I received my OmniPod starter kit on July 14th. I have been able to do nothing but stare at that box for nearly 3 months. I was finally contacted by a “trainer” almost a month ago who said that he would contact me within a few days and set up a time when we could meet to get me started. I was finally called back yesterday, a month later, by another “trainer” who didn’t seem sure of anything but set up a meeting with me tomorrow. Is this the kind of service that I should expect from Insulet in the future. When I first decided to get the OmniPod, 3 months ago, I started researching and read a lot of positive things about trainers and representatives who seemed to be willing to do almost anything for you. Why am I receiving such horrible service. I feel like Insulet couldn’t care less if I used the OmniPod. I love the idea of the pod and am willing to use it even if this is the kind of service that I will be receiving but is this what I should expect from them in the future?
I imagine there may be a bad service rep in any business (same with car sales, clothing sales, PC sales, etc). It is unfortunate b/c they make a bad name for the rest of the service/sales reps in the business.
Where do you live? It could be that there was a “change of hands” so to speak and either the small chance that there was territory re-shuffling or that someone quit/took-another-job and now someone new is stepping in. I really don’t know. Just speculating at this point.
Sorry to hear about the reps dropping the ball on you. Hopefully you’ll receive better continuity of service in the future. You could always follow up w/ a call to the customer service dept to report the issue w/ names of the reps, etc, to see what the issue might have been or at least help rectify the situation for future people.
I live in Fort Worth, TX. I understand that things can happen to hinder customer service and support. 3 months is a long time though for a company as large and well known in the diabetes community as Insulet is to just forget about a new customer. I will express my feelings with this “trainer” tomorrow and see where it goes. Still looking forward to starting my OmniPod though.
I hope for your sake that the answer is no but unfortunately I received the same kind of service you did and I got rid of the pod. Back on my traditional insulin pump with the cord and could not be happier. To me it is way more important to get a pleasant person on the phone taking me serious and being friendly than it is to not have a cord. Just me though and no attack meant on anyone. You have good and bad reps in all companies but unfortunately of all the people I dealt with at Insulet there was only 1 person that was friendly and those numbers for me just did not add up. Good luck to you.
Unfortunately a pump with a cord or tube just won’t work with my lifestyle. I am finally in a position in my life where the OmniPod should work for me. (keeping my fingers crossed) It is a little frustrating but I’m hoping for the best. Thank you.
When my wife started the omnipod there was a mix up as well. No one contacted her and she was slow to contact them. (they apologized for the mixup) However once she got going, she couldn’t be happier. Very few problems (3 bad pods out of 40) and phone support has been just fine! Stick with it, after you get the settings entered for basal and bolus, it all very simple.
I can honestly say I’ve had no problem with the service. I got my pod and was set up for training within a week. The rep came to my house to get me set up and even came back two weeks later to check-up on me. Very unfortunate though.
Thanks everyone. I am going to stick with it and hope that my experience with the OmniPod is a good one. I am looking forward to all of the positive things that I hear about regardless of everything that has happened so far.
Hi Jared,
I live in Denton and the rep that was here a year ago was very quick to contact me. However, all of my training came from a diabetic educator at Lewisville Hospital. Your endo should have an educator that he/she works with. Good luck! I am very happy with the pod. I waited 24+ years to get on a pump, because the tubed pumps would not work well in my lifestyle.
Hey Jared,
I’m in Little Elm and am coming up on my 1 year anniversary on the Pod. I’ve had excellent results and no complaints when dealing with Insulet’s customer service folks. I’ve only had 5 or 6 pods go bad and only a couple of occlusions. So no real complaints with the quality and reliability that some others seem to be having.
Do you see an Endo that also has an Certified Diabetes Educator / Dietician in their office? I’ve been going to Endocrine Associates, in Dallas, for the last 7 years, and they have a staff of 6 or 8 “CDE’s”. They were also my trainers on the pumps. I started with the Cozmo back in 2005 and then switched to the OmniPod last September. The ladies are extremely knowledgeable and supportive and are very good at analyzing the numbers and “dialing-in” the pump settings as well as helping with your diet. You might want to check with your Endo and see who they have on staff.
Also, feel free to come here and ask questions. Lot’s of years of experience with diabetes and pumping. Hope this has helped alleviate some of your concerns.
Take care and keep in touch.
Cheers,
KCO
I am thinking of getting the Omnipod and wonder what you mean by “bad” pod? I am very reluctant and worried to go on a pump (my son who is 9 and I are both looking into the pump). My older brother switch to a medtronics pump and loves it but I am not crazy about the tubing. Any info (especially about the ‘bad’ pump) would be appreciated.
Hi Jodil,
I had a “bad batch” of pods once. I had about 6 out of ten that just stopped working after I activated them. A couple of those never actually activated. Insulet replced them with no problems. They just wanted identifying numbers so that they could keep track of the problems. That really only happened that one time. I have had maybe 2 other failures in about 13 months. They basically will start an annoying continuous sound and when you look at the PDM it will tell you something like “insulin delivery stopped - change pod”. It isn’t a big deal…just an unexpected change. Despite these “issues” I love the pod and I think both of you will do wonderfully with it. Good luck.
So sorry you have had this trouble… we have had the opposite experience… love the trainer and the company… maybe it is just the reps in your area.
A couple of different problems. On one the cannula failed to insert, another couple had communication errors with the pdm and wouldn’t activate. I was able to withdraw the insulin from them and use it in a fresh pod.
Met with trainer this morning and he was great. I think he might have tried to explain what had happened but I wasn’t really listening. I was too excited to finally start. He really was great and told me to call or text him any time I need help. I’m not sure why I had such a horrible experience at first but I know things will be different from here on out. I am now an official OmniPod pumper.
KCO, yes, my endo does have a Certified Diabetes Educator / Dietician in the office. I have only actually seen the endo once when I first started going but I’ve seen Julie ever since and she is a Certified Diabetes Educator / Dietician. She wanted to start the training with me sooner but she’s having a baby which made that a little bit difficult. I will be seeing her next week and will ask her about the Dexcom 7 which I hope to start using very soon.
I am SO excited!!! Thank you everyone 
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!! 
Hope it is all good from here!
Hey Jared,
You’re welcome and congrats on getting things going. One thing that you might want to consider, if you’re not already, is getting in to see your Endo and CDE once a quarter until everything stabilizes. I know everyone’s insurance is different and that may factor in, but every three months I see my Endo first for labs and a checkup and then I see my CDE about two weeks later to go over results and make setting changes if needed.
Now I’m just awaiting the arrival of the new smaller pods and new PDM.
Have a terrific and safe holiday weekend!
Cheers,
KCO
Oh I’m so glad. I just saw this discussion and was disappointed at the way things have started. I’m glad it’s back on track! Good luck! Hopefully it only goes superbly from here!
i had been on the omnie pod for a year or two and hated it. At first it was nice with no tubeing and everything but my screen always cracked and would turn colors. This happend two or three times within a year. After the third time of the screen cracking the company said that the next time it breaks we would have to pay the whole thing
I haven’t read all of the other posts, but I was trained by my educator/dietician at my doctor’s office. They didn’t even send the started kit to my home, but to my doctor’s office. I have not had a trainer at all from Insulet sit down with me. I have had a contact via email from them.