Empowering People to Live Their Best Lives

BrightStar has been very helpful in providing relief for me and my my family during my moms illness and recovery. My goal with this review is to be helpful to others and to the company itself. Almost every caregiver we have had has been very good, some are a wonderful fit, others not so much. As a client I feel that I should have the right to request a specific person and also request a different caregiver. The company tries to send you the caregiver that suits you but if you have one that you would prefer not to have again, they insist on details that they feel are reasons to not send that person, (Usually that person is perfectly capable of providing care but maybe just isn’t the right fit). But they say that they will not replace someone unless you provide a negative story about them and they usually insist on a phone call. This causes me stress as I don’t want to tell stories about what the caregiver did or didn’t do…it’s usually just a personality issue. The conversations get a little mean and ugly. I’m too busy to deal with that. Just help me get the caregiver my mom loves. One other problem is the way the company sometimes treats the caregivers. For example, the electronic platform that the caregivers use to clock in and out and provide daily updates to the company about the client, sometimes just doesn’t work. Maybe it’s connection issues. Whatever the reason, it certainly isn’t the caregivers fault, but the company makes the caregiver feel like they have failed, even going as far as to add a warning to their file. Sometimes BrightStar schedulers ask a caregiver to be at their next appointment without adequate time to get there. This creates frustration and exhaustion for the caregiver. Another example…if my mom has an appointment that has the caregiver clocking out 15 minutes late, they make it very difficult for the caregiver. Some want a phone call from me or the caregiver or both, other managers simply want a note on the electronic platform. It’s difficult for the caregiver to do the right thing when different managers want different notifications. I have seen some of the mangers add ‘warnings’ to the caregivers file when the caregiver has clear information from another manger that they are adequately notifying the company. Do they not review the previous conversations on the platform? Nearly every caregiver has expressed frustration to me about this. They don’t volunteer this information…I see their frustration and I ask them about it. They are always very respectful when speaking about their employer but they just want to be treated with dignity and respect. It’s a good company that provides an important service. Maybe the problem lies with just a few managers that should have additional training…they should all be on the same page, they should all give their clients and the employees the benefit of the doubt. The service they provide is all about kindness and care so they need to work on being kind to their people and their clients. With a little more clarity and understanding on the mangers part, this could easily be a 5 star review. Admitting when you have made a mistake would go a long way to retaining managers, caregivers and clients.