Dish: Direct vs Retailer

[socalpanman]

With all the horror stories of Dish CSRs etc. Now that I have had my bad experiences with Dish and with my addiction to Voom programming, I'm back at ground zero in regards to Dish. I guess I'm just working my way along the learning curve.

So for new people, what are the pros and cons for buying through Dish directly or through a good retailer? Is it true the best offers for new subs begin with Dish and migrate to retailers? Does the choice affect the type of service/upgrades etc a subscriber should expect to get?

Thanks

 

[BFG]

It's basically the same. Going with a dealer just means you have a local person you can talk with and get help from, because basically they have to make sure you dont cancel or else they lose the money on you (but chances are the dealer will make you do the $19.99 promo with 1 year commitment anyways)

 

[imstriker]

From my experience, I had much better luck with Dish direct. I know it can happen either way, but my local retailer sent out a bum installer when I first signed up. He did a real lazy job to get done as quick as possible. The dish was poorly mounted and suffered from a lot of weather problems. When I had my 811 put in from Dish, the guy coming out to install completely redid the whole install. He put a pole in and grounded it all (imagine that). Since then, things have been much better.

 

[mudder1310]

I don't know how other Dish offices are about communication but I give our local number to every customer. We take tech calls and can sometimes get a tech out much quicker than calling the national number. Things like billing still require the national line but that would be true anyway.

 

[shadowwalker]

As an installer it really doesn't matter who you call to get the install done. Both DNSC and local retailer have a few bad apples. A lot of people just let anybody do what they wish to their property. I go out on so may trouble calls and just shake my head at the crap that someone called an install. It is up to you the customer to make sure the installer talks the install over with you in detail before the first cable is run and you must look at the install once it is done instead of sitting on the couch signing paperwork and playing with you new toy. This is your house if something doesn’t sound right and the installer is just feeding crap about what he can't do then you can refuse the install or reschedule until you get a second option. The forum is a great place to ask those questions.