Exasperated Over Customer Service

[mickey8648]

On July 9th I called Dish to inform them I was having pixilisation trouble on my VIP722. After running the standard tests it was determined that it needed to be replaced and the next day a tech showed up, on time, checked everything inside and outside and gave me a new 722. He had it activated and he set it up. Score one for Dish. During the conversation with the CSR the night before I mentioned that I had a six year old SD 301 that was acting up and could I upgrade to a HD receiver? After being put on hold for a minute she informed me that I could upgrade to a 211 at no cost, but I'd need to committ to a two year commitment. Fine by me. The CSR said she'd take care of it. After a week went by I called to find out what was holding things up. The CSR apologized and said she'd take care of getting the 211 to me ASAP. Three more days and nothing happened. I called again and another CSR promised to fix the problem. Nothing happened. I called again and asked for a supervisor who said she couldn't understand how this happened and was very sorry. She asked me to hold on and would get right back to me with a UPS tracking number. Of course the phone went dead. I called back and told the next CSR what had been happening since the 9th of July. He assured me he could fix this fiasco if I would give him all the details. I did and he worked with his computer and said he was having trouble getting the order to go through, but he finally did. I could see on my Dish account on my computer that something had actually been entered this time, but I was leery that that he had gotten the model number wrong and I brought this to his attention. He assured me everything was correct and it was being shipped "Next Day Air". A package did arrive the next day, and sure enough it was the wrong unit. It was a SD 311 and not a HD 211 as I had requested on July 9th. I called again (23 July) and explained it all over again and asked to speak the highest level supervisor, but I was told the CSR I was speaking to could fix this. So we went through everything again and I was assured the problem was fixed and I would receive the HD receiver. I asked how I was supposed to return the SD 311 as I did not feel I should have to pay for shipping as it was not my error. He wasn't sure, but said he'd fix that too. It's now been 36 hours since that last call and nothing on my on-line account shows anything resembling an order.
I'm at a loss as to what to do next. I suppose I could drive to Colorado and have a chat with Mr. Ergen and bring back a 211. Any advice would be appreciated. I really didn't know I was this patient, and I really don't want to dump Dish.................

 

[harshness]

You might try pursuing this through a DIRT member here. They don't have anywhere to hide so they tend to be pretty careful about what they commit to.

Make sure you ask specifically for a ViP211. 211 is too vague (and too much like 311).

 

[Voyager6]

This sounds like a job for one of the DIRT members to sort out. The Dish Internet Response Team members are listed in red at the bottom of the Forum page.

 

[Scherrman]

I can see them screwing up the first time and possibly the second but that many mess ups in a row is crazy. Not sure what the problem would've been.

 

[ZachS@DISH]

Shoot me a PM and I will get this taken care of.

 

[mickey8648]

Shoot me a PM and I will get this taken care of.

Thanks to all who replied, advising me of the "DIRT" program and a very special thanks to Zach who solved my problem in one hour when numerous Dish CSR's, including supervisors, couldn't get it right in over two weeks. NOW THAT"S SERVICE!

 

[gadgtfreek]

DIRT and online chat are great, I refuse to call in anymore.

 

[darrengs]

DIRT and online chat are great, I refuse to call in anymore.

I agree, 100%. I only have ever called in once.

 

[3HaloODST]

I'll never forget the day my mother was so pissed with Dish's phone support, she nearly canceled. Her TV2 remote wasn't functioning at all, every time she called they did the whole "unplug replug, change batteries, we'll send you a new remote, etc." I told her I think it's the receiver, she called Dish again, "unplug replug, change batteries, new remote, it's probably not the receiver." They basically refused to listen to her about replacing the receiver, she was getting impatient, started yelling at them, they just kept doing the same script over and over, so I asked her to let me on the phone, she said OK, I got on and basically told them we've done this a million times I'm pretty darn sure it's the receiver, they finally caved, installer came out and swapped, what do you know TV2 remote now works. This was back in 2008.

Luckily we never needed phone support again, as by the time we had problems again, DIRT was here at the forum. I don't use anyone else, other than the occasional online chat for the simple things.

 

[Teehar]

For the life of me,I can't understand how CSR support can be so overwhelmingly incompetent,and Dirt so competent.It just boggles the mind.

 

[3HaloODST]

I have a feeling that DIRT might be in a higher pay grade, lol.

 

[dishfan82]

I was given the same script when I called about my surround sound cutting out. " if you could please unplug your receiver and then plug it back in" make sure your connections are tight in the back. Over and over I got that. Finally a rep online said we will replace the receiver. Receiver doesn't help as issue still exists.

 

[Tampa8]

For the life of me,I can't understand how CSR support can be so overwhelmingly incompetent,and Dirt so competent.It just boggles the mind.

Taking nothing away from the DIRT team, they obviously put effort into helping, I think they are in another stratosphere partly because of this site, and us. Problems, solutions, frustrations are documented here all the time. They get info from our posts the Phone or Chat CSR's do not.
(As of course we have learned from them)

 

[harshness]

Thanks to all who replied, advising me of the "DIRT" program and a very special thanks to Zach who solved my problem in one hour when numerous Dish CSR's, including supervisors, couldn't get it right in over two weeks. NOW THAT"S SERVICE!

This is one of those times that we're both happy that "I told you so".

 

[Scherrman]

I'll never forget the day my mother was so pissed with Dish's phone support, she nearly canceled. Her TV2 remote wasn't functioning at all, every time she called they did the whole "unplug replug, change batteries, we'll send you a new remote, etc." I told her I think it's the receiver, she called Dish again, "unplug replug, change batteries, new remote, it's probably not the receiver." They basically refused to listen to her about replacing the receiver, she was getting impatient, started yelling at them, they just kept doing the same script over and over, so I asked her to let me on the phone, she said OK, I got on and basically told them we've done this a million times I'm pretty darn sure it's the receiver, they finally caved, installer came out and swapped, what do you know TV2 remote now works. This was back in 2008.

Luckily we never needed phone support again, as by the time we had problems again, DIRT was here at the forum. I don't use anyone else, other than the occasional online chat for the simple things.

I am not a fan of CSRs but in their defense they kind of have to go through all those checks with every customer, especially with remotes. Unless they have a note on the account that says they went through the procedure already they have to start from scratch. When it comes to remotes you would be surprised how many people either have the wrong remote, no batteries, bad batteries or put the new batteries in wrong. I can see why having to go through the same tests every time you call is a pain though but I don't see how the CSR can avoid it.

 

[SomeDishGuy]

I am not a fan of CSRs but in their defense they kind of have to go through all those checks with every customer, especially with remotes. Unless they have a note on the account that says they went through the procedure already they have to start from scratch. When it comes to remotes you would be surprised how many people either have the wrong remote, no batteries, bad batteries or put the new batteries in wrong. I can see why having to go through the same tests every time you call is a pain though but I don't see how the CSR can avoid it.

Exactly. A basic, frontline CSR is told, in no uncertain terms, to follow the tech portal flow for the problem, to not freelance. Frontline CSRs are often people who have been working for Dish less than a year, and honestly, they may not have a good feel for the technology. They are not to think outside the box, while it may solve a problem, they may (and often do) mess something else up.

The tech portal flows for the remote not working are pretty clear, if a customer has a problem, and a replacement remote has been sent, and the replacement remote has the SAME problem, it's not the remote. Duh. In that case, the CSR is supposed to replace the receiver.

I will tell you folks, though, if you've never been a CSR, when you're new, it feels like everything is moving 100 miles per hour. They're trying to read their tech portal to find out what to do, the customer is still talking, and they will often mess things up. It takes time to get good at this, and the frontline CSR agents that are good at this often get moved (in certain locations) to more training and another, higher-level, position.

Wrong remote? No batteries? Batteries in wrong? Yes...far more often than you would realize. That is why they are to check those things first. In the past, I talked to a customer who swore the dish receiver was bad. The problem? The TV wasn't on. That's why the obvious questions get asked first. Annoying, sure, but necessary for some customers. Also, even if you tell me you haven't moved a cable, I'm going to make you check, as I have found the sat in cable connected to TV 3-4 out or antenna in...many MANY times, when the customer swore they hadn't touched the cables.

 

[SomeDishGuy]

For the life of me,I can't understand how CSR support can be so overwhelmingly incompetent,and Dirt so competent.It just boggles the mind.

I addressed it, somewhat, in another reply. Frontline CSRs are often newer employees. Folks really don't know how much is thrown at new employees when they start. They have to learn billing, business rules, the programming, how to use the software and tools, and that's before we get to the tech part. Doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, it is. Then comes the tech, and that is the biggest thing to learn.

All that said, a frontline CSR may likely be someone who has been with Dish less than a year, and/or offshore. Good CSRs, in some locations, get more training and get moved up, only to be replaced by more newbies. DIRT members have been with Dish a long time, have expertise (and have worked) in many roles. And, as someone else said, more gets written here about the problem, that does make it easier for DIRT to get to the bottom of the issue. Much easier than someone calling in and saying "My TV doesn't work, send someone out here to fix it! NOW!" and then having to probe, probe, probe to find more info, all the while the customer is fighting it or not giving the correct info.

One of these days, when I am with another employer, I'm going to write an anonymous blog about some of my more memorable calls. :

 

[sam_gordon]

I easily understand why CSR's have to hit the basic ones first. I do tech support for my company. I had a user complain he could hear SOME sources from the left speaker, but not ALL sources. However, a downstream listener could hear all sources. I go to check... the left speaker is disconnected. When he said it worked for SOME sources, he was hearing the right speaker and thought the sound was coming from the left.

Oh, and I'm not talking about a wire popping out of a connection. I'm talking about BOTH + & - disconnected and coiled 2 feet away from the speaker.

?Job security.

 

[Teehar]

But,in reading the op,it wasn't just csrs being incompetent,there were supposedly supervisors making the same mistakes.Also this wasn't really a technical issue,it was for a basic upgrade to a 211 receiver.Again,it boggles the mind.

 

[jbrelish]

I have a feeling that DIRT might be in a higher pay grade, lol.

If not then they should be.