On Friday, January 3, 2014, I took my Mom shooping to her nearby Costco at the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks location in Los Angeles, California. (It was a cool 74 degrees...lol)
Anyway, as we were rolling the cart by the Wireless Advocates dealer kiosk...you know...the booth where they sell the various sundry of cell phones and DirecTV plans...a young woman approached us to ask the usual question of who our provider of tv service is. My Mother is a bit of a pistol, and she replied "I watch my tv for free, my son showed me how"...gee, thanks, Mom! I had to stop the young lady from going into her DirecTV sales pitch and let her know that my Mom was kidding (by this time, Mom was strolling down to the wine aisle...lol), and that some years ago (and thanks to the information at Satellite Guys) I downgraded her programming to the then available Select package. The young lady said she never heard of Select, but she also said that DirecTV has many packages no longer available, and if you're happy with what you currently receive, then great.
She did mention something that raised my attention. She said that at Costco, the Wireless Advocates kiosk employees will be offering "free receiver upgrades", effective January 16, 2014. She further clarified that more information about the "free receiver upgrades" will be available the week of January 13, 2014. She was not sure if a contract extension/renewal is required or if my Mom's programming, the Select package would qualify for the free receiver upgrade offer. She urged me to stop by the kiosk after Thursday, January 10, 2014 for better information.
A few years ago, I remember Costco selling DirecTV receivers, used for upgrade such as the stand alone HD receiver and DVR receivers. Those receivers were clearly marked as "leased", and you were basically paying an upgrade "fee" for the receiver.
Out of curiosity, today I reviewed my Mom's DirecTV account. I clicked on the upgrade tab, and when I attempted to add the Genie HD DVR, the system said to call DirecTV customer service. That comes as no surprise, as my Mom's DirecTV is bundled and billed with her AT&T local telephone bill, where she receives a $5.00 monthly bundle credit. I also tried to add the Genie Mini, and received the same message.
What surprised me was what I saw further down the page, the option to add the "New! Wireless Genie Mini". The same situation, I could not add the receiver, but was surprised to see that the Wireless Genie Mini is available to order.
Just below the Wireless Genie Mini order tab was the following statement:
New! Wireless Genie Mini This compact box lets you connect an additional TV to your Genie HD DVR without having to connect to a cable outlet. So you're free to place your TV virtually anywhere in your home. You can enjoy full HD DVR service on every TV in your Genie setup.
Current availability limited to the following areas: Charlotte, NC; Cleveland, OH; Denver, CO; Fresno, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Raleigh, NC; St. Louis, MO.; Las Vegas, NV; Salt Lake City, UT; San Antonio, TX; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; Alburquerque, NM; Los Angeles, CA; and Palm Springs; CA.
That makes sense, since my Mom's home is located in the Encino section of Los Angeles, so it would appear she would qualify, based on the above statement.
I wonder if the Select programming package qualifies for the upgrade, and if so, what additional monthly fees and/or package change is required, and if Wireless Advocates (the dealer inside Costco) has lower pricing and/or better discounts than what are available either through other authroirzed DirecTV dealers or DirecTV themselves?
Anyway, as we were rolling the cart by the Wireless Advocates dealer kiosk...you know...the booth where they sell the various sundry of cell phones and DirecTV plans...a young woman approached us to ask the usual question of who our provider of tv service is. My Mother is a bit of a pistol, and she replied "I watch my tv for free, my son showed me how"...gee, thanks, Mom! I had to stop the young lady from going into her DirecTV sales pitch and let her know that my Mom was kidding (by this time, Mom was strolling down to the wine aisle...lol), and that some years ago (and thanks to the information at Satellite Guys) I downgraded her programming to the then available Select package. The young lady said she never heard of Select, but she also said that DirecTV has many packages no longer available, and if you're happy with what you currently receive, then great.
She did mention something that raised my attention. She said that at Costco, the Wireless Advocates kiosk employees will be offering "free receiver upgrades", effective January 16, 2014. She further clarified that more information about the "free receiver upgrades" will be available the week of January 13, 2014. She was not sure if a contract extension/renewal is required or if my Mom's programming, the Select package would qualify for the free receiver upgrade offer. She urged me to stop by the kiosk after Thursday, January 10, 2014 for better information.
A few years ago, I remember Costco selling DirecTV receivers, used for upgrade such as the stand alone HD receiver and DVR receivers. Those receivers were clearly marked as "leased", and you were basically paying an upgrade "fee" for the receiver.
Out of curiosity, today I reviewed my Mom's DirecTV account. I clicked on the upgrade tab, and when I attempted to add the Genie HD DVR, the system said to call DirecTV customer service. That comes as no surprise, as my Mom's DirecTV is bundled and billed with her AT&T local telephone bill, where she receives a $5.00 monthly bundle credit. I also tried to add the Genie Mini, and received the same message.
What surprised me was what I saw further down the page, the option to add the "New! Wireless Genie Mini". The same situation, I could not add the receiver, but was surprised to see that the Wireless Genie Mini is available to order.
Just below the Wireless Genie Mini order tab was the following statement:
New! Wireless Genie Mini This compact box lets you connect an additional TV to your Genie HD DVR without having to connect to a cable outlet. So you're free to place your TV virtually anywhere in your home. You can enjoy full HD DVR service on every TV in your Genie setup.
Current availability limited to the following areas: Charlotte, NC; Cleveland, OH; Denver, CO; Fresno, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Raleigh, NC; St. Louis, MO.; Las Vegas, NV; Salt Lake City, UT; San Antonio, TX; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; Alburquerque, NM; Los Angeles, CA; and Palm Springs; CA.
That makes sense, since my Mom's home is located in the Encino section of Los Angeles, so it would appear she would qualify, based on the above statement.
I wonder if the Select programming package qualifies for the upgrade, and if so, what additional monthly fees and/or package change is required, and if Wireless Advocates (the dealer inside Costco) has lower pricing and/or better discounts than what are available either through other authroirzed DirecTV dealers or DirecTV themselves?