Thinking about cancelling

whicky1978

SatelliteGuys Guru
Original poster
Oct 26, 2005
143
0
Clarksville, Tennessee
I have had dishnetwork come to my appartment 4-5 times because of shotty installation work. The manager explicitly explained how he wanted it installed. Also, they did not place a pad under the non-pentrating roof mount. I told DN to tell the tech. to call me the day before. They did not, and so they are late to my 8-12 appointment because they did not have the right equiment.:mad:

I'm baffled that they don't have the standard equipment to begin with. My manager told me that the owner does not want the non pen. roof mount, and that he was mad because they did not put a pad under it.

They told me that they would be late, but they did not say what time, so I have been on the phone for nearly an hour trying to figure out when the guy was comming. Finally they transferred me to the excutive office and told me that he would be there in the late afternoon.

Believe you me, I have more patience than most people
 
whicky1978 said:
I'm baffled that they don't have the standard equipment to begin with.

They do, you are asking for non-standard equipment.


As far as that pad goes, that should be your problem. Did you tell tem that upfront? Did you have everything in writing first? Or did the ower or manager see that there was no pad and then get upset?
 
miguelaqui said:
They do, you are asking for non-standard equipment.


As far as that pad goes, that should be your problem. Did you tell tem that upfront? Did you have everything in writing first? Or did the ower or manager see that there was no pad and then get upset?

I was told that by the manager that he faxed explicit instructions in advanced. I told the technician that I could go get the manager more than once, but he indicated that it was not necessary. Also, the pad is standard with a non pen. roof mount--from what I hear.

Now, the tech. only needs to do a standard installation, but he was not ready for that. I told the tech. dept to have the technician call me the day before so all the of i's were dotted, and the t's were crossed. They never called. The tech. dept talked down to me as if "the installers know what they need".

The problem is that DN wants to do what they want to do. A little customer service wouldn't hurt.
 
whicky1978 said:
. Also, the pad is standard with a non pen. roof mount--from what I hear.

That is a big negative!! The only time I've ever used a pad on a non-pen is for a commercial account.

It seems to me the problem lays with the CSR or CSR's you're speaking with. The need to annotate the workorder to properly reflect what is needed. As Miguel stated, non-pen installs are not considered standard fare. And thus, most techs don't carry said equipment on their vehicle UNLESS notified prior.

Any chance you can cancel and go directly with a local retailer. One you can actually speak face-to-face with???????
 
whicky1978 said:
. Also, the pad is standard with a non pen. roof mount--from what I hear.

Now, the tech. only needs to do a standard installation, but he was not ready for that. I told the tech. dept to have the technician call me the day before so all the of i's were dotted, and the t's were crossed. They never called. The tech. dept talked down to me as if "the installers know what they need".

The problem is that DN wants to do what they want to do. A little customer service wouldn't hurt.
"From what I hear" Who told you that it was included??? Did you ask the CSR??? If they cannot install it on a roof, they will put it on a pole.

They have already gone out of their way to try to please you. You are asking for more than what is standard. They have done the best they can do to please you. Anything beyond a standard install is the customer's responsability.

I once had a must carry dish installed while living in a rental. They clamped the dish to a balcony railing, but I had to supply the C clamps. Same issue here, anything beyond the standard install should be your responsability.

As far as their not calling,sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Some techs don't have phones in the truck, but rather a radio.
 
The tech. knew a week in advanced that a non-pen. roof mount would be installed. In fact, it was his idea because I could not get the 129 HD channels. He saw that I had a flat roof and reccomended the non pen. roof mount.


The other problem is that he did a shotty job. He left cut wires dangling down the side of the building.

The manager thinks I should take DN to court, but I don't think it's worth the trouble. The multi-million dollar company that owns my appartments may file a complaint with the FCC.

I have already cancelled my service, and I plan to file a complaint with the BBB.

The manager has/is going to take photos of the damage that has been done by the non-pen roof mount. He says that the mount was unauthorized. So, I don't know if they faxed the permission form in or if they worded it so that the tech. needed to see the manager first.

I told the tech. that I can go get the manager more than once. He had the opportunity to double check things with the manager.

Also, I emphasized how many times and how many mistakes had been made, and that they needed to call before they came out today. These techs. have phones, I don't live in the boonies.

Anyways, I'm not climbing onto the roof to get the LBN down. I don't even have a ladder, and I'm not about to buy one.

The manager says he will throw the Dish off of the roof if they do not get it monday. I don't know if he really will or not. Someone in damages said they would call monday.

BTW, who is the CSR?
 
Read this first.

Did I mention that the tech. was asked to install the dish on a poll., and that the owner(s) wanted the roof mount removed?

Orignally, the dish was on a poll, but no signal on 129 with my new equipment.
 
First off, sorry to hear about your chaos. If you had the same installer twice, then yes he should have been properly prepared the 2nd time he showed up.

With that said, you did sign a workorder/service agreement. That agreement can and has been a binding thing. You essentially warranted that you have obtained permission from the landlord for the install; to the point of making whatever alterations considered appropriate for the installation. When signed, you assumed responsibility for the installation and location of the dish and equipment. The only leg you have to stand on is if there was damage that isn't covered by the scope of the agreement.
 
As far as I understand, the tech. should have had the permission form in hand explicitly stating what was approved. If the tech. did not comply, then he is at fault.

I listed 6 detailed complaints with the BBB and requested $80 be substracted from my cancellation fees or refunded.

I have only been under the new contract for two weeks. Is there not a 30 day satisfaction guarantee? I can't remember.
 
Also, the manager is taking bids from Direct and Charter, but will probably refuse a commercial bid from DN because he is not satisfied with the customer service either. DN could potentionally lose alot of money on this.
 
whicky1978 said:
As far as I understand, the tech. should have had the permission form in hand explicitly stating what was approved. If the tech. did not comply, then he is at fault.

I listed 6 detailed complaints with the BBB and requested $80 be substracted from my cancellation fees or refunded.

I have only been under the new contract for two weeks. Is there not a 30 day satisfaction guarantee? I can't remember.
3 day not 30....as far as I know, unless something has changed.
 
webbydude said:
Only really, REALLY recently has DNS done a 30 day moneyback thing.

The landlord permission form is extra insurance/ammo for the tech, but not necessary if you signed the actual service agreement
I "signed" a new contract on 4-29-06. Would I qualify or do I have to be a new customer? If my contract is new, then am I a new customer?
 
whicky1978 said:
I "signed" a new contract on 4-29-06. Would I qualify or do I have to be a new customer? If my contract is new, then am I a new customer?

30 day MBG is on new installs
 
if you had the service installed after april 12th than you are under a 30 day satisfaction guarentee, only for new customers, and there is no grace period on any of our promotions anymore except for the 30 day mbg which is just an experiment right now, also if you signed a work order than you are responsible, because he may claim it was given to him verbally, also you can call into the cfr (corporate field resolution) and they may send a field service manager or a quality assurance agent to come out and inspect the damage, if you signed up through a retailer than they are responsible for the damages... also the lnb has to be sent back it is in the residential service agreement that you signed, but you can always say you are disabled and unable to get the lnb most of the time we will waive it... just have them place a note on the account...
 
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Ok lets clear a few thing sup.

(1) A non penetrating roof mount kit in its package comes with all hardware IE nuts, bolts, washers, and lock washers, instructions, and a rubber mat cut to the fully assembled size of the non pen if it is a superdish non pen or the welded non pen for the 300/500/1000 dish and has been the case for the last 6 years that I have been installing satellite television.

(2) The customers signature on the work order for the completion does effectively mean that if its signed that the customer has approved the installation and that his installation is complete and his system is active and he/she has been shown how to use the service. However the technicians signature states that said technician has installed the system to nec standards and that he/she has properly and completely installed the system.

(3) A technician is supposed to ask at every job site if the customer owns, rents, leases, cohabitates, and generaly freeloads at that residence. If the customer is doing something other than being a homeowner then the customer must supply the technician with a letter of consent for installation at the residence for the installation to take place. The letter of consent must be on company letter head with an address, contact phone number, and a contact name of the property owner, the property manager, or the company responsible for managing said property, and it must be typed out and signed by the responsible party. That being said if the technician proceeds without this letter of consent then he is treading on potentialy dangerous ground, the reality of the situation is that many techs dont ask or will take a verbal consent over the phone or inperson from the person responsible for the property.

If the customer does not supply the letter then they are also liable as is the technician and if the property owner/manager deems that there is damage from the install then owner/manager can take legal action against the renter/leaser, the company responsible for the install, and the technician that did said install.

(4) What is and isnt standard installation practice has changed significantly from what it was 4 years ago. Standard installations now pretty much cover most everything including wall fishes, attic pulls, crawl pulls, pole mounts, line trench ( first 50 ft only ) and the use of non pens.

Now for the poster, did you supply the tech(s) with a letter of consent, did the letter of consent come with any restrictions or expressed instructions as to where the dish could and could not go? If you felt that the manager should be there then why not call him to come over for the installation, this could have very well saved you all of the headache that you have faced.

The 30 day money back garauntee is a new promo that came into effect on 05-01-06 and is not retroactive, it is not available on all DHA but its a good promo.

Oh yea one more thing, signed work orders dont hold up very well at all in a court of law.
 
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