Dish Payment Enforcement

[navychop]

Ugh.....I would start by getting power of attorney so you can go through his papers and at least contact his creditors and make them aware of the situation. They will work with you.
Sorry to hear about this. Good luck and by all means plaease keep us posted on his progress.
God Bless.

Thank you. But too late for power of attorney, as it's temporary short term "disability." Should have gotten one ahead of time. But it looks like he'll be able to log in and pay bills "Real Soon Now." Maybe even today. But he's got many weeks to go in that hospital. We're really hoping his employer holds his job open for him, but it's coming up on a year, best guess.

And my best to you, Ghpr13, in your situation.

 

[Kheldar]

Dish Network satellite tv is NOT an entitlement.

What? Since when?

Tell us , what do you think Dish should do with habitual slow and non- pays?
BTW answers such as "People are hurting".... "The economy sucks". "People need a break" are unacceptable as they are not valid reasons...also, "Dish is a billion dollar company, they can do without that guy's $95 for a few months" is also a load of fertilizer..
So Bob, what would you do as king of Dish for a day? Limiting your answer to slow pays and non-pays..

These companies don't operate as charities. A little flexibility can go a long way in customer satisfaction and loyalty. But if there is no chance that the customer will be able to break the habit and start paying when expected, it makes better business sense to cut bait. I know you aimed that question at Bob, but here is my answer anyway. Again, this answer is from the company's perspective, which isn't always compassionate.

In my many years in DirecTV retention:

Slow Pays
If a customer was habitually paying late every month, I didn't have a problem with it. The customer was essentially raising their own bill by having to pay the late fee every month. I didn't usually give them any discounts or promotions. I occasionally bluntly told them they could reduce their bill by $5 per month (the typical cost of the late fee) simply by paying their bill on time each month. Some people took this as a novel concept.

Non-Pays
If a customer had a habit of only paying their bills once the service got interrupted every couple months, I didn't have a problem with it. The customer was essentially raising their own bill by having to pay the late fee every month and the "minimum service" fee whenever services got interrupted. I very rarely gave them any discounts or promotions, though, since this is typically just a matter of sloppy money management on the customer's part, or just not paying attention to when bills were due. These kinds of situations are not generally resolved with discounts or even a reduced service package -- the customer simply needs to learn to pay their bills before the TV gets shut off.

"I'm entitled" or Screamer
If I'm deciding whether or not to give the person a discount, on a scale of 1 (hell no) to 10 (whatever you ask for), if they get grumpy, think their entitled, or refuse to work with me to reduce their bill in other ways, they automatically fall a few points on the scale. On a side note, the "I read about this discount on SatelliteGuys" callers also slid a few points down the scale.

If a person in the "slow pay" or "non-pay" situations demanded a discount because "I'm a great customer", they would quickly learn that in order to get any kind of concession on the bill, they needed to learn to pay their bill on time.

"The economy sucks" combined with "I'm entitled to a discount"
Yes, the economy sucks, but it sucks for everyone (including the company), and most customers are still paying their bill on time. If the customer refuses to discuss a reduced service package or suspension and demands a discount, they generally didn't get one unless they have an excellent payment history in the past.

One-Time Issues
If a customer had a decent payment history in the past but had a one-time payment issue, it was easy to discuss a service reduction, service suspension, or maybe a one-time credit or reoccuring short-term discount to get them caught back up on the bill. People in this situation are generally upset at themselves or their financial situation, and don't take it out on the company. They are also generally thankful for the gesture and tend to stick with the company in the future.

 

[RandallA]

Thank you. But too late for power of attorney, as it's temporary short term "disability." Should have gotten one ahead of time. But it looks like he'll be able to log in and pay bills "Real Soon Now." Maybe even today. But he's got many weeks to go in that hospital. We're really hoping his employer holds his job open for him, but it's coming up on a year, best guess.

Sorry to hear about your son navychop. I remember two years ago when I had my accident and was in coma for 5 days, my wife was freaking out about how to pay the bills and the mortgage. After that, I created a document with logins and passwords for all the bills (stored in a secure location).

 

[navychop]

I have a "death" folder. And she knows my passwords, too. But you can't foresee everything, esp regarding kids. Thank god for autopay.

 

[dishcomm]

The reason people want to pay on the 3rd of the month is that is when the get their Social Security check. But this comes back to maybe Dish could make some kind of arrangement with these subs to be able to pay on the 3rd. Or the sub should just cancel if the payment is too much for their fixed income.
This situation reminds me of about 5 years ago when the local cable company raised their rates a woman was interviewed by the local paper and she said "With this increase I don't know what to do, buy food or watch TV." This woman is a mental giant, of course my answer would be to watch TV but I'm no mental giant.

Reminfds me of a Primestar custy I converted to D*.....
Now back then mutliple reciver systems in one dwelling were required to be phone line connected. No exceptions.
Well, here we are in a single wide. Very run down. Mother , 4 kids. She's maybe 30... Not a pot to piss in. Her programming was the top P* pack called "Light up the Sky"..It was about 100 bucks a month.
So I go and hook up the two D* receivers drop on the dish and go inside to replace the broken biscuit( phone) jack. No dialtone. SO i ask her if she has phone service...Her reply...."It got cut off"....My ears heard, "I didn't pay the bill"....
Here's this broad with 4 young kids. out in the boondocks, no phone, but she has to have satellite tv.....Brilliant....I tell her D* will not activate both receivers without a phone line.
SHe asks if I can just hook up the P* stuff. Of course we can't. There is no more Primestar....Of course she's upset. Her kids now have no tv.
I simply told her there were options. One of which was just have one receiver. That's what she ended up with.....
IMO she should have gone to rabbit ears and get her phone reconnected.
But who am I to say....I did her a solid and ran a mirror outlet into the master( messy, very messy) bedroom.

 

[dishcomm]

What? Since when?



These companies don't operate as charities. A little flexibility can go a long way in customer satisfaction and loyalty. But if there is no chance that the customer will be able to break the habit and start paying when expected, it makes better business sense to cut bait. I know you aimed that question at Bob, but here is my answer anyway. Again, this answer is from the company's perspective, which isn't always compassionate.

In my many years in DirecTV retention:

Slow Pays
If a customer was habitually paying late every month, I didn't have a problem with it. The customer was essentially raising their own bill by having to pay the late fee every month. I didn't usually give them any discounts or promotions. I occasionally bluntly told them they could reduce their bill by $5 per month (the typical cost of the late fee) simply by paying their bill on time each month. Some people took this as a novel concept.

Non-Pays
If a customer had a habit of only paying their bills once the service got interrupted every couple months, I didn't have a problem with it. The customer was essentially raising their own bill by having to pay the late fee every month and the "minimum service" fee whenever services got interrupted. I very rarely gave them any discounts or promotions, though, since this is typically just a matter of sloppy money management on the customer's part, or just not paying attention to when bills were due. These kinds of situations are not generally resolved with discounts or even a reduced service package -- the customer simply needs to learn to pay their bills before the TV gets shut off.

"I'm entitled" or Screamer
If I'm deciding whether or not to give the person a discount, on a scale of 1 (hell no) to 10 (whatever you ask for), if they get grumpy, think their entitled, or refuse to work with me to reduce their bill in other ways, they automatically fall a few points on the scale. On a side note, the "I read about this discount on SatelliteGuys" callers also slid a few points down the scale.

If a person in the "slow pay" or "non-pay" situations demanded a discount because "I'm a great customer", they would quickly learn that in order to get any kind of concession on the bill, they needed to learn to pay their bill on time.

"The economy sucks" combined with "I'm entitled to a discount"
Yes, the economy sucks, but it sucks for everyone (including the company), and most customers are still paying their bill on time. If the customer refuses to discuss a reduced service package or suspension and demands a discount, they generally didn't get one unless they have an excellent payment history in the past.

One-Time Issues
If a customer had a decent payment history in the past but had a one-time payment issue, it was easy to discuss a service reduction, service suspension, or maybe a one-time credit or reoccuring short-term discount to get them caught back up on the bill. People in this situation are generally upset at themselves or their financial situation, and don't take it out on the company. They are also generally thankful for the gesture and tend to stick with the company in the future.

Good stuff...

 

[Bobby]

Reminfds me of a Primestar custy I converted to D*.....
Now back then mutliple reciver systems in one dwelling were required to be phone line connected. No exceptions.
Well, here we are in a single wide. Very run down. Mother , 4 kids. She's maybe 30... Not a pot to piss in. Her programming was the top P* pack called "Light up the Sky"..It was about 100 bucks a month.
So I go and hook up the two D* receivers drop on the dish and go inside to replace the broken biscuit( phone) jack. No dialtone. SO i ask her if she has phone service...Her reply...."It got cut off"....My ears heard, "I didn't pay the bill"....
Here's this broad with 4 young kids. out in the boondocks, no phone, but she has to have satellite tv.....Brilliant....I tell her D* will not activate both receivers without a phone line.
SHe asks if I can just hook up the P* stuff. Of course we can't. There is no more Primestar....Of course she's upset. Her kids now have no tv.
I simply told her there were options. One of which was just have one receiver. That's what she ended up with.....
IMO she should have gone to rabbit ears and get her phone reconnected.
But who am I to say....I did her a solid and ran a mirror outlet into the master( messy, very messy) bedroom.

As a former telephone installer I totally understand everything you've said here. Been there done that.

 

[gdarwin]

Good stuff...

I agree.

 

[tulsa agent]

by the way, the customer has consumed over two months of service when they become payment enforcement clients. they are then required to pay the two previous past months plus the current month in advance.

now lets flip the table. say charlie decided to not pay any of the channel providers. not just disney/espn, but he doesnt pay any of them. and they pull all the channels from him. are you going to keep paying your bill to him when he sends you one each month even though you dont get your channels? how long will you continue to pay him for? when you call to cancel, will you listen to his financial hardships with his cost of the tivo lawsuit as to why he is behind, and then decide to understand, and pay for another months service, even though you are not sure he will use the money to pay the channel providers to get you tv back?

 

[Hemi 6.1]

now lets flip the table. say charlie decided to not pay any of the channel providers. not just disney/espn, but he doesnt pay any of them. and they pull all the channels from him. are you going to keep paying your bill to him when he sends you one each month even though you dont get your channels? how long will you continue to pay him for? when you call to cancel, will you listen to his financial hardships with his cost of the tivo lawsuit as to why he is behind, and then decide to understand, and pay for another months service, even though you are not sure he will use the money to pay the channel providers to get you tv back?

I would simply Switch providers.

 

[Ghpr13]

Thank you. But too late for power of attorney, as it's temporary short term "disability." Should have gotten one ahead of time. But it looks like he'll be able to log in and pay bills "Real Soon Now." Maybe even today. But he's got many weeks to go in that hospital. We're really hoping his employer holds his job open for him, but it's coming up on a year, best guess.

And my best to you, Ghpr13, in your situation.

Thank you Navychop.
Ghpr13

 

[Scherrman]

For all the people that feel bad for the customer's getting disconnected because of missed payments, you should work in this business for a while and take these phone calls. I'm sorry but after dealing with customers as a retailer over the last 5 years, I am convinced that most people are complete idiots or "A" holes.

Most people are in the position they are in for a reason. There are of course exceptions though and I understand that. The general public as a whole is moronic.

 

[Bob Haller]

well treat your customer nicely retains the business

treat them badly they churn to someone else........

remember its nearly always cheaper to keep a existing customer happy than find a new one......

and for the reps tired of collection issues. if there werent issues they might not have a job.....

with unemployment so high perhaps its time to be thankful for what you do have?

 

[Scherrman]

I agree. If you are sooo displeased with your job get a new one. I'm times like these it can be harder to find a good job so maybe we should all be happy with what we do actually have. I've had some other jobs and they sucked, so I came back to work where I am know and I'm much happier with it.

 

[Bob Haller]

my customers do all sorts of really dumb stuff, but i almost never get mad.

as i tell them if no one broke anything you wouldnt need me.......

more people in service should take this attitude........

 

[3HaloODST]

remember its nearly always cheaper to keep a existing customer happy than find a new one......

I don't believe it's cheaper to keep a non-paying customer than to find a new customer that will actually pay their bills.

 

[tulsa agent]

I would simply Switch providers.

and if you are not going to pay dish, they woud also like you to switch providers.

 

[tulsa agent]

why does everone refer to an account holder in payment enforcement status as a customer? they lost their customer status when they stopped paying the bills. they where then demoted to liability status.

it is cheaper to retain customers then to get new ones, that i agree. it is also great business sense to cut liabilities wherever you can. each payment enforcement account holder has the oppurtunity to earn their customer status back by making a payment as required. if they choose not to then they make the choice to keep their status as a liability.

definition of a customer is "one who purchases a commodity or service". well, if they dont complete the purchase, they aint a customer no more.

 

[RandallA]

it is cheaper to retain customers then to get new ones, that i agree

I don't think your employer feels the same way you do.

 

[dishcomm]

I would simply Switch providers.

Ok...Then every business that deals with consumers should just let customers slide on their bills...After all the economy sucks.