Go Ahead and Complain

The other week I noticed nothing but customer service complaints filling my Facebook news feed. I was shocked and wondered if there was something in the wind.  It didn’t matter if someone was in a restaurant or dealing with their cell phone, they were having issues with horrific customer service. Sadly, this made me feel better when I began to have my own issues.

My son’s glucometer was having issues. It was eating batteries with astonishing speed. It had reached a point where he was no longer using it much to my dismay.  This is the meter that “talks” to his pump and gives me a true idea of his bg levels each week when we review things.

I called the customer support number and so began my run around. It appears, in a review of my situation later, that every crack that I could fall through I did! It was terribly frustrating but it also reminded me of a few things.

First is how important our pharmaceutical reps can be when we have problems.  After asking around and finding out that the service I was receiving was extremely unusual, I contacted my rep to see if she could be of any assistance.  She was horrified!  She apologized and was instantly looking for any and all help that she could get for me.  She did not stop until things were resolved.  I loved this lady before she became my son’s pump rep and now I truly love how she goes above and beyond for her customers.

Secondly was how those annoying spiels about how they are recording your conversations actually have a benefit to the customer. If you know exactly when you called and you feel that you were not treated properly, management can pull up the call and see what has happened.  In my case, I was treated fine, my issue just got lost in many transitions.  I have however received horrible service from a person on the phone with a different glucometer years ago.  The woman told me that the problem with my meter’s accuracy was related to me having dirty towels that my son was drying his hands on.  To say I was insulted was an understatement.  Later follow-up resolved that issue and the woman was re-educated.

Customer service is huge for those of us who’s lives, or children’s lives, depend on medical equipment.  Personally, I have met many people in the industry from all over North America.  They all genuinely want to help.  “Stuff” does happen.  Mistakes can be made but I have also learned that these same companies want to learn from their mistakes.  Let your reps know if you have issues.  They want to fix things for you. They want you to be healthy and satisfied with their products. That’s good for everyone.