Dish customer service....getting better :)

[Iceberg]

Well I havent had to deal with Dish in almost a year (and the cluster that was to add a receiver). Well today my grandma wanted to add another receiver. So I got a secondhand unit with a purple card. Was active until recently. This should be easy right?

well not really......but after 2 bad call we got it right

Get it all set up and call Dish. Get a lady who kinda sounded Indian but not the super heavy accent. Gave her all the info on the account (R & S #'s) and right away she says "thats not right. Smart cards start with S19" (it showed S00 on the screen). Explained that the smart card # on the card was S19 but the receiver showed S00. They said smart card bad and will send a new one for 49.99 + 14.95 s/h. I was like no way. Put me on hold and then said "oh we'll waive the fee". uh ok

Hung up and thought "the receiver aint reading the card". Tried the other 2 purple cards in the house and the receiver wont read them. Shows the embedded S00 #.

So I call back and get "John" who was useless. Exaplined what I tried and he wanted me to do "Tech help 101". I explained again what I tried and he said the new card was shipped then put me on death hold....ugh!

Call back...not gonna get mad. Get a very nice lady from Oklahoma (she mentioned it during the call). She listened to me. I explained what I had done already (tried other cards) and we started doing troubleshooting (actual troubleshooting). Reboot. Read R&S #'s. Tried again. Nothing. Then she asked something that nobody else did. What is the software #. Read it...oops

old software....why the hell didnt anyone else mention this? Let it upgrade to new software and then rebooted. Hey it shows S19 now under smartcard
yay!
Got 4 or 5 different error screens as we worked on it.

-Had free channels...nothing else
-then got "you have updated your smart card"
-then got free chanenls and nothing else but new card shows
-then we got "you're not activated" as the rep took the receiver off the account
-then got "you're being activated"
-then we finally got TV...yay!

The last lady was awesome! She listened to what I had already done (which made her job easier as she didnt need to do the stupid "try this" things) and actually thought outside the box instead of repeating the same 3 or 4 things. Sure it took 62 minutes but we got the receiver working and grandma is happy.

So even though I dreaded calling Dish after the last time I dealt with them (15 calls across 6 days with new smartcards and receivers) I was actually happy and relieved that Dish has turned around their customer service with people who want to help

I know folks have had bad calls with c/s but I will say the last call and the helpful rep made up for the 2 blockheads before her

[tigerfan33]

It is too bad csr's are NOT all on the same page. Hell sometimes they are not even the same book!!
I'm glad things finally got worked out.

[Iceberg]

I agree...Whats crazy is I asked the 1st rep if the software was right and they said yes

[Jason Whiddon]

I love Chat. All 4 times have been an easy experience.

[Iceberg]

Grandma dont have internet (or a computer for that matter)

[Jason Whiddon]

Hehe.

[paulnm]

just tried chat and love it-especially where i can get a transcript emailed...now i need to use it again cuz my new 722k just installed is showing triple!!can't say the same thing for email-sent a msg Fri afternoon and STILL no reply or acknowledgement!!

[rajmarie]

Well...I had called them in the past...& always get good CSRs...never had to call back. Recently called for Fox Soccer Channel & upgrade from Classic 200 to 250....& got someone in India.....Was very nice conversation. Once he upgraded my package...I asked once again (despite knowing what his answer will be)...if I can get HD......same Dish response...I need to talk to local retailer since I m in PR (why Dish...why u cant deal with us directly).

then he told me that I qualify for free HBO & Showtime for 3 months. Wow...I know it was there.....& that this offer had been taken by many users....but for a CSR to tell me that....I was like...well....if it free...then he can add to my account.....Free is Free....even for 3 months (wife is also happy with HBO hope not too happy in 3 months otherwise will end up paying for it)

All in all....had a very pleasent conversation with the Indian CSR. I guess I m lucky...everytime I call Dish..which is not offen...I get good CSR.

[ryotgz]

I had the same issue. Bought a receiver with a purple card. I called in and gave them the smart card # (not from the device on the TV). I called back in and was told to leave it one for about an hour to update and see if it works after that. They never asked for the software version, but I assume he thought it needed to update.

[SlyFerret]

I my line of work (network admin for a company that makes software), I can understand how it can be very difficult to keep all of your tech support reps on the same page, especially considering the turnover rate in that type of position, and the fact that the really good ones tend to move on to better positions.

I'm a recent dish subscriber (had the service for just under 3 months now), and so far, I've been VERY happy with Dish customer service. I usually dread calling just about any company's customer service number, but I have been pleasantly surprised by DISH.

-SF