Amazing story with APRIA while CPAP is in service (Part II)

[pcisuser]

Hi,

This posting is to summarize what I have found so far from my previous poste with link below.
viewtopic.php?t=30590&highlight=

I have sent a complaint email to the following APRIA email (Thanks to RipVW of you for recommending it) and I am glad things had been resolved quickly.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complain ... 12335.html

Here is what have happened and please read on for some important infos.

After submitting the complaint email on Saturday, I received a phone call from the El Segundo APRIA branch manager (Ronda) and she offered to quickly resolve my problem. I then made an appointment to see them on the same day (Monday 3PM).
(1) When I walked into the office, the technician still seems to be not aware of my exact problems (even after having talked with Ronda over the phone in the morning). However, he (Pete) was aware of my complaint and immediately review my problems. He gave me the missing the power module.
(2) I asked why the blower unit I received last Saturday didn't come with any ID tag/paper and how could I be sure it's not someone else's machine. He then checked his computer record and verified that the serial number match one of the log record he had. I indicated that the lack of an ID tag attached to my unit is probably the cause why they have misplaced/mishandled my unit.
(3) Here is something that could be interrested to some of you:
While there to pick up the power module, I casually mentioned that my Resporonic Mseries Pro with C-Flex heater unit (the heater + housing for the blower) has been leaking a little bit a month after I got it new. I have verified that it is not leaking from the container and so it must have leaked somewhere outside the water tank (photo of my unit shown at following link)
https://www.cpap.com/viewImage.php?Bund ... Series.jpg
The technician then asked me when did I buy it. I said it's about 1.5 year ago but your record show have it. He inspected it and said "oh, it's an old design". He immediately grasped another heater unit at the corner (a lot of them) and replaced my heater unit without saying why. I didn't want to ask anything to irritate him because I didn't want to take the risk of loosing the new replacement.

My observation and thought:

(1) This is purely my observation: the old heater unit design (a fairly new design on the market for less than 2 years) could have a design fkaw at the water-tank outlet seals (squared thin silicon seal). This has caused the heater-water vapor to leak from there and trapped in the heater housing. This is also why the water-usage had been low (I used to consume 1/2 of the tank per night when it was new and laterly 1/3 and less of the tank) because the bad seal can interrupt the air flow /vacuum out in/out from the tank. The new heater unit I have has the same external housing design except the TANK OUTLET DESIGN and SEALS. The new tank uses two ROUND & LONG silicon seals (like the coupling used in PVC plumbing) that tightly connect the tank outlets to the unit body. You can feel this when you insert and remove the tank. I have used it for two nights now and the water consumption is about 3/4 tank per night and there is not ONE SINGLE DROP of water leak.

It does NOT make sense to redesign the water tank outlets so quickly after the Mseris is released unless there has been a leakage problem. I remebered there used to be a CPAP tecnician who posted here and complained about the Mseries design. He was bashed baddly by some users here. One of the issues he raised was "the Mseries leaks". I have been experienced it all these times and now the new tank redesign should confirm this. If you have an Mseries with two SQUARED outlets and thin silicon seals, your tank is really prompt to be leaked. I recommend that you contact the dealer and complained about the leak if it happens. My APRIA technician did not say anything but I am sure they are are aware of the issues. The abundant numbers of Mseries heaters (platform onto which the blower unit is attached to) in the office should speak for that.

Finally, I am happy with the QUICK response from APRIA on my complaint email. If you have a problem and can't resolve with the APRIA staff, contacting to the central satisfaction team will help. At least, I think APRIA is trying to improve the customer satisfaction at the higher level management. I have noticed several banners in APRIA local office (never seen them before) that is something like this "Strike to provide good customer satisfaction and a check mark is placed at the highest number: 5.".

It seems to me that APRIA must have had some very bad complaints and the corporation is now showing these banners. I am not sure if they are meant to show off their services (I don't see that, at least at this moment) or are there to remind their staff of the need to do so. At least, if there is a problem, the customer satisfaction team will "STRIKE" to do so and in this case, they did. Unfortunately, I still haven't heard any "apology" from APRIA technician when I was there. Yeah, there is a problem and we will fix that due to your complaint. That is it.

My ratings:
(1) APRIA Corporate custome satisfaction response mechanism in place: Yes, effective.
(2) APRIA problems appear to be more of a local/branch problem: Yes
(3) APRIA has the resource to provide most of the things you need: Yes, parts are stocked readily and available when needed.
(4) APRIA staff technical training: Low
(5) APRIA can resolve your problem quickly if proper level of management is involved: Yes (but must contact the branch manager and higher)

[dllfo]

I have probably been the biggest defender of Apria on this Forum, but I got tired of the same old complaints from people not willing to do what you did. I would like to thank you for (1) actually doing it, (2) telling this forum it really works. I have been advocating people do what you did for a couple of years.

If you know how to approach the subject, you can get excellent service from Apria. I have the cell phone numbers for the local branch manager and the branch manager I worked with in Denver.

I document every phone call. Date, time, person I talked to. I have 16 pages of notes and THEY KNOW IT. They don't even gripe at me anymore, they just get what I need. At one point, I told corporate if they did not want the Medicare Contract, that was fine, I would call Medicare and start the complaint action. They have a contract to provide DME to us. If I have a prescription and my insurance pays for it, I should get the product in a timely manner.

If you have not already done it, ask the local manager who her "go to" person is. Every smart mgr has one or two people to "put out the fires".
Get that person's direct phone number and email address. AND ask the local manager if she would prefer to deal with your problems or would she prefer you go through corporate. She will give you her phone number and email address too. It really simplifies it.

Best wishes in your future battles.