Blog

For today’s consumer, customer service seems to be drowning in a sea of companies obsessing over reducing costs, widening margins and putting their bottom line above all else. The result is a poor customer experience, something nobody deserves but everybody will talk about with their friends. Vestner NZ take the issue very seriously, so we’ve compiled a few examples of customer service – the good, the bad and the ugly. THE BAD AND THE UGLY Here are a couple of undesirable...

If you have plans to modify your home so it can better accommodate you or a family member with a disability, we encourage you to think about the worst-case scenarios before finalising your renovation plans. While no one enjoys thinking about it, planning in advance for a fire or natural disaster could literally make the difference between life and death for all involved. But when someone depends upon a wheelchair or other mobility aid, the risk of injury or death is...

If you’re in the market for a platform lift for your home or business, you’ll want to explore several options before purchasing a lift. You may even consider purchasing and importing a lift from a country outside of New Zealand . While there are several reputable companies who will ship a lift to New Zealand, choosing to work with a foreign company can present some challenges. Here’s what you need to know before you consider purchasing an imported platform lift. Meeting...

Making Your Home Accessible: A Homeowner’s Guide Last month, we created an infographic that highlighted the impending demand for accessible housing in New Zealand. By 2030, it is estimated that 800,000 Kiwis will have a disability that requires a modification to their home if they wish to remain in it. Right now, only 5% of homes in NZ are suitable for people with disability challenges. Given the low availability of accessible homes, we encourage you to consider making modifications to your...

Our recent post in November explained the housing challenges New Zealand will face with an ageing population. For this month's post, using data from Statistics NZ and Lifemark we have created an infographic to visualise the challenges ahead for New Zealand, showing the current situation and projected outcomes by the year 2030. The infographic outlines a concerning trend, the projected large demand for modified or custom designed housing, paired with current low supply of this type of housing. Without major change...

New Zealand is home to a large ageing population. Experts estimate that by the year 2030, 20% of our population will be older than 65. As this large segment of our population grows older, their housing needs will change dramatically. The vast majority of homes in New Zealand are not suitable for people with mobility challenges – this is true for the young and old alike. It’s a real concern, with recent reports demonstrating that if changes aren’t made soon, we...

Now with Vestner's recent acquisition of New Zealand Engineering Services in Auckland, we are able to further grow our product range and services throughout New Zealand.

We’re proud to offer Platinum Partner support to Enable New Zealand and their latest initiative the EASIE Living Centre which is providing high and low tech solutions for people living with disabilities. Their “one-stop” viewing and information centre has recently opened in Palmerston North, complete with expert advice on health and disability, products to try, and a state of the art accessible home on display. EASIE stands for Equipment, Advice, Services, Information, and Education. Their aim is to help people with...

When Stephen Horrell used to visit hospitals and rest homes, he was disappointed that the people there didn’t get to experience holidays or trips away, often because of the limited resources the destinations had.

Is the building code effectively supporting those with disabilities or on fact ignoring them? It is debatable and no doubt depends on what side of the disability fence you reside on.