The below issues follow much headache, frustration and anger during the previous 3+ months with AmeriGlide.

Dear Sir / Ma'am,

I am writing this letter as formal notification of mechanical issues and incorrect equipment provided with our recently installed "Curved Stair Lift." After much frustration and dissatisfaction with the overall experience with AmerGlide's customer service beginning in early January, the stairlift was finally installed on April 22 – April 23,2021, by your contractor Delstal. The following are technical/mechanical issues that we have experienced the same night of installation.

· Upon completing installation, the Delstal installer/technician, Jim Vandehey, tried using the two remote controls that were included with the unit. After much trouble shooting, Mr. Vandehey could not get either remote to work. He informed us that these were not the correct remote controls.

· Mr. Vandehey was not able to properly secure the frame/track to the tile floor where the docking/recharging station is located because there were no tile and/or cement screws included. Mr. Vandehey explained that this should have been noted and included with the original measurements. My concern is that the track is not firmly secured to the floor and will result in shifting of the unit while in use and potential injury.

· The chair sporadically works when trying to use it. The armrest will correctly read "Platinum," however, upon sitting and putting any weight on the chair, it changes to "Final Limit" thus making it inoperable. I was stuck upstairs for over an hour while my wife tried to troubleshoot. We called Mr. Vandehey and he advised removing the plastic protective plate used to safely cover the wires and electrical components located inside the seat. This did not work, and we had to move and readjust the wires until the armrest read "Platinum." This appears to be a design/manufacturing flaw and very obvious the unit does not work correctly.

· We were mailed a recall notice from AmeriGlide that included multiple screws and bolts with multiple pages of extremely technical instructions. Mr. Vandehey read the instructions and could not make sense of it himself.

These issues need to be addressed immediately. With my current and extensive medical disabilities, I do not feel comfortable for my safety with recall not being fixed and that I will get stranded either upstairs or downstairs for hours until someone can get me down. I expect a response back from AmeriGlide with further information regarding corrective actions. Photos have been taken and can be produced upon request.

• 04/25/2021
Sent this via email to customer service as of 04/28 no response
• 04/27/2021
Called and left message for Laura Marshburne (customer service)
*******@ameriglide.com email sent directly to Ms. Marshburne
• 04/28/2021
Called Laura Marshburne at 0910 hours and left second message. No response.
1517 hours called and asked for a management level employee. Was connected to Roger Adams voicemail.

Great sales team, but when they get your money its over. I am a General contractor and Electrical contractor it TN., I purchased an outdoor elevator for a customer and all seemed to be going fine I told them it was a rush order to make a deadline, the response was if you pay in full when you order we will make it happen and pay for install. I wanted to install myself and they told me that that would not work that if I installed the elevator it would not be warranted, later they told me this was not true. I paid the full amount of the elevator, plus the 4700. 00 install fee and all was set. I received a delivery date and was told it would be installed within a week of delivery, great if it would have happened that way.
The elevator shows up 2 weeks after promised date after many many calls to the salesman, and this is where it really gets good. I was told the install manager would be it touch to get it installed but never heard from him until I got the salesman to give me a contact number, so after a week goes by and I get in touch with him he gives me an install date of 2 weeks later, I am on a deadline. The day before the install date I call to make sure we are still on for the install and he does not know who I am. I call my salesman again and get a new install date and talk to the install manager again, now it gets even better. He tells me that I will have to supply him with labor and tools to get the job completed and that he will cover the cost, I'm on a deadline so lets get it completed.
Install manager shows up we get the elevator installed to make a long story short and I ask who to give a invoice to for time labor and tools and he told me to give it to the homeowners, I do have all of this documented. So after paying 4700. 00 for install Ameriglide sends one man out to oversee install and I'm screwed, but I see the install manager is not going to do what he said so I call my salesman again. The salesman told me he would put me in touch with the President of the company [ Jim]. And I get a text from Jim saying he would send me 500.00 to compensate me what a joke then he said he would up it to 1000. 00, witch was 1/2 of my invoice and I told him I would not agree to that and I would give him a bad review. So after 3 weeks of not hearing from Jim I texted him back for a status update and he told me that he would still give me 1000. 00 but if he did I would have to sign a agreement not to leave a bad review. Now remember has a invoice from me that he is refusing to pay and again this is all documented. I told him I would not sign and my invoice stands, and his response was to be carful what I posted as a review because he would have his attorneys look into it.
So bottom line I got threaded with attorneys, paid 4700. 00 for install that I did 80% of and did not get compensated for and it was not delivered or install on the promised date, and I still have an outstanding invoice with they, and I don't think it will be paid unless I take action against them

Overall for the price paid, I expected a system that was a little more refined, a lot of

The components come together like an amature cobled this thing together in their garage

To make it work. After installed it does work and seems to be adequately sturdy for its

Purpose.

My lift arrived with the following problems:
-Final Limit Error - I immediately called my sales rep Danny Efron for assistance and he

Quickly transferred me to parts, which went straight to voicemail, I left a message and

Now, 2 days later still no response. Apparently once they get your money they're out of

The customer service business and you're on you own. Lucky thing I'm a retired

Electronics tech and they do provide a wiring diagram. I found the problem with

Adjustment of the Safety Gear Limit switch, not sure what that switch does, it's

Attached to a bunch of levers and springs, I adjusted it until the error disappeared.
-I was missing the fused link that you are suppose to connect between the batteries, I

Fabricated one.
-The lead that they included to connect the last battery to the power switch was too

Short, I fabricated one of them as well.
-A big gouge in both halves of the rail, the gouge on the top rail is cosmetic, but the

Gouge on the bottom rail was on the side of the rail which interfered with the passing

Of the carriage assembly. I had to use a flat file to smooth out the guide roller

Opening to allow smooth passage past that point.
-No hardware was sent to attach the upper rail end cap, I took a screw out of the bottom

Cap and matched it a the hardware store, wouldn't you know, apparently the two rail

Sections I received are from different extrusions, the holes for the upper cap are

Larger in diameter than the bottom rail, a second trip back to the store for some

Thicker screws.
-The power leads from off of the power supply that you are suppose to connect to the

Rail already have the connectors crimped onto the wires. Pretty interesting when you

Are suppose to thread this end of the wire through the cable gland on the rail, but it

Is physically impossible to do that with the connectors already on the wire, I had to

Cut them off, back to the hardware store for connectors and install new connectors after

The wire was threaded through the gland.
-After getting this thing to finally work, It would not charge, so I had to take it all

Apart again (3rd time) only to troubleshoot it down to a blown 7.5a fuse on the

Motherboard, a blown fuse on a tested unit, tested by NP on 23/3/17, notice the date of

2017, I'll get back to that below. Another trip to the hardware store for a fuse and

Everything seems to work.
-Well almost... The remotes do not seem to work, no documentation other than how to

Mount them to the wall is included. Not an important feature for me anyway.

As I mentioned my sales rep was Danny Efron, he was the most helpful person up until I

Paid. Let me explain:

I needed this lift installed before my mother arrived to live with us, he assured me I

Would have it delivered on the 13th, I was leaving on the 17th. I confirmed with him on

2 additional dates and got the same answer. Now shipping from North Caroline to my

Location is 5-7 days ground via any carrier including freight. So on the 10th I again

Inquired about shipping, got the same answer. So when it didn't show up on the 13th I

Call again and now all of a sudden I'm not going to get it in time. This was when the

Big storm hit NC, but this thing should have shipped the week before to be on time. I

Had to depart to move my mother, and it was sitting here waiting when we returned, but

With all the problems I had getting this thing up and running (see comments above) it

Took 3 days before my mother could use it, she was confined to the upstairs for 3 days

Because I had to carrier her up the stairs and she did not feel safe being carried.
Take everything that Danny Efron tells you with a grain of salt, he's just into getting

Your money. I purchased a used Horizon unit, he told me that they didn't have any used

Units in stock and that I would be receiving a new unit... even better. But did you

Notice the inspected by date on the used unit I did receive? March 2017? Yep, not in

Stock since 2017! I received what I paid for, kind of, but just don't like being lied

To. I do have buyers regret not due to the quality of the lift, but due to the lack of

Customer service. Be prepared to troubleshoot and fix this thing yourself, you'll be on

Your own once you've paid, if you think that will be an issue for you, then you should

Shop somewhere else.

As a 30 year experienced electrical engineer a home maintenance fan I felt this was within my abilities to install the unit myself.
The unit arrived partially assembled.
This is was a positive from the stand point that it would fit on a singe standard pallet and transported easily in a standard pickup.
The negative was this did not correspond to the assembly instructions so I did not need to open it as I assemble the outside lift table.
The negative was that the options I ordered (two remote control points) were not mentioned in the instructions (they were in the schematic drawings) and I thought they were mistakenly not included in the shipment.
The negative was I had to manually raise the lift (to assemble the lift table) with the hand crank unknowingly damaging the plastic remote control boxes that were loosely tie-wrapped to the moving mechanism inside the lift tower. This crushed the boxes enough to bend the box cover screws and pull the screw bosses out of the plastic. I had to rebuild one completely and reassemble the other.
After this I did remove the front cover of the tower and I noticed it was damaged (bent at the bottom) and I had to straighten the bend in order for the cover the fit properly.
Last the unit up limit switches would not allow me to reach the 48 inches I needed. The maximum height from the lift base to the limit switch max position was 47.5 inches. I would need to modify the unit to get this thing to meet the porch height of 48 inches. I decided my elderly mother could transverse the half inch difference. This was a negative since the documents read it would lift to 53 inches.
Last I tested the safety stops by placing a 5 gallon bucket under the lift table and it did crush the bucket slightly before stopping. This would really have hurt someone under it.
The negative was it would not raise up to free the obstruction. I had to use the hand crank when it was in this safety stop condition. Since this uses a DC motor a diode could have corrected this and whoever was on the lift could get off to remove the obstruction. You are stuck on it if the safety stop activates.

There are two very positive things I can say about this lift.
First, this lift is the mechanism is simple and reliable. In engineering terms this design simplicity corresponds to much better reliability (less to go wrong).
Second is the price. This was a very affordable option for my mother as having it professionally done would have easily costed $10K or more.
If you have a strong mechanical and electrical aptitude than I would install this on your own otherwise leave the frustration to an installation professional.

Horrible Customer Service! My handicapped father had a fall and came to live with me suddenly. I live in a 2 story home with all bedrooms and showers upstairs. It was imperative that I purchase a stairlift immediately! I purchased a refurbished unit on Sept 19th. I was told by salesman it would arrive approx. Oct. 2nd. On Oct. 2nd I contacted my salesman to inquire as to shipping status. I received a status from my salesman that Delstal had parts were on back order no estimated shipping date was in sight. I couldn't believe the news. Why did Delstal not relay this message to my salesman sooner? The option given to me was to purchase a new Escort Unit for an additional $546.00 but was told that it would be shipped out that Friday October 3rd and to expect arrival October 10th. I did send a complaint letter to Jeff Sheffer regarding the lack of communication between Delstal and US Medical Supplies with the hope better communication would be established between these sister companies to insure no one else would have to go through the delay I was experiencing. On Friday October 3rd I contacted my salesman for shipping status. No Response. I left a message with his manager Sen Graham-No Reply. On Monday I again emailed my salesman regarding a status confirming my new unit was shipped out of Friday-No REsponse. FINALLY I received a response phone call from my salesman, Timothy Worley, (who by the way was VERY RESPONSIVE and provided as much customer service as was allowed considering he was dealing with 3rd party company). My unit would be shipped out no later than October 9th. I sent an email through BBB (I did not file a complaint) telling of my experience with over promise-under delivery and non-existant communication with Jeff Sheffer. I received a phone call October 7th from Sean Graham of US Medical Supplies that they were refunding my money and would not be doing business with me. He gave me a number for a competitive company to contact. So now I must start all over after 19 days to locate another stair lift company! You can't imagine the inconveinence and frustration this has caused me trying to care for my father. SO instead of realizing that your company has a major breakdown of communication between sales and production and attempting to correct this problem and use this as a learning tool and constructive critisizm you prefer to handle the situation by telling me to go elsewhere!

GOOD, LIFT I HAVE THE RAVE, SO FAR VERY PLEASED, JOHN

The good: Dealing with Ameri-glide to pick out and configure what I wanted was efficient and easy. The salesman was very helpful. The product was delivered on time. The assembly was generally obvious with a little trial and error. In a day, was working as advertised. The unit (roughly a 3' by 4' platform with max heigth of 7' and two call stations) is sturdy, simple, of reliable low tech basic construction, well made, and completely adequate to the task it was designed for. It was installed the next day after delivery and has been performing as expected since then (about 2 weeks). From seeing how it is built and understanding how it works, I expect a long service life with little trouble or maintenance required, (It is installed in my garage, thus protected from the weather.)

The bad: It came with several parts bent and dented. Fortunately the metal bends easily and it was not hard to re-bend into the proper shape with a hammer and some blocks of wood such that the damage is entirely fixed to the condition of "like new". The instructions are obviously written for the staff at Ameri-glide who do the pre-shipping assembly, or for those already familiar with the part names, locations, and assembly process. However, it wasn't that hard to figure it out and a few of the pictures were useful. The assembly, anchoring and configuring the limit switches process took two of us the best part of a day.

The thing arrived on a pallet and had a shipping weight of almost 922 pounds. It had been inserted into the truck (18 wheeler with lift-gate) by a fork lift (lifting the pallet by the heavy end as was required) working from a loading dock. The truck stops in the street (curbside delivery) at my home where of course there is no loading doc. The pallet could only be lifted by the end at the tailgate and the driver could only use his pallet jack at the end that was not supposed to be lifted. However, that was moot since the pallet was much longer than either the width or depth of the lift-gate and since the pallet was too long to turn around in the truck, the lift gate could not be used. The only way the 922 lb pallet could come off the truck in one piece was if the truck backed up to a loading doc. Thus, having this delivered to your residence (unless you live in a warehouse) is problematic. Fortunately, knowing how much this product weighed, I had 3 guys there to help, otherwise the driver could not have delivered the lift to my residence -- period. We took the pallet apart and lifted the individual parts out of the truck. The heaviest part weighs about 500 pounds and is manageable with 4 men.

After the unit was assembled and anchored, the lift would only go in one direction (up) to about 4 feet high and then stop -- this was about 2 inches higher than the stairs landing. Quite by accident I realized that if the lift was taken above the stairs landing it would go down afterwards but only two inches. After setting the upper and lower limit switches (directions did not apply) it went up to the landing and stopped just like it was supposed to but would not go down. After a half hour of testing out what was going on by manually circumventing the limit switches at the solenoid power switch itself, it became obvious that the down limit was rigged with two switches on an "OR-gate" configuration while several other switches seemed to have no function. I shorted out the offending limit switch and the unit began to operate perfectly. My wife uses it every day.

The ugly: The paper work that you must sign before the sale can go through roughly states that if anything malfunctions or doesn't work or is mis-ordered or mis-shipped it is your problem to get it fixed. There is a NO RETURNS policy regardless of what happens or who is at fault. After they have your money they are done except they will send you free parts as required under the terms of the guarantee.

A big black blemish occurred in the area near where the sheet metal skirt was badly dented (probably during transit) but it cleaned up reasonably well after the dent was beaten out.

The sublime: I designed an automatic gate that was made of 2x4s, a few metal strips, three small hinges, two pulleys and a nylon rope. It works perfectly! As the platform ascends to the stair landing the gate automatically opens for the riders to get off (and remains open). As the platform descends to the garage floor the gate automatically closes and the stair railing appears to continue unbroken and sturdy across the lift access opening and into the wall on the other side of the opening. Total cost was about $25.00 and 3 hours of time. Sweet!

Overall: It is a good lift with a simple low-tech low-maintenance solid construction that should last a lifetime in a garage. There are few bells and whistles and high-tech frills to break or malfunction, but it does everything a lift needs to do and can be had at the best price in the industry. It is not a trivial installation and configuration, but if you have just a little electromechanical savvy or know someone who does – (like a handy man that does work around your house) – it is pretty easy to figure it out. I suspect Ameriglide would help you with the limit switches if you called them – it is easy to do once you see what is going on.

Toledo construction Inc.is very happy with amerigilde services