Stonecold is a bias jerk!

[stonecold]

There seems to be alot of dead horse beating. Some of it has roots of a true complaint just taken and distorted to fit that personal reality , or just random things about free upgrades that we do with out having to fight for. Then there is me stuck in the middle , on one side i still remember being a customer and agree and understand where the people who are so upset do have some reasoning behind there anger, on the other side is work, which I have to follow policy and when helping people I have to state policy. I do a customer no good giving my personal opinion over company policy. The job I do here is with out pay or benefits hell they company would rather see me hung out to dry if they had it there way. I feel anyone can make a difference if they try and this is my honest effort of trying to help everyone.

Some people who have been affected negatively by directv feel it there need to jump in and to every thread remotely invovled with there issue to make an war zone out of it. I proud of this site open door policy and it is the reason why I qm here and not some place else.

I took 9 of the most annoying policies and I put new alternative ideas on how the policy should change on a petition site link blow in my sig. I ask all current and past customers should sign. I cant say it will make a difference or if they will even care how many signed it but I do feel like it important to show managment we want to see a change.

But I do have some favors to ask. If you going to bash me do it here in this thread. If you want to post about something you dont like create a new thread dealing with customers with agendas distract me from my day to day duties here where I generally find it a great pleasure to help out. Just do me a favor and and let me do the best I can and nothing else.

P.S. Please sign my petition below in my sig.

 

[spokybob]

I only like your #5 & #7. If all of your requests are honored, I think D would be forced to raise prices to satisfied customers. (Me) Just my $.02

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I like a few.

But not enough, to sign a petition.

I'm well aware of the rules, and most of these rules are not at all new.

• Yes NFL ST is over Priced, But there is a simple solution for that, Don't Buy it. Less demand means lower prices.
• You can pick and choose what ever receiver you want already if your paying full lease price. Its called a Retailer . Hr 24 can be leased from a Number of Online sites. As well as the HR 21 Pro can be Owned at around $400. Thats not that bad at all IMO. "Stone" Whats the benifit of owning? You can't use these receivers for anything other than Directv Service.
• If I own my receiver, Even under the protection plan , replacement would be a Brand new lease agreement. Who will replace my defective HR21 Pro for free? No one! Directv isn't going to replace my Owned HR 21 pro with a brand new one for free , They are going to LEASE me the HR 24 and slap me with a 24 month commitment. Owned receiver replaced under the protection plan have always been replaced by leased ones. I myself had a samsung sir 300 replaced with a D10 about 5 years ago, and Guess what , that was 12 more months commitment. So unless this has changed, I won't lose sleep over not owning my equipment.
• Auto bill pay, Don't bother to sign up for it if you are going to Stop your payment 1 day before. I understand things happen , But Auto pay is not forced on you. I bet more people sign up for autopay just to receive free promotions and have no intent on following through with their end. Sorry I'm with D* on this one.
• Picking your autopay date, Sure as long as its before your existing bill date, and not after the bill is Due. Why should D* be give people breaks on their auto pay dates? You don't have to sign up for autopay.
• Agreements, Well Frankly if your an existing customer under a current commitment,, NO extension of should be required for a $199 Lease upgrade, or upgrading your system with any Paid lease Upgrade. Free Upgrades should have commitments.

 

[Jimbo]

As far as I'm concerned, there should be NO COMMITMENT after your initial 2 years commit, regardless of changing equipment, you've already proven your going to pay your bills. ( lets make that if you have no unpaid bills).

 

[stonecold]

I like a few.

But not enough, to sign a petition.

I'm well aware of the rules, and most of these rules are not at all new.

• Yes NFL ST is over Priced, But there is a simple solution for that, Don't Buy it. Less demand means lower prices.
• You can pick and choose what ever receiver you want already if your paying full lease price. Its called a Retailer . Hr 24 can be leased from a Number of Online sites. As well as the HR 21 Pro can be Owned at around $400. Thats not that bad at all IMO. "Stone" Whats the benifit of owning? You can't use these receivers for anything other than Directv Service.
• If I own my receiver, Even under the protection plan , replacement would be a Brand new lease agreement. Who will replace my defective HR21 Pro for free? No one! Directv isn't going to replace my Owned HR 21 pro with a brand new one for free , They are going to LEASE me the HR 24 and slap me with a 24 month commitment. Owned receiver replaced under the protection plan have always been replaced by leased ones. I myself had a samsung sir 300 replaced with a D10 about 5 years ago, and Guess what , that was 12 more months commitment. So unless this has changed, I won't lose sleep over not owning my equipment.
• Auto bill pay, Don't bother to sign up for it if you are going to Stop your payment 1 day before. I understand things happen , But Auto pay is not forced on you. I bet more people sign up for autopay just to receive free promotions and have no intent on following through with their end. Sorry I'm with D* on this one.
• Picking your autopay date, Sure as long as its before your existing bill date, and not after the bill is Due. Why should D* be give people breaks on their auto pay dates? You don't have to sign up for autopay.
• Agreements, Well Frankly if your an existing customer under a current commitment,, NO extension of should be required for a $199 Lease upgrade, or upgrading your system with any Paid lease Upgrade. Free Upgrades should have commitments.

We been over this Owned equipment replaced under pro plan is considered owned. So you just got a bad rep. as the only time owned is to be replaced with leased is when you dont have proplan and there would not be a commitment. It is in my chart that is stickied.

The auto pay policy is currently this credit cards are the day the bill cycles, and debit cards are the 15 days after ( normal due date is 20 days after ) Some people like having it come out on a certain day. Our auto pay system is bad. If something comes up and lets say hemi you need to change the card a simple change and it with in 24 hours of the card processing it will talk the change but still charge the previous card. My complaints about auto pay is I seen too many good people who just needed a little flexibility in the system so there not sol. Heck as soon as you bill cycles autopay schedules a deduction date either next day of 15 days after depending on the type of card and once it set I can cancel autopay but they system will still try process the card anyway. Personally if someone calls use 15 days before hand we shoud be able to stop it but the system just does not allow us

On agreements, I just going to have to agree to disagree, if you pay 199 you shouldnt see a commitment but any other discounted receiver I am all about slapping a contract on . Granted under my vision it would only be 12 months. But if I knock 100 dollars off a hddvr bringing it to 99 I still expect this small comittment to be served. Also I believe in baby steps for these people. you have ease dtv into some of these idea.

On NFL they make too much money off of it to for people to boycott it. As the misconception is that residential customer pay for the sunday ticket the real money comes from all those commerical bar and resturant accounts. Regular accounts help too but I figure I toss that in there just for sheets and giggles.


It was nice to have a normal conversation with you we should try this again some other time lol.

 

[stonecold]

As far as I'm concerned, there should be NO COMMITMENT after your initial 2 years commit, regardless of changing equipment, you've already proven your going to pay your bills. ( lets make that if you have no unpaid bills).

If we went of people paying bills very few like your self would be the only ones getting equipment.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

It was nice to have a normal conversation with you we should try this again some other time lol.

Yea whats up with that?

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I like that you have a petition going , and I would love to sign one, But they mostly don't really cover my main concerns.

But thats OK nothing wrong with that.

I hope you guys that are signing get what you want.

Auto pay, I think we all know around here, I'm not into that. And based on past billing issues I have good reason.

NFL ST , Yep been over priced IMO past 5 years, Only getting worse.
But again, I just choose to pass on it.
The season is the shortest, and has less overall airtime and less games then ever , "since NBC and NFL Network started showing games" And yet cost almost double of the other seasonal sports packs.


Equipment leases/ commitments and Properly applying Credits are mostly where I would like to see Directv work on.

 

[stonecold]

I like that you have a petition going , and I would love to sign one, But they mostly don't really cover my main concerns.

But thats OK nothing wrong with that.

I hope you guys that are signing get what you want.

Auto pay, I think we all know around here, I'm not into that. And based on past billing issues I have good reason.

NFL ST , Yep been over priced IMO past 5 years, Only getting worse.


Equipment leases/ commitments and Properly applying Credits are mostly where I would like to see Directv work on.

Yeah well this is all reactionary response to cfb constant beating of a dead horse he might not want to make try and make a change and go on the same dvr rant he been on for what seems like a year now. this more just a peaceful non job terminating act of defiance on my part.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Yeah well this is all reactionary response to cfb constant beating of a dead horse he might not want to make try and make a change and go on the same dvr rant he been on for what seems like a year now. this more just a peaceful non job terminating act of defiance on my part.

Whats his DVR Rant?

Slow response?

Really nothing else wrong with them IMO.

 

[Satmeister]

If each of the points was "polled" first, and those with a majority support included....many more might be on board. As others have stated....its tough to sign the petition when only 25% of the items might be personally consistent with one's view.

Sorry - but that list simply has too many holes in it to warrant a blank following.

 

[stonecold]

If each of the points was "polled" first, and those with a majority support included....many more might be on board. As others have stated....its tough to sign the petition when only 25% of the items might be personally consistent with one's view.

Sorry - but that list simply has too many holes in it to warrant a blank following.

Not asking one asking you to blindly sign and no one said this is a finalized document either.

 

[Juan]

GET RID OF CONTRACTS or let people out when conditions (ie programming but not prices) change

 

[jcrandall]

Stonecold, start a thread with the things you listed that is a poll - find out what the users here want changed.

I'm sure your list is based on what you get 'yelled at for most' so to speak as a billing supervisor, but I'd be curious how some of those rate.

Just a thought.

 

[cfb]

Whats his DVR Rant?

Slow response?

Really nothing else wrong with them IMO.

I dont think I have a 'dvr rant'.

I've documented my specific issues with Directv both publicly here on many occasions, and privately to "stonecold". While some issues have been corrected by the simple passage of time, others remain and the cause of the original issues is still in evidence.

Having been a subscriber since Directv had less than 50,000 customers and buying a $1000 receiver was a pretty big leap of faith, I've had the benefit of seeing how the company operates over a long period of time. The short answer is that customer service isnt as good as it used to be, there are frequent struggles with the hardware and software that I havent experienced with directv or similar competitors equipment, and the lease and customer agreements are too one sided and are resulting in customer dissatisfaction.

Why do I care and bring it up, early and often? Because I want to make sure that nobody who comes here asking questions makes a decision without all of the data and gets burned, and because I hope that some of what gets talked about on one of the pre-eminent internet discussion sites on satellite products gets looked at and fed back to Directv. I've been a long term customer and I'd like to continue using the service but as part of that I need to see some changes.

The primary issue at hand though is that I bring these issues up without in any way directing them at "stonecold", but he takes it personally and argues about the facts in evidence, plays the victim, claims he can do nothing about the problems and that he either agrees with me or doesnt understand why I bring these matters up since there is no way to change them. Thats a lot of role changing.

I think the guy probably does a lot of good and helps a lot of people. About the only bad thing I've said to or about him is that an employee representing himself as a television wrestler who goes on and on about boobs and punching people and claims I've said things that were never said isnt very professional and seems a bit rude. And that didnt come until yesterday.

I think this thread would have been a lot more constructive without bringing my name into it as some sort of 'bad guy' who pointlessly makes trouble. I'd like to think that I can air legitimate concerns that are based on facts and available data and not be called out for it by a company representative.

If its indeed pointless that we talk about anything here, especially things we dont directly control, and its undesirable to tell a customer that they should be aware of policies that have caused other customers pain and suffering, then shouldnt we just close shop and shut the servers off? Or will someone in authority tell me that we're going to operate like dbstalk and delete posts and ban people if they dont uniformly praise directv?

I'll take the time to give a full list of things I feel directv should change or do better at if they're interested in being rated and perceived as a company that does a good job at customer service and cares about its customers. In almost every one of these issues "stonecold" has argued that the policies are fine the way they are.

I think the principal issue is that as a billing supervisor, he spends a large portion of his day dealing with 'problem customers' and now perceives the average customer as someone who is going to try to get away with something or otherwise act badly, resulting in lower revenues to directv. I will say that customers play an active role in how a company like directv does business. We all scream for lower prices, and if we get them, something (like good customer service) that costs money has to go.

I also think that many customers enter into an arrangement with directv, get their service, pay their bill, and until the customer moves or decides to change services, probably never has a problem and directv never has a problem with them. For ~12 years, I had service with them and maybe called 3 times. All three times the problems were handled very smoothly and with great professionalism. I never had an equipment problem of any kind. I rarely had issues with the directv equipment and when I added a couple of the first generation tivo's to the equipment, all of it worked great for many years.

All that having been said, a lot has changed in the last 3-4 years.

I'll outline my issues in a separate post.

 

[caseyf57]

Hello stonecold,

Even though I have not needed your advice or assistance I think that you are a great resource for all users of Directv:up. There are always some small group of people who will complain irregardless of the length, breadth and depth of your help:shocked.

 

[cfb]

List of issues and recommendations, more or less in the order a customer might perceive them.

- Signing up for service. We've had many threads where people called to order service, asked simple legitimate questions, and either got the wrong answers or were told there wasnt anyone who could give them an answer. There should be a FAQ available where employees and customers can get these answers and better training on where to send a customer. CSR's should also be better trained to not try and guess at the answers and where to point customers. There should also be a pre-sales escalation unit to answer any questions that the CSR cant answer or that arent in the FAQ.

- A customer should be able to request what equipment they get and directv's system should accomodate that, even if its at an additional charge. Some customers might want a black or silver unit to match the rest of their gear, or want the newer, faster receiver. Whether directv updates their system to accommodate this or offer the customer credits to buy whatever they want at retail. Its simply giving the customer what they want, and maybe making money on it at the same time.

- Coordination between directv and its installers in conjunction with the customer should be better. Not being able to communicate specific installation or equipment needs or even know who will be installing the equipment has been a problem before. I know its hard to do this stuff, but it sure would make things a lot less confusing for the customer.

- Installers should probably be better paid and held to more uniform standards. I think this would lead to fewer problems over time. Same with the CSR's.

- If a representative of directv's offers products and services to a prospective customer, they should follow through on that promise, give the customer credits, or allow the customer to cancel without penalty. Its the right thing to do. If you allow poorly trained or maverick CSRs to make promises you dont intend to keep and then hold a customer to an ETF and wont make it right, you suck in business. Period.

- There should be a 30 day cancellation period without penalty, providing the service doesnt work properly or as described by the advertising or customer service rep. We have frequent customers who dont get a channel they think they should have, one that was on a channel list, they end up with SD receivers that cant do MRV when the rep said they would, etc. If it doesnt work as the customer expected and directv wont make it right, the customer should be allowed to terminate without penalty.

- The lease and customer agreements should be simplified. A lot of the BBB customer complaints had to do with people who didnt understand the agreement. Recently directv stopped selling through bestbuy and costco because they had too many customers buying through those outlets where the agreements and specifics werent well explained. These are two major retail/electronics outlets with generally decent employees. If they cant understand it and execute it, then its too complicated.

- A customer should be able to opt out or cancel when major material changes to the agreements are made, or when prices are raised more than a certain specified percentage. This is how the cell phone guys and pretty much any other long term contract/ETF arrangement works. Its not fair to the customer to have them agree to something and you have an open ended ability to change your end of the deal and they have no recourse.

- Paying up front for equipment, paying a monthly lease fee, two year contract, a $480 early termination fee and having to give all the equipment back at the end is too much. The DVR's cost less than $200 to make and the receivers are under $100. Way under. If I pay up front, there should be no contract/etf/lease fee. If I get them for free, then a contract/etf/lease fee is fine. Even then I think the $480 etf is about double what it should be. In this instance directv had a problem with customers bailing out on them and wanted to extract as much money from them as possible if they did. What it also does is prevent a customer from complaining about something and being able to take their business elsewhere if they so choose. That inhibited directv from having to solve the problems or mitigate the reasons why a customer wanted to change providers, and its insulated them from having to deal with daily issues since theres no penalty involved when a customer has a really frustrating issue.

- An existing customer for more than 2 years shouldnt be subjected to a second two year commitment just for adding a receiver or upgrading one. Especially if they paid for it, and paid more than it cost to make. If its a free add/upgrade, then maybe a year.

- The software needs to be made more efficient and to run better on older equipment. I know many people dont have any problems with their dvr, and I use mine more than most. I've been a dvr user for more than ten years and I'm pretty demanding. Directv has done a good job of loading the box up with features, but if the product then runs poorly for a customer who uses them all, the software needs to be made better or I should get a free upgrade to a box that'll work properly for me.

- Customers should be incented to remain customers. Giving you game lounge and denying rebates or referrals because some step of the process wasnt done right, with no recourse, simply sucks. New customers get new equipment, free installs and cheap monthly rates. Make my rates go down over time, give me free upgrades every 4-5 years, and make it a published schedule so I can see what I'm going to get if I stick around. Encourage customer loyalty by offering bigger carrots. Instead of discouraging defection with a bigger stick.

- Credits and promotions should be more uniform than they are and easier to understand. When a bunch of six month or twelve month customers can get a promotion on the first call but a 15 year customer has to call three times and threaten to cancel to get it, theres a problem with that system. When that customer is told the first two times that no such promotion exists, theres a big problem with that system.

- Costs of packages and programming. $6 for the 'hd extra pack' doesnt make sense. In fact, they should be part of the higher tier packages with no extra cost. $12 for a 'premium channel' is too much. I can buy 12 netflix or redbox movies a month for that much, and I wont see 12 new release movies on any premium channel in that same month. I can also get the series they make on dvd for a total cost of $4-6 from netflix, and watch them all at once rather than over a 3 month period. $300 for sunday ticket is too much. I know directv will have a hard time negotiating some of these costs down, but besides the costs being unrealistic in the current market, we do have a little economic malaise going around thats probably going to stick around for a while.

I think that covers the bulk of it.

 

[JamesJ]

stonecold I sent you a pm. Thanks.

 

[ranmic]

cfb, man you love to talk don't you? I was wondering when you would reference the BBB. Glad you didn't let me down.

My only "change" I guess would be for the Techs on the other end of the phone to state if your contract end date is changing or you were entering a new contract when you upgraded equipment..........I know this because I educate myself before I do these things, but I know a lot of people don't and are surprised when they find out and I guess it's kinda hard to blame them when they are not told by the CSR......even though I still think it falls on the shoulders of the Customer.

 

[Jimbo]

My only "change" I guess would be for the Techs on the other end of the phone to state if your contract end date is changing or you were entering a new contract when you upgraded equipment..........I know this because I educate myself before I do these things, but I know a lot of people don't and are surprised when they find out and I guess it's kinda hard to blame them when they are not told by the CSR......even though I still think it falls on the shoulders of the Customer.

There was a time when they put this info on your Account page on thier website, it would be nice to see it re appear.