“You do not have to put up with a bad service, you go through enough as it is. If you don’t like something, speak up.”

We had an interview with one of our customers, Alannah-Jayne, who shared her experience joining our support service. Have a read of it below, enjoy!

 

 

How long have you had your stoma?

It was 3 years on the 2nd June.

What type of stoma do you have?

I have an Ileostomy

How did you come to having a stoma?

Through Crohns disease and Ulcerative Colitis, I then got sepsis due to my medication and I was rushed into surgery. Then in September 2015 I was rushed into surgery due to sepsis and had my Ileostomy. I still find it difficult to manage due to my wounds not healing, and have had issues with bad constipation and blockages with my stoma.

How long have you been on the Respond service?

I joined in August 2018

How did you hear about our service?

I went to the Purple Wings ball and, saw the Respond stall and signed up there. I have been with quite a lot of companies and always had awful service with them (not having deliveries on time or the correct products being delivered) so I saw the stand and decided I wanted to change. It has been really good!

Have you ever had any issues with the service?

No, none at all.

Do you ever have any problems getting through on the phone?

No, never. Jayne (customer care advisor in the Perth office) emails straight away if there any issues with out of stock products etc – she will always communicate and solves the issues quickly. It’s nice having the one person to go back to, which is an experience I have never had before.

How do you receive your goods?

Through a delivery driver/courier company called DPD, and I receive a text notification of when my parcel is coming.

What sort of support do you get from the service?

It’s more of a personal contact, where it was more clinical with the other companies, there was no familiarity before, whereas Jayne is always personable and takes time to talk.

What do you think of your respond team? If you could sum them up in 3 words what would it be?

Exceptional, personal service, and fabulous!

What worried you about changing?

Te fear of having to go through all my products and the person not knowing anything about it, the last company didn’t have a lot of knowledge but now I don’t need to sit there explaining products anymore.

Why did you decide to change?

Seeing the stall at the Purple Wings ball and seeing what was available (like the washbag). I didn’t realise that half of the things I had been sampling were Respond products!

How easy did respond make it for you to change?

Very easy – I given a clipboard to fill in my details and then within 2 weeks someone phone me and got it all sorted. It was the easiest switch I ever had.

What difference have you noticed in respond to the old service?

Quicker service, more personable, urgent orders not an issue. My previous supplier had told me there was nothing they could do when I had ran out of products over an Easter break so I had to use old, itchy bags for 5 days until it was sorted, now that’s not an issue anymore.

What is it you particularly like? Can you name 5 things?

The contact and communication that I receive – I can order through email, I receive an order confirmation and am notified if something is out of stock.

How did you get to know that you did not have to use the same delivery company and service you were using?

Through online support groups.

What advice would you give to somebody reading this about changing where you get your supplies from?

Always ask someone who is a service user first for first hand experience so that you can ask that person any questions. It’s the same as going to a hairdresser; you want to know someone who also goes there for advice and feedback!

How likely would you recommend?

10/10! I have already recommended to a friend, my boyfriend is also on the service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What would you say to someone thinking about changing who were worried that it was going to be difficult?

Not to worry at all – the person on the other end knows exactly what they are doing and talking about, it’s no problem at all.

You do not have to put up with a bad service, you go through enough as it is. If you don’t like something, speak up.

If somebody was worried about getting their supplies from somewhere else, would you suggest that they tried Respond and gave the service a go?

Yes definitely. Even on support groups like the Colostomy UK one, people ask for recommendations and I have recommended Respond.

Where would you say we could improve?

The only thing I could suggest is more blogging – more experiences for people to read online.