Why a Receiver Connection Fee?

[mjstraw]

How does it benefit Dish for me to keep my receiver connecte to a phone line/broadband? Do they figure if I'm connected I'm more likely to purchase PPV?

The benefit to me is to save $5. The benefit to them has to be something worth $5 to them.

Mark

 

[Mr Tony]

to prevent account stacking where you have 4 receivers on your account and have them at 2 different locations

also to do PPV or view your bill on the TV via Dish home

 

[DishSubLA]

And I believe all Duo boxes require that fee for the aforementioned Account Stacking concerns.

 

[Scherrman]

Dish is also able to tell if your receiver is having any technical problems. They would be able to let you know that you may need a service call before you have a major problem. It's also much easier for you order on screen then to call Dish. It's also cheaper to order on screen I believe.

 

[iwc5893]

Do they figure if I'm connected I'm more likely to purchase PPV?

In addition to what has been mentioned above by other poster, this is correct. They're hoping that you'll buy an PPV on impulse, rather than taking a few moments and think about it while you order it via the phone or web.

 

[mj911sc]

Its so they can track you...remember big brother is watching.

 

[dangue]

I see the benefit to Dish as being able to charge a $5 fee for those who can't physically connect their receiver to a phone/ethernet line. They get to charge those who can't do it, and force those who can into allowing them to monitor account activity.

 

[OrlandoSGM]

Its so they can track you...remember big brother is watching.

OR are you watching Big Brother (on CBS)????

 

[Scherrman]

There is no difference in paying $5 for TV2 or paying $5 for a second receiver. Don't go thinking they are screwing people over who can't hook up phone lines.

 

[mruk69]

Keeping your receiver hooked up to phone/broadband helps keep the audits away.

 

[mjstraw]

There is no difference in paying $5 for TV2 or paying $5 for a second receiver. Don't go thinking they are screwing people over who can't hook up phone lines.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "$5 for TV2" or "$5 for a second receiver".

Money is exchanged for something of value. The thing of value Dish provides is mostly service. Nothing really tangible (except when you rent physical receivers).

I pay $5 DVR fee for each of my DVR receivers - the value I get is the ability to record up to 4 programs (their service). It's a "value added" type thing. The cost to Dish is lost revenue - which subsidizes their cost of doing business (purchasing programming etc). They could just up the cost of programming packages and let DVR have no charge. But customers tend to like the concept of "those that use the service pay for it".

DirectTV has aparently decided that not many people have more than one DVR, and single fee per account will attract enough extra customers to make up for those that do.

The cost/rent of my first receiver is included in the programming charge. I pay $7/mo for a second receiver which covers depriciation on the hardware and more "consumption" of their service (the thing of value).

Those fees "make sense" (or you can argue that they do).

The "receiver connection fee" is a strange one and hence my original post. What value do I get for paying the fee? I get to not have to connect to phone/broadband. Only I can determine if it's worth it to me. The question is - is there any cost to Dish for my connecting the phone line besides lost revenue, in which case the thing of value is the ability to stay disconnected.

If I don't think having a DVR is worth $5/mo then I don't purchase the service. If I don't think staying disconnected is worth $5/mo then I plug it in - but it might be if it would cost me $1000 to get the receiver connected or worried about the "big brother" thing etc.

Dish could say "most people are going to connect anyway to get caller-id etc", not mess around with the fee, and raise the price of programming to cover the small revenue loss.

Looking at it another way, Dish is buying something of value from me - beng connected. But why is that of value to them? That is the question.

Hope everyone is _really_ confused now

Mark

 

[Lord_Vader]

I always felt it was a penalty. Dish assumes that if you don't want to hook up to phone/internet, you are 'stacking' and they fine you $5 per box. If you prove your innocence, they don't apply the penalty.

 

[Scherrman]

It's not a penalty, it's a benefit. Just think if you had DirecTV. If you wanted a 2 room hook-up, you would need 2 receivers and would pay a lease fee for the second reveiver no matter what. With Dish, you can get 1 dual tuner, hook it up to a phone line and pay no extra fee.

 

[Pen15head]

if they really wanted to hit the fees, they would just automatically make you pay an extra five for a due rec with no option of waiving the tv2 access fee. if you dont want the tv2 access fee, then simply choose not to get a duo receiver. problem solved. then you can have an additional rec fee that you have no option of waiving for that additional tv, which people seem to like. i never hear any complaints of being forced to have to pay for a second receiver, just the complaints of those who do not hook up their duo's to a phoneline

 

[Awohar]

If one day you turn on your tv2 and get snow instead of a picture and can't resolve it, many would call DISH for support. That means DISH incurs an additional expense for supporting a second TV connected to that receiver. This is why additional TVs have an additional charge. Connecting a phone line is DISH's way of allowing you to opt out of the charge normally associated with an additional room of service.

 

[dishcomm]

I view any charge named "fee" is a ripoff. Fees are simply additional profit to a vendor for doing nothing.
Ever look at your mobile phone bill? How about the conditions of your checking account? Or your auto insurance carrier? And the biggest crooks of all are auto dealerships. There can be as much as $500 adtional in "documentation fees". This is a charge the buyer incurs so that the dealership can title and register the car for the buyer. Tye pay some jibeep nine bucks an hour to go stand in the dealer line at the DMV and register multiple cars....
The other problem with fees is they are usually hidden form the customer until after the deal or sale has been made.
Typically if a customer finds that they are going to a pay a phone line fee ,they get pissed. The usual repsponse is "they never told me that".
One can rationalize all they like. A fee is a charge for soemthng not tangable.
I am a proponent of "pay one price". Instead of the big low ball come on proce and then dump all these abnnoying extra charges and fees after the deal is done, include the fees in the monthly bill and say "here it is. You pay $59.99 or whatever per month, period. No Bullsh!t. No addtional this or if you agree to work fo the company as a window washer one day per week discount. Nothing. Pay this price."

 

[Pen15head]

then are you saying they should do away with the discount for hooking up the phonline and simply charge 5.00 for the first dual tuner and 10.00 for each additional there after? if so, im sure charlie is doing the happy dance.

 

[Pen15head]

oh, and make is 10.00 for first duodvr and 15.00 for each additional duodvr too, even on the AEP. that way its the regular price and not a fee no matter what package you get.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Ok, I hate this fee just as much as any one of you here, but here is the reasoning behind it...

First of all if you had Directv or cable, they only have single Tuner receivers so technically you would be paying the TV 2 Receiver connection fee anyways with any other provider because it would require the rental of a receiver.

Second of all it is to enhance the customer experence. Dish can perform receiver dionostics remotely, you can order PPV or view and pay your bill on channel 100.

Finally, it helps prevent account stacking.

What I do not agree with is DISH Networks connection policy when it comes to installation, as their installers refuse to run the necessary wiring to hook it up. If running a phone line is not part of the basic installation, then why charge customers a penalty for not connecting it up?

Back in the Primestar days, they required a phone line with all their installations and every single Primestar installation had a new phone line ran as part of the standard installation. Why can't this happen with DISH Network? Ok, so I hear that they don't want their installers messing with customers phone lines, thats fine then they should provide a Dishcomm modem or waive the fees in cases where a receiver cannot be hooked up due to their being no phone line in the room.

 

[DishSubLA]

Well, Dish company installers (meaning Dish Network itself) will do whatever it takes to connect the Duo STB's to a phone line, meaning that if the phone jack is not near, they will provide phone splitters and run phone cord to the STB that looks "professional," such that it is hard to notice the phone cord running to the STB. Unfortunately, contractors/retailers are guilty of often NOT connecting the phone line to Duo STB's--EVEN IF THE PHONE JACK IS 3 FEET AWAY FROM THE STB--incurring the cost to the customer when Dish charges the no phone connection fee.

In summary, Dish Network is not trying to cheat people, since its own company installers will connect the phone line as long as you have a land line in the residence somewhere. Again, the lazy--not the good ones out there--retailers/contractors are to blame for these charges.