Question about service technician fees

[dishcomm]

Well

I have had a tech out twice due to a few times I've noticed HD and SD and even local channels lose signal but not completely, more like pixelation and drop outs but never to the point where its searching for signal. It can be on a clear day.They charged me the first time, the tech came in, asked what was wrong. I told him that not a lot really just occasional slight signal loss random channels whether it be hd or sd but I can go days and not do it. Then I can record something on dvr and see it and I showed him the recording loss there. All he did he pulled the tv out , checked cables in the back, got remote, check switch, etc then gave me his card and told me if it did it anymore to call him????

So a couple of weeks later, I'm noticing it again, Dish sends someone out, only this time, its free! The guy changed something on the Dish, came in looked at signal and said on a certain transponder its still really low, he seemed stumped but whatever he did, didn't work. I have 2 622's and they both do it. This is since I have upgraded to HD in january. Three years prior No problems with Dish whatsoever except for a couple of bad receivers they replaced for me, I had to just pay for shipping. So I call tech support one more time, the guy is like "look, it could be a lot of different things, I can send a tech out but he may or may not be able to figure out what the problem is. He said it could be something as simple as a dirty dish. I mean, there is no debris on my dish, I wiped it off anyway, but to be clear this doesn't happen often at all. It is especially noticeable on the HD channels. He told me they were known for that because of the bandwidth they use. Oh well, I said I guess don't send a tech out and I will just deal with it. He said OK. Wow. I'm seriously considering leaving Dish even though I have Windstream internet and Dish bundled. I don't know what else to do. This is not my field of expertise.

That's an ongoing problem for a system that judging by your complaint, has never worked correctly..We fix these free of charge.
Keep in mind. Each time a ssytem is serviced by a an official Dish Network employee or one of Dish's contractors( such as myself) that work is warranted for the next 90 days. Each visit starts a new 90 day period....There are few exceptioins. These inlcude but not limited to, customer caused damage and acts of God. Others may be, if you have a new roof installed and the roofer cannot replace the dish in a working condition. If a tree falls on the dish and damages it. If there is a fire in the home and the Dish equipment is damaged. Wiring chewed by animals inside or outside the home Etc....

 

[haertig]

... that work is warranted for the next 90 days. Each visit starts a new 90 day period....There are few exceptioins.

I haven't seen any techs reply to my earlier question: "What is routine maintenance on a Dish system?" You (techs in general) keep mentioning that customers should pay for "routine maintenance". But nobody has said what is considered "routine".

Is realigning a dish every 90 days considered routine? Why do they get mis-aligned in the first place (other than customers knocking them around)? Are LNB's going bad after 90 days considered routine? Are corroded cable connections every 90 days considered routine? Just how many potential points-of-maintenance are there on a Dish system?

Other than obvious customer-created problems, all's I can imagine for potential problems are (1) "Well, this shouldn't have happened if it had been installed correctly." and (2) "You must have gotten a bad one." And for those problems, I don't the customer should have to pay anything.

I've never said techs shouldn't be paid for their work. But techs, please tell us customers what we should expect as part of the "routine" for maintenance on a Dish system!!!

 

[mark40511]

So the last time the tech was at my house, that was warrantied and if I get another service call I don't pay anything? And if they do come out, what else can they do the 2 techs prior apparently didn't do. You say this is a problem for a system that has never worked correctly. Well, it worked correctly for three yrs until I got HD and 2 622's. And I am the first to agree a tech should be paid to come out, but if the customer has the DHPP, they shouldn't have to pay crap!

 

[dishcomm]

I haven't seen any techs reply to my earlier question: "What is routine maintenance on a Dish system?" You (techs in general) keep mentioning that customers should pay for "routine maintenance". But nobody has said what is considered "routine".

Is realigning a dish every 90 days considered routine? Why do they get mis-aligned in the first place (other than customers knocking them around)? Are LNB's going bad after 90 days considered routine? Are corroded cable connections every 90 days considered routine? Just how many potential points-of-maintenance are there on a Dish system?

Other than obvious customer-created problems, all's I can imagine for potential problems are (1) "Well, this shouldn't have happened if it had been installed correctly." and (2) "You must have gotten a bad one." And for those problems, I don't the customer should have to pay anything.

I've never said techs shouldn't be paid for their work. But techs, please tell us customers what we should expect as part of the "routine" for maintenance on a Dish system!!!

ok......here's the straight dope on this....
I did not mean for antyone to think that a satellite system needs maintenence similar to say that of an automobile.
Quite frankly I wish all installs were the only time I ever visiited that house. It bothers me to have to go back on a job I did veen though 99% of the time it's faulty equipment. I have never had to go back to a job for poor workmanship. Iam old school. I take pride in my work.
First question...No..What this means is whenever a service visit is necessary, the work done is warranted fro the next 90 days. So if any follow up visit is required, the trip and service are free of charge.
This is electronic equipment. It breaks once in a while..That's life.
The basis for this thread is out of warranty repairs.
Wwe as tech object to the notion that repair servcie should be free of charge and by extension cause us to work for no pay because soem customers believe their programming fee covers them. Not true. If Dish customers want to have their systems covered they need to subscribe to the Protection Plan. With that plan customer can save themsleves the $99 fee for the service visit.
Now if a custoemr calls an independent retailer for service work the retailer is going to expect to be compensated for that work. That's non negotiable. Those retailers are in business ta make money. Surely you would no texpect a business to render servcie free of charge for any other product in your home? Why is tv so bloody different.
Another thing. Satellite customers should consider themsleves fortunate that the real costs have not been passed along.
For example. Since 2004 my fuel costs have doubled. (yes so have everyone elses ) our materials have increased in cost as well. A 500 foot roll of 10ga copper ground wire was about $40 three years ago..Now it's about $100....Cable had increased by 50% and because of the price of oil it's still rising.
All the while Dish has not raised the rates which they pay for the work. Now you could say, "go find another line of work" In fact I am doing just that.
When all the god techs are out of the business or they have gone independent and will charge what the traffic will bear, what will all of you do then?...Try finding someone with any skill to do your service then
Botom line..If you want cheap or free, you'll get what you pay for....Caveat Emptor. Case closed. Pay up....we have to eat too.

 

[dishcomm]

So the last time the tech was at my house, that was warrantied and if I get another service call I don't pay anything? And if they do come out, what else can they do the 2 techs prior apparently didn't do. You say this is a problem for a system that has never worked correctly. Well, it worked correctly for three yrs until I got HD and 2 622's. And I am the first to agree a tech should be paid to come out, but if the customer has the DHPP, they shouldn't have to pay crap!

Yes. If you have DHPP as you say "I don't have to pay crap"....That's the issue. If you're under warranty ,you don't pay.
But to explain..Your system upgrade is another work order. That work is warranted for the next 90 days. And so is each subsequent service.
Now suppose there is service performed on day 89. it doesn't matter.The 90 day rule still applies. BTW that applies to non warranty work as well.
All techs are not created equal..I have been doing this ten years. And I have never NOT been able to fix a problem. Some techs are unwilling ot investigate the entire system. Others are incapable of thinking on their feet to solve problems.
While this is true , most of us are skilled at our trade. We get it done.

 

[webbydude]

ok......here's the straight dope on this....
I did not mean for antyone to think that a satellite system needs maintenence similar to say that of an automobile.
Quite frankly I wish all installs were the only time I ever visiited that house. It bothers me to have to go back on a job I did veen though 99% of the time it's faulty equipment. I have never had to go back to a job for poor workmanship. Iam old school. I take pride in my work.
First question...No..What this means is whenever a service visit is necessary, the work done is warranted fro the next 90 days. So if any follow up visit is required, the trip and service are free of charge.
This is electronic equipment. It breaks once in a while..That's life.
The basis for this thread is out of warranty repairs.
Wwe as tech object to the notion that repair servcie should be free of charge and by extension cause us to work for no pay because soem customers believe their programming fee covers them. Not true. If Dish customers want to have their systems covered they need to subscribe to the Protection Plan. With that plan customer can save themsleves the $99 fee for the service visit.
Now if a custoemr calls an independent retailer for service work the retailer is going to expect to be compensated for that work. That's non negotiable. Those retailers are in business ta make money. Surely you would no texpect a business to render servcie free of charge for any other product in your home? Why is tv so bloody different.
Another thing. Satellite customers should consider themsleves fortunate that the real costs have not been passed along.
For example. Since 2004 my fuel costs have doubled. (yes so have everyone elses ) our materials have increased in cost as well. A 500 foot roll of 10ga copper ground wire was about $40 three years ago..Now it's about $100....Cable had increased by 50% and because of the price of oil it's still rising.
All the while Dish has not raised the rates which they pay for the work. Now you could say, "go find another line of work" In fact I am doing just that.
When all the god techs are out of the business or they have gone independent and will charge what the traffic will bear, what will all of you do then?...Try finding someone with any skill to do your service then
Botom line..If you want cheap or free, you'll get what you pay for....Caveat Emptor. Case closed. Pay up....we have to eat too.

And to think I was trying to reason with a few of the posters by OVER-explaining the lease vs. rent issues. Very very dumb move on my part.

Great job explaining things!!

 

[haertig]

ok......here's the straight dope on this....
I did not mean for antyone to think that a satellite system needs maintenence similar to say that of an automobile.
Quite frankly I wish all installs were the only time I ever visiited that house. It bothers me to have to go back on a job I did veen though 99% of the time it's faulty equipment. I have never had to go back to a job for poor workmanship. Iam old school. I take pride in my work.
First question...No..What this means is whenever a service visit is necessary, the work done is warranted fro the next 90 days. So if any follow up visit is required, the trip and service are free of charge.
This is electronic equipment. It breaks once in a while..That's life.
The basis for this thread is out of warranty repairs.
Wwe as tech object to the notion that repair servcie should be free of charge and by extension cause us to work for no pay because soem customers believe their programming fee covers them. Not true. If Dish customers want to have their systems covered they need to subscribe to the Protection Plan. With that plan customer can save themsleves the $99 fee for the service visit.
Now if a custoemr calls an independent retailer for service work the retailer is going to expect to be compensated for that work. That's non negotiable. Those retailers are in business ta make money. Surely you would no texpect a business to render servcie free of charge for any other product in your home? Why is tv so bloody different.
Another thing. Satellite customers should consider themsleves fortunate that the real costs have not been passed along.
For example. Since 2004 my fuel costs have doubled. (yes so have everyone elses ) our materials have increased in cost as well. A 500 foot roll of 10ga copper ground wire was about $40 three years ago..Now it's about $100....Cable had increased by 50% and because of the price of oil it's still rising.
All the while Dish has not raised the rates which they pay for the work. Now you could say, "go find another line of work" In fact I am doing just that.
When all the god techs are out of the business or they have gone independent and will charge what the traffic will bear, what will all of you do then?...Try finding someone with any skill to do your service then
Botom line..If you want cheap or free, you'll get what you pay for....Caveat Emptor. Case closed. Pay up....we have to eat too.

It sounds to me like you made the same points as I did. There is no routine maintenance required. When maintenance is required, per your description, it is (1) poor previous workmanship, or (1) electronic failure.

Poor previous workmanship should not be to responsibility of the customer. Installation was already paid for once - either outright by the customer, or by Dish giving a "free install" (which we all know is not free, it is covered by customer fees in other areas).

That leaves us with electronic failure. The only electronic things I see in my installation is my DVR and the LNB. Everything else is basically a glorified wire or chunk of metal. Both the DVR and the LNB are owned by Dish, not me (even though I paid hundreds up front for the privilege of leasing the DVR). Do not say that all the money I pay to Dish is only for programming. That's B.S. I pay a "DVR fee". I pay a "second receiver fee". These are in not the same as maintenance fees. They are in addition to maintenance fees, and in addition to programming fees.

The real point you are arguing is your need to make a living. I agree, you need to do that. But I believe as an employee or contractor for Dish that you should expect your livelihood to come from Dish, not from Dish's customers. If Dish does not pay you enough to cover all your copper wire and cables and such, take it up with Dish, don't expect the customer to chip in to cover the shortfall. If Dish leases and installs fault prone equipment, and charges the customer up front and monthly for that equipment, when it breaks - Dish should pay techs to repair it. It's Dish's equipment, not the customers. "Out of warrantee" means nothing to the Dish customer, because we don't own the equipment!

After saying all this, I have to agree that the time to make these points is when you're talking to Dish about a needed repair. Once the tech is out there you can't just dump it on them. If I were a tech and the customer demanded that I do something that I wasn't going to be paid for, I'd tell them to call Dish and work out the payment details. I would then contact Dish myself and say I was not willing to do the work requested for the amount Dish was planning on paying me. Then I'd leave.

 

[mark40511]

As much as I love the quality as far as picture and more channels on satellite compared to cable. I don't remember ever having any kind of drama like this with cable. I was listening to the Clark Howard show the other day (its a radio show about saving money if u will) and a lady called in about this very thing we are talking about. She had a problem with her Dish not being able to pick up certain HD channels or something and called tech support, they sent someone out, they guy fixed it, she said thanks, he left, three weeks go by, she gets a bill for 80 dollars for this and she was livid. I bet this kind of thing goes on all the time. People just don't read the contracts. You're right, its their choice, but I think tech support should at least warn you there is a charge for this so the customer can decide from there. They didn't tell me when they sent a tech out that there was a charge, I had no idea. MY DSL speed was having trouble, I called, put in a ticket, they sent someone out, they fixed it. I didn't get charged, I've never had a problem with dish ever so I wasn't expecting it, though I do completely understand what your saying and yes it does make sense.


I worked for Verizon wireless 411 for 5 years. Customer would call, if the number wasn't listed even though the business may be there or the person had their number unlisted, the customer would often say "well I don't get charged do I since you're not giving me a number?" I would say, "unfortunately, you're charged for the search; its up to the customer whether they list their number."
well, that always went over really well, but at the same time, the operator is being paid by the company to take the calls and spend 20 seconds on the phone with the customer. I usually would just say, "I will make give you credit this once, but understand that you are charged for the search" , just to get them off the line I got so sick of arguing. But I would be upset too paying 1.49 for nothing.

 

[JNEUBY]

If the customer is too damn lazy to look up a phone number themselves, then yes their lazy ass should have to pay the convenience fee for you to do it. It's a shame you can't tell them how you really feel!
Customers come in my shop and want an estimate to fix their brakes. 30 minutes later after raising the car in the air, lowering the car and finding the well hidden wheel lock, then raising the car again, removing all 4 wheels, beating off the rusted brake drums, cleaning the brakes while the drums are off, lubricating the drum lips so the next guy doesn't have to deal with rusted, frozen drums, measuring the brake rotor thickness, inspecting the brake components, measuring the brake pad and shoe thickness, bolting the wheels back on, putting all the junk removed from the car to find the wheel lock buried under the seat next to the dead 1/2 eaten hamburger and the customer has the gall to ask why we are charging for a brake inspection when Midas gives free estimates?
Basically that is what you are asking for. If you have no service contract, you will unfortunately be charged for a service call. If you call for service on your dishwasher, refrigerator, washer, dryer, heater, air conditioner, well pump, toilet, gutters, anything that requires someone to visit your home and you have no service contract, someone has to pay for that expense. I understand your argument, but if it is not listed as part of the agreement, then you pay for service or fix it yourself.

 

[haertig]

If you call for service on your dishwasher, refrigerator, washer, dryer, heater, air conditioner, well pump, toilet, gutters, anything that requires someone to visit your home and you have no service contract, someone has to pay for that expense.

The difference is I own my dishwasher, refrigerator, etc. So I maintain these things I own or pay someone to do it for me.

I do NOT own the Dish equipment. I pay up front for the privilege of then being able to pay an additional monthly DVR fee, and additional monthly programming fees, and have to continue doing so for at least a two year commitment, etc. If the equipment breaks, why should I have to pay to get it fixed? It's not mine, and I'm already paying a bundle of money to lease it (do NOT say all those fees are only for programming - if you want to do that, please clarify how the DVR fees and second receiver fees fit into the "programming only" concept).

If I lease a house, and the water heater goes out, who do you think covers the cost of repairs? The owner or the renter?

p.s. - It sounds like you do a very complete brake inspection. You might explain to the customer that an hour of your time is an hour of your time, irregardless of whether you are inspecting or repairing. Then explain that if repair work is done after the inspection, the inspection costs will be credited towards the cost of repair (assuming you do things that way - it's pretty typical across the industry).

 

[dishcomm]

And to think I was trying to reason with a few of the posters by OVER-explaining the lease vs. rent issues. Very very dumb move on my part.

Great job explaining things!!

Thanks! 'Scuse the typos..I get a little impatient and forget to go back and proof read.. I know it's annoying for the readers...I apologize for my sloppiness.

 

[dishcomm]

It sounds to me like you made the same points as I did. There is no routine maintenance required. When maintenance is required, per your description, it is (1) poor previous workmanship, or (1) electronic failure.

Poor previous workmanship should not be to responsibility of the customer. Installation was already paid for once - either outright by the customer, or by Dish giving a "free install" (which we all know is not free, it is covered by customer fees in other areas).

That leaves us with electronic failure. The only electronic things I see in my installation is my DVR and the LNB. Everything else is basically a glorified wire or chunk of metal. Both the DVR and the LNB are owned by Dish, not me (even though I paid hundreds up front for the privilege of leasing the DVR). Do not say that all the money I pay to Dish is only for programming. That's B.S. I pay a "DVR fee". I pay a "second receiver fee". These are in not the same as maintenance fees. They are in addition to maintenance fees, and in addition to programming fees.

The real point you are arguing is your need to make a living. I agree, you need to do that. But I believe as an employee or contractor for Dish that you should expect your livelihood to come from Dish, not from Dish's customers. If Dish does not pay you enough to cover all your copper wire and cables and such, take it up with Dish, don't expect the customer to chip in to cover the shortfall. If Dish leases and installs fault prone equipment, and charges the customer up front and monthly for that equipment, when it breaks - Dish should pay techs to repair it. It's Dish's equipment, not the customers. "Out of warrantee" means nothing to the Dish customer, because we don't own the equipment!

After saying all this, I have to agree that the time to make these points is when you're talking to Dish about a needed repair. Once the tech is out there you can't just dump it on them. If I were a tech and the customer demanded that I do something that I wasn't going to be paid for, I'd tell them to call Dish and work out the payment details. I would then contact Dish myself and say I was not willing to do the work requested for the amount Dish was planning on paying me. Then I'd leave.

Yes there are small (can you say nickel and dimed to death) fees. No dish subscriber who elects to decline the protection plan pays a "maintenence fee" of any kind. But the bulk of your bill is for programming. And the bottom line is to avoid all charges, pay for the protection plan. If not you use the equipment how you see fit. But if your sysytem requires a non warranty service visit, you'll pay for it. It's that simple.
BTW. What "hundreds" did you pay for the equipmwent you have..If you leased a 622 at the very beginning of their release you probably paid $299. But if you came into the HD market 6 months later you'd have paid less. Much less. BTW I thought the upgrade price was too high. But that had a purpose. The first guy on the block with the new toy always pays the most.
Now back to service......Let's say 16 months after you last service you a non warranty customer requires a service visit
The tech discovers a failed cable/ground block/ diplexer. Do you expect those parts to be replaced free of charge? If the reciver, not under waranty fails, do you expect Dish to replace without having to compensate the tech for HIS time?...Before you answer, remeber you chose not to place your system under warranty.
Yes I should expect dish to compensate me. But they have done things this way to keep per subscriber programming costs down for the entire customer base. IMO this is the best system there is. Why? Let's say we have it your way. Dish pays for every service call. The customer pays nothing. Guess what? You'll be paying a lot more for programming because Dish will simply pas those costs along to the end user. So either way the customer will pay.
Dish has done yeoman's work to keep programming rates down.
The currect system for non warranty customers is that only THAT customer pays for service. It's a user fee. Progressive.
Yes and you would not own a leased vehicle either. But the lessee is still repsonsible for care and maintenence and does in fact incur out of pocket costs for said needs.
Another thing I want to clear up...When a customer wishes to have receivers moved from one room to another or have addtional cable installed, they must pay the technician out of pocket. Either that or Dish bills them/takes credit card payment over the phone.
I have found that customers balk at paying . Also if the cable is damged by an animal chew. Customers soemtimes balk at paying for this service/repair.
That's outrageous.
There are several other scenarios where cutsomers must pay out of pocket for service.
But the protection plan. Very simple.

 

[dishcomm]

As much as I love the quality as far as picture and more channels on satellite compared to cable. I don't remember ever having any kind of drama like this with cable. I was listening to the Clark Howard show the other day (its a radio show about saving money if u will) and a lady called in about this very thing we are talking about. She had a problem with her Dish not being able to pick up certain HD channels or something and called tech support, they sent someone out, they guy fixed it, she said thanks, he left, three weeks go by, she gets a bill for 80 dollars for this and she was livid. I bet this kind of thing goes on all the time. People just don't read the contracts. You're right, its their choice, but I think tech support should at least warn you there is a charge for this so the customer can decide from there. They didn't tell me when they sent a tech out that there was a charge, I had no idea. MY DSL speed was having trouble, I called, put in a ticket, they sent someone out, they fixed it. I didn't get charged, I've never had a problem with dish ever so I wasn't expecting it, though I do completely understand what your saying and yes it does make sense.


I worked for Verizon wireless 411 for 5 years. Customer would call, if the number wasn't listed even though the business may be there or the person had their number unlisted, the customer would often say "well I don't get charged do I since you're not giving me a number?" I would say, "unfortunately, you're charged for the search; its up to the customer whether they list their number."
well, that always went over really well, but at the same time, the operator is being paid by the company to take the calls and spend 20 seconds on the phone with the customer. I usually would just say, "I will make give you credit this once, but understand that you are charged for the search" , just to get them off the line I got so sick of arguing. But I would be upset too paying 1.49 for nothing.

I wonder what the "real" story is...Along with the work orders I also see the notes. Each instance where a charge is neccessary, the customer is informed. So the chances of a "surprise" charge are nil. Not only is this a violation of Dish olicy, it's also a violation of federal trade commission laws. That would be known as a hidden charge. The CSR MUST disclose ANY charges.
Plus, there is no such thing as an $80 service fee for any activity for Dish...
The service fee schedule is Free; $29 for Protection Plan customers; $99 for non warranty customers.
Trust me when I tell you, your DSL service call was not "free" .. The fees for service are built into the monethly fees paid by each customer.

 

[dishcomm]

The difference is I own my dishwasher, refrigerator, etc. So I maintain these things I own or pay someone to do it for me.

I do NOT own the Dish equipment. I pay up front for the privilege of then being able to pay an additional monthly DVR fee, and additional monthly programming fees, and have to continue doing so for at least a two year commitment, etc. If the equipment breaks, why should I have to pay to get it fixed? It's not mine, and I'm already paying a bundle of money to lease it (do NOT say all those fees are only for programming - if you want to do that, please clarify how the DVR fees and second receiver fees fit into the "programming only" concept).

If I lease a house, and the water heater goes out, who do you think covers the cost of repairs? The owner or the renter?

p.s. - It sounds like you do a very complete brake inspection. You might explain to the customer that an hour of your time is an hour of your time, irregardless of whether you are inspecting or repairing. Then explain that if repair work is done after the inspection, the inspection costs will be credited towards the cost of repair (assuming you do things that way - it's pretty typical across the industry).

The contract to rent a home is called a lease but is not a lease. A tenant is paying for the privedge to occupy and enjoy the use of the property as indicated in the terms of the lease. The renter also pays a deposit equal to one month's rent. A deposit that can be withheld by the property owner if the tenant violated the conditions of the rental agreement.
Your agreement with dish network is entirely different. You pay for the use of the equipment and are required to propperly care for the equipment. You are required to pay for maintenence of that equipment under certain conditions. Those conditions are spelled out in the lease agreement.
So no matter how you try to spin this, the fact of the matter is YOU signed an agreement. Just remember this important issue. Most subscribers receive equipment and installation at no charge. You happened to upgrade at the time a receiver was first placed on the market. That was YOUR choice.
The point being, a customer with a 722/622 dvr, dish, switch, and installation is enjoying well over $1,000 of items they did not pay for. Excepting yours and others who got into HD early. But even with the upgrade charge, you did not pay the full retail price of the unit.
Based on this, customers should not complain because they have to pay for some services. Dish could easily be an all cash and carry business as it was in the beginning. Back then the customer bought the equipement and if they elected professional installation, paid up frot for that to the tune of over $200.
So now the equip[ment and initial install is virtually free. And service under most circumstances is free. So I don't see where there is room to complain.

 

[haertig]

BTW. What "hundreds" did you pay for the equipmwent you have ...

I think I paid $199 up front to swap my 522 for a 722. I can't remember the exact charge, but $199 is what I seem to remember.

Nobody has said it's reasonable for a customer to expect free receiver moves, additional cable, or free repair of animal chews. That's silly, and not what we're talking about here.

About the maintenance plan - assuming, for the sake of discussion, that I agree that Dish should be able to charge the customer $99 for a truck roll to fix Dish's equipment, I still think it would be silly for me to pay $5.99 per month maintenance fee. Even when you pay that fee, you have to pay $29 for a truck roll, correct? So doing the math...

$5.99 x 12 months = $72 + $29 discounted truck roll =~ $99. So unless you need truck rolls more than once a year, it's a losing proposition to pay a $5.99/month maintenance fee. You could just pay $99 for the truck roll should you need it. I doubt many customers need yearly truck rolls, so you're getting gouged by paying that monthly maintenance fee. If Dish says, "You have to pay for Dish-owned equipment that needs to be replaced IN ADDITION to the truck roll fee", I assume even a moronic Neanderthal would say "Bye, Bye Dish!" to that one.

Since I have two receivers, I can trivially troubleshoot whether I have a receiver or wiring problem. Wiring I can fix myself (not that it routinely goes bad), and for the receiver I just have Dish ship a new one out. "Installing" a receiver is about as complex as installing a toaster, so no tech visit needed for that.

That leaves only the LNB or dish alignment as the source of my problems (others may have more complex setup, but I don't). I have no way of directly testing the LNB other than that "Test Switch" function (I don't know exactly WHAT that tests), so I'd rule out dish alignment first and leave LNB as the "everything else was ruled out, so the LNB must be it" item. Basic dish alignment is somewhat easy to troubleshoot, if the customer was smart enough to scratch markings in the mount indicating the correct setting for each adjustment in advance of problems (I'm talking "basic" alignment here, not fine tuning). If the customer rules out everything but the LNB, will Dish ship you a new one to self-install? Swapping an LNB looks to be somewhat more difficult than a toaster install, more akin to changing the oil and filter in your car. But certainly not beyond the reach of many customers.

If Dish is willing to let customers troubleshoot for themselves and ship replacement parts (free of charge - for Dish owned equipment), then I don't have much problem with Dish charging a fee for a tech to come out and do the work if that's what a customer wants.

p.s. - this thread got me thinking ... long ago I marked the setting on my dish alignment points, but I haven't checked the bolt tightness for a while. I need to do that now. And possibly put LockTite Thread Locker on the bolts as well, or maybe put a second nut and lockwasher over the first to ensure they continue to stay tight.

 

[haertig]

So no matter how you try to spin this, the fact of the matter is YOU signed an agreement. Just remember this important issue.

I never meant to argue that. I know what I signed. My point is that Dish is not exactly "customer friendly" with all the fees they charge. IMHO, they are overcharging. That does not mean that I won't sign an agreement that is somewhat distasteful up front. I already did that, on purpose, because I checked and it's not terribly binding - there is an easy out for me, albeit with an early termination fee. However, I am free to reevaluate whether I want to remain in that agreement as I see how things play out in practice. If my system never needs repair, it's pretty much a moot point.

What it boils down to is, if I have a problem and Dish says "You have to pay us $100 to fix our broken equipment" then I can say "Fine, please disconnect my service." Dish has the right to charge $100 - that's in the agreement. But I have the right to say "I quit". Which is exactly what I'd probably do, if the $100 extra charges started coming too frequently for my liking. The thing is, if Dish loses customers because the customers think Dish is overcharging, then you techs lose customers too. You can sit there and insult customers "because they always want something for free", but that will more likely hurt you in the end due to lost customers, not help you.

 

[mark40511]

I agree. But I whole heartedly disagree about the $29 fee if you pay for the DHPP. That to me is ridiculous.

 

[dishcomm]

I think I paid $199 up front to swap my 522 for a 722. I can't remember the exact charge, but $199 is what I seem to remember.

Nobody has said it's reasonable for a customer to expect free receiver moves, additional cable, or free repair of animal chews. That's silly, and not what we're talking about here.

About the maintenance plan - assuming, for the sake of discussion, that I agree that Dish should be able to charge the customer $99 for a truck roll to fix Dish's equipment, I still think it would be silly for me to pay $5.99 per month maintenance fee. Even when you pay that fee, you have to pay $29 for a truck roll, correct? So doing the math...

$5.99 x 12 months = $72 + $29 discounted truck roll =~ $99. So unless you need truck rolls more than once a year, it's a losing proposition to pay a $5.99/month maintenance fee. You could just pay $99 for the truck roll should you need it. I doubt many customers need yearly truck rolls, so you're getting gouged by paying that monthly maintenance fee. If Dish says, "You have to pay for Dish-owned equipment that needs to be replaced IN ADDITION to the truck roll fee", I assume even a moronic Neanderthal would say "Bye, Bye Dish!" to that one.

Since I have two receivers, I can trivially troubleshoot whether I have a receiver or wiring problem. Wiring I can fix myself (not that it routinely goes bad), and for the receiver I just have Dish ship a new one out. "Installing" a receiver is about as complex as installing a toaster, so no tech visit needed for that.

That leaves only the LNB or dish alignment as the source of my problems (others may have more complex setup, but I don't). I have no way of directly testing the LNB other than that "Test Switch" function (I don't know exactly WHAT that tests), so I'd rule out dish alignment first and leave LNB as the "everything else was ruled out, so the LNB must be it" item. Basic dish alignment is somewhat easy to troubleshoot, if the customer was smart enough to scratch markings in the mount indicating the correct setting for each adjustment in advance of problems (I'm talking "basic" alignment here, not fine tuning). If the customer rules out everything but the LNB, will Dish ship you a new one to self-install? Swapping an LNB looks to be somewhat more difficult than a toaster install, more akin to changing the oil and filter in your car. But certainly not beyond the reach of many customers.

If Dish is willing to let customers troubleshoot for themselves and ship replacement parts (free of charge - for Dish owned equipment), then I don't have much problem with Dish charging a fee for a tech to come out and do the work if that's what a customer wants.

p.s. - this thread got me thinking ... long ago I marked the setting on my dish alignment points, but I haven't checked the bolt tightness for a while. I need to do that now. And possibly put LockTite Thread Locker on the bolts as well, or maybe put a second nut and lockwasher over the first to ensure they continue to stay tight.

You're now on the right track. I have attempted to further the idea of the protection plan. This is as other plans are similar to those if you buy a tv from Best Buy, they will offer to sell you an extended service plan. Dish is doing the same thing. Yes I realize we're coping back to the lease aspect. But again, those terms and conditions are agreed to by th customer at time of install. One cannot expect to sign off on those terms and then say "no fair" later on.
Please rethink the loc tite.....The tighenss of the bols does matter .But typically, the dish wiull move for two main reasons. One the wind pushing the dish will eventually move it enough to require realignment. Or if roof or wall mounted to a wood surface, moisture and temperature change will cause slight movement. If you use loctite, you may have a rough time attemting any adjustments.

I don't know if you read before .But I am opposed to the $29 truck roll fee.

 

[haertig]

If you use loctite, you may have a rough time attemting any adjustments.

You need to use BLUE Loctite. Not RED. Blue is specifically designed to come loose with normal hand tools (screwdriver, wrench, ... whatever you would normally be using to unscrew whatever you Loctite'd). Red is more permanent, but can be loosened with heat (a hairdryer will sometimes work). Blue Loctite is used very often in firearms, airguns, scope mounts, etc. With blue, things don't come loose on their own, but you can still loosen them manually without anything special. Great stuff.

For a concise description of the various Loctite threadlockers, see: Loctite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Fear 2 Stop]

I do NOT own the Dish equipment.

Actually, with the exception of the LNBF and the receiver (unless it's purchased), you do own the DISH equipment.

That said, every call I get, I look at the situation and use my best judgment. If it's day 91, I'm going to cut the caller some slack, esp. if they have a good history with us. Also, if they'd called in during their 90 days and should've had a tech out and a new hire gave them false information and now have a problem a month after the 90 days, you'd best believe I'll credit the truck roll fee. I'm not going to punish the customer because a previous agent didn't do things right. So when I read some of things posted here, I get extremely angry.

But techs, please tell us customers what we should expect as part of the "routine" for maintenance on a Dish system!!!

Well, if you've been a customer for several years, say, 5 or 6, and your system goes out, well that should qualify. Likewise if you've had numerous storms and your DISH needs to be realigned, that too should be charged. If you ran over your coax with your lawnmower, than you *will* be charged, and DHPP does not cover that. Now if you've had someone out constantly and nobody seems to be able to find out what the problem is, there's no way in hell I'm charging you, 90 days or not.

Also, and i stated this before.. you guys do know that with DHPP, if you're tech savvy, we *can* and will send you replacement switches, seperators, LNBFs, ect. for *free*. DHPP isn't just for receivers. The $29 is a trip charge. We (as in the company) don't make money on truck rolls. And like the guy up there was saying, with gas prices, I'm surprised the price hasn't gone up.

Let's say we have it your way. Dish pays for every service call. The customer pays nothing. Guess what? You'll be paying a lot more for programming because Dish will simply pas those costs along to the end user. So either way the customer will pay.

THANK you. If I knew who you were I'd buy you a beer for that. Amen.

I don't). I have no way of directly testing the LNB other than that "Test Switch" function (I don't know exactly WHAT that tests), so I'd rule out dish alignment first and leave LNB as the "everything else was ruled out, so the LNB must be it" item. Basic dish alignment is somewhat easy to troubleshoot, if the customer was smart enough to scratch markings in the mount indicating the correct setting for each adjustment in advance of problems (I'm talking "basic" alignment here, not fine tuning). If the customer rules out everything but the LNB, will Dish ship you a new one to self-install? Swapping an LNB looks to be somewhat more difficult than a toaster install, more akin to changing the oil and filter in your car. But certainly not beyond the reach of many customers.

The check switch in laymans terms tells your receiver what is outside. That is why you have to run it when hooking up a new and/or replacement receiver. If you see "conn" for a satellite and it's an orbital location you are supposed to receive, that means either your DISH is not aligned correctly, or something is blocking your signal (trees, rain, buildings, ect.). And for ***k's sake, do not run the CST in the rain. You'll just have to rerun it when it's cleared up. If you see an "X" , then it's either cabling or equipment related. There's no way to tell just for the CST if it's the LNB that is bad. With that in mind, if myself or another advanced tech agent can tell if the LNB is bad, we can (and do) ship them out if the customer requests it. Or we can send somebody out, which is faster and prevents someone who may or may not know what they're doing from making things worse. Plus, as mentioned, you then get a 90 day guarantee.

Sorry for rambling...I actually just got off work.