My failed DirecTV install

[dishcomm]

While the rules are not necessarily arbitrary, they are based 100% on what is profitable in the long term for the service provider over hundreds of thousands of installs. It's not really about safety, or property protection, or anything else than the bottom line. The company believes they can limit liability (lawsuits and damage claims) by avoiding installs on certain types of siding, or believes that their installers are incompetent to find exterior studs on side mounts (thus jeopardizing the long term viability of the install). Any other rational behind these rules is just window dressing to make the technician and customer feel better about the fact that they do not have control over where the dish will be located. Corporate does.

So keep corporate (Dish Network or DirecTV) out of it as much as possible if you want something atypical. Order from a "local retailer" (though they may sell nationally or out of their market) and get a "local installer" (one who's paycheck IS NOT tied to corporate quality control checks).

Go to www.FTAInstall.com. Look on the list for someone who installs DirecTV, give them a call, and ask if they can order through them. If they can't, they should know someone who can. Or you could try to change the nearly inconsequential policies of multi-billion dollar company over the next several years.

Yes, I am well aware that both satcos are using these and other rules as a means to reduce potential litigation. I also believe there are rules in place directed toward safety and protection of property.
That's it.
What I object to is the resistance to allowing technicians to think on their feet and get creative in the event of a troublesome or unusual job.

 

[dishcomm]

What amazed me more than that is even in the face of imminent cancellation, she still wasn't willing to waive the technician fee for a receiver upgrade. After more than eight years with no receiver upgrade or equipment change ever, they couldn't even waive a $95 charge to keep a loyal customer? Sad. They made it too easy to leave.

Typical. Most tv providers will crawl 10 miles through broken glass and barbed wire to pick up a new customer. They barely get out of bed to satisfy an existing customer. This seems counter intuitive to their absolute resistance to "churn".