Attempted new install through Cosco was a big fail!

[kattheaunt]

On March 30, I called D* to set up my aunt's switch from TWC (crappiest cable I've ever seen) to D*. She's got three new high def tv's, including a 60" in the LR. Direct set us up with a Genie, two clients, three months free premiums, free Sunday Ticket & MLB extra innings, a bunch of discounts to bring the first year on the Ultimate package to around $60 for the first bill. All in all, about $30+ less than her TWC per month. As I'm on the phone with D*, my aunt reminds me of a flyer from Costco where she could get the same deal PLUS a $200 Costco card. The D* CSR says we can take the receipt she will email us to Costco to see if the deal is the same, and call to cancel if it is and do a new deal with Costco.

We run over to Costco right away. The salesman says they can give us the very same deal that is in the receipt PLUS the $200 card. We think "Cool" so I call & cancel so he can set it up. He does his thing, confirms the credit check, no upfront costs for the Genie & two clients. Same discounts & premiums. We have a long chat about how nice it will be for my aunt to have the Genie. When the receipt prints I see it says three HD receivers and I said "Oh, no way. We've been taking about the Genie all this time, you see the Genie on this first receipt, so WTH?" He swears to me over and over that its just their system that says that, but when the installer comes he will put in the Genie, etc...we go over and over it. I tell him he will be dealing with a very unhappy me if this goes wrong. I've driven over 100 miles to be here to do this for her. No, no, no, he swears it will be fine and I tell him ill cancel if it isn't.

The installer came today and of course, it was NOT ok. Very nice guy completely unsurprised about our dilemma. He spent time trying to fix it. I call the Costco guy who still swore it should have been ok then gave me a non-working number for his boss (at this point my aunt says to the installer, "Uh oh, he just made a BIG mistake. He doesn't realize who he's messing with.) we end up canceling the Costco deal. The installer gave us his cell and said if we redo the deal with D* he will come personally to install it next weekend (another trip for me). There were umpteen other phone calls all through this mess but now we are back to the first deal and the manager of the local Costco is NOT happy either. And if I don't hear from him like he promised then HIS supervisor will not be happy either. Cause...now it's just entertainment for me. I earned it. Lol.

On to next week...I may get that $200 card yet....at least the installer says the job will be simple. No problems there. The Costco manager said all the right things so we'll see what happens.

Oh fun.

 

[Jimbo]

Let us know how it goes ...

 

[kattheaunt]

Haha, Jimbo, gotta share with people who understand...

 

[Tampa8]

Had you said you don't want the deal unless it actually says the Genie, and you want to speak to a manager, might avoided it. Go with your gut on these things.

 

[raoul5788]

Let's hope this works out for you, but you have to take a small part of the blame. You should have made the Costco guy redo the paperwork to show a Genie on it. Never take the word of a salesman! I'm not blaming you for this, but it was heading for disaster from the start.

 

[kattheaunt]

No argument there at all. In my heart I expected this. But as the installer said (very cool guy BTW) "most people would not have realized they were not getting what they wanted until it was already installed and too late. So maybe it's good it has happened to you if possibly your complaint will prevent this happening to other people. A big maybe." The Costco manager said basically he same thing. One can hope. The installer said going through AT&T is even worse.

The installer will get a tip.

 

[Jimbo]

No argument there at all. In my heart I expected this. But as the installer said (very cool guy BTW) "most people would not have realized they were not getting what they wanted until it was already installed and too late. So maybe it's good it has happened to you if possibly your complaint will prevent this happening to other people. A big maybe." The Costco manager said basically he same thing. One can hope. The installer said going through AT&T is even worse.

The installer will get a tip.

How would the Installer know anything about ATT Installations ?

 

[kattheaunt]

I don't know. Just reporting what he said.

 

[Hutch1814]

How would the Installer know anything about ATT Installations ?

Easy Jimbo he's talking about the Directv/AT&T bundle. It's a complete nightmare on the installers side. Seems like if they call AT&T and set it up its doomed for failure. I see AT&T as a partner on the WO and I already know I'm calling work order mod. Happens prolly 7/10 times. They set up WO's with a slimline dish and 4 standards and tell the customer "oh yeah, you're getting a genie system"

 

[Jimbo]

Easy Jimbo he's talking about the Directv/AT&T bundle. It's a complete nightmare on the installers side. Seems like if they call AT&T and set it up its doomed for failure. I see AT&T as a partner on the WO and I already know I'm calling work order mod. Happens prolly 7/10 times. They set up WO's with a slimline dish and 4 standards and tell the customer "oh yeah, you're getting a genie system"

Ahh, I see what your saying now... I forgot about that, was thinking he was referring to the ATT Uverse Installations.

Thats a whole other issue I have with ATT and thier people in thier B.O. that don't know what they are talking about ...

I'm suppose to get a $10 p/m discount on my D* bill for being an ATT Employee (since 08 when they started the bundle stuff).

I get the run around and to call D* and then back to att and then they tell me that I need tom have Att landline or cell service to get the deal, I call thier bluff because then it's NOT an EMPLOYEE Discount if I'm required to have thier service ... I live outside of att service area...

When the bundle first started they said I didn't have a qualifing package (TC+ at the time I had, they required Select (or whatever that new package was at the time, they failed to understand that the package I had was cheaper and had more channels than the Select did), their package would have cost me $5 more a month to get the $ 10 they owned me ...

To this day I don't get the deal and have quit calling about it as I don't have enough time at work to deal with the run around and they close by the time I get home (The office I need).

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

Verizon / d* bundels work the same way for techs.... Badly....

Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[kattheaunt]

Well, had the install today and everything is great EXCEPT neither the installer or I could program my aunt's Harman Kardon SB 16 sound bar to work with the direct remote & cannot find anyone who has. Called D* & went through all the codes, everywhere. This thing has no remote of its own. The only thing it's working with is the TWC remote (I programmed that). My aunt is highly annoyed and I'm so exhausted I could cry. She doesn't want to hear universal remote.

Any ideas? Wish I had been there when she bought this thing. I would have read the reviews and known about the problem.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

If you know what code the twc remote used try that one. Or google it.

Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[kattheaunt]

I tried every code I could find. I can't even find anyone on the net who has done it. I have found reviews that complain about the same thing. I did get it programmed to the tv remote so my aunt will have to use two remotes.

 

[upsss]

Call or email the manufactures of the Sounbar. If such code exist they would know it.

 

[kattheaunt]

Finally found someone who mentioned it worked for him. I'll try agin tomorrow. Otherwise the install was great. Can't believe how tiny the clients are.

 

[kattheaunt]

Call or email the manufactures of the Sounbar. If such code exist they would know it.

Yes, I've done that, both, actually. Waiting to hear back. I'm going to try again later after some rest & with more patience.

 

[stardust3]

The method below works for scanning TV codes. Try 1 of the other modes with this method or the tv mode for that matter.

In the TV mode hold select and mute @ same time until lights flash and key in 9 9 1 1 slowly, then off button once, then channel up or down to auto scan for TV codes. When device powers off press select.

 

[the mack]

This is when a learning remote would be nice. my boy has a genie system and it seems fine, but the remote functions and layout are lacking IMO.
hope you can figure it out, nopthing worse than having to use multiple remotes.

 

[kattheaunt]

OK, I'm sharing this because it might help someone who may have the same sound system even though it makes me look like a total moron. I swear, I'm usually pretty good with these things....really.

I tried and tried to program that remote. This system requires you to press a series of buttons on the sound bar then, within 5 seconds hit the button on the remote that you want to program until certain lights blink or fall off or something. Then scratch your right elbow with the left second toe...all the while singing Minnie the Moocher. I finally gave up and programmed the TV remote for the sound bar and admitted defeat.

The D* remote was lying near the sound bar as I programmed the TV remote. Auntie and I watched a movie, I had to answer a call. She automatically tried to lower the volume on the D* remote and it worked. Even mute, which I never even attempted to program on that one. It must have "learned" while I was programming the TV remote because that sucker wasn't working before.

Either that or I sing the hell out of Minnie the Moocher.