Installation Woes

[dishcomm]

I don't know about those other techs,(are they DNS techs? are they subs?), but when I have 5 jobs to do and I come up on a job that's already been called NLOS and I see nothing but trees when I pull up, I'm not going to waste my time looking for 4 different satellites with 4 different dishes just to find out I can't get one (or more)of them. My company wont pay for the must carry when the w/o calls for a 1000, let alone 3! What if I could only pull a 50 or 60 on the 129? I get charged back for trouble calls, and if I lose my los within a year after the install I will get charged for a reinstall. I'm still not clear on what happens if i lose it and there is no where to move it. Regardless, I'm not putting a system in unless I can comfortably guarantee a good LOS indefinitely. Sometimes it's just not gonna go in, and alot of customers don't want to accept it. I will do what I can, because if the job doesn't go in, I don't get paid, but we're not miracle workers.

Now, if the customer was willing to pay me for my time, pony up the cash for a DP 44 switch and accept the results, I'd find the time to do it. Otherwise, you may have to break out the ole chainsaw or just go with cable.

Ditto...too mnay times we as techs are put to the fire because things just do not work out even at the customers insistance that we spend our time and labor in a futile effort.....All this while the cust tomer thinks we are getting paid to explore options...
Newsflash to all of you who think we are your hired help for the day...If the job does not go in it's zilch for our pockets...but we are not going to spend few hours with you to come to a conclusion we already know...
Thanks for posting this..

 

[RoswellGA]

My install took place yesterday. OTA/61.5/110/119. All signals are 90+.

 

[iafirebuff]

I like to make it as easy a possible for any installs that I have done. For example, in a few weeks I will have a VIp622 and Dish 1000 upgrade being done. When the installer arrives here is what I will have done for him:

All old receivers pulled from cabnets, cables and cords marked - that way all he has to do is plug it in. As for cables, I will have all cables pulled and ran to where I want them, and any cubby holes/access panels pulled (switch and ground locations). All he will have to do is but up the new Dish 1000 (on the old mast). I have found if I do this, I 1 - have things done how I like them, and 2 - the installer seems to be very happy that I made his job easier, so he is more apt to go out of his way for an odd request, if needed.

 

[Van]

Damn guys, looks like Mr Roswell showed up alot of people on here who think they know it all. Even after doing installs for 6 years one thing I always kept in mind was that unless my customer lives in a nuclear bunker in colorado, the deepest part of a forest or on the bottom floor north side middle of a 20 story or higher building that there is always a possibility to get them in. I did my share of installs in Atlanta during the Bellsouth conversion in 01 and know about the tree's there, I also know full well that dish is being unrealistic with its expectations of its installers and overloading them with so much work now that they have no time to do quality work nor do they have time to educate the customers properly on how to use the systems. Good luck Roswell, if you have any issues with signal send me a PM, Im over in the Athens GA area and can come out to see whats doin.

 

[iafirebuff]

My install took place yesterday. OTA/61.5/110/119. All signals are 90+.

CONGRATS! Now to enjoy your signal

 

[Van]

Wheres all the ney sayers?

 

[Roadwarrior]

Congrats Ros. Did you end up with 3 dishes then? I'll bow down to that one, but I'm betting it still wasn't a standard install. If a DNS guy is getting paid by the hour and all his materials are supplied, I suppose he/she is expected to go that extra mile. My main point was, I don't get paid for the extra work/materials/hassle being a sub. What motivation could I possibly have to go through that? Will you tip me?

At any rate, I was wrong and I'm admitting it. Good for you man.

 

[Roadwarrior]

I would be curious as to how that signal is doing next spring.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I think one of the other issues was that the installer technically was susposed to install a 129 Dish eventhough you had an OTA antenna.

The issue at hand here is that eventhough you where willing to accecpt not getting your HD locals from DISH, there is alot of customers who will say go ahead and install the system anyways and then call and complain several months later.

Back when I first started I did several installations that had tree issues and I gave the customer the option to proceed with the install or cancel. The customer was under the full understanding that if there was a tree issue, it would not be my problem since I warned the customer in advance and they said to go ahead and install anyways.

Anyways, in every situation there was tree problems several months later and then when they lost their sigial, the customers made a big stink over it saying I didn't know what I was doing Etc. I had to go back and find a way to make it work when I had very limited options, and even had to pay a cancellation fee one one of them.

Congrats on getting a working installation, but I might have called NLOS also for this very reason.

 

[RoswellGA]

Congrats Ros. Did you end up with 3 dishes then? I'll bow down to that one, but I'm betting it still wasn't a standard install. If a DNS guy is getting paid by the hour and all his materials are supplied, I suppose he/she is expected to go that extra mile. My main point was, I don't get paid for the extra work/materials/hassle being a sub. What motivation could I possibly have to go through that? Will you tip me?

At any rate, I was wrong and I'm admitting it. Good for you man.

I would be curious as to how that signal is doing next spring.

Thanks RW,

Yes, it was a 3 dish install. I think we could have gotten away with a 2 dish install with some additional pruning on my part, but to insure LoS to 119 we went with a 2nd dish about 10 feet further south than the 110 dish. I ended up paying out of pocket for some of the non-standard equipment and I totally understand your point if you are getting a flat fee and having to supply the extra materials (posts, etc) yourself.

I don't think there will be a problem in the spring but I'll let you know. The oaks at the back of my property are already as tall as they are going to get, and I am well clear of their tops, and there is nothing near the dishes that I can't reach and prune if needed. I'll post some pictures this weekend so you can see what I'm talking about.

 

[Van]

Dish inhouse guys never came out to this person's house is what I have read through the whole thing and it wasnt an inhouse who did his install because no inhouse tech is allowed to charge a customer for anything at all period. Inhouse are paid by the hour and the expectation of going the extra mile is expected but its a double sided coin for them, Dish wants its techs to exhaust every option but do it within 15 mins and move on to the next job. When ever I ran into a tough install I would feel my stomach sink because I knew that I would have to find every short cut I could use without breaking any NEC rules and to keep the install clean so that I would have no more than one late ETA out of the 5 - 8 jobs I was given for the day.

 

[Roadwarrior]

Dish inhouse guys never came out to this person's house is what I have read through the whole thing and it wasnt an inhouse who did his install because no inhouse tech is allowed to charge a customer for anything at all period. Inhouse are paid by the hour and the expectation of going the extra mile is expected but its a double sided coin for them, Dish wants its techs to exhaust every option but do it within 15 mins and move on to the next job. When ever I ran into a tough install I would feel my stomach sink because I knew that I would have to find every short cut I could use without breaking any NEC rules and to keep the install clean so that I would have no more than one late ETA out of the 5 - 8 jobs I was given for the day.

5-8 jobs? Man, Dish techs really do have it rough. I did 6 jobs the other day, and only got to 2 of them on time. Of course the first job was about an hour and a half from the office, and none of the jobs were in the same town. I think maybe I should stop complaining about my company. But I do know what you mean when you roll up on a job and realize it's a whopper and you have so many more to do. It is very frustrating. I just can't stand the idea of a customer complaining about me after I leave, to anybody. And for someone with my experience, it is nearly impossible to just drive up and assess the situation instantly. Often times the install doesnt even begin until 30 minutes or so after my arrival.

Oh well, I feel a bit better after reading some of the posts on this site. This is just how it is.

 

[Jared Twomey]

Wheres all the ney sayers?

I stand by my earlier statements, as a retailer I have to be picky about the jobs that I install. If I have an install where I am barely clearing a tree, shooting between two close trees, or extremely tall poles... I would rather my guys not install them. If 6 months down the road the system starts failing everytime the wind blows, then that affects my status as a retailer.
Our status is determined by the "churn" rate (rate of new connects vs disconnects) If I go throwing systems in that will only work for a short time, it affects my pay in the long run.

For example: we used to install absolutely every person that called out office, under any promo... our distributor recommended we be picky about wether or not to do Free-For-All promos, and be picky about what jobs we install... our status went back up far enough (Green Elite) that we do a few less jobs, but we make more on the jobs that we do, so it evens out, and we have less headaches.