A few weeks ago, I blogged about my frustrations with One Touch and their lack of customer service when it came to some problems I was having with my Verio IQ meter.
Here’s the short version of the story: more than a year ago, I heard about a recall on the Verio IQ meter. I reported my meter to One Touch, and they assured me I’d receive a replacement one in the mail. At the time, Verio IQ meters were on backorder, so I was sent an Ultra Mini meter to use in the meantime. However, I never received a new Verio. When I told my endocrinologist about this, she said it was fine for me to continue using my old one. I did, but when it began to malfunction sporadically, I realized I needed to give One Touch another call, which rapidly turned into three phone calls over a short period of time. They sent me replacement meters a total of three times that were not up to par. Each replacement meter was covered with scratches and looked like they had been previously used.
Naturally, this alarmed me. I still don’t have an explanation for why the replacement meters came in less than perfect condition, but I did receive a phone call from a manager at One Touch that alleviated many of my concerns.
What made this phone call different from the others is that I felt like someone was actually listening to me. I was able to explain the full story to a sympathetic ear, and we were able to clarify a major point of confusion that arose in my case: the meters I was receiving in the mail had not been previously used or refurbished. They were new meters, and it still remains unclear as to why they were flawed. I was very glad to hear this. While I was fairly certain before that the meters had not been touched and that it was a simple aesthetic issue, I still felt comfort knowing that I wasn’t being sent someone’s old meter.
At the phone call’s conclusion, the manager assured me that my feedback wouldn’t fall on deaf ears. They’d look into my complaints, and they would also send me a brand new meter in a box (like the ones sold in pharmacies) that week for my trouble. Finally, the request I had put in from the beginning was fulfilled. Within a couple days, my mom called me and told me that my new Verio IQ would be waiting for me the next time I came home.
Although it was an irritating experience, I’m content with its outcome. I feel better about customer service from this particular company, and I really appreciate the manager for taking the time to call me and listen to me tell my story in extensive detail. In this case, all’s well that ends well!
I recently upgraded from OneTouch Ultra2 (technically, since I’m still trying to use up the strips I have for that meter), so I didn’t have to go through the recall/return/etc. issue. This does sound trying. My own experience was colored by the fact that I’m already over my flex spending (due to Humalog costing more than an arm and a leg and Novolog with my insurance), so I explored the option of getting a free meter from my Rx plan (it’s an option, but took a while), with a coupon for free meter from OneTouch that can be redeemed at… Read more »
Hi Mike,
Yes! I officially received a new meter that had 0 scratches or flaws. It was different from the previous three because it arrived in a box like you might buy at a pharmacy – the others came in nothing but red plastic bubble wrap and were inside small white shipping boxes.
For the Record: Did you actually receive a new meter that did not have the earlier scratches and flaws?