The Most Important Feature Of Your Medical Alert System: Customer Support

When you’re shopping for the best medical alert system, you want one that reliably detects falls, is easy to set up and use, offers multiple options for individual lifestyles, and automatically alerts the monitoring center if you can’t.  However, those are baseline expectations for any medical alert system, so it’s important to look more closely at the company before making a decision.

Three things distinguish a medical alert system provider from competitors – their commitment to:

1. Customer service
2. Customer support
3. Customer satisfaction

Customer Service Begins Before the Purchase

Your customer service experience begins with the first contact you have with the medical alert company. Look carefully at the website and call to speak with a representative before making your decision.

The company’s website is its “storefront.” The site’s design and usability tells you a lot about the company.

• Is it easy to read and navigate?
• Does the site contain useful information about the medical alert system offerings, options, and features? For example, Bay Alarm Medical’s site contains a section of informative short videos that show how to unbox, set up, and test our systems. There’s also a page of Help Guides with written information to help you troubleshoot, install, and/or learn more about our medical alert systems. 
• Are pricing options and company policies clearly explained or buried in the fine print?

When you call the company, the sales representatives should help you choose the best medical alert system for your situation.

• Do they explain how the billing works, including any specials and discounts available?
• Is there a trial period with a money-back guarantee?
• Will you incur any up-front fees or non-refundable charges like shipping charges, programming fees, equipment fees, etc.?
• Do you feel pressured to purchase immediately?

Fast, Reliable Customer Support in an Emergency

When there’s a medical emergency, every minute matters.  Mount Sinai Medical System’s Health Library stresses the importance in its article on heart attacks:

“Many heart attack patients die before they reach a hospital. The sooner the person gets to the emergency room, the better the chance of survival. Prompt medical treatment reduces the amount of heart damage.”

Most medical alert companies offer a 30-day, risk-free free trial.  Use that time to “stress test” your medical alert system before making a final decision.  

Don’t rely on automated tests.  Some medical alert companies ask you to use an automated testing system when you set up your unit. There’s nothing wrong with an automated test to ensure that your unit is actually working properly. 

However, an automated test doesn’t tell you anything about how long it takes for a live operator to answer or how they handle the situation when you call. 

Place several test calls on different days and at different times. 

• How long does it take for the call to connect and for an operator to answer?
• Can you hear the operator and communicate easily?  
• If you aren’t comfortable speaking English, is there a translation service available?  If so, does that add extra wait time?  At Bay Alarm Medical, you can add your preferred language to your customer profile, so the monitoring center operators know that you may require our Language Line service.
• Does the operator verify your identity and make sure that you’re ok before disconnecting the test call?

Other parts of the system test include testing your automatic fall detection (if included) under a variety of situations. If you’re testing a home medical alert system, perform range tests to make sure that the pendant can connect with the base unit from every room in your home and from outside areas like the mailbox, garage, etc.

Customer Satisfaction: Easy Installation, Testing, and Returns

Medical alert companies that really care about customer satisfaction make basic tasks easy for customers during the entire relationship life cycle – from installation to cancellation.

• Does the company provide clear written instructions, videos, and personal support needed to help you easily set up and test the system?
• Can you easily reach customer support via phone or online chat?
• Is tech support available 7 days a week?
• How efficiently does the company process returns and refunds?  You never want to have to monitor your credit card statement for unauthorized charges.

Of course, the ultimate test of customer satisfaction is whether you would recommend the company to a friend or family member.  Many of our customers  do just that through our “Refer-A-Friend to Bay Alarm” benefit. Tell your friends about us via email, social media, or word of mouth.  You will earn a free month of service – and your friend will get a free month too.

We offer medical alert systems for the home, on-the-go, and stylish medical alert smartwatches for those with more active lifestyles.

Visit our website at BayAlarmMedical.com or call us at 1-877-522-9633 to learn more about our affordable, reliable medical alert systems.