Voters Say DISH Receives More Service Calls

C-Band, DirecTV Close Behind

It started out as a poll to determine which satellite TV service received more service calls from subscribers, and later the poll confirmed what many may have known already. But, after nearly 250 votes in a two week time frame, democracy has spoken: DISH Network is the satellite TV company that receives the most service calls for its equipment.

However, this could also fall on the appropriate methods of training involved with satellite TV - namely the SBCA's National Standards and Testing Program. Are retailers receiving enough training? Are they receiving the right training?

According to the SkyRETAILER poll, 35.7 percent said a DISH Network system receives the most service calls. And, 33.7 percent said C-Band was service call prone and DirecTV was the least of the three at 30.5 percent. Still, a pretty even trouble call.

What does this mean? Although the poll is highly unscientific and more of a snapshot of readership opinion, it does shine a light on a very troublesome issue: Product quality. Is DISH Network (and all of satellite TV for that matter) producing equipment to the minimal standards?

Some retailers also complained that DISH fails to meet its "seal" of quality ... but that could be said about all of the platform providers. And, retailers and installers can be at fault for service calls as well. If a satellite TV installation is performed inadequately, customers will react.

So, in essence, we need feedback on these issues. E-mail SkyRETAILER your thoughts and let us know your experiences: ryan@mediabiz.com.

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Retailers Swarm Editor's E-mail Inbox

After publishing our story on the SkyRETAILER poll asking which satellite TV provider (DISH, DirecTV or C-Band) receives more service calls, retailers wrote furiously to include their personal opinions and views. To say the least, SkyRETAILER's e-mail inbox was inundated with e-mails from those who supported our findings and those who thought we were way off.

(To read last week's story on the poll, visit http://www.skyretailer.com/viewskyretailer.cfm?ReleaseID=431#Story1)

Although the poll favored DISH as the service that receives more calls, it was a close race - DirecTV and C-Band weren't far behind. Here are some of our e-mail reactions throughout the past week (the retailers quoted below are kept anonymous):

--"In our experience, very few service calls are a result of poor quality equipment or poor quality 'professional' installations. There are many, many things that trigger service calls. Failed equipment/poor 'professional' installation accounts for just a small percentage of them. Many of our service calls are a result of poor self-installations. Many are caused by the customer's inability to understand and operate their system. In the summer time, thunderstorms will cause a lot of service work."

--"The satellite companies have, in some respects, brought on the high percentage of service calls on themselves. By continuously cutting install fees, or asking more for the same install fee, the satellite companies are, in essence, getting what they pay for."

--"I have had a C-Band 4D high-definition TV system for over eight years and can honestly say in that time frame I've only had to replace one LNB, which I did myself."

Thanks to all the retailers that replied and wrote SkyRETAILER. Your participation in this is greatly appreciated and is desired in future polls and requests for comments.

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