Pure and simply you dont like it when I bring up legitimate issues. On one hand you say you dont agree with some things directv does, but you have no problem supporting them. You've said before that directv has a 'suggestion box' that you as an employee can put things in. If you agree with what i'm saying, then why dont you put it in the suggestion box?
If someone looks like they're going to run into or has run into what I consider a problem policy like the surprise 2 year commits, huge early termination fees, receiver return fees, triple dipping fees, random discounts and credits depending on which way the wind is blowing, sliding customer service quality, etc...I'm going to give them any information I have and any suggestions I can offer.
If you dont want to see it, put me on your ignore list. I think how I'm handling it is just fine. The big problem here is that I'm attacking issues and you're attacking me...with false accusations no less.
As far as this specific matter, Directv should have recognized that people would know about and ask for the new box. At a minimum, they could have set it up so they could tell customers 'we can send you a random box or if you want you can pay $50 per DVR to specify what equipment you get'. Then the company makes money and the customer gets what they want.
As far as addressing this with directv management directly, I've done that. I've been invited to discuss products and policies with a number of vice presidents including the VP of marketing and VP of engineering. I found that they only wanted to hear what they already thought and had no interest in criticism. I didnt find them to be very interested in customer issues.
They ended up with a band of people from dbstalk, and only the fanboy-iest fanboys they have. Unfortunately, when you only listen to the good news and people that agree with you, you have a bad surprise coming. Ask Carly Fiorina.
So given that communicating my concerns and ideas to management was ineffective, communicating them to the 'unofficial directv support' guy isnt effective, and talking about them with other customers results in a personal attack by the unofficial directv representative...I guess I'll just have to continue to inform and warn individuals when they ask questions.
At the end of the day, I'd like Directv to be better...like they used to be. If I cant accomplish that, I'll make sure that customers arent snagged up by the newer policies that I dont find to be very customer friendly.