WELDON SPRING, Mo. – In a FOX Files follow-up, Acorn Stairlifts is responding to an area veteran’s complaints with detailed service records.
Weldon Springs resident Bill Muckerman showed FOX 2 10 receipts for service orders over the past three years. After our story aired, Acorn Stairlifts says it gave Muckerman a brand-new carriage at no cost to help fix the problems he was having.
However, their service records show a third party may have been working on the stairlift that caused the damage in the first place.
Acorn Stairlifts U.S. VP of Operations Shawn Herbst sent us the following information regarding Muckerman’s case:
In the first year of his service, (1st 12 months-manufacturer warranty period) we were called out a total of 5 times, all for the same reasons, issues with speed, noise and Mr. Muckerman’s perception that the lift was somehow not installed correctly. We did all of these visits as a courtesy without charge even though there were never any issues found. We did find at the end of the year that the tech felt he was starting to ‘tinker’ with his own lift making adjustments.
In year two, he purchased an ASA and we were out a total of four times, all with the same issues, and one issue with F9 code, which the OSG opto-switch lead being broken, which happens when level motor cover is removed and put back on without care, impacting the lead. Tech suspecting client or third party is working on lift.
In year three, he did not purchase an ASA and we did a complimentary service in July 2023, where there were no issues found by the tech, but we had to explain to Mr. Muckerman again about speed, plumb of rail, and noises coming from his stairs. We were not called out again until 9/4…
I had a regional manager in the area and we called Mr. Muckerman on 9/5 to come out that day, he refused and requested we come out today (9/10). We found third party batteries in the lift, the OSG had been engaged, and he had taken a power drill to the drive bogie, causing the governor ‘claw’ to go completely past the OSG wheel to the opposite side, digging into the rail.
Portcullis was bent and level bogie swing arm broken with the bearings falling out. He had completely destroyed major components on the lift, he denied working on it or having a 3rd party working on it when the third party batteries were right there in the lift. Our lithium battery packs are bespoke for our lifts and he actually had another company create and he installed a custom set. Whoever was working on the lift ended up engaging the OSG and putting a power drill on it running it the wrong way and pushing the OSG claw to the opposite side of the OSG wheel. I had the tech swap the carriage so I can have staff do a full investigation.
With our blended cost to roll a truck on a service call being around $220, we have incurred a cost of over $2,400 to service Mr. Muckerman’s stairlift over the past three years, on top of the cost of a new carriage because he destroyed his. The ‘lemon’ he says he was sold was his own doing and, unfortunately, it’s clients like Mr. Muckerman that make it much more difficult for us to service clients that truly need our help because we spend so much time and money servicing clients that have a tendency to cause more problems for themselves and for us.
We do have a great technology advancement and solution that we feel will help Mr. Muckerman and us, we have installed StairSafe on his new carriage, this is a diagnostic communication device that allows us to monitor his lift real-time, so we know at all times what is happening with the lift right from our tech support center here in Orlando.
This system will notify us as soon as there is any issue and eliminates the need for over the phone troubleshooting, as well we can call clients and help them with things like parking their lift off charge, etc…where we can call the client and let them know to park the lift to save them from unnecessary callouts and save them call out fees.
If we were a big, faceless corporation, we would not try to eliminate call outs, we would charge the clients and make more money on our service side. As you can see with Mr. Muckerman’s lift, we gave Mr. Muckerman at least 10 complimentary visits we probably shouldn’t have, and a free carriage that he should have paid for, as well outside of warranty. He caused the current issue with his carriage and even told our customer service team that he didn’t want the tech that replaced his carriage today in his house again last year.
Shawn Herbst
Acorn Starlifts has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB’s website shows 221 complaints against the company over the past three years. Acorn Stairlifts says it services about 1,800 clients every week.
