underwhelmed by Direct so far :(

[zim2dive]

Signed up Friday morning (2/24), with the Costco offer ($120) and a referral ($100).

Went to the Costco site.. clicked thru to Direct TV, entered the referral # and signed up for everything (still have the Costco banner at the top... printed a PDF of my expected bill).

Never got any emails.. but did get an automated call (see the hotmail thread).. so its possible I missed some emails...

Install issues:
- no codes for my 4 month old Westinghouse TV .. and tech support appears to be saying "tough luck" if none of the existing codes work
- installer tracked mud all across our white carpet (sigh)

Billing issues:
- they seem to have no record of the referral (thankfully I have the PDF as some proof.. not sure how much proof it is, but its something)
- they also have no record of the Costco credit

Support issues:
- when I called to check on the referral credit (since my 1st bill amt was higher than expected)... CSR #1 said it would take 6-8 weeks... but was pretty vague
- I was transferred b/c I had some tech support questions that the billing CSR couldn't answer.. and figured I'd double check with CSR#2 (who also seemed MUCH, I hate to say, smarter than CSR#1).. he said he could find no record of the referral credit, so to me, that seems like CSR#1 was just trying to kick the can down the road, hoping the annoying customer would go away.

I guess I need to double check.. what is the cancellation period?

EDIT: they are saying it will take 7 days to investigate the missing referral, but I only have 24 hours to cancel....

 

[JEFFinINDY]

I'm sure they'll find a way to investigate the referral faster if you cancel. That said, it sounds like your process was exceptionally bad and an outlier. Depending on how much time you want to spend dealing with it, you could probably get some credits for all your hassle.

 

[mdram]

i thought you had to call a special number to use a referral

as for the installer. did you notice when he was there?

for most directv credits you have to go online and add them to your account, i cannot remember how

 

[JUCJ85]

Sorry to hear about being underwhelmed. But some of my thoughts.

If it was muddy outside it's tough to keep the carpet clean 100%.

The credits issue seems odd. But i've never had an issue with getting credits added on. Usually they show up after logging out and logging back in.

The codes are a hassle, I have a 3 year old Sylvania LCD tv and none of the codes work either. It's a real pain in the behind.

Hope all works out for you though.

 

[zim2dive]

It took a week (of them digging thru their server logs), but they finally sent me an email saying I was getting the referral credit.... this just as my "send back to Dish" kit showed up. I did have to threaten to cancel, and got them to agree that to extend the 24 hour cancellation limit to wait until they finished their investigation in to whether I'd be getting the credit (and then only if I was denied). Far much more hassle than it should have been. I mean if its within 24 hours and someone is able to cancel anyway (and then re-sign up?) why not give the referral credit without the hassle?

As for the carpet.. yes, wet days suck.. but this was a full set of tracks up the stairs and across the bonus room..... all the guy said was oops.. and then blamed it on his mngmt for not restocking their supply of booties as if that made it all ok.

Glad I will be able to stick with Direct, but the entire start of this has def left a sour taste.

 

[Jimbo]

It took a week (of them digging thru their server logs), but they finally sent me an email saying I was getting the referral credit.... this just as my "send back to Dish" kit showed up. I did have to threaten to cancel, and got them to agree that to extend the 24 hour cancellation limit to wait until they finished their investigation in to whether I'd be getting the credit (and then only if I was denied). Far much more hassle than it should have been. I mean if its within 24 hours and someone is able to cancel anyway (and then re-sign up?) why not give the referral credit without the hassle?

As for the carpet.. yes, wet days suck.. but this was a full set of tracks up the stairs and across the bonus room..... all the guy said was oops.. and then blamed it on his mngmt for not restocking their supply of booties as if that made it all ok.

Glad I will be able to stick with Direct, but the entire start of this has def left a sour taste.

Diud you call the number on the website under the "Referral" section, generally you have to do THAT in order to get the referral, otherwise it's often difficult to get.

Or

Did you sign up thru Costco ?

 

[zim2dive]

I did it all on the web. I have no issue if the website tells me I need to call.. but do have issues if it indicates one thing (as I'm signing up) and then does another. I'm also ok with the idea that everyone makes mistakes.. I'm not ok with the fact that I had to invest 2+ hours of my time on the phone to help them correct their mistake.

On the phone Direct said "you can't do that" (Costco + referral).. they are free to make whatever rules they want, but they need to make sure their website also follows them. Given that they have now given me the referral credit, I think they must have discovered the difference between how they thought their website was supposed to work, and how it actually does work (the agent on the phone said she could see that it was permitting both)....Of course, given how wrong everything went, I only give myself 50% odds of ever seeing the Costco card show up...

Now I just need to figure out how to use all the new stuff.

 

[Jimbo]

Now I just need to figure out how to use all the new stuff.

Thats what were here for, if you have questions, feel free to ask, usually someone here that can help you out.

 

[raoul5788]

Jimbo hit the nail on the head. We are here to help, and probably more knowledgeable than most of the csrs. There are a few of them that post here that are also very helpful. As far as the muddy carpet, I would contact the install company and see what they say.

 

[Hutch1814]

Jimbo hit the nail on the head. We are here to help, and probably more knowledgeable than most of the csrs. There are a few of them that post here that are also very helpful. As far as the muddy carpet, I would contact the install company and see what they say.

When you call ask for a supervisior if they fail to send one call directv and tell them the issue, they'll build a work order and you can demand a supervisior to come with the tech. From there you can show any damages and start a damage claim from there. Get pictures!!! Don't clean or touch anything until after they come, if you've by chanced cleaned it already you will be SOL, just telling you now. Hope it helps!

 

[Jimbo]

When you call ask for a supervisior if they fail to send one call directv and tell them the issue, they'll build a work order and you can demand a supervisior to come with the tech. From there you can show any damages and start a damage claim from there. Get pictures!!! Don't clean or touch anything until after they come, if you've by chanced cleaned it already you will be SOL, just telling you now. Hope it helps!

I would guess that they have already cleaned up, that was over a week ago ...

Hopefully they have pictures.

If the tech had muddy boots and no covers, he should have removed them prior to coming in ...
I have been in that position many times.

 

[Blackhawks]

"D" installers are suppose to wear Safety Vests, "D" ID Cards, Foot Coverings (while inside a residence). They are also suppose to clean up any mess they make inside or outside, seal all holes they make removing and/or installing cables or splitters.

A "D" Contractor just conducted a Quality Assurance Inspection of their sub-contractor who left a mess and missed things during instillation. They also asked me questions and took notes and corrected issues.

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[Hutch1814]

"D" installers are suppose to wear Safety Vests, "D" ID Cards, Foot Coverings (while inside a residence). They are also suppose to clean up any mess they make inside or outside, seal all holes they make removing and/or installing cables or splitters.

A "D" Contractor just conducted a Quality Assurance Inspection of their sub-contractor who left a mess and missed things during instillation. They also asked me questions and took notes and corrected issues.

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That's a new one for me, a vest? They require to have a Directv collard shirt, ID badge, and yes booties. As for removing cable, negative. Directv preaches not to remove certain cable. If its going to leave holes in siding, don't touch it. If its something from a Dish or another provider they would rather us not touch that either.

 

[Blackhawks]

That's a new one for me, a vest? They require to have a Directv collard shirt, ID badge, and yes booties. As for removing cable, negative. Directv preaches not to remove certain cable. If its going to leave holes in siding, don't touch it. If its something from a Dish or another provider they would rather us not touch that either.

Per the "D" In-House Contractor Supervisor in my area, All "D" Tech's MUST wear Safety Vests when in the field, ie: outside and/or on the roof.

Also "D" had to remove old "E" RG 6 Cable and following the same route, they had no choice. The "E" Dish was also removed and replaced in same spot with "D" Dish.

I was advised their people are required to patch the holes where they placed cable and those where they removed cable. Info from In-House Contrator's Supervior.

I also spent an hour on the phone with Office of the President after they called me following "D's" Inspection of their In-House Contrator's Sub-Contractor's work at my home. They apologized and are reviewing the before and after photographs taken during inspection.

The Sub Contractor left their mess (boxes, saw dust & old/new cable clippings) without cleaning up and didn't seal holes.

The In-House Contractor had to do major corrections from the original install by their Sub-Contractor and even re-mounted connectors and cables, etc.

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[Hutch1814]

Per the "D" In-House Contractor Supervisor in my area, All "D" Tech's MUST wear Safety Vests when in the field, ie: outside and/or on the roof.

Also "D" had to remove old "E" RG 6 Cable and following the same route, they had no choice. The "E" Dish was also removed and replaced in same spot with "D" Dish.

I was advised by their people are required to patch the holes where they placed cable and those where they removed cable. Infor from In-House Contrator's Supervior.

I also spent an hour on the phone with Office of the President after they called me following "D's" Inspection of their In-House Contrator's Sub-Contractor's work at my home. They apologized and are reviewing the before and after photographs taken during inspection.

The Sub Contractor left their mess (boxes, saw dust & old/new cable clippings) without cleaning up and didn't seal holes).

The In-House Contractor had to do major corrections from the original install, even re-mounting cable, etc.

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This is shocking. They also say don't touch Dishs dish as then Directv is liable for any damages caused from it. As for the vest, this has to be some form of rule per your contracting company or state. As for being on the roof? That's a HUGE NO in Directv, if a tech is gets off his ladder to change and LNB or anything they're instantly termed. No questions. If the job is QC'd and they can tell the tech got off his ladder to perform any work, that too is grounds to be termed. That's strictly Directv rule as well

 

[Blackhawks]

This is shocking. They also say don't touch Dishs dish as then Directv is liable for any damages caused from it. As for the vest, this has to be some form of rule per your contracting company or state. As for being on the roof? That's a HUGE NO in Directv, if a tech is gets off his ladder to change and LNB or anything they're instantly termed. No questions. If the job is QC'd and they can tell the tech got off his ladder to perform any work, that too is grounds to be termed. That's strictly Directv rule as well

Only way for DISH to be installed is on my Flat Roof on the smoke stack. "D" had zero issue with that when I advised them.

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[Hutch1814]

Only way for DISH to be installed is on my Flat Roof on the smoke stack. "D" had zero issue with that when I advised them.

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Not saying this is a case but if me or any other tech in my area came to something line this we would put a pole in the ground and if the customer refuses the pole then we cancel the order, a tech supe wouldn't even let us do it if we wanted. If something happened in winter and you needed something done at the dish... well that would be game over. I came across one where directv said we would install on a house boat, yeah think about how that would work lol

Edit: they could also use a non-pen mount as well

 

[ejb1980]

I have never seen any Directv employee wear a vest, ID, booties, etc. I live in a large complex and there's another large complex across the street. I see Directv people everyday - or more. My installer did wear a Directv shirt, though.

 

[Blackhawks]

I have never seen any Directv employee wear a vest, ID, booties, etc. I live in a large complex and there's another large complex across the street. I see Directv people everyday - or more. My installer did wear a Directv shirt, though.

All "D" employees/contractors MUST wear ID Cards and that is undisputed "D" Policy. Would you let a person inside your home without showing proper ID?

The first things the Rep from the Office of the President asked me when they called me was did "D" Employees/Contractors wear a Uniform, Safety Vest, ID Card.....also did they wear Booties while working in the home/apt?

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[Blackhawks]

Just like the "OP" some of my installation didn't go smooth last weekend. However, "D" did respond to my complaint by sending people out and calling me back by mid-week.

Other then the install issues, all is good now or thus far.

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