Sunrise Medical wheelchairs would be great, if they worked
Remember my saga on Pearlsky’s wheelchair(s)? We went through three or four (depends on how you count) until we got one that, well, in non-technical jargon, “worked”? (One of MANY posts on the subject). It took months to get an $8000 wheelchair that was not scratched and had wheels that, get this, TURNED. Finally, we did.
And all along I thought it was ME! I thought Sunrise Medical hated me, or Pearlsky, or both. But nooooo, it is not us! It’s all crips!
Here, my friends, a timeline:
- Claire orders a wheelchair for her daughter Sophie
- Said chair delivered, December 23, 2010
- Claire discovers that the chair DOES NOT TURN NOR GO STRAIGHT when it is not tilted, December 23, 2010
- Claire contacts Sunrise Medical on December 28, 2010
- The National Sales Director (Canada) writes “Sean is an expert when it come to mobility devices and I am confident that we will be able to put a fix into action very quickly after his visit.” It takes TWENTY days after Sunrise Medical is told the chair does not work, on January 17, 2011, for “Sean” the expert to be told.
- Sean, the “expert” sees the NON-WORKING chair on January 25, 2011. He agrees that the chair DOES NOT WORK, there are issues with the wheels (they DON’T TURN, duh), and the armrests are wonky. The chair is 33 days old when they finally look at it, 28 days after being told the chair does not work.
- Contrary to the National Sales Director’s written confidence that “we will be able to put a fix into action very quickly,” NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE. It has been 30 days since Sean, the “expert” agreed the chair IS BROKEN, 58 days after being told THE CHAIR DOES NOT WORK.
What blows my mind is that Pearlsky’s chair had the same issue with the wheels. I took one look and told them, “just move the entire assembly one hole over on the base.” Claire and Sophie have an eight thousand dollar doorstop. Way to go, Sunrise Medical, way to go.
They really do suck it, don’t they?
Wheelchairs cost eight thousand dollars????? What the damn hell?? All the ones I’ve seen look like crap. For eight large I’d expect a spectacularly comfortable gorgeous throne that is lightweight yet durable, one that rolls in a stately fashion and turns quickly and easily, one that folds up in a wink to the size of the average manila envelope and unfurls instantly with a satisfying snap.
For that price, it should also make me dinner and run me a bath.
eight thousand dollars?! that’s more than my CAR cost, and i was angry that they wouldn’t disable the alarm for what i paid. and without a car, i could have taken the bus. the hell are these kids supposed to do?
Makes me want to go into the wheelchair business. I feel like I could probably come up with something functional for less than $8K.
Gosh how typical. Everest and Jennings had a monopoly on the wheelchair industry circa 1980 that was broken by influx of companies like Sunrise that made rigid frame chairs. Fast forward 30 years and they are the modern day equivalent of E&J. Lousy products and even worse customer service. Why no modify the frame of a chair design yourself–hiring a fabricator is not expensive when you are talking about thousands of dollars. I gave up on the DMG industry 25 years ago. Thieves and crooks abound.
We’re a captive market, and they know it.