Dish just lost a customer

The MSRP means nothing.

MSRP may mean nothing but you should know that the cost of the Hopper is still pretty darn expensive. Even the Joeys are more expensive than you you'd think. As everyone else said to the OP, the $50 upgrade fee is a great deal and so is the DishMover. There really isn't too much more you can ask for. DishMover are great for the customer but terrible for any retailer or installer. It's basically a new install but you get paid half as much.

For everyone here that thinks existing customers should get the same deals as new customers, be prepared for an extreme rate increase to make up for the money they would lose. It's too bad it can't be the opposite, new customers pay a fee to get signed up and the longer you stay with Dish the better the offers you get. The only way that would work is if DTV did it also.

I honestly don't know how it can be done any other way though. Read what everone says on here. Listen to what people around you say. All you ever hear is people complain about money, how much everything costs, how the competition is offering something for a better price. What do you expect these companies to do when customers become more and more demanding for the cheapest prices ever.
 
MSRP is a price that the company picks. It can be below their cost, it could be their with a small mark up, or it could be marked up 300%.
 
MSRP is a price that the company picks. It can be below their cost, it could be their with a small mark up, or it could be marked up 300%.


That still doesn't mean that MSRP means nothing. I own a small business, and to be a viable business you do need to make a profit. You can't remain in business if you give everything away. That's just not how the world works. In a perfect world we wouldn't need money, but we are pretty far away from anything like that happening.

I upgraded to 2 Hoppers and 2 Joeys recently, and I paid $100 and a new 24 month contract. I think it was very worth it.
 
A business can barely survive on a 25% mark up. I tell ya what, the retail business is not a very enjoyable career the last couple years. People get more demanding and more harsh with every passing day. The sense of entitlement is at an all time high.
 
I just bought a new house and was pretty excited about getting a new Dish setup there, with a Hopper and a couple Joeys. I'm pretty fed up with my current hardware setup of a 612 and 622. They both have been returned multiple times due to drives/fans dying, which is huge hassle, and my 622 just started acting up again a couple days ago. Dish didn't want to give me any of the promos that they offer new customers though, and acted like they were doing me a favor "only" charging me $50 for the Hopper instead of $100. In fact, they didn't even hesitate to disconnect my service when I threatened to cancel and switch to DirecTV. So I guess I'm committed to switching now, after 7+ years on Dish. WTF happened to customer retention?

Ive been up and down with dish. Mostly angry at the takedown of Voom.

However, when it came to equipment, I think they have been fair.
Also pricing has been fair. Ive never thought they have been way out of line.

Always gave me upgrades. Yes, Id sometimes pay upwards of
500 (maybe 920?) first series VIP HD DVR unit. Bugs galore.
But I never minded because Dish had latest and greatest technology.

That said your upgrade of 50 bucks sounds incredible! Especially
for the Hopper system. I would have been all over that.

Call them back and see if you can see get that deal.
Have them reconnect you!
Just say it was an oversight on your part.
 
A regular receiver costs the company something like $20 to produce. On a dvr type receiver it's no different except for the cost of the hard drive

Where dish and directv are ripping us all off are on the joeys and clients which I think only costs several dollars to produce, yet cost the customer several dollars per month
 
That still doesn't mean that MSRP means nothing. I own a small business, and to be a viable business you do need to make a profit. You can't remain in business if you give everything away.
I guess then that there is ZERO profit to Dish in what we pay them for channel packages ? Where does the fees for multiple receivers go ? DVR fee ?

Look at the mobile phone carriers... They give away phones every day or charge $50 or charge up to $200. People have tried to analyze the components and costs to build many phones, i.e. iPhones, and in many cases, Apple, for instance, sells every iPhone at a loss. Are the estimates accurate ? That I don't know...

I'm certain there are only a small number of people who know how much a Hopper costs Dish to build and whatever the cost is, I'd bet it's a lot lower than many think !
 
Equipment requires programming and upkeep. I assume the equipment fees go towards paying software engineers to fix bugs, and improve on features. Not to mention the costs involved with patents, development, and testing. I highly doubt the monthly fees for programming alone covers all of that. Without knowing any of the real numbers everything is speculation. I doubt the Hopper was cheap to develop, or to produce.
 
The OP overplayed his hand. I do believe $50 per Hopper SYSTEM, that includes Joey's, is outstanding and gets no better for a current customer. Giving a FREEBIE to a sub who probably has only an average or below average bill is an example of Dish LOSING money, and in such a case, Charlie has made it clear you are welcome to go pay the higher prices at DirecTV or cable or FiOS (an excellent service FiOS is, but I would be paying about $30+ per month more to get close to what I get at Dish).

There is greed for the making of money, and the greed of FREEBIES. Neither serves us very well.

I've been paying them about $85 a month for several years. I'm not sure where that lands me in the grand scheme of things, but I doubt it's a "below average bill."

As far as the "New Account" comment goes, how would they treat it if I'd kept the service at my current place, and added new service at the new place? Would I have gotten the new customer promos on it then? If so, maybe that was the way to go - start up the new house, then disconnect the old house after it's all done. Greed? I see people posting on this forum that they got upgraded to the hopper/joey system for free, but I'm greedy for wanting the same treatment? Ok.
 
I'm not sure that any CURRENT customers got a Hopper/Joey for free. It cost me $50 (total) for one Hopper and one Joey.

As for your plan/idea, I don't think it would work. Dish uses more than just (1) piece of info to determine who you are. A new address but same phone # or same SS#, etc, etc will match you as an existing customer.

I'll repeat what many others have said - take the $50 offer for a H/J and be done with it. Maybe you could also ask for a few $5-10 credits off each month but they may not offer that (especially in combination with the $50 H/J offer).
 
As Hall said, current subs should not have been getting it for free. Back when they first came out, MANY existing subs were shelling out $100.00, and considered it a fair transaction. Now, at $50, yours has been the only complaint I've come across.
 
I'll repeat what many others have said - take the $50 offer for a H/J and be done with it.

LOL, I totally read that H/J as "Hand Job" at first...

I'm currently trying to work this out with one of the DIRT members, thanks for the feedback everyone.
 
I'm not sure that any CURRENT customers got a Hopper/Joey for free. It cost me $50 (total) for one Hopper and one Joey.

As for your plan/idea, I don't think it would work. Dish uses more than just (1) piece of info to determine who you are. A new address but same phone # or same SS#, etc, etc will match you as an existing customer.

I'll repeat what many others have said - take the $50 offer for a H/J and be done with it. Maybe you could also ask for a few $5-10 credits off each month but they may not offer that (especially in combination with the $50 H/J offer).

Dish allows existing customers to open additional accounts and receive the "New Customer" benefits on those additional accounts. Don't know the ramifications of closing the existing account afterwards tho.
 

Dish makes bid for clearwire

Joey's

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