Five years ago, the folks at Advacare helped me fix up my wheelchair and the experience was stellar. I'm not sure what has happened since then, but my recent experience with this company left me wanting.
I am willing to admit that they seem to be in the process of reorganization, upgrading their system and replacing personnel. However, this does not excuse the lack of customer service.
From the beginning, I could tell things were different. They wanted me to get a "prescription" for wheelchair repairs from my doctor. (I did, even though I thought it was the dumbest thing I had heard.)
When I showed up to order the parts, they did not have the list I had sent them. The technician did his own evaluation of my chair and wrote down everything by hand, but could not give me a copy. They told me it would be a week or two before they heard from the insurance company and I left without knowing when I would hear from them.
Rather than phoning me, they sent me a letter telling me that my insurance company would not cover the cost of the repairs. The letter demanded payment in advance, before the parts could be ordered.
By the time I could afford the payment, I had misplaced the letter. Even though I had phoned them the day before to tell them I needed the balance and that I was coming in to pay, they could not find my order or a copy of the letter. As a result, they could not tell me how much I owed. We agreed on a down-payment of $200.
The next day, they called to tell me that I owed all the money up-front, but as a courtesy they would defer the rest until my chair was repaired.
Two weeks later, the parts came in and I made an appointment for the next day to get the repairs. When I showed up, there was no one to greet me. Everyone seemed to be at lunch. Three people walked by and asked me who I was waiting for and each one told me he would be by soon. When he finally showed up ten minutes later, he could not recall the appointment I made the day before. He wandered off "to check."
Another service guy finally came out to fix my chair. I transferred to a regular chair and he took my chair away. After several minutes, he returned to ask if I wanted the tubes ordered with the tires or the hard inserts that I currently had. I explained that I did not order inner tubes, I have never used them and there must be a mistake. He left to finish the repairs.
I had been told the repairs would take less than an hour. I was there over my lunch hour. An hour and a half later, the service guy returned with my chair. I paid the balance due (which, as near as I can figure, was a number they pulled out of thin air). The final invoice did not add up, and I suspect I was overcharged because of the tubes they ordered that I did not need.
I wish I could say this was the end of the tale, but when I returned to work, I realized that the service guy had not screwed in the new backing after replacing it, nor had he fastened the backing at the base with ties. Luckily, I had some screws and ties at home that worked in a pinch.
It may be another 5 years before I need repairs on my wheelchair. If so, I hope I can find another medical supply company to do the work. My latest experience with Advacare Medical will also be my last. read more
