Well, I finally got my system installed. Got the waiver for nlos on 119 without any trouble at all. I'm 100% sure that my research helped with that because the installation support services rep said that he normally never gives that waiver, but in my case since I completely understood what no 119 would mean and how to work around the program guide issues that he would grant it for me.
The whole installation almost didn't go down at all though but my persistence and foresight paid off. Here's what I mean. I knew that I was scheduled for a second opinion for nlos. I knew that I would need a SWM3 lnb, or a waiver from ISS. I tried over and over to reach someone at Skylink to discuss these matters before hand and on the second day of trying I was finally able to talk to a Skylink supervisor, if not for this I wouldn't have got my installation.
I take half the day off work, just as I did last week, to be there for the installer who was supposed to show up before 4pm. Last week on the day of my scheduled install I got a call saying the tech was going to be a little late. Later that night around 7pm, the tech himself called and said he was not going to be there until at least 10pm. He was hoping I would cancel or reschedule, but instead I said "fine, I'll be here". Well, 30 minutes later he showed up at my door since basically I called his bluff. Needless to say he didn't install my dish for the nlos issues. He also said there was no way I would be able to get a waiver, even though I already had DTV, and had to sing the no 119 waiver when I first got service over 6 years ago. I didn't know about the various satellite's respective positions and what channels they each carried at that time, so I lacked the education to convince him to do the install.
Yesterday, before time for my "second opinion" to show, I finally reached a supervisor at Skylink who assured me that; #1. they were not allowed to install a SWM3 in my area under any circumstances, and #2. I could get the waiver. He said it might depend on luck of the draw as to who answers the call at ISS, but if I was persistent, asked to talk to the ISS supervisor if necessary, kept calling back ISS if necessary (in hopes of getting a different CSR who will work with me), that it should be granted. He also said he himself had recently secured a waiver for a customer in a similar situation to mine.
I got home at 11:45am yesterday. I received a call just before noon from the tech, saying he was going to be late. I told him about the previous tech being late as well and asked if he could shuffle things about to get me in sooner since I had already been put off before, but he insisted that the other jobs before me were top priority. More on this later. I asked where he was at the moment, and as it would turn out he was just minutes away from my house. I was much, much closer than all the other places he named off that he needed to go to before me. Well apparently he looked at the work order and seen it was just a nlos second opinion. He must have thought he could take care of that in a couple minutes and go on with the rest of his route. What he didn't yet know was that I had talked to his supervisor already and that the plan was to install my dish instead of just "confirming" nlos. Well, the tech was none to please at the revelation of this new information, and flat out said "oh, no, I can't install it". Despite me telling him about talking to his sup., he still insisted that he couldn't do it, because he and other appointments to make. Imaging how I felt at this point. I have a directv rep in my driveway, saying he cannot and will not install my dish because his other appointments were more important than me. He even said "I just shouldn't have came here". Well, what he later revealed to me, in hopes that I would take pity on him and let him go, was that his other appointments were DTV service calls, and that mine was a Skylink appointment. He then said that for every one of the DTV calls he misses that he is fined $50. I guess since my appointment isn't a DTV service call I should only be able to get my appointments handled late at night while the super important people who take priority over me are peacefully sleeping.
The tech sees that I'm not budging on my stance, and finally starts reluctantly throwing around equipment in the back of his van. He says "I'm just going to do it, when it don't work they can deal with it". He was thinking it was going to be a big hassle to get the waiver and everything. He was very upset thinking that I was going to eat too much of his precious time that rightfully belonged to the other, more important customers. In reality though the whole process went very quickly and without a hitch.
I know the tech did and said some very unprofessional things in my case, but I also understand that his job is probably very frustrating. He probably gets more work orders than he can possibly fill every day, meaning one or more of his appointments are always going to get shafted. I'm sure he has to deal with less than reasonable customers on a daily basis. I guess what I mean is that even though he acted out of line, that I can still sort of sympathize with his situation a little bit. I dread when the DTV calls to do the customer satisfaction survey, because I'm torn on how I should answer them. I don't want to be honest and cause trouble for this guy. But on the other hand, it's going to take some strong discipline on my part to make myself lie of his behalf. Please advise me on this moral conundrum. Thanks to everyone who's followed this thread and offered advise so far.
