Horror Story with local installer

[dishcomm]

i also had a bad experience with a d* installer.

we ordered our service in a bundle w/bellsouth when we moved into a new house and ordered everything we needed. in the time btwn the order and the install appt., we bought an hd tv, called and changed our order. cs didn't bother to tell us they were completely cancelling our old order and when the guy showed up he only had the hd box. the installation took FOREVER, b/c btwn the installer and myself we spent around 3 hours on the phone trying to straighten everything out.

the problem entered this picture while i was talking to cs finalzing our correct order. the installer was standing there and he was telling me to not worry about ordering or telling them we wanted our local channels in hd, b/c he could do it for free since we already had hd service for the other channels. well, needless to say to this day we don't have our local channels in hd.

his first excuse was he "had a trainee with him, but would comeback and do it." he never returned, except to retrieve his flashlight he had left and had another excuse that day. since that point, we have not heard from him and he won't return our calls. i really don't want to call directv and "tattle" on this guy, but what other alternative do i have? i am reminded of this EVERY time i'm watching a local station and HD shows on the screen. it infuriates me.

does anyone have any suggestions? i didn't mind paying for it in the additional order and was even planning on it, but his promise convinced me he could do this. if we call and order now we will have to pay like a new installation and i am refusing to do that on priciple alone. what kind of scam could he possibly be running, is he just lazy, or did he just promise more than he could do? i'm at a loss. i'm beginning to think he is either lazy or incapable. i purchased a new hdmi cable recently and while i was hooking everything up i noticed this guy had a setup like i would expect my grandmother to put together. even though there were s-video cables still in the boxes the receivers came in, he chose to use component cables to hook up our dvr in one room and a regular receiver in another.

we don't mind and are capable(we think) of installing this on our own, if it is at all possible. could anyone tell me how we may go about this?

i forgot to add - we have a H10 receiver

Sounds like another lazy installer..This is a familiar theme..DTV woefully underpays the installer..There isn't much of an incentive to do a good job or go beyond the call of duty to do more than the bare minimum...But, this is the business (DTV ) he chose, he and other techs must deal with what comes with the territory or get out of it....

 

[dishcomm]

you're right. i meant composite, not component.

we've tried an indoor antenna without success. we are less than 5 miles from the tranmission towers, so the only thing i can think of that could possibly be impairing our reception is the fact we live in a hilly area. however, we don't have any trees around our house and i don't believe this should be an issue. i can even see the towers on the top of the mountain easily from my front yard.

also, if i use the antenna i have to switch to a different input and would have no access to my directv features such as the guide and others. if i'm completely wrong about this, please let me know. i'm a newbie to satellite and want to learn as much as possible about my system. my understanding of directv local hd is that i would have it coming in through my hd receiver and the channels would be integrated into the channels i have now.

if i sound like an idiot, i apologize. i'm really not at most things like this, but satellite is a new world for me.

i assume HD locals are available by sat in your market....If not then you will need that antenna...Do you have an attic that is accessable?...put it up there......
just because you are close to tv tx towers doesn't mean a thing...You could be in an area where sig paterns are poor. Or there may be reflective material between you and the the tower(s)..Or there may be hi voltage tranmision lines near your home..Any type of terrestrial imnterfernce can play havoc with DT reception..There are no guarantees....

 

[dishcomm]

Kentuck1163 this guy that did all that for free , just sounds to good to be true. Or maybe he had just finished doing something illegal (if you know what i mean)before he showed up to your house.

It is that kind of cynicism that makes us hard working techs who do the right things want to strangle some of our customers..Stow it...

 

[chaotic646]

ple mounts are for the most part included...We do not charge extra $$ for pole mount..exception, if the cable burial is excessive we charge for the extra distance..Firts 50 ft is included..However if DTV alows the charge ,you must pay up...roof mounts are not conddered too heavy..That's bull.....every dish array has an availble roof type mount..Sounds to me like the tech didn't want to do a roof mount....If the roof was too steep to get out on I would have found a safe place to mount the dish or just did the pole mount to get the job done..If no safe pace on the roof is available and a pole mount is the only option and it is chargeable, you must pay for the pole mount..We don't work for free..Check the fine print..Free installation is for a STANDARD installation. Extras are chargeable..I run into this all the time..Custs wanting extra work done for free by invoking the "free install" card...There are additional exp[enses the tech has to incur, he has every right to pass those along tot he consumer..That's how business works...

He said a pole mount was $75. It would have been about 20 feet from my house but he wanted to charge me. He said he charged that much because it had to trench the wire, pour the cement and wait 4 hours for it to dry before he could put the dish up. Then when I finally agreed to pay he said he didnt think he could get a line of site. My roof isnt very steep at all, you can walk around up there with no problems at all. I finally got my 5lnb up on my roof Monday, and aside from leaving a mess in my gutter (bolts, pieces of cable, etc.) the new tech did a good job.

 

[walker]

i assume HD locals are available by sat in your market....If not then you will need that antenna...Do you have an attic that is accessable?...put it up there......
just because you are close to tv tx towers doesn't mean a thing...You could be in an area where sig paterns are poor. Or there may be reflective material between you and the the tower(s)..Or there may be hi voltage tranmision lines near your home..Any type of terrestrial imnterfernce can play havoc with DT reception..There are no guarantees....

thanks for your help.

 

[stevo/65]

It is that kind of cynicism that makes us hard working techs who do the right things want to strangle some of our customers..Stow it...

I am a tech, so right back at you!

 

[dragon002]

He said a pole mount was $75. It would have been about 20 feet from my house but he wanted to charge me. He said he charged that much because it had to trench the wire, pour the cement and wait 4 hours for it to dry before he could put the dish up. Then when I finally agreed to pay he said he didnt think he could get a line of site. My roof isnt very steep at all, you can walk around up there with no problems at all. I finally got my 5lnb up on my roof Monday, and aside from leaving a mess in my gutter (bolts, pieces of cable, etc.) the new tech did a good job.

i CANT STAND THIS any more., wah , wah, he wanted to charge me!!! good thing it wasnt me. my poles are $100.00 non-negotiable. i then sink the pole, and reschedule you for a later date, it isnt MY fault YOU need a pole. the cx i have scheduled after you (yes there are others) dont care if you need a pole either.

one more thing, you ACTUALLY climbed a ladder and checked the gutters for debris.........how uttery pathetic.

 

[chaotic646]

No I got on my roof to take pictures of my extra unneeded mount because I needed them to file a claim and noticed the debris in my gutter. Are you able to read and store information in your brain for more than a few hours? If you did you would see that I DID NOT NEED A POLE anyways so its not even important. Is it so hard for you to grasp that some service techs are incompetent, lazy, lying bastards? (maybe the truth hits close to home?) You guys just assume that every customer knows you only get paid by the job and not hourly. As far as I knew, the guy worked directly for directv and made an hourly wage like everyone else. I didnt know that $75 went into his pocket. Besides, I was responding to dishcomm because he said pole-mounts are for the most part free and in my case that wasnt true.

 

[dragon002]

No I got on my roof to take pictures of my extra unneeded mount because I needed them to file a claim and noticed the debris in my gutter. Are you able to read and store information in your brain for more than a few hours? If you did you would see that I DID NOT NEED A POLE anyways so its not even important. Is it so hard for you to grasp that some service techs are incompetent, lazy, lying bastards? (maybe the truth hits close to home?) You guys just assume that every customer knows you only get paid by the job and not hourly. As far as I knew, the guy worked directly for directv and made an hourly wage like everyone else. I didnt know that $75 went into his pocket. Besides, I was responding to dishcomm because he said pole-mounts are for the most part free and in my case that wasnt true.

NO tech works directly for directv...wrong #1

the $75 SHOULD go into his pocket...wrong #2

ONLY get paid by the job....i make $220 per day, average. for standard installs, plus one $100 pole per year, yeah per year...it is manual labor. i have set 7 in 6 years. i get extra $$ for any deviation from a FREE standard install. CASH.

 

[dishcomm]

He said a pole mount was $75. It would have been about 20 feet from my house but he wanted to charge me. He said he charged that much because it had to trench the wire, pour the cement and wait 4 hours for it to dry before he could put the dish up. Then when I finally agreed to pay he said he didnt think he could get a line of site. My roof isnt very steep at all, you can walk around up there with no problems at all. I finally got my 5lnb up on my roof Monday, and aside from leaving a mess in my gutter (bolts, pieces of cable, etc.) the new tech did a good job.

4hrs?!!!!!!!! What the hell is that guy using? Elmers Glue all?!!!!!
I set the pole, pour concrete add a little water tamp down and do the inside stuff while cement sets..By the time I have done the inside work I drop the dish on and peak it.....4 hrs my fanny!
A 20 ft trench is nothing..10 mins tops.we don't charge extra until we get to 50 ft...
A tech that that leaves garbage on the worksite is an a-hole....

 

[kentuck1163]

4hrs?!!!!!!!! What the hell is that guy using? Elmers Glue all?!!!!!
I set the pole, pour concrete add a little water tamp down and do the inside stuff while cement sets..By the time I have done the inside work I drop the dish on and peak it.....4 hrs my fanny!
A 20 ft trench is nothing..10 mins tops.we don't charge extra until we get to 50 ft...
A tech that that leaves garbage on the worksite is an a-hole....

The guy who did my post install pounded the end of the pole with a hammer on my driveway so it was flat, dug the hole, and then hammered the pole down into the bottom of the hole - so it was very stable even without cement. He mounted the dish, pointed it, examined the strength of signal, and locked in the dish (tightened all the screws) all before he poured the cement. The cement was the very last thing he did. Also, when he was stripping the end of the wires, etc. he made sure to put all the little waste pieces into the bottom of the hole.

One last thing. I agree with the installer that putting the AT9 dish on a roof - while possible - is not really a good idea. I live in Vicksburg and we get pretty strong winds here fairly often. I definitely would not have wanted that dish on my roof during Katrina and Rita with the 95 mph gusts we experienced. That dish has a pretty large surface and the torque forces it would have put on the roof would have bothered me.

 

[dishcomm]

The guy who did my post install pounded the end of the pole with a hammer on my driveway so it was flat, dug the hole, and then hammered the pole down into the bottom of the hole - so it was very stable even without cement. He mounted the dish, pointed it, examined the strength of signal, and locked in the dish (tightened all the screws) all before he poured the cement. The cement was the very last thing he did. Also, when he was stripping the end of the wires, etc. he made sure to put all the little waste pieces into the bottom of the hole.

One last thing. I agree with the installer that putting the AT9 dish on a roof - while possible - is not really a good idea. I live in Vicksburg and we get pretty strong winds here fairly often. I definitely would not have wanted that dish on my roof during Katrina and Rita with the 95 mph gusts we experienced. That dish has a pretty large surface and the torque forces it would have put on the roof would have bothered me.

Yeah it can be a little scary...But both E* and D* do studies on the roof mounts for all of their antennas..In thoery the roof mounts are designed to withstand a sustained wind of 125MPH.....Let me out it this way. If the wind is strong enough to blow the dish off the roof of your home it's time for an evacuation.....I would be worried about saving more than my sat dish.....Just a note I prefer to mount the larger dishes on poles. That's just me....But it goes where it has to...

 

[dragon002]

dishcomm,

directv only guarantees the dishes to 90mph.

 

[chaotic646]

NO tech works directly for directv...wrong #1

the $75 SHOULD go into his pocket...wrong #2

ONLY get paid by the job....i make $220 per day, average. for standard installs, plus one $100 pole per year, yeah per year...it is manual labor. i have set 7 in 6 years. i get extra $$ for any deviation from a FREE standard install. CASH.

Well there you go. Next time a customer bitches to you about having to pay $100 for a pole mount explain to them that you are basically self-employed and only get payed by the job. I had no idea until the QC guy told me that my original tech didnt actually work for directv and only got paid by the job. Im sure 90% of new customers dont know that. It still doesnt make it okay for the guy to completely lie his ass off because he didnt want to put up a KA KU. If he didnt want to do it in the first place, he shouldnt have accepted the job. I assume since you guys get paid by the job and dont actually work for directv that you can choose which jobs you want to take, correct?

 

[kentuck1163]

Well there you go. Next time a customer bitches to you about having to pay $100 for a pole mount explain to them that you are basically self-employed and only get payed by the job. I had no idea until the QC guy told me that my original tech didnt actually work for directv and only got paid by the job. Im sure 90% of new customers dont know that. It still doesnt make it okay for the guy to completely lie his ass off because he didnt want to put up a KA KU. If he didnt want to do it in the first place, he shouldnt have accepted the job. I assume since you guys get paid by the job and dont actually work for directv that you can choose which jobs you want to take, correct?

But shouldn't there be some consistency among installers? Even if they don't work directly for DirecTV, they ARE representing the company by driving around in vans with the DirecTV logo emblassoned on the side. DirecTV, I'm sure, has given direction to their licensed installers regarding what they can and cannot charge extra for. What would make sense for me is for the installer to hand customers this list - from DirecTV - prior to beginning the install. That way you would know what your potential charges are rather than have them announced to you mid-way through the install. Anyway, sounds common sense to me.

But this thing about some installers charging for poles (varying amounts), some not, etc. just doesn't sound right and doesn't bode well for customer satisfaction.

 

[stevo/65]

Again custom installs are not standard, a pole would be a cutom install in many contractors contract (well atleast directv). I personally let the customer know if custom charges would need be applied before i even start a job and yes we do have a list to show customer`s the prices of custom work that need be. When i worked for a DNS outfit for dishnetwork we use to be able to charge custom work. But now most DNS systems require it be done for free. Like pole mounts, after 50 feet you can charge the customer or wallfishes are also free to the customer. That is why i no longer work for any DNS system . I do disnnetwork installs for retailers only when i have time. The calls we get from existing dishnet customers are from DNS installs that was done poorly , for one example due to the fact RG59 cable still being used inside/wall (tech did not want to pull RG6) which he was suppose to do in the first place at no charge .Well customer got tired of trying to get DNS outfit to go back and fix , so they called us. We tell them what needs to be done and of course the fee to get it done right. Half the time they pay and the other half they just CHURN. Now dont get me wrong there are still good techs who work for Dishnet DNS systems but not as many as there use to be(just my opinion).

 

[dishcomm]

dishcomm,

directv only guarantees the dishes to 90mph.

intersting..E* sez a buck and a quarter on theirs..
How many bolts in roof mount for DTV?..E* uses 6 on D-500 and D-1000....

 

[Turd Fergeson]

I install in south AL, north FL and a little in SW MS and I can prommise you if a home is in an open area and the dish is mounted on the roof it is at least twisting if not getting blown off the roof in sustained 125 mph winds. Sides of the home or pole mounts have a chance but the ones mounted up high on the roof are doomed. It doesn't matter what size, which company or how many bolts. I've done what seems like millions of T/C's over the past several years after Huricanes and I've seen them blown off houses and thru the neighbors windows.

 

[dishcomm]

I install in south AL, north FL and a little in SW MS and I can prommise you if a home is in an open area and the dish is mounted on the roof it is at least twisting if not getting blown off the roof in sustained 125 mph winds. Sides of the home or pole mounts have a chance but the ones mounted up high on the roof are doomed. It doesn't matter what size, which company or how many bolts. I've done what seems like millions of T/C's over the past several years after Huricanes and I've seen them blown off houses and thru the neighbors windows.

Yes but who expcts hurricanes and tornados as normal weather..
Question...would you walk away from an install you know could get done on the roof but no other place on the property?

 

[stellar832000]

Read it good story...

I also had a similar problem with a Directv installer, I ordered the new H20 and a high definition antenna for the OTA locals, my installer calls before he comes and tells me that he does not have the antenna because it was not on the order... but he can drive 40 miles to get one if i pay him 50 dollars for the antenna and 20 for the installation, I called directv and they told me that there was nothing they could do about the problem because it is not on the order and unless I wanted to reschedule I had to negotiate it with the installer, so i went ahead and paid the installer 70 dollars for the antenna and installation, all goes well and just before the installer leaves i notice that there is no signal on my OTA channels, the installer says that there is not supposed to be a signal unless there is a basketball game on because right now they are the only things broadcasting in HD (yes he actually said that) I was so amazed by how stupid he was I let him leave and called directv, I told them what happened and they send out another installed to fix the problem, they specifically told me that it would be a DIFFERENT person, the day comes and its the same person! he said that he knows what the problem is and its that he needs a pole but that I have to buy it out of pocket, he said he would be back in two days to see if i got the pole, I got the pole and two days later he was a no show, I called directv to complain and they told me that they would send out a Lead Installer to handle the problem, I told them that was hard to believe because that is what they told me the first time, anyways so the day comes when the Lead Installer was supposed to come and the SAME installer came to my house and said that even though the work order requested a lead he thought it would be ok if he took it! I was furious, I sent him away and called directv and asked for a supervisor, after arguing with a rude rep (that was the first time I had a rude rep by the way) and they credited me 50 dollars...fine i settled...then yesterday i see that there is a charge on my account for 50 dollars and no one at directv knows what it is for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! needless to say i wanted to hurl my system through the window