"Free" Receiver Upgrades At The Costco/Wireless Advocates Kiosk Effective January 16, 2014?

[AIRLINE]

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?

 

[raoul5788]

I think everyone gets the "call customer service" note regarding the Genie, but as you found out, the wireless client is available in limited areas now.

 

[BoiseStateFan4Life]

Costco and Directv? o.o That's a first.

My Costco only associates with and only Dish.

 

[kattheaunt]

Costco and Directv have been affiliated for some time.

Sent from my iPad using SatelliteGuys

 

[acostapimps]

I wouldn't trust those so-called sales employees when they try to excite you with goodies, I would call Directv directly. Not to offend your mom but tell her to stay away from the wine, maybe she won't embarrass you the next time

 

[MVPinBoynton]

I received a similar message from the DirecTV kiosk sales person. I had told them that I wished I had waited to order D last year until the 44 came out. He told me to come back after the first of the year and he can help me. Maybe they can always upgrade with an extension; but he did seem to have something special coming.

 

[AIRLINE]

I would disagree with your opinion on the sales people who are selling DirecTV through the Wireless Advocates kiosk inside Costco. Costco has an established vendor relationship with Wireless Advocates that dates back many years. As Wireless Advocates is technically a "dealer" for DirecTV, they are charged with selling DirecTV services inside select Costco warehouses. In addition, DirecTV and Costco have a national agreement that provides additional "goodies" to Costco members, such as the $200.00 Costco Cash Card (the amount of the Cash Card does change fluctuate from time-to-time) for new DirecTV customers who sign up at Costco through Wireless Advocates, or at cw.directv.com

Why would the sales associates at Wireless Advocates try to "sell" a sevice such as DirecTV to a member that's not true/wrong/misleading that would jeopardize Wireless Advocates overall vendor relationship with Costco? Costco stands behind the products and services sold, including those by Wireless Advocates. If "rogue" employees were offfering something that's not true, and the local Costco warehouse started to receive complaints, local Costco warehouse management would be in contact with their district office, Costco corprorate in Issaquah, Washington as well as senior executives at DirecTV.

One of the reasons I shop at Costco is that the retailer stands behind the products and services that they sell, including DirecTV.

Furthermore, with DirecTV based in El Segundo, California, many of those who are in senior leadership roles at DirecTV live here in the Los Angeles area and also shop at Costco, such as warehouses in Culver City/Marina Del Rey, Hawthorne/Manhattan Beach, Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks and Westlake Village, California just to name a few. Certainly if these senior executives (or any DirecTV) employee were to hear/given incorrect/wrong/miselading DirecTV sales offers at Costco, I'm certain that would come to a halt very quickly.

I don't work for DirecTV or Costco, but neither company wants their brand tarnished with incorrect/rogue/misleading information, at least not originating from local Costco warehouses.

Now, if someone has better information as to what Wireless Advocates associates inside Costco will be able to provide as far as "free" upgrades effective January 16, 2014, I'd like to know, and if this differs from what other authorized DirecTV dealers and/or DirecTV themselves can offer.

As far as my Mom offending me, never. She likes to have a good time and at her age, she can say/do whatever she wants and enjoy life. If she wants to drop a few hundred bucks on great wine at Costco, I'd rather have her drop the money at Costco versus what usually is a more expensive wine/liquor store, although BevMo's 5c wine sale, and a recent arrival to southern California, Total Wine & More are other reasonably priced options.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I seriously doubt Costco will be able to offer upgrades to existing Directv customers for "Free" or at a reduced cost.

Maybe they would have the ability to do what we do today by selling a customer a leased HD receiver for $99 like we today.

Free or reduced cost Upgrades don't do Directv any good, and simply cost them money as they got to pay for the equipment and for the installer to come out and install it.

Do you really think Directv wants to pay this affiliate vendor that works inside Costco a commission everytime an existing Directv customer walks past their booth that gets talked into an upgrade?

It will never happen

 

[Jimbo]

I would disagree with your opinion on the sales people who are selling DirecTV through the Wireless Advocates kiosk inside Costco. Costco has an established vendor relationship with Wireless Advocates that dates back many years. As Wireless Advocates is technically a "dealer" for DirecTV, they are charged with selling DirecTV services inside select Costco warehouses. In addition, DirecTV and Costco have a national agreement that provides additional "goodies" to Costco members, such as the $200.00 Costco Cash Card (the amount of the Cash Card does change fluctuate from time-to-time) for new DirecTV customers who sign up at Costco through Wireless Advocates, or at cw.directv.com

Why would the sales associates at Wireless Advocates try to "sell" a sevice such as DirecTV to a member that's not true/wrong/misleading that would jeopardize Wireless Advocates overall vendor relationship with Costco? Costco stands behind the products and services sold, including those by Wireless Advocates. If "rogue" employees were offfering something that's not true, and the local Costco warehouse started to receive complaints, local Costco warehouse management would be in contact with their district office, Costco corprorate in Issaquah, Washington as well as senior executives at DirecTV.

One of the reasons I shop at Costco is that the retailer stands behind the products and services that they sell, including DirecTV.

Furthermore, with DirecTV based in El Segundo, California, many of those who are in senior leadership roles at DirecTV live here in the Los Angeles area and also shop at Costco, such as warehouses in Culver City/Marina Del Rey, Hawthorne/Manhattan Beach, Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks and Westlake Village, California just to name a few. Certainly if these senior executives (or any DirecTV) employee were to hear/given incorrect/wrong/miselading DirecTV sales offers at Costco, I'm certain that would come to a halt very quickly.

I don't work for DirecTV or Costco, but neither company wants their brand tarnished with incorrect/rogue/misleading information, at least not originating from local Costco warehouses.

Now, if someone has better information as to what Wireless Advocates associates inside Costco will be able to provide as far as "free" upgrades effective January 16, 2014, I'd like to know, and if this differs from what other authorized DirecTV dealers and/or DirecTV themselves can offer.

As far as my Mom offending me, never. She likes to have a good time and at her age, she can say/do whatever she wants and enjoy life. If she wants to drop a few hundred bucks on great wine at Costco, I'd rather have her drop the money at Costco versus what usually is a more expensive wine/liquor store, although BevMo's 5c wine sale, and a recent arrival to southern California, Total Wine & More are other reasonably priced options.

Up here, the local Costco also has a Directv stand, however, it's NOT associated with the Wireless part, where they sell the Cell Phones.

It IS a 3rd party regardless, so chances are you can probably get better deals thru D*, however, you won't get the Costco cash that way.

I've talked with the people there plenty of times, many times informing them of info I kn ow that they didn't know about.

They told me that they WOULD be offering upgrades and I inqured with them that they were going to do something for the CURRENT Sub and they said Yes ...

We'll see.