Who was the problem, me or the Service Techs?

[nmoulton]

I've had Dish for coming up on 10 years. A happy customer, and have not had any problems in several years. But I just had a 2-part service call completed, and it left me somewhat scratching my head wondering.

I have a 722 DVR. Occasional pixelation and lost signal started several months ago, and got progressively worse. I noticed it was happening often, not just during storms. So I took a look at the signal strength screen, and noticed the levels were really low, like 18 on locals and 30's on national channels.

I called Dish and spoke with Tech Support. The national Dish Tech support people were extremely pleasant and professional on the phone, by the way. They walked me thru a confirmation of the problem, then set up an appointment, and on the day of the appointment I got emails and phone calls updating me on the time to expect the service Tech to arrive. I was very pleased with all that.

When the Tech arrived, he took a look at the dish, mounted on the roof where Dish Network people installed it years ago, and said he was not supposed to go on a roof. I wasn't sure what he wanted me to do with that information. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything.

Then he said his boss told him to take down the 1K.4 dish that was up there and install a 1K.2 dish. I said "okay, that's fine." He installed the new dish. He had not yet come into the house or checked anything at the receiver prior to doing that.

Then he checks the signal on the TV "Aim Dish" screen, and still low. Now he does some checks with his meter, and sees that the signal going into the 722 measures 48, but the 722 sees a very low signal. So he wanted to swap the receiver. (I left out a lot of details about how he didn't know how to make the receiver recognize the 1K.2 dish at first.) By this time, after many phone calls for help it was 7:30 PM.

Now I asked for time to transfer my recordings onto my external hard drive before he swapped it. (A reasonable request?)

So we set up a follow-up time for him to bring a replacement DVR. At this point I asked him to make a note that I use the OTA capability, so in case they don't have a 722, but bring a 722K instead, I would request the OTA module with it. He made a note of that.

Part 2 of the service call was tonight. A different guy brings in a box, and it is a 722K. I ask about the OTA module, and he said I would need to order that for $50. I tell him that I use OTA and the first guy made a note of it. So he walks back to his truck, saying, "I was doing a favor". He comes back with a regular 722, and sets it up. He seemed angry.

That did fix the problem. The signal strength on the TV "Point Dish" meter about matches what the first guy's meter said it was at the cable end.

But the strength on the national channel he checked is only 47. The first Tech mentioned in the first visit they are supposed to peak the dish to get a minimum of 50. I didn't want to complain about that. I felt this guy was having a bad enough day already. And if there is anything to do, I'll take it up another day.

So, what do you all think? Did these guys do a decent job or not?

Thanks for reading the long post.

Norm

 

[Tampa8]

Overall they did a decent job. Maybe the First tech did not follow through and tell the 2nd you needed the 722, or the 2nd did not pay attention. (If they did not have one you would have needed to get a module from DISH unless they had a module) And maybe they could have peaked a little more, not sure.

 

[TimberWolf]

2-part service call? = fail of tech

1st tech = complete fail all around. his "boss" failed too by recommending dish replacement without even checking inside.

2nd tech = bad attitude. either 1st tech didn't note the acct or 2nd tech didn't check the acct notes

 

[Tampa8]

The OP ASKED for a two part service call. And it sounds like they wanted to change out the DISH whatever the case they found inside per the boss.

 

[Dishman1978]

Next time your Tech comes to diagnose your issue you now are armed with the trouble shooting guide that all DNS (in-house) techs are required to follow.







I don't think either tech did that great of a job. The first Guy didn't even go inside to verify your problem before starting working on your system. He should have started from the inside at your reciever checking for errors on the system info screen. Then unhooking the sat cable and placed his meter on to see what the meter says about signal and dbm level. If the dbm is less that -50 or signal isn't up to minimum he should have worked his way back at each component in the system till he finds where the signal or dbm level reaches acceptable levels. And replaced parts as needed.
While it is preferable not to access a roof to mount or even service a Dish. We are provided fall protection which must be used (as per OSHA) to do so if necessary and as a last resort (for mounting not servicing).
Second tech should not have just swapped out your reciever till all the steps in the troubleshooting guide were covered.

So in my opinion, both techs failed.
As far as what reciever was to be installed, sometimes you get what comes off the van, 622/722/722k as far as Dish is concerned are the same family. The only way you have the best shot of getting an exact reciever on an exchange is when they mail it to you.

 

[nmoulton]

Thanks for the replies. I thought the first Tech could have saved a lot of time if he had checked inside to see that the signal strength on the cable was okay, just the receiver was bad. Although he said they wanted to change the dish anyway. Not sure why. Seems like the dish and LNB was fine, because that didn't change it or fix it.

Also, the second Tech seemed like it was an imposition to maintain the capabilities I had before.

I should mention, to be fair, they both seemed like good guys, but both seemed stressed, and didn't hide it from me, the customer.

 

[nmoulton]

Next time your Tech comes to diagnose your issue you now are armed with the trouble shooting guide that all DNS (in-house) techs are required to follow.

Thanks Dishman! Good stuff!

 

[nmoulton]

While it is preferable not to access a roof to mount or even service a Dish. We are provided fall protection which must be used (as per OSHA) to do so if necessary and as a last resort (for mounting not servicing).

I should clarify that point. Infact that is what he said, that he couldn't go on the roof without a harness. I didn't watch him go on the roof to say that he did or did not use one. My point was that he was complaining, to me, that the dish was on my roof. Placed there by previous Dish Techs. It was not my fault, why complain to me?

 

[Dishman1978]

I should clarify that point. Infact that is what he said, that he couldn't go on the roof without a harness. I didn't watch him go on the roof to say that he did or did not use one. My point was that he was complaining, to me, that the dish was on my roof. Placed there by previous Dish Techs. It was not my fault, why complain to me?

Maybe he was just frustrated. But if he would of followed the tsg he may not of even.needed to access it in the first place.


I'm just hoping some other component in your system isn't at fault. Like a bad fitting, cable or diplexer since it seems neither tech followed the signal path.

 

[dvrexpander]

A tech's job doing this kinda work just sucks, Dishman knows and I know as we both have and at least I am still doing it. You have those days where you are slammed with work but this was a easy service call if you ask me. The receiver was obviously taking on the tuners a quick meter check behind the receiver vs what is showing on the signal screen could confirm this. Next before I swap the box I'd go check all the connections outside make sure they are clean and tight and so on. If all those are ok and good then I'd replace the receiver, HOWEVER in our case a 722 is hard to find anymore we just don't get them so I'd like explain that to you and have a RA setup for Dish to send you one and you replace it yourself to avoid dropping in a 722k and adding a OTA module which YES you would have to pay the $50 to get it as they are not free unless of course the CSR (if called) would waive the fee which sometimes happens sometimes doesn't but why waste another 20minutes dealing with that when a RA 722 shipped is the best solution.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I don't think the request to transfer off the recordings was fair to make the tech come back out.

If it was me I would have installed the new 722 to prove the box was bad, and gave the customer the option to swap the box then and there, or to call Dish and have them ship a new box.

As far as the second tech, he had no way of knowing you used the OTA also, as I don't think this can be notated on the work order.

I agree I would be a bit annoyed also after pulling out a 722k and having to go and get a 722, especially since the tech was likely doing the customer a favor replacing a 722 with a newer 722k. But this was a valid argument if you use your OTA.

I would have taken the 722K, and called customer service to try to get a free or discounted OTA. The $50 is definitely worth it.

 

[dwarren2]

Did you ever do a System Info test to see if one of the lnb's had gone bad. Your symptoms sound like what happened to me. I had bad lnb drift. lng assembly was replaced and no further problems.

 

[nmoulton]

Did you ever do a System Info test to see if one of the lnb's had gone bad. Your symptoms sound like what happened to me.

Yes, Telephone Tech support had me look at that. After they replaced the dish and LNBs from a 1000.4 to 1000.2 Eastern Arc, that did not fix it. But changing the receiver did fix it.

 

[nmoulton]

I don't think the request to transfer off the recordings was fair to make the tech come back out.

If it was me I would have installed the new 722 to prove the box was bad, and gave the customer the option to swap the box then and there, or to call Dish and have them ship a new box.

As far as the second tech, he had no way of knowing you used the OTA also, as I don't think this can be notated on the work order.

I agree I would be a bit annoyed also after pulling out a 722k and having to go and get a 722, especially since the tech was likely doing the customer a favor replacing a 722 with a newer 722k. But this was a valid argument if you use your OTA.

I would have taken the 722K, and called customer service to try to get a free or discounted OTA. The $50 is definitely worth it.

I would have been fine with those suggested solutions. But those ideas were not mentioned. In the past I have swapped my own receivers that went bad with no problems.

Thanks for the feedback, I understand.

Norm

 

[dishcomm]

I've had Dish for coming up on 10 years. A happy customer, and have not had any problems in several years. But I just had a 2-part service call completed, and it left me somewhat scratching my head wondering.

I have a 722 DVR. Occasional pixelation and lost signal started several months ago, and got progressively worse. I noticed it was happening often, not just during storms. So I took a look at the signal strength screen, and noticed the levels were really low, like 18 on locals and 30's on national channels.

I called Dish and spoke with Tech Support. The national Dish Tech support people were extremely pleasant and professional on the phone, by the way. They walked me thru a confirmation of the problem, then set up an appointment, and on the day of the appointment I got emails and phone calls updating me on the time to expect the service Tech to arrive. I was very pleased with all that.

When the Tech arrived, he took a look at the dish, mounted on the roof where Dish Network people installed it years ago, and said he was not supposed to go on a roof. I wasn't sure what he wanted me to do with that information. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything.

Then he said his boss told him to take down the 1K.4 dish that was up there and install a 1K.2 dish. I said "okay, that's fine." He installed the new dish. He had not yet come into the house or checked anything at the receiver prior to doing that.

Then he checks the signal on the TV "Aim Dish" screen, and still low. Now he does some checks with his meter, and sees that the signal going into the 722 measures 48, but the 722 sees a very low signal. So he wanted to swap the receiver. (I left out a lot of details about how he didn't know how to make the receiver recognize the 1K.2 dish at first.) By this time, after many phone calls for help it was 7:30 PM.

Now I asked for time to transfer my recordings onto my external hard drive before he swapped it. (A reasonable request?)

So we set up a follow-up time for him to bring a replacement DVR. At this point I asked him to make a note that I use the OTA capability, so in case they don't have a 722, but bring a 722K instead, I would request the OTA module with it. He made a note of that.

Part 2 of the service call was tonight. A different guy brings in a box, and it is a 722K. I ask about the OTA module, and he said I would need to order that for $50. I tell him that I use OTA and the first guy made a note of it. So he walks back to his truck, saying, "I was doing a favor". He comes back with a regular 722, and sets it up. He seemed angry.

That did fix the problem. The signal strength on the TV "Point Dish" meter about matches what the first guy's meter said it was at the cable end.

But the strength on the national channel he checked is only 47. The first Tech mentioned in the first visit they are supposed to peak the dish to get a minimum of 50. I didn't want to complain about that. I felt this guy was having a bad enough day already. And if there is anything to do, I'll take it up another day.

So, what do you all think? Did these guys do a decent job or not?

Thanks for reading the long post.

Norm

12 year tech here.
In my view, this is a DOUBLE FAIL..
1st tech. Fail for not having the proper equipment on his vehicle to finish the job. The requirement is for the tech to check his work orders carefully to make sure he has a replacement part/receiver for each job on his route.
Also, there is no such "no roof mount rule"...If that were the case, 75% of all installs could not be completed..
2nd tech, Bad attitude. Uncooperative.
Everyone has a bad day at work. Dish techs don't have an easy time of it. However, that is not the problem of the customer. We are technicians AND customer service agents. We are charged with the duty of performing our work and treating the customer as though he were a valued consumer.

 

[satnewb]

We dont even have 722s in the warehouse. A couple times I've had csr reactivate the failing rcvr and ship the custy a return box if they want to save recordings. Cust gets the best of both worlds. We also keep the ota modules in the vans just in case.

Reviewing work orders is all fine and good but if we don't have the equipment available to us or the job is a drop in it's irrelevant.

 

[dwarren2]

My original self installed dish was on the front slope of my house. When a 2nd dish was needed when a 2nd dish was needed, way back when, the tech also installed it there. When I was upgraded to the earc, the installer told me that the dish had to be ladder only accessible. He took the 2 masts and dishs off the slope and mounted the new one on the back edge of the roof where it only took a ladder to reach it.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

12 year tech here.
In my view, this is a DOUBLE FAIL..
1st tech. Fail for not having the proper equipment on his vehicle to finish the job. The requirement is for the tech to check his work orders carefully to make sure he has a replacement part/receiver for each job on his route.
Also, there is no such "no roof mount rule"...If that were the case, 75% of all installs could not be completed..
2nd tech, Bad attitude. Uncooperative.
Everyone has a bad day at work. Dish techs don't have an easy time of it. However, that is not the problem of the customer. We are technicians AND customer service agents. We are charged with the duty of performing our work and treating the customer as though he were a valued consumer.

dishcomm, I don't think Dish is even shipping out the 722 to their field offices anymore. As other techs have mentioned in this thread and other threads, I can't remember the last time I saw an actual 722 at the shop. Makes me think that Dish has designated them as replacement only receivers that are shipped straight to the customer.

 

[agentc13]

dishcomm, I don't think Dish is even shipping out the 722 to their field offices anymore. As other techs have mentioned in this thread and other threads, I can't remember the last time I saw an actual 722 at the shop. Makes me think that Dish has designated them as replacement only receivers that are shipped straight to the customer.

We get them to our shop now and then, so they do it sometimes. But I couldn't guarantee a customer that I would have one.