put the tag screw through the license plate an then through the key. Tighten it with a coin, it is flat, hidden, and it is a lot easier to find a coin or flat piece of metal to unscrew the tag if you need it.

Let it not be todd.

Before you thank him and feel empowered due to it.

Hi Todd. Wow, your posting was very strong, and it made me feel empowered. See, I was really feeling beaten up, but I can see your point. :) Thank you so much for your input, and yes, thank God that my baby was unharmed. This is an accident I will never let happen again, but because it happened once, that was enough. God Bless you too! Keep strong with your words, we need more people like you in the world that feel this way, and are willing to stand up for what you feel is right. That is one thing that was wonderful about the 60's (though I am not of this generation) but it was the decade of demonstration power. Take care friend, and keep speaking your mind! Nothing that God has given us is more powerful!

Hi, just wanted to make a response to Robert and Marc. To Robert first. I really thought alot of your comments. Thank you. First off, the more I thought about it, I realize that you're right. It WOULD have turned into a broken window situation anyways most likely. Under the heat conditions, and the time it would have taken for anyone to get to me, it would have been too late. (I really had wishful thinking otherwise), but truth be known, that's just how it would have been. Next, thank you soooooo very much for the great idea about just duct taping a key! I never thought about that. That is an EXCELLENT alternative to the magnetic boxes. I think this will be part of my "back up" plan. I really felt secure about having the spare key under the vehicle, so if a situation were to ever arise again (knock on wood) I will have it undoubtedly, but the magnetic box worried me a bit because of what my friend had mentioned yesterday. This will give me that security both ways. So again, thank you, and it is always very securing to hear it from a law enforcement person. I guess just because you've seen it and been there. Now, to Marc. I also would like to thank you for your comment. Again, another thing I would have never thought about. That's a very scary scenerio there. I can imagine the powder mixed with the choking heat, wow, bad combination. That is something to really think about, and not want to occur. Well, again, gentlemen, thank you both! Take care and have a great night.

Hi Rita, First I would like to praise God that your child is safe and okay. That is the most important issue of all. Now that is done, let's get to the other important issue. 1. The Wal-Mart stores and the parking lot is private property of Wal-Mart. (They have claimed this many, many times). By law, that makes them responsible for anything and everything that happens on their property. 2. Wal-Mart employees, including the management, are responsible for EVERYONE that is on the PRIVATE property of Wal-Mart... (Just like you are responsible for everyone that is on your property). 3. Any injury that happens on private property, such in this case, Wal-Mart, is responsible, one hundred percent. 4. An extra wrong is because Wal-Mart refused to do anything, much less the high risk and danger of your child. No way I would let them get out of this! They are responsible and need to be forced to make a change in policy. And the only way they will ever do that is for you to battle them in court. They can careless about your talk, only money makes them alert and the court is the place to go. I wished it was not this way, but this is the only way they take notice and begin to protect our children. You and your family have suffered and should be compensated for such loss. Plus, you should set an example to all, which proper safety measures should be in place and responded to. Unfortunately, corporations like Wal-Mart listen to no one, until large amounts of money are lost, then and only then will these corporations take measure to ensure our children's safety. Ever wonder why there are "Safety Stickers" on the passenger side of a car? Or what about safety stickers in other places, such as child seats and so on? That is because a mother or a dad somewhere rose up and said that is enough, I do not care about the time or court-stress, I am going to make sure no future children get hurt. And they took them to court, and won. It hurts me to think of how many other children that may suffer, from the uncaring Wal-Mart staff! Just reading your posting brings a tear to my eyes. And I can tell you that not one JURY member will turn away your plea or your cause to protect future children! The Wal-Mart attorneys know this and are swarming around your posting and acting like they are caring people trying to give you helpful advice, but they are wolves, trying to cause you not to take any legal action against Wal-Mart! STOP! Do not listen to them... You were there; you know the careless people that worked at Wal-Mart did nothing! You have the witnesses! You saw your child almost die on THEIR PRIVATE PROPERTY and they did nothing! Ask yourself this... if you owned a company and someone came up to you and said that their child had locked himself in a car on your parking lot, what would you do? Well, if you knew from past experience that you would end up in a large court battle, you would jump up to help that poor child. The evil world we live in now has turned very dark and cold... it is not like it was when I grew up, where most would jump up to help an old lady cross the street... Today, most are selfish and ego-prided. Not all, there are a few, rising up, taking a stand and stating enough!!! We are good, we are righteous and we are not going to allow these wicked-dogs hurt us anymore!!! FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS!!! Take a stand!!! Make things better!!! Now, let me let you know, I also have a posting on this website of the wrongs that Wal-Mart did to a person named, Todd... I am very Bible-strong and present myself as such. These wicked Wal-Mart attorneys swarm around me everywhere I go on this site trying to discredit me and cause harm to my postings and replies... Do not listen to them... You can either listen to my advice or blow it off... That is your God given right! But I would not let these monsters get away with it... I have expressed to Todd concerning his case to take it all the way, force them to make things right... force them in court to make policies that will protect the rights of the people! You can do that to in your case. PS: If you are on a military base... REPORT this to your legal department and file a claim... also send a copy of the claim to the Base Commander... They will investigate... Our military people need to know that our children are at risk shopping at this store, where they will not help you if you are in trouble. Lastly, I wish to say a prayer for your child and your family, I am very happy your child is safe... Praise God, thank You, Jesus! Amen!

For those that may have the same thing happen. Even tow drivers and locksmiths have trouble these days. Cars have electric locks that are easily damaged and if the slim-jim should trigger the air bag in the door, the child may suffocate from the powder that's expelled when it deploys.

I understand your frustration. I am a retired police officer, and I have responded many times to situations such as you went through. In fact my wife accidently locked our infant daughter in her car years ago, fortunatly it was not in the heat of summer. One thing you may not know...police officers used to carry devices which could be used to unlock car doors. It was a long piece of metal that could be slid down between the window glass and door that would contact the locking linkage and unlock the door. I have used them many times. However, several years ago, our department, as well as most all over the country, disallowed the use of the devices, as it is very easy to damage the locking mechanism by using the device. And, quite a few citizens in distress actually sued the police dept. for damages inflicted by police in response to their locking themselves out. Even if Walmart HAD called 911, chances are the only way your baby could have been rescued would be to break a window. A locksmith could have been called to avoid the breakage, but I would imagine it would have taken a good 30 minutes or longer for response. Of course, your baby would not have survived that long. Here is what I do. I don't use a metal box, cause you are right, auto thieves know to look for those. I tape a spare key on a portion of the underside of the vehicle, on the frame out of normal view with duct tape. I learned my lesson the hard way, although not as traumatic as yours. I locked my keys in my police car in Birmingham (175 miles from my city) and BPD would not assist me, even though I was a Captain. I finaly found an off duty officer who had a tool, otherwise I would have had to break a window, also. This is submitted not in critisism, but just advice. I know first hand that this situation happens many times an hour, all over the world. You are not a bad parent. Things happen. We just need to plan ahead for the unexpected. Hope this helps. Robert Ozark, AL. ( you are right, there is no "Pony" in ALabama)

Your child is ok that is what is important. Pay to have the window replaced and move on. Fighting Ford over it will cost you a lot of time, money and stress and probably not be worth it in the end.

Just would like to comment to both Jason and Steve. To Jason first. Please do not worry about having offended me. :) You did no such thing. You simply offered your advice and things to look into, that I simply and honestly hadn't really thought about before. (Dealing with the locks). I was very happy with your advice. That is what's great about sites like this. It gives people a chance to say "HEY YOU! THINK ABOUT IT!" lol. You can't come on here and expect everyone to be happy with your "report" or to agree. But most people will usually give you some good ideas to look at that you may have simply overlooked. ALWAYS appreciated. If everyone just agreed with you all the time, we'd never learn about our mistakes, and hopefully avoid them next time. That's how we learn. :) Now to Steve. To answer some of your comment. I would like to state (as I have previously) that I in no way hold Walmart responsible for my vehicle locking up. That would just be silly. Could you imagine some employee standing behind one of the other cars, watching me like a troll, and when I close the door, holds up a universal door locker, and locks it on me, snickers and runs like hell. LOL.. sorry, had to relay the funny image I had in my mind as I was saying that I don't hold them responsible. I know it was not their fault for that. I just wish they had responded to my "cry for help" with something like "ma'am, you need to relax, we'll call the peramedics for you. Please go wait outside for them". Now about them being liable. Even for calling 911? I was not aware of this. Now, about panic being #1 killer, you are so right on. That is the one BIIIIIIIG lesson I learned. As a mother, and looking at the sweet face of my infant, and not being able to get to her, made me lose my mind. I realize that things could have gone a bit smoother if I had kept my cool a bit better. That is something to really watch for. I never really thought about how hard that is (never been in a situation like this before, thank my lucky stars, never again hopefully) But if there is another time, I really need to breathe through it and give myself a good mental slap in the face, and yell in my mind to calm down! Thank you for pointing that out though, some people are not aware of that idea, and they need to be. It's SO easy to panic, and get frightened thinking of the worst, but instead you need to breathe, and think about how to come up with a solution. About the insurance, I will definately look into that! Because my husband was concerned about premium going up, and was thinking that it would be more of a pain in the long run, but it never hurts to actually look into it. If nothing else, we were just going to pay out of pocket. About the tool to break glass.. Yes, the lady that was with me that day, when all was said and done, was telling me about this. I guess you can get it at pretty much any hardware store, or auto zone type place? I am looking into that, and also the magnetic box. I want to make sure to be fully prepared for any emergency that I may encounter. I don't want to be in this situation ever again. :) Thank you all again. Take care.

Rita, You wrote: am NOT taking this to court, and will not make a big fuss to Walmart about payment of my window. I am not an opportunist, and am not going to make a huge deal of this. It is simply something that I am bringing up to them, and if nothing else, I would like to see them just offer words of advice to their employees about ways of dealing with an emergency either in the store, or in the lot. If someone was having a heart attack, what would they do? You can't break a window to fix that problem. :) I understand, and would never expect, for them to train their employees beyond their jobs. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Wal-Mart is in no way responsible for you locking your child in your car, or for the broken window. Is this really that hard to understand? And, it has nothing to do with training employees. I know for a fact Wal-Mart employees are instructed NOT to get involved for liability reasons, as do most other big companies. This is a sue happy world and they just don't want anymore lawsuits than they already get. I still have never been to any Wal-Mart that did not have a pay phone. Maybe you ought to bring this up. That would be constructive. Or maybe the implementation of a 911 hotline/emergency phone. Now that would be constructive. Panic is the #1 killer in any emergency situation. You really should train yourself to be more aware of your suroundings and to pay attention to detail. This will help you in your everyday life. Again, I'm glad your child is OK, and please understand that although my advice is sometimes harsh, it is not intended to offend or upset you. It is intended to make you learn from your mistake, and not do it again. FYI...Most good insurance companies offer a zero deductible on glass and it only costs a few dollars more than your rate with a deductible. This might be a good idea. Also, there is a tool police and fire/paramedics use that is like a pen and is tension loaded. When you place it against the window and click the top like you would a pen, it shatters your window.

I'm really glad you didn't take any of my alternative views as to the cause of your problem as bad or cynical criticism. Only constructive criticism meant to get you to think. After I submitted, I was worried you might read me the wrong way. I was only trying to get you to look into ALL possible reasons the locks locked on you, not just to blame it on a malfunction. Still glad everything turned out o.k. in the end.

I wanted to make a couple more things clear, for people are seeming to have a hard time with the terrible way I type. :) To the person that mentioned that I did not mention asking for someone to call in my original post, but then did later, I would just like to clarify that I DID ask for them to call for help, and they refused. I'm sorry I did not mention this in the original post (about asking them to "call"). It did not mean that it didn't happen, it's that I wrote the original post the night of the occurance. At around 4 am I believe. Talk about adrenaline still rushing, and exhausted. I wasn't thinking to clearly. If I had written it when I was more awake, and calmed down, I would have made this clear from the beginning. I'm sorry about that confusion. Now, the one I would like to direct this portion at is to Peter of Pony, AL. (No such place by the way) I really don't appreciate the comment that you left, I felt it very unnecessary. First off I would like to say that you already made "your point". No reason to leave any more (unless something legitimate was left out). But your second post was not what I would call "constructive". I would also like to point out that I really don't need advice from someone that has their own "rip off reports" that is upset, because he can't understand why Walmart is charging him for walking out the main doors with an unpaid for generator! Then on top of that more "reports" about being ripped off by a stripper, and another for a cashier that refused to sell you wine and lobster with your foodstamps! Excuse me sir, but I think your slightly past the point of incompitant judgement. But to answer your comments, yes, my child's safety comes first, I am not MORE concerned with getting Walmart to pay for my window. That was a rediculous coumment to make. Next, to why I didn't call from the payphone out front when it would have been more convenient and quick. Sir, there is NO payphone out front, and I did look. I may have been panicky, but I am not dumb. That is the first thing I glanced around for. Just so no one decides to jump in on how I never mentioned this detail before, I would just like to set it straight now, that I'm sorry, but to me it was not a big deal to mention before. I guess you could say that I would assume that people would realize, that if there was a phone outside, I would have used it, so there must not have been a phone. My fault for my assumptions. Sorry. There was no phone, nothing I could do there. So please take care of your own business before commenting on my parenting skills. You are a fraud sir. Now, to David, I would like to thank you for your constructive advice, and I really appreciate it. About the magnetic box for under the tire well. I have thought about this, and think it is a splendid idea. But if you do end up reading this, I would like your opinion on this, I was talking with a friend about it earlier today actually. He thinks it's a bad idea, because "if someone wanted to steal your van, where do you think the first thing would be that they would look for? The magnetic box". I can see his point, but do not really think it would be a problem at the same time. If it was well concealed. If anyone has anything to say about this, please feel free. It will be either this option, or just having a spare key that I would wear around on a necklace type chain when I go out. I want to do what will be the easiest. The only thing I worry about with the key on a chain, is that I am scared of ever forgetting it. You know? Because, well, things happen. That's why I like the idea of the magnetic box. It is always there. I will end this now, but also would like to say to everyone, (because this really seems to be eating at peoples' emotions), I am NOT taking this to court, and will not make a big fuss to Walmart about payment of my window. I am not an opportunist, and am not going to make a huge deal of this. It is simply something that I am bringing up to them, and if nothing else, I would like to see them just offer words of advice to their employees about ways of dealing with an emergency either in the store, or in the lot. If someone was having a heart attack, what would they do? You can't break a window to fix that problem. :) I understand, and would never expect, for them to train their employees beyond their jobs. They are not locksmiths, or perimedics or anything else, than just store workers. But it would be nice to have employees there, that could say, ok, in this emergency I need to call the proper authorities. Plain and simple. Also about the comment that asked me what I expected the cashier to do, and how they don't have outside lines at their registers. I do understand this, and knew this when it was all happening. But I would expect them to at least understand that I am frightened, and direct me to customer service where they do have phones. She didn't say anything except, "sorry I can't help you". I just think it's their "obligation" to help in a situation that is on their property. If nothing else, just a moral obligation. If I were at someone's home, and this had happened, and I asked them to please call for help, wouldn't they. Again, thank you everyone. Much appreciated.

To the poster who brought up the mom charged with child endangerment for locking her kid in the car...well, that has happened many times, and in those instances it was because the adult FORGOT there was a baby in the car, and left the baby there for hours. This woman obviously realized right away the baby was locked in the car and took steps to try to get the baby out. It's completely irrelevant the case of endangerment. It's apples and oranges. On calling 911 from cell phones: I don't know about other states but here in California if you call 911 from a cell phone it automatically goes to the highway patrol, then it has to be dispatched from the CHP to your local police. Not the quickest way to get help. I have on several occasions had to call 911 from my place of employment. If someone comes in frantically yelling to call for help, in every case we got on the phone right away. While one employee is placing the call, another employee can ask the frantic person about the details of the situation, which can be relayed via employee #1 to the 911 dispatcher. The business, and the employee, are not at risk by dialing 911. Obviously there were enough witnesses to state that YES a CUSTOMER requested the call to be made. Let's not nit-pick the wording used. Call for help is call for help. She didn't ask them to call for pizza. Jeez people, it is about helping our fellow citizens. It doesn't matter if it was a preventable situation; doesn't matter that WalMart is not responsible for the situation; doesn't matter if you or anyone else thinks that the mom handled the situation in the best manner or not...WHO CARES??? I don't understand how anyone can justify not helping a mother who has had their child's safety jeopardized and needing immediate help. This is what is wrong with the world today. Everyone wants to look the other way, mind their own business and not be possibly held liable. What happened to the days when we helped our fellow humans? Are you all the same type who would not perform CPR on someone for fear of being sued? Much safer to watch someone die I guess. Sad.

i understand you was upset and Scared! but you should have stayed with your Van to monitor the condition of your child. someone always have a cell and would have called (911) if they see a woman in Panic Mode. Walmart was not in the wrong and they could not help you,only thing walmart could have done was call 911 upon your request (SAD BUT TRUE) Adviced here. i always keep my keys in my pocket no matter what! so if one of my kids gets locked inside i can use my remote to my alarm to unlock the doors. use a hide-a-key it is a MAGNETIC HIDE A KEY BOX. you can stash this under your wheel well and no body will know it is there. they are like 2$ or 3$ at your local hardware store or auto parts sotre. i also do this. when my kids where babies i loaded up all the gorecys and i always left the driver side door open where it did not latch, and if it did close and the doors locked i had my hatch back open, plus i always had my keys in my pocket..

I find it interesting that now this ordeal is over, the mother seems more interested in pursuing compensation for her mistake from Ford than she is in devising a plan that would prevent such a mistake from happening again. One would think that going through such a life-threatening ordeal would warrant some thought and planning as to what one might do in the future to both PREVENT such a mistake as well as the actions one should take if such an instance were to occur again. One would think that a woman's infant would be of utmost priority ... NOT making excuses over why a careless mistake happened and placing blame on others.

Rita, i'm thankful that everything worked out with your baby, however you might have her checked, if you didn't already, for residual heat trauma. Anyway from the looks of some of these comments, there are some ignorant, cold and heartless people out there, either that or they have some affilliation with the wal-mart you complained about. Just wait untill one of them or theirs has a heart attack or some other problem in the parkinglot late one night, and see if they won't expect some immediate help. I believe that some states DO require citizens assistance when a life threatening emergency is inevitable, I don't know if this is the case in your state. However what can you expect from wal-mart employees? most of them hate the world (my own bad experiences with wal-mart) As for Ford taking any responsibility, good luck. People have been dieing in Fords, due to manufacture defects, for years and very few suits against them have ever panned out. The Lord was with your baby that day and everything appears to be alright, but like I said earlier, get her checked out if you have not already. Good Luck and God Bless.

Dear Rita: I am glad that little Rita is fine and survived her ordeal. Just a couple of notes for you... I have locked myself out of my Dodge van by closing the side door and it locking all the doors. I have never repeated the incident, because I am now extrememly careful about it. However, this leads me to suspect that the doors locking on you was a normal operation. I bet if you read the owner's manual, you will find something about it. It's probably a "safety" feature. In your follow ups, you claim you asked Wal-Mart to call for help. However, in your initial text, you claim you asked for help... you did not mention asking for them to CALL for help. In fact, in your initial text, you paint a picture of yourself being very irrational. I am not trying to be critical of you because I have been in situations where I have been separated from a small child and it is quite easy to panic. I will be quite frank with you. My initial reaction to a child locked in a car for 60 seconds, even on a hot day, would probably not be to call the fire department and destroy the vehicle within 60 seconds - it would be to calmly figure a way into the car with the least amount of time and/or damage. I may be totally wrong... but that was my initial take. You probably didn't communicate "life threatening situation within 60 seconds" to these people. You probably communicated "woman freaking out" and they didn't know how to deal with you. If my child was dying within 60 seconds in a locked car... I wouldn't be asking permission to take something to break the window. I would take what I needed and let the security boys follow me out to the car. As for your claim that Wal-Mart's delay caused you to have to break your window, you stated in your initial text that the child would suffocate within 2 minutes under those conditions. I don't care if the fire department shared a parking lot with Wal-Mart - it would have taken them more than 2 minutes to get to you. You would have broken the window under the best of circumstances. The bottom line is that it will take a few hundred dollars to replace your window. That is a small price to pay for the life of your child and the mistake that YOU made. I don't think badly of you for making this mistake... but I would think badly of you for trying to make someone else pay for it.

Dear Rita: I am glad that little Rita is fine and survived her ordeal. Just a couple of notes for you... I have locked myself out of my Dodge van by closing the side door and it locking all the doors. I have never repeated the incident, because I am now extrememly careful about it. However, this leads me to suspect that the doors locking on you was a normal operation. I bet if you read the owner's manual, you will find something about it. It's probably a "safety" feature. In your follow ups, you claim you asked Wal-Mart to call for help. However, in your initial text, you claim you asked for help... you did not mention asking for them to CALL for help. In fact, in your initial text, you paint a picture of yourself being very irrational. I am not trying to be critical of you because I have been in situations where I have been separated from a small child and it is quite easy to panic. I will be quite frank with you. My initial reaction to a child locked in a car for 60 seconds, even on a hot day, would probably not be to call the fire department and destroy the vehicle within 60 seconds - it would be to calmly figure a way into the car with the least amount of time and/or damage. I may be totally wrong... but that was my initial take. You probably didn't communicate "life threatening situation within 60 seconds" to these people. You probably communicated "woman freaking out" and they didn't know how to deal with you. If my child was dying within 60 seconds in a locked car... I wouldn't be asking permission to take something to break the window. I would take what I needed and let the security boys follow me out to the car. As for your claim that Wal-Mart's delay caused you to have to break your window, you stated in your initial text that the child would suffocate within 2 minutes under those conditions. I don't care if the fire department shared a parking lot with Wal-Mart - it would have taken them more than 2 minutes to get to you. You would have broken the window under the best of circumstances. The bottom line is that it will take a few hundred dollars to replace your window. That is a small price to pay for the life of your child and the mistake that YOU made. I don't think badly of you for making this mistake... but I would think badly of you for trying to make someone else pay for it.

Dear Rita: I am glad that little Rita is fine and survived her ordeal. Just a couple of notes for you... I have locked myself out of my Dodge van by closing the side door and it locking all the doors. I have never repeated the incident, because I am now extrememly careful about it. However, this leads me to suspect that the doors locking on you was a normal operation. I bet if you read the owner's manual, you will find something about it. It's probably a "safety" feature. In your follow ups, you claim you asked Wal-Mart to call for help. However, in your initial text, you claim you asked for help... you did not mention asking for them to CALL for help. In fact, in your initial text, you paint a picture of yourself being very irrational. I am not trying to be critical of you because I have been in situations where I have been separated from a small child and it is quite easy to panic. I will be quite frank with you. My initial reaction to a child locked in a car for 60 seconds, even on a hot day, would probably not be to call the fire department and destroy the vehicle within 60 seconds - it would be to calmly figure a way into the car with the least amount of time and/or damage. I may be totally wrong... but that was my initial take. You probably didn't communicate "life threatening situation within 60 seconds" to these people. You probably communicated "woman freaking out" and they didn't know how to deal with you. If my child was dying within 60 seconds in a locked car... I wouldn't be asking permission to take something to break the window. I would take what I needed and let the security boys follow me out to the car. As for your claim that Wal-Mart's delay caused you to have to break your window, you stated in your initial text that the child would suffocate within 2 minutes under those conditions. I don't care if the fire department shared a parking lot with Wal-Mart - it would have taken them more than 2 minutes to get to you. You would have broken the window under the best of circumstances. The bottom line is that it will take a few hundred dollars to replace your window. That is a small price to pay for the life of your child and the mistake that YOU made. I don't think badly of you for making this mistake... but I would think badly of you for trying to make someone else pay for it.

Dear Rita: I am glad that little Rita is fine and survived her ordeal. Just a couple of notes for you... I have locked myself out of my Dodge van by closing the side door and it locking all the doors. I have never repeated the incident, because I am now extrememly careful about it. However, this leads me to suspect that the doors locking on you was a normal operation. I bet if you read the owner's manual, you will find something about it. It's probably a "safety" feature. In your follow ups, you claim you asked Wal-Mart to call for help. However, in your initial text, you claim you asked for help... you did not mention asking for them to CALL for help. In fact, in your initial text, you paint a picture of yourself being very irrational. I am not trying to be critical of you because I have been in situations where I have been separated from a small child and it is quite easy to panic. I will be quite frank with you. My initial reaction to a child locked in a car for 60 seconds, even on a hot day, would probably not be to call the fire department and destroy the vehicle within 60 seconds - it would be to calmly figure a way into the car with the least amount of time and/or damage. I may be totally wrong... but that was my initial take. You probably didn't communicate "life threatening situation within 60 seconds" to these people. You probably communicated "woman freaking out" and they didn't know how to deal with you. If my child was dying within 60 seconds in a locked car... I wouldn't be asking permission to take something to break the window. I would take what I needed and let the security boys follow me out to the car. As for your claim that Wal-Mart's delay caused you to have to break your window, you stated in your initial text that the child would suffocate within 2 minutes under those conditions. I don't care if the fire department shared a parking lot with Wal-Mart - it would have taken them more than 2 minutes to get to you. You would have broken the window under the best of circumstances. The bottom line is that it will take a few hundred dollars to replace your window. That is a small price to pay for the life of your child and the mistake that YOU made. I don't think badly of you for making this mistake... but I would think badly of you for trying to make someone else pay for it.

Wow.. Jason, you had some serious critic to the situation, and I greatly appreciate it. I'm glad you mentioned some of the scenerios that you brought up. This is all stuff that I will have to look into. I do have keyless remote on my key chain, so I am going to experiment with it tomorrow now. But nothing else in my purse to push against it (and it was away from the bags), but I'm still going to check into it. Luckily yes, I have serveral witnesses, that were wonderful and gave me name and numbers. I also did have a police officer come out. He did not take a report, because they only will do that if there was an accident or criminal activity, which neither of those fit my category. But he did talk with me, and one of my witnesses that was there from beginning to end. He did see the van parked still in the same spot (with all the glass still behind the van in the spot I was in), and I did get his name. I also did take pictures of the van in the spot. So, we'll just see where it goes from here. The best I can do is try, and hope for the best. :) Thanks everyone!

Question I'm just curious ... HOW do you think that a Walmart cashier could have helped you call 911? It's not like they have telephones with outside lines at the cash registers. Wouldn't it have been smarter and more convenient to call 911 yourself from a pay phone located next to the store? I understand that your mistake happened on Walmart property, but I do not understand how you feel that Walmart has any responsibility in running to your aid when there are better, faster options available.

Proving that the locks are defective and forcing Ford to replace/repair them will be impossible unless you can find info already out there that this kind of problem has happened before with your model of vehicle or unless you can make the vehicle repeat the accidental locking action again. Ford will require absolute, unrefutable proof that your locks malfucntioned THAT DAY and that you didn't just accidentally and without noticing bump the lock button on the door with your arm, baby or packages while you were putting all of your belongings into your car. You can't prove it, so they won't believe it. If you closed the door and THEN saw with your own eyes that the locks engaged AFTER the doors were closed, there could be a simpler explanation. Is you vehicle equipped with keyless entry? If the key fob was in your purse, something may have shifted in your purse and pressed against the lock button on the fob. I've accidentally had my panic button and lock button pressed while my fob was in my pocket. It's not a defect, it just happens. There's also the extremely, extremely unlikely chance of someone else in the lot locking the doors on their car at that time and their remote's frequency matched your lock's frequency, causing the locks to engage. It COULD happen, but it would be a freak thing. Again, this is only if you have keyless entry. There's no way Ford will replace the window, either. There was nothing wrong with it and the locks didn't cause it to break. The locks CAUSED you to want to break it, but they didn't actually break it. The gentleman who stopped and helped you actually broke it. Was a police report filed to record that the window was broken in the parking lot that day? Were photos taken? Are there witnesses you can contact? Do you have the name of the gentleman who helped you so he could testify that it was he that broke the window at your behest to save your baby from potentially dieing? Ford would claim there is no proof the window was broken then and there and not at some later date and therefore the window would be unrelated to the alleged lock malfunction. You can't just say,"Hey, I THINK your product MIGHT HAVE messed up, I can't prove it and no harm occured, but I want you to fix it". They'll hang up the phone on you or laugh you out of the garage. In any event, if it was a legit problem that you can prove, you could probably get a Ford dealership to fix the problem, but I'd bet you'd have to pay for the repairs unless the vehicle is under warranty. At the most, you just have a defective Ford that needs repair. That's it. Sorry.

Thank you for your sympathy. I will tell you that I am going to get a magnetic box immediately! Such a sad experience to have to learn that it is necessary to have a back up. But lesson learned and my baby girl is safe. :) And yes, you're right "pain and suffering" is a terrible thing to sue over. I will say, that I agree with that only under certain circumstances. Like I have a friend of a friend that when he was a child, his father was killed, because the phone company he worked for sent him out to a job, on a very rainy day, in a vehicle that was known for having bad breaks (bearly working I mean by that) and he couldn't stop his truck in time before someone hit him. It flipped his truck and he was killed instantly. The only thing that TRUELY made this the company's fault, was it was supposed to be fixed weeks before, but it wasn't, due to laziness. Also, the man was not aware of the malfunction in the brakes, and was not told before he got into the truck. That was later admitted by the company. So that kind of a scenerio I can agree with "pain and suffering" being compensated to the family, but ya.. under my situation NO WAY! I felt like I was giving people the impression that I was trying to go that route, and I'm glad someone saw that I wasn't. (Now I know I have made that clear through my other posts) I just want to figure out what's up with my locks, and get my window fixed. Hopefully in the future, all stores will keep an "emergency kit" with things in it for common accidents like this. I have run into SO many people that have the "I locked my kid in the car before on accident and had to break out my window too" scenerio. So I don't feel alone. :) But never again, I will be prepared more now. Thanks for your response, and anyone else's is always appreciated. Take care.

I totally understand, Rita: If the lock malfunctioned, the very LEAST that Ford should do is fix the lock...and thank their lucky stars that you're not the litigious type! "Pain & suffering," forget it! It's a lesson learned on your part, and should be repaired on their part. Common sense!

Rita, I SO sympathize with you, I really do! Sometimes these things just happen and there's a first time for everything. What happened afterwards, well, I think that generally people are just SO %@$&ing stupid these days with NO INITIATIVE WHATSOEVER. Unfortunately, I honestly don't think you can sue people for stupidity - but I have SO wished that you can many, many times! If a person is running around frantically asking someone to please help because a baby's locked in a van, I would expect that a person's first response would be to call 911...I mean, everyone & their brother has a cell phone these days! THEN run outside with a heavy object to break the window anyway. If NOT ONE PERSON - especially the store personnal - had the brains to do that, what a sorry, sorry state this world is in. I can just imagine those store personnel: "Duh! What should I do, boss? I have no brain of my own!" Thank God everything turned out OK for you. I don't think you can sue them, but I'm sure there are several news depts. that would love to tell your story. At least get the story out, if only to say, "Hey people! Get some brains!" And just so there's never a second time, keep an extra key in a magnetic thing under the car!

I would like some advice for what I have done today. After having time to cool off, and think things out more clearly, I contacted the Ford Company, about my situation. Because as I have said before, I never blamed Walmart for my doors locking. This could have happened anywhere and at any time. Because this was due to a malfunction in my lock system in my van, I have contacted them via email, explained the situation of what had happened, and have asked that they contact me back for possible compensation for the lock malfunction to get fixed, and for the broken back window. Now, again to make myself clear (I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea, and throwing harsh words at me for it), by compensation, I am not talking about money compansation, but just for them to fix the vehicle itself. I am not out for anybody to give me money due to "emotional or mental distress". I am fine, and luckily my bundle of joy made it out without any serious consequences. She did not have to be hospitalized for any problems due to the heat. I of course have learned a hard lesson from this incidence about having a back up plan for this situation if it were to ever happen again. Life, it's a learning lesson in itself, is it not? :) So I have contacted them first, due to the fact that it WAS their malfunction. I will see what they will work with me on with this, and only use walmart as a back up for help if need be (because I still do feel that they should have called for help to the proper authorities when I first had asked them to, but instead they refused, and were taking the situation lightly). I would like to hear what people think of this solution. I am trying very hard to be rational and thoughtful in my actions. Please understand this. I appreciate any feedback, positive or negative (however you feel), but PLEASE, I do ask that you think hard before posting, as I had gotten some feedback that was unnecessary at the start (putting words in my mouth that I was blaming Walmart for my own ignorant actions), which I never did, and that can be seen in my original post. I never BLAMED them, and I want to still make sure people are aware of this. I only blame them for refusing to dial a simple number for me when I requested. Thank you everyone!

I would like some advice for what I have done today. After having time to cool off, and think things out more clearly, I contacted the Ford Company, about my situation. Because as I have said before, I never blamed Walmart for my doors locking. This could have happened anywhere and at any time. Because this was due to a malfunction in my lock system in my van, I have contacted them via email, explained the situation of what had happened, and have asked that they contact me back for possible compensation for the lock malfunction to get fixed, and for the broken back window. Now, again to make myself clear (I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea, and throwing harsh words at me for it), by compensation, I am not talking about money compansation, but just for them to fix the vehicle itself. I am not out for anybody to give me money due to "emotional or mental distress". I am fine, and luckily my bundle of joy made it out without any serious consequences. She did not have to be hospitalized for any problems due to the heat. I of course have learned a hard lesson from this incidence about having a back up plan for this situation if it were to ever happen again. Life, it's a learning lesson in itself, is it not? :) So I have contacted them first, due to the fact that it WAS their malfunction. I will see what they will work with me on with this, and only use walmart as a back up for help if need be (because I still do feel that they should have called for help to the proper authorities when I first had asked them to, but instead they refused, and were taking the situation lightly). I would like to hear what people think of this solution. I am trying very hard to be rational and thoughtful in my actions. Please understand this. I appreciate any feedback, positive or negative (however you feel), but PLEASE, I do ask that you think hard before posting, as I had gotten some feedback that was unnecessary at the start (putting words in my mouth that I was blaming Walmart for my own ignorant actions), which I never did, and that can be seen in my original post. I never BLAMED them, and I want to still make sure people are aware of this. I only blame them for refusing to dial a simple number for me when I requested. Thank you everyone!

I would like some advice for what I have done today. After having time to cool off, and think things out more clearly, I contacted the Ford Company, about my situation. Because as I have said before, I never blamed Walmart for my doors locking. This could have happened anywhere and at any time. Because this was due to a malfunction in my lock system in my van, I have contacted them via email, explained the situation of what had happened, and have asked that they contact me back for possible compensation for the lock malfunction to get fixed, and for the broken back window. Now, again to make myself clear (I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea, and throwing harsh words at me for it), by compensation, I am not talking about money compansation, but just for them to fix the vehicle itself. I am not out for anybody to give me money due to "emotional or mental distress". I am fine, and luckily my bundle of joy made it out without any serious consequences. She did not have to be hospitalized for any problems due to the heat. I of course have learned a hard lesson from this incidence about having a back up plan for this situation if it were to ever happen again. Life, it's a learning lesson in itself, is it not? :) So I have contacted them first, due to the fact that it WAS their malfunction. I will see what they will work with me on with this, and only use walmart as a back up for help if need be (because I still do feel that they should have called for help to the proper authorities when I first had asked them to, but instead they refused, and were taking the situation lightly). I would like to hear what people think of this solution. I am trying very hard to be rational and thoughtful in my actions. Please understand this. I appreciate any feedback, positive or negative (however you feel), but PLEASE, I do ask that you think hard before posting, as I had gotten some feedback that was unnecessary at the start (putting words in my mouth that I was blaming Walmart for my own ignorant actions), which I never did, and that can be seen in my original post. I never BLAMED them, and I want to still make sure people are aware of this. I only blame them for refusing to dial a simple number for me when I requested. Thank you everyone!

I would like some advice for what I have done today. After having time to cool off, and think things out more clearly, I contacted the Ford Company, about my situation. Because as I have said before, I never blamed Walmart for my doors locking. This could have happened anywhere and at any time. Because this was due to a malfunction in my lock system in my van, I have contacted them via email, explained the situation of what had happened, and have asked that they contact me back for possible compensation for the lock malfunction to get fixed, and for the broken back window. Now, again to make myself clear (I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea, and throwing harsh words at me for it), by compensation, I am not talking about money compansation, but just for them to fix the vehicle itself. I am not out for anybody to give me money due to "emotional or mental distress". I am fine, and luckily my bundle of joy made it out without any serious consequences. She did not have to be hospitalized for any problems due to the heat. I of course have learned a hard lesson from this incidence about having a back up plan for this situation if it were to ever happen again. Life, it's a learning lesson in itself, is it not? :) So I have contacted them first, due to the fact that it WAS their malfunction. I will see what they will work with me on with this, and only use walmart as a back up for help if need be (because I still do feel that they should have called for help to the proper authorities when I first had asked them to, but instead they refused, and were taking the situation lightly). I would like to hear what people think of this solution. I am trying very hard to be rational and thoughtful in my actions. Please understand this. I appreciate any feedback, positive or negative (however you feel), but PLEASE, I do ask that you think hard before posting, as I had gotten some feedback that was unnecessary at the start (putting words in my mouth that I was blaming Walmart for my own ignorant actions), which I never did, and that can be seen in my original post. I never BLAMED them, and I want to still make sure people are aware of this. I only blame them for refusing to dial a simple number for me when I requested. Thank you everyone!

Hi, thank you for your suggestions and comments. I think I may have confused some people. There was no one called to assist in getting my daughter out. No ambulance, fire department workers, or police. I also think I may have made some confusion about whether I asked anyone to call for help or not. I did ask the employees (the last two I confronted for help)to "please call for help". They refused to call for help, though I verbally requested that they call. Also, there was nothing outside to break through my window, so in order to do so, I had to go inside and ask for something hard enough to break a window. I was refused the use of anything inside. I was not panicky initially, though did unfortunately become so. I became more and more panicky the more people were ignoring my request for help. It didn't get completely panicky until the very end. By that time I was leaving the store and trying for resources outside. The reason I have for them helping me fix my window is because if they had called for help as I first was requesting, it is VERY possible I would not have had to break out my window. I would have had the police there in time (or whoever would have been sent out to help). At which point I would have maybe only had a little damage to one of my doors (from the Jimmy that probably would have been used). Which is not nearly as bad as the smashed window. Another thing that I would like to talk about really quick is about the comments left about who locked her in the van to begin with, and that I am trying to not take responsibility for my own actions. First off, I want to say that I never said it was Walmarts fault for my child being locked in. I never said that once, and I plead with everyone to please read that very carefully before putting that in my mouth. It was never said. Actually I said that I was aware that most stores are not ready to deal with this type of emergency, I just didn't understand what was so hard about someone saying "please help, please call for help, I need something hard to break my window out", and giving me something to break it out, OR picking up the phone to call for help. This requires no training, no equiptment, just common sense. Now about "who locked her in the van?" This is something I also feel was not understood, so I want to clearify. The van's locks malfunctioned. This is not a normal occurance, it is not supposed to do this, it locked up when it wasn't supposed to. So I want to make it clear that I do not blame ANYONE for this occurance, just something that happened. Also pursuades me to put a hidden box securely underneath with a spare key. But I never did blame Walmart for my van locking up. That would be extreamly rediculous. Why would I blame the store for that? I am only blaming them for refusing to call for help when I clearly asked for them to call, and if nothing else, allow me to take something out that I could use to break my window. I will leave it at this, and thank you all for your feedback! I will try to help clear up a situation, if I feel that I am being unclear, by people's responses. But I do appreciate all feedback, as it gives me a good idea of both sides. Thank you again!

Rita, I know your child was in a very dangerous situation, but who put her there? You or Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart Employees are not allowed to provide that kind of assistance, as it is a legal liability. Likewise, Wal-Mart has no legal requirement to provide you assistance. You were in panic mode which was the most dangerous thing you could do. It is important to train yourself to stay calm and rational in any emergency. Almost everyone carries a cell phone, and there are payphones at the front entrance of every Wal-Mart I have ever been too. As a woman, you should never have all of your belongings in your purse. You should always keep your cell phone if you have one ON YOU, as well as your car keys and some money. This is basic survival and personal protection. You should have stayed at your vehicle and got help from passing cars who may have had a cell phone and/or something to break a window. I think you could have punched out a window on the side door, as it does not take that much. Thats what I would have done in your situation. Who ares about some cuts or broken knuckles when it is the life of your child at stake. Your panic is what nearly killed your child, not Wal-Mart. I always start my vehicle, unlock all doors and start the A/C before ever unloading groceries, etc. from my cart into the car. It is always a good idea with children to put a window down a few inches as they sometimes play with the locks. It appears to me that you were just not paying attention, and want to blame someone else for it. You should train yourself to pay attention to detail. It can mean the difference between life and death, as you found out. I am amazed at how many people have absolutely no knowledge of thier surroundings at any given time. I learned these things mostly in my 10+ years in the military, but also as a cab driver in Las Vegas for 7 years. Even then, I used to keep my driver's window down 2-3" at all times. You would be suprised how many passengers would lock out the driver accidentally. Better luck to you next time. Be safe.

Rita, I know your child was in a very dangerous situation, but who put her there? You or Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart Employees are not allowed to provide that kind of assistance, as it is a legal liability. Likewise, Wal-Mart has no legal requirement to provide you assistance. You were in panic mode which was the most dangerous thing you could do. It is important to train yourself to stay calm and rational in any emergency. Almost everyone carries a cell phone, and there are payphones at the front entrance of every Wal-Mart I have ever been too. As a woman, you should never have all of your belongings in your purse. You should always keep your cell phone if you have one ON YOU, as well as your car keys and some money. This is basic survival and personal protection. You should have stayed at your vehicle and got help from passing cars who may have had a cell phone and/or something to break a window. I think you could have punched out a window on the side door, as it does not take that much. Thats what I would have done in your situation. Who ares about some cuts or broken knuckles when it is the life of your child at stake. Your panic is what nearly killed your child, not Wal-Mart. I always start my vehicle, unlock all doors and start the A/C before ever unloading groceries, etc. from my cart into the car. It is always a good idea with children to put a window down a few inches as they sometimes play with the locks. It appears to me that you were just not paying attention, and want to blame someone else for it. You should train yourself to pay attention to detail. It can mean the difference between life and death, as you found out. I am amazed at how many people have absolutely no knowledge of thier surroundings at any given time. I learned these things mostly in my 10+ years in the military, but also as a cab driver in Las Vegas for 7 years. Even then, I used to keep my driver's window down 2-3" at all times. You would be suprised how many passengers would lock out the driver accidentally. Better luck to you next time. Be safe.

Rita, I know your child was in a very dangerous situation, but who put her there? You or Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart Employees are not allowed to provide that kind of assistance, as it is a legal liability. Likewise, Wal-Mart has no legal requirement to provide you assistance. You were in panic mode which was the most dangerous thing you could do. It is important to train yourself to stay calm and rational in any emergency. Almost everyone carries a cell phone, and there are payphones at the front entrance of every Wal-Mart I have ever been too. As a woman, you should never have all of your belongings in your purse. You should always keep your cell phone if you have one ON YOU, as well as your car keys and some money. This is basic survival and personal protection. You should have stayed at your vehicle and got help from passing cars who may have had a cell phone and/or something to break a window. I think you could have punched out a window on the side door, as it does not take that much. Thats what I would have done in your situation. Who ares about some cuts or broken knuckles when it is the life of your child at stake. Your panic is what nearly killed your child, not Wal-Mart. I always start my vehicle, unlock all doors and start the A/C before ever unloading groceries, etc. from my cart into the car. It is always a good idea with children to put a window down a few inches as they sometimes play with the locks. It appears to me that you were just not paying attention, and want to blame someone else for it. You should train yourself to pay attention to detail. It can mean the difference between life and death, as you found out. I am amazed at how many people have absolutely no knowledge of thier surroundings at any given time. I learned these things mostly in my 10+ years in the military, but also as a cab driver in Las Vegas for 7 years. Even then, I used to keep my driver's window down 2-3" at all times. You would be suprised how many passengers would lock out the driver accidentally. Better luck to you next time. Be safe.

Rita, I know your child was in a very dangerous situation, but who put her there? You or Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart Employees are not allowed to provide that kind of assistance, as it is a legal liability. Likewise, Wal-Mart has no legal requirement to provide you assistance. You were in panic mode which was the most dangerous thing you could do. It is important to train yourself to stay calm and rational in any emergency. Almost everyone carries a cell phone, and there are payphones at the front entrance of every Wal-Mart I have ever been too. As a woman, you should never have all of your belongings in your purse. You should always keep your cell phone if you have one ON YOU, as well as your car keys and some money. This is basic survival and personal protection. You should have stayed at your vehicle and got help from passing cars who may have had a cell phone and/or something to break a window. I think you could have punched out a window on the side door, as it does not take that much. Thats what I would have done in your situation. Who ares about some cuts or broken knuckles when it is the life of your child at stake. Your panic is what nearly killed your child, not Wal-Mart. I always start my vehicle, unlock all doors and start the A/C before ever unloading groceries, etc. from my cart into the car. It is always a good idea with children to put a window down a few inches as they sometimes play with the locks. It appears to me that you were just not paying attention, and want to blame someone else for it. You should train yourself to pay attention to detail. It can mean the difference between life and death, as you found out. I am amazed at how many people have absolutely no knowledge of thier surroundings at any given time. I learned these things mostly in my 10+ years in the military, but also as a cab driver in Las Vegas for 7 years. Even then, I used to keep my driver's window down 2-3" at all times. You would be suprised how many passengers would lock out the driver accidentally. Better luck to you next time. Be safe.

Though I understand your frustration, I feel compelled to point out several things. You accidentally locked your child in the car. It happens. I saw a lady do that a while back, she was later charged with child-endangerment. You freaked out, which is natural. You asked for help, which made someone (who knows who) dial 9-1-1 for pd/rescue. Did you ask Walmart to call PD/rescue? Getting a lawywer and suing walmart seems ridiculous to me. What would you sue them for? Not breaking your window? Poor response time? For Not acting like EMS or PD, (which would get them sued for sure.)? Keep in mind, their job is to sell things. If you want rescue/pd, ask for them. They've heard too many say (when EMS services bill for it: hey, i didn't ask for EMS? they called i didn't.) If you do get a lawyer and decide to sue, keep this in mind. When all's said and done, the question will be: So Who locked the child in the car? Sure, your honor, the woman made a mistake, it happens. But why should Walmart be held more accountable then the person that caused it?

Didn't YOU call 911? Or, ask someone to?