Just venting...

[ctjr]

I am pretty sure I had stuff like this happen with DirecTV as well, but I dunno... I sure haven't had a whole lot of positive experiences with Dish. ANyway, just needed to vent to some folks who can relate!

(BTW, this is the same letter I emailed to Dish-- wonder if I'll get a call?)

I took the day off from work as I had a repair scheduled today between 8 a.m. and Noon. At 11:00 or so, I got a call from Dish saying the tech was "running behind a bit, but will be there before Noon."

At 12:20 (and no one here yet), I called Dish ( a North American call center) and was told that the tech was "en route" and would call me "in a couple of minutes." At 1:00 (and no one here AND no call), I called Dish again. India, this time. Spoke to David (give me a break; this guy's name was no more "David" than mine is Rumplestiltskin). "Very sorry, blah, blah, blah."

I asked to speak to his supervisor, who turned out to be busy. He finally got me to a different supervisor, with another fake Anglo name. He was also of no help whatsover. EXCEPT, he told me the tech was late and would not be here for ANOTHER HOUR, which would be a bit after 2:00!

So... I had to take the day off work and a good 5 hours of the day was completely WASTED. I asked to reschedule, this time for Saturday. For my troubles, I asked to be one of the first calls of the day. But my Indian friend could not promise me any such thing (of course).

So, how do you think I feel about being a Dish customer at the moment? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with "shrewd."

Sincerely,
----------

OK. I feel better now.

 

[darrencp22]

I am pretty sure I had stuff like this happen with DirecTV as well, but I dunno... I sure haven't had a whole lot of positive experiences with Dish. ANyway, just needed to vent to some folks who can relate!

(BTW, this is the same letter I emailed to Dish-- wonder if I'll get a call?)

I took the day off from work as I had a repair scheduled today between 8 a.m. and Noon. At 11:00 or so, I got a call from Dish saying the tech was "running behind a bit, but will be there before Noon."

At 12:20 (and no one here yet), I called Dish ( a North American call center) and was told that the tech was "en route" and would call me "in a couple of minutes." At 1:00 (and no one here AND no call), I called Dish again. India, this time. Spoke to David (give me a break; this guy's name was no more "David" than mine is Rumplestiltskin). "Very sorry, blah, blah, blah."

I asked to speak to his supervisor, who turned out to be busy. He finally got me to a different supervisor, with another fake Anglo name. He was also of no help whatsover. EXCEPT, he told me the tech was late and would not be here for ANOTHER HOUR, which would be a bit after 2:00!

So... I had to take the day off work and a good 5 hours of the day was completely WASTED. I asked to reschedule, this time for Saturday. For my troubles, I asked to be one of the first calls of the day. But my Indian friend could not promise me any such thing (of course).

So, how do you think I feel about being a Dish customer at the moment? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with "shrewd."

Sincerely,
----------

OK. I feel better now.

Get ready for a ton of excuse makers to reply. In all fairness though, i've had this happen with D*.

 

[ctjr]

Oh, I'm sure it's on both sides. It's just that in my 2 years with Dish, it's been remarkably... consistent (and not in a good way). Service w/ most things tends towards "suck." Sign of the thimes, I guess.

 

[Mdvalenz]

We have an install in a couple weeks for that same time slot. I would be amazed if they show up between 8-12. Also, we had the same problem with comcast when we moved here. They needed to put in a new drop to the house and it took 5 separate installers to come out until it was done and it took several months. By that time we had gone with Dish and comcast was all confused as to why.

 

[geekboy2000]

Well, unfortunately, in general, customer service is terrible everywhere. In order to be "great", a company only has to be marginally better than the worst. But, in my case, at least with respect to my install and upgrade, in both cases, the installer called me after getting the order, and gave me their local office phone number, as well as his cell number. No complaints at all with those folks. As for DISH itself, generally, I've been disappointed. Either they don't know what I'm saying, I don't know what they're saying, I get disconnected, or I get a perfectly understandable moron. So, the question isn't whether or not customer service is bad here, there, or anywhere. It is. The question becomes how often you will need it. Once the install is done, and you've endured dealing with "Johnny" (who always tells you that he is just "needing you to understand that everything will be OK"), cross your fingers and hope you'll never need to call them again.

Mark

 

[Hall]

At 1:00 (and no one here AND no call), I called Dish again. India, this time. Spoke to David (give me a break; this guy's name was no more "David" than mine is Rumplestiltskin).

He finally got me to a different supervisor, with another fake Anglo name.

But my Indian friend could not promise me any such thing (of course).

Based on you feeling the need to include those comments, I say you'll get no response.

 

[havana]

Based on you feeling the need to include those comments, I say you'll get no response.

That’s okay, the protocol for “Just venting” IS a bit fuzzy!

 

[geekboy2000]

Based on you feeling the need to include those comments, I say you'll get no response.

Why? It's absoutely true that CSRs in India use fake names. I'm assuming it's either because most callers will have an easier time pronouncing them, and because it might not be quite so obvious that yet another job has been outsourced. When I call customer service for any company, there are times I'll just hang up and try again if the support department appears to be India based. Not because I think the folks there are incapable of providing support, but because IMO, and based on my experience, it seems that most often, the people I deal with there appear to have been handed a headset and a script, and that was the extent of their training. Does that happen here in the US too? You bet, but more often than not, they understand the script and can adlib if necessary.

 

[Van]

I am pretty sure I had stuff like this happen with DirecTV as well, but I dunno... I sure haven't had a whole lot of positive experiences with Dish. ANyway, just needed to vent to some folks who can relate!

(BTW, this is the same letter I emailed to Dish-- wonder if I'll get a call?)

I took the day off from work as I had a repair scheduled today between 8 a.m. and Noon. At 11:00 or so, I got a call from Dish saying the tech was "running behind a bit, but will be there before Noon."

At 12:20 (and no one here yet), I called Dish ( a North American call center) and was told that the tech was "en route" and would call me "in a couple of minutes." At 1:00 (and no one here AND no call), I called Dish again. India, this time. Spoke to David (give me a break; this guy's name was no more "David" than mine is Rumplestiltskin). "Very sorry, blah, blah, blah."

I asked to speak to his supervisor, who turned out to be busy. He finally got me to a different supervisor, with another fake Anglo name. He was also of no help whatsover. EXCEPT, he told me the tech was late and would not be here for ANOTHER HOUR, which would be a bit after 2:00!

So... I had to take the day off work and a good 5 hours of the day was completely WASTED. I asked to reschedule, this time for Saturday. For my troubles, I asked to be one of the first calls of the day. But my Indian friend could not promise me any such thing (of course).

So, how do you think I feel about being a Dish customer at the moment? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with "shrewd."

Sincerely,
----------

OK. I feel better now.

I can relate both as a customer and an installer, I hated dealing with the Indian call center and the csrs at any of the locations. The csr's wont know where the installer is unless they call the dispatch office that he is out of.

Get ready for a ton of excuse makers to reply. In all fairness though, i've had this happen with D*.

Its sad that you cant control your anger at yourself for not doing more research into your decision into signing a contract for service with dish considering your a career in finance but its pathetic how you hijack a thread to suit your own agenda and feed your anger. Do yourself and everyone a favour and move on, we all know your mad so get over it and resolve your problem by ending your contract with them.

Oh, I'm sure it's on both sides. It's just that in my 2 years with Dish, it's been remarkably... consistent (and not in a good way). Service w/ most things tends towards "suck." Sign of the thimes, I guess.

Thats definitely an unfortunate 2 years to have and it does fall on the shoulders of Charlie Ergen for loosing site of several important factors that made his company something great at one time.

 

[ctjr]

Based on you feeling the need to include those comments, I say you'll get no response.

The "need" to include those comments is that they are relevant to the story.
While the typical CSR doesn't know/can't help much, in my experience, once you are speaking to India, they become even LESS helpful. Also, I am a bit insulted by the whole "fake Anglo" name. I KNOW I'm not I'm talking to "David" or John," and that really bothers me. I'm a big boy and understand the economics of offshore call centers, so no need to "lie" to me.

As for the service, it just plain sucks. I don't care what business you're dealing with, completely missing a 5-hour window during the work-week and then not being the least bit proactive about a solution is inexcusable. I wasn't asking for a discount, a free month, or anything of that nature, I simply wanted to be assured that I would be one of the first service calls on my NEXT appointment, so as not to waste ANOTHER day of my time. I wouldn't even consider that "great" service; just expected anywhere-- in India... or Indiana.

 

[ctjr]

it seems that most often, the people I deal with there appear to have been handed a headset and a script, and that was the extent of their training. Does that happen here in the US too? You bet, but more often than not, they understand the script and can adlib if necessary.

Bingo! I must admit, better than I said it!

 

[jwfgeol]

Also, I am a bit insulted by the whole "fake Anglo" name. I KNOW I'm not I'm talking to "David" or John," and that really bothers me. I'm a big boy and understand the economics of offshore call centers, so no need to "lie" to me.

I wouldn't call it lying. It's very common for foreign students in the U.S., especially from Asia, to go by American names. Mainly because no one can pronounce their real names. I was in school with a Nancy and a Daisy, and there was even a guy who went by Asian Dave. Maybe that was your CSR. j/k

 

[Van]

The Indian call center csr's all use english first names and have been since the call center came online a few years ago.

 

[ctjr]

"Asian Dave" I can appreciate!

 

[Hall]

I'm not excusing Dish for missing your appointment. To be honest, I thought an 8-12 window was the first job of the day, but apparently not. You could have made the same complaint without the "Indian" criticism, do you not agree ?

 

[EricBskiVT]

I'm not excusing Dish for missing your appointment. To be honest, I thought an 8-12 window was the first job of the day, but apparently not. You could have made the same complaint without the "Indian" criticism, do you not agree ?

Politically correct or not, he is expressing the feeling we all have when we cannot make ourselves understood when we call for service (or non-service). It took me 3 CSRs just to get the Cinemax for a penny and it was because the first two just didn't get it.

 

[AriesGodofWar]

If it makes anyone feel any better, my father in law had an appointment scheduled to get his 625 upgraded to a 622, took off work, and sat there on his front porch all day. He is a smoker and is not allowed to smoke inside the house. Needless to say, his appointment time came and went with no installer. He called up Dish and they told him in the notes on the account, the Installer noted that they had tried calling and ringing the door bell, but no answer.

My FIL called Dish and flipped (he is like a child, I do not doubt he spent every second on the porch of his single family home 20 ft from the street) waiting for the installer. The next appointment (after he had already waited 3 weeks), was like 2 weeks from that day. Needless to say I told him to write to the Exec. e-mail address, Dish called him back (Thursday), and an installer was at his home that Saturday morning to put the new system in.

The way Dish handled the problem (after Exc. Office was contacted) in his case was awesome as they called, apologized, and got the install done 2 days later, however, this never should have been a problem in the first place. My vacation days are few and far between, and I would be uber ticked if my day was wasted due to an installer not showing.

 

[Sammy033]

One would hope that an installer lying about that would get some kind of reprimand. But I doubt it.

 

[Hall]

One would hope that an installer lying about that would get some kind of reprimand. But I doubt it.

Problem is, and I believe the FIL's version, it's one word against the other. Then again, this isn't the first time we've heard this "version" of a story from an installer, claiming to have called or even shown up. Too many people have caller-ID to dispute that no calls were made....

 

[ctjr]

I'm not excusing Dish for missing your appointment. To be honest, I thought an 8-12 window was the first job of the day, but apparently not. You could have made the same complaint without the "Indian" criticism, do you not agree ?

The service response was totally substandard, which has been my general experience with the India-based call-centers I have encountered. That was what my criticism was-- and is. Not a criticism of India as country, a people, or a culture. (C'mon, these folks invented the freakin' ZERO. Not too shabby.) The fact that the call center was in India was just that: a fact. It was part of what happened, and in my opinion, it was something that made the initial issue taht much worse.

As was mentioned earlier, when you call them, you get a head-set, a script, and yes, a fake name and that's IT. Makes for a lousy EXPERIENCE.

If it makes anyone feel better, I would be equally annoyed if I got an Anglo CSR and he gave me bad service and a fake Indian name.