I am beyond frustrated with directv!!!

[raoul5788]

My goodness....Not a single one of those is to spec. The neatest one, where the cables are hidden in the mast....The installer BENT the lower half of the mast foot in order to get his lag bolts into the lower part of the facia.
There are masts that are installed at an angle( a huge rules no no) just to get ONE lag bolt into the facia.
One other thing. We were required to have SIX lag bolts in the mast foot. And two in each mast strut. None of these is to spec.
look...The bottom line is this. Satellite TV and rental properties sometimes do not mix too well.

That's what I tried to tell him.

 

[dishcomm]

Again, the previous tech told me it could be done, but he needed a second tech on site to do it.
He went up the roof to check and its acceptable. I see nothing wrong installing it there, he literally can get on top of the roof through my bedroom upstairs... which is a flat roof. HE would not be standing on a ladder to install it unless he is under 5ft tall.

Here is a picture from the upstairs room:

What you see and what the rules we must follow are two different things.
What you are seeing here is hack work. Most likely done by a local retailer or fly by night fulfillment contractor that will if assigned, ignore the service call for issues arising from this crap work. They would rather pay the fine than send a tech and have to either redo the install or tell the customer they cannot help them.
The cold hard fact of life is that YOU chose to move into this property.
In my career i have had people get very upset with me because I could not install their existing system in their new apartment or rental housing because of one of many factors. The two major ones...A) management of the property threw up rules that prevented a proper and to specifications install. B) no line of sight from the tenants exclusive area( balcony, patio etc)....and when both Dish and Directv banned "sled" or non penetrating roof mounts to use for patio/balcony installs. the jig was up. Multi family housing installs went to a mere trickle.

 

[dishcomm]

They also said they won't use a wooden board to install the dish through, is that policy?

Yes....any material that can warp or crack is not permitted...
Your best bet is to pay a local retailer to install your system. They do not follow many of the specs that the company techs and fulfillment techs MUST abide by

 

[dishcomm]

So the HOA president also the owner of the unit it okay to install it here:
That should be an acceptable point no? For some reason the tech wanted to install it further in front, the next post.

The HOA person is telling you where THEY think the dish can be located. This is a far cry from what the tech is permitted to do.
Remember, their job is always on the line. And no one worth their salt is going to jeopardize their source of income to do non spec work. Once that tech closes the job, HIS name is on it forever.

 

[dishcomm]

Doesn't matter if the HOA president approves it or not.

The installers being sent out do not want to do your installation.

You need to realize these techs come out and their goal is to do as little work in the shortest amount of time possible.

They do not like it when the customer specifically tells them where to put the dish, especially where the customer wants the dish requires more work where they want to put the dish.

When I do a job I get darn near 100% installed because I'm making like $500 per new install.

When a contractor does a job, they are getting less than $100 or hourly pay.

They don't care like an independent installer does.

I have sold thousands of customers, the type of apartment you live in, is not installer friendly. Seriously if you where getting a new account from me, I would personally do the job myself because I can almost guarantee if I scheduled through Dish or Directv they would find a reason not to install it.

Yep/....As a retailer, you can afford the risk of a non spec install. QA is not looking at retailer jobs.
I used to work for a Dish fulfillment company They also had a DBA to do Directv retail. When I got on a Dish job at an apartment with a dilemma seen here, I would go through the procedure to get the customer to cancel the dish deal. Then when that was confirmed, I would have one of our office people explain to the customer what we could do as a Directv retailer.
I sold quite a few DTV jobs this way. Left the customer scratching their head as to the logic( or lack of) it all. But the result was, they were able to have satellite tv and I got a sale and a successful install. I stated earlier, I would walk away. But not that far. If you understand my meaning. Wink wink. Nudge nudge.

 

[dishcomm]

Generally $100 for the dish and 1st tv and $25 for each additional tv.

Sometimes they will charge $125 for the primary but anything more they are trying to take advantage of the situation.

Most contracted Directv techs unless they are hourly are at $80 or less on the primary and $10 for each addl Tv.

You will need a Dish also, so unless you go to your old place and get it, that's another $100

Aww come one Claude. Those numbers are light. You're quoting COST. The retailer or private tech is definitely going to take a markup...
I'm not touching that for less than $250. if routing cable from one side of the building to the other, modifying the area of mount etc is involved, its a 3-4 hour job. I have to make my money. Otherwise, the custy can try to find a cheaper route.

 

[dishcomm]

As much as I like Costco, it's a third party they partner with for this kind of stuff and they will probably just send the install to DirecTV or an install contractor and you'll be in the same situation.

Third party retailer....Whenever I hear/read those words, my spine began to turn to jell-o.
I cannot begin to count how many times the customer uttered "well THEY said".....WHat was told to that person was outright LIES....
We had a major problem with one particular third party retailer.
They sold JUNK........The retailer was essentially a boiler room for satellite tv.
And of course, because of sheer volume, Dish had them on board as a preferred retailer. In fact Dish has a special set of rules for this one retailer.
One such rule was that we were NOT to cancel or reschedule these jobs before speaking with "Winback" first. And let me say, the winback people did not give a rat's behind if we had to install the dish on the freaking North Pole. They would 99% NOT permit a cancel.....

 

[dishcomm]

The costco guy I talked to is that they fill up two forms and one form goes to directv and the other one goes to their own contractor for the install. But again they are always willing to sell you the world and then come finding out they gonna charge you...he did mention something like a $1 for their own guy install.

Yes, but how can you be certain Costco is actually sending in the form?

 

[dishcomm]

Okay, talked to Claude over the phone, I talked to the local retailer and Costco and lastly Directv retention.

Here is what it's going to happen:

The installer from the local retailer showed up and he said he would do the install including the dish for $240 because he will need to use additional tools to put the dish on the roof fascia where I and the HOA wanted originally, he said with the clamp or whatever he calls it the install would be safe and would look good.

Directv retention said as long as I take the invoice over to an att store and call them that they would reimburse me whatever he installation cost would cost me.

So if it turns out to be over $240 they would still reimburse me the cost.

This is the best approach, getting a new account would be a pain because then I'd have to pay a $99 installation for the genie wireless, just didn't feel like getting another account, plus I like the $25 discount and $10 combined bill discount and another $10 for auto pay, that alone makes up big.

Ok...here is the cynic in me....did you get the customer retention person's name and operator ID? Did you by any chance record the conversation?
Did you write down notes to memorialize the conversation?
I ask this because too often when these things go off the rails, many times the customer is just relived to have it done and over with, they forget to take notes or record the conversation. At that point they call the company in question, explain the problem and the customer service rep says " we have no record of this. To whom did you speak?....Did you have the name of that person?".....if the answer is "no", you're in a leaky canoe sans paddle.

 

[dishcomm]

I didn't know that Costco had thier own installers .....
You don't really think Costco is doing the install, do you ?

Sad.....Obviously, costco is going to send the job along and it will be assigned to a fulfillment contractor. BOOM, right back in the same boat, this OP....

 

[dishcomm]

Hope it work out. I don't trust at&t .

WORST customer service on the planet.
I refuse to do business with them. Not even their wireless. Nope. AT&T can go pound sand

 

[dishcomm]

Here is the Ethernet install

Just how it should be done....In fact that is the ONLY way....Anything else would have been WRONG and sh!tty looking.

 

[Jimbo]

Sad.....Obviously, costco is going to send the job along and it will be assigned to a fulfillment contractor. BOOM, right back in the same boat, this OP....

Of course they will, it will either go to a D* installer (Yes, there still are ones out there) or an ATT D* installer. (in most cases, former Prem Tech's)

 

[Mister B]

So what is the best avenue to pursue in order to get a professional Directv installation? Would it be order on the website, call on the phone or drive to a local firm?

 

[cinsu]

So what is the best avenue to pursue in order to get a professional Directv installation? Would it be order on the website, call on the phone or drive to a local firm?

Generally, website or a phone number listed on the website.


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[JSheridan]

So what is the best avenue to pursue in order to get a professional Directv installation? Would it be order on the website, call on the phone or drive to a local firm?

You should always try to call or visit the local retailer first, if you have a good one.

 

[Jimbo]

You should always try to call or visit the local retailer first, if you have a good one.

Why ?
Then you get to pay full price for the install and may not get as good of a deal ....

If you call D* you get whatever promos are available and generally FREE installation.
Dish itself is typically $100 new.

 

[JSheridan]

Why ?
Then you get to pay full price for the install and may not get as good of a deal ....

If you call D* you get whatever promos are available and generally FREE installation.
Dish itself is typically $100 new.

You get the same free install and all the same promos from your authorized local retailer, and usually much better service. And you don't have to call India to do it.

 

[Jimbo]

You get the same free install and all the same promos from your authorized local retailer, and usually much better service. And you don't have to call India to do it.

Really ?
The local installess I have dealt with Never give Free installs, D* gives free installs because they want your service and can do it due to the Large numbers of installs they have.
The local installer may get a few a month, they are not giving away the install for free. ... they have b to cover the equipment price plus the wages and insurance for a job that they don't always have .... these installers also do many Other jobs to cover thier day.

I think next time I go by my local installers I'll walk in and ask them if they will do a free D* install for me ... and expect to get laughed out of the building.

 

[al]

I can't speak for other retailers, but we do not charge the customer for a new install.