Why do Life Alert reps call so often?

Prospective Life Alert members and their families seem surprised when they continue to hear from either myself or another Life Alert representative after they have initially reached out. But why? If someone is calling Life Alert, there is a concern; all day long I hear about the horrific things that do happen to seniors. So, we continue to call until we have a definitive answer from a prospective member. No, a BS excuse does not count as a definitive answer. Here are some of the excuses we hear:



"I can’t afford it." – It’s no surprise that I hear this on a daily basis. I’ll find out a person in their 70s has heart problems, neurological problems, and falls – but somehow, $1 per day for protection is too much. I know, I know, you’re telling me that seniors are on a fixed budget and $1 a day is a lot of money. Sure it is – but when I hear cable in the background, when I hear about the cleaning lady who comes 3 times a week, and when I hear about the kids who are concerned - I know that "I can’t afford it" isn’t really a legitimate excuse. And so we’ll call every few weeks to check on the person to see if anything has changed. Sometimes, a recent fall or scare makes them realize that $30 per month is a hell of a lot better than $500 a month for assisted living.



"I’m not ready for it." – No one is ever ready for Life Alert. The day you’re ready for it, is the day you’re on your back unable to get up. I have had people in their late 90s tell me that they aren’t ready for it. Um, well, unless they have the fountain of youth in their backyard, I think they are ready. "Oh no Randy, I’m only in my late 70s and I’m a diabetic who lives alone – but I’m not ready for it yet." I mean, who do they think they are fooling? The same person who called in after seeing a commercial where a woman is on the ground, unable to get help is now telling me they aren’t ready? So, we call every few weeks, to see if by some grace of God, the person finally comes back to the mindset that they need help.



"I have to think about it." I try hard not to laugh when people say this to me. What is there to think about? They called us because they are concerned, and now they have to think about it? It’s not like making a decision to buy a car; it’s making a decision to get yourself protected, and to give your family peace of mind. So we call back to see if the person is done thinking about it. You could ask me why I don’t wait for them to call me. Well, BECAUSE THAT RARELY HAPPENS! I have to chase people – whether to find out they don’t want it, or to get them to sign up. Why should it be a chore to chase an 80 year old whose children are concerned?



"My parents refuse." Some children in their 40s and 50s that we hear from sound like pretty intelligent adults. And yet, they seem to think that their parents will come to them on the day they can no longer live alone. Let me tell you – that day will never come. So children are left with the decision to either push the issue, making sure their parents understand why they should have a button, or to not push it and take their chances. We call back every few weeks because eventually, we’ll hear about a fall that scared/convinced mom and dad to get protected.



"My kids don’t want me to do it." Thankfully, we don’t hear this one as much, but this is certainly not a definitive enough answer to cause me to stop calling. I’ll hear from a person that they had fallen and were unable to get help for a few hours. This scared them into calling me for help, but when talking to their children, their kids seem more concerned with their inheritance and not mom and dad’s life. We continue to call these people so that they know there are people out there who do care about them, and want to see them protected.



"I want to talk to other companies." I am always impressed when I hear people say they want to talk to competitors. I try to arm them with as much information as I can so that they end up comparing apples to apples (here is a good comparison chart: Quick Comparison). The problem is that I end up having to stay on top of these people to see if they have called other companies, or are letting things drag out. I’m not a big fan of having my time wasted, and if a person is happy to go unprotected for six months while they dilly-dally, I wish they would just tell me to call back in six months, instead of jerking my chain.



"I have too much on my plate." I know that life doesn’t stop and start just for me. People are busy with their families, friends, church, activities, etc. I’m not trying to add something else to their to-do list. I’m simply trying to get them protected so that they continue on with their busy lives. People who are home-bound don’t have much to worry about. It’s the people constantly on the go who are more at risk. My favorite time to hear this is close to the holidays in December. "No Randy, I have presents to buy, cards to send out, and decorating to do, and I just don’t have time to deal with this right now." Sure, because accidents don’t happen around the holiday season. People don’t slip on ice, or trip while hanging decorations, or start fires with their Christmas trees – oh wait, YES THEY DO! And so I try to be the voice of reason, letting these people know I simply want them protected so that they can continue to do what they want without having to worry about a problem.



But perhaps the best/worst reason we continue to call, and leave messages: People just don’t answer their phone. We always call a person back after sending a brochure out so that we can explain the system. If a person doesn’t answer, it could be because they aren’t home, are screening calls, or because they have already fallen. We don’t know and so we continue to call until we have a definitive answer. If these people just provided a simple courtesy call back, we wouldn’t leave them ten messages.