CENTERVILLE, Utah, April 26, 2023 (Gephardt Daily/Bill’s Marketplace) — Clients of Stannah in the Mountain West say the top-rated company is the best, most reliable stairlift business in the western U.S., including Utah, Colorado, and beyond.
Those clients routinely make their feelings known in 5 star ratings on social media.
“My mother needed a chairlift to get her up and down the stairs,” wrote poster Jon H. “We had 2 companies come out and give us quotes – Stannah was by far the best, and they were so amazing to work with.”
“My grandma has had 2 Stannah chairs for almost 10 years one outdoor unit and one for her basement,” wrote another poster, Charley Maphey. “I could not be happier with the reliability of the chairs and the company!”
“Had the stair lift installed within 24 hours. Saved my parents lives for sure. Excellent service, honest representations… I would recommend again and again and already have,” wrote grateful client, Sara B.
The legacy of excellence began three decades ago, when two great family-owned stairlift businesses, one founded in Centerville, Utah, the other, in London, England, formed an alliance which not only revolutionized the U.S. stairlift market, but more importantly, enriched the lives of tens of thousands of American families across the Rocky Mountain West.
“It was clear from the start that our two stairlift companies would be a great fit,” said Larry Hyde, owner of Stannah of the Mountain West, also known as Mountain West Stairlifts. “For we have the same priorities: providing people with the mobility to safely navigate their own homes, and to be able to stay in those homes, longer, with a sense of pride, dignity and self-respect.”
“The year was 1993,” Larry recalled. He and his business partner, son Matthew Hyde, were carefully weighing a decision about the direction of their family’s Centerville medical supply company, with the idea of bowing out of the stairlift business altogether, “or until they could find a better stairlift provider.”
The Hydes had reached out to one of the world’s foremost stairlift companies, but were uncertain if they would even receive a response. They were perilously close to pulling the plug on the stairlift operation, when their lives were suddenly changed by the arrival of a most unexpected visitor.
Enter Thomas McIssac, North American Director of Sales for the Stannah Lift Company, the largest personal elevator and stairlift company in the world.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m Tom McIssac. I’ve heard quite a bit about you and I have a question. How would you like to be the exclusive distributor of Stannah stairlifts in the Western United States?”
Larry and Matthew looked at each other in disbelief. Fate, it appeared, had suddenly taken a hand.
“Well, we’re pleased to meet you, Thomas,” Larry replied! “And yes, we’d love to work with Stannah. When do we begin?”
“Well, I was thinking today, if that’s not too soon,” Thomas said with a laugh. “We’ve got a lot to do!”
Shared mission of caring, keeping clients in their home
“We were excited to learn the Stannah family knew of us, because we sure as heck knew of them,” Larry said, in his interview with Bill’s Marketplace. “The Stannah Stairlift Company was then, and still is, the world’s foremost designer, manufacturer and distributor of in-home stairlifts.
“To become associated with the Stannah family brand was an easy call. We knew immediately it was the right thing to do and marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship, one that’s endured and prospered for nearly 30 years. I believe we’ll be with them for another three decades, which is great, because their stairlifts are engineered to last a minimum of 27 years. ” Larry said, smiling.
“What really attracted us to Stannah are the core values they share with our family-run business,” added Matthew, now Stannah in the Mountain West’s CEO. “Both operations are devoted to delivering a superior product, fashioned to meet the needs of each individual client, no matter the challenge to their mobility.
“With numerous base models to choose from, all of which we can modify or accessorize here in our Centerville facility, we have 122 options which we can bring to bear, guaranteeing the stairlift we deliver truly meets the client’s specific needs. Then we stand behind that work and the product with some of the most extensive and flexible warranties in the business, something you rarely find in today’s stairlift market, especially among the one-size-fits-all knock-offs, where stairlift installation and maintenance is a secondary to the company’s main business.
In-depth ‘needs-based’ interviews help clients determine stairlift choice
“Research shows that 90% of those who reach out to us have already decided to buy a stairlift,” Larry said, “but they still want to learn about the product. It’s at this point of contact that we feel we have a tremendous competitive advantage over other stairlift providers, especially with prospective clients who have done their homework. It doesn’t take them long to realize the breadth of our knowledge or just how dedicated we are. We believe that once we are engaged by a potential client, it’s our absolute obligation to determine the challenges they’re facing, and work with them to restore their mobility and keeping them safely in their home.”
“We accomplish this by conducting in-depth “needs-based” interviews,” Matthew said.
“These needs-based interviews get quite serious once we are with the client. We sit down face-to-face and take a fearless inventory of the health, safety and mobility issues facing the prospective customer and their household. Consequently, the questions we ask are much like those posed by a doctor or a physician’s assistant; it’s all part of a head-to-toe analysis of the specific health challenges the client faces, and then determining which Stannah stairlift system would provide the most benefits. These probing interviews can be a bit trying for our would-be clients, until they realize why we’re asking the questions we do,” Matthew said.
“And we just don’t ask specific health questions,” Larry pointed out. “We also survey the household for any potential safety hazards, things like poor lighting, cluttered rooms and hallways, worn or uneven flooring, including worn carpets — all things that could lead to a potential fall and injury. By the time the interview process is over, the clients know just how detailed we are in our analysis, and that thoroughness becomes an actual selling point,” Larry said.
“People like to know they’re being taken care of.”
For those considering the installation of an in-home stairlift, contact Stannah in the Mountain West online, or call toll free at 1-888-542-3834. . Speak to an adviser, and request a brochure or a “free, no obligation quote.”
Stannah in the Mountain West is a Gephardt Approved company and commercial sponsor of Bill’s Marketplace on Gephardt Daily.
