EVEN SAINTS stumble, but true believers are sometimes the last to forgive.
Consumer Reports has long been a secular saint for consumers. The magazine, which tests and compares products, has remained fiercely independent and accepts no advertising. That has left the organization free to call ’em as it sees ’em.
Many Americans rely on the magazine’s ratings when making buying decisions on everything from salsa and washing machines to new and used cars. Without worrying about stepping on corporate toes, Consumer Reports identifies the best products and the best products for the money.
Part of the organization’s mission has always been consumer safety — blowing the whistle on products that could actually injure or kill people who used them.
The recent report on child safety seats, which found that most of the seats tested “failed disastrously” in simulated crashes, seemed to be just the latest in a long line of reports that called public attention to potential dangers. Consumer Reports named names and urged a federal recall of several models.
But last week, Consumer Reports announced that it was withdrawing the report on car seats because its alarm may have been based on flawed testing. The magazine said it will re-test the seats and issue a corrected report.
Consumer Reports was right to withdraw the report and right to make the withdrawal loud and public. But while the magazine gets points for honesty and openness, the public may not be quick to forgive the mistake.
Among its devotees, Consumer Reports has achieved a reputation for near infallibility. Anything that chips away at that reputation can also chip away at subscriptions. Other magazines depend on advertising to pay the bills, but Consumer Reports has only its subscribers. Money from subscriptions pays for the products that are tested, the labs they are tested in and the salaries of the technicians who design and conduct the tests.
Anything that threatens circulation figures can put the whole enterprise at risk.
The magazine has never been infallible, but it has always been a useful tool for consumers beset by hype and facing confusing decisions.
The loss of Consumer Reports would be a pity.