I admit that I usually reserve 5 star ratings for the places that really wowed me - and I honestly…read morecan say I was pleasantly 'wowed' by this place and the customer service of Benjamin Leung (or Ben).
I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea, and my doctor had referred me to another CPAP clinic to get a machine. I had no clue that I could actually shop around, had I known I wish I came here first. After purchasing the machine, and being on it for the first week I was absolutely dying. I felt much worse then before I started CPAP therapy. I was a habitual mouth breather, and was on the "pillows" mask. I found I was still "leaking" a lot from the mouth and wanted to get a full face mask, thinking this may help improve things. I googled around and found MRC Sleep and Snore clinic on Leslie.
They are located in the plaza right off of, and facing Leslie with the Tim Hortons.
Upon walking in I was pleasantly greeted by Ben though he was in the middle of things with another client. I told him I would take a quick look around, and found that the selection there was quite excellent. They had a wide range of machines, a large number of face masks on display and other CPAP related items. The last place I went to, they had to constantly show me a mask, or show me this or that like everything was hidden away. It really helped to see the different kinds of masks. As Ben was quite busy, he suggested to perhaps book a formal appointment to sit down and discuss my concerns. I booked an appointment for the next day not expecting too much, as I had already purchased my gear and just wanted a face mask. As Ben was booking me in, he said that its not a problem he would be happy to provide service to me as eventually if things are good I would come back anyways - This comment goes a very long way in my book as it shows that hes more then happy to help even though there may not be a sale at the end. He mentioned that I should bring in all my equipment so he can take a look at things.
The next day I came in for my appointment, again not expecting much and brought in all my gear. He instantly recognized all my gear, as I assume its pretty standard and began looking into my machine. As he was going through options on the menu he was explaining each and every option - which my last place did not! Ben re-calibrated a few things and it was night and day when he asked me to give it a try with the new settings. In particular, he turned on "EPR" i think its called.
With a CPAP machine, its basically a constant stream of air pushing into you. So exhaling, or breathing out proved to be a bit challenging. EPR reduces the pressure when you exhale, making it easier to breath out. He explained that likely when I was asleep and trying to breath out, the pressure from my nasal mask was too great, and the air escaped through my mouth. And once my mouth started hanging open with the pressure pushing out, that I would then wake up.
He continued to go through all the settings of the machine, explained the pros and cons of this machine vs another one. He also spent a great deal of time explaining how best to clean and maintain the machine. Something the last place didnt do for me.
When I first got the machine I was over whelmed at all the instructions. The tube needs to be cleaned once a week, the humidity chamber needs to use distilled water and cleaned once a month or so, the nasal mask needs to be cleaned once a day etc etc. It was pretty crazy, but Ben was very gracious to break it all down for me and make sense of things for me.
Something that again, my last place neglected to do.
He explained all the different types of face masks, and said that while he would have no problem selling me a full face mask to perhaps go home and give it another try with the new settings. Again I was wowed, as he basically spent an hour going over everything with me even though there was NO SALE.
The other place I went to spent a total of 30 minutes with me. I walked in, they sold me a machine, checked me out and went through some basic settings and off I went dazed and confused. Even though I called them back, they put me with some other "consultant". Actually when speaking to both "consultants" neither of them suffered from sleep apnea, so I have little confidence that they would know all the annoyances that may happen while using the CPAP machine. Ben not only works in the CPAP industry, he is also a user. So he had a lot of keen insight that the other people I dealt with failed to have.
The experience with Ben was night and day. Going forward I would definitely recommend paying him a visit, as I will be for all my CPAP needs.
Thanks Ben