Customer crosses continents to visit UK mobility retailer
Just how far would you be willing to travel for good customer service? To a different town? Maybe a different county? For British expat Ian Reid, a wheelchair user for over 30 years who now resides in South Africa, he decided to cross a continent in order to purchase from the team at Motus Medical.
Originally, Ian had planned to purchase the Sunrise Quickie LXi whilst stopping in the USA for five days this April, however, he reported running into pricing and customer care difficulties.
“I spent three months contacting so-called suppliers in America and two replied with a price of 999 US dollars and said they would deliver to my Hotel in Seattle as I would be there for five days in August,” explained Ian.
“Both never replied again when I started explaining my needs, five others did not bother to reply at all and one kept in contact with me but when I mentioned their competitors were all selling the Quickie LXi at 999 US dollars, they wrote back impossible, this was the old price and they would supply at 1765.75 US dollars.”
Disheartened with the service but keen to purchase a wheelchair in the USA due to the difference in price to South America, where the depreciating South African Rand has led to price inflation, Ian decided to take his search online and look in the UK.
“A basic wheelchair in South Africa [not many models to choose from] is some 2000 US dollars more expensive than the quoted prices in the USA, so you can understand why I wanted to purchase on my visit there,” said Ian.
After discovering Motus Medical online, Ian contacted the company and spoke with co-founder Chris Taylor about purchasing his chair from the Stafford retailer instead.
Chris told THIIS: “Ian found us online and contacted me via our website. We had several calls where I first explained that we don’t normally prescribe chairs over the phone or e-mail, so we would really need to get a very good idea of what it is he needed.”
Following many calls and emails with pictures of his current chair, its dimensions and additions including a Quickie Wheelchair backpack and cup holder, the two developed a prescription to order a new Quickie Life Folding wheelchair as an alternative solution to the LXi which is discontinued in the UK.
With his new chair ordered, Motus Medical took customer service one step further, managing every aspect of the sale to ensure Ian’s needs were met.
“Ian flew into Birmingham then travelled on the train at our advice and stayed in a hotel in Stafford,” said Chris.
“I then collected Ian from the hotel and brought him to his new chair at Motus HQ, fitted his old crutch holder and a brand-new backpack all free of charge. He then told me about the extortionate cost of Crutches in South Africa, so we got on the phone to Jackie James at Sunrise Medical (best customer service ever) and arranged for a pair to be ready for me to collect and I dropped them back with Ian on Thursday.”
Chris added: “In between this, we also had a very nice haddock and beer battered fish and chip dinner at the Swan hotel in Stafford, where Ian had mushy peas for the first time in years!”
The experience is one that left Ian overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation for the mobility retailer.
“I really do not have words to describe how much I appreciated everything you did for me and both your company and yourself went far beyond any customer service I have ever experienced in my life,” said Ian.
“The backpack is awesome and as I have decided to keep the wheelchair permanently in my car, it will be in use every day. I am still speechless over the crutches as well and I certainly was blessed to have contacted you and the company and I feel you have wonderful people orientated to those with a disability which is difficult to find after my Canada and USA experience.”
Pleased to have met Ian’s needs, Chris explained to THIIS that he believes good customer service starts with both parties having open dialogue and the retailer having a clear understanding of the customer’s needs.
“To my mind, this is where customer service is best explained, as it’s important you have a contract with the client regardless of where they live, so you can both know what the outcome will be.
“That’s customer service!”
https://thiis.co.uk/how-far-would-you-be-willing-to-travel-for-good-customer-service/https://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Motus.jpghttps://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Motus-150x150.jpgNewsroomRetailer Newscustomer service,Ian Reid,mobility retailer,Motus Medical,Quickie,Quickie Life,South Africa,Sunrise,Sunrise Quickie LXi,United StatesJust how far would you be willing to travel for good customer service? To a different town? Maybe a different county? For British expat Ian Reid, a wheelchair user for over 30 years who now resides in South Africa, he decided to cross a continent in order to purchase...Calvin BarnettCalvin Barnettcalvin.barnett@bhta.comAuthorTHIIS Magazine