S9 ResMed AutoSet II: Customer Service Truth!

The sad truth is that no supplier is legally bound to volunteer any of the information that many of us find germane.
The employers are not required to educate their salespeople about the products--(sales--not tech support)
The tech support folks are only told what they need to know to do whatever tasks they are allowed to do.
The word of the day is compartmentalization.
It certainly looks like a conspiracy, smells like, quacks like . . . etc.

The example everyone likes to use pertaining to an automobile is wrong. After having spent 10 years of my life working for GM, the automotive sector operators slight different than other companies. The calendar year and the automotive year do not match. New models start to roll off the line in late summer, therefore a car that is produced in August 2011 is the exact same model as a car made in April 2012. Plus, everyone knows what model year they are purchasing! You know that if you purchase a 2012 Camero, that car could have been produced anywhere from August 2011 to May 2012!

Could you imagine going into a dealer, deciding you wanted a 2012 Camero, and when you drive it home, you find out that it is a 2011 Camero! You then phone up the dealer and when you communicate your finding to him, he states that there were only minor changes to the car, I don't understand your concern?

The machine you purchased is the same exact model of what is on the market now, except for a minor update in the software. An update in software doesn't mean there was extra bells and whistles added to the machine.
Something very similar to that happened to me in 1992. I purchased a 1992 GMC pickup in August, and 8 days later, the 1993's were on the lot and the exact same truck (SLT) was $2000 cheaper! Do you think the dealership told me the new ones would be in the next week? NO! Do you think they discounted mine because the 1993's were $2000 cheaper? NO! They was doing the same thing your DME did, selling off the old stock! So you can say I bought a year old truck and paid $2000 dollars to much for it! I had never bought a new vehicle and had no idea when the new cars hit the market, but no one explained that to me! So, i had a truck that was within a week of being considered a year old, but, was sold to me as a new truck! (imagine that!) That year old truck not only lost value the day I drove it off the lot, but also lost value because it was now considered a year old. I went back and talked to the owner of the dealership, and was told exactly what I told you. It is up to the consumer to do their homework! He apologized, and said there was nothing he could do, since I had signed the paperwork and drove the truck off the lot.
Your only talking about $1500, I was talking $14,500. So what is the comparison between your deal and mine. We both had products that by law is considered new. We both signed the paperwork and walked out with our merchandise. We were both not informed of newer product that could be bought. In today's world of internet, you had the tools to do your homework. I didn't own a computer in 1992, let alone know anything about the internet.
Since you worked for GM, you should see how it all works, you build the cars and they set on storage lots until a dealership orders them. And you know that some of these cars can set out there on those lots for quite a while before being bought and delivered to the dealerships! It is still old stock, if you built a car in December and the consumer does not purchase it until July.

The point here is I was lead to believe that I was purchasing a new S9 AutoSet II. Not new, as in there are zero hours used on it( by definition, that would be a used machine) but new as in the latest and greatest (within reason!) Since I'm the one purchasing this machine, the DME should have communicated this information to me, and then let me decide if the current machine would meet my needs!

There are hundreds of examples out there to support this. From electronics, to sporting goods to food. All cases the customer is told either what model year or what calendar year the goods are! Then the choice is up to them!

Like was stated earlier, there is no S9 AutoSet II, there is only a S9 AutoSet. Do a search on the internet, the only link that will show up with a S9 AutoSet II is your post. Go to any electronics store or even Walmart for that matter, and if you see a TV on display, it does not mean it is the latest or greatest of that make and model. If they have it in stock, they don't tell you what the mfg. date is, they sell it to you. The only question they will usually ask is if you want an extended warranty with that. It may be last years model, but they won't tell you that, unless you specifically ask them. It could be the DME didn't even know that their was a firmware revision at the time they sold you the machine. (that is just my thought of a possibility) And if that is all they have in stock, (because that is what was shipped to them by ResMed) that is the only option they had to sell you. Since the machine comes to the DME in a sealed box, they would not really have a way of knowing what version of software is installed in the machine, until it is plugged in. Then, there is a good chance that they didn't even pay attention to what version of software flashed across the screen.

Finaly the point about the CSR not knowing how to reply to the question of the manufactue date is just toatlly wrong. If they don't know what to say, just tell the truth. Tell the customer you don't have that information. They may not be happy, but they will understand. However by telling the customer a bogus date is simply wrong! Good customer service companies know that this is not the right information to be communicating to your customers!

That was me that made that comment. I made that as a guess, possibility (meaning I don't know), like I said, no one will know an answer to that question for you. And when it comes to customer service these days! Really, are you kidding me! That is almost a thing of the past.

cdnduck wrote:Could you imagine going into a dealer, deciding you wanted a 2012 Camero, and when you drive it home, you find out that it is a 2011 Camero! You then phone up the dealer and when you communicate your finding to him, he states that there were only minor changes to the car, I don't understand your concern?

If I drove home thinking I purchased a 2012, but found I had purchased a 2011, I'd be yelling my head off. There is a several thousand dollar difference between buying a new 2011 and a new 2012. I know b/c I've purchased several cars that way.

However, that doesn't apply when buying a S9 ResMed AutoSet. In an ideal world, the person at the DME would have an answer to every question you have. Needless to say, this isn't a perfect world... especially when it comes to anything about sleep apnea. You have a new, unused machine with zero hours. The date it was manufactured had nothing to do with the price of the machine. (That's for another thread). In this case, it's the same machine whether actually produced late in 2011 or 2012. With all due respect, let this one go and put your efforts into sleeping well.