VERY upset customer

[hayesgb]

I've heard some stories like this, so I thought I'd post mine as well.

As a birthday gift (mainly for me) my wife wanted us to upgrade our DISH service to HD in time for the NCAA tournament. We had an install scheduled for this morning, and were to have a DISH1000, VIP211, and another receiver installed. My wife took off work this morning so the install could be performed, and I took off work this afternoon so I could come home and enjoy the first round of NCAA action in high definition.

When the tech arrived, he only had the VIP211 with him, and said the order was written to only exchange a receiver. My wife called me to see if this was right, and I told her absolutely not. She called the tech's dispatch office and was told by the tech's supervisor that the order had been "screwed up" by DISH, and he was not going to have the tech "drive all the way back to the office to get a DISH1000 and come back out for the install". (Matters get worse)

My wife told me what happened, and I called Dish customer service. Naturally we were both upset because vacation time had been taken from our own busy schedules. The customer service rep, after much explaining, obviously got agitated, and eventually informed me that it "was not his fault we had taken time off work to have an install done." This was when we asked for his supervisor (who was, btw in the USA). She was of absolutely no help, so we asked to speak to her supervisor. He told us he was sorry they had made a mistake, but there was nothing he could do, and would be glad to reschedule our installation for next Thursday. This of course made me even more angry because it would require even more of my vacation time. I told him to forget it and cancel the installation.

When I got home, I sent an email to ceo@echostar.com describing the problem. I informed him that all I really wanted was to have DISH honor the promise they made, which was to have someone come out TODAY and perform the installation as was agreed. It is not my fault that his corporation made a mistake, and it should not be my responsibility to fix it. I received a prompt response from David Laslo, and he eventually said he would rebuild the order and "try to get a tech out today to perform the installation."

That was around 3:30 this afternoon. It's not 6:39 pm and I have not seen any sign of a tech at my home.

Needless to say I'm very upset, and DISH may loose a customer out of this. Has anyone else had an experience like this? Or am I being unreasonable?

Has anyone else gone to DirecTV over such an issue? If so, how does the HD content and customer service compare?

Thanks.

 

[wobbie]

I'm sure there are alot of people on this forum that have had this experience... both with Dish and DirecTV... just read a few more posts in both forums. I'm betting it has happened to a few cable subs also.

 

[gdarwin]

Last Sunday I was supposed to have a 61.5 dish installed. Scheduled for 8-12. Installer showed up at 7pm... no dish on the truck. Sent him on his way and called both Dish and the local company... Dish messes up like this all the time. Let's see if they get it right tomorrow...

 

[Dave1997]

You dont want DirecTV HD. Dish is better quality in HD than DirecTV. Plus you don't want there new dish. KABand does fade in rain.

 

[chadzx11]

I had a 622 swap out that didn't call for a dish 1000, but I took one anyway. When I called to have the work order modified the advanced tech person told me the dish1000 kit was on there and that it was "assumed". I made them add it to the work order anyway, because I'll be damned if I have to pay for it because it is not specified on my work order. I have to mind my P's and Q's because I work for a sorry company.

 

[flytank]

Yeap, this happens all the time man, sorry about your vacation and hopes broken down. See my link about my experience for a good laugh, be warned is a long post....

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=57931

 

[hayesgb]

I keep hearing that Dish has better quality HD, but I refuse to give them my business if they work under the premise that I have to pay for their mistakes. I'll cancel all my satellite service before I continue to give my money to a company like that. Apparently even Mr. Laslo (CEO Escalations) can not get his personnel to honor their commitments when they make a mistake. The way things stand right now, I'll have to waste even more of my vacation time to give them the honor to charge me $XXX/month for their service.

 

[chadzx11]

Yeap, this happens all the time man,

It goes both ways, too. We ran out of 625s so somebody had to be rescheduled for today (red flagged). Wasn't my job, I haven't rescheduled anybody. So I get the assignment today, along with 2 other jobs within about a square mile, so really no time to call the customer. I'd have still been dialing pulling into his driveway. Long story short-----Dish already installed----on the original date, so I called dispatch and said WTF. Basically, they said "WAH!" Jerks. IMO, if they are gonna assign a job, they should have the common courtesy to MAKE SURE THE WO IS STILL OPEN!!! This is not the first time, either. Usually, its one that is way off the beaten trail, so I guess I lucked out today.

 

[mzopinionated]

My wife told me what happened, and I called Dish customer service. Naturally we were both upset because vacation time had been taken from our own busy schedules. The customer service rep, after much explaining, obviously got agitated, and eventually informed me that it "was not his fault we had taken time off work to have an install done." This was when we asked for his supervisor (who was, btw in the USA). She was of absolutely no help, so we asked to speak to her supervisor. He told us he was sorry they had made a mistake, but there was nothing he could do, and would be glad to reschedule our installation for next Thursday. This of course made me even more angry because it would require even more of my vacation time. I told him to forget it and cancel the installation.

When I got home, I sent an email to ceo@echostar.com describing the problem. I informed him that all I really wanted was to have DISH honor the promise they made, which was to have someone come out TODAY and perform the installation as was agreed. It is not my fault that his corporation made a mistake, and it should not be my responsibility to fix it. I received a prompt response from David Laslo, and he eventually said he would rebuild the order and "try to get a tech out today to perform the installation."

That was around 3:30 this afternoon. It's not 6:39 pm and I have not seen any sign of a tech at my home.

Needless to say I'm very upset, and DISH may loose a customer out of this. Has anyone else had an experience like this? Or am I being unreasonable?

Has anyone else gone to DirecTV over such an issue? If so, how does the HD content and customer service compare?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]


Had the same problem with directv,was going with them seeing as how we got an hdtv for Christmas & E was running no promo's and they took out lifetime after New Year's, I had enough. After 3 weeks of trying to get directv to get it right, I finally told them to never mind they were to incompetent to have one penny of my money. Just waiting to see what FIOS is like at this point.

 

[mtnwatcher]

yes wtf

I just got off the phone with dish and I was just informed that my 942 / 811 is
obsolete? all I wanted was the hd locals... if anyone has heard differently I
would really appreciate it... they told me that I could get a new receiver for
$299? and I just got this receiver? what a bunch of bull****

anyhow... maybe a call to my congressman?

now I know why people drink!

be well

craig

 

[gdarwin]

I keep hearing that Dish has better quality HD, but I refuse to give them my business if they work under the premise that I have to pay for their mistakes. I'll cancel all my satellite service before I continue to give my money to a company like that. Apparently even Mr. Laslo (CEO Escalations) can not get his personnel to honor their commitments when they make a mistake. The way things stand right now, I'll have to waste even more of my vacation time to give them the honor to charge me $XXX/month for their service.

You called Lasco after the installer left - he probably had to install someone else's installation. Hard to turn back the installer in this situation....

Before dumping Insight I had all kinds of problems like this.

Take in everyones comments, reschedule the appointment and make sure they have everything you need on the work order.

 

[SummitAdvantageRetailer]

I've heard some stories like this, so I thought I'd post mine as well.

As a birthday gift (mainly for me) my wife wanted us to upgrade our DISH service to HD in time for the NCAA tournament. We had an install scheduled for this morning, and were to have a DISH1000, VIP211, and another receiver installed. My wife took off work this morning so the install could be performed, and I took off work this afternoon so I could come home and enjoy the first round of NCAA action in high definition.

When the tech arrived, he only had the VIP211 with him, and said the order was written to only exchange a receiver. My wife called me to see if this was right, and I told her absolutely not. She called the tech's dispatch office and was told by the tech's supervisor that the order had been "screwed up" by DISH, and he was not going to have the tech "drive all the way back to the office to get a DISH1000 and come back out for the install". (Matters get worse)

My wife told me what happened, and I called Dish customer service. Naturally we were both upset because vacation time had been taken from our own busy schedules. The customer service rep, after much explaining, obviously got agitated, and eventually informed me that it "was not his fault we had taken time off work to have an install done." This was when we asked for his supervisor (who was, btw in the USA). She was of absolutely no help, so we asked to speak to her supervisor. He told us he was sorry they had made a mistake, but there was nothing he could do, and would be glad to reschedule our installation for next Thursday. This of course made me even more angry because it would require even more of my vacation time. I told him to forget it and cancel the installation.

When I got home, I sent an email to ceo@echostar.com describing the problem. I informed him that all I really wanted was to have DISH honor the promise they made, which was to have someone come out TODAY and perform the installation as was agreed. It is not my fault that his corporation made a mistake, and it should not be my responsibility to fix it. I received a prompt response from David Laslo, and he eventually said he would rebuild the order and "try to get a tech out today to perform the installation."

That was around 3:30 this afternoon. It's not 6:39 pm and I have not seen any sign of a tech at my home.

Needless to say I'm very upset, and DISH may loose a customer out of this. Has anyone else had an experience like this? Or am I being unreasonable?

Has anyone else gone to DirecTV over such an issue? If so, how does the HD content and customer service compare?

Thanks.

Being that I'm a retailer and while I'd like to admit that we're one of the best in the area, we make mistakes with installations just like anybody. When it comes to rescheduling, they've come from a variety of reasons: weather, truck problems, equipment shortage, customer not being home at the right time, traffic, and etc. We try our best to route it so that the tech. is flexible but there will be days and instances where you just can't make the customer happy or give the right job to the right tech. We'd send the best tech. to a job and the customer would still complain that the tech. couldn't install a 4 room multi-satellite installation by bringing in new lines to a smart box in a completely finished basement with only 1 wire going out of the home. It's almost impossible without using a jackhammer to try to drill in the holes. But I digress.

You took a day off as many would when they have a service tech. come out. But I've heard of far worse stories... like mine! If you were in my shoes when Comcast took 5 trips to get our TV problem right and failed to get rid of the ghosting and banding, you'd have went postal on Comcast. I didn't take one day off but FIVE. So sorry to hear that you had a bad day and all, but I sincerely doubt that if you were in the shoes of that manager or that tech., you'd have driven the distance back and forth to bring that equipment out for an equipment upgrade.

Or how about my other experience with Sears where they took 3 DAYS and 1 MONTH to get our washer working right. With big companies, you just can't expect the personal service of a good neighbor next door. Otherwise, these companies couldn't stay in business trying to make EVERY customer happy. Their GOAL is to make customers satisfied but as the saying goes, you can't please everybody. Some companies try their best (notice I'm not saying that E* is one of them) and implement quality control and all but in honesty, at E* or D* one missed appointment or incorrect work order is no biggie to them. And frankly, in case you didn't know, there's a hierchy of DISH jobs and equipment upgrades like yours are given almost the same priority as dish upgrade jobs. In other words, not a high-priority job. New customer installs and trouble calls are given the highest by the way. When they miss 2 appointments or something similar, that's when the higher up offices can get involved and pull in field service managers to roll and get things right. Don't be angry and think it was personal because it's not.

I'm telling you this because we've done installs for direct-to-company sales and know how bureacratic the system is and how some customers fall through the cracks because of the number of jobs they do a day. But if you order from a retailer, retailers try to treat you as a customer since after all, you're OUR customer and we don't do the volume like the big installation companies. It really is too bad that retailers are not allowed to do upgrades. We'd have fewer angry stories like these. Not a sales pitch, but just letting you know how it works.

 

[raysat]

As a retailer when I take an order for a hd upgrade I would bring a d1000 with me as the 211 requires it for full use of the service. Believe me I have at times had a brain fart and have forgot equipment and everytime I have gone back to the shop to retrieve it and called my next appointment to let them know about how much later I will be. As a retailer I am aware that courtesy like this is what gets me referals. It shows that I care about my customers. As for the person complaing about the $299 upgrade on the 942/811 just wait until April 1st and call your order in. The upgrade should cost $99 for the 622 and there might be an $49 charge for the 211 but maybe not. This also includes the needed upgrade to the dish 1000.

 

[Slamminc11]

I believe you said you took your vacation time to watch basketball games, so you really didn't take it off for an install, you took it off to sit on a couch and watch a game and drink a beer, your wife on the other hand did end up taking time off work for the install. So schedule the install for either a Saturday or a Sunday and you don't have to take off work. Unless you work seven days a week of course.

 

[dishcomm]

I've heard some stories like this, so I thought I'd post mine as well.

As a birthday gift (mainly for me) my wife wanted us to upgrade our DISH service to HD in time for the NCAA tournament. We had an install scheduled for this morning, and were to have a DISH1000, VIP211, and another receiver installed. My wife took off work this morning so the install could be performed, and I took off work this afternoon so I could come home and enjoy the first round of NCAA action in high definition.

When the tech arrived, he only had the VIP211 with him, and said the order was written to only exchange a receiver. My wife called me to see if this was right, and I told her absolutely not. She called the tech's dispatch office and was told by the tech's supervisor that the order had been "screwed up" by DISH, and he was not going to have the tech "drive all the way back to the office to get a DISH1000 and come back out for the install". (Matters get worse)

My wife told me what happened, and I called Dish customer service. Naturally we were both upset because vacation time had been taken from our own busy schedules. The customer service rep, after much explaining, obviously got agitated, and eventually informed me that it "was not his fault we had taken time off work to have an install done." This was when we asked for his supervisor (who was, btw in the USA). She was of absolutely no help, so we asked to speak to her supervisor. He told us he was sorry they had made a mistake, but there was nothing he could do, and would be glad to reschedule our installation for next Thursday. This of course made me even more angry because it would require even more of my vacation time. I told him to forget it and cancel the installation.

When I got home, I sent an email to ceo@echostar.com describing the problem. I informed him that all I really wanted was to have DISH honor the promise they made, which was to have someone come out TODAY and perform the installation as was agreed. It is not my fault that his corporation made a mistake, and it should not be my responsibility to fix it. I received a prompt response from David Laslo, and he eventually said he would rebuild the order and "try to get a tech out today to perform the installation."

That was around 3:30 this afternoon. It's not 6:39 pm and I have not seen any sign of a tech at my home.

Needless to say I'm very upset, and DISH may loose a customer out of this. Has anyone else had an experience like this? Or am I being unreasonable?

Has anyone else gone to DirecTV over such an issue? If so, how does the HD content and customer service compare?

Thanks.

This is unprecedented....If one of our techs shows up without the proper equip, we will go back if it is a reasonable distance....The poor attitude of the tech is intolerable..If he pulled that crap he would no longer be working for us..The nerve..Same goes for the tech's supervisor..Our main focus is getting the jobs completed on the day they were assigned....Now their have been instances where the w/o was incorrect..Of course that is not the fault of the tech....But we don't need the attitude either.....Again, if the the tech was a reasonable distance from the job, he should have at least given the impression that he would make an effoirt to get back out there to your home that day..I will try to accomodate custs if I can.....
A night before pre call from the tech to you would have solved this issue..We are required to pre call our custs to verify the info on the w/o.....Many times I have called the cust and the w/o was incorrect...I fixed the problem and went out the next day......Again, there are instances where the w/o is wrong and the tech is not at fault..The distance form the office your home is would dictate if a return trip that day is possible...I imagine you would have not cancelled your service if you were treated with a little more respect..

 

[dishcomm]

I had a 622 swap out that didn't call for a dish 1000, but I took one anyway. When I called to have the work order modified the advanced tech person told me the dish1000 kit was on there and that it was "assumed". I made them add it to the work order anyway, because I'll be damned if I have to pay for it because it is not specified on my work order. I have to mind my P's and Q's because I work for a sorry company.

Good move..I had a similar occurance and had the presence of mind to bring a D-1000 ..I also called to modify the w/o and had the CSR add the D-1000...Which they did......
A word of caution to all installers..NOTHING is asumed.....Ifthe part isn't listed in the "hardware required" area of the w/o Dish will not pay for it's installation..Get the w/o modified!

 

[Weezknight]

As a retailer when I take an order for a hd upgrade I would bring a d1000 with me as the 211 requires it for full use of the service.

Exactly what features wouldn't be available on a 211 without a D1000? I thought some people were using it fine with a 61.5 wing dish?

 

[branchbouncer]

When we moved to our new house and had many things to do,we had Adelphia installed,we had put our D* account in suspend mode.I had cable in the early 90's (with Cox)and it was a the worst few years of watching tv ever,when they went down it wasn't rain fade it was down,5 hours to maybe a day our so.Adelphia was here right on time,the installer went out of his way to do a fantastic job,we had to have all 6 drops checked,he replaced F connectors with new ones(first were installed were done by a scrimmping sub)did readings on all drops,changed out the old splitter,found that two of the drops needed to be amped(came by the next day and installed that)then hooked up the 4 SA 8300 HD DVR's,all for 49.95 install fee(tiped him 50.00 for such a good job)
This was only going to be a temp service though as we planed on taking D* out of suspend mode the begining of March.We started to think that maybe since this is a "NEW" house,we would try a "NEW" sat service,E*,with more HD.Contacted them,and a local installer,about having the service installed.Started right off the bat getting different stories as what we need.Dish says that we need two dishes,installer says that we need 1000.Installer says we can have 2 DVR's to feed the tv's but that only two would be HD the others would be SD.Dish says the same,but that all 4 would be HD,asked how I would feed the other two Tv's from the DVR and the responce was to run componet cables,right 40-50 feet from one and about the same for the other,it goes on and on for so long that I had to put them on hold so that i could get a shovel.Thats was enough for one day as I wanted to eat dinner before I went to sleep,said I would think about it and call at a later date.Got a call last night form Dish CSR(it has been a couple weeks since I talked to them)she was from India and spoke fairly well but I think that she spoke better than she understood,asked I could hold,was transfered to a "Super" who I assume was here in the states,tried to get me to go for the install up to the point when I told him I want what Adelphia had given me,4 HD DVR's and when the addition is done off the kitchen a 5th,His responce was"Cable is a better option for you,we can't give you 5 HD DVR's"-----------Thanks for your time.Now I do agree that both E*,D* have great service,probably slightly better than Adelphia,not by much,but these misleading stories,confusion,and limited equipment avalaibilty is crazy,I guess for now I will just have to keep Adelphia,at least there are 18 HD channels,until D* and or E* get this equipment/lease crap together

 

[bhelms]

I just got off the phone with dish and I was just informed that my 942 / 811 is
obsolete? all I wanted was the hd locals... if anyone has heard differently I
would really appreciate it... they told me that I could get a new receiver for
$299? and I just got this receiver? what a bunch of bull****

anyhow... maybe a call to my congressman?

now I know why people drink!

be well

craig

Unless you're in (I believe) LA or NY you will need the MPEG-4 capability to receive HD LiLs off the sats. Can you receive anything OTA? Still a viable option with the 942 / 811. Also, beginning 4-1 you can return the 942 for a $200 programming credit against the $299 ViP622 upgrade, but that is in an 18-mo. lease deal and will require purchasing one of the "metallic" packages plus locals for HD programming. You coild also purchase a 622 (about $650?) and sell the other receivers (if you own them) for some other options. (The 622 reportedly has a superior OTA tuner vs. the 811.) YMMV...

(Being St. Paddy's Day I'll probably hoist a few as well, and I'll likely be vision-impaired enough not to notice if I'm not watching HD...!)

 

[voripteth]

This is a good time to remind people to call Dish up and verify their installation order. I caught several errors in my order which would have required them to make an extra installation trip.

Right after you get done placing your order at Dish, call them back, speak to someone ELSE and check your order. If you're expecting a Dish 1000 make sure it's on the work order! (Mine wasn't until I called back to correct it.)