Supply Delivery - MY FIRST RANT

[mallory]

I am so ticked off.  As most of you know, I started PD on December 7th.  On the 6th, my dialysis clinic told me they had placed my initial supply order with Baxter and I would be receiving sixty boxes of solution (a two month supply, according to them), plus the cassettes and "other supplies".  Well, I was not prepared for that.  Sixty boxes is a lot to store and I had thought I would get about thirty.  But, we adjusted and we found a place we could put them temporarily.  They told me Baxter would deliver them on December 14th, and they would call me the day before to give me a three hour window of time to expect the delivery.  They did not call on the 13th, but I thought they would probably call on the morning of the 14th.  No.  On the morning of the 14th I am right in the middle of an exchange and I think I hear a truck pulling up.  Yes!  The supplies are here! At 8:00 in the morning with no warning!  I had to hurry and stop the exchange and deal with the delivery.

So this month, I am prepared.  I fill out my order sheet with the supplies I have and call Baxter on Tuesday, January 9th.  They tell me that the dialysis clinic has already placed my order, they tell me what it is (thirty boxes of solution) and that it will be delivered on Thursday the 11th.

I go home, I make sure the path is clear to the closet I have cleaned out for the boxes, get my remaining supplies all organized, ask my boss if I can work from home on Thursday because I'm getting this delivery, call my clinic and ask them what to do with all the boxes of stuff I don't use.  I am ready for my Thursday delivery, no matter what time they show up.

My Dad just called me and told me that someone had just left thirty boxes of stuff for me in the living room.  What the heck?!  They came a day early?! They came when I wasn't there?!  My Dad, the only person home during the day, is 73 years old and has early Alzheimer's.  He can't remember that I'm on dialysis, let alone where the boxes should go or how to rotate the supplies.   

Now, tonight, my 73 year old Dad, my sister with arthritis and I will get to try to move the thirty new boxes clear through my house to put them in the closet for storage, as well as trying to move the other boxes to keep the supplies rotated.

This is just not acceptable to me.  I can't live this way.  Has anyone else had this problem?  And just how many weeks of supplies do you have to keep on hand?  My clinic told me they want me to have the current months supplies, two weeks of manual supplies, and, twelve boxes of additional supplies in case they change my solution.  That's twenty-eight boxes of current supplies and twenty-four boxes of reserve.  I don't live in a warehouse!  That seems like a lot to ask someone to store.

Am I being unreasonable?  Do I just need to get over it?  If I do, tell me and I will, I've adjusted to a lot of other things, but this just doesn't seem right to me.

[Sluff]

The only thing I can say is you need to B*tch at someone, tell them you have tried to make the proper arrangements twice in a row, and now if no-one is home at any other time they decide to show up that they will have to make an extra delivery at the stated time you originally agreed to. Tell them point blank you have a life and If your father gets out of the house or gets hurt because they deliver early the LAW suits will fly.

[Ohio Buckeye]

That is strange.
My delivery guy comes in, rotates, stacks, etc. and I've
never had a problem.  That is unacceptable.  I would certainly
be calling and compaining.  I've heard if space is a problem, a 2 wk. supply is sometimes
done.  think I read that on the site here.  at any rate you should not be
moving, stacking, rotating, etc.  that is driver's job.

[mallory]

That's what I thought.  They told me they would let me know when the stuff was coming and the driver would rotate the boxes and put them where I need them.  But that's just not happening.  I am so upset about this.  My poor Dad, he had no idea what was going on or what all this stuff was for.  We've tried so hard to get a routine established for him so he understands exactly what is going on.  Unexpected things just throw him for a loop, let alone someone delivering thirty boxes.

I do have room for one month of supplies, but it's the twenty-four extra boxes that I'm having a little trouble with.  It's two weeks worth of manual supplies and twelve boxes of solutions I don't even use "just in case" they change what I use.  Is that what all of you have to keep on hand?

Why does everything have to be so hard when you're on dialysis?

[Ginger]

I would certainly complain loudly to someone where you order from.  Deliveries like that are unacceptable!!!  I have not had any problem with my deliveries other than them coming earlier in the morning than I like. When I was going to be out of town on my delivery day, they were very accommodating and came when I would be home. My supply order and delivery dates are 2 weeks apart and they send me a schedule at the beginning of the year so I know the dates for ordering and also the delivery date. The day before the delivery they always call to give me the time window. One day the automated call did not wait for the answering machine and I missed most of the call so I called them to get the time and it worked well.

As for supplies on hand--I do not have a full 2 weeks worth of manual supplies. I hate waste and had to throw some supplies out that I did not use because they were solutions that I do not use. So I  do not have boxes of solution that I would not use. I have no 4.5%, as I never use them. I do have a few extra 2.5%.

Remember that the suppliers work for you too and that you have a life.  Complain very loudly and quickly!!!

[Ohio Buckeye]

I have some manual supplies on hand.
I understood you're supposed to keep some in case of power
outages, etc. 
I would be calling and compaining.  My del. guy always rotates, stacks,
etc.  even when there's been a sub, they have also.
Too heavy for me to lug around.

[kitkatz]

They make it hard becasue they just really do not KNOW what dialysis is really like!  :banghead;You have to show them what it is like and get them on your side.  Or else bItch them out make the DO it right!

[angela515]

I have never dealt with Baxter, I use Fresenius, but I believe they have the same standards when it comes to deliveries. You definately need to complain. One time my drive was on vacation, so another driver came, and I asked him if he had any questions on where the stuff should go b/c I needed to go help my son and change him, he said he had it under control and he was fine. So I see him driving away, and I finish with my kids and then go chek and see how he did.... he left the boxes and everything on the pallet and left it fo me to unpack... oh, NO, I will NOT move the boxes and rotate and such, it is NOT my job. I called Fresenius right away, told them what happened, and in 30 minutes he returned and did the job right with his tail between his legs.

It is THERE job to rotate the supplies and move them and such... they get paid to do it. As for how much supplies to keep on hand, I refuse to keep more than I have room for. I order enough for a month and a few extras days, and I do this each month and sometimes I have to cut my order shorter than the previous month b/c of the few extra boxes each month adding up to a week or 2 supply or even more and I need to use them up. Either way, you only need to order what you need for a month, b/c deliveries or only once a month. They cant make you order a 2 months supply... Speak your voice!

[mallory]

It's good to hear all of this, I am going to complain to Baxter.  I talked with my dialysis clinic nurses yesterday and they said that the regular driver is out and that all of their patients have been complaining.  They said some patients didn't even get their orders at all and they are going to call Baxter and complain on behalf of all of us.  Apparently Baxter contracts with Rodeway if they don't have a driver, and it was Rodeway that made the deliveries.

It's good to know what they do for all of you, that way I know what I can realistically ask them to do.  Meanwhile, we just put away four boxes each night, that's about as much as we can do. 

Next month will be better!

[anja]

Must be the time of year for regular drivers to be out...   I got my delivery via "Hot Shots" never heard of them  before and the delivery person said he volunteered to take the route.  Well, he was huffing and puffing so loudly after bringing the first cart of fluids in that I asked if he would like a drink of water and rest a bit.  He said, "no, but if I had known there would be steps, I would not have taken this route, I think my hip is going to go out before I get done!"  Well, upon hearing this, I got a bit worried and was glad that DB had come out from town to be here to do door duty ( have outdoor kitties that think delivery time is great for sneaking in...)  and it was cold.  Immediately DB sprang into action, going to the van, pushing the handtruck to the house, pulling it up the 6 steps, with the delivery guy following behind and helping a bit to get it up the steps.  DB continued to do all the rest of the order this way to help the guy out, but he paid for it the next day!  He is no whimp, goes to the gym almost daily to lift weights and walks a coulple miles every day, but those carts with all that fluid up steps is another story!  I would like to complain to the company, but what good would it do???  They just better never send him again!!! I would just have to refuse the order till they sent someone that could handle it~ 

[jedimaster]

I had a very similar problem, with Fresinius....the delivery guy just refused to rotate and even left stuff in the living room. We complained...the next time the same guy came back, did the same...but with an added attitude!!!!
We complained (well...my wife did on my behalf)...this time in witting and cc nurses, doctors, etc, PLUS called the supervisor and explained with detail that the situation was unacceptable...they promised to change driver.
Last two times we got a new driver, now everything works fine. Soooo....COMPLAIN and COMPLAIN until they fix the situation. Share your frustration with your head nurse, social worker and doctor...make it everybody´s problem.

[BigSky]

I would first call and find out just what the obligations are for the delivery driver to do.  That way you can make valid complaints that will be taken seriously and not get dismissed because some of them may be for things not required of the driver.

I worked in warehouse accepting deliveries and did deliveries and what a driver is to do can vary greatly from company to company.


We would always try to give a call if we were early or late.  However many times cell reception is bad or the people would not answer the phone.


Some drivers are required to deliver product and rotate it, some delivery into home, some to the door only and some are to only deliver to the back of the truck and that is it. 

Also a company may call with a window for delivery but actually contract out to another company for delivery and that company has an entirely different schedule for delivery as they may deliver for more than one company at a time.

I seen Rodeway mentioned.  Don't know if that is suppose to be Roadway?  Anyway they (Roadway) are one of the companies that delivered product to us and their policy at the time was to deliver product to the end of the truck only, from there it was up to the customer to unload product.  Some drivers did more than others with actually helping unload but many would refuse to do any more than they had to.

[mallory]

Oh, sorry, it probably was Roadway.  My delivery sheet said Reddaway, which I've never heard of, but the dialysis nurses told me it was Roadway.  They said Baxter has a contract with Roadway and the Roadway driver was supposed to do anything a Baxter driver would do, including rotating the stock and putting the boxes where you want them.

My problem was that they delivered them on the wrong day, my Dad would never remember where the stuff goes, and I need to be there when they make the delivery. 

My dialysis clinic is calling Baxter for all of us, but I am going to mention it next time I call to order, they just can't do this again.

[Black]

Boy, can I sympathize!

After a day of dialysis training with Mike, I drove home from Charleston, a 200 mile drive, to be home for the first delivery, which was scheduled on Friday, between 9 AM and Noon.  I got home about 10PM Thursday night and the front porch was stacked with UPS boxes.

The PureFlow cabinet had the warning tape that it weighed "more than 70 pounds".  There were several boxes of saline which weighed more than I usually carry by myself, several boxes of NxStage cartridges, several boxes of PureFlow bags, two purification Paks, and a few cases of bagged dialysate - total of 21 boxes and some boxes were damaged, dented and torn (one had a busted bag of dialsyate which later leaked in the closet).  I called Mike and told him to tell the training nurse when he went in the next morning.  Then his female cousin and I lugged it all in.  Thank God I wasn't here by myself.  We would have left it 'til morning but the temperature outside was probably in the low 20s and I didn't know what the hours in sub-freezing temp would do to the contents.  We got to bed after midnight!

Our second shipment arrived without warning.  Mike came home from an errand and there it was, UPS boxes, stacked on the front porch.  Don't know when it came as I did not hear anything -- maybe when I was in the shower???

When we get back from Miami in April I am going to DEMAND that better delivery procedures be implemented.

[Ohio Buckeye]

That is absolutely awful!  What a nightmare.
My supplies come in a Baxter truck and I've never had a
problem.  Thet usually call or I call them to get a window frame
for delivery.  This month because of snow-ice storm del. was
moved up 2 days.  If mine were left on outside
i'd never be able to get them in.  I hope you can get this
straightened out soon.
 

[KICKSTART]

My deliveries in the UK come from a company called uni-care. I get a monthly delivery and it always comes on the day due, however it can be anything from 8 am to 8 pm , i was told that if the driver turns up while i am doing dialysis he had to wait till i had finished, but they never do , luckily this only happened once and they came back later that day . However one thing they do not do is ROTATE the stock and i cant do it on my own. Apart from that the drivers/call centre are great !!!

[Ken Shelmerdine]

My deliveries in the UK come from a company called uni-care. I get a monthly delivery and it always comes on the day due, however it can be anything from 8 am to 8 pm , i was told that if the driver turns up while i am doing dialysis he had to wait till i had finished, but they never do , luckily this only happened once and they came back later that day . However one thing they do not do is ROTATE the stock and i cant do it on my own. Apart from that the drivers/call centre are great !!!

I use Unicare and my driver rotates the stock no problem. I guess it depends on the driver.

[angela515]

I dont know the rules in the UK, but here in the US, drivers are required to rotate supplies.

[KICKSTART]

Yes the rules are that they are supposed to rotate the stock , but mine are always in to much of a hurry it seems, i dont actually ask them to do it as i feel they should check it anyway , but when i look after a delivery , the new stuff is just piled up in front of the old stuff and i cant move it around , i am keeping an eye on dates and will be telling the call centre shortly about this