Welcome Pack package subscription

PKII

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jun 22, 2005
791
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WV
If I subscribe to a package above the Welcome Pack with locals am I able to resubscribe to the Welcome Pack later? In the past I read that we were not allowed to go back to this introductory package.

But recently I sent a suggestion to Dish about allowing this and they said I could already resubscribe.

Is this true?

I have had the welcome pack for years because I thought I couldn't get it back after I upgraded to a more expensive package for a few months.

On my subscription list it showed that my current package was "no longer available". So I thought it wasn't available if I left. :oldfrown
 
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If I subscribe to a package above the Welcome Pack with locals am I able to resubscribe to the Welcome Pack later? In the past I read that we were not allowed to go back to this introductory package.

But recently I sent a suggestion to Dish about allowing this and they said I could already resubscribe.

Is this true?

I have had the welcome pack for years because I thought I couldn't get it back after I upgraded to a more expensive package for a few months.

On my subscription list it showed that my current package was "no longer available". So I thought it wasn't available if I left. :oldfrown
Can you send a private message with your account/phone number and 4 digit PIN?
 
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I switched from Top 200 to Welcome Pack. You need to ask for it though via chat or calling.
 
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On my subscription list it showed that my current package was "no longer available". So I thought it wasn't available if I left. :oldfrown
Yes, this is my biggest gripe with the mydish site. Dish really needs to fix this so that Welcome Pack is listed there, to avoid this type of confusion. As it is now, it is just a PITA for those who wish to switch to Welcome Pack, since it isn't listed, and you have to call or chat to get it instead of changing the package yourself online. Meanwhile, it is costing Dish potential money from those who already have Welcome Pack and might wish to upgrade, but they don't do so for the same reason as the OP: they are afraid that they will not be able to get Welcome Pack back later. What sense does it make to keep subscribers "locked" into a low-end basic package? (Or rather, make them think that they are locked into keeping that package, if they ever want to get it later.) Welcome Pack does not require the G4 Smart Card, so it is not like Flex Pack and the Channel Packs, which are not listed unless all of your receivers are compatible. So, I really see no reason not to list Welcome Pack as an available package option.
 
Yes, this is my biggest gripe with the mydish site. Dish really needs to fix this so that Welcome Pack is listed there, to avoid this type of confusion. As it is now, it is just a PITA for those who wish to switch to Welcome Pack, since it isn't listed, and you have to call or chat to get it instead of changing the package yourself online. Meanwhile, it is costing Dish potential money from those who already have Welcome Pack and might wish to upgrade, but they don't do so for the same reason as the OP: they are afraid that they will not be able to get Welcome Pack back later. What sense does it make to keep subscribers "locked" into a low-end basic package? (Or rather, make them think that they are locked into keeping that package, if they ever want to get it later.) Welcome Pack does not require the G4 Smart Card, so it is not like Flex Pack and the Channel Packs, which are not listed unless all of your receivers are compatible. So, I really see no reason not to list Welcome Pack as an available package option.

Because If people know if it's an option they will get it and Dish doesn't make a good enough profit selling that package.

The other issue with the "welcome pack" is the confusion it creates. What I mean by that is customers will subscribe to it to save money, and after a few months they will realize there is no channels to watch, and will associate their crappy selection of channels with dish network service being crappy in general.

All day long I hear from customers that their provider shows the same thing over and over and that's why they are switches.

I dare not say the same channels they get on Comcast, they get on Dish, Directv and Uverse.

It's a common misconception.

Here is another reason why...

I had this 80 year old man who used to pay annually for Dish. Every year he would come in and we would spend 3 hours going over all the Dish packages.

He would finally pick a package like AT200 and HBO for example, we would call Dish together, figure out the price with all the added fees and he would write a check and we would mail it to Dish to cover the entire year.

A few days later his kids and wife get pissed off he changed the package, and would call Dish and add the everything pack back without his knowledge.

6 months would pass, and he would come into my office wondering why his service was off and had a $300 bill in the mail.

So we would then figure out the difference for the everything package, his past due bill and he would send in another check to Dish.

This went on for at least 7 years....

Finally when Dish started getting more anal on customer account security, we yet again changed the package and put a ton notes on the account not to change it and put a password.

So instead of changing the package, his wife decided to order Comcast with the everything pack.

So now he had a bill for Dish and a bill for Comcast.

So the last time he saw me, Dish had screwed me out of my contract a few months earlier so I was no longer a Dish dealer and no longer had his account.

Looking at both his bills for Dish and Comcast, he asked me how he could save some money.

So I ended up suggesting he cancel both Dish and Comcast, sign up as a new customer with Directv with the everything pack and just do auto-pay instead of trying to pay the year in advance.

The point here is that people try to be cheap going to smaller packages, but at the end the smaller packages back fire on the provider because not only they make less profit, but end up loosing the customer because the smaller pack doesn't have the channels the customer wants.
 
The welcome pack is designed as a retention package. It's not an option on the website solely so it can be used as a tool in keeping a customer.
You mean it wouldn't work as a retention package if subscribers to higher packages already knew it existed? Dish has to keep Welcome Pack a "secret" in order to trick those subscribers into thinking that they are getting some kind of special deal when Dish offers it to them as a retention promotion. :rolleyes:
 
You are overthinking this here. As mentioned, it is a retention tool. And so are credits. Knowing what Dish has, isn't bad either. You're trying to make an argument out of nothing.
 
You are overthinking this here. As mentioned, it is a retention tool. And so are credits. Knowing what Dish has, isn't bad either. You're trying to make an argument out of nothing.
And I succeeded, since you kept replying. The smiley ( :D ) at the end meant I was kidding, as does this one: :D
 
So, the real problem with the Welcome Package is that it is misnamed — it should be called the “Retention Package” :)

On a more serious note… I’ve been a Welcome Package subscriber for several years. In Feb. our aging Vip622 started regularly losing the sat signal. Since we are AT&T wireless customers, I looked very seriously at switching to DTV to take advantage of their bundling, etc.. The only thing that kept me with Dish was the low cost of the “Retention Package” with no contract.
 
So, the real problem with the Welcome Package is that it is misnamed — it should be called the “Retention Package” :)
Yes, the name "Welcome Pack" is especially confusing since Dish will not let you open an account with Welcome Pack. (You can call back immediately after opening an account and switch to Welcome Pack with no penalty for the programming change, since Dish's system did not let you get the package you wanted the first time.) The only way the name makes sense is if you interpret it as "You are Welcome to stay with Dish if you wish" rather than being a "Welcome" greeting to new subscribers.
 
So, the real problem with the Welcome Package is that it is misnamed — it should be called the “Retention Package” :)

On a more serious note… I’ve been a Welcome Package subscriber for several years. In Feb. our aging Vip622 started regularly losing the sat signal. Since we are AT&T wireless customers, I looked very seriously at switching to DTV to take advantage of their bundling, etc.. The only thing that kept me with Dish was the low cost of the “Retention Package” with no contract.
Welcome Pack offers a DVR for local programming which is a huge plus, retained access to an EHD, and pipeline to premiums (which with the DVR is also great). More importantly, Dish apparently will still offer deals on those premiums (I presume aren't available over the top!). It offers a few good channels, which align with my families needs. Not a lot, but enough. The much lower price allows adding an IPTV provider to supplement the exact channels I also would like, while still saving money.

The entertainment world is getting more fractured, but with some creativity, a Roku (Fire TV), and a little patience, you can get more of what you want for less than you were paying. I'm saving $30 a month (and that isn't promo savings), yet get two premiums now (as opposed to just one), and get just about all of the channels I want.

Welcome Pack is great and I'm glad Dish offers it.
 
I had the Welcome Pack for years, as a former Sky Angel lifetime customer, but over time, especially with SA* cutting back to just a handful of channels, and more free content being available on the internet, it was much less useful to me to have a Dish with any package at all. What sealed the deal was when Dish gave me free Sling TV Blue service for a while during the Tribune locals dispute, and I realized how much more I was getting from Sling... And then I've since bought into DirecTV NOW at the promotional $35 rate, to which DTV added free HBO for a year. I still debate dropping back to Sling, because I don't watch *that many* DTV NOW channels either. I'm also very interested in the potential $10 no-sports package with Discovery, AMC, A&E networks included. That might give me enough of what I want to be quite attractive.
 
So, the real problem with the Welcome Package is that it is misnamed — it should be called the “Retention Package” :)
After giving it some thought, I think "Loyalty Pack" has a nicer ring to it.

I'm also very interested in the potential $10 no-sports package with Discovery, AMC, A&E networks included. That might give me enough of what I want to be quite attractive.
Is that on Dish? If Dish offered any $10 per month stand-alone basic package, I would be very interested.
 
I have had it for a long time and love it. I get all local channels in HD, access to EHD on my Wallys, premiums, free previews etc. It complements my IP/over the top streaming perfectly.

As far as it being a retention package, it is *sort of.* You don't have to threaten to cancel to get it.

A true retention package is like what I have through SiriusXM. Six months on my car and streaming, all channels including premiums, for $50 total. Unadvertised and deeply discounted. Much different from Welcome Pack, IMO
 
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I should probably call it a retroactive descalator. If somebody is upset with how much they pay and state that they only watch a couple channels, we were always trained to offer WP
 
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I'm just glad they offer it. Directv has nothing equivalent, their bottom package Family package is something like $36 and after you add DVR and HD fee its a joke.
I'm sure Welcome pkg has paid for itself keeping many and brought some back like me. Another positive you can add all the 1/2 price premiums you want for 6 months and still keep bill under $60 month especially if you have the 211K and EHD with no DVR fee.