How do I report a bad installer?

[texasdiver]

Does anyone know if there is a formal procedure for reporting a bad installer to DirecTV?

I just switched from Dish to DirecTV and they guy was out yesterday for my "free" Circuit City" install. I would normally have just done it myself but I figured a pro installer would be able to do a better job of aiming the triple LNB dish. Unfortunately I was wrong. Here's what I discovered after he left:

1. Apparently poor job of aiming the dish: I have no signal on the 119 sat which I didn't notice right away because I only get HBO-HD and HDnet on it. Well, some transponders get up to about 20 on the signal scale but I get no signal on those channels. On the 110 sat the signal strength is in the 60s and on the 101 sat it is around 95. I'll be going up to do it myself this afternoon.

2. No ground. The guy just wired the coax and didn't install any ground. This is pretty pathetic because I have an OTA antenna mast 2 ft away that is grounded to a grounding block and all it would have taken is for this guy to run a 3' ground wire over to that block.



3. Incompetent job of crimping coax. It looks like he used a vice grips to crip the coax connecters rather than an RG6 crimping tool. They are just crushed flat rather than crimped in the proper hexagon shape.

4. Loose connections. All the coax connections were lose. I could actually tighten them up with my hand.

I don't want this guy back on my property to touch anything. But I do want to report him. Any suggestions?

PS, is there a current sat and transponder map available for DirecTV? I'm not using 119 for locals, only for HD and I was wondering what transponders I should have the signal monitor set to when I try to tune in the 119. I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't be getting 119 except for bad aiming because for the past year I have had a Dish 500 dish on the same mounting mast and as I understand it Dish uses the 119 location.

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[branchbouncer]

I would call the Circuit City and tell the story,and see if there is any other installers they use.You could call Directv and see if they can do anything but since it was someone that Circuit City uses probably not.I live outside of Washington DC and I would not use any of the local installers to put a Dish on a dog house.Your best bet(if you want it done with care)is to go to lowes and get the zenith F connector kit and repair them yourself.Not grounding the system is against code and you can really raise hell on that point with the local officals.It's really ashame in this day and time that the old saying"If you want it done right-Do it yourself" still holds true

[slacker9876]

I am thinking this was a Circuit City installer not necessarily a D* installer. This would go right in with "acceptable retail standards"

I have only ever met on D* installer and have never heard from friends or neighbors that D* was like this. You can call CC or D* but you should call someone. Maybe the guy just needs more training!!! We were all idiots at some point in our career.

[texasdiver]

I just found two more things wrong with the install.

5. No proper drip loop where the coax enters my chimney. He cut the coax back so far I'm not sure I can make one now without splicing. Damn. The dish is mounted to a wood frame chimney. The actual chimney is an insulated metal stove pipe that is surrounded by a wood frame covered by siding. I ran the coax leads up through the space between the stove pipe and chimney wall and then out the side of the chimney.

6. No gasket or seal installed where the coax enters the chimney. This is something I specifically asked him to do.

You're right, Circuit City was not the actual installer. Apparently it was some company called "installation technologies" that contracts with local installers in my area. I'm going to be complaining to someone that's for sure.

Oh, and I'm just going to go through and redo it myself. I wired my entire house with coax and ethernet and have all the correct professional greenlee stripping and crimping tools which this guy apparently didn't even have. The ONLY reason I even wanted an installer in the first place was to get the dish aimed properly since I wasn't exactly sure how difficult it would be to aim a triple LNB dish without help and without a signal meter on the roof. Guess I'l just go up there with a cordless phone and have my wife watch the signal meter on the TV.

[branchbouncer]

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Before you re-aim the dish I would get good F connectors and seat them properly.I had average F connectors on my RG6 and replaced them with the Zenith ones and got a signal increase.That may be one reason that you are not getting a good reading on 119.Or as you state above you need to re-aim the dish(probably tilt)Good luck

[Neutron]

This is why I will never set up installs with retail. Car radios I will do myself. When I had my Directv system installed I called Directv directly. The local installer here was VERY nice and professional. He answered all my questions. He grounded the system to code, something DISH never did beforehand. He made sure everything worked before he left.

The same installer came out just this past week to hook up my HD Receiver. He remembered doing the initial install and was the same professional nice person that I had before. My wife and I have animals and are always leary of strangers in our home. This guy was very nice to our animals.