Pump Class The Good and Ugly and ????

We had our pump class yesterday.

When we went we were sure we knew what we wanted. Well after class we are sitting her in limbo.

After reading several threads on here I realized I needed to let Madison have some say in her pump. We read info on all major pumps even got the sample OmniPod. WE have gone through all the info in preperation for this class thought we were ready.

Well went and talked to rep from MM first because we were sure that is what we really wanted. Well I can say we dont want the pump now if that Rep can work for them we dont want anything to do with them. He spent most of his time trashing the other pumps and telling us why we should not use them. Said that they are the only ones with intergreated CGMs and no matter what anyone else said they are no where close to do this with there pumps. He was very Rude to Madison she had prepared questions about the pumps. Well one of her questions was if MM had a food data base. He laughed at her and said that was a stupid feature. Said there is no point to have that on a pump. He was wearing a sensor and showed her the screen and told her that he knows what she goes through with diabetes because he wears a sensor and he can feel what they do.
The thing that really set me off to the point if no way will she ever use this pump.

He told Madison that you can get the code from a friends CGM and input it into yours and trade BGL yours will be on your friend screen in class and vice versa. I freaked could not believe he was trying to tell my 11 year old something so freaking dangerous.



Animas loved them the man has had Type 1 for over 25 years and told us that he has worn every pump out there and they all did the same thing and that was deliver his inslin and he had great control with all of them. Told her any pump would be a great way to go for her. Told us all about the Animas pumps and let her ask her questions and answered them all. Told her how impressed he was with her questions and he could tell she was ready for a pump.
But you know I loved that he was selling the pump to HER. He showed everything to her(of course we could see it to but he talked to her like she really was important)

This man talked to Madison for about 30 minutes just about D (not about selling a pump)and how was she feeling about having D. She started crying saying she hated it because sometimes she feels so bad and no one understands. About 15 minuites into the convo he was crying with her and telling her he knows how she feels. They talked about Camp Sweeney and how she will feel better once she meets some friends her age and how everyone goes through tough times with D. I really think he went beyound what the normal sales person does.

Cozmore was not there so we are waiting for a call for them to come show us there pump.


So anyone with Animas do you find this to be true with Animas do they have really good customer service?

Also those with MM or have had dealings with them is this just one bad apple or is this the company?

 

gotta say, that was my experience with MM and a big reason why we didnt' go with them. I know they make a good pump but I hated their rep. Rep trashed the other companies and totally outright lied about the (he assumed I hadn't already done my homework on the other companies)

I LOVED the animas rep and we would have gone with them but it was a dead heat between cozmo and animas and Ian liked cozmo.

All that said, people LOVE animas and LOVE their CS . But yet people LOVE MM too and peopleLOVE cozmo too. whatever you end up picking will be the right one for you!!! Just know that - they're all good pumps. None of them are bad pumps. Some might have bad reps, but the pumps are good pumps.

 

I have heard other people say the same thing about MM reps. I hope you get on the MM website and tell someone there of your experience with the rep. It's the only way MM is going to figure out that the "hard sell" isn't really appropriate when it comes to their pumps.

 

We have been dealing with Animas for around 5 yrs now and the customer service is what made us stay with Animas when our son started pumping in January. My husband has had to have his pump replaced twice in the five yrs he was on the IR1000 and the replacement was here by the next day. He now has the 2020 and once he was approved for the upgrade by insurance we had the pump within two days. We did check into the other pumps and I really liked Medtronic, but in the end we went with what we knew and customer service has always been great.

 

Wow, what a horrible experience! So sorry you had to endure that.

I do want to comment about the food database: We have a Cozmore and the food database is totally customizable and we use it ALL THE TIME! We input our favorite restaurants, with notes on the items like "Combo 70/30 for 6 hours" and such. I can send her out with friends and it's all right there for her. It is an AWESOME feature for kids and I don't understand why he thinks it's stupid.

Make sure your daughter also looks at Cozmore and Omnipod. In the end, choose the PUMP you want. I doubt you'll deal with the rep again, even if you choose MM. Or at least not very much. We have never really used our rep, we only see him socially.

 

I plan on sending them a letter as well as calling them on Monday. My biggest thing is dont try to tell a child things like you can switch BGL with your friends. And I dont agree with the way he talked to Madison. Now I realize they dont have the food data base but no reason to tell a child its not worth anything. A simple no would have been fine you know we dont plan on adding one to our unit in the near future would have been fine.
I am really hoping to get a better understanding of their pump because I want to make sure we get whats right for Madison and what she really wants.

 

We are waiting for the Cozmore rep to get back in town and will meet with her. Madison has worn a pod and does not like it at all. I know lots of folks love them but its not right for her at this time.

That is good news about not seeing that Rep again if we try again with them it would not be a good idea.

 

I'm sorry you had that bad experience with the MM rep.

I would definitely call or write them to complain about that rep, they won't know unless someone complains. All the reps I have talked to and my calls to MM have been good and I'm sure there are bad apples everywhere, unfortunately.

He was waaaay outta line.

Jennifer

 

Our experience was not as bad but similar.

Animas reps were great, answered all our questions thoroughly and promptly, came to our house to show us the pump, talked directly to Aaron, pointed out the good features of their pump but didn't trash any of them and acknowledged they were all good.

Minimed rep was, well, arrogant. Hard sell, denigrating to the competition, and not great at returning phone calls or answering follow up questions.

We went with Animas largely for that reason (and Aaron liked the look of it) and I must say they have been great. Helpful with any problem we had, quick to replace a pump that had a bit of a glitch (I didn't ask for that, they just said they wanted to to be on the safe side), and when I called the helpline once at MIDNIGHT a nurse called me back within three minutes. And they give back-up loaners if you go on holiday, which made me feel much, much better about going overseas and sending Aaron away to camp.

That said, liking the features of the pump itself is probably the most important thing. You just hate to reward such obnoxious sales tactics though.

 

When we were pump shopping (way back when) we never met with reps, just with our CDE who would be training us. I guess it is probably a good thing as we chose a MM and didn't get turned off by any reps.

 

I have to say that our MM rep was nothing like that. I can see why you'd want to go with someone else now. And from what I hear, the Animas rep is right. They are all basically the same so you'll learn to use whichever one you choose. But I've also only talked to our MM rep a couple of times since our first meeting so if you really want a MM, you don't necessarily have to interact with that guy much.

I would call or email MM though and tell them about your experience. He needs to either get a new job or learn to do this job better.

 

Us too! :cwds:

I can't beleive that rep told a child that she could trade bgl's !!! How awful! Let us know what happens when you call on monday - good luck! (give 'em he11) hehe.

 

That rep needs to be reported to his Territory Manager and higher. What he said was just awful! I reported a rep in my state for much, much less than that! (She would not return my phone calls months--so she was just lazy from what I heard later.) Now, our state has some very good MM Reps !

In the end, MM did send a wonderful "new" rep to my home or I had the choice of having the Territory Manager come to my home--The TM just said the new rep could make the trip a week sooner.

It really saddens me that such a great product can get such a bad rap from some grossly ignorant reps.

In the end, we did choose MM and that was for my daughter's benefit, only. The reps have been nice--but we really have little, if any contact with them. Our Rep did offer to meet us with a "loaner pump" if Liv's pump ever breaks down and so we wouldn't have to have to do Lantus until the new pump arrived (especially over a weekend). Plus, I should add the our MM Rep went out of his way to make Liv feel comfortable and he was so instrumental in getting CGMS to our house for Liv to be on it and us trained in ONLY 2 days after the insurance approved us and we lived 4 hours away from the MM nurse. There are good reps out there. I am so sorry that you got such a "bad apple--just rotten".

The customer service that I deal with most is the 24 hour helpline from MM.

MM's 24 hour helpline has treated us very well and replaced sensors, offered to replace the pump when Liv dropped it (just for my peace of mind, if I was going to worry). In the end, the 24 hour helpline has been awesome and their willingness to do what it takes for my peace of mind has been so reassurring.

 

when i was pump shopping i had the same experience but it was the ANIMAS

rep that was rude and out of line, it was the whole reason no one in my

house will where that product. I guess what im trying to say is there a jerks

in every bussiness, and go with the product that fits your family and child

best. I would also let them know what the rep said about switching

transmitter info, so could see friends bg completly out of line.(did this guy

have diabetes, if so he should know better and the dangers of this)

 

Let me preface this post by saying that Samantha does not use a MM pump. The MM reps I spoke with were all very, very nice. They did not talk trash about other pumps at all. But a few of them were big into the "hard sell", if that makes sense. There's nothing wrong with that per se, but I was just looking for information about all the features of the pump, not just information about the integrated CGMS, which at the time I had no interest in purchasing.

 

WOW.. all I can say is that guy from MM shouldn't be working with them.. if I were you, I'd call MM and ask to speak to someone that works higher up.. tell them what he told your daughter about entering the different sensor numbers so theirs isn't reading on their pump.. that is unbelievable.. dangerous in so many ways.. I would also let them know that they just lost a $6,000 sale because of what THEIR stupid rep did.. I've had nothing but pleasant experiences with MM, but if I were talked that way, I'd think twice about going with them too.. I wouldn't let this go.. I'd let MM know exactly what this rep did.. I think anyone that has a horrible experience with their rep (no matter the company) needs to contact that company and let them know just what type of people they have working for them..

Like I said before, I've had a great experience with MM, and there are always going to be 'bad apples' in any company.. but the guy way stepped over the line.. I think MM has a great product(s) but the other pumps and products are equally as good..

 

No he does not have diabetes. He did tell us he was wearing a sensor and knew what she goes through as a diabetic because he has also worn a demo pump. I called our CDE today to get all the info we need on the rep so we can make the right connections with all the information.

 

I think that`s what would`ve made me really mad! My son is very sensitive about people saying they "know" how he feels- even us. Only someone WITH d truly knows how it feels.

I agree the cgms code trading idea was pretty stupid too- I`m not even sure if it`s true.

We have MM. It was the one I knew we wanted because my son wanted the combined cgms.

The rep was awesome, and her daughter uses the same pump.

I`m sorry you and your daughter had to deal with such a jerk!

 

Our MM rep is fantastic, I can call her any time on her cell and she is very very helpful. She is just so wonderful. The first time I had to change a site, I freaked out and forgot what I had to do after the 2days training we had with her and the Pump Nurse, she went through everything with me over the phone.
I think the Minimed pump is great, very easy to follow, site changes are really easy to do now.

Probably was one bad apple, they shouldn't really be bad mouthing other pumps.

 

I have posted this in another thread but I cannot begin to express how much I love the customer service at Animas. We are on our third pump in less than two years and not once have they questioned sending me a new one under warranty. If anything it seems like they really want to send me new pumps!! The last one I replaced last week due to the paint chipping. Our rep was good, her 10 year old daughter is diabetic and so she gave my son some insight into real life usage and helped him see that real kids could wear the pump swimming.... I still call her if I need some IV prep pads or to try new insets and don't want to pay for them. With the exception of the CGMS, and I really believe that ANIMAS is almost there with theirs, all pumps basically do the same thing. For me, I want to know things like, how easy is it to get pumps replaced? Customer care policy? How fast do they ship replacement pumps? ETC... These are really the most important things to me in the long run...