Follow Directions?

I know I still need to post what happened with the eye doctor especially after #DBlogCheck day led to such an incredible outpouring of “good luck” messages (thanks Chris, I had no idea I needed it, but I definitely felt encouraged).  I am still collecting my eyeball thoughts so for now, I have a little ditty about directions (I would not suggest singing this, more like hey-read-this, know-you-are-smarter-than-me, enjoy-your-far-superior-mind).

Bzzzzzzzzzz

Bzzzzzzzzzz

This morning I put my broken slidy door Dexcom receiver in it’s return-to-Dexcom packaging.  It’s been fun, Dexy.  You’re a good egg (well you’re not a 7+ so you’re less eggy and more old school original iPod-esque).  I took off the rubber band that helps me keep the receiver in my pocket (friction, yo!) and placed the rubber band on my *NEW* receiver.  Sad, but I need non busted gear.  Dexcom provided everything I needed to ship Ye Ole Busted Dex back.  Packaging, paperwork, FedEx envelop, shipping labels.  I got to my office, sealed up the envelop, put on the shipping label and placed everything on an office mate’s desk where our daily FedEx shipments are picked up.  Bye-bye Dex.

My office mate came to my office to drop off a shipment.  Nope, that’s going out, not FOR me, FROM me.  She’s super busy.  No problem.  FedEx package back to her desk.  I walked up front a bit later.  She was holding up my FedEx package.  Was she going to try to deliver it to me again?  Nope. “It’s buzzing”.  Yep, buzzing.  The FedEx envelop was indeed telling me my bg was above 160.  I checked the new Dex.  Yes, 171.  Hmmmm.

I took the package back to my desk.  According to NEW Dex, I was around 155 for awhile.  According to Leaving-Via-FedEx-Dexcom, I must have hovered in the 160s ALL. DAMN. AFTERNOON.  I realized I can’t (probably shouldn’t) send a buzzing box via FedEx.  I think I charged-up Broken Slidy yesterday.  That box will be buzzing for a bit.

I called Dexcom.  Explained I didn’t think I should send a buzzing box in an envelop.  The Dexcom dude agreed.  I kept talking because I thought they’d be upset.  I explained how I’ve been busy, I knew I’d had 2 receivers since Friday, I was sorry, I drank 2 cups of coffee instead of 1 today.  Blah, blah, blah.  On the other end of the phone, crickets.  I told the Dexcom dude the instructions did NOT say to turn the receiver off.  I talked about how I’ve been distracted but that the instructions should be spelled out.  Still crickets.  I finally said how the instructions said I would be charged ($) for the Dexcom if I didn’t get the receiver back in a timely manner.  I explained how I guess I could cut off the shipping info and tape it to a new FedEx envelop but I didn’t think they’d accept it.  Still no response beyond a “Um-hmm”.  I finally asked, “How long is a timely manner really?”.

“30 Days”.

So folks, if your Dexcom breaks, and they replace it, use common sense and turn OFF the receiver BEFORE you seal it on the return packaging.  If you do not follow these steps, please note you may drive your office mate insane as the box buzzes and she keeps checking her phone, convinced she’s getting messages from her daughter that aren’t showing up.

Also “timely” means “30 days”.

 

 

5 thoughts on “Follow Directions?

  1. heehee, good lessons!! 🙂 I”ve learned similar lessons when shipping electronics, but more than just turning off, ya gotta remove the batteries! (though probably not possible with a Dex rechargeable).
    Drove 4 hours with a car stuffed full of gear once, somewhere at the bottom of it all was a talking device (an AED trainer, if you’re familiar with such) that nattered on for the entire trip.
    I’m sure FedEx etc. are used to the odd buzzing box, they probably have fun guessing what’s inside.

  2. Ha! I’m sorry but that’s a little funny! What if you had been having a no-hitter?! Do you have the “out of range” alarm on? It would have been buzzing all the way to San Diego. That’s definitely out of range!!

    30 days?! I stressed about getting it to FedEx on day 2. I thought I was late!!

  3. Great story. Glad you got a new receiver… that’s the best part! Back in the day, I once got a pager from my company in a FedEx box. When I picked it up on the doorstep, it buzzed. I freaked and threw it across the front lawn.

  4. This story sounds all too familiar. I’ve had to return insulin pumps (more than once) to the manufacturer. They always say to set the basals to zero, but to leave the battery in so they can better diagnose the troubles I was having.

    The first time, the battery was low to start with, and as it sat on my desk (sealed in the box) waiting for UPS, it started buzzing incessantly with LOW BATTERY alarms.

    The second time, it kept buzzing every time I tested my blood sugar. Apparently, the meter beamed the result to both the old and the replacement pumps.

    The third time, it kept buzzing that it couldn’t find my CGM sensor, because it sat on the desk while I was upstairs in bed.

    The fourth time, it kept buzzing because it reached the “auto-off” time limit; the number of hours (set to 14 or so) in which – if you don’t press any buttons – it raises bloody hell because it thinks you might be dying.

    Yes, I’ve opened and re-sealed these devices plenty of times before sending them back. And I’m sure some of them have beeped and buzzed while sitting in the back of the UPS Store as well. I’ve told them, several times, that they should update their instructions for returning used insulin pumps — but to no avail.

What do you think?