Samantha Walsh has lived with type 1 diabetes for over five years since 2017. After her T1D diagnosis, she was eager to give back to the diabetes community. She is the Community and Partner Manager for T1D Exchange and helps to manage the Online Community and recruit for the T1D Exchange Registry. Prior to T1D Exchange, Samantha fundraised at Joslin Diabetes Center. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelors degree in sociology and early childhood education.
I had trouble with my Tandem/Dexcom G7 update and called Tandem tech support. I spoke with a woman in Idaho the day after Thanksgiving and she was very patient and walked me through my issues so that I could get my pump working again.
I chose other as I don’t remember. I think it was less than 40 minutes.
(It was due to a constant pain in the tissue of my arm for the entire week after removal of my Dexcom sensor. I went to see a doctor as was suggested and nothing was seen in x-ray. I assume I slightly damaged nerve or muscle as it slowly improved. I have started to use my fattier inner thigh instead)
Only call when problem with Dexcom G7. Knocked off twice in a week. And once device malfunctioned. All in same week. Sometimes they want used device returned.
My last call, on Nov 21 was to confirm that my DME provider (CCS Medical) had received and was processing my change in CGM RX from Dexcom G6 to Dexcom G7. That RX was faxed to CCS Med on Nov 17. My monthly CGM order was scheduled to ship on Dec 2 and I wanted to be certain that I would get the G7 vs the G6. ANYTIME there is a DME order change request, there appear to be problems, resulting in snafus and delays. I’ve learned to NOT ASSUME that all will processed smoothly. On Nov 21, the initial customer service rep could tell me nothing about this change request. I’ve learned that I need to request to speak to someone who does have the information I seek while remaining polite but firm. (It’s not the initial customer service rep’s fault that he/she doesn’t have access to the information I’m seeking.) This results in at least one if not more than one transfer to another department beyond the front-line customer service rep level. On 11/21, I was able to speak with someone in “Patient Support” who actually processed the RX upgrade to the G7 while I was on the line. I am scheduled to receive my first monthly G7 order on Dec 4 (shipping Dec 2).
I began that 11/21 call at 1:20 pm. It was resolved by 2:05 pm. (I’ve learned to keep a record of such calls along with the names of the service representatives.)
The worst thing about my current supplier is that I never know whether they’ll ship my 90 day supplies without a nudge from me. I was advised to call to check each time, which involves a 20-30 minute hold while I wait for someone to become available to take my call. A simple web interface like most other companies have could fix this.
Issue is still unresolved. Issue is either H/W, S/W, firmware, Windows 11.0, web browser, com, electric cord, or BIOS. Boy–talk about vexatious issues.
The last time I called I waited close to a half hour to talk with Dexcom re. G6 transmitter issues. As soon as I was able to actually speak with tech I was told to call Tandem, “because it’s a pump problem”. I then had to wait until I was transferred to a live person . It all took too long while my once hot, ready to eat dinner got cold.
Have spent over 2 hours: 60 minutes on hold & over an hour speaking & getting transferred to Durable Medical Equipment dept with ADVANCED DIABETES SUPPLY in CA. Horrible customer service.
I said 1-10 minutes, because customer service for Tandem seems to be pretty efficient, at least from a customer point of view. However, when I used my previous Medtronic pump, it was another story. They have — or at least had at that time — a canned script they had to go through regardless of the nature of the problem, and the script often consumed 20-30 minutes. IMO, many of the questions (what was your blood glucose level at the time that the infusion set wound up incorrectly inserted, with the catheter outside the skin?) are often irrelevant. It would save both their time and ours if they allowed their customer-service agents to use more discretion, or if they provided branch points in the canned script. Just my 2c. 🙂
Byram supplies my CGM. Every time I have to contact them they have something wrong with my account. Just this week, they billed me of a 3-month set of CGM pieces saying my insurance had been declined. I immediately contacted Byram and found they were using my insurance from before my retirement instead of Medicare. I called them the first day I was eligible for Medicare just to avoid problems like this. Insurance, government, a medical device supplier with shoddy business practices — how could such an event take less than 40 minutes?
I had to call Tandem today regarding an order that I called them about 8 days ago, and still showed as not shipped. My calls with them are usually answered fairly quickly, however it took about 30 minutes today. The representative was very helpful, and did her best to make sure I don’t have a repeat of the same problem. Unfortunately, she has no idea why they hadn’t called or emailed me to advise they wanted a signature. She was going to request an overnight shipment of pump supplies due to the delay, and the fact I’m leaving on vacation in 2 days. Time will tell.
Tandem tech support answered promptly but call lasted more than 40 min when we had to go through checklist on why pump was not charging (plug would not seat and port was clear). Pump was out of warranty, so ordering pump became an issue. Still waiting for call from sales before a loaner pump can be shipped. Tech support knows what they are doing.
I had trouble with my Tandem/Dexcom G7 update and called Tandem tech support. I spoke with a woman in Idaho the day after Thanksgiving and she was very patient and walked me through my issues so that I could get my pump working again.
I chose other as I don’t remember. I think it was less than 40 minutes.
(It was due to a constant pain in the tissue of my arm for the entire week after removal of my Dexcom sensor. I went to see a doctor as was suggested and nothing was seen in x-ray. I assume I slightly damaged nerve or muscle as it slowly improved. I have started to use my fattier inner thigh instead)
Not a phone call, but when Dexcom G7 failed I used the in app support and exchanged a few emails to get a replacement.
Only call when problem with Dexcom G7. Knocked off twice in a week. And once device malfunctioned. All in same week. Sometimes they want used device returned.
The 11-20 minutes does not include the wait time on hold.
Wait times can be a few minutes to hours.
My last call, on Nov 21 was to confirm that my DME provider (CCS Medical) had received and was processing my change in CGM RX from Dexcom G6 to Dexcom G7. That RX was faxed to CCS Med on Nov 17. My monthly CGM order was scheduled to ship on Dec 2 and I wanted to be certain that I would get the G7 vs the G6. ANYTIME there is a DME order change request, there appear to be problems, resulting in snafus and delays. I’ve learned to NOT ASSUME that all will processed smoothly. On Nov 21, the initial customer service rep could tell me nothing about this change request. I’ve learned that I need to request to speak to someone who does have the information I seek while remaining polite but firm. (It’s not the initial customer service rep’s fault that he/she doesn’t have access to the information I’m seeking.) This results in at least one if not more than one transfer to another department beyond the front-line customer service rep level. On 11/21, I was able to speak with someone in “Patient Support” who actually processed the RX upgrade to the G7 while I was on the line. I am scheduled to receive my first monthly G7 order on Dec 4 (shipping Dec 2).
I began that 11/21 call at 1:20 pm. It was resolved by 2:05 pm. (I’ve learned to keep a record of such calls along with the names of the service representatives.)
The worst thing about my current supplier is that I never know whether they’ll ship my 90 day supplies without a nudge from me. I was advised to call to check each time, which involves a 20-30 minute hold while I wait for someone to become available to take my call. A simple web interface like most other companies have could fix this.
One hour. With emphasis on the word “THEM.”
Issue is still unresolved. Issue is either H/W, S/W, firmware, Windows 11.0, web browser, com, electric cord, or BIOS. Boy–talk about vexatious issues.
I answered “other” because I don’t remember what happened the last time I needed customer support.
The last time I called I waited close to a half hour to talk with Dexcom re. G6 transmitter issues. As soon as I was able to actually speak with tech I was told to call Tandem, “because it’s a pump problem”. I then had to wait until I was transferred to a live person . It all took too long while my once hot, ready to eat dinner got cold.
Have spent over 2 hours: 60 minutes on hold & over an hour speaking & getting transferred to Durable Medical Equipment dept with ADVANCED DIABETES SUPPLY in CA. Horrible customer service.
Medtronic has it going on. They answer the phone quickly, and transfer me directly to the right person. And, best of all, they speak English.
I said 1-10 minutes, because customer service for Tandem seems to be pretty efficient, at least from a customer point of view. However, when I used my previous Medtronic pump, it was another story. They have — or at least had at that time — a canned script they had to go through regardless of the nature of the problem, and the script often consumed 20-30 minutes. IMO, many of the questions (what was your blood glucose level at the time that the infusion set wound up incorrectly inserted, with the catheter outside the skin?) are often irrelevant. It would save both their time and ours if they allowed their customer-service agents to use more discretion, or if they provided branch points in the canned script. Just my 2c. 🙂
Byram supplies my CGM. Every time I have to contact them they have something wrong with my account. Just this week, they billed me of a 3-month set of CGM pieces saying my insurance had been declined. I immediately contacted Byram and found they were using my insurance from before my retirement instead of Medicare. I called them the first day I was eligible for Medicare just to avoid problems like this. Insurance, government, a medical device supplier with shoddy business practices — how could such an event take less than 40 minutes?
I had to call Tandem today regarding an order that I called them about 8 days ago, and still showed as not shipped. My calls with them are usually answered fairly quickly, however it took about 30 minutes today. The representative was very helpful, and did her best to make sure I don’t have a repeat of the same problem. Unfortunately, she has no idea why they hadn’t called or emailed me to advise they wanted a signature. She was going to request an overnight shipment of pump supplies due to the delay, and the fact I’m leaving on vacation in 2 days. Time will tell.
Tandem tech support answered promptly but call lasted more than 40 min when we had to go through checklist on why pump was not charging (plug would not seat and port was clear). Pump was out of warranty, so ordering pump became an issue. Still waiting for call from sales before a loaner pump can be shipped. Tech support knows what they are doing.