Piggybacking off another thread or lousy DME

[Hosehead4ever]

Just going to have a short rant about my DME...again.

He very clearly told us in the class not to fall for any gimmicks like hose covers, pillows, hose holders, etc. I'm finding on here (and judging from reviews on cpap.com) that a lot of people use and like these products. FWIW, my boyfriend and I are handy enough to make most of these things ourselves, but I'm still annoyed because I'm going to guess that he was trying to avoid us spending money anywhere else when we could spend it there on other things. That's just speculation, of course. Does anyone know if the RT's at Apria make a commission? He said no, but he really wanted me to buy certain products over others.

[xenablue]

I would have to ask that DME person if they use XPAP, and if they don't then they have no clue that for some of us those so-called "gimmicks" are what allow many to have a comfortable, meaningful night's sleep.

Cheers,
xena

[BlackSpinner]

Hose covers prevent rain out and cat punctures. My cat destroyed my previous hose while walking over it with all claws out to keep from slipping off it. She also liked to sit on it at night as I guess it was warmer then the surroundings. Now she leaves it alone.

[DennisG]

Does anyone know if the RT's at Apria make a commission? He said no, but he really wanted me to buy certain products over others.

I dont think they make a comission at Apria, but the techs are trained on which items are the high margin items for them and probably are given performance reviews based on towing the company line. Apria was my initial DME 5 years ago and proved to be a huge PITA, no real help, just excuses, delays and penny pinching. Sorry for the rant, they left a bad taste in my mouth...

I am sure there are some helpful people at Apria as they are a huge company, but I dont think that a "customer service" directive is being pushed down from the top.

Good luck
Dennis

[chunkyfrog]

Let him explain why some people are willing to drop a couple grand on a mattress.
Sleep is a third of your life--if you're lucky.
That bozo can probably sleep on gravel. Insensitive boob.
My guess, FWIW, some of these 'frills' are covered by insurance--and his job is to keep down costs.
Never underestimate the self-serving inclinations of HMO's/insurance companies.

[Janknitz]

My guess is the motivation has to do with the fact that Crapria generally doesn't carry those items (or the profit margin isn't worth the paperwork) and if you go looking for them online you're going to see how out of line Crapria's prices are and how you can get much better service from some online distributors. Crapria certainly doesn't want you to know all that!

Doesn't it seem that some DME's will do anything to guarantee your treatment FAILS???? They give out lousy machines, poorly fitted masks (or mask policies that discourage you from getting a mask you can actually sleep in), and ridiculous advice and then McDover says we should trust them?????