We'd Rather Talk You Out of Things | How We Work
We would rather talk you out of things
Most people who walk into our Surrey showroom have never bought medical equipment before, and are doing it during a difficult week. Nobody will rush you, nobody will follow you around, and if you do not need something, we will say so.
Why we say it that way round
A hospital discharge list often runs to eight or ten items. In our experience a good number of them will sit unused in a hallway. A commode that was never needed because the bathroom turned out to be close enough. A wheelchair bought when a rollator would have done. A raised toilet seat and a safety frame when one item with arms covers both.
Selling all of it would be easy. The person asking usually has no idea what any of it does, is anxious, and is inclined to buy whatever is on the list rather than risk getting it wrong.
We would rather not. Partly because it is the right way to treat people, and partly for a plainer reason: families in this situation talk to each other, and to occupational therapists, and to the next family. Being the shop that told someone in Burnaby or Coquitlam they did not need the expensive thing is worth more over ten years than the sale was.
Buying, when they should be renting. If a recovery is six to twelve weeks — after a hip replacement, say — renting a bed or a wheelchair usually costs less than buying, and it saves you owning something you will never use again and cannot easily resell. We will tell you when that applies even though the sale is smaller.
What to expect when you visit
Nothing here is remarkable. It is just how a shop like this ought to work.
You can browse without being approached
Look around at your own pace. If you want to be left alone, say so and you will be. If you have a question, someone is there.
You can try things
Sit in the wheelchairs. Walk with the rollators. Try the toilet lift. For a bed, see the height range in person — it matters far more than the spec sheet suggests.
Nobody takes an item out of your hand
You decide when you are finished shopping. If you are still deciding, keep deciding.
You can bring the list you were given
Read it to us or hand it over. Hospital lists use clinical terms and rarely mention sizes or brands. We will translate it and tell you what each item is actually for.
You can leave without buying anything
Plenty of people come in to look, measure, and think about it. That is a normal visit, not a wasted one.
We will tell you when something is not right
If a chair is the wrong width, or a bed will not fit through your doorway, you will hear it before you pay rather than after.
The showroom is in Surrey, roughly ten minutes from Surrey Memorial Hospital, and people come to us from across the region — White Rock, South Surrey, Delta, Langley, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Richmond and Vancouver among them. If the drive is too far, everything below works just as well over the phone.
If you would rather not come in at all
A lot of people cannot. They are at the hospital, or they cannot leave the person they are caring for, or it is eleven at night and the discharge is tomorrow. We deliver free across the Lower Mainland, so the showroom visit is optional rather than expected.
Call and describe it
You do not need the right words. Tell us what happened and what has become difficult.
Send a photo of the list
Through our contact form. We will go through it line by line.
We deliver
Free across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, often the same day if you call early enough.
We set it up
In the room, adjusted to the person, and explained to whoever is providing care.
Where we deliver
Free same-day delivery, setup included, across the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley.
We deliver and install throughout Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley — Surrey, including Newton, Guildford, Fleetwood, Cloverdale and City Centre; South Surrey and White Rock; Delta, Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta; Langley City and Langley Township, including Walnut Grove, Willoughby, Murrayville, Brookswood, Fort Langley and Aldergrove; Burnaby; New Westminster; Richmond and Steveston; Vancouver, including the West End, Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant and East Vancouver; North Vancouver and West Vancouver; Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and Anmore; Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows; Abbotsford, Mission and Chilliwack; and Bowen Island and Lions Bay.
Questions people are slightly embarrassed to ask
I do not know what any of this equipment is called.
That is normal and it is not a problem. Describe what is difficult — getting out of bed, getting off the toilet, walking to the car — and we will work out what solves it. Nobody expects you to arrive knowing the vocabulary.
Can I just look, without anyone talking to me?
Yes. Say so when you arrive, or just browse. We would rather you had a proper look than felt watched. Someone will be nearby when you want them.
Is it awkward to ask about the cheapest option?
No, and it is a sensible question. Ask it directly. Often the cheapest thing genuinely is the right thing, and where it is not we will explain what the difference actually buys you rather than just saying the dearer one is better.
What if I buy the wrong thing?
Call us. If it does not fit the room or does not suit the person, we would rather sort it out than have it sit unused. It is also the strongest argument for renting first when a need is short-term — it lowers the cost of changing your mind.
Do I need a prescription or a referral?
Not to buy or rent from us. You may need one if you are claiming through insurance or a funding programme, but it is not something we ask for. See our funding guide if that applies to you.
Can I bring the person who will be using it?
Please do, if they are able to come. Fitting a wheelchair or setting handle heights properly is much easier with them there, and they usually have opinions worth hearing. If they cannot come, bring their height, weight and a photo of the room.
I live in Vancouver or Coquitlam. Is it worth the drive?
Only if you want to try things in person, which for beds, wheelchairs and lift chairs is genuinely worth it. Otherwise no — we deliver free across the Lower Mainland and set everything up when we arrive, so plenty of our customers in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam and Maple Ridge never visit the showroom at all.
Come in, or just call and describe it
Either is fine. You do not need to know what you are looking for, and you do not need to buy anything.
- Showroom: 12987 80 Ave, Surrey, BC
- 604-240-2450
- info@mustmedical.ca
- Open 24 hours, 7 days a week