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How satisfied are you with the overall customer service provided by T1D supply manufacturing companies?
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Excellent overall customer service from T1D supply manufacturing companies like Dexcom, Tandem, Abbott, Insulet, BD, Medtronic – they all aim to please.
Sometimes, and more often than sometimes, less than ideal customer service from mail order supply companies like Edgepark and Byram and others that are contracted to handle Medicare and Medicaid claim submissions can be a real pain in the ass. Their hands are often tied by PBMs and bureaucratic insurance company mandates. Makes the experience of getting essential supplies delivered in a timely manner unnecessarily stressful and frustrating.
I chose “Very Satisfied” because most of the time I am very satisfied. I’ve had the occasional rep who did not seem to know what they were doing, but most have been very helpful.
Getting back go the office last weekend checked my levels on the pump (as a reader for my CGM) and it had died. Replaced the battery, but there was no warning about it so called the “1-800” for MEDTRONIC, we did a self test, went through the alerts.
Got the replacement pump Monday, put the old one in the mail. Am very satisfied at this time.
Very satisfied with products and services of Medtronic, Tandem, and Dexcom.
The system of getting from point A to point B? Not so much so. If time were money, I’ve probably wasted tens of thousands of dollars spending time on the phone, waiting, getting redirected, getting hung up on. If there is such a thing as a time tax, I am paying through the nose. Sigh! ╰( ⊹o⊹)╮
I misread the question and said “dissatisfied”, thinking the question was about my medical supply company. However, I should have answered “satisfied” dealing with Tandem and Dexcom. Sometimes it’s difficult reaching a person to speak with. Sometimes I get lost in the automated answering system. Sometimes the customer service person wants to spend lots of time asking questions and doing checks when I have many other things that I must get done. But, overall, I think they do a great job, especially replacing sensors that went bad because I screwed up.
I have been very satisfied with all of manufacturing companies that I have devices from. Animas, Dexcom, Tandem all have been great…just now starting on Omni Pod so looking forward to this new relationship.
I always have a good experience with Dexcom Customer Service, whether it be over the phone or via intake form on their website and email.
Me too. The DEXCOM customer support is awesome!
Pluses and minuses. Medtronic reorder on Infusion sets and reservoirs on automatic and easy. Auto reorder on sensors is a pain. Medicare has limited Medtronic to shipping one box per month. They always call and ask how many sensors I have left. The answer will always be 1, until I build up some buffer.
“Very satisfied” with Tandem. Supply distributors are a totally different story
I am extremely satisfied with customer support from Dexcom as I use the G6 sensor. Not so much with Insulet as I use the Omnipod 5 system.
It varies by company, and perhaps a better question is how satisfied are you with the insurance coverage of diabetic critical supplies. For example, I always found the providers of the 1 touch test strips to be aloof and disinterested when I questioned the wildly erratic test results though Aetna was quite willing to cover a 89 day supply. Now with Humana, they will only cover a 30 day supply of CGM supplies, stretching out the ability to re-order to 25 days. It’s crazy – it seems Humana would rather pay for a hospital stay for DKA rather than preventative care.
I am satisfied. I don’t like spending time on the phone and answering questions but eventually requests are usually met.
Had US MED with old insurance and now have Byram. Never had any problem with either. Very satisfied.
My recent experiences with Dexcom and Tandem have been outstanding. I did have a lot of trouble with Dexcom when I first went on Medicare and the G6 sensor was new. I’m very glad that they sorted it out and returned to their usual high level of customer support. Medical supply companies are another thing altogether. I’ll save those comments for the right question.
Byram has been excellent. They email when time to reorder, can do all ordering online, customer service reps very courteous and helpful. Dexcom great when there are problems. Medtronic overnighted a new pump when mine had a crack, got wet and died.
Very satisfied with US Med handling Dexcom, pump supplies not as happy. Mainly the problem is Medicare not allowing orders until you’ve less than 9 days of supplies left. Always wonder if I’ll need to break out the old syringes before my stock is replenished. Manufacturers seem to be better than medical distributors.
CCS Medical is fantastic for DexCom supplies. The company out of New Orleans metro was just horrible. DexCom gave me good advice in making the change.
freestyle support has been very good.
Omnipod customer support has been great since my first contact with them. When I firstgot Dexcom G6, it was fairly new. At that time, the wait for customer support was so long I dreaded calling them. It has been a lot better the last couple of years though.
Seeing that my medical coverage is from Medicare, I’m dependent on the shipments approved by “them” sent by my supplier, New England Home Medical. I have experienced DELAYS IN RECEIVING my sensors/transmitter BECAUSE OF HOLIDAY SHIPPING SCHEDULES!!! AND FEDEX DOESN’T CARE!!!🤔🤔🤔!!!
This is an insurance and supplier issue, not really a manufacturing issue. I think the question above should have been worded much better for more specific answer. Best wishes to you with your shipment delays.
I agree….I think a separate question targeting those of us receiving our T1D supplies via Medicare might elicit far different responses. I’m between “dissatisfied” and very disatisfied under Medicare while I would have responded “Very Satisfied” prior to my Medicare-eligibility when I was getting my pump supplies through the manufacturer. (I wasn’t using a CGM back then but testing 8X/day. Getting Medicare-approval for that frequency of testing took me over a year of appeals of denials. Prior to Medicare, my insurer was covering that test frequency as medically necessary.
I said “Very Dissatisfied” because customer service is terrible. 1) Dexcom in particular outsourced their customer service to an organization that seems to do everything possible to blame the customer, tell the customer to “wait,” avoids replacing an obviously bad sensor/transmitter to the extent possible. Their customer service relies on an obvious “script” and has little clue about the impact of their advice to a T1D, and must get paid better if they don’t agree to replace a bad product. Dexcom’s online process is relatively easy, but the amount of information required for submission is ridiculous and seems purposely designed to discourage customers from using it. 2) Insulet (Omnipod) is better, but the few times I’ve needed to call customer service to replace a “screamer” or pod-gone-wrong (not my own error), I have to spend an inordinate amount of time getting thru their vm system and have to provide way more detail about the product than should be needed. If I give a serial number and name, THAT should be enough? 3) Cost, may not be a direct “customer service” issue, but indirectly it is certainly an impact to many. I personally don’t pay a thing out of pocket due to primary/secondary insurance, but we’re all paying grotesque prices due to insurance costs, manufacturer/PBM outright greed/dividends, oversized Pharma CEO/management salaries/benefits, etc. As a customer, I think its outrageous; the free enterprise model does NOT work for much of the medical community.
I hate when they start off with a advertising spiel when I just want help, esp at 3 am.
I would rate Tandem a five out of five. Dexcom gets a two.
I would give Dexcom a 5/5 and Tandem a 4/5. Tandems infusion sets need improvement but Dexcom I haven’t had a single problem with. It’s all realities to individual experience.
That’s a bit of a loaded question. While we don’t directly see what happens at the manufacturing level we can only judge this by the quality of product received and the availability of suppliers which could vary for other reasons outside manufacturing. I wasn’t able to order my normal infusion set length last time, but I don’t know what caused this shortage.
I think a separate question needs to be addressed to those of us receiving our T1D supplies via a Medicare-approved provider. Prior to my eligibility for Medicare, I was obtaining my pump supplies via the pump manufacturer and experienced NO problems whatsover. Once I transitioned to Medicare, it has been a nightmare. Medicare requires most of us to obtain our supplies through a Medicare-approved provider. Mine has been CCS Medical. Medicare imposes strict controls and will not authorize more than 30 infusion sets and reservoirs/cartridges every 90 days. (I used to receive 40 of each every 90 days prior to Medicare inn Januar case of the need to change sites earlier or accidentally pulling out a site.) For the past year, because of insulin absorption issues on Day 3 of my site, my endo has been attempting to obtain Medicare-approval for site changes every 2.33 days. A few months ago, I changed endo because me old endo was getting nowhere with Medicare. To make my sites last the full 3 days (or risk running out of supplies before the 90-days are up) I have taken to nearly doubling my basal rate on Day 3 and injecting bolus doses via syringe. CCS also recently screwed the monthly shipment schedule for my Dexcom sensors. Without repeated phone calls to follow up on my CGM shipment which should have occurred on June 1 but wasn’t scheduled until June 15, I would have run out of sensors. Transitioning to Medicare is a rude awakening.
Interestingly, the Tandem web site itself calls the insertion sets good for only 2-3 days.
Welcome to the world of socialism healthcare. Once Medicare was an insurance plan we paid for through payroll deductions with an expected payout as seniors – now it is a political tool wielded to control/attract voters.
I’ve had good luck with Byram in the Seattle area. Even once had a warehouse person call cause I ordered TruSteel before it was “popular” in adults.
My DME provider had a rough start, but since customer ‘training’,, they are getting better 🙂
T1D might ask a slightly different question of how being a Medicare customer has affected supply service. Under centralized medicine, the diabetic must be down to less than a ten-day supply of pump supplies and/or glucose sensors before being able to even place an order. The supplier (not the manufacturer) may then take two weeks to get the shipment to you. So you must live, apparently, for 4 days without supplies. And don’t go on vacation.
Both Byram and tandem have been very good. Tandem overnighted a new pump to me when mine had issues. Byram texts me when it’s time to reorder and it’s always in plenty of time.
Dexcom has failed to update the G6 iOS app since iOS 14.4 iOS updates since then have fixed major security vulnerabilities and include the release of iOS 15. Dexcom support has failed to respond to the support ticket I opened for this issue.
In the US manufactures and prescribers are fixated on prefilled insulin pens for patients using MDI instead of the 3ml penfill vials. Providing an entire pen for each 3ml is a huge waste of plastic and money.
Overall, customer service has been very good when I’ve had to call with problems. I chose “satisfied”. The only reason I’m not “very satisfied” is more the 90-day refill regulations that supply companies follow. The ’75 day rule’ for refilling (or how ever many days it is) is restrictive if travel is planned or supplies are low. You should be able to order supplies when you need them not when a certain date is reached. Also, many of their websites do not accurately calculation the next refill date.
I put satisfied. My insurance doesn’t allow me to autorefill my pump supplies so every 75-90 days I have to login and click “order”. So silly! Also I love that you can submit a request for a faulty dexcom online and I wish insulet would follow suit. I hate calling when diabetes is already so time consuming to daily life.
I misread the question and answered ‘dissatisfied’. I’m satisfied with both Tandem and Dexcom customer service. My ‘dissatisfied’ answer was in regard to the Medicare mandated 3rd party supply companies.
I am very satisfied with the diabetic manufacturing company’s customer service (Tandem and Dexcom currently, Medtronic 4yrs ago). They help me quickly resolve issues that can be identified or ask for the parts back to see what has occurred, send replacements, and constantly send my supplies on time.
In my dealings with Medtronic, Dexcom, and Tandem, all three have been knowledgeable, sympathetic, & efficient in updating me and solving product performance issues. In the few times I needed to contact glucometer companies, I also had good experiences.
In my comment, I forgot to say that my answer “a little dissatisfied ” was an error. As many of us did, I initially thought the question referred to the supplier. Please correct my answer to “very satisfied” about service from the manufacturers.
TomH, If you have a problem with a Dexcom product, call them directly. The DME suppliers are only intermediaries.
Check with your insurance company about whether you can change the supplier. And my understanding about Dexcom was that they just stopped supplying directly to consumers, so we are all in the same boat there. (Unless it only applies to those covered by Medicare needing Durable Med Equipment… Like me?)
Seems lots of frustrations with the process. Manufacturers have to ask a lot of questions on the device so they can maintain a reasonable data base on frequency of problems and the cause. That is required by FDA and part of good manufacturing quality control. Those on Medicare fall victim to the excessive requirements from Medicare, especially on pumps but also on CGM. Those requirements make the suppliers enforce rules to minimize their chance of having a large number of claims rejected or later on being audited and then accused of ‘fraud and abuse’ by Medicare. I suspect Medicare auditors are contracted such that they get paid based on % money ‘reclaimed’ rather than impartial adjudication.
Kaiser Permanente Endocrinology helped me make a smooth transition to a CGM under their Medicare plan. I do not mind getting shipments from Byram with only days to spare. They seem adept at alerting me when time to reorder in compliance with Medicare guidelines. I’ve only contacted Dexcom once for a supply of free adhesive pads. If/when I go on a pump, I expect I’d likewise have no problems.
It depends.
Medtronic gets a big Zero stars. Worst experience with any company in any category.
Animas was great.
Dexcom used to be good.
Tandem is quite good.
Used the GE blood glucose meter/strips for years without ever having a single problem – so they never had to be contacted for any customer service. If only everything could be that dependable and affordable.