DISH Introduces My Tech

[Scott Greczkowski]

DISH Personalizes Customer Service Experience with ‘My Tech’
Release Date:
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 7:26 am MDT
Terms:

• Products and Services

Dateline City:
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.

• Enhances mydish.com with ‘My Tech’ online tool that offers customers real-time status updates on their service appointments
• Meet My Tech: Technician’s name and picture delivered an hour before estimated arrival
• Map My Tech: Customers can view countdown to tech’s arrival, track the DISH van as it drives to their home

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DISH Network L.L.C. is helping customers nationwide take control of their day with the launch of “My Tech,” its new online appointment tool available on mydish.com. Customers receive personalized information about their service appointment including the picture, name and even the location of a DISH

technician on the way to their home.

“We recognize that people want control of their own time and DISH’s My Tech tool helps them get on with their day without waiting on the TV guy,” said Erik Carlson, DISH executive vice president of operations. “A minute-by-minute countdown and interactive map allow the customer to track their DISH technician to determine when to leave work or if they have time to run to the store.”

My Tech is available on mydish.com to all DISH customers with a scheduled service appointment. DISH will send a link to customers to view everything they need to know about their appointment including:

• The scheduled appointment time, including an estimated 75-minute window in which the technician will arrive.
• The name and picture of the technician, which appears an hour before the estimated arrival time.
• A real-time countdown to their tech’s arrival and an interactive map to track the DISH van as it makes its way to the customer’s home.

My Tech is proprietary software created by DISH that incorporates Google Maps’ location access interface. Customers can access My Tech directly from any DISH appointment reminder.

 

[longisland94]

Loved this feature; last month when we had a tech come to change my set up from western to eastern arc. You could see an image of his van on google maps coming to your house and an estimate of time to arrival. Very nice addition Dish

 

[Cold Irons]

Hey....almost sounds like Uber!

 

[Peter Parker]

THis would bea vast improvement over some of my service call experiences. On several occasisons I have been told I could not check status until after 5 PM only to find out that at 5 PM there is no way to check status as the switchboard shuts down.

 

[TheKrell]

Loved this feature; last month when we had a tech come to change my set up from western to eastern arc. You could see an image of his van on google maps coming to your house and an estimate of time to arrival. Very nice addition Dish

It's already live? I had a service tech come out last week to realign my 1000.4. How did I miss this feature?

 

[jarvantgroup]

Are contractors/subs required to have GPS location devices in their own vehicles for this feature, or is this only for in-house technicians? Wouldn't that be walking that fine line again between employee status and contractor status? Or is Dish just requiring their direct contractor to do it, and subsequently leaving the employee status issue up to them and their subcontractors. We heard about something like this last year and had a concern about in-house techs sitting on jobs or running late. At the last minute these jobs would be reassigned to a contractor. I can see how this practice would become a big issue with customers thinking their service tech is 20-30 minutes away and then all of a sudden a new message with a new tech's photo is sent saying he's 2 hours away. Not good.

 

[Tampa8]

We heard about something like this last year and had a concern about in-house techs sitting on jobs or running late. At the last minute these jobs would be reassigned to a contractor. I can see how this practice would become a big issue with customers thinking their service tech is 20-30 minutes away and then all of a sudden a new message with a new tech's photo is sent saying he's 2 hours away. Not good.

Seems to me this would help expose the techs who are sitting on jobs. Legitimate cases of running late happen, but again it would expose those who take extra time just because. Further I may not be thrilled but knowing the time has been pushed back is much better than no communication. This is a winning idea.
Safelight uses something similar, picture of tech coming with updates.

 

[stardust3]

I don't like it. Too much micro managing from dish's end. What's wrong with a good ole phone call ahead of time with an eta.

 

[dishcomm]

Are contractors/subs required to have GPS location devices in their own vehicles for this feature, or is this only for in-house technicians? Wouldn't that be walking that fine line again between employee status and contractor status? Or is Dish just requiring their direct contractor to do it, and subsequently leaving the employee status issue up to them and their subcontractors. We heard about something like this last year and had a concern about in-house techs sitting on jobs or running late. At the last minute these jobs would be reassigned to a contractor. I can see how this practice would become a big issue with customers thinking their service tech is 20-30 minutes away and then all of a sudden a new message with a new tech's photo is sent saying he's 2 hours away. Not good.

Talked to the dispatcher at my former contractor. She said the tablets the techs carry which work on the Sprint network don't support this. She knew of the new app. But had not heard if it will apply to contractor techs. Somehow I doubt any contract tech would be willing to have a GPS "spy" device attached to their personal vehicle...No doubt at the expense of the tech..
I sure as heck would not.
I believe in making phone calls, texting customers when I'm on my way. That IMO would eliminate the need.
I would not want the customers on my route that day to have the capability of being so nosey..... What happens if i decide to stop for lunch or to use the restroom? Is that pertinent information the customers must have?
As for the in house guys? Yeah, they signed up for the job and all the company rules that go with it. So for them its ok....

 

[Peter Parker]

I don't like it. Too much micro managing from dish's end. What's wrong with a good ole phone call ahead of time with an eta.

Nothing----if we actually got aht.

 

[KAB]

I don't like it. Too much micro managing from dish's end. What's wrong with a good ole phone call ahead of time with an eta.

Not sat around for a couple of hours waiting for whatever?

 

[AntiMoz]

I have an appointment scheduled for Friday of this week. (New Hopper/Joey to replace my failed 722k.) The feature is already live on the Dish website under My Appointments.

 

[Stargazer]

Sounds like a great idea to the consumer but not the contractor. Can you imagine an angry customer driving to where the contractor is asking what is taking him so long? lol. I am sure if many consumers start using this we will hear some interesting stories. There are many remote areas that do not have cell phone service which is where people would use satellite systems.

 

[jarvantgroup]

It will probably just be another novelty used by those hyper-tech sort of consumers that like new toys. Dish Network's brand of customer, for the most part, just aren't that up to speed. Heck, we'd still be on the "keep your TV on channel 3", issue were it not for the discontinuation of coaxial outputs on the rcvrs. Look at how many issues the "No Signal" message on the TV screen has caused customers. For those who know their stuff, it will be cool. They might even joke with the tech when he arrives for spending too long of a lunch at Chubby's BBQ Shack. But I think most customers won't even bother.

 

[Claude Greiner]

It will probably just be another novelty used by those hyper-tech sort of consumers that like new toys. Dish Network's brand of customer, for the most part, just aren't that up to speed. Heck, we'd still be on the "keep your TV on channel 3", issue were it not for the discontinuation of coaxial outputs on the rcvrs. Look at how many issues the "No Signal" message on the TV screen has caused customers. For those who know their stuff, it will be cool. They might even joke with the tech when he arrives for spending too long of a lunch at Chubby's BBQ Shack. But I think most customers won't even bother.

I know the feeling. The "No signal" message drives me crazy.

A matter of fact, we refuse to roll on service with a "no signal" message unless we get payment in advance

 

[ChadT41]

This "My Tech" thing, as described I think may be a terrible idea(gasp I do not agree with Dish), but on another note, Claude...yes... There is almost no reason a CSR for any TV company on the entry level position shouldn't be able to trouble shoot that correctly. I had a senior paraplegic fix his tv for a wiring issue(he did it happily) by doing some simple tasks. If he can do it, truly anyone could. I think I gave him all the premiums free, but he was also one of the coolest customers I had ever talked to.

 

[stardust3]

The biggest problem I have with this is the gps location and a picture of the tech. The are too many freaks out there and they're not excluded from dish.

If it updated you and said your tech is 20 mins away etc that would be ok. People do not need to know the exact location of the tech, only the time in which he or she will arrive.

As far as sending a picture of the tech that is a horrible idea. As long as you know the time the tech is arriving and he or she has the proper id/badge there is absolutely no need for a customer to have a picture of the tech. Next thing you know the techs picture will appear all over the internet on review sites, social media, etc.

 

[ChadT41]

Those are my exact concerns. Customer service are instructed not to give last name unless they want to freely for safety purposes. I got one death threat a week minimum as a supervisor from irate customers. Techs are local, CS can be anywhere in the country. This could turn ugly for Dish if they experience a single problem from a nut case.

 

[dare2be]

I agree with all of this. First name, distance (not location), and estimated time of arrival is all that is needed to make this a success, and to prevent any security/privacy concerns.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Not sat around for a couple of hours waiting for whatever?

Exactly, been screwed more than once by a Directv AND Dish installer. Nice to now someone will be watching.