Have you ever received any consessions from Echostar?

[jsanders]

I'm just curious about this one. The only concession I've ever seen people get from Echostar is getting the lease deal for the 942 when they were not a new customer. In all honesty though, I don't really consider signing a lease for that thing to be a concession. That is like the mouse begging the python to eat him or something.

I have personally written emails and snail mails to the executive office. One time I did indeed get a call back from the executive office when I complained that going from the Old HD Pack to the new Stand Alone HD Pack would be a 153% increase, and the fees were 160% of the programming costs. All the executive office did was tell me that my calculations were correct, and that I had better start paying it.

I found them to be like a brick wall to deal with, not budging a milimeter.

I've seen this with how they deal with content providers, they are great stonewallers.
They shut off the Viacomm channels a couple of years ago, and we didn't have CBS or MTV. It all came back shortly after.

More recently, they turned off Lifetime. Lifetime ran full page ads in the newspaper denouncing E*, but later on they came crawling back and signed a deal.

It almost seems like there is some psycology to this.

So, I am curious how the customers have done.

If you have tried to get any concession from Echostar, have any of you been successful?

 

[jsanders]

There are a couple of replies that some indeed have manged to get something to their advantage out of Echostar.

Are you willing to disclose what you got, and/or (and more importantly) how you did it?

Did you go through the normal CSR chain, or did you write to ceo@echostar.com? Is there another yet a different route that works?

 

[larman3]

profit margin?

Does anyone know what a typical profit margin would be for satellite provider? I work for a major hotel chain and our profit margin is typically above 50 percent. Grocery stores are typically 2 or 3 percent. I know this affects how much concession a provider can afford to give in the name of service In other words, I have leadway to give away a free room, knowing if the guest uses my product again, or refers one or two others to use us, I will come out ahead. Whereas a grocery store may have to sell 10 gallons of milk to to afford giving away one!

I am not sure how much it costs to launch those satellites but I am sure its not cheap. Any idea how much dish is making off us?

 

[jsanders]

I have done very well with other monthly bills. For instance, I got sprint to give me a national plan (not a regional plan) with 1000 anytime minutes, evenings starting at 8pm, and the first incoming call for free. They gave me an unpublished rate for it all, and it is about $20 less per month than what I was previously paying for 700 minutes. I told sprint that I was not under contract and I was going to switch to MetroPCS if they didn't give me some incentive. It worked!

I did even better with my comcast bill. I was paying almost $60/mo, and I got them to drop it in half to $30/mo for the next year. I just told them I could get high speed DSL for $22/mo at 3Mbs, and asked them why I should pay so much for one extra mega bit per second. It worked!

With E* I told them that it costs me $6/mo for access fees, $6/mo for DVR fees, and $6/mo for locals, and $5/mo for not having a phone connected. I told them that I get perfect OTA, and can get HD Locals via an HTPC running MythTV, or SageTV, or BeyondTV for free each month, as they provide free 14 day guide data listings from zap2it.com. You would think that in the $23/mo that I just listed, E* would have some breathing room. Especially considering that they are competing with "free" for the exact same service. I also mentioned the $10 padding between the Stand Alone HD Pack and the metalic HD Packs. I told them that going from $15/mo for the old HD Pack to $30 for the Stand Alone HD pack isn't worth it if all I am getting is stuff like the GamePlay HD channel! They didn't budge. So, I didn't budge.

 

[stoney]

then don't get the package and go with the free services.

E* did mark a dollar off of our bill when we could not get all of the locals. And I belive when the Viacom stations were not on they did the same thing. Now I am not saying that they have not been a pain on me also for hardware.

 

[Pepper]

Back when I had the 7200, I complained enough times about the crappy software that ate my recordings, they waived the $10 "Personal TV" fee.

 

[jsanders]

Back when I had the 7200, I complained enough times about the crappy software that ate my recordings, they waived the $10 "Personal TV" fee.

Did they waive it once, or perpetually?

 

[KE4EST]

Very Interesting Poll?

 

[Pepper]

Did they waive it once, or perpetually?

Perpetual, till I got rid of the 7200.

 

[jsanders]

Perpetual, till I got rid of the 7200.

That is very interesting! Just the sort of thing I was curious about. I wonder if anyone has received something of similar calibur more recently.

I complained a lot about the 921 before they had guide data. I got a couple of months of free local channels in compensation, but nothing perpetual.

I do recall that Mark, a.k.a. "the 921 guy", managed to get E* to buy back a few 921s from people when they decided to completely abandon firewire ports.

 

[waltinvt]

I also got the 9.99 fee waived on the 7200, then eventually I got them to replace it with a 501 (actually they never took the 7200 back). I also had a 4000 that finally died and they sold me a 508 for around $100 I think. The best deal though was about a year after I'd bought the 811 (HD in A Box) deal and I'd been complaining most of the year about the unit, they finally let me get a 942 for the $249 deal. Now I assumed it was a lease deal but they never said it was nor had me sign anything. The install was cancelled after I called them and told them I did it myself plus I've never had any "lease" fee. The only record of any of it was a charge on my credit card that said "one time payment", so I'm not completly sure if I'm leasing or I own it.

 

[dlsnyder]

A whole bunch of us got the old HD pack for half price ($5.00) as we signed up for lease deals on an 811 or 942 last year. As those leases end this year I wonder if they area going to notice and charge full price for the HD pack? Mine comes up in April so I will be watching my bill closely.

 

[NightRyder]

Free Dish 500 - Gave me $25 credit for installing it myself.

Replace my defective 4700 (Red Jaggies) with a new one free of charge.

508 for $149 - own

811 for $149 -own (Included install - They replaced all of my legacy LNBFs and Switches with Dish Pro)

A bunch of us received 3 to 6 months free Showtime package 4 or so years ago.

Grandfathered:

$1.99 a month Dish Protection Plan.

$11.99 Locals + Distant + Superstations

Not accommodation, but I've received over $350 in Club Dish credits.


NightRyder

 

[C1787GJ]

I originally had a 322 and a 522 installed, and the 322 was having some problems and I asked them if I could upgrade to a DVR instead, they said no problem and gave me a 625 instead No charge or anything. I lease them though not owned, but no commitment ever, no extra charges, I have the AEP, so I guess that is kind of a concession no? I went through ceo email after having a tough time with CSRs.

 

[BobMurdoch]

They replaced two Dishplayers with refurb 508s when they refused to take the new smart cards I was sent (it kept trying the 20 minute download and then failed). I'm on the extended warranty plan.

They also added a second SW64 switch for free when I added a fifth receiver a few years ago (FREE upgrade to a 510 for a 2 year commitment that ran out 11/2005).

Free 61.5 dish installed when the secondary NYC locals were put there a few years back.

A few credits due to 921 and Dishplayer hiccups.

When it comes to hardware they've been extremely generous for the most part.

I also have a $200+ bill per month, so I've sure I'm getting more than the average Joe.......

 

[minnow]

I got as fist full(maybe 6) pay per view coupons in the mail as part of the Displayer settlement. For all the aggravation the Dishplayers were as far as software problems(each successive software release made the damn thing less and less stable), those PPV coupons were a slap in the face. I also had Dish come out and install a 500 Dish which was like $50 or something like that. The installer was great and ran all new cable just where I asked him too and did a great job.
I am however a nano-second from going back to cable. With TWC, I can bundle internet, cable and phone service and save my self $50.00 a month. But the analog part of the cable package has crappy PQ which is holding me back. But the cost of Dish is getting out of hand. I really wish al-a-cart would become available as there really is less than 20 providers that we watch consistently.

 

[JimDB]

Because of miss information and problems with an install, I got my VIP211 for just S&H of 14.95 and the new VOOM package for $15.00 a month for a year. I went though the EO Department.

Forgot my commitment is ONLY one year not the 18 months.

 

[jsanders]

But the cost of Dish is getting out of hand. I really wish al-a-cart would become available as there really is less than 20 providers that we watch consistently.

I suspect that the bill would go way down if they just took ESPN out of the lineup and made a basic sports package. Those $100 million salaries have to come from revenue from somewhere. Let those sports fanatics pay for it, or make player's salaries more realistic to what they are worth! I would prefer not to subsidize their the sports fanatic's habit.

 

[jsanders]

I got my VIP211 for just S&H of 14.95 and the new VOOM package for $15.00 a month for a year. I went though the EO Department.

Score! :

 

[retiredTech]

when E* changed the the 721's software and my twin/sw21 wouldn't switch check correctly they sold me a sw64 and two duels for $49. (normal price would have been $200) Of course it should have been free, but I was tired of screwing with it at that point, (and I was supposed to send back the twin, but they didn't ever request it so I came out ok on the deal anyway)