DISH - yes or no?

[hawkhock]

We have DirecTV and are considering changing to DISH. Basic reason is that Direct no longer carries Versus. Realize that when DISH's Versus contract comes up for renewal, they may not either. Otherwise, no problems with Direct.

Haven't been able to find many positive comments re DISH customer service - just horror stories, primarily related to customer service. We are simple, basic users - no bells & whistles. Looking at duo-receiver for two TVs, classic 250 gold programming, no HD programming. Price is competitive with Direct, but the customer service issue could be a biggie for us as we live in a rural area. Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

 

[Juan]

try em and see I have been a happy customer since 2001

 

[Mike_H]

People rarely post when things go well. Frustration and anger is what brings out the other posts you see. Consider the number of customers dish has, and contrast that with the number of troublesome posts. Due to the dual tuner equipment they have, if you're looking for TV on a budget, I think Dish is better than DirecTV, and typically better than any local cable outlet.

 

[satjay]

I have been very happy with my switch to Dish, after almost ten years with direct. I have had dish for about nine months now. the few times I have had questions the customer customer service has been great. I switched for a few reasons, to me switching is a major thing as I am not a provider switcher, so make sure its for you. do some research, poke around the Dish fourm. I did that for about three months before I pulled the trigger and switched to dish

Some of the features I like:

Programing packages: In the summer I can down grade and still get a decent package

One reciever, two TV's: I like the fact that I can have two TV's hooked up to one reciever. Yes one is in SD, but its one less Box, and I also can use DVR features as well.

HD choices, for me I like the few extra national HD channels I get with Dish, I thought I would miss Sunday ticket, but I have not missed it at all.

Good luck!

 

[whatchel1]

Don't go by what you've read here

We have DirecTV and are considering changing to DISH. Basic reason is that Direct no longer carries Versus. Realize that when DISH's Versus contract comes up for renewal, they may not either. Otherwise, no problems with Direct.

Haven't been able to find many positive comments re DISH customer service - just horror stories, primarily related to customer service. We are simple, basic users - no bells & whistles. Looking at duo-receiver for two TVs, classic 250 gold programming, no HD programming. Price is competitive with Direct, but the customer service issue could be a biggie for us as we live in a rural area. Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

If you are going by the gripes here about customer service don't. This is an area that you will see negatives but rarely positive experience. that is just the nature of the beast so to speak. People don't come here to praise but mostly to complain. As far as customer service it is just as bad for both services according to what I & my brother have had. Both stink.

 

[KAB]

Read the Ditectv forum gripes. Same story over there.

 

[hawkhock]

Thanks for your responses -

 

[sheepherder]

Hawkhock=

RE: Dish's service, we started with E* back in '96 (my wife was a charter member with Dominion Network and we got our first E* rcvr thru them; our sat service then was big dish C band. Over the years we increased our package with E* and finally dropped C band.

First of all, we have needed very little service over many years; second, I guess I installed our Dish 500 (an free incentive to drop C band) only because the installer didn't come the day he was scheduled but rescheduled for the following Monday. First leased rcvr was a 510 in '04 to replace the original box. They sent me a free UHF remote for it in '08 to replace one that stopped working the '2' key.

I've found them to be accommodating on the phone and liked their system much better than some friends that have cable; D* I'm not real familiar with. But we just do basic TV, don't change things much once we start with something and don't have to have the latest right away.

Here in Montana they send an installer 120 miles rather than use a good storefront shop that sells Dishnet here in our little town. My future installs and packages will be thru him rather than over the phone because he's someone I know and I can talk to. Perhaps you could ask acquaintances who they like for service or find a local retailer on your own that you like.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Dishstore would love to have your business and we do offer our customers a rebate up to $75 above and beyond the standard DISH Network promotions.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I wouldn't Move just Yet. Wait and see who offers more for the money when D* launches a new satellite . They both are increasing in price, so I would wait.
We know D* price increase, E* like always has to make things more sneaky, So untill we figure out where they are going to hide their increase, I would stay put.

 

[space86]

People rarely post when things go well. Frustration and anger is what brings out the other posts you see. Consider the number of customers dish has, and contrast that with the number of troublesome posts. Due to the dual tuner equipment they have, if you're looking for TV on a budget, I think Dish is better than DirecTV, and typically better than any local cable outlet.

Both Dish Network and DirecTV are better then cable

 

[flyingsquirrel]

I have had Dish for almost the entire century.

I was considering Direct when my Neighbor got it. Then I spent some time playing with equipment, etc., and the thing I notice most is that the DVR performance with Dish is notably better.

I have two HD DVRs and they work well and are generally easy to use. I just added a second HD DVR (free with a new commitment).

Both Dish and Direct have their pissing matches with providers. However, I expect that Direct will get Versus as soon as the FCC approves the Comcast-NBC merger. At that point, they will probably make all programming disputes Between Dish/Direct/Uverse and Comcast-NBC the subject of Binding Arbitration.

Dish and Direct are more similar than people think. In general, if you are happy with one, I am not sure why anyone would switch.

 

[Jhon69]

We have DirecTV and are considering changing to DISH. Basic reason is that Direct no longer carries Versus. Realize that when DISH's Versus contract comes up for renewal, they may not either. Otherwise, no problems with Direct.

Haven't been able to find many positive comments re DISH customer service - just horror stories, primarily related to customer service. We are simple, basic users - no bells & whistles. Looking at duo-receiver for two TVs, classic 250 gold programming, no HD programming. Price is competitive with Direct, but the customer service issue could be a biggie for us as we live in a rural area. Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

In our area(rural) we have a very good local installer we call(check the yellow pages).

Does Dish have the same channels you like? because while some channels on both Providers are the same, others are not.

Example: Dish has Hallmark Movie Channel,DirecTV does not.DirecTV has PBS Sprout Dish does not(wish Dish would add this channel).

Dish standard receivers don't have the program information at the top of the guide like DirecTV standard receivers so you have to always press the Info button to get the program's information(that's a pain).

Where Dish's standard DVRs do have a partial program's information at the top of the guide.

I would recommend Dish's 625(it's what I have) it's a Dual room DVR and as far as my recommendations Dish's best DVR to date.

Good Luck!

 

[jerichohol]

Rather than comparing individual stores, consider these:

JD Power (customer service ratings)
East - Direct 5 stars, Dish 4
North Central - Both 4 stars
South - Direct 5 stars, Dish 4
West - Dish 4 stars, Direct 3

Better Business Bureau
Directv has an F, while Dish Network does not even have accreditation. When looking at the number of complaints, keep in mind that Dish has ~14 million customers, while Direct has ~18 million. Most useful to compare what percentage of complaints were resolved satisfactorily.

 

[OrlandoSGM]

Their Cust Service has been the best for almost 10 years now. I've never had any problems with them handling my requests, replacing equipment, throwing be a bone, etc.

One problem on here is that there are a handful of people that feel they are entitled to everything free and until they get it they won't be 100% happy!