I am most unhappy with the entire company and the policies that are governing the employees. I am the daughter of a 81 year old gentleman that went to New Castle Community hearing for the first ever hearing appointment to gather information on hearing aids and start the hearing aid education and process. The staff was quite friendly and the place seemed professional from the appearance. Liz Stewart is the Audiologist onsite one day a week and seemed to be very sincere at testing my dad's hearing and getting information on what he would want in a hearing aid. However, this is where my positive initial opinion stops. Liz is a super "salesperson" and right away got the hearing aids she thought my dad would like and just automatically started placing and adjusting them in his ears. At that stage we were not looking to buy, it was our very first stop and we honestly were looking for information and a starting place. Liz was very insistent my dad put the hearing aids in and than very persuasive that he should wear them home and try them out. She went over the "return policy being thirty days" and so she thought he should take them and try them. She was just sure he would love them and never want to return them, but if he did assured us we had 30 days. We made a follow up appointment for three weeks which was within the return time. We kept the follow-up appointment and my dad and I explained at the appointment we wanted to return them since one especially itched his ear and we knew we needed to get them returned before the next week to avoid any problems. Liz said we should not worry about the return policy of 30 days and gave my dad a little bottle of solution to prevent the itch and begged/insisted he give them another two weeks. She said she would handle the return policy and it would not be a problem if we were a week over. Well, we went back in two weeks and explained he still did not like the hearing aids, was not wearing them and we wanted to return them. Surprise, surprise we were still NOT allowed to return them that day. We were given a song and dance about the Boss being out of town and she (Liz) could not take them without talking with her boss. She assured me her boss should be back by Thursday (all of our New Castle appointments are on Tuesdays because that is the only day they are open in NC) and once her boss was back in town she would get the "return number required and call me when I could drop them off the following week and get the necessary return information". That Thursday came and went without a call, and so the following Tuesday (10/9) I went by the office at the time we normally had scheduled appointments to drop the hearing aids off and completely finish the return process. Instead, I found the only receptionist and to find out Liz had left the NC office for the day. The receptionist explained if she accepted the hearing aids in a return she would be fired, but assured me she would take my dad's file with her to Indy to get the return settled. The next day while having my car serviced I got a call/voicemail from a lady named :Fawn" I believe. Since I was at a car repair I could not easily write the info down. She left a message, and I made a return call within minutes asking for the Owner Valerie Dempsey. I was put on hold and then "accidentally" disconnected as I waited. I did not identify myself in my return call to them, but within seconds of the disconnect I got another incoming call from the same number and instead of the Owner, Ms. Dempsey it was Fawn again. She was wanting to workout financing as if to suggest we could not pay for the hearing aids and that was the reason for the return. I found it really strange and honestly annoying that the return call came from an employee when I had very specifically asked for the owner. I had a lengthy conversation with Fawn and explained we could have afforded the hearing aids cash, so that was not the issue. I also explained to her that was another thing that was a bit uncomfortable about the transaction that first day when Liz started filling out a contract before anything was decided and it was a done deal before my dad could say no. She had set him up for a zero interest financing I think in a year or so payoff, but I thought it was a bit pushy and in my dad's younger healthier days he would have said no and never have signed. I was trying not to be the over bearing pushy daughter so I let him negotiate with her, but now wish I had not been so PC. I told Fawn (again, I hope that was her name) that the one ear itched him, and now at this point he had a bad taste for hearing aids in general because of the discomfort to him and the very unprofessional way the attempted return is being handled. I tried to be polite and firm that we wanted the return done ASAP and told her I wanted it in writing that all contracts and responsibility was completed and we would have all ties with Community Hearing severed. She was very apologetic and said she read more
