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Special Needs, Mobility and Disabled Use Information and discussion for those with special needs interested in the Segway.

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Old 10-17-2014, 04:31 AM   #11
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I've got no idea if the "Jim" you referred to was me, but I'd like to weigh in on this issue anyway. Jeff made some salient points some of you aren't addressing. I can see absolutely no reason why Segway Inc. has hobbled their dealerships, nor why a network of authorized repair facilities has not been in place for all these years.

It's a damn shame that an agreement between Inc. and the license holder of the late, great iBot has prevented Segways from being marketed as handicap mobility aides. On top of that, the abysmal marketing even for recreational use is mostly responsible for the pitiful sales numbers.

For me, the Segway is a device I give credit to for extending my life. My doctors expected me to be gone more than 4 years ago. I know too many late-stage COPD sufferers who could not or would not get out of their homes because of mobility issues. Some have died tethered to their electric concentrators long before they should have. I managed to get a Segway to help me do the necessary things in life, like go check the mail box, go to the store and run errands. The bonus has been I also get to go on thrill glides - dirt bike trails, walk dogs, revive my photography hobby, dance, do some real shopping and enjoy the company of other Seggers in parades or just a trip to the ice cream store.

The Segway has changed my life, my attitude and delivered me into a whole different world. Maybe some day I won't be able to glide. Some day the lung disease will win. But the scary part is, what if my Seg breaks down to the degree that it needs to be shipped off to Bedford? No matter how long it takes, I would be without mobilization. If Inc. got off their thumbs and did business right, then I could maybe get it fixed just 80 miles from home, or maybe 120 miles, or 230. All of these I could manage fairly easily. Even if I had to wait for parts a couple of days, the hardship would be much less than waiting many weeks or months, not to mention the exorbitant shipping costs.

I agree with a lot of the points Jeff made. But I can't go so far as to stop recommending the Seg to all the people I know whose lives may improve as much as mine has. I've had to have a few repairs, but in the 7 years I've owned my Segway, I have not had a major problem that required shipping it off to NH. Maybe that day will come and maybe I'll be as pissed off as Jeff when it does. For now, I'm a proud Segway owner - not proud of Inc. though.

Jim
PS: Thank you once again, Jeff, for helping with my Seg and being so generous. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to make these:



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Old 10-17-2014, 06:49 AM   #12
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EJM brings up a great point. Segway's failings as a service company has created a network of customers who help each other more so than would have happened if they ran a more comprehensive service organization.

This network has gone a long way to filling the void, if you will, and I am proud and happy to have been associated with some of the fine people I have met thru that network.

Kind of a back handed kudo, I know, but it is out there just the same...
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Old 10-17-2014, 07:23 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KSagal View Post
EJM brings up a great point. Segway's failings as a service company has created a network of customers who help each other more so than would have happened if they ran a more comprehensive service organization.

This network has gone a long way to filling the void, if you will, and I am proud and happy to have been associated with some of the fine people I have met thru that network.

Kind of a back handed kudo, I know, but it is out there just the same...
Thanks, Karl. You've made a point that I have neglected when talking to people about the seg.
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Old 10-17-2014, 09:42 AM   #14
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Over the past 10 years, I've used 5-6 machines for years at a time each.
In that time, not once did a machine fail me for no reason, and I had even driven my XT into the Pacific Ocean! (It still works)

The only time a Segway has ever failed for me is when I took it way too far, which resulted in a critical motherboard failure.

I've never had a machine shut down without warning (since the update), and I've never had to send anything back to the mothership.
(The abused unit was sent back)

This seems pretty good to me.

I currently have two working machines, and if ever one fails me, I'll be prepared.
A $55,000 Chevy Suburban or $1,000,000 Bugatti Veyron need routine maintenance and oil changing, I just have to plug my machine in when I'm done and once it's charged, on I go again.
I do understand the anger at Inc for not having enough dealers with full support though, but I guess they thought that nobody would care...

Thanks for your rant, who knows, maybe corporate will read it; whether they will give a **** or not though is unknown.
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Old 10-17-2014, 03:31 PM   #15
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Jeff, you started this thread by implying that all repairs take 2 months and have to be returned to Bedford. That is simply not true. Can it take that long? Well a couple of people have shared that it has. But my experience was not that extreme. Karl shared that his did not. The longest I was without a machine was 4 weeks.

With the 2 that you had to send back to Inc. did it take 2 months for each? Could the dealer involved have had anything to do with the time?
Yes, the currently quoted time from Segway repair is "less than two months" I gave my broken one to Segway of Oakland on the Sat 8/9/2014. Segway Inc. issued the RMA on Wed 8/13/2014. Segway of Oakland received my unit back from Segway on Fri 10/10/2014.

Segway does not give RMA numbers to end users. Karl is lucky that he is able to take his directly to the factory.

Am I "better off" in a wheelchair? I would have to say no.

My point was, and still is. With the current repair system in place, I can no longer recommend Segways as mobility devices.
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Old 10-17-2014, 03:42 PM   #16
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And at the end of the day I'm just sorry that you feel that way.
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Old 10-17-2014, 11:09 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jgbackes View Post
Yes, the currently quoted time from Segway repair is "less than two months" I gave my broken one to Segway of Oakland on the Sat 8/9/2014. Segway Inc. issued the RMA on Wed 8/13/2014. Segway of Oakland received my unit back from Segway on Fri 10/10/2014.

Segway does not give RMA numbers to end users. Karl is lucky that he is able to take his directly to the factory.

Am I "better off" in a wheelchair? I would have to say no.

My point was, and still is. With the current repair system in place, I can no longer recommend Segways as mobility devices.
Jeff,

I recognize your service complaints as valid. I wanted to state that right up front in this posting.

But, I have had lots of relationships in my life that had both a ying and a yang. I have owned many items in my life that gave me both great pleasure and great anguish.

I am proud of my service in the Army of the United States, but I also have a damaged knee (repaired a few times) and complementary damage and injuries as a result of that damage. Yet I am still proud of my service, and do not wish I had not done it, and if I had the opportunity to go back in time, I would do it again. (Although there is one afternoon I might choose to bob instead of weave, if you get my meaning)

I have over 1400 skydives, and taught it for many years. I also had a small bone in my back (L2 Vertebra) that star burst fractured, and has since pretty much recovered but still reminds me of that day from time to time.

The way I prefer to recall these two activities/relationships/periods of my life, is to consider if I feel I got more (enjoyment, personal growth, personal relationships with friends, etc) than I paid (discomfort, regrets, etc).

These two examples I tried to offer have landed way in the plus column, even though I know people who might wonder at that assessment. I have far more items (beyond these two) in the plus column and very few in the negative column. I strive for that.

The question I have for you, Jeff, is that knowing all that you know now, do you feel your relationship with segways has been an asset to your life, or a detriment?

I have posted enough for you to presume that I think my relationship with segway, and all that is related to that lands me way deep in the plus side, but that is for me. We each choose our own columns, and where each item we encounter gets posted.

I believe that if a person were to come to me for advice on segways as a mobility device, I might first refer them to some of my friends as more knowledgeable of the challenges of using a segway as a mobility device than I. I am comfortable in including Jeff on that list.

But, from my personal experience, I would offer that it has the potential to be life changing in a very positive direction. With that however, it also has a serious set of dangers that come with it.

As a mobility device, it has a potential for a rider to fall, more advanced in my opinion than a wheel chair as an example, or several other mobility devices. So it as some advantages, and some disadvantages. Additionally I might warn that everything segway is expensive. They cost a lot. Their parts cost a lot. Their options cost a lot. I might also say that the factory service is also very expensive and slow. If they were considering a gen 1 for travel and flying, I would add that the parts may be even less available and more expensive because of it.

BUT, I would still think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

I invite others to consider this topic from the perspective of pluses and minuses....
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Last edited by KSagal; 10-17-2014 at 11:15 PM..
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Old 10-19-2014, 12:47 AM   #18
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how does everyone ship them when needed?i dont have the new boxes. will fed ex box up the whole thing? or UPS? AND TRANSPORT FOR US?WITH THE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES?
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Old 10-19-2014, 05:35 PM   #19
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I concur with Jeff. I purchased two I2 and love them, but I had one break down, had to send it back to NH to get fixed. First its a nightmare to send it back, after many calls and getting the Canadian franchisor involved I finally received an RMA. Even though it was a defect I had to pay to get it shipped and returned. Dealing with the border is not easy. It came back two months later and at least 3 months after my first call ( incredibly poor in the service world today, just name a company that can survive and grow with that kind of service) with another problem with the radio board, so obviously quality control on repairs is non existent. For a 6K machine that is poor. It cost me $300.00 and a lot of hassle to attempt to fix it. I have two so obviously I use the good one, the other one has to be plugged in 24/7 or the battery discharge. They have the market for now but eventually there will be good alternatives , so non existent customer service on a 6K machine wont do. They tell me that it is very rare to have one breakdown, which makes a 2 month wait and the hassle even harder to comprehend. That's very sad, I love the product but given an alternative I would switch.
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Old 10-20-2014, 11:38 PM   #20
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how does everyone ship them when needed?i dont have the new boxes. will fed ex box up the whole thing? or UPS? AND TRANSPORT FOR US?WITH THE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES?
No, fedex will not box it up
No, UPS will not box it up
It has to be shipped by someone that has a HazMat certificate.

I keep a spare box in the garage for just this purpose. If you have a failure, take it to the dealer. If you want to ship it to a vacation destination you have to box it up and take it to a shipper that has HazMat cert.

Segway of Oakland used to sell the factory cardboard boxes. They also used to sell a custom made carrying box.

Plan ahead for sure.

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