Nobody probably cares, but I'm so fed up with these "installs". I had a family member have a seemingly simple install today. I've had too many bad experiences in the past, so I made sure I was there to supervise. These idiots were the worst I've ever seen. First, they argued against putting the dish were I told them because it would mean they'd have to run more cable. About 50 feet on top of the 25 feet to the place they wanted. Oh boo-hoo.The install should have been simple. There were four SDTV's. Two 322's. The first room was over a concrete floor, so they diplexed the backfeed through the original cable. There was already a phone jack, so they used that. Perfect. No complaints there.Then comes to the second 322 location. The hardwood floors in this room were only three months old. There was a basement under this room. The TV was on a shelf in the corner, and directly behind it was an outlet and phone jack I had wired when the house was built about 7 years ago. The guy wanted to run a second cable for backfeed. I said no, and he said it was company policy to do so. I told him that there were to be no new cables run, as I did not want any more holes in the wood paneled walls or brand new hardwood floors. I even had the homeowner say no.Reluctantly, the guy agreed, so I went off to the other room for a minute. About 30 seconds later I hear a drill. Guess what. The guy is drilling through the hardwood floor. He wants to then staple a cable to the wall up to the shelf.I about had it right there. I told him absolutely under no circumstance was he to drill through the floor.Now Dish is going to get the bill for the $500 or so it's going to cost to repair the floor.And the install was just plain messy. He ran the cables right along the house's siding. I asked him to run them at the top edge under the eaves. You think he did? Nope.And he was smoking in my backyard. This may be getting anal, but the homeowner does not allow anyone to smoke on their property. What kind of professional conduct is it to smoke right next to the house?Behind each TV was a wire's nest. Took me an hour to straighten up what he left. And he didn't set up either of the UHF 2 remotes. Just left them in the room.I just want to self install it next time. Maybe I'll buy all the equipment so I can do that. Does D* allow self installs?
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- Thread starter frustrated_guy
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Hey dude, if you weren't comfortable with the installers from the beginning then why did you let them proceed?
I tell you what, there is nothing wrong with being wanting to be in the game of the install, I was a damn good installer, I put myself in the shoes of customer however once I had a customer come out and start demanding things before I got out of the van telling me exactly where he wanted it, telling me this and that the body language and tone of voice was something else and I have yet to introduce myself..... I simply left.
The point don't come off to bossy, nothing wrong with it, but treat people how you'd want to be treated, it's possible that could have something to do with it. Who knows. That or find a local retailer, discuss your needs before hand.
I can't comment on Directv self installs, I know they did in the past..... you can do a self install with Dish if you'd like, that would involve having to purchase all the equipment.
I tell you what, there is nothing wrong with being wanting to be in the game of the install, I was a damn good installer, I put myself in the shoes of customer however once I had a customer come out and start demanding things before I got out of the van telling me exactly where he wanted it, telling me this and that the body language and tone of voice was something else and I have yet to introduce myself..... I simply left.
The point don't come off to bossy, nothing wrong with it, but treat people how you'd want to be treated, it's possible that could have something to do with it. Who knows. That or find a local retailer, discuss your needs before hand.
I can't comment on Directv self installs, I know they did in the past..... you can do a self install with Dish if you'd like, that would involve having to purchase all the equipment.
Not an ideal install, but I agree with Dallas. If a customer started in my face as soon as I got there, I probably would have left. If I had stayed, I would have done whatever it took to get out of there quickly. What was wrong with the location the installer chose for the dish? If he's a contractor he pays for that cable. Your family member only paid 50 bucks, for a basic install.
Personally, I HATE diplexers, it's just another thing that can fail later on, sometimes even within the 90 day warranty. Guess who gets to pay for the retrip to replace it?
Again, if the customer was being pleasant and treating me with respect, I would have done exactly as they asked. I can understand not wanting to drill through new hardwood floors.
The rats nest behind your tv was possibly a result of the installer not wanting to be around you anymore. Oh, and you'll be happy to know, the installer will be the one paying for the hardwood floor, not Dish. I'm not sure what happens to in house guys in that situation.
We're not supposed to smoke at a customers house, but if I were getting hassled like that, I'd probably have to just to maintain.
Or maybe they were just crappy techs. We'll never know for sure since we're only hearing your side of the story.
Sorry, I probably sounded a bit harsh in the first post.I tried to be very nice to the guys. I let them look around the property, and then politely told them what I wanted. I gave them pop (soda) while they were here and tried to be really friendly with them. They just didn't do it right. They wanted to put the dish smack dab on the front wall of the house, which would have been extremely unsightly. I asked them to move it to the side corner. They didn't like that idea. I understand that a second cable may be a better idea than a diplexer, but in that case, a diplexer would have been better. My relatives just had the flooring guy out today. $450 to tear out the three affected boards, fit in new ones, sand the entire area, and refinish them.I don't know who gets the bill, but we're surely not paying for it.
And let me guess, the work order was signed when all was done ? Signing that says basically "everything is okay", in case you didn't know. Why should Dish pay for the floor repair when they have a piece of paper saying nothing's wrong ?
I agree with this guy. And I cant believe the sorry excuses people make for these installers. Many of you are installers yourselves who obviously have no respect for others' property. You want to take the easy way out and get home.
I dont care what the back end arrangement is. I dont care how much you're getting paid, etc. complain to your boss or dish, not me. I'm paying for service and if they cannot respect this or adhere to what needs I have, you can get lost. I'll find another installer OR SERVICE who will do it without destroying my home.
This all said, you should not have signed that agreement and filed a complaint.
I dont care what the back end arrangement is. I dont care how much you're getting paid, etc. complain to your boss or dish, not me. I'm paying for service and if they cannot respect this or adhere to what needs I have, you can get lost. I'll find another installer OR SERVICE who will do it without destroying my home.
This all said, you should not have signed that agreement and filed a complaint.
The agreement was not signed, and the issue is currently pending with Dish. I'm not sure who's going to end up getting faulted by it. The installer sleft without the work order signed (not sure if that's allowable, but they did), and I immediately called Dish. They are not willingly giving me the money yet, but they've also told me if I document the damage and send them a copy of the repair bill that they'll consider it.I guess that raises another question, what is supposed to happen when the agreement is not signed? I don't think it was handled properly in my case. The guys said they'd report the issue when they got back for the day. Doesn't sound legitimate. Dish won't tell me what they were supposed to do.Keep in mind that when you're working in someone else's home, it's not your property. Treat it as you would your own. That means be neat, courteous, and respectful of the property. I'm not sure what your code of conduct is, but muddy shoes across the carpet would be a no-no. Just like smoking.I'm sure 90% of the installers are fine, but apparently I keep getting stuck with the bad ones.
The fact you didn't sign the workorder will go a long way towards your damage claim. You weren't overall happy with the install. The cabling wasn't up to your wishes. And let's face it...so-called points of entry were done against your wishes (drilling thru the floor). In the long run, I'm sure you'll get your $$ for the damage claim.
What's probably going to happen is a representative from whatever installation company/RSP/DNS will show up to assess and verify your claim. From that point it should be a simple matter of whatever insurance agency cutting you a check.
What's probably going to happen is a representative from whatever installation company/RSP/DNS will show up to assess and verify your claim. From that point it should be a simple matter of whatever insurance agency cutting you a check.
You ave a legitimate beef in some respects..The tech should have followed your wishes and not drilled into the floor..It is not company policy to avoid diplexers....That was a lie. I am going to assume that there was a cable already in place where the "other" receiver location..I can't figure out why anyone would deliberately run cable when it is not neceessary. It could have been that he ran out of diplexers. His problem..He shopuld have been prepared to do his job..
Now I will let you in on something..The first mistake you made was "supervising"..Your apporval of the job was enough..Hovering over the tech is a very bad idea..How would you like it if a layman hovered over you at your job?..Not a pleasant thought, is it?
Running cables neatly on the siding is standard operating procedre done on millions of installs...It is not your right to tell the tech how to do his job..We are allowed certain pathways to route cable as long as the cable is neat, follows the lines of the home and is not in anyway damaging to the home..It appears running the siding fit all these criteria....Smoking..If you wished there to be no smoking on the property you should have made that clear in the pre install part of the job..Placement of the dish. I survey the site and determine the best place fo the dish..I like to give the customer options for aesthetic reasons..But let's say the customer would like the dish at the peak of his 12/12 pitch roof when the lower corner behind the house will do, he isn't going to get his install done..Not by me anyway..I will no do anything that is remotely hazardous to my health..Now if it's a case of the customer being reasonable and wanting the dish in a desired location and i have to run more cable(again reasonable) that's fine..It's their house. I want them to be happy with the work.
This is one of those cases where i must defend my profession..We are indeed professionals..although judging from some of the comments by customers posted on this board there seems to be a consensus that we are a bunch of no good SOB's who are simply out to make a buck, have no clue what we are doing, are you hired help for the day or just plan not to be trusted..Look, there plenty of good people in this business. If you got a bad one that is bad luck on your part. I wish you well. But please do not imply that we all have no idea what we are doing.
BTW if you plan on getting $500 for a 3/8th inch hole, have fun....If we make a mistake and damage something we will make good on the damage..For example, if it was us that drilled the hole against your wishes we will gladly find contractors to give esteimates on the repair..We will make an offer to and even provide the contractor to do the job..But I will tell you right off, unless you have a very capable civil attorney who doesn't mind wasting his time on small fry suits, you're not going to get $500....In this business it happens al the time. We are prepared...
Trust me none of us would want to come to your home if you paid us triple..not with that attitude..
Where is it written that we have to come to your home take a a bunch of crap from you?..God help the next service person that comes to your home.
It now sounds lik ethey did more than drill justone small hole in the floor.Three boards for one hole is out of the norm..So the daamge sounds significant..Yiou were right not signing the forms..BTW if I damage anything I will stop work IMMIDEIATELY and report the situation to my supervisor. After that then I will get the ok from the customer to continue working..I treat others homes as though they were my own..I tell customers who are uneasy that I would never do anything to their home I owuld not do to my own. Additionally I tell them the last thing I would want is a service guy wrecking my house..So I am very carefull..Sometimes to a fault. It slows my work pace somewhat but I don't care..
I don't have much problems with diplexers..In some homes we'd be dead in the water without them..Lots of two story slab built homes around here with no ground floor to attic chases to run cable..Lots of these homes have interior structured wiring panels..I use the Red Holland Diplexers((STVC I think) for SD installs and no DPP 44 switches..I use the blue Holland Diplexers rated for higher DC pass with any install requiring a switch power inserter. I get very little trouble with these...
So if I understand this correctly, you were NOT the customer that was receiving the service but wanted to "supervise" the install by telling the tech what he could and could not do? News flash... if you're not the customer or the property owner your opinion doesn't mean squat to the installer.
As far as drilling through the hardwood floor goes, you never mentioned what type of cable was present for the existing cable (RG-59 or RG-6). Maybe there was a reason he couldn't use it, despite your wishes.
Perhaps self install would be a better option for you...that way there is no one else to blame when the system doesn't work. Matter of fact, why don't you go and become an installer yourself that way you can make an effort to change all of the "bad experiences" you've had.
Given the number of bad experiences you've had, I'm forced to ask what was the one thing all of these situations had in common?
ooOoO my cup of tea here... aimed at darrencp22
get over yourself man.. id have put the dish right where you wanted it.. but you get to clean up the extra cable you want me to run..we do 50 feet of trench and 200ft total cable if you wanna get assanine.. you wanna pay extra for a non standard install .. its $3 a foot of trench and $1 foot for cable.. we can nitpick too.. im here to give you signal not be your slave.. if you can do better then do it. i will go out of my way to make it as neat as possible .. to the house. i WILL NOT make your house look better with my work.. i install to the look of the house. if its a ghetto its a ghetto install. if its bill gates its top tits. i had one customer tell me that he wanted me to put a dish 125 feet away just because dish said we COULD and that was his only reason.. i HATE stupid @#$!s the think the world revolves around their wants. how about helping the other guy sometime!
get over yourself man.. id have put the dish right where you wanted it.. but you get to clean up the extra cable you want me to run..we do 50 feet of trench and 200ft total cable if you wanna get assanine.. you wanna pay extra for a non standard install .. its $3 a foot of trench and $1 foot for cable.. we can nitpick too.. im here to give you signal not be your slave.. if you can do better then do it. i will go out of my way to make it as neat as possible .. to the house. i WILL NOT make your house look better with my work.. i install to the look of the house. if its a ghetto its a ghetto install. if its bill gates its top tits. i had one customer tell me that he wanted me to put a dish 125 feet away just because dish said we COULD and that was his only reason.. i HATE stupid @#$!s the think the world revolves around their wants. how about helping the other guy sometime!
First of all the Tech should not have been smoking in the back yard, or on the property period!
As far as the hardwood floors, you should have made a complaint and let them inspect the damage before you paid to replace/repair it.
Dish has contracts with certain companies that they use to do repairs. Its for situations like when a tech walks accross your carpeting with muddy boots, Dish is actually contracted with a company to come clean your carpets and they bill Dish directly.
Now that you repaired the damage to the floors, it will make your claim harder to handel.
As far as the contract that you refused to sign, im surprised the installer actually left without getting your signature. When I was working with another retailer. I had a few customers try to pull that with me when there was an issue about their monthly programming costs. The customers refused to sign until they got a resolution on their monthly programming costs that they where mis-quoted.
I gave the customers an option, they either sign the paperwork and handel their issue later (Since I was not driving back out a 2nd time to get a signature), or I take the system out and I leave. Once you leave a Job without getting the paperwork properly signed, the customer now has the upper hand
As far as the hardwood floors, you should have made a complaint and let them inspect the damage before you paid to replace/repair it.
Dish has contracts with certain companies that they use to do repairs. Its for situations like when a tech walks accross your carpeting with muddy boots, Dish is actually contracted with a company to come clean your carpets and they bill Dish directly.
Now that you repaired the damage to the floors, it will make your claim harder to handel.
As far as the contract that you refused to sign, im surprised the installer actually left without getting your signature. When I was working with another retailer. I had a few customers try to pull that with me when there was an issue about their monthly programming costs. The customers refused to sign until they got a resolution on their monthly programming costs that they where mis-quoted.
I gave the customers an option, they either sign the paperwork and handel their issue later (Since I was not driving back out a 2nd time to get a signature), or I take the system out and I leave. Once you leave a Job without getting the paperwork properly signed, the customer now has the upper hand
The archaic attitude around here is amazing. I made a comment about adhering to certain rules (ie the complaint about drilling through hardware floors when told not to) and this moron has the installer digging a trench and running hundreds of feet of cable. You guys (many of you) basically want free reign to do whatever you want and not have to take any responsibility. Yes we are paying a small or free price for the install, but we are also signing a commitment for this. We want to be happy with the way this is done because we cant just leave anytime we like, as we can with cable.
I have to say this. My E install went very well. I had no issues and a couple of minor requests. The main one was to use the existing wiriring wherever possible. The second was that he remove his shoes when entering the home. Everything came out great and he was very professional. But I also have heard many complaints and horror stories as well.
I did not "hover" over the guy but observed from a distance. This case cleary demonstrates this is necessary or the installer may do something yuu may not want done (like drilling through hardwood floors). If you are there, you can prevent a dispute like this.
I had an experience with a D installer. Guy said he could not find my house and left voice mail messages asking for directions. There were no voicemails left and my house is very easy to find. The reality is, it was the end of the day and he wanted to go home.
I have to say this. My E install went very well. I had no issues and a couple of minor requests. The main one was to use the existing wiriring wherever possible. The second was that he remove his shoes when entering the home. Everything came out great and he was very professional. But I also have heard many complaints and horror stories as well.
I did not "hover" over the guy but observed from a distance. This case cleary demonstrates this is necessary or the installer may do something yuu may not want done (like drilling through hardwood floors). If you are there, you can prevent a dispute like this.
I had an experience with a D installer. Guy said he could not find my house and left voice mail messages asking for directions. There were no voicemails left and my house is very easy to find. The reality is, it was the end of the day and he wanted to go home.
It's not the tech's house, is it? I'll do what I want in my own house, or my parents' house for that matter.
He wanted to run the cables on the middle of the siding, about 5 feet off the ground. The dish was on the corner of the roof, and there would have been no extra wire used by running the cable across the top of the siding near where the eaves meet, all it meant was that the guy needed to get on his ladder one extra time.
Should I expect a professional to smoke on my property? No. It should go without saying. In our state there's even a law that you cannot smoke in any indoor public place.
Good. That's all I wanted. I wanted it on the corner of the roof (would not require tech to leave ladder) rather than smack dab on the front of the house facing the street. I'm sure anyone can understand that.
I'm not trying to imply that. Most of you are probably good ones. But there's always exceptions.
I'll get whatever it takes to repair the floor. I don't care how much it costs but the floor better look the exact same now as it did.
It was a 1/2" hole, but drilled right where three boards meet each other. On the edge of the junction of two boards, but in the corner so that it affects a third board.
The property owners are my parents. My father even was consulted by the installers and he said not to drill through the floor. So his opinion does count.
It was RG6 Quad Shield. And even if he couldn't use it, that doesn't mean he had the right to run new stuff without the permission of the property owner.
It would. If they let customers do self-installs without buying all of the equipment I would. And A/V is a huge hobby of mine...but I'm not going out to be a satellite installer. I'm perfectly happy with my job.
The damage was not repaired yet. I only had one company come out and give a free quote. If Dish wants to send out their own contractor, fine. But I'm not going to wait 6 months over this.
Believe me, the guy tried pretty hard for my father's signiture, but he didn't give it. They could have taken the stuff out if they wanted...assuming they did no more damage to the home.
Woooooooooooo weeeeeeeeeee sounds like a butt slappin good time!
Really as far as the damage goes, that shouldn't have been touched until a damage claim rep comes and see for themselves. What should of happened was you call 800-333-3474 immediately upon the said damage so that it's properly noted on your account likewise for the installer they should be contacting their supervisor immediately as well.
Really as far as the damage goes, that shouldn't have been touched until a damage claim rep comes and see for themselves. What should of happened was you call 800-333-3474 immediately upon the said damage so that it's properly noted on your account likewise for the installer they should be contacting their supervisor immediately as well.
first of darren G.F.Y.. dont call me a moron. i was making an in general comment on the subject of egotistical, whiny, and self important people making us go way out of our way to do something. if you dont like the way it looks why order it, you know before hand (giving that you have half a brain) that there is going to be a 20" lolly pop comming to your home, and that you WILL see. you also know that at your very own job, that it drives you crazy if someone goes out of their way to make your work harder than it needs to be. i fully understand what frustrated is talking about, BUT what you as the customer dont see is that (and it being no fault of your own) we have 2-4 other people to see everyday and when you start the nitpicking and must haves, that does the other customers wrong.. then they get mad cause you made me an hour and a half or two hours late, then guess what .. they complain just like you do ... its a vicious cycle.. back to my last line of what i said in my last post.. how about helping the other guy sometimes!? thats the problem today everyone is self centered, you dont care if we just spent all day in a 140 degree attic.. "I've been waiting all day for you" or the always popular " its about damn time", i find it so refreshing to get just one person a week that is just happy to see me, rather than yelling at me because they had to wait three days without seeing their shows.. thats my complaint to you .. lack of care for anyone other than #1.
I don't have many problems with Hollands either, but I have had a couple of bad ones. My point was using a diplexer is not the only way to run TV2, If I can, I will run it hardline. It saves end connectors and time 'sometimes'. I do have to admit that the OP had a legitimate reason for not wanting a hard line. I think, too, that the guy was probably out of diplexers. Can't think of any other reason he would do that.
