Having Worst Install Experience of My Life

[desiguy2447]

I got installed as scheduled earlier today with a very clean install and a nice tech who showed up.

 

[Claude Greiner]

They won't install in rooms that don't have Tv's because we have idiots who can't get the concept of plugging in an HDMI cable and programming a remote.

They would rather call the company and make the installer come back out and get dinged on a repeat visit

Then if you install fewer Tv's than in the work order, you get dinged again when the customer calls to add them

No win situation.

Then as a sales person you try to tell customers this on the phone, but they want to argue with you not having all the Tv's there, so you just say screw it and write the order anyways so the customer finds out the hard way.

A matter of fact if customers would quit arguing and complaining, they wouldn't have as many issues as they do.

Not saying this is the case with this poster, but I deal with this every day.

 

[robjlevin]

When we moved into our new home last year, I didn't have tvs in every room yet. The tech had a small tv with him and used that.

 

[JeremyL]

Customer service was always bad with DTV, but the people at AT&T have taken it to new depths. Absolutely the worst. i was on hold for 20 minutes and the CSR had no idea what I was talking about. Said he would transfer me to someone who did and i waited another 10 minutes before hearing a click followed by a dial tone.

Now you can't even e-mail DirecTV if you have a non-emergency question and don't want to chat or wait on-hold. AT&T did away with the e-mail option just like they did on their own site. If you happen to have the old customer support e-mail in your address book and try to contact them, you get a reply saying no one monitors that address so you need to call.

 

[AZ.]

When we moved into our new home last year, I didn't have tvs in every room yet. The tech had a small tv with him and used that.

Thats great...............but then anyone who isnt familer with programing the remote, calls complains and dings the poor installer who is under paid and over worked.....

So your point would be?

 

[Tampa8]

Not much different than getting a new TV and possibly needing help. The tech can show them how to use the remote on the TV's that were in the house.

 

[Zashel]

I think that you will find that there are some really good retailers out there, and your derogatory comment regarding them does not hold water.

which is why i said "in my area".

 

[robjlevin]

Thats great...............but then anyone who isnt familer with programing the remote, calls complains and dings the poor installer who is under paid and over worked.....

So your point would be?

My point is that nothing is carved in stone. The fact that you don't have a tv in a particular room doesn't immediately eliminate the possibility of the installer getting things set up for you.

 

[AZ.]

My point is that nothing is carved in stone. The fact that you don't have a tv in a particular room doesn't immediately eliminate the possibility of the installer getting things set up for you.

Well your honest....But it dont work that way for the installer.....He can have no complaints.......non....zero.....or he gets a strike against him.....

So it would be very unfair, no tvs, then call and bitch about him not programing the remote....So he has to take some strangers word for it, and walk out the door knowing the install isn't 100%....? Its his job and your entertainment!

 

[dishcomm]

We can't call. We don't even know who are customer is until that job falls in. We see the one work order and that's it. Until that work order is closed we can't see our next.

WHAT? How the hell are you supposed to establish your route for the day?
That is 100% illogical....For whom do you work? In house or contractor?
I could never work for an organization that prevents me from being organized and efficient.....How the hell do you function?

 

[dishcomm]

When we moved into our new home last year, I didn't have tvs in every room yet. The tech had a small tv with him and used that.

Yeah, I did that as well..Customers loved it..Then I started getting Trouble Calls( non pay service calls on MY dime) because the customer did not know how to connect ONE cable to their TV, turn it on and follow the EASY one step instructions ( set to input number X)..So I made my own policy. If all the tvs were not in place, the job got rescheduled. I would establish this on precall. Customers would beg me to come out. I said nope, it is policy if all tv's are not in place, we cannot do the install. Lo and behold, soon after that it DID become policy.
As techs, we get beat up for every little thing that goes wrong. Even if the equipment fails, we got hit with non pay service calls.

 

[dishcomm]

Not much different than getting a new TV and possibly needing help. The tech can show them how to use the remote on the TV's that were in the house.

In a perfect world you would be correct.
But I can tell you from experience a majority of people need their hand held.
You could write down explicit simple basic instructions that a senior citizen could understand. and they'd STILL find a way to ef it up....
I used ot have a running joke that every customer should be required to have a 10 -15 year old kid to show them how to use the system after I showed them how to use the system.
In the days before the auto ding for the " I can't use the satellite" call, I would do whatever it took to get the job completed. Once they went to battle against us, customer service went out the window,
The thinking was "why the hell should I jump through all these hoops to help these people when one silly phone call is going to cost me money?"

 

[Claude Greiner]

Yeah, I did that as well..Customers loved it..Then I started getting Trouble Calls( non pay service calls on MY dime) because the customer did not know how to connect ONE cable to their TV, turn it on and follow the EASY one step instructions ( set to input number X)..So I made my own policy. If all the tvs were not in place, the job got rescheduled. I would establish this on precall. Customers would beg me to come out. I said nope, it is policy if all tv's are not in place, we cannot do the install. Lo and behold, soon after that it DID become policy.
As techs, we get beat up for every little thing that goes wrong. Even if the equipment fails, we got hit with non pay service calls.

Pretty much the same thing here. It's amazing people won't even try.

I just had a small apartment building I had to walk away from for this very same issue.

Every month I would get 1-2 unpaid service calls due to customers moving in and wanting us to hook up their tv.

I would get there and the receiver would be sitting on the floor disconnected and the customer would expect us to hook it up.

The last straw was the owner had us out to fix like 3 small stupid issues, thinking we got everything resolved, he calls me again the next day to reconnect another apartment where the old tenant moved out and a new tenant moved it.

I was like F this and I haven't been there in over 2 months.

Charged him $8000 to put in the system for 23 apartments, and must have paid out over $4000 to my techs to go back out for stupid service calls, and I think I lost $2500-$3000 on this job because of all the small service calls.

Never walked away from a customer before, but serviced it for the 2 years and that's enough.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

I think that when I first got Directv installed, I had an installer come out to my house twice afterwards. The third installer gave me tips on what I would need to do for changing out LNB's, etc., & I've been doing my own thing since then. The only thing that I cannot do is set-up a satellite dish itself, anything else I can do. I installed my own SWM-16 Multi-Switch(the only problem was that I picked the hottest day to do it, & my dish is on the roof of my house. Almost suffered from heat stroke doing it. A friend of mine schooled me afterwards about WHEN is the right time of the day to go up on the roof to do such things, something about not damaging roof shingles that way).

 

[robjlevin]

Well your honest....But it dont work that way for the installer.....He can have no complaints.......non....zero.....or he gets a strike against him.....

So it would be very unfair, no tvs, then call and bitch about him not programing the remote....So he has to take some strangers word for it, and walk out the door knowing the install isn't 100%....? Its his job and your entertainment!

I'm not saying an installer has to do it, but to say it's not going to happen is wrong. It will depend on the installer and the comfort level they have with the customer, I would imagine.

 

[robjlevin]

Yeah, I did that as well..Customers loved it..Then I started getting Trouble Calls( non pay service calls on MY dime) because the customer did not know how to connect ONE cable to their TV, turn it on and follow the EASY one step instructions ( set to input number X)..So I made my own policy. If all the tvs were not in place, the job got rescheduled. I would establish this on precall. Customers would beg me to come out. I said nope, it is policy if all tv's are not in place, we cannot do the install. Lo and behold, soon after that it DID become policy.
As techs, we get beat up for every little thing that goes wrong. Even if the equipment fails, we got hit with non pay service calls.

Seems unfair to me. But you're dealing with people with zero in the way of technical knowledge.

 

[Hutch1814]

WHAT? How the hell are you supposed to establish your route for the day?
That is 100% illogical....For whom do you work? In house or contractor?
I could never work for an organization that prevents me from being organized and efficient.....How the hell do you function?

It's called FS, it's similar to the same thing att runs. It's a routing system that was put in to effect about 2-3 years ago Directv wide. It's a joke, runs us techs all over the place crossing paths with other techs numerous times daily. Our routes are no longer promised, you have what's called soft booked, which is what the system routes you from the start of the day. You finish your 2 AM's early and a tech 30 miles away is behind the system gives you the that guys next job to meet time frame. Your soft booked route either falls off and gets filled in with other work from other techs (the whole systems shifts jobs from other techs and moves them around) or you do that job and then get sent back where you should've been for your pm work and start that time frame behind. It's a nightmare and one of the worst things I've ever seen.

 

[Jillian2]

lefatman, DirecTV is known for good customer service. I have never known anything but good. I don't understand how you can say that when their reputation is well known for great customer service.

 

[Jimbo]

It's called FS, it's similar to the same thing att runs. It's a routing system that was put in to effect about 2-3 years ago Directv wide. It's a joke, runs us techs all over the place crossing paths with other techs numerous times daily. Our routes are no longer promised, you have what's called soft booked, which is what the system routes you from the start of the day. You finish your 2 AM's early and a tech 30 miles away is behind the system gives you the that guys next job to meet time frame. Your soft booked route either falls off and gets filled in with other work from other techs (the whole systems shifts jobs from other techs and moves them around) or you do that job and then get sent back where you should've been for your pm work and start that time frame behind. It's a nightmare and one of the worst things I've ever seen.

It's been around longer than that ... we do the same thing.
I know how frustrating it can be.

 

[Hutch1814]

It's been around longer than that ... we do the same thing.
I know how frustrating it can be.

I know it's been around longer, we just started using it about that time. Garbage to say the least.