EchoStar/Dish raises doubts about 'ability to continue as a going concern'

[telstar_1]

But that's where so many get their news- cc.

 

[That American Girl]

This whole thread has me rolling ..🤣🤣🤣

 

[That American Girl]

.....it's not clear what a sustainable service looks like and at what point providers will stop losing customers and return to a manageable level of churn.

I personally think we're focusing FAR too much on the things that these 'focus groups' that Charlie is paying money for, that will apparently "improve the customer experience".

An example:

Me: *answers phone*
Customer: I just need to pay my bill..

Me: *pulls up account, and loads the customer app, flows, hits the 'recommendations, etc*
Then goes into a full 2 minute intro, using all the buzzwords that are required, thanks them for how long they've been with us, uses their name the required 3 times, 'paraphrases' back to them what they're asking for...blah blah blah..

(Customer grows impatient)
Them: Yeah, I just need to pay my bill....

Me: *shoves the required Boost Infinite down their throat several times(or my job is at risk)*

Them: Yeah.. my bill? Can I just pay it?

Me: Absolutely! *goes into the required empathy statement * Let's do this!
*pulls up the Flow and goes thru the whole ridiculous thing... about 7 steps. Offers to email customer info about Boost infinite again. Finally processes payment*

Customer: Yeah... okay. Are we done?

Me: *Again offers the 'featured promo of the day, Showtime, Starz, etc..*

*can actually hear the customer rolling their eyes at this point*

Them: No, no.. I'm good. Okay then bye...

Me: *goes into a good 3 minute refresh of the entire conversation. Reminds them that they can go online to pay bill, use their name again as required...pushes promos one more time*

*customer is losing the will to live at this point, pondering just hanging up now*

Me: Alright! Before I let you go, do you have any more....

*customer dies of old age*

Obviously, this is exaggerated just a bit. But ONLY a little bit at this point. Customers don't want to hear all this crap. If they're calling in to pay a bill, I mean yeah...mention any specials we have, as they might actually be interested... but how about...I dunno... just let them pay the bill and move on??

Basic things like this shouldn't be a freaking 10 minute call.

People want things to be short, simple, and to the point. They don't want you to spend half the call shoving crap down their throats. They ALL know about "Dish.com", especially if they've been with us for over 10 years or more. They don't care if you use their name 3 times, they just want to call in and get their stuff done, and get off the phone quickly.


We should just be focusing on what they ACTUALLY called in for. Let's lose the dang fluff that's just irritating.

 

[Ronnie-]

Merged two threads on the same subject

 

[Bruce]

People want things to be short, simple, and to the point. They don't want you to spend half the call shoving crap down their throats. They ALL know about "Dish.com", especially if they've been with us for over 10 years or more. They don't care if you use their name 3 times, they just want to call in and get their stuff done, and get off the phone quickly.

Actually that would be one of the reasons, but not everything.

When I cancelled YTTV earlier this year, went on the site, done.

But when I cancelled Sirius on one of my vehicles, it was completely unbearable, believe it took over 45 minutes, kept offering and offering, also had a very thick accent which made it harder, I kept repeating over and over, “I just want to cancel.”

Buying a new vehicle next week, there is no way I will use the service again, based on what I went though.

 

[dfergie]

Merged same topic threads...

 

[syphix]

Actually that would be one of the reasons, but not everything.

When I cancelled YTTV earlier this year, went on the site, done.

But when I cancelled Sirius on one of my vehicles, it was completely unbearable, believe it took over 45 minutes, kept offering and offering, also had a very thick accent which made it harder, I kept repeating over and over, “I just want to cancel.”

Buying a new vehicle next week, there is no way I will use the service again, based on what I went though.

SIRIUS can be canceled easily via online chat. Takes 5-10 minutes. I do it every year when my $5/mo offer expires. Just tell them you sold the car.

I've "sold" the same car multiple times.

 

[telstar_1]

SIRIUS can be canceled easily via online chat. Takes 5-10 minutes. I do it every year when my $5/mo offer expires. Just tell them you sold the car.

I've "sold" the same car multiple times.

But that's just it, having to resort to subterfuge and a tactical/adversarial approach. "It can be canceled easily, just lie."

This goes way back with DiSH- they went on a kick early on of telling us (dealers) that sat TV was to be considered merely a "door-opener" for us to get into the home to pitch all manner of "upsells". IOW we were not to expect much in the way of compensation for selling sat, and even less for installing/servicing it, because your better compensation lies in your upselling opportunity afforded by being allowed to market DiSH. Purely the language of greed. We were supposed to be going into our customers' homes with an adding machine. Charlie was running a "get-rich-quick" operation as much as a sat service provider. He encouraged anyone & everyone to sell sans service to rack up subscription residuals and make a million bucks, then turned around and called the rogues he had attracted, along with all of us, crooks, and proceeded to make dealing sat a slow torture through ever-more-restrictive "business rules," even as he then reneged on his residuals promises, prompting successful suit by dealers.

He was the biggest crook of all, and it eventually took its toll on customer appreciation and general esteem for the sat industry, which had been really high. They squandered that goodwill rather than nurturing it for both the own longer-term good and that of the business.

 

[primestar31]

He was the biggest crook of all.

Besides poker, he made his first money selling C-band systems with hacked Videocipher decoders out of the back of his pickup truck.

 

[navychop]

And I’m not sure the truck was his, or borrowed.

Anyway, pay your bill online, or automagically. Much easier. And if you don’t like doing it that way, expect to pay the price.

 

[telstar_1]

Besides poker, he made his first money selling C-band systems with hacked Videocipher decoders out of the back of his pickup truck.

Actually he started in 1980 with Jim well before scrambling/hacking, and his infamous VC deal involved a one-time sale of 50,000 untampered modules that were meant to go into his IR/Ds but were of a type that had been cracked and so had become market-valuable. But there are plenty of people who have done dubious things simply to get traction in business, who then pivot to sustainability and know to treat people right. Charlie used it to upshift as a distributor. I made it into the business partially on some of that, but my key was that I never let customers down. I would eat costs myself before imposing them unfairly onto my customer. That's how you build goodwill and referral. Then he launched DiSH and promised to be the anti-cable (perhaps the most-hated service category in the country at the time) and put customers first.

 

[Poorsha]

That's a whopper of an observation. 👍

Lettuce join in

 

[dishdude]

Lettuce join in

Sounds like he's in quite the pickle.

 

[Juan]

I personally think we're focusing FAR too much on the things that these 'focus groups' that Charlie is paying money for, that will apparently "improve the customer experience".

An example:

Me: *answers phone*
Customer: I just need to pay my bill..

Me: *pulls up account, and loads the customer app, flows, hits the 'recommendations, etc*
Then goes into a full 2 minute intro, using all the buzzwords that are required, thanks them for how long they've been with us, uses their name the required 3 times, 'paraphrases' back to them what they're asking for...blah blah blah..

(Customer grows impatient)
Them: Yeah, I just need to pay my bill....

Me: *shoves the required Boost Infinite down their throat several times(or my job is at risk)*

Them: Yeah.. my bill? Can I just pay it?

Me: Absolutely! *goes into the required empathy statement * Let's do this!
*pulls up the Flow and goes thru the whole ridiculous thing... about 7 steps. Offers to email customer info about Boost infinite again. Finally processes payment*

Customer: Yeah... okay. Are we done?

Me: *Again offers the 'featured promo of the day, Showtime, Starz, etc..*

*can actually hear the customer rolling their eyes at this point*

Them: No, no.. I'm good. Okay then bye...

Me: *goes into a good 3 minute refresh of the entire conversation. Reminds them that they can go online to pay bill, use their name again as required...pushes promos one more time*

*customer is losing the will to live at this point, pondering just hanging up now*

Me: Alright! Before I let you go, do you have any more....

*customer dies of old age*

Obviously, this is exaggerated just a bit. But ONLY a little bit at this point. Customers don't want to hear all this crap. If they're calling in to pay a bill, I mean yeah...mention any specials we have, as they might actually be interested... but how about...I dunno... just let them pay the bill and move on??

Basic things like this shouldn't be a freaking 10 minute call.

People want things to be short, simple, and to the point. They don't want you to spend half the call shoving crap down their throats. They ALL know about "Dish.com", especially if they've been with us for over 10 years or more. They don't care if you use their name 3 times, they just want to call in and get their stuff done, and get off the phone quickly.


We should just be focusing on what they ACTUALLY called in for. Let's lose the dang fluff that's just irritating.

Maybe if they dropped the charge to pay your bill over the phone would be a good start

 

[That American Girl]

Maybe if they dropped the charge to pay your bill over the phone would be a good start

There is no fee to pay with a person.

 

[Juan]

There is no fee to pay with a person.

I was thinking of the programming removal fee. My bad

 

[MikeD-C05]

Actually that would be one of the reasons, but not everything.

When I cancelled YTTV earlier this year, went on the site, done.

But when I cancelled Sirius on one of my vehicles, it was completely unbearable, believe it took over 45 minutes, kept offering and offering, also had a very thick accent which made it harder, I kept repeating over and over, “I just want to cancel.”

Buying a new vehicle next week, there is no way I will use the service again, based on what I went though.

My son bought his first used car when he was in Florida in the Marines. He has been getting emails and phone texts and now snail mail from XM over and over again for the last 4 years. The other day I delivered his mail under his door in his room and I put the Sirius XM mail on top and I went to the living room and sat down.

A few minutes later I hear a scream ARGHHHHHHHH!!! and he slammed out of his room and started to bitch again about XM and I laughed my butt off. I have had XM radio in my cars going back to the early 2000s and then went all streaming in 2019, since the car I bought didn't have a physical Sat radio. I like the service, but I don't receive any email from them or snail mail either.

I told him it is foolish to resist. You will be assimilated in my best Borg voice from Star trek.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Actually he started in 1980 with Jim well before scrambling/hacking, and his infamous VC deal involved a one-time sale of 50,000 untampered modules that were meant to go into his IR/Ds but were of a type that had been cracked and so had become market-valuable. But there are plenty of people who have done dubious things simply to get traction in business, who then pivot to sustainability and know to treat people right. Charlie used it to upshift as a distributor. I made it into the business partially on some of that, but my key was that I never let customers down. I would eat costs myself before imposing them unfairly onto my customer. That's how you build goodwill and referral. Then he launched DiSH and promised to be the anti-cable (perhaps the most-hated service category in the country at the time) and put customers first.

For a while, but once 2000 hit the yearly price hikes and assorted fees started coming every year and haven't stopped yet.

 

[Cold Irons]

I personally think we're focusing FAR too much on the things that these 'focus groups' that Charlie is paying money for, that will apparently "improve the customer experience".

An example:

Me: *answers phone*
Customer: I just need to pay my bill..

Me: *pulls up account, and loads the customer app, flows, hits the 'recommendations, etc*
Then goes into a full 2 minute intro, using all the buzzwords that are required, thanks them for how long they've been with us, uses their name the required 3 times, 'paraphrases' back to them what they're asking for...blah blah blah..

(Customer grows impatient)
Them: Yeah, I just need to pay my bill....

Me: *shoves the required Boost Infinite down their throat several times(or my job is at risk)*

Them: Yeah.. my bill? Can I just pay it?

Me: Absolutely! *goes into the required empathy statement * Let's do this!
*pulls up the Flow and goes thru the whole ridiculous thing... about 7 steps. Offers to email customer info about Boost infinite again. Finally processes payment*

Customer: Yeah... okay. Are we done?

Me: *Again offers the 'featured promo of the day, Showtime, Starz, etc..*

*can actually hear the customer rolling their eyes at this point*

Them: No, no.. I'm good. Okay then bye...

Me: *goes into a good 3 minute refresh of the entire conversation. Reminds them that they can go online to pay bill, use their name again as required...pushes promos one more time*

*customer is losing the will to live at this point, pondering just hanging up now*

Me: Alright! Before I let you go, do you have any more....

*customer dies of old age*

Obviously, this is exaggerated just a bit. But ONLY a little bit at this point. Customers don't want to hear all this crap. If they're calling in to pay a bill, I mean yeah...mention any specials we have, as they might actually be interested... but how about...I dunno... just let them pay the bill and move on??

Basic things like this shouldn't be a freaking 10 minute call.

People want things to be short, simple, and to the point. They don't want you to spend half the call shoving crap down their throats. They ALL know about "Dish.com", especially if they've been with us for over 10 years or more. They don't care if you use their name 3 times, they just want to call in and get their stuff done, and get off the phone quickly.


We should just be focusing on what they ACTUALLY called in for. Let's lose the dang fluff that's just irritating.

Very funny/sad. I'm not young, but in 2024 I just cannot imagine calling some company to pay my bill.

 

[dishdude]

Very funny/sad. I'm not young, but in 2024 I just cannot imagine calling some company to pay my bill.

I'd think a large pool of Dish customers are older and don't know how to stream or pay bills online.