Dish... Subcontract installs have got to Go!!!

emdawgz1

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Sep 6, 2004
17
0
Finally bit the bullet and upgraded from the 811 to the 622.

for 2 years i have had an old Directv dish mounted on the back porch single LNB only pointed @ the 119.

Sunday 7/2 an installer comes walks in looks @ my setup. Sees that theres work to be done and sys.... "this is a mess... well where's the new receiver?" I inform him dish said he would bring it. He calls back to his office talks to the install mgr and sys theres no box here i cant install. Gives me the managers card and phone # and goes to leave. I ask him to wait while i call his office. He sys no " i've got to make more money". I call his boss he conferences me w/ Dish. He sys the work order sys DNS deliver for the receiver. Dish informs him that means that the installer will deliver the receiver. and that all install booked after 6/8/06 require the installer to bring a receiver.

He apologises and sys he will bump me to tomorrow. "First appointment...8:30 am" Well the new installer comes. 1pm and sys This work order is only for a single dish pointed @ the 61.5 for HD... Calls his boss, another conference call to dish. Dish informs me that in addition to the 200.00 i paid for the privilege of leasing their new box they now want another 59.99 to upgrade my dish. I pitch a fit and pony up the CC #.

The installer sys that the original guy had the box in his van he just didnt want to do a full install. It takes a while and he'd get paid more to just do other more simple jobs.

I'm writing all of this to say. That i understand the frustration of the install guys. They are mostly ham and eggers trying to make a buck. But to me a company as large as dish should have more pride in themselves then to let these guys be their front line. These guys dont care about the customer or the company, just doing more installs to get paid.

I'm gonna give serious consideration to their competition. Customer service means a lot to me. Evidently not so much to dish:(
 
any number to use for installer complaints?

I had a similar problem - Saturday appointment for an install 12-5pm. At 4pm they call and say they don't have a dp44 switch and can't do the install. I was furious, i already waited at home all day - seemed weird that they would discover this at 4pm instead of in the morning.... At least come and do the wiring? They said no way, the soonest they can back is this wednesday. This is a subcontractor here...not dish...

I tried complaining to dish, they just said blah blah and gave me $15 (i think the CS people were also outsourced)... Anyone I can call if the installer creates more problems on Wednesday? (I took another day off!!)
 
OK...it is my understanding that they both use the same sub-contractors.

I have 2 bad sub-con ctractor stories; one with Dish and another with DTV.

My boss had decided to have DTV installed because his wife was upset about Dish net letting then add a receiver, but rather was going to make them have a 322, meaning more holes in her new floor.

The DTV guy comes, my boss says that he does not want it on the roof again, the tech shows him where he can put the pole and get all 3 sats. The tech then tells him that his last pole mount and he would have to reschedule.

The second tech, a sub-contractor shows up and tells the wife that he will have to put it on the roof, after my boss had already dug the trench....to make it short...my boss calls home and talks to the tech. The tech told him that it was DTV's ;policy not do do any additional work and he needed to be paid for any additional work. My boss said that how he got paid was none of his affair and offered to leave his job to drive the pole for him. the tech then said there was no signal where he had dug the ditch....my boss informed him that another tech had already verified that there would be no problem there. The tech installed the pole mount.

I had a Dish sub-contractor tell a friend that wall fishing was not included. Although Dish did it for free, his company did not. I show up as the guy is leaving and explain to him that he cannot do that. I nicely explained to him that I was going to get his name to report to Dish because he was incorrect. he then said that he just did what his boss told him to...I told him to let his boss know that I was going to contact the CEO's office concerning this issue. He called his boss; his boss told him to offer to do it for $60. I then told him that was harassment and I was going to report him and his boss if he did not get in the house and wall fish the outlet. He said it would be impossible. I went into the basement and showed him how to do it.
 
miguelaqui said:
OK...it is my understanding that they both use the same sub-contractors.

Not here in Phila, recently if you see a Directv install its a New Shiny DirecTV van w/ an installer w/ a Directv name ID tag.
 
emdawgz1 said:
Not here in Phila, recently if you see a Directv install its a New Shiny DirecTV van w/ an installer w/ a Directv name ID tag.
I'm sure they are not all like that....here there are many nice vans for DTV and Dish...lots of pickups with the big DTV sign on the side with the Dish sign in the bed of the truck.

When they get into a jam, both companies would have to use sub-contractors. Even cable companies use them when they get into trouble!
 
Gosh, I am supposed to switch to Dish Network from DirecTV on Thursday. You guys are scaring me though. I know it will be a subcontractor because that is who came and sold me on the switch.
 
bayzbol44 said:
Gosh, I am supposed to switch to Dish Network from DirecTV on Thursday. You guys are scaring me though. I know it will be a subcontractor because that is who came and sold me on the switch.
Is it a subcontractor, or your LOCAL GUY?

BIG difference!
 
Sub-contractors aren't all bad. It really depends on the specific tech you get. Although some sub-contractors feel that Dish or Direct won't compensate them enough so they take extra measures to ensure that they are paid. Usually by offering their services to the customer on a personal basis. That is to say a sub-contracted installer might ask you to pay them for a specific task instead of going through DTV or Dish.

Never do that. Even if it sounds like it's a good idea, DTV or Dish network will eat the cost if a sub-contractor screws up and then they'll most likely charge it back to said subs. Always go directly through your TV company of choice because that makes them responsible.

If you accept sad subs offer than it's a contract between you and him. If he flubs it up you get to eat the cost. If you're going through a retailer either because it's more convienant or it's the only way possible always check the company's website first... Never believe anyone until you can get it the information from their website that way you know what the charges are...

And for god's sake Bayzbol... Don't sign the work order if you're not happy... As soon as you do you basically forfiet the ability to get it changed.
 
If you deal with someone local you'll probably not have to worry about all of that B.S. If you called an 800 number........................well good luck. I've seen alot of DirecTV HSP installs
 
I'm a dish tech thats doesn't work for dish net I work for an RSP Regional Service Provider. What to look out for Tchs that keeps saying im not allowed to do that of this is all i can do. Now i Dont like doing wall fishes. There are some techs that will co and say there is a fee for that... most likely cause the dont wanna do the wall fish and if the cust hears they have to pay for it they will be inclined to let the tech do what he feels is better. I myself tell the cust straight up and say "you dont want me to do a wall fish". Also DN give 1, single floor wall fish for free anything on top of that is concidered a custom install which is big bucks and that is rescheuled. for another day.
 
cleve_dnsc_tech said:
I'm a dish tech thats doesn't work for dish net I work for an RSP Regional Service Provider. What to look out for Tchs that keeps saying im not allowed to do that of this is all i can do. Now i Dont like doing wall fishes. There are some techs that will co and say there is a fee for that... most likely cause the dont wanna do the wall fish and if the cust hears they have to pay for it they will be inclined to let the tech do what he feels is better. I myself tell the cust straight up and say "you dont want me to do a wall fish". Also DN give 1, single floor wall fish for free anything on top of that is concidered a custom install which is big bucks and that is rescheuled. for another day.

Uhhh...call me the ignorant one, but just WHERE does it state on any of the DNS service agreements that wallfishing is part of a standard install? I'm sure most installers would agree that wallfishing is custom work, and thus, should be treated (extra $$) as such.
 
Last edited:
webbydude said:
Uhhh...call me the ignorant one, but just WHERE does it state on any of the DNS service agreements that wallfishing is part of a standard install? I'm sure most installers would agree that wallfishing is customer work, and thus, should be treated (extra $$) as such.
Call Dish and ask...they will tell you that it is included. If the CSRs are telling the customers that...they have to honor it...that's all I know.
 
emdawgz1 said:
Finally bit the bullet and upgraded from the 811 to the 622.

for 2 years i have had an old Directv dish mounted on the back porch single LNB only pointed @ the 119.

Sunday 7/2 an installer comes walks in looks @ my setup. Sees that theres work to be done and sys.... "this is a mess... well where's the new receiver?" I inform him dish said he would bring it. He calls back to his office talks to the install mgr and sys theres no box here i cant install. Gives me the managers card and phone # and goes to leave. I ask him to wait while i call his office. He sys no " i've got to make more money". I call his boss he conferences me w/ Dish. He sys the work order sys DNS deliver for the receiver. Dish informs him that means that the installer will deliver the receiver. and that all install booked after 6/8/06 require the installer to bring a receiver.

He apologises and sys he will bump me to tomorrow. "First appointment...8:30 am" Well the new installer comes. 1pm and sys This work order is only for a single dish pointed @ the 61.5 for HD... Calls his boss, another conference call to dish. Dish informs me that in addition to the 200.00 i paid for the privilege of leasing their new box they now want another 59.99 to upgrade my dish. I pitch a fit and pony up the CC #.

The installer sys that the original guy had the box in his van he just didnt want to do a full install. It takes a while and he'd get paid more to just do other more simple jobs.

I'm writing all of this to say. That i understand the frustration of the install guys. They are mostly ham and eggers trying to make a buck. But to me a company as large as dish should have more pride in themselves then to let these guys be their front line. These guys dont care about the customer or the company, just doing more installs to get paid.

I'm gonna give serious consideration to their competition. Customer service means a lot to me. Evidently not so much to dish:(

Welcome to my world. I've been trying to upgrade with DirecTV since May 25th! I'm trying to switch to E* and the last installer is coming out Thursday. They need to pay these guys like any other profession. The more work you do the more you are paid. There is no incentive for them to do a tough job. I wish you the best of luck.
 
Majic Walrus said:
Sub-contractors aren't all bad. It really depends on the specific tech you get. Although some sub-contractors feel that Dish or Direct won't compensate them enough so they take extra measures to ensure that they are paid. Usually by offering their services to the customer on a personal basis. That is to say a sub-contracted installer might ask you to pay them for a specific task instead of going through DTV or Dish.

Never do that. Even if it sounds like it's a good idea, DTV or Dish network will eat the cost if a sub-contractor screws up and then they'll most likely charge it back to said subs. Always go directly through your TV company of choice because that makes them responsible.

If you accept sad subs offer than it's a contract between you and him. If he flubs it up you get to eat the cost. If you're going through a retailer either because it's more convienant or it's the only way possible always check the company's website first... Never believe anyone until you can get it the information from their website that way you know what the charges are...

And for god's sake Bayzbol... Don't sign the work order if you're not happy... As soon as you do you basically forfiet the ability to get it changed.

I am more talking about making sure the channels coming in fine after he/she leaves and making sure the dish is pointed at the right degree in the right way. IF I am brand new to HD, how the heck am I supposed to know if my local channels are supposed to look a 8 out of 10 or a 5 out of 10?
 
Honestly, with HD I cannot tell a difference. There's a good chance the techs can't either. Pointing the dish is something that they should cover and most techs will peak it now rather than getting hit with a trouble call within your 90 warranty.

If your happy with how the HD channels look then you don't need to worry about it.
 
let me explain something to you guys. Both Dish and Directv use primarily retail companies to do installes for them. The companies with the big contracts are required to have "x" number of employees. Since "x"number of employees is not enough to do all the work, they then hire contractors to do the rest. weather the installer is an employee or a contractor makes no difference. The difference is on the workers end and ultimately means nothing to the customer. Also, (many) installers (both subs and employees) work really hard to give you service and the satellite industry has done nothing but cut pay over and over and over again. Wall fishes and pole mounts were once (and in my opinion still should be) considered custom work. This meant that it was not basic installation and the customer would have to pay extra to get it done. Why pay extra? Well let me give you an example. If I go out for a day and do 4 installs without the side work, then I can ( inmost cases) call it a 8 to 10 hour day. If on all 4 jobs I have to install pole mounts and do wall fishes, It could turn into a 14 hour day easily. Just because one wall fish may be easy doesn't mean they all will be. As a contractor Dish Net wants me to install a pole mount for free. This means I have to do an extra half hour of work (if the dish can be fairly close to the house) as well as pay for all the materials to do the poel mount. I do not get reimbursed. Sure maybe the company should be taking care of us, but they don't. And what is the end result? Guys like me who do quality work eventually get tired of all the crap and quit opening the door for the next guy (who may not give a crap because he doesn't get paid good enough). I hope you see my point. That extra work I and others do to keep you happy costs me time and money these days. Next time hand the guy at least a $20 next time you get your free pole mount or wall fish. If more customers start appreciating the hard work, there won't be so many problems. Just my $.02
 
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