New Guide issue

[Radioguy41]

Here's an all new guide issue. A list of some of the movies playing today on TCM. Note the release dates listed in the guide vs the actual release date.

Dial M For Murder (Ray Milland) - 2013 (actual 1954)
Conflict (Humphrey Bogart) - 1992 (actual 1945)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (John Garfield) - 2014 (actual 1946)
Johnny Guitar (Joan Crawford) - 2002 (actual 1954)
Westward The Women (Denise Darcel) - 2002 (actual 1951)
Buck And The Preacher (Harry Belafonte) - 2000 (actual 1972)

Just one more Dish Guide headscratcher.

 

[BarnRat]

Yes, the Dish EPG knuckleheads busy creating new problems . . . a never-ending story

It's not only TCM. Other channels have the same problem for older movies.

The Abyss (2002)
The Undefeated (2000)
The Man From Snowy River (2012)
Terms of Endearment (2002)
Urban Cowboy (2002)
Erin Brockovich (2014)
North To Alaska (2021)
The Conversation (2011)

Etc. etc.. There are many more.

Meh.

 

[jerryez]

Maybe these dates are re-release dates of the colorized or quality improved copies.

 

[ekilgus]

I've noticed this and it seems to me that the incorrect release date is a fairly recent screwup. Additionally, many times they have the genre wrong which would mess up searches. They aren't even consistent. For example, one episode of Star Trek Deep Space nine had it's genre listed as Science Fiction, the the next night's episode was listed as Fantasy. And it seems to be getting worse.

 

[BarnRat]

Two of the Dish Network requirements for any new EPG provider:

(1) Must be able to create at least one new problem when fixing an existing problem.

(2) Must take 6 months to a year to fix any problem.

 

[Radioguy41]

It's still messed up. You'd think someone at Dish would take notice.

 

[BarnRat]

It's still messed up. You'd think someone at Dish would take notice.

From what I've seen, it will take Dish several months to fix a guide problem (or have it fixed, whatever). Calling Dish about EPG problems is useless -- a waste of time. I used to call but gave that up several years ago . . .

BTW, I've been a loyal customer for 23+ years, and that doesn't mean squat when I call customer service.

 

[WinterWinds]

From what I've seen, it will take Dish several months to fix a guide problem (or have it fixed, whatever). Calling Dish about EPG problems is useless -- a waste of time. I used to call but gave that up several years ago . . .

BTW, I've been a loyal customer for 23+ years, and that doesn't mean squat when I call customer service.

I'm not saying this to be mean, but having had entry-level call center experience, I can tell you that the absolute most the representative can do is use a tool to report the complaint.

Your comments, along with others, are usually aggregated and then provided to people who can act upon it in the form of a report. I would only assume, when compared to other issues, that it is a low priority.

My guess is that most folks don't notice the guide issues. Some will notice it in passing and even fewer amongst them will make an effort to call in to report it.

Lastly - and this is purely anecdotal from my previous non-Dish related call center experience - most companies keep notes of customer's calls. We would know that this customer is the "complains about the guide every time he calls" guy before you even had a chance to say hello.

Bearing in mind that the reps have as much control as a non-employee would have AND they have metrics they need to maintain to remain employed, they try to quickly "resolve" the issue and move to the next phone call. Just my perspective.

 

[BarnRat]

We would know that this customer is the "complains about the guide every time he calls" guy before you even had a chance to say hello.

That's unfair. I've called Dish network technical support many times over my 23 years of service with them. The vast majority of my calls were NOT about the EPG. But when I used to call occasionally about the EPG, I was given the run-around, and I knew my complaint was being put in the circular file. Just my perspective.

BTW, there was never a need to call Dish about their EPG in my first 15+ years of service -- there were never any problems with the guide that didn't clear up in a day or two on its own.

 

[Radioguy41]

I'm not saying this to be mean, but having had entry-level call center experience, I can tell you that the absolute most the representative can do is use a tool to report the complaint.

Your comments, along with others, are usually aggregated and then provided to people who can act upon it in the form of a report. I would only assume, when compared to other issues, that it is a low priority.

My guess is that most folks don't notice the guide issues. Some will notice it in passing and even fewer amongst them will make an effort to call in to report it.

Lastly - and this is purely anecdotal from my previous non-Dish related call center experience - most companies keep notes of customer's calls. We would know that this customer is the "complains about the guide every time he calls" guy before you even had a chance to say hello.

Bearing in mind that the reps have as much control as a non-employee would have AND they have metrics they need to maintain to remain employed, they try to quickly "resolve" the issue and move to the next phone call. Just my perspective.

Let me relate a story from a couple of years ago and see if you still believe the information is aggregated. The electric service pole down the road from us would pop the breaker every single time it rained hard. I'd call it in, a truck would eventually show up, a guy would use a long pole to snap the breaker back in and leave. So, I started tracking every time it happened. Finally, after tracking it for a year I went and parked by the pole and waited this time for the truck to arrive. When he did I asked him why the breaker wasn't being repaired or replaced. He said "Why, has this happened before?". So I showed him the records I had kept; five (5) times it had popped in just the past year, not counting the 3 years since the problem started. He got on the radio and called in and asked why he wasn't told this was an ongoing problem. To shorten the story, they had no record of any previous calls about that breaker!

Let me add this, prior to retiring I traveled around the country for Fortune 500 companies as a Systems Specialist and one of the things I did was to set up help desks. They are, essentially, a joke. Technically challenged people answer the phones, type your complaint into a computer; the computer spits out questions to ask and offers boilerplate suggestions that seldom apply ("Have you checked the batteries in your remote sir?"). When the questions and suggestions start to repeat themselves and the caller gets frustrated they will "escalate" the problem which simply means it gets typed into the system where it gets lost in the ether. Think about it, if there are 10 people answering phones and they each have one or more escalations per day how many next level employees are there going to be to address those escalations? One, maybe, so how much attention are those escalations going to receive? Not much if any. No, I have no empathy for service desks.

 

[WinterWinds]

That's unfair. I've called Dish network technical support many times over my 23 years of service with them. The vast majority of my calls were NOT about the EPG. But when I used to call occasionally about the EPG, I was given the run-around, and I knew my complaint was being put in the circular file. Just my perspective.

BTW, there was never a need to call Dish about their EPG in my first 15+ years of service -- there were never any problems with the guide that didn't clear up in a day or two on its own.

I completely agree with you that it's unfair; but it is the nature of the beast with such a large company. The folks who have direct contact with the customers have the least amount of power to fix an issue. Combine that with poor training and stringent metrics make for an experience that frustrates and alienates the customer.

And poor training is rampant. It is the reason we have the trope of "representative roulette". I had times in which I literally did not know about a promotion or change my company had made until a customer called in to ask about it. I would then have to Google it to see if the company had sent it out to customers and never told us about it [which happened often].

That line of work is not for the faint of heart. It's so bizarre to speak to for a company without knowing what's going on and no authority to address the issues. I don't recommend it lol

 

[WinterWinds]

Let me relate a story from a couple of years ago and see if you still believe the information is aggregated. The electric service pole down the road from us would pop the breaker every single time it rained hard. I'd call it in, a truck would eventually show up, a guy would use a long pole to snap the breaker back in and leave. So, I started tracking every time it happened. Finally, after tracking it for a year I went and parked by the pole and waited this time for the truck to arrive. When he did I asked him why the breaker wasn't being repaired or replaced. He said "Why, has this happened before?". So I showed him the records I had kept; five (5) times it had popped in just the past year, not counting the 3 years since the problem started. He got on the radio and called in and asked why he wasn't told this was an ongoing problem. To shorten the story, they had no record of any previous calls about that breaker!

Let me add this, prior to retiring I traveled around the country for Fortune 500 companies as a Systems Specialist and one of the things I did was to set up help desks. They are, essentially, a joke. Technically challenged people answer the phones, type your complaint into a computer; the computer spits out questions to ask and offers boilerplate suggestions that seldom apply ("Have you checked the batteries in your remote sir?"). When the questions and suggestions start to repeat themselves and the caller gets frustrated they will "escalate" the problem which simply means it gets typed into the system where it gets lost in the ether. Think about it, if there are 10 people answering phones and they each have one or more escalations per day how many next level employees are there going to be to address those escalations? One, maybe, so how much attention are those escalations going to receive? Not much if any. No, I have no empathy for service desks.

YES. YES. YES. This is absolutely accurate. They hire the bottom of the barrel entry-level employees (myself included) who have no technical experience whatsoever.

It was my assumption that they just want warm bodies in the seats to answer the phone and appease the customer. They put their money in effort in retention - if it gets that far.

The pay for the call center representatives is on-par with any other entry level service job (read: low); but it is a simple job in which you're sitting down at a desk.

Most companies do not invest in training and would rather have them type the problem into a computer system. And if you think the guide info is out-of-date, imagine how bad the computer database is.

 

[BarnRat]

A trip down memory lane . . .

When my wife and I had Dish installed in 1999 it was a first-class operation, from the very first phone call all the way thru the install. I was proud to tell workmates that I had Dish Network Satellite TV installed. Very happy and proud. And that lasted at least 10 years. During the earlier years when I would call for technical help, the people would answer the phone quickly, they were easy to understand, knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly. It was almost a pleasure to call Dish when a problem occurred.

Now, today, I know Dish isn't any worse than most other large companies. But it's still a shame. And I know from reading the Direct TV forum here, that company isn't any better. And I also know it isn't just the company's fault -- we the customers demand cheaper and cheaper service. We share a lot of the blame.

Oh well, back to complaining about the EPG . . . I know this really makes the Dish apologists here on the forum very angry with me . . .

You know, I'll admit that my Dish service is pretty damn good and stable. So, it gives me time to complain about the EPG . . . See how that works?

 

[WinterWinds]

A trip down memory lane . . .

When my wife and I had Dish installed in 1999 it was a first-class operation, from the very first phone call all the way thru the install. I was proud to tell workmates that I had Dish Network Satellite TV installed. Very happy and proud. And that lasted at least 10 years. During the earlier years when I would call for technical help, the people would answer the phone quickly, they were easy to understand, knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly. It was almost a pleasure to call Dish when a problem occurred.

Now, today, I know Dish isn't any worse than most other large companies. But it's still a shame. And I know from reading the Direct TV forum here, that company isn't any better. And I also know it isn't just the company's fault -- we the customers demand cheaper and cheaper service. We share a lot of the blame.

Oh well, back to complaining about the EPG . . . I know this really makes the Dish apologists here on the forum very angry with me . . .

You know, I'll admit that my Dish service is pretty damn good and stable. So, it gives me time to complain about the EPG . . . See how that works?

Dish was a godsend in the 1990s for those us living in rural middle-America. The other option up until that point was a large outdoor antenna to pick up a somewhat clear NBC station and an always snowy CBS affiliate. There are no cable systems here; and the next largest town has a system with only 27 channels priced higher than Dish Network.

We actually started with PrimeStar in 1997 and became DirecTV customers when they merged. Now we have Dish

 

[jerryez]

Can you name one big company that does not subcontract the phone service to foreign countries like the Philippines or Mexico to save money? Other than the US government.

 

[ethanlerma]

Can you name one big company that does not subcontract the phone service to foreign countries like the Philippines or Mexico to save money? Other than the US government.

Even though I’m not really a fan of them due to a previous experience, Discover writes this on there website:

Discover has 100% U.S.-based customer service. We provide competitive paying jobs to customer service representatives who have a stake in the success of our business and the care of our customers.

Discover believes in being a good corporate citizen, particularly in communities where our employees live and work. We’re your neighbors. Being here with you makes a difference.

Nothing to do with the topic at hand, but it came to mind when you asked.

 

[WinterWinds]

Even though I’m not really a fan of them due to a previous experience, Discover writes this on there website:




Nothing to do with the topic at hand, but it came to mind when you asked.

I was just about to mention Discover Card. I've always had a pleasant experience with this company's call center employees.

Can you name one big company that does not subcontract the phone service to foreign countries like the Philippines or Mexico to save money? Other than the US government.

It's not just about having representatives in the United States. Training is important.
What good is understanding the person answering the phone if they don't know what they're talking about?

Also, metrics and quotas for call center representatives should be eliminated. Full stop.

Most popular are metrics in which the folks answering the phones must either up-sell a product or finish the call (find a resolution) within a certain amount of time.

If a loyal, paying customer is calling about an issue that they're having - the answer shouldn't be to sell them another product or rushing them off the phone with a half-baked answer to appease them. The phone call should take as long as it needs to in order to fix the customer's issue.

This is where Discover wins with their call centers.
No ridiculous metrics, educated representatives, AND based in the United States.

 

[BarnRat]

I don't mind if US companies hire customer service folks from other nations, as long as I can access them quickly, understand them, they are knowledgeable, polite, and can fix the problem. Two major companies come to mind which I deal with occasionally: Chase Banks and Dell Computers. Both use people from other nations and both customer service departments are top-notch. Amazon is also quite good.

 

[BarnRat]

Here's an all new guide issue. A list of some of the movies playing today on TCM. Note the release dates listed in the guide vs the actual release date.
Just one more Dish Guide headscratcher.

I hate to jinx this but . . . it looks like this problem may have been fixed. OMG and in record time!