I had indicated in my previous review that I would post my experience with Preferred after my latest appointment. Whatever the reason, luck of the draw, etc., my repair technician was "Randy". What a night and day difference to my previous experiences. "Hi, sorry you had to wait so long; what's the problem?" He heard me out, walked alongside my chair, took the shroud covering the battery compartment off and examined the batteries; then asked if he could take the chair back to the repair area. Before he did that, he went over my list of issues again, gave me a couple of thoughts as to what was causing the problems; but said he'd be back in a few minutes after running some bench testing. About 15 minutes later, he returned to advise what he had found, and indicated if I could wait for about 30 minutes, the parts necessary to repair the chair were in stock; and offered a bottle of water. Within the given 30 minutes he returned with the chair, told me he had replaced the batteries with a newer version, discussed the motor and other issues, and provided what I felt was an honest explanation of the cause of some of the problems. To wit: Medicare, Medicaid and insurance companies continue to lower their reimbursement payments for durable medical equipment - wheelchairs, etc. In order to manufacture a product that can be sold, and reimbursed by the third party payor within these reduced payment schedules, manufacturers are creating a lesser product - cheaper parts, lower cost batteries, relaxed manufacturing tolerances and quality control - which in turn is creating an ever increasing need for repair service on these products - fine if the product is under warranty (mine is), or a third party payor is footing the bill for repairs; not so fine if it is coming out of your pocket. [Think repair bills on your automobile which seem to occur the week after your warranty expires.]
After dreading another miserable Preferred experience, Randy provided a bright counterpoint to my previous encounters. I would have given this experience 5 stars; however, Yelp states, " only the rating in your most recent review counts toward the business' average rating"; and giving Preferred an overall 5 star rating would not be indicative of my past experiences.
So thanks for the great service Randy; I have a bad feeling, given what I now know, I'll be seeing you often.