I'm currently a D* subscriber, out of contract, who is seriously thinking of switching to E* because of their better HD packages. I did my due diligence, checked LOS to Eastern Arc sats with Dishpointer, decided on 2 receivers, a 722 and 612 and priced out 1 year of bills staying with D* and switching to E*. I currently have Choice Ultimate, HD Extra Pack, HBO and Showtime. My Dish package would be AT250, Platinum Pack, HBO and Showtime. My calculations showed that I would save almost $500 in year 1 by switching to Dish. The $99.00 second HDDVR fee would be offset by signing up thru Dishstore and getting a $125 Visa Gift Card.
I called D*, said Cancel Service, and was connected to a retention CSR. I explained that I liked D* but it was economically advantageous to switch to E*. I explained how I could save the $500. It took the CSR less than a minute to offer me instant credits and 24 month credits that amounted to $480 in the next year and $180 in year 2 with no obligation or contract extension on my part. I am staying with D* since I'm now watching it free for the next 3 months. This is good because they seem to be hinting of more HD and a revolutionary GUI so I'll just wait for results and then switch if D* disappoints.
The bottom line is that neither provider wants to lose good customers. I see a lot of posts from loyal customers of both providers knocking posters like me for being cheap, but I'm retired and $500.00 is big bucks to me. Maybe if more of us had the time to research options and be willing to execute them both D* and E* would care a little more about retaining their customers rather than trying to steal customers from each other.