I need somewhere to bitch and moan

[shappy]

I had an appointment on Tuesday (9/11) to upgrade my service to HD and a 722. The appointment was for between noon and 5. Well, five comes and goes and nobody shows up. At 5:10 I call Dish and the person tells me that the installer is running late and he should be at my house in 15 to 20 minutes.

30 minutes goes by and still no installer. So, I call again and another rep tells me that the installer will be there shortly. Realizing that the install will likely take over an hour and my family will be sitting down to dinner, I tell the rep to cancel the appointment (that they have now missed) and to reschedule it. She tells me that the earliest appointment would be for today (9/13) between noon and 5. I say fine and hang up.

At six the installer is knocking on my door. I tell him that it is too late in the day and I had already called (20 minutes earlier) to cancel the appointment. He was cool with it and we left it at that.

Having no faith that things would go as planned, I called Dish today to confirm my appointment. The rep tells me that not only is there no appointment scheduled for today but their file indicates that the install was done on Tuesday and the ticket was closed out.

I as for a supervisor, yell and scream and threaten to drop Dish if they don't do something for me (although I still have 4 months left of my 18). The supervisor gets me an appointment for tomorrow and offers me a free month of my basic programming ($42). I tell the supervisor that I want the first noon appointment for Friday and if the installer is not at my door exactly at noon, I will cancel dish, contract be damned!

Unbelievable incompetence and lack of customer service.

Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[darrencp22]

That experience mirrors mine with DirecTv and why I am a dish customer. I hate, above all else, complete incompitence.

 

[shappy]

Dish has my business for one reason and one reason only...their DVR. It is set up to send the signals (and recorded programs) to all the other TV's in my house and the ability to control it with the RF remotes. If not for that, I would jump back to DTV or even Comcast, whoever offered me the better deal.

However, they have me by the short hairs, so I am left to complain on internet message boards.

 

[Claude Greiner]

The installer might have made you think it was cool when you told him to leave, but he was probably pissed off that you told him to leave, and he purposely closed out the work order and marked it as completed to cause you a problem.

Yes, the appointment was between 12 and 5pm, but he was probably running late because of his previous Jobs. Your luckey the installer actually showed up when he did and just should have had him to what he had to do finish it.

As far as the reschedule, its very unlikely you will see someone at 12 noon.

I would suggest getting a morning appointment, and you might get luckey and be the guys first appointment of the day.

 

[shappy]

Spending time with my family is far more important than getting HD hooked up, and the last thing I want is some stranger installer in my house while we are sitting down for dinner.

Why bother giving a time window for an appointment if they are not going to adhere to it? At the very least, someone should have called me to let me know the installer was running late.

If I have an appointment to be somewhere at a certain time and I am running late, I let that person know. It is common (or perhaps uncommon) courtesy.

I doubt the installer was upset. He told me he had been at one huge job all afternoon and he looked pretty tired. I am sure he was happy to be able to get home to his family that much sooner. He even said that he didn't know why they had scheduled him other jobs that day in light of the huge job he was on. I don't blame the installer at all.

This is bad customer service, plain and simple.

 

[BigTimMN]

The installer has some of the blame... he WAS scheduled to do the job, he knew that at the start of the day, he could of let someone know that he was ona big job that was going to take all day and to have someone pick up your install or to call you.

 

[webbydude]

The installer has some of the blame... he WAS scheduled to do the job, he knew that at the start of the day, he could of let someone know that he was ona big job that was going to take all day and to have someone pick up your install or to call you.

Big assumption. You don't know whether he tried calling his dispatch/routing person or not. They may have said, "do what you can...we're swamped"

 

[tsduke]

Big assumption. You don't know whether he tried calling his dispatch/routing person or not. They may have said, "do what you can...we're swamped"

Yea, I don't have a big problem with them being late as long as they let me know before the install window passes.

 

[shappy]

I was very nice with the installer since I kind of figured (and he confirmed to me) that he was the installer for this area and I knew he would be coming back again. No point in having attitude with him knowing that I want him to do quality work when he comes back.

 

[webbydude]

I was very nice with the installer since I kind of figured (and he confirmed to me) that he was the installer for this area and I knew he would be coming back again. No point in having attitude with him knowing that I want him to do quality work when he comes back.

I don't blame you one bit. You were scheduled from 12 - 5. You had plans after said time frame. I'm a bit puzzled how the workorder could be closed out. Especially when equipment had to be installed and returned. Maybe I'm just not sneaky enough as a tech to know how to skirt around that if I was forced into that situation.

 

[EricBskiVT]

The installer has some of the blame... he WAS scheduled to do the job, he knew that at the start of the day, he could of let someone know that he was ona big job that was going to take all day and to have someone pick up your install or to call you.

The installer who did my HD upgrade showed up at the end of the day and still had another installation to go to. He told me that he works at least 10 hour days, 13 out of every 14 days.
On Sundays, his wife rides with him so they can have some time together. I asked him if the long hours were his choice and he said they weren't. Let's give the installers a break.

 

[kennya]

jeesh, hope you dont make a doctors appt.

I look at it as they are scheduling you for that time frame cause they dont know how long it will take the other jobs before you. When I had mine installed at the house before the one I am living in now, they showed up at least an hour late. It was pouring outside, myself, wife and a few of my friends were in my man cave having some beer while they installed. When he and his wife were done with the install we invited them in and they accepted. They had at least a two hour drive home and I could have cared less if they were a bit late. I think you might have jumped the gun a bit by canceling it. They are upgrading me tomorrow and if they are late, so be it, I can sit with my wife and kids outside and wait for them. Enjoy a brew or 5 and look forward to stunning HD!

 

[shappy]

I'm a bit puzzled how the workorder could be closed out. Especially when equipment had to be installed and returned. Maybe I'm just not sneaky enough as a tech to know how to skirt around that if I was forced into that situation.

I suspect it was the second customer service rep I spoke to on the phone. Instead of rescheduling my appointment I think she just canceled out everything.

Of course Dish has already charged my credit card the $229 for the 722.

 

[drummerguy]

You want the first noon appointment and you're going to cancel if he's not there right at noon? So, you won't even let the guy get some lunch before coming to do your job?

Man, that's harsh.

I hate the whole 5-hour time window too, because I end up twiddling my thumbs for several hours before they get there. And I also don't like if they're late. But I know that most installers work really hard, sometimes in difficult conditions, so I cut them some slack. Most of the installers I've had have done a good, if not great, job, and I'm certainly willing to put up with a little lateness if the job is done right.

 

[shappy]

You want the first noon appointment and you're going to cancel if he's not there right at noon? So, you won't even let the guy get some lunch before coming to do your job?

Man, that's harsh.

Nah, that is just posturing and empty threats on my part. I just said that so the supervisor on the phone would put it in the notes so there was a record of my dissatisfaction. As I said, Dish has unique features in their DVR's that I require, so I have little choice but to use Dish.

 

[drummerguy]

Nah, that is just posturing and empty threats on my part. I just said that so the supervisor on the phone would put it in the notes so there was a record of my dissatisfaction. As I said, Dish has unique features in their DVR's that I require, so I have little choice but to use Dish.

Maybe you can have a ham sandwich and a soda ready for the guy if they take your posturing and empty threats seriously and he does show up right at noon, immediately after the previous job.

 

[darrencp22]

I dont blame this guy at all for being POed.. Too many people seem to think the installer and/or the installation companies should be held to a different standard than the rest of us. When I have a meeting at my job, I cant just show up late and get a bunch of sympathy. The real world doesnt work this way. It doesnt matter how busy I am. These people are living in the stone age and need to get with it.

 

[Albert Karl]

Welcome to the Dish Network service culture which is not unusual in today's outsourcing service world. I've had much more frustrating experiences than you with D.N. The only reason I'm still with them is because they give me the international channels I need to watch, and they do it very well. Try to hang in there.

 

[kennya]

I dont blame this guy at all for being POed.. Too many people seem to think the installer and/or the installation companies should be held to a different standard than the rest of us. When I have a meeting at my job, I cant just show up late and get a bunch of sympathy. The real world doesnt work this way. It doesnt matter how busy I am. These people are living in the stone age and need to get with it.

So the installer is supposed to leave another install un-finished just so they can be there to do yours? So what if they have another appt. to go to before he/she can finish yours because of an unseen problem?

 

[Van]

The installer has some of the blame... he WAS scheduled to do the job, he knew that at the start of the day, he could of let someone know that he was ona big job that was going to take all day and to have someone pick up your install or to call you.

The installer has at best a tiny part in it but with what your saying he has nothing to do with it considering that he is given the job(s) by his/her dispatcher or manager who have to actually look at the work orders to make sure that they arent blindly giving some guy half a dozen four tv or greater installs. The only thing the installer has to do is notify his office if he is running late or the next customer(s) if he has no office.

Nah, that is just posturing and empty threats on my part. I just said that so the supervisor on the phone would put it in the notes so there was a record of my dissatisfaction. As I said, Dish has unique features in their DVR's that I require, so I have little choice but to use Dish.

Hate to burst your bubble but dish has exactly two time frames inwich to install, 8am to 12 noon and 12 noon to 5pm, you can request/demand/stomp your feet/ hold your breath/ throw things/ threaten to sue as much as you want but unless your some that is more important than most of the customer base then your chances at having the installer there at 5 minutes before or after noon are about as good as Bush finding Bin Laden on Christmas day sitting in a big box with a bow on it.