OMG - I need to vent

edfiero

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Dec 22, 2004
32
9
I just purchased a new Hopper through Amazon. When I called to activate it I was surprised to learn that an installer had to come out to the house to do something to the Dish. I missed this in all the Promo material saying how great the Hopper is.

Ok fine.... schedule an appointment....wait around all afternoon for the guy to show. (Yes, I know about tracking the tech on the website, which is nice, but still it ruins your whole afternoon). When the guy comes inside and says, "I can't install this for you. I can't go on the roof. I'd get fired if I went on your roof." Are you freaking kidding me????

You are installing a DISH. Of course you have to go on the roof. I've been a customer for over 15 years, you have been to my house before and know where my Dish is.

Guy says only sub contractors can go on the roof. Ok, Fine, guy takes pictures of the Dish and forwards them to his manager so the sub contractor knows what to do. New Appointment scheduled.

Again, wait around all day. Guys shows up. He doesn't even know what he's suppose to do. Tells my wife it just says "Custom Work Order" and he has no instructions. Tell him what is needed, and get the same run around again. I can't go on the roof. WHO IS RUNNING DISH these days???

Now, I need to schedule a third appointment, and HOPE they send the right guy who can go on the roof. All the while DISH has already started charging me for the Hopper which hasn't been installed yet.

Ok, I'm done. Thanks for listening.
 
Both DISH and DIRECTV stopped going on roofs years ago. To dangerous and too many insurance claims. Its rare you will find one that works for them that will go up there.
 
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Why do they need to come out is it just to change out to the hybrid lnb? Thinking of buying one off amazon and installing myself since dish wants so much for upgrade
 
Yes they need to install the Hybrid LNB. When installing it, it is normal for them to have to readjust the dish for optimum signal.
 
Both DISH and DIRECTV stopped going on roofs years ago. To dangerous and too many insurance claims. Its rare you will find one that works for them that will go up there.

Still a piss poor customer service experience. If the existing dish is unreachable by human hands, they should treat it like a brand new install and put a new dish in an acceptable location (or, at least offered to do that)
 
So how do company installers put up a dish? Tall ladder and gable mount? Pole mounts only?
 
I'm not upset that the company guy can't go on the roof, but upset that the person scheduling the install wouldn't have a note on the account indicating that a subcontractor was required. Or in the absence of a note, then ask the question "Where is the dish installed". To send TWO people out without catching on to the problem is inexcusable.
 
Still a piss poor customer service experience. If the existing dish is unreachable by human hands, they should treat it like a brand new install and put a new dish in an acceptable location (or, at least offered to do that)

Did you suggest that to either of them when they were there, that you were willing to have a new dish installed where they could do so?
 
Both DISH and DIRECTV stopped going on roofs years ago. To dangerous and too many insurance claims. Its rare you will find one that works for them that will go up there.
Hmm, my dish is on a second story roof, based on an installer's LOS recommendation years ago. Not mine. On a service call last year to swap out a bad LNB and re-peak the dish, the tech mentioned that he was not supposed to go up there, but he did.

I was thinking about upgrading to the H3. Are you saying that there's a chance that the Dish tech won't go up there?
 
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Now, I need to schedule a third appointment, and HOPE they send the right guy who can go on the roof. All the while DISH has already started charging me for the Hopper which hasn't been installed yet.

Assuming you haven't scheduled the third appointment yet, you might try contacting a DIRT member to explain what all has happened and see if they can setup the third appointment. They might be able to get this straightened out for you where the CSRs you've been speaking with couldn't.
 
Also, something isn't right about a subcontractor being able to go on the roof but Dish employees can't.

And the suggestion to call a local installer is BS as well. It's Dish Network's responsibility to make this right and send someone with a solution that fixes the problem. It's not the customer's job to find someone to work around Dish's incompetence. And I'm not saying that they should send someone unsafely onto customers' roofs. Installing a new Dish in a new location would fix this issue. And, we've already greatly exceeded the cost of doing so on the first try by sending out two or three other people and also the PR hit they're taking via this thread.
 
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Also, something isn't right about a subcontractor being able to go on the roof but Dish employees can't.

And the suggestion to call a local installer is BS as well. It's Dish Network's responsibility to make this right and send someone with a solution that fixes the problem. It's not the customer's job to find someone to work around Dish's incompetence. And I'm not saying that they should send someone unsafely onto customers' roofs. Installing a new Dish in a new location would fix this issue. And, we've already greatly exceeded the cost of doing so on the first try by sending out two or three other people and also the PR hit they're taking via this thread.

The suggestion to call a local retailer is Never BS! It's always the best way to go so you don't get jerked around like this poor customer. When you call a local retailer you're usually dealing with a competent crew that speaks your language and just wants to do a good job and make you happy.

Installing a 'new dish at a new location' sounds like a mess in the making. Maybe the customer doesn't want dishes all over their house and roof. I bet there would be happy customers all over the place if DISH techs start saying 'let's just slap another dish up over here cause I can't reach that one'. And if a new dish is installed at a new spot then you'll also need new wire/wires to that dish, etc., etc.

The answer is to just call your local retailer in the first place and get the job done right the first time. Then you can call them back for upgrades and maintenance on the dish that they installed.
 
Both DISH and DIRECTV stopped going on roofs years ago. To dangerous and too many insurance claims. Its rare you will find one that works for them that will go up there.
How many years ago did they stop going on roofs? Every install/upgrade was on the roof and just within about a year ago, they changed out my LNBF's on the roof, and in the last several years they were all Dish company installers. No one ever said a word about not going on the roof. Is this for certain parts of the county? I should state that my mounts are on the EVE and not a place were it can leak to the inside of the house. I requested that of the installers many years ago and installers complied. Does mounting on the overhang of the roof (eves) make a difference if a Dish corp tech will install there but no other part of the roof?
 
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The suggestion to call a local retailer is Never BS! It's always the best way to go so you don't get jerked around like this poor customer. When you call a local retailer you're usually dealing with a competent crew that speaks your language and just wants to do a good job and make you happy.

Installing a 'new dish at a new location' sounds like a mess in the making. Maybe the customer doesn't want dishes all over their house and roof. I bet there would be happy customers all over the place if DISH techs start saying 'let's just slap another dish up over here cause I can't reach that one'. And if a new dish is installed at a new spot then you'll also need new wire/wires to that dish, etc., etc.

The answer is to just call your local retailer in the first place and get the job done right the first time. Then you can call them back for upgrades and maintenance on the dish that they installed.
Maybe local retailers in your parts may be the better way to go, but NOT around HERE. I've only found ONE good retailer, but he was old and finally, retired, and the new guys is a creep. All the retailers I've ever encountered here are LIARS, CHEATS, Con-artists, and INCOMPETENT, who've had to have Dish corp installers clean-up and even fix contractors lousy work. Around here, Dish corp installers are the WAY to go and are even MUCH NICER and don't complain or whine if a customer would like something not to show, etc. than contractors here who do sloppy installs that look UNprofessional.

So, let's say that sometimes one might be able to get things done easier or better with a contractor, but certainly NOT a rule. And around here it is an EXCEPTION. So, to each his own based upon their experience and word or mouth.
 
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The suggestion to call a local retailer is Never BS! It's always the best way to go so you don't get jerked around like this poor customer. When you call a local retailer you're usually dealing with a competent crew that speaks your language and just wants to do a good job and make you happy.

Installing a 'new dish at a new location' sounds like a mess in the making. Maybe the customer doesn't want dishes all over their house and roof. I bet there would be happy customers all over the place if DISH techs start saying 'let's just slap another dish up over here cause I can't reach that one'. And if a new dish is installed at a new spot then you'll also need new wire/wires to that dish, etc., etc.

The answer is to just call your local retailer in the first place and get the job done right the first time. Then you can call them back for upgrades and maintenance on the dish that they installed.

Customers shouldn't have to know to call a local retailer, to them Dish is no different than calling the local phone company, cable company, or electrical utility. It's up to Dish to provide a good customer experience. It is not up to the customer to seek it out.
 
Both DISH and DIRECTV stopped going on roofs years ago. To dangerous and too many insurance claims. Its rare you will find one that works for them that will go up there.

If this is true, possible mega lawsuit potential because when you leave Dish they instruct customer to go on roof and retrieve LNB every time.
 
Maybe local retailers in your parts may be the better way to go, but NOT around HERE. I've only found ONE good retailer, but he was old and finally, retired, and the new guys is a creep. All the retailers I've ever encountered here are LIARS, CHEATS, Con-artists, and INCOMPETENT, who've had to have Dish corp installers clean-up and even fix contractors lousy work. Around here, Dish corp installers are the WAY to go and are even MUCH NICER and don't complain or whine if a customer would like something not to show, etc. than contractors here who do sloppy installs that look UNprofessional.

So, let's say that sometimes one might be able to get things done easier or better with a contractor, but certainly NOT a rule. And around here it is an EXCEPTION. So, to each his own based upon their experience and word or mouth.

Your limited experience is not the norm, in fact around here exactly the opposite is true. We get calls all the time to clean up the mess that the DISH Regional Service Provider tech left. Like I said, call your local retailer, if you have a good one.
 
How many years ago did they stop going on roofs? Every install/upgrade was on the roof and just within about a year ago, they changed out my LNBF's on the roof, and in the last several years they were all Dish company installers. No one ever said a word about not going on the roof. Is this for certain parts of the county? I should state that my mounts are on the EVE and not a place were it can leak to the inside of the house. I requested that of the installers many years ago and installers complied. Does mounting on the overhang of the roof (eves) make a difference if a Dish corp tech will install there but no other part of the roof?

The company techs aren't supposed to get off their ladders. If the dish can be reached from the ladder then obviously there shouldn't be a problem.

And FYI, mounting over the eave is SOP and doesn't have to be 'requested' by the home owner.
 
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