Curious to hear if anyone else has had recent poor experiences with Minimed's customer service. I've been using them for years and they have always been spectacular. They have always addressed issues quickly, resolved problems, and made sure I had whatever I needed. I am hoping what I've experienced in the past few days is just a blip and not a downward trend.
I realized I was low on One Touch Ultra test strips when I read Minimed had come out with a new meter, the Bayour Countour USB Link (info available here - http://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/products/glucose-meters). My One Touch meter is a bit old and I decided it was time to make the switch.
I called Minimed. The nice customer service lady said no problem, we can send you one out right away. She gave me next-day shipping. The next day, a regular old Countour Link meter arrives from Minimed, not the USB one.
I call Minimed back and they tell me to call the next day because there is nothing they can do (it was evening time).
I call the next day. Speak with two people and both apologize for the mistake. They say that they will get the problem resolved. Someone calls me back eventually and says the issue is that they now need a physician's Rx to process through my insurance. Seems odd, because I didn't need an Rx for the first meter, but whatever. After some back and forth, my endo's office faxes them back the necessary signature. The last woman I spoke with told me not to worry, they would send out the meter today (Friday) next-day air, so I would have it on Saturday.
Now - important to note I went to endo today and had to get a new Rx for strips. The Minimed rep told me to go ahead and get the Countour NEXT strips filled at my pharmacy, as these were the ones I would need with the new meter. Ok. Great.
I call back today after my endo appointment to make sure the signed Rx had been received. This is where everything falls apart. First rep states that the Rx takes about 48 hours to process, so they wouldn't see anything in their system until Monday at the earliest. She seems confused and can't clearly answer my questions. But I finally deduce that this means I wouldn't be getting a meter until next week. She then proceeds to tell me that my insurance rejected it because I get my supplies through Liberty, not Minimed. After some back and forth about how I wasn't told this initially, I ask for a supervisor.
I get Joe on the phone. Joe explains that my only option is to pay out of pocket, but they still need a physician's prescription on file to send me a meter, and that faxed back Rx will still take 48 hours to process. I ask Joe why they didn't need an Rx for the meter they sent out earlier this week and he proceeds to tell me that they never sent out a new meter!! What?? I tell him the new meter is sitting right here on my desk. He says, "Well, it didn't come from us." Nevermind that I still have the shipping box (which says it came from Medtronic) AND the email UPS confirmation that says it came from Medtornic. I insist that Medtronic/Minimed sent the meter and he insists they didn't. Seriously??
Joe then replies that he really needs to get my credit card number if I want this meter. I tell him that I'm not giving him jack until he gets this issue resolved. Now I have my next supply of Bayour NEXT test strips waiting at CVS. If Medtronic can't resolve this problem before I go out of town next week, I have to call my endo's office back and have them redo the Rx for One Touch Ultra strips. And I'm sure that will cause some glitch in my insurance when CVS has to "back something out of the system." It always does.
Is there any wonder that my BG has been cruising in the low 200s for the past few hours? This is something so small and generally insignificant, but has set off a chain of events.
I am very disappointed in Minimed. Joe admitted that several mistakes were made with this order and he sort of apologized, but didn't offer any compensation or real method for rectifying the issue. His attitude was kinda like, "Oh well. Stinks to be you."
So, I am curious - has anyone else had recent issues with Minimed like this (i.e., uninformed customer service reps, bad service, etc)? I am hoping this is just a freak occurrence, I really am, because I love my pump. But customer service is a huge part of selecting an insulin pump manufacturer for me. They can make or break the experience.