Greetings! and yes this is my first post so please be patient.
I have been a loyal TWC customer for ten years and it took a lot for them to drive me away. Before I decided to switch to the dish I did a lot of research into satellite dishes and read through the forums here for several hours (very helpful, great community). I had some high definition content from TWC and wanted to continue that level of service with a satellite provider. Voom appears to have the most HD content, but the equipment costs are pretty high. E* pretty much had the package I was looking for. The 811 receiver would allow both satellite HD and tune-in local digital stations. I knew that the 811 was still in a public 'beta' of sorts, but was willing to have some limitations in the beginning. I signed up for the digital home plan with an 811 receiver and a 301/321(?) regular tuner for my older television. That was last week and they confirmed the install for today (12/16/03). Right after that I returned by cable box to TWC and discontinued service. On Sunday TWC climbed the pole and disconnected my cable.
I took off work today for the 12-5 install time. However, at 9am the local installer (the Hub?), called and told me that they didn't have any 811 receivers and wouldn't get one for me until at least January. I asked if they could just put up the dish and setup two regular receivers, but they told me that the whole work-order had to be done at the same time. I told them that I had no TV and would not appreciate being without news/weather/sports for a month or more. The Hub said that they were sorry, but they didn't have any so I had to wait. They gave me the 800 number for E* to call if I had further questions.
So I called tech support and was told that they would not ship any more 811's to the Hub and if I wanted that receiver I would have to wait. They also said a partial install was not an option. I asked what my other options were. The CSR said I could switch to the DVR package, but it would cost an extra $5 month. I asked her why, because I had read elsewhere that the DVR package did not have an extra fee like D* has. She said that because this was a Disney(?) version there would be an extra fee. Huh? I told her I would call back later.
So I went to Radio Shack where I signed up for service in the first place. The manager was surprised at the whole mess and spent about 20 minutes on the phone and got the same answers I did and was flabbergasted. I actually heard his raised voice in the backroom say "you would rather lose a customer than do the install now and follow up with the 811 in January?". He made copies of my documentation and told me that he would contact his higher-up and try to get this issue resolved.
That is where I am at right now. And suggestions?
I have been a loyal TWC customer for ten years and it took a lot for them to drive me away. Before I decided to switch to the dish I did a lot of research into satellite dishes and read through the forums here for several hours (very helpful, great community). I had some high definition content from TWC and wanted to continue that level of service with a satellite provider. Voom appears to have the most HD content, but the equipment costs are pretty high. E* pretty much had the package I was looking for. The 811 receiver would allow both satellite HD and tune-in local digital stations. I knew that the 811 was still in a public 'beta' of sorts, but was willing to have some limitations in the beginning. I signed up for the digital home plan with an 811 receiver and a 301/321(?) regular tuner for my older television. That was last week and they confirmed the install for today (12/16/03). Right after that I returned by cable box to TWC and discontinued service. On Sunday TWC climbed the pole and disconnected my cable.
I took off work today for the 12-5 install time. However, at 9am the local installer (the Hub?), called and told me that they didn't have any 811 receivers and wouldn't get one for me until at least January. I asked if they could just put up the dish and setup two regular receivers, but they told me that the whole work-order had to be done at the same time. I told them that I had no TV and would not appreciate being without news/weather/sports for a month or more. The Hub said that they were sorry, but they didn't have any so I had to wait. They gave me the 800 number for E* to call if I had further questions.
So I called tech support and was told that they would not ship any more 811's to the Hub and if I wanted that receiver I would have to wait. They also said a partial install was not an option. I asked what my other options were. The CSR said I could switch to the DVR package, but it would cost an extra $5 month. I asked her why, because I had read elsewhere that the DVR package did not have an extra fee like D* has. She said that because this was a Disney(?) version there would be an extra fee. Huh? I told her I would call back later.
So I went to Radio Shack where I signed up for service in the first place. The manager was surprised at the whole mess and spent about 20 minutes on the phone and got the same answers I did and was flabbergasted. I actually heard his raised voice in the backroom say "you would rather lose a customer than do the install now and follow up with the 811 in January?". He made copies of my documentation and told me that he would contact his higher-up and try to get this issue resolved.
That is where I am at right now. And suggestions?