Description of Event or Problem · 1
THESE COMMENTS ARE BASED ON THE THREE YEAR (2005-2008) OF EXPERIENCE I HAD WITH HEARING AIDS I PURCHASED. THE NET OF THE ISSUES ARE: ME HAS A DESIGN PROBLEM WITH THEIR M900 AND M950 BEHIND-THE-EAR HEARING AIDS. ME DOES NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS. ESSENTIALLY BOTH OF THESE ISSUES REPRESENT MY OPINION BASED ON MY EXPERIENCES. NEVERTHELESS, THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES AND STRONGLY SUPPORT THESE OPINIONS. I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THAT OTHERS I HAVE SPOKEN TO IN THE FIELD - HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATIONS; SHARE THESE OPINIONS, AND ADVISED & ENCOURAGED ME TO SEEK RESOLUTION, WHICH I ULTIMATELY DID. SUMMARY: IN 2005, I PURCHASED A SET OF IN-THE-EAR HEARING AIDS FROM THE ME FRANCHISE LOCATION IN THE RETAIL STORE. WITHIN THE FIRST 30 DAYS, I RETURNED THE AIDS FOR A REFUND SINCE THEY CREATED THE SENSATION OF FEELING LIKE EARPLUGS. THOUGH MANY OTHER HEARING AID USERS CAN ADAPT TO THIS FEELING, I COULD NOT. INSTEAD OF RECEIVING A REFUND, THE HEARING AID SPECIALIST OFFERED TO REPLACE THE AIDS WITH A BEHIND-THE-EAR (BTE) MODEL AT NO COST. I AGREED TO TRY THESE SINCE I STILL HAD HEARING LOSS & WAS ANXIOUS FOR A SOLUTION. I WAS PROVIDED WITH A SET OF M900 BTE AIDS. THESE FELT GREAT AND SEEMED TO BE THE SOLUTION. HOWEVER, WITH 2 MONTHS THE AIDS DEVELOPED RUST IN THE BATTERY COMPARTMENTS AND IN THE AIDS THEMSELVES. (NOTE; IT WAS NOT ULTIMATELY DETERMINED THAT THE REDDISH BROWN SUBSTANCE THAT WAS APPEARING IN THE AIDS WAS RUST UNTIL MUCH LATER IN THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS.) AT THE FIRST OCCURRENCE, THE AIDS WERE SIMPLY CLEANED BY THE LOCAL SPECIALIST WITH A Q-TIP AND HANDED BACK TO ME. AFTER 2-3 MORE OCCURRENCES, THE AIDS WERE SENT "BACK TO THE FACTORY" AND REPLACED WITH A NEW SET. NO DIAGNOSIS WAS MADE AND NO EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEM WAS PROVIDED. I WAS TOLD THIS WAS A UNIQUE SITUATION AND NO OTHER INCIDENTS HAD BEEN REPORTED. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM REOCCURRED AND I WAS BECOMING MORE THAN MORE FRUSTRATED AND IMPATIENT WITH ME. AT ONE POINT I WAS "UPGRADED" TO ME NEWEST BTE MODEL, THE M950. INITIALLY THESE AIDS FUNCTIONED WELL. HOWEVER, AFTER APPROX TWO MONTHS, THEY ALSO DEVELOPED THE RUST PROBLEM. IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT EFFECTIVENESS OF THE HEARING AIDS CONTINUALLY DECREASED AS THE RUST CONTINUED TO ACCUMULATE. AT ONE POINT ME STRONGLY SUGGESTED THAT PERHAPS I WAS THE PROBLEM. WAS I WEARING THE AIDS IN THE SHOWER? DUH. WERE THEY EXPOSED TO EXCESSIVE DAMPNESS OR HUMIDITY? DID I SWEAT PROFUSELY? THEY OFFERED ME BOOTIES FOR THE AIDS (I SAID, NO THANKS.) THEY PROVIDED A LITTLE WOODEN "DRYING" BOX TO STORE THE AIDS IN OVERNIGHT - WHICH I ACCEPTED AND CONSCIENTIOUSLY USED. I THOUGHT THIS A BIT EXTREME, BUT WAS OPEN TO ANY OPTION THAT WOULD PERMANENTLY FIX THE PROBLEM. FINALLY, AFTER THE M950 AIDS WERE SENT TO THE FACTORY, I WAS TOLD THAT THE FACTORY COULD FIND NO DEFECT WITH THE AIDS AND THAT, AS SUCH, NO ACTION COULD BE TAKEN TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THIS MEANT TH E PROBLEM WOULD PERSIST, THE AIDS EFFECTIVENESS WOULD BE COMPROMISED, AND THERE WERE NO OTHER OPTIONS. AT THIS POINT I DEMANDED A FULL REFUND, SAYING THAT I WOULD NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING LESS. I HAD MADE THIS REQUEST EARLIER, BUT WITH LESS EMPHASIS. THE ANSWER HAD ALWAYS BEEN - AS IT WAS THIS TIME - THAT I HAD 30 DAYS FROM THE TIME TO MY ORIGINAL PURCHASE TO RETURN THE AIDS FOR A FULL REFUND & THAT THE 30 DAYS HAD PASSED. NOTE: I HAVE COPIES OF MANY EMAIL EXCHANGES THAT DOCUMENT THIS SEQUENCE OF EVENTS, WHICH I CAN FORWARD TO YOU IF OF INTEREST. THERE WERE ALSO MANY CALLS AND VISITS TO THE STORE LOCATIONS. THE STORE AT THE MALL LOCATION IS WHERE THE STORE OWNER, WORKS OUT OF. HE HAS AT LEAST 3 STORES IN THE GREATER AREA. AT ONE POINT I "ESCALATED" THE ISSUE TO ME IN ANOTHER STATE (WHERE I WAS DIRECTED BY THE OWNER). I SPOKE AND CORRESPONDED WITH CONSUMER AFFAIRS COORDINATOR. THIS TURNED OUT TO BE A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME. ALL I GOT WAS FEIGNED SYMPATHY AND CANNED REPLIES. HIS POSITION ("SUPPORTED BY SENIOR MR MANAGEMENT") WAS THAT THE FRANCHISEE WAS TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE. WITH NOWHERE ELSE TO TURN I SOUGHT ADVICE FROM OTHERS, AS MENTIONED ABOVE. ONE OF THE FIRST CALLS I MADE (AS A RESULT OF A SUGGESTION FROM THE LEGAL COUNSEL AT THE HEARING LOSS ASSOC) WAS TO STORE HQ. I MANAGED TO GET THE NAME OF THE STORE EXECUTIVE RESPONSIBLE FOR FRANCHISEE LICENSING. HIS ASSISTANT GOT INVOLVED, CALLED ME, ASKED FOR ALL MY DOCUMENTATION AND WITHIN TWO DAYS SHE HAD CONVINCED ME TO PROVIDE ME A REFUND. I WAS THEN CONTACTED BY STORE OWNER AND OFFERED AN 80% REFUND. I REPLIED SAYING I WOULD SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE AND SETTLE FOR 90%. HE AGREED AND I RECEIVED A CHECK FROM STORE A FEW WEEKS LATER. COMMENT: MY IMPRESSION IS THAT ME GETS AWAY WITH THEIR INFERIOR PRODUCTS, SUPERFICIAL, INSINCERE "SERVICE", AND STONE WALLING TACTICS MOST OF THE TIME. I DOUBT THAT MOST OF THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE AS VOCAL AND PERSISTENT AS I WAS. SINCE MOST OF THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE SENIORS, I AM CONVINCED THEY ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS GROUP, WHICH TENDS TO BE MORE ACCEPTING, TOLERANT AND CONFLICT AVERSE.