24 Hours with DirecTV and here is my review

**grydlok** · 10-14-2007 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by goaliebob99

guys you are dead right. Directv would be a great service. They just need to get their installation corps set stright.

You know D only says wall plate, they never say what color.

**charper1** · 10-14-2007 04:50 PM

Once again, $free, $500, or $1000, any quality employee will ALWAYS do their best regardless, any jackholes cutting corners and doing half-assed work should be fired and people should stop using the excuse of "I don't get paid well enough"; if thats your reason; QUIT and move to another job! Lets all face it, SOME installers are just plain HACKS! Any quality employee, with ANY PRIDE in themself, would never do anything like that.

**iafirebuff** · 10-14-2007 05:09 PM

Great review! I Just switched back to DTV too. I LOVE my install - I did it myself though :-) My local DTV dealer/installer shop signed me up, handed me the boxes and said let us know if you have any questions. On my tv, the SD channels definatley look better than when I had Dish.

**mickbrab55** · 10-14-2007 05:13 PM

The installers directv uses are not the most professional people I have been in contact with.

**atp1313** · 10-14-2007 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by mickbrab55

The installers directv uses are not the most professional people I have been in contact with.

That is quite a broad statement. Maybe in your area or in your experience, this may be true. But in my installation experiences with D*, I have had 1 bad, 2 good, and one excellent. So by my count, they aren't all bad. But the bad one's can screw it up for the rest of the good one's. And also remember that most people, if pleased with their service, do not take the time to praise the service provider (be it the sat signal, installer, or even the drive through worker). Most people who are unsatisfied with the service they receive are the ones who complain. So it might appear that most posting regarding installations are bad, it is heavily skewed by those few who had bad experiences.

**Jimbo** · 10-14-2007 05:44 PM

You know guy's, I want the best install possible as well, thats why I also do my own when ever possible.

Charper, your 100 % right, if they are not happy with the money they make, enough to do a half assed job, then they should quit and move on.
However, thats part of why the turnover is so high (installer wise).

That said, they are paid by the install, not by the hour, this is something I feel should be changed.

I have had D* do 1 install for me over the years and that was a very good experience, but they were aware that I knew what was expected ahead of time.

There are plenty of post here about how terrible D*'s installers are, if you would look on the DISH side of the forum, you would find just as many about DISH's lack of quality as well

That does not make it right though.

Also when looking at the lagre number if Non happy installation jobs listed, keep in mind that the majority of the GOOD jobs DON"T get posted because either no one decides to post it or figures that it is suppose to be the way it was done.

No excuse for a lazy installer, or a sloppy (they have a lot of orders, is a common excuse), but there are plenty of very good installs as well

Jimbo

**chadzx11** · 10-14-2007 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by boba

It is all in D* not wanting to pay for quality. That installer probably made less than $70 and had to pay for his own supplies.

That's no excuse. Somebody signed a contract, and that would have had a scope of work attached.

QC fails on that job:

Non Approved connector (the T&B snap n seals)
Non attached ground block
No loop at POE (no bushing is OK as long as there is sealant)
Cable routing
Dish Assembly (no LNB bolts)
Stacked bond, connected improperly (ground wires at dish on assembly hardware)
Bushing inside

**scottie_h** · 10-14-2007 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by atp1313

That is quite a broad statement. Maybe in your area or in your experience, this may be true. But in my installation experiences with D*, I have had 1 bad, 2 good, and one excellent. So by my count, they aren't all bad.

Consider yourself lucky.

In 2+ years as a customer, I've had 3 installs. All 3 have required 3 installer visits to get things working correctly. 9 vacation days for 3 installs is not very good in my book...

(and none of them were no shows - just screw-ups)

**charper1** · 10-14-2007 06:20 PM

I HONESTLY think that more than the pay scale being at fault, that the contracting company fails to do quality training and/or evaluations of the people they employ. Now I have no direct info on the contract vs contract employee pay for DirecTV, but I do when it come to contract labor in general. How much does DirecTV and Dish pay per install to the contract company vs what the company passes along to the person they hire to do the actual work? I think the BIGGEST part of the problem lies here; between the contract company and THEIR hired employee.

AND, I still agree with the above that the majority of these people do great work, and ONLY the bad installs find their way here.

**Scott Greczkowski** · 10-14-2007 06:38 PM

You can plug in an external ESTA drive into the HR-20 and it will use it (however it will no longer use the built in drive)

Even though you did the CE it can take a few days or weeks to get VOD, make sure your HR20 is hooked to the network, also make sure you did the IWANTMYVOD thing.

The VOD kicks ass, I can't wait for it to be released so they can fill it with the good stuff.