Apria: Dear Customer

OutaSync wrote:From all of the negative things that I have heard about Apria, I may have to switch to them. They sound so much better than my current DME.

Bev,

That's genuinely sad. Considering how you've battled to get good therapy, it would be nice if the help came from the people who claim to be in charge...

howkim wrote:Something tells me that I'm glad that it's too small for me to read.

ETA: Ahhhh. From the comment below, this looks like it's the same letter I posted about a week or so ago.

You're right. It does sound like the same one. Must be that slow-n-lazy N'Awlins lifestyle contributing to my getting my letter a week later!

I hate automated phone calls anyway. If I've been sitting with my Mom, I will have gotten to bed about two hours after they start telephoning, and ghod alone knows which part of my sleep they'll disrupt. Especially since, if I can't fumble the phone on fast enough for their computer, they'll hang up and then call back in ten minutes, thus disrupting me a second, or third, or fourth time.

WearyOne wrote:I do think it's funny, though, that it's almost the exact same letter.

Pam,

I think it's great that you get excellent service when you call your DME. That's the way business SHOULD work.

But I have to wonder: is there a book of "Letters for All Occasions" for DME secretaries?

Those similar form letters were probably written, and maybe even sent, by the company that programmed and installed the Voice Response Units that make the calls.

Hi Kira,

When I started Cpap in January, my DME used that identical program. A girl with a frail voice asked the questions. I don't have hearing problems, but I could only hear part of what she said.
The calls always came about 5 p.m. when I was preparing dinner. And the questions didn't fit my circumstances. When I was asked to be in a meeting with my DME owner, I voiced my opinion about her frail voice, calling when I was envolved with cooking, and that the questions didn't give me an option - I was supposed to say Yes - to something that hadn't happened.

The owner stopped the questions. He said his business didn't need negative publicity in times of economic meltdown.

Jan

SaltLakeJan wrote:When I started Cpap in January, my DME used that identical program. A girl with a frail voice asked the questions. I don't have hearing problems, but I could only hear part of what she said.

Seems funny they wouldn't at least have someone with a strong, clear voice do their recordings. There are plenty of people who don't have overt hearing issues, but a thin, reedy voice is just not good over the telephone. Especially if there happens to be any static on the line.

SaltLakeJan wrote:The calls always came about 5 p.m. when I was preparing dinner. And the questions didn't fit my circumstances. When I was asked to be in a meeting with my DME owner, I voiced my opinion about her frail voice, calling when I was envolved with cooking, and that the questions didn't give me an option - I was supposed to say Yes - to something that hadn't happened.

I dislike automated calls just on principle. If they "care" enough to want to know how I'm doing, they can get a real person on the line.

My other objection to the automated call business is that I have call-blocking on my phone. If whatever system they are using doesn't coordinate with with the anti-spam system on my phone, where I can simply hang up if I want after identifying the call, the system will hang up on them anyway, and then they will call back and call back, and call back.

And yeah, they always call while I'm in the middle of something, like making mayonnaise, which you can't just set aside.

SaltLakeJan wrote:The owner stopped the questions. He said his business didn't need negative publicity in times of economic meltdown.

Smart owner!

Kiralynx wrote: I love it! Considering they still haven't filled my order for a hose and filters from April.... guess the order wasn't big enough!

I'm in the same boat with my (non-Apria) DME. I agree with you that they probably don't want to fiddle with small orders, but I'd at least like to have a return phone call saying that that's what they're doing. I'd rather not list the name of my DME, located here in central Illinois, but they're owned by Rotech Healthcare Inc., out of Orlando, Florida. I am not impressed.

OCO

Just for the heckuvit, I called their sleep management center, and told them that I wished to be removed from the automated call system.

The very polite agent I spoke to took my name, and area code, and zipcode, confirmed my address and phone number, and said they would remove me from the automated list, but asked if it was acceptable for a live person to call.

I wonder if there are a fair number of people who do not appreciate the automated "We'll bug you whenever our computer gets around to it" message.

Kiralynx wrote:Just for the heckuvit, I called their sleep management center, and told them that I wished to be removed from the automated call system.

The very polite agent I spoke to took my name, and area code, and zipcode, confirmed my address and phone number, and said they would remove me from the automated list, but asked if it was acceptable for a live person to call.

I wonder if there are a fair number of people who do not appreciate the automated "We'll bug you whenever our computer gets around to it" message.

Hummmmm. I might just do that, too.

OutaSync wrote:From all of the negative things that I have heard about Apria, I may have to switch to them. They sound so much better than my current DME.

Bev

I recently did exactly that. Switched back to them. Now I am playing phone tag. They gave me the ext. of the person handling my account, but they never answer the line or call back. Frustrating not being able to talk to anybody!

WearyOne wrote:...I want are physicians and DME's that are responsive when I call them...

Agreed!

We shall see how this turns out.

howkim wrote:Hummmmm. I might just do that, too.

Be amusing if they got enough "opt-outs" to make the system unfeasible....

Maybe I'm weird or something. In my area (Dallas- Ft. Worth area) Apria has done this for awhile.

I got a message on my answering machine, that their computer called. They gave me a toll-free number to call back.

I did, and the automated system just asked a few yes/no questions, then they shipped me my filters, etc. I think it worked pretty well.

I can understand someone not liking it, but it suited me. I'm not home enough for a real person to catch. And they do provide a number to call for a real person if you have questions about your order.

sepool wrote:I can understand someone not liking it, but it suited me. I'm not home enough for a real person to catch. And they do provide a number to call for a real person if you have questions about your order.

Not weird at all. I can understand the "not home enough."

I guess it's a matter of preference. If the automated system works for you, then go for it. But for other people, like myself and Jan, such a system does not work.

For myself, I was glad to find that Apria did, at least, have an alternative.