Premier Care Premier Bath, Premier-Bathrooms.com, PremierCareinBathing.com USE EXTREME CAUTION SIGNING ANYTHING WITH PREMIER CARE IN BATHING!!! South Daytona, Florida

Thank you for everyone that took the time to post your experience with Premier Bath. I am a co-trustee for my father and I manage nearly all of his finances for him. He is a 4 year survivor of brain cancer, but he has disabilities similar to a stroke patient; left side neglect, left side fine motor skill impairment. Before you read any further - WE DID NOT FALL VICTIM. The below story is our experience and why we decided NOT TO BUY from Premier Bath.  He lives indepently and is able to use a regular shower, but the Premier Bath info-mercial got him concerned for his safety in the shower. He normally wears an ankle-foot orthodic to keep his left foot from dragging, but obviously can't wear that in the shower. He sent for a brochure and then the sales calls started.  A sales rep said he was going to be in our area yesterday only (10/29/2010) and that he was seeing a number of potential clients. My dad agreed to let the rep into his home, but at least had the common sense to ask my wife or I to join him. I have been a police officer for over 21 years and I was working at the time, but made it a priority to stop by his place (he lives in my area of responsibility).  The guy comes by and talks his talk, shares all the benefits, plays up the "safety" aspects and how important it was to go with Premier bath because they were both the manufacturer AND the seller. In his words, there was no middle person to "pass the buck to" in the event there were problems with the product.  One of my dad's issues is stepping into his shower. The current shower has a lip that stands up about 6 1/2" off the ground. As the sales rep is talking about how much more space my dad will have in his 1/2 master bath (a whopping 6") he also quickly mentions the step up from the floor is about 8". For those of you who know someone with my dad's condition, or you yourself have it, you will know that the extra 1 1/2" difference is a BIG difference to a person that wears an AFO and has left side neglect. The sales rep wanted to poo-poo this.

Next, he tells us that because there will be an extra 6" of floor space, they will tile the gap at "no extra charge." My dad's 1/2 bath is maybe 30 sq ft (5'x6'). I suggested to the rep that the installers just tile the remaining 10 sqft with tile instead of the current linoleum. I expressed concern that there would a 1/8-1/4" gap between the linoleum and tile. I explained that the gap between the tile and linoleum would likely trip my dad up because it was just enough to stub a toe, creating a significant risk of falling. Given the whole point of looking at Premier Bath was to keep my dad safe, I found it disconcerting that he hadn't thought of this beforehand. He commented back, "If the tile height becomes a deal breaker, I'm sure we can work something out." Seriously? You're asking for (at first) $18,200 for the Sanctuary model and you're going to quibble over an extra 10 sqft of floor tiling? For his safety? This was the first red flag for me (well, there were others, but I'm not trying to write a novel here).  So we went back into the living room so he could start talking about a quote. The pricing on the model, plus an extra $1200 for the hydro-therapy, plus sales tax, the total came to about $18,200. But wait...if you act now...

He told us that they don't do expos or shows - and yet he said there is a "safe senior living" seminar that they talk at. Of course, they introduce their products at this safe talk seminar. He said that he might be able to do us a favor and get one of the demo models at a discounted price - but he would have to make a phone call and see what they had. He assured us the unit had not been "used" - in other words, no water had been put into it, no naked bodies had bathed in it, etc. He said when interested customers at the show would sit in it, they would ask them to remove their shoes before stepping in. Uh yeah - right. Ok, regardless. We both know they can't sell a model as "new" once it's been demoed like that. So he said they offer a reduced price. This was the good part...

He said that the price would be $13,200 and that it INCLUDED the hydrotherapy option...not an add on, it already included it. Hmmm...a demo model at a non-expo safety seminar that will reduce the cost by $2000 AND included the $1200 upgrade therapy?Then he said he had a coupon ("this is an old expired one, but it's still a coupon) for $1000 off the price. So we went from $18,200 down to $12,200 (plus tax on the $12,200). This was starting to sound like a Kirby Vacuum or Filter Queen in-home sales pitch.  He said they accepted credit cards, and even offered easy in-house financing that was affordable. I almost laughed when he said the low monthly payments of $153 would make it easy for my dad to afford the project and have "peace of mind". You have got to be kidding me??? $153/mo on a $13K+ debt??? I almost asked what interest rate they were charging, just to mess with him. With no interest at all, it would still take almost 87 months to pay off (after adding sales tax to the $12,200). Talk about creating a recurring revenue stream for the company. At a modest 8% loan rate, it would take over 11 years and nearly $6700 in interest to pay back the loan. Yeah, I want to sign up for THAT payment plan.  So when I told the guy I wasn't going to be making any decisions without talking to my dad first. He said, "Sure, I'll go outside for a few minutes." I told the guy not to try and put me on the spot and pressure us, that I would be talking to my dad over the next few DAYS before signing any contracts. This was my first exposure to the company and I wanted to check out their financials, their history, any complaints (customer service and/or product), etc. This is a significant investment of money. Yes, I know it's "specialized medical equipment" and yes, it is VERY important to me and my dad that he feel (and be) safe when bathing. BUT - I'm not going to endorse a significant financial decision on an emotional roller coaster. Been there, done that - won't EVER do that again...ESPECIALLY with my dad's retirement money.  So the sales rep gets INCENSED with me and says, "It's your dad's health and well-being, we're just talking about money." Remember, I'm there in full police uniform and this guy wants to say THAT TO ME??? That didn't go over too well. I told him his time was up and that I needed to get back to work. I thanked him for his time and explained that we would be in touch after I had a chance to talk things over with my dad. A true salesman would not just get up and leave, although someone who really cared about my dad might. Ahh - his true hardcore sales tactics showed up. He says to my dad - NOT TO ME - "You realize sir that I cannot guarantee this price will be available in the future because I can't guarantee a demo unit will be available?" That angered me. Before my dad could respond, I interjected and advised him that I was fully aware that today's price wouldn't be tomorrow's price, but I could live with that. He got up in a huff, dropped his business card on the counter, and as he walks out of the house says, "Call me when you're ready to make a decision." Nothing polite, no "thank you for taking the time to talk with me" - NOTHING of the sort. What a sleeze...

Well - that's my story. And this morning I have spent a great deal of time searching the Internet, reading, comparing, etc. Thanks to all of you sharing YOUR experiences, I have decided that this is not the company we want to do business with. My wife does commerical property management for a friend of ours, and we're pretty confident we can meet my dad's needs through an ADA compliant bathroom remodel. Until I read your posts here, I had not even considered that he would not be able to exit from a bath until it drained down to the last 8" of depth. That was a DUH!! moment when I read that. That piece alone will likely deter my dad from wanting one of these kinds of units. Being trapped inside a container holding gallons of cold dirty water is NOT appealing.

Best wishes to anyone reading this. I hope there are fewer people falling to these obvious emotional vultures - but I suspect they will continue to thrive as long as there is a baby-boomer population that wants to continue living independently. Buyer beware - young or old. Do you due diligence!

Saavy in SW WA.