Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/04/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I went in for a hearing checkup and they informed me they needed to change my hearing aids program witch they did. Now I'm unable to use them. I ask them to change them back and they want to charge me to try something else. My feeling are I pay them to try something else and if it doesn't work what then. I feel they are trying to nickel and dime me. I wasn't have any trouble before going in there.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/08/2025

  Mr. ******* has been incredibly rude to me and my staff, but weve attempted to help him every step of the way.  When he purchased the hearing aids, he received a significant discount from his insurance company through a 3^rd party program that we participated with at the time. Though he got a discount, they only pay for limited follow-up services.  We have a signed contract on file from his purchase in 2022 showing that he is responsible to pay each time he comes in after his service plan ended in September of 2023.  He was offered a service plan at that time (that would allow him to have unlimited visits for 3 years) and he declined that.  He was notified (on the deliver receipt) that shows the last date of his covered visits from his insurance company. 

   

  We have some history of this patient being a little hard to deal with.  In one case, he demanded that we send the devices in for repair (though we were able to fix them here).  It turned out to be an issue with how he was putting them in the charger.  Before the date in question, the patient was already upset with us from an appointment on August 5. He brought both hearing aids in because one wasnt working due to a faulty wire, which we replaced (under warranty).  For that visit, he paid for the clean and check for both devices but was not charged for the wire replacement since it was under warranty. The other device was working fine, he just wanted it cleaned. On that date, before we did any work, we gave him an estimate, he signed it, then we charged him what we told him he would charge him before we ever did the work. He left mad because we did not change the wire on the hearing aid that was working fine. While we did check it out to make sure it was working (hed already told us this device was working find) and cleaned it and ran it through our dryer, we did not replace the wire because it was already working fine. Our agreement with the manufacturer does not allow us to replace wires that are currently working.  If they find out that we are submitting warranty claims for things that are working, they can fine us or cancel our account entirely.  He was mad that we didnt change a part of a hearing aid that was already working, and theres nothing that we could say to help him understand that.

   

  On the date in question here: the patient came to see us on October 9, 2024.  We did testing and changed some of the programming of his hearing aids because he said he thought his hearing might have changed. As a part of that programming, we do something called Real Ear Measurements during which we use small microphones (in the patients ear) to make sure that the hearing aid output is performing correctly compared to how its been programmed.  While the devices might have gotten wax in them or something after the appointment, they were performing correctly when he left (as measured by an objective test). The provider also changed the domes (little rubber pieces on the end that go into your ear).  According to the report, he reported that the sound was comfortable and clear when he left.  Hes the one who told us that he wanted changes.  The report doesnt specifically note his demeanor, since patients can request copies of the report, but I gather that he wasnt too friendly as this appointment either.  We dont often document that that the patient can bring it back to change back to original settings or document that we went over realistic expectations in the chart notes.  That usually indicates someone who is possibly a little hard to deal with.

   

  There is a note at the bottom of his chart for that day that says if he did not like the changes, he could come back and we would change it back.  However, he was so rude to our staff (who was just explaining our normal policies which say that you have to pay for services) that she never got a chance to tell him that we would change it back before he hung up.  She was just trying to explain our process and how things are billed normally when he hung up on her. 

   

  We have to bring in $257 per hour just to break even.  So, every time I schedule him for a 30 minute appointment, I lose about $61.  We arent trying to nickel and dime him. To be honest, his temperament has historically been a little unsettling to the staff, so we certainly dont want him to be at the clinic any more than necessary. But, when patients come in and our staff spends time fixing their issues, we have to charge them, even if we know that they will probably not like it. We always let them know the cost up front.

   

  We have very affordable service plan options, but he chose not to do that. He was informed that he would have to pay for follow-up services on the day he purchased the devices.  While our provider did tell him that we would change things back if he didnt like the changes, he was so rude and disrespectful to our staff that it looks like our staff member never got a chance to tell him that (from reading the chart note) before he hung up on her.  If he told her She told me that she would change it back without charging me, our staff member wouldve known to ask or look at the note further.  She was just explaining our normal process to him, never explaining that hed been told differently, and chose to go off on one of our team members instead of calmly explaining what the provider said. 

   

  We go WAY out of the way to take care of our patients, but we cant tolerate that kind of attitude and would not call someone like that back.  People can get upset from misunderstandings, and that happens periodically.  But he was  downright rude and didnt give her a chance to even figure out what was going on.

   

  I understand that there are two sides to every story.  I dont doubt that he feels like we are terrible people who are trying to make our fortune $68 at a time.  We dont send patients to collections, we bill insurance for everything we can (many audiologists do not) and if we quote a patients insurance responsibility incorrect, we eat the cost.  We go overboard in terms of patient care.  But hes been in our office 9 times in two and a half years and has only paid a total of $143 out of his pocket.  We arent trying to over-charge him.  Instead of trying to contact a manager or owner at the practice, he spent much more time contacting you guys for something that couldve easily been remedied if hed allowed our staff member to get clarification or ask questions (before he went on his tirade).

   

  If he had ever spoken to me, I couldve calmly explained much of this to him and told him that we would change the settings back, no problem. If he wasnt so disrespectful to our staff and hadnt hung up on her, she might have had a chance to explain this to him as well.  But when someone calls and acts foolish, our staff is put on the defensive and it throws them off, meaning that they wont ever be able to give the correct information due to being upset that another grown person is speaking to them that way.  Ill talk to our staff about how to handle those situations better and work with them on diffusing the situation (if the person will stay on the phone without hanging up!).  Ive also told them that I dont expect them to take any verbal abuse from any patient, that they need to send anyone like that to me.  I got an email about this patient, but since he hung up mid-sentence and had been less than nice on the phone, I was not going to call him back.  We make plenty of mistakes, but we purposefully hire front desk staff that are kind and understanding, and I know for a fact that no one was disrespectful to him and our staff member didnt deserve to be talked to that way.

   

  99% of the problems that come up with hearing aids are due to user error: they need to be cleaned properly, wax trap changed, dried out, etc.  It was 7 days between the appointment and when he called with this issue, so Im guessing this is something easily fixable but that he caused.  While we try to teach patients how to do these things at home, but some are not as receptive to teaching as others, so we offer those services for them.

   

  Im always happy to do anything within reason to try to resolve situations like this.  After that call and his history, Im honestly not sure how our staff feels about him coming back.  But, heres what Ill do: Ill ship him a box and pre-paid label. He can send the hearing aids back to us.  Well change the programming back to what it was before the last visit, check them (again, like we did last time) to make sure they are working properly and Ill ship them back to him.  He wont have to drive here and wont have to pay a dime. 

   

  While we cant have patients talk to our staff in a disrespectful manner, I will be happy to fix this problem at no cost to the patient without him having to drive here, even though Im almost sure that his hearing aid problems are self-inflicted (since they were working when he left and he didnt call until a week later).

   

  Let me know what we need to do!  We dont want this hanging over our heads.

   

  Thanks for reaching out one more time. Hopefully any further communication will come directly to me!

   

  Jordan Coates, MBA

  Coates Hearing Clinic, P.A.

  ************ | Smithfield Office

  ************ | Goldsboro Office

  ************ | Direct Line

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/08/2025

   
  Complaint: 22637454
  First it was your staff that was rude and you wouldn't respond to my emails.

  The hearing aids were working well until your staff changed them. I tried to get used to them but I couldn't deal with the chirping. The fact that the response tries to put me at fault shows the type of company you are.

  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2025

  Our staff member was not rude to a patient, even if they were rude to them. If our staff was rude, I think that would've been included in the intial complaint.  While we may make mistakes on things sometimes, the staff who answers the phone are not only trained to try to help, we only hire people who are kind and laid back enough to stay calm when patients get upset and are unkind on the phone.  I've personally checked each of our clinic's inboxes (including junk and deleted) and we do not have an email from Mr. ************** We have not heard from him since that day that he hung up on the staff. 

  The fact is this: the devices were working properly when they left our office. The complaint says that the devices were "unusable" after our changes.  But, they were working fine when he left.  Our chart note for that days even says that the pt verbalized that the sound was "comfortable and clear" before leaving.  Something could've happened in the days after he left the office, but the programming can't be changed after a patient leaves, so that didn't cause this.

  If they were chirping and unable to be used immediately, I don't believe the patient would've told us that they sounded good when he put them on and it certainly wouldn't have taken 7 days for the patient to call us back and tell us.  I'm not questioning that the devices have some sort of issue now, as these are small electronics and are subject to having issues sometimes.  Outside of neglecting to clean the devices, there's nothing that Mr. ******* would've done to cause the devices to malfunction in this manner. So it's not his fault (and we've never said that it was). The provider made a note that we could change the settings back to the patient's original settings if he wanted.  Though these settings have nothing to do with the chirping issue, but we've still offered to help.

  When a patient calls in and is not nice to our staff and doesn't give us a chance to even read the full chart note before they hang up, I'm just not sure how it leads to charges that we are in the wrong.  If he said "Hey, I want the hearing aids changed back to the original settings, the doc said she would do that" there would've been no question.  He would've come in, we could've fixed whatever other issue was going on and he would've been on his way.  But when someone calls and is mad from the start and doesn't give us a chance to investigate his situation before hanging up on us, there's really not a lot we can do.

  The changes we made did not cause the issue with the hearing aids. If the changes we made caused the hearing aids to chirp, that would've been evident immediately. Since it took a week before the issue started, the chirping is due to something else.  Though I'm not sure what that issue is, I'm sure we could fix it (and we've offered to do so).

  His comment that our response to this is "showing what kind of company we are" is correct. Even though a patient called and was rude to our staff and hung up before we could even investigate his issue or offer options, we are still attempting to remedy the situation at no cost to him (though it will cost us money).  The complaint has been filed and it's on our BBB record now, so if the goal was to hurt our reputation, he's accomplished that  Even though there's literally nothing in it for us, and we've taken a hit on our reputation and our staff member had to deal with a VERY uncomfortable phone call, we still attempted to try to help by offering to pay to have the devices shipped to us and shipped back to the clinic.  THAT's the kind of company we are, continuing to try to help though there's nothing in it for us.

  Since Mr. ******* isn't interested in taking us up on the offer to fix his issue at no cost to him, I'm just not sure what else can be done.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/11/2025

   
  Complaint: 22637454
  First I want to state the only time I was upset was the last phone call. I'm not sure why Dr ***** is stating otherwise.
  I did have a problem witch I brought them in and they said they couldn't find the problem. They asked if I wanted them to send them in and I said yes. The second problem I was told to bring them in. I did and they fixed it in house. They told me that there was a problem with one and they fixed it. I asked about the other and they said it was working fine. I was ok with that and I left not upset like you stated. The last visit I was told it was time for a hearing test. They preformed it and said my hearing had changed. (I did not say I thought my hearing changed) They changed my hearing aids and I told them everything seemed really high pitched and I would get used to it. I said ok and left. I tried to wear them and I might have got used to them but 1 side would cheap a lot and the other side would do it some. That's when I called and explained the problem. I feel the lady was rude and I got upset. I then became rude also. I figured that if dr ***** knew about it she would want to fix the problem. I emailed her and as she admitted she ignored it. So I'm stuck with hearing aids that because of the chirping are unusable. So that's why I filed a complaint with the BBB. Now I'm thinking that I can't trust them so I'm not sure what to do. It seems they want to fabricat a story about how I'm a bad person and they are the innocent party.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******