Has anyone here, actually called or contacted Phonak, or any other Manufacturer, about any issue… like quirky behavior and perceived defects, options involving accessories, or seeking concrete feature update information and timeline, and if so, what kind of response did you receive?
Where you happy with their response. Did they say they would follow up with you, and did they? Did you have this kind of experience just once, or multiple times? With just one company or multiple companies for different instruments for example? Did the experience lead you to buy their brand or question buying it? Also, if their phone apps, have a feature that solicit feedback, did you every follow up and try to use that feature… Did it make you feel better about the brand - or worse?"
What country was that - Some say service varies greatly by home country?
I had a good experience with Sonova when I was having trouble pairing my TV Connector. However it was a simple issue and easy to fix. It made me feel better about the brand and I was glad the resource was available. This was a one time experience. Two things make me want to stick with Sonova. 1)I’m tied into their ecosystem as I have a TV Connector, PartnerMic and Roger On iN v2 and 2) I like their system.
Thank you DaveL. I just added that question.
Really I guess I should have learned to use the Polling feature… but also thought a conversational response allowing more depth of explanation, as some have give here, to be of value. I am closely watching this, and think response here could be of some interest to persons considering purchase as well as feedback to any in management that might visit here… if they ever care to do that?
We’re in a transition period. Historically, the end user has not been the manufacturer’s client. The clinician is the client. Manufacturers wouldn’t talk to consumers and you HAD to go through the clinician.
Things are changing a bit. Particularly since covid manufacturers have gotten a bit more open to direct consumer calls. A bit. Variably. Clinicians are also more open to this, I think primarily because they don’t like being bluetooth techs and would prefer the manufacturer to do this non-medical part of it.
But on the whole, the manufacturers aren’t really set up to take huge numbers of consumer calls. They are set up to serve the much smaller number of clinicians, who in turn serve the patients. There just aren’t that many people there to take consumer calls. Even when I call in, I’m expecting to talk to one of three people who might possibly pick up my call.
I have contacted Phonak Canada a few times by email and my questions have been answered - usually with pointers to put to my audiologist - which I do not have as I am self-fitting. My request for repair parts and warranty service was answered with a directive to go through my audiologist.
Exactly! It was regarding experience either directly with the company, OR getting satisfaction through your vender if your vender was simply following up to articulate your issue. Meaning not something that was already in the works, or simply a request for something that previously and routinely was being provided.
So I refer to addressing a software deficiency, a promised firmware update, a promised feature upgrade or addition, a new item, flavor or accessory based on public clamoring for it.
the reason for my question - a little background:
few months ago I had extreme frustration as a new customer with the Phonak App.
I voiced it here for over month… and did not feel too loved.
Even though some did fully sympathize, most excused or poo-poohed it.
Worse, I don’t know that anyone at all ever actually took my plea to call them on it.
I ranted at my online dealer… a great dealer… but he did not appreciate my anger. Though eventually he actually apologized for failing to at first be sympathetic.
He did insist that customers have more clout than dealers.
I refuse to believe that. It defies business sense.
Eventually he did call the company and even relayed to me that they would be getting back to him. I don’t expect they ever did. He never brought it up, over many texts and calls, regarding other things… and I chose not to follow up with him… yet, now six weeks or so.
HOWEVER, I DID call Phonak, and spoke to a guy named Jerome, for over half an hour. He promised he would get back to me in a few days. I waited a week. Never heard from him. I called again… He certainly remembered me.
Repeatedly he asked that I email him.
His email at Phonak was info@phonak so I doubted he would ever get my mail himself.
I asked him to email me, his understanding of my complaints, before I would hang up. He did that but it was in a choppy English, and failed to paint the full picture of my issues.
Now, it is another three weeks. I feel guilty for not keeping my promise to email him, or Phonak. But honestly after all these weeks I feel it is unlikely to get any satisfaction. And would just be wasting more time… However I have all my issues in one WORD.DOC, so I just need to consolidate it. Am I happy ? Absolutely not.
In fact, every single day, I am reminded of the sick and faulty app design that activates the microphones, when I nudge or raise the streaming volume. What craziness is that? I also have trouble learning all I need about more molds I want to purchase. My dealer is waiting for me to find out to tell him (!!!)
BUT would I enjoy my investment any more, if I complain, and get no satisfaction, than if I did not? Must I always be the one articulating the issue and fighting for what everyone should care enough to try to do ?
So perhaps to rationalize my laziness, I figured I would ask to see if others have found any satisfaction.
Yeah right mate, the customer from hell is all they need to hear from, so your correct on a few things that actually matter, they don’t give a stuff for your suffering, just one of tens of thousands of people who spend their hard earned money with a big corporation running a cartel, man I learnt many years ago to dump this industry, I buy online cheap and , i have a local clinic and a Uni department I can call on for molds to be made etc
Honestly big corporations just take any complaints with a grain of salt, nothing you say here or anywhere else will sway these guys to listen unfortunately, I honestly pity the people that spend up to 8k and then get this so called “service” once they have your money to help pay the shareholders your satisfaction means nothing.
I understand how you feel. I had trouble with the App too. My dispensing Audi encouraged me to use it. I’ve even printed off the users manual. Read it. Googled it. Tried to learn.
When I can’t hear I pull out my iPhone. Turn on the App. And I feel like I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole. I just want to hear better
The App doesn’t help.
You and I have talked. I have great respect for you
Some days I feel they market hearing aids like big companies sell cars.
When you put in a complaint/feature request, it goes into basically a big pile of requests and to a certain extent they count how many instances of a particular complaint are being made and then that is what goes up for development.
Am I understanding correctly that your issue is that you mute the hearing aid microphones while streaming (button on hearing aid or button on app), and then when you turn up the volume on your phone (button side of phone) the hearing aid microphones unmute?
I am not sure that this is a very common complaint, so you may not get any satisfaction there unless a developer sees it and thinks, “oh, I have a very simple fix for that”.
Is there a way around it? Is this something you are doing constantly? Could you just have the streaming gain in your hearing aids raised or lowered?
Customer from hell ?!? Is there a flag for that location?.. sounds like a diplomatic overture to a new 51st State. Well actually the idea is that one customer, can sometimes mobilize many, and then those mobilized become masses that MAKE A DIFFERENCE ! The only thing constant is change!
Yes. I emailed w/my issue and the response was I should go to my audiologist. I had been w/the audiologist but couldn’t get the aids to work well in groups/restaurants/etc. thought contacting company directly would at least give me some ideas to try. So that didn’t work.
Communication failure is often the first indication of poor customer service, and little respect for the customer. BUT the squeaky gear gets the grease! Lets squeak up more!
Canada (Toronto) YYZ
Rural New England
Well actually the idea is that one customer, can sometimes mobilize many, and then those mobilized become masses that MAKE A DIFFERENCE ! The only thing constant is change!
Poland