Has Dexcom's customer service gone to heck? Or worse?

Type 1 and LADA
1

I’ve had my CGM for about 2 years now, and I love it. One part that I really enjoyed was the support I got from Dexcom. Technical questions were addressed promptly. Refills for sensors was relatively easy (on their end anyway). They even assigned me a helper - like a concierge - to help me wade through the process with my insurance company, etc.

I’m pretty sure this correlates with the rollout of G6, but since then, my experience with Dexcom has been remarkably different. For starters, every time you call customer service, that’s a half hour of your life you just turned in. The agents are still pleasant and generally helpful, but getting there is an interminable wait. I am hearing the Dexcom muzak in my dreams now.

I still have the G5 system, because I am not eligible for G6 until I rev up my last G5 transmitter. I needed a new box of sensors… in July. So it might have been late June that I made my call to Dexcom to get the process started. I had about four sensors left, so I figured I was okay. They needed a new Rx from the endo. No problem.

I got a notice from Dexcom a few days later that they were having trouble contacting my doctor. Okay. I gave it a few days, since I had plenty of time at that point and I knew my endo was busy. But after a couple of weeks (those two weeks are my fault), I started to worry. I called Dexcom, and they said that they faxed the Rx to my doc twice and did not hear from him. (I have my doubts, since my endo is usually quite responsive to these requests.) Anyway, I call the doctor’s office, and they say they did not get anything from Dexcom, but would reach out to them. (This part might be on them, but) I did not hear anything for the next couple of weeks. Now I’m stretching my sensor supply, and getting worried.

Sometime in August, Dexcom had actually replaced a sensor that they mistakenly asked me to switch out while trying to help with a pairing issue with a new iPhone. Thank goodness for this, because I ended up getting three weeks out of that sensor (a record for me)!

The wait dragged on. I asked, but at no point did anyone agree to get on a three-way call with my doctor’s office so we were all on the same page for once. After those initial e-mails about not hearing from my doctor’s office, feedback from Dexcom was non-existent. Anyway, after an e-mail to the rep who had helped me out in the past, and a couple more phone calls to Dexcom, I finally got notice that Dexcom had the Rx… and that they would be contacting me in 3-4 days to confirm my address.

WTF? I called them (spending another half-hour of my life) to confirm the same ol’ address I continue to have. I then asked if I can expedite the shipment. I could, as long as I paid for it. Fine. So I paid $30 for “next day Saturday shipping.” My call was made on Friday afternoon. I got my sensors the following Tuesday.

So all-in-all, after investing a considerable amount of time (and a little bit of money I shouldn’t have had to spend), I got my refill 2+ months after I started the refill process. As I’ve pointed out above, not all the delays were necessarily their fault, but I place the majority of the delay squarely on Dexcom.

A company acting like this has no business selling healthcare equipment. I really want the G6, but if this is what Dexcom has turned into…

2 Likes
2

Just went through the exact same bs with them to get g5 transmitters also… took about 2 months for them to get their act together and send them. Incredibly frustrating, and the opposite of their previous track record. It’s clear to me they’re having major problems.

After this I’ve lost all faith in them. I will not allow myself to depend on a product that I can’t depend on the company to provide.

3

I am just the opposite. I have only been with Dexcom for 6 months but have had no problems with refills and getting help from their customer service. sometimes the problem is with the doctors office for not responding to questions from Dexcom. My previous doctor was terrible but my current doctor’s office is great.

4

Report back after your nexts interaction with them…

5

I’ve been trying unsuccessfully since July to get a Dexcom 5 which the insurance will pay for. Finally got all the pieces of paperwork they needed to them at the end of August and they called me Monday to tell me that they are no longer approved to process claims for my insurance provider and that I was being transferred to US MED.

OK…I called them and they were like yeah we’re taking over from them. We need a new script from your doctor. I offered to send them the one I sent in to Dexcom and they said they couldn’t accept it because it has Dexcom’s name on it in 3pt font at the bottom and they’d send one to my doctor.

Of course the doctor’s office had no idea what I am talking about. I tried calling yesterday and couldn’t get through. I called again today and was punted around, then put on hold for 20 minutes, and then hung up on. I called back and was told it was almost 5pm. Yeah and your website says open til 6pm. Punted around again and sent to a voicemail.

Will have to rinse and repeat on Monday.

6

You might find this thread over on Reddit interesting. It was started by a disgruntled Dexcom employee and indicates, among many other things, that G6 calls get top priority: https://redd.it/9fps7b

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7

Similar to my story. Prepare yourself for a total jerk around that never ends. Really disappointing because they used to be so good and I just don’t understand what’s changed…

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8

At this point they’ve driven me into the arms of libre. I’m over them.

9

Hold times at Dexcom are bad throughout the day, every day. Earlier this year they would answer in a few moments. Now I can be on hold for 20-40 minutes…G6 seems to be problematic, causing lots of tech calls, and shipment delays are another sore spot which likely causes many patients to call to inquire “when are you going to process my order/shipment??” Sad.

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It’s not the hold times that are unacceptable to me, it’s the complete and total lack of resolution even after holding

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11

I got a email from Dexcom last Wednesday telling me it was time to reorder and to answer a few questions. Three days latter I received a shipping tracking number and received the supplies three days after shipping.
I guess I am lucky so far.

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12

US MED Round 2: Called at 5:30 and told that the CGM department closes at 5pm. Great, you might want to update your website. Was told I had to call back tomorrow to see if I can get the paperwork for the doctor but most likely they will only send it directly to her. I have a training class for the next 3 days, maybe during lunch I can call but if there’s a hold time it’s a no-go until Thursday afternoon.

I am now wondering if the Libre might be a work around with a MiaoMiao or similar device.

13

Yes!!!
People are quite rude now (used to be very nice) and often don’t resolve problems. It’s maddening. They also told me had to get ther receiver (which was very expensive) in order to get the g6. I told them I only use the app on the phone, but said they wouldn’t send to me without it. Such a waste of money. It just sits in box collecting dust

14

I got good news from Dexcom today: they will send me more than the customary 150 strips per month (I’m a Medicare patient), because I got an Rx for more. Hold time to get the customer service rep was about 15 minutes, btw.

15

I haven’t noticed any of the service techs being rude but they are quick to say “let’s just send you a new sensor. By the way they are on back order”. Depending on who I talk to they can be helpful. One of the last times I called the service tech apologized for the long wait (which was around 20 minutes) and told me they were trying to hire 25 people a day to answer all the calls. But since then hold times vary from 20-45 minutes. I have never been on hold for 2 hours.

Normally when I am on hold I leave it on speaker phone so I can do other things. When the on hold music starts my daughter will say something like “Daddy likes that music he is listening to it again!”. Then one night when watching Bates Motel on Netflix I heard that on-hold music in a scene on the show and thought “Man, I can’t escape that music!”

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16

LOL! I despise the “music” when on hold. There are other companies using the same “music”. Sometimes I mute the phone when on hold but that can be iffy if I forget to take it off mute, when the tech picks up the call and I begin speaking. Of course, they won’t hear anything and will think the caller is gone. that’s when I frantically bring the screen back on and hit Unmute.

17

I have given up on Dexcom. After the back and forth of trying to get a CGM and then being punted to US Med (which is a disaster itself) and then several frustrating calls to my insurance today which said it was not covered under DME, I figured out that the Freestyle Libre is covered under my separate Rx plan at $25 copays. I think I am going to pursue that route for the sake of expediency and not beating my head against the proverbial wall.

18

Don’t give up. It’s an amazing device and you will be so happy with the G6. Good luck and keep at it. Things will calm down soon as they catch up with demand…

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19

The insurance will only cover a G5, not the G6. And depending on who you ask it’s not covered at all (they will cover a pump however). Dexcom punted me to US Med and US Med spoke to me once and basically said I had to start the whole process over again but won’t send me the paperwork for the doctor to complete-only send it directly to the doctor who has yet to receive it despite numerous requests to US Med. The insurance industry isn’t helpful at all as we are all caught up in its web.

20

My main gripe is the not-transparent pricing for self-funded pirchases. Like everybody else, they make it hard to uncover potential discounts from list price. Just today I got two vastly different price quotes from Dexcom for G6 supplies. I asked about cash pricing for receiver + sensors + transmitters, trying to find out if there is a discount when buying 6-12 months worth of sensors. I saved a lot of money buying G5 supplies that way two years ago. Over the phone I was given list prices, no discount available. Via email I was quoted a decent discount. Notably I was on hold for 40 minutes before I was answered. Email response came back in about 2 hours.