• Time, Tuesday, November 10, 2009 10:40 AM

Yuppie parents who have been partial to Maclaren strollers are "having fits," Sean Gregory reports, over the way that company has handled the recall of models that have been implicated in amputations involving 12 children who got their fingers caught in a hinge.

Maclaren is offering free hinge covers, available through its website, as a remedy. But yesterday afternoon the site was besieged by traffic and it was difficult to get through. (Still is this morning, and the recall notice is not very apparent.) "We are working to address the issue," says Charlotte Addison, marketing manager for Maclaren USA. She says that the company intended to announce the recall today and was not ready for the volume generated when the Consumer Product Safety Commission released the information. (Consumers can also call 877-688-2326 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.)

Meanwhile, parent blogs are buzzing and strollers that had a reputation for dependability are now being seen as "the one that could cut kids' fingers off," Gregory writes. But despite some stumbles setting up Twitter accounts, its brand equity need not be irreparably tarnished, he suggests. One blogger wrote that she was "really pissed off" but "I'm not ready to break up with you, Maclaren." Gregory says it will all come down to "how many Maclaren parents will forgive and forget."

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