Dme reviews- good and bad

[fuentejps]

dme is the normal gimp term. dme it will remain to be.

healthaid of ohio continues to rip ppl off and price gouge. ran into several more ppl whom have had issues w/ them. their vp courtney baird is a snake. tilite you guys need to investigate them and can them as a dealer. they arent making you look good at all

[spasticXfantastic]

i went through ATG rehab for my quickie... i wasn't impressed with them. the sales person who was "helping" us didn't seem like he knew what he was doing. he ordered all these things i didn't need. i felt like he was trying to fill a quota or something. he insisted that i have e-motion wheels... i told him i didn't want them, but he ordered them with my chair anyways. he kept saying "oh, these are the new thing, you'll love these, everyone loves them, i've never had anyone tell me they don't like them!" guess what. i don't like them. i've never even used them outside of the house because they're too heavy to put in the car.
because he ordered them, my insurance denied regular wheels... i had to pay out-of-pocket for the other wheels i have.
they also ordered all these random things that i just ended up taking off the chair... like, i said i used crutches sometimes so they stuck a crutch holder on the back... i told him i was in school, so they ordered a backpack (!?)

we also deal with apria on a monthly basis for tube feeding things... they've been really good about getting the stuff we need (they usually only deal with mic-key buttons/extentions but they special order AMT buttons and extensions for us) and i've never had a problem with not getting enough supplies.
we used to have coram and they were awful. the only good part about them was that the nurse who came to the house once a week basically kicked ass.
they were terrible about getting supplies out on time and many times we would get a shipment of supplies where some stuff was missing, or the wrong size or brand had been sent.

[kidd icarus]

im a new member, 1st post. howdy y'all!

we have ATG Rehab in Watsonville, California, which is 30 minutes from my house in Salinas. ATG used to be Rehab Specialists.

1. Rehab Specialists in mountain view - i went there for repairs a few times in 2004-2005 and this young guy in a Raiders shirt said, after 45 minutes of trying, he couldnt fix my chair. then a middle aged vietnamese dude said "hold on lemme see it" and 5 minutes later it was fixed. i wish i knew what happened to that vietnamese guy. sure could use him now. anyway, i had billing issues with them - and they made a lot of mistakes.
2. Rehab Specialists (RS) - atrocious "service." Don in Watsonville pushed me to buy my 2nd chair, a lower end Ti, as opposed to the latest one. heck, it was an even older model than my 2003 chair i was using at that time. i didnt understand the insurance thing. My insurance would have paid Rehab Specialists the same amount. Why didnt i just get the better, lighter, more comfortable chair? I didnt know better. and Don kept pleading with me "cmon, it's the same thing anyway. same performance, just a later model. you dont need it." i was young and didnt like dealing with money issues related to SCI. Don took advantage of me. so i said "yes" ... and 2 years later here i am with a bulkier chair and i have to wait another 3 years before my insurance will cover a new one.
3. Rehab Specialists became ATG. ATG is nicer, but their workers dont know too much. they are a far cry from that vietnamese fellow back in 2004.

what ive learned is to stay away from any dme until i get to the 5 year mark to get a new chair. then ill come back to this thread and see who's the best of the best.

[LindaT]

ATG rehab in Denver has left us twisting in the winds of MN.

[Covathalis]

For those in Portland OR. United Seating and Mobility is really good. Especially Robert Houston.

[TiLite]

As always - Good feed back.

Thanks.

[cyfskid]

Laraine Tippins -customer services agent -Melrose kiwi concept chairs

I am only talking about her.

When in with my psyio to get fitted for my new stallion she DOESN'T NOT like oads and made some nonise comments about them like "you need a degree to use them" "they are indoor chairs only"

I love the chair but she needs to do some major upskilling when talking about oads

[betheny]

Not an indictment, just a wtf and a rant about this corrupt system...

I called Tilite as I needed a 0 degree camber bar, 14". The guy (I believe a wheeler himself, not sure) said they don't sell direct to the consumer. I groaned and said "C'mon, man, don't make me deal w/ those dreadful DME ppl. PLEASE!!??"

I swear it seemed I'd insulted him. He told me all the ways that DME types are the greatest, how DME's are facilitators and problem solvers. The things he told me were totally opposite to my experience.

Then he said "Or you could order from Sportaid, or one of those internet places."

Aha! thinks I.

My chair is kind of old school. Only 1 site even offered parts for the EVO. But I ordered it and life went on.

My part arrived-a 13" camber bar. Since my ass is still 14", I called to complain. I also requested the correct part be sent, not asap, more like RFN. Service lady objects. She wants the 13" bar back before even mailing the proper one. "For all we know you could be USING that bar, right this second!"

"Ma'am, if I could figure out how to use a 13" camber bar on a 14" chair, you're right, I would be. But right now I am being needlessly hindered by a chair that I can't use to maximum advantage, due to your company shipping an improperly sized part-not what I ordered.

She FINALLY relented and voila! I can wheel into every room, closet, laundry room and bathroom in my house for the 1st time! I finally have the skinny, fits-anywhere chair of my dreams!

(Except I need my Free Wheel installed and some tires swapped. Details, details...)

Had I gone through a DME here in OKC that ordeal would have cost more (middleman) taken longer (they act like attorneys, like a phone call is a billable hour) probably have been impossible anyway, since some search was required to locate the part. The internet company might have been more responsive if I'd been a DME, more likely the DME would have accepted their demand that the part be received before a new one would be shipped.

For some reason, there is always a 4 day delay between my part arriving at the DME and my being notified. Swapping out the camber tubes would have taken days and cost hundreds, I'm sure of that.

Please, manufacturers, can't you just sell to us? We are big boys and girls. We can diagnose such chair illnesses
as Too-Much-Camber, or even the dreaded Shirt-Caught-In-Spokes. How much harm can we do ourselves, really, if we incorrectly install the clothing guard?

I didn't use names here, you know who you are. But maybe you could look at our side of the fence here. The DME system, as it stands, is beneficial to somebody. However we, the consumers, are not un-intelligent. We have concluded that the system is not benefiting us. We could help you re-organize, to make yourselves into retailers with satisfied customers. If you are happy being a useless milstone, an obstacle, one more pain in our collective disabled asses, so be it. We're used to obstacles.

To kidd icarus, in re to this:

"...Why didnt i just get the better, lighter, more comfortable chair? I didnt know better. and Don kept pleading with me "cmon, it's the same thing anyway. same performance, just a later model. you dont need it." i was young and didnt like dealing with money issues related to SCI. Don took advantage of me. so i said "yes" ... and 2 years later here i am with a bulkier chair and i have to wait another 3 years before my insurance will cover a new one..."

I would bet $200 that your DME had that chair around, because it was ordered wrong and the person for whom it was intended refused to accept it. If they can't unload those mistakes they have to eat them. They always dump their mistakes on the rookies. I think my first chair was one of those.

If you can spare $700, watch the w/chairs on ebay. Tilite always has chairs on there. Nothing wrong w/ them but they are custom chairs. A mistake on the order form means an expensive piece of titanium looking for a home. Don't settle for the wrong chair for 3 more yrs!

[LindaT]

Originally Posted by LindaT

ATG rehab in Denver has left us twisting in the winds of MN.

Rinse and repeat

[stephen212]

Originally Posted by betheny

Not an indictment, just a wtf and a rant about this corrupt system... <snip>

I could be dead wrong about this, but I imagine that Todd V. (aka "TiLite" here on CC) who reads through many of the TiLite-related posts must nod his head in agreement when he comes across a story like Betheny's -- really more a refrain than an isolated event, but feels powerless to do anything meaningful enough to change their business model, which really does not seem to serve their customers nearly satisfactorily enough.

The rants against TiLite are accumulating here. As much as I think they are capable of producing a superior product, I can't quash a feeling of indignation I have toward them. As a company they just leave me cold. When I consider purchasing a new chair I feel like I just don't want to give them the satisfaction.

Nothing beats doing business directly with the business owner, like it once was with Bob Hall. Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio. . .?