Clinic Support

[Chezza]

I was just sitting here wondering what support everyone receives from there clinic?

I have been on my diet now for 5 months, and in that time i have heard NOTHING from them.

Not even a email to say hello or how are you going.

I emailed them today about this topic so it will be interesting to see there response.

Cherie

[baloo]

I got a call everytime a blood test was required.

Emails were responded too eventually. It really depended on whther my original consultanbt was on leave or not.

They actually called me last week to ask if I had completed refeed and at what weight I finished on. Odd, refeed finished in September.

[Faithy]

Hey Chezza ...

My consultant emails me every month to tell me how she thinks I'm going & replies to every email I send if I have a question or whatever.. I've never dealt with them on the phone, it's easier to email.. I also receive a newsletter from them every fortnight.. I feel for you, I truly do feel blessed with my consultant, she's been amazing to me.

I hope yours gets more in touch with you.

[jacin]

yes i agree my clinic has been piss poor at follow up support too i have had maybe 3 newsletters in all the time. jacin

[Annabelle Joy]

I went to the info session, then had an appointment two days before I started. My consultant made weekly appointments for the first month for me. The following week she was ill so I saw another consultant. When she heard how well I was going she asked if I'd prefer to wait until my first blood test before I went in again. I'm getting so much support from the forum (which I'd told her) that I agreed. My consultant didn't get the message that the intervening appointments had been cancelled, and sent me an SMS the next week when I didn't show. I phoned back and explained. I'm with Geelong. Everyone I've seen has been helpful, and, of course, I can call or make an appointment at any time if I need to do so. If I didn't have this forum I'm confident they'd give me as much help and support as I needed.

AJ

[hexi2]

I guess that this is what is different about the Cohen's program - contact with your clinic is dependant on 'you'. If you want contact - you initiate it. The power is in our hands...we seek as much support as we need just the same as we choose what to eat; it's up to us.

I have found my consultant will respond anytime I initiate contact - but in actual fact I don't need a lot from the clinic...I get all the support I need here on the forum

[magenta]

IMO if a clinic is going to offer it's services then it should do so. Not all people who sign on have the confidence nor correct self-esteem to constantly keep initiating the support they require. Each person reaches out when they think a programme is going to help them but that's as far as they know, it is then up to the clinic to "show the way" and if that means taking the hand of each and every customer until that customer has reached Maintenance then so be it. It's very poor customer relations to expect your customers to do all the work, they're already having to wrap their minds around a new eating lifestyle, they shouldn't have to play "administrator" either.

[jacin]

WELL SAID MAGENTA my clinic is over 700kms away so not like i can just drop in and see the consultant.you would think for the $ 700 they could atleast come up once in a while, i never even hear back from my clinic all i seem to get is an answering machine and never hear anything about blood tests if any thing i feel ripped off and fleeced of my money and as for emails i just get the usual mail merged letter. i feel as if i have been scammed of my money. jacin

[baloo]

Originally Posted by magenta

IMO if a clinic is going to offer it's services then it should do so. Not all people who sign on have the confidence nor correct self-esteem to constantly keep initiating the support they require. Each person reaches out when they think a programme is going to help them but that's as far as they know, it is then up to the clinic to "show the way" and if that means taking the hand of each and every customer until that customer has reached Maintenance then so be it. It's very poor customer relations to expect your customers to do all the work, they're already having to wrap their minds around a new eating lifestyle, they shouldn't have to play "administrator" either.

See, I completely disagree. Losing weight is the easy bit. Keeping that weight off without a very detailed guidebook telling you exactly what you can eat, when and how much is a lot tougher. I would suggest that if someone doesn't have the mental confidence/control to follow what's in the Cohen's plan and constantly needs reinforcement from a "consultant", then I think they may struggle to keep the weight off. This programme requires you to be in control of your mental self.

You need to make your own decisions once you're through with the plan. While there is support available, you need to initiate it. You can't expect people to keep leading you forever.

Originally Posted by jacin

WELL SAID MAGENTA my clinic is over 700kms away so not like i can just drop in and see the consultant.you would think for the $ 700 they could atleast come up once in a while, i never even hear back from my clinic all i seem to get is an answering machine and never hear anything about blood tests if any thing i feel ripped off and fleeced of my money and as for emails i just get the usual mail merged letter. i feel as if i have been scammed of my money. jacin

You want them to come to you ? Seriously, you can't expect that. They have plenty of clients and to take a 700km trip would involve a minimum of two days. How many other clients will they be neglecting during that time ?

As for scammed, how can you say that ? Do you have your Cohen's eating plan ? Does it have your name on it ? Quite a few of the people here used the US based internet programme where there isn't anyone to talk too and you are pretty much on your own with the plan. LessFatty lost close to 40kg and Pudge is still going strong.

[jacin]

No Baloo i dont want them to come to me i want them to come near me like they did the first time they took the money, it wasnt so hard to come up then was it. so the needs of the people in Brisbane outweigh the needs of the other that are too far away is that right. just because we dont live in the big smoke doesnt mean we are stupid country folk , our town has most of what bris vagas has but what about mackay townsville and cairns oh and bowen, ayr, proserpine, airlie beach, komala, sarina plus god knows how many other towns in between we dont count what because we dont live in a suburb of brisbane. i would be prepared to drive 4.5 hrs up to mackay but why should i drive almost 8 hrs for something that i paid for. a flight to rocky is 55 minutes from brisbane its not going to take two days and after all they can get more people to join up while here thats how they did it the first time wasnt it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jacin

[magenta]

If people had the mental capacity to stick with the programme without their clinic's input then they too wouldn't be overweight in the first place. Some people just need a little boost and I'd assume those in disagreement with "my opinion" are those that don't need much hand holding. For those others who like to know that their $700 is paying for a service and not just an eating plan, they may need the extra support that is assumed and expected.

A consultant provides expertise to clients who require a particular type of knowledge or service for a specific period of time. Therefore you pay a fee to gain the knowledge required, in this case the knowledge to lose weight. The time frame is set and the Consultant is meant to be available during that time period to discuss. To consult in latin is to discuss. Something that the OP was missing out on. To consult does not necessarily mean to visit in person but to be available to discuss the programme as needed. The OP was not even getting emails, a failing of the consultant not the client.

Baloo, fantastic for you that you don't need to discuss with your consultant and you've found within yourself the right tools you needed to get you through this. Not all people are like this. It's the service that was sort and paid for that's required not whether the client can and should have the mental capacity to do it on their own.

[baloo]

jacin, from where you thought I was calling you stupid country folk I'll never know. Nor do I know how you read into my post that I was putting Rocky(I think you're in Rocky, I might be wrong though) or any other country town down.

Magenta. I don't think we are disagreeing that people need support from their consultants. My disagreement was that it should be the consultant who initiates and maintains contact. We're the ones going through a life changing process. We are the ones that need to be sure of what we are doing. We're the ones who shouldn't be afraid or too timid to reach out when we want that assistance.

I am surprised to hear jacin's account of her dealings with her clinic. For quite sometime there I seemed to have the worst relationship with my clinic in that they only ever called to organise a blood tests and afterwards an email saying I was either naughty or nice. The couple of times I sent an email to dicuss foods that had come off the list yet I wasn't made aware off, I received unsatisfactory replies, but I did get them eventually. If the service from the consultant is as bad as jacin says, she's need to get in touch with the cohen's franchise owner, which i think is one of the Sydney clinics, and complain in a constructive way. To lose the weight we need to learn how to get into control of a situation and fix it. Getting our money's worth requires the same thing.

[jacin]

Baloo i know that you werent saying we are stupid country folk what i meant was that just because we live up here we shouldnt be ripped off i.e. take our money and get no results. so i dont take offence in that regard but as stated before i have never heard from the clinic only about 3 newsletters in all this time. if i ring the clinic i only get an answering machine and never get a reply so i dont bother to leave any messages anymore cos they never answer. it seems like they have just slapped my name on an eating plan and thats it. i dont even know if they have recieved my blood test results as i have never heard back about that either so i dont know if i should even have them any more what good they are doing me i have no idea. i am glad that you have a good response with your clinic but i cant even get that much sorted out. the last time i was on to the clinic i spoke to sue about me going into hospital and the time before that was the day i recieved my stuff in the mail and i spoke to sarah and she had to keep hanging up on me and ringing back as people were coming into the clinic. thats all i have ever heard from them. so baloo i dont hold grudges so all is ok then. jacin

[baloo]

no worries jacin. I was a bit worried that it sounded like I called all country people slow, when I know it's only Andy46 who suffers from that.

I didn't get the results of my first pre-plan bloodtest either so that might be how it's done. I could be wrong.

Why don't you try contacting another clinic and asking them what is the best way to get your clinic engaged. Don't be too assertive but come across as genuinely looking for help. You might be surprised at the response and I imagine the all the clinics in Aus know each other so they'll probably address your issues with them.

I guess what I am trying to put across is that if you throw your arms up in the air and stop taking your blood tests because you think they wont do anything, then that's exactly what will happen. You've paid the money so don't let them get in the way of you acheiving your goal weight. Lose the weight despite the service you've been given. It's a more beneficial way of dealing with it. You need to make sure you, and only you, are in control of your destiny. It's your life and you need to control the situation. if you find that you just can't get any support at all from your clinic then turn to this forum, or the other forums, and extract as much support as you need from them. Do all that and before you know it you'll slim again.

[Kannadew]

I am in 2 minds about this issue. I live regionally in WA. And so I have had no face to face support contact on a regular basis, as other people report. However, my consultant does make the effort to travel to the regional areas a couple of times a year. I think this is because she ONLY DOES Regional areas...whereas maybe other clinics do metro as well as regional??

I have been annoyed at the lack of contact from her at times. I have never once had a reminder about blood tests etc...and was actually surprised to find out that other people got reminders about stuff like that. I also dont get regular newsletters or anything. If I want the latest newsletter I have to download it from the website. And sometimes it will take AGES for them to respond to my phonecalls or emails... however most of the time....they do eventually respond. I think it has been because she has been away travelling that she has missed my call etc.

However I do think that in the initial stages of starting this program clients need a certain amount of handholding and support to get them up and running and to establish their confidence in the program and themselves. I have friends here who have had No contact from the same lady and they are very disappointed. It was also stipulated in my program that they would make regular contact with us via email to check in etc... I cant remember exactly what it said cos I am at work... but I remember something like that. However, this contact does not happen unless I initiate it first. Now I am the type of person where this does not faze me... and I get most of my support online.... but I know that my friend is very annoyed that she has had no support or ANY contact in her first few months especially as she had communicated the difficulties of constant travel etc with the consultant. Unfortunately she has not succeeded in following the program and although wants to get back on board, thinks she has missed the window with blood tests and is too annoyed to go back.

Anyway... like I said I am in 2 minds... I think my clinic has done a pretty good job with me... but I have also pursued contact when I wanted it and she has also made an effort to visit the regional areas... But I do think that some of the other experiences I have heard about at other clinics have been pretty dismal in comparison to mine.

just my thoughts
Blessya
Kannadew

[kase]

I opted to go to the regional consultant in WA, although I live metro.

As for the support, Im a Gen Y and although many of the so called 'characteristics' dont quite fit I prefer to see out information as it suits me and usually via email. I initiate contact in my own time and at my convenience - I prefer not to talk on the phone for any length of time and while calls just to see how I'm going show customer focus I still dont like them. So I am perfectly happy not to recieve calls or attend appointments to check up on my progress I think it maybe a generational thing because even when I'm out with my friends we all prefer to approach a staff member to seek assistance rather than have them hover around making themselves available if we do need help.

I am guilty of just popping through an email if I want any information (apparently very Gen Y from everything I have read), however, I guess it all comes down to consumer choice and since you are paying for the service perhaps you should raise your concerns with your consultant?

For me I send emails and have (to date) recieved a response within 24 hours each and every time - so I have nothing but praise for my consultant in that respect

[jacin]

so for those people who dont have email or the net you are up **** creek ,then arent you. Jacin

[pandora]

Know what Jacin ...

If you put as much FOCUS and attention on your weight loss program as you continue to do with this thread, you would be at your goal weight! Why not give it up (complaining that is) move on and put your attention on something you can change = YOU! Stop giving your personal power away to clinics, consultants, stories etc and do what so many others on here have done and that is JUST DO IT!

My clinic - i chose to "divorce" myself from them pretty early on as i realised i got what i needed (the program with my name on it). In fact, i realised that "they" were almost like mediators between me and the big Doc Cohen himself! As for the money - even tho i reached my goal on 1st November 2007, my final payment was just last week 22 January! Know what? It was priceless! I would pay it all over again to have the magic keys to the kingdom of - no more hunger and slim for life! Oh and, I never did have my refeed document explained to me - details now irrelevant but no fault of mine! But it is not rocket science and i just read it thru a few times and got advice on here from those who had completed the program - real experts truly!

Also, i went to my clinic for an interview for a consultants job but i realised that it would be quite a thankless job, so many people NOT following the program, looking for excuses to deviate etc, the odd bright friendly type (like we meet on here) but mostly overworked and UNDERPAID! As far as i know the pay rate is not very exciting!

Anyway, i know, you are probably pi**ed off with me now! Dont waste any more energy on this subject! Be like Pudge get all you need from this marvellous forum and take back your power - who cares about the admin stuff! I didnt and still dont and i lost 16kg in 10 weeks! Come on girl, give it up and come and have some FUN! NOw there's an idea! Pandora

[hexi2]

Hi All

I am doing this by outreach too, my consultant is over 1500km's away!! But here is something I found that Asy posted on another thread:

About contacting the clinic, remember, the clinic is CLIENT DRIVEN for contact. Some people like contact and some never want to be called. The clinic hears from them once at the start, and once at the end to order refeed. Obviously these are the extremes, but, as you can never tell, the clinics have found it best to let the clients call in. I guess this also reduces the infrastructure and support staff costs, which in turn reduces the programme cost to everyone.

Don't feel that you shouldn't contact them. They really ARE there for you.

One thing that constantly amuses me reading stuff and talking to people is how some people want to be rung (seemingly) weekly or so. Now, I'm certainly not replying to your post here, just a general comment made regarding many other posts I've read...

I can't imagine what you'd need to talk to the clinic about weekly? OK the first week or two while you're settling in, but sheesh, down the track???

The clinic is there to facilitate your programme. They aren't psychologists, they aren't trained to do 'headspace' stuff. I can imagine the need to talk to them every few weeks, or once a month or so, just to make sure you're going Ok, or to call in your weight if you're a remote-client. Having spoken to quite a number of clinic staff, the majority of people who ring in weekly want such things answered as "Why am I deviating?", "Why can't I stick to the programme" etc... These are questions which need to be thrashed out with a psychologist, and I guarantee it's not in the purview of the clinic to go there.

Anyway, that's just my mutterring on the subject, and, isha, as I said it was NOT meant as a reflection on you!!! Just seemed the appropriate spot to put something I've been thinking of for a while. Hope you don't mind.

asy

[Chezza]

Hi

I received a email back today in regards to my complaint.

I was told that "they are like our Doctor and the doctor does not ring us to see how we going or to make appointments", "We ring them"!!
End of story

I do not want them to call me all the time, BUT even a email once a month to see how the weight loss is going, will not kill them.

Chezza