Why stay with Dish Network over DirecTV??

[GaryPen]

... because one cable channel that family wanted was Nasa!

Good looking family you got there!.

 

[empiretc]

threads like these have been popping up a lot with the current economy. if the bottom line is $$$, then as several have stated, find out who can offer you the better deal and move on. you can always come back.

several friends do this every ~2 years. seems like a real hassle, but they are always looking to get something for nothing.

vicious circle: ....dish---->direct---->cable---->dish---->direct---->cable---->dish---->direct---->cable---->dish......

 

[cosmo_kramer]

You missed the point. It's not about defending Dish, it's about someone getting a smart arse reply when they're just looking for advice . What you consider looking for validation, others consider to be asking questions (something you admitted you'd do yourself). How do you know the OP wasn't going to ask for advice in other Forums too? Or that he hasn't already spoken to people who subscribe to other services? And no-one was asking YOU personally for upgrade deals, but there's a chance that someone reading this thread has been in a similar position to the OP and can say "They did x for me, ask them about it".

I'm with Dish because they give what I want right now. Would I recommend them? Hell no, I think they're awful. I've had more than my share of problems, numerous extra charges I wasn't made aware of, dodgy receivers, many problems with hardware from Day One, not getting what I was told at sign up only to be told on the phone not to believe everything I see in their ads, "It's called marketing and isn't supposed to be taken literally" (yes, really) etc. But I've tried the alternatives and they were worse still.

And who can best answer the questions that the OP has?? Dish!! What you got as a deal might not be available to me. Why get his hopes up when Dish can look at his account and offer exactly what they're qualified for.

Matt from the DIRT offered to help. Hopefully the OP has taken him up on it to find out what his options are.

 

[Yespage]

Based on no further responses from the OP, I'd like to say that he got in contact with an official that can tell him exactly what he can get and for what with Dish. That is definitely a positive with these boards, being able to converse with good officials at Dish, not necessarily an online tech that may or may not know what they are doing.

To wander off-topic, I wonder how much long-term subscribers pay extra per month for the people that bounce back and forth with companies to take advantage of the short term savings.

I switched to Dish because it was a bit cheaper than Directv, long-term, not short-term. Of course, people should thoroughly check out their options available everywhere. What works for one doesn't necessarily suit another.

 

[SportBilly]

And who can best answer the questions that the OP has?? Dish!! What you got as a deal might not be available to me. Why get his hopes up when Dish can look at his account and offer exactly what they're qualified for.

Matt from the DIRT offered to help. Hopefully the OP has taken him up on it to find out what his options are.

Then why have discussion Forums when you can just call Dish and they'll tell you?

Here's why - because as we all know, companies like Dish, DirecTV, etc will often say different things to different people. I agree, I hope the OP has taken up the offer of help.

But I maintain my original point that there was no reason for the reply (I know it wasn't you) saying "Good Bye don't let the door hit you on the way out." IMO, that kind of reply should be reserved for posts saying "This is crap, I've had enough of it and all of you"

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Whenever this type of post comes up the only one real answer I can give is MAKE THE CHOICE WHICH IS BEST FOR YOUR VIEWING HABBITS AND BUDGET!

 

[Lord_Vader]

I was thinking of switching from Nationwide Insurance to Geico to Progressive to Allstate. Should be free after that.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Then why have discussion Forums when you can just call Dish and they'll tell you?

Here's why - because as we all know, companies like Dish, DirecTV, etc will often say different things to different people. I agree, I hope the OP has taken up the offer of help.

But I maintain my original point that there was no reason for the reply (I know it wasn't you) saying "Good Bye don't let the door hit you on the way out." IMO, that kind of reply should be reserved for posts saying "This is crap, I've had enough of it and all of you"

SatGuys is great for questions/discussions/arguments about hardware, software, programming, user experiences, etc. When it comes to questions about your account and what you as a customer are qualified for and how much it will cost, who better to go to than Dish?? I know I can't answer questions like that, can you??

The NFL Redzone thread here is a perfect example. Thanks to SatGuys we find out that there's a potential deal available to those who qualify. Do I qualify??

 

[harshness]

threads like these have been popping up a lot with the current economy. if the bottom line is $$$, then as several have stated, find out who can offer you the better deal and move on.

It isn't a matter of comparing ad slicks or online shopping carts. You have to compare what they are willing to offer you based on your credit rating.

As Scott points out (reading around his awesome spelling skills; get a REAL browser) it needs to be more about the content and hardware than the instant gratification of promotional pricing.

You shouldn't feel ashamed to change providers and others shouldn't heap derision on you for choosing to do so. It is your TV and you can do what you want. At the same time, you need to expect others to question if you've really done your due diligence and/or correct any incorrect assumptions.

 

[jerryez]

Obviously, Dish isn't going to do much of a deal to keep him. So switching to Direct for two years and back to Dish for the next two years. is the way to go and the original poster knows this. BUT, we know that the rest of us are footing the bill for these switchers in higher prices at Direct and Dish. That might be why the poster told him about the door.We kinda get tired of hearing from these switchers who are costing us in higher prices.

 

[mdram]

Obviously, Dish isn't going to do much of a deal to keep him. So switching to Direct for two years and back to Dish for the next two years. is the way to go and the original poster knows this. BUT, we know that the rest of us are footing the bill for these switchers in higher prices at Direct and Dish. That might be why the poster told him about the door.We kinda get tired of hearing from these switchers who are costing us in higher prices.

the solution
lower the price and have no incentives
but they will never do this as then you wont think you are getting a deal

 

[mentsmin]

It's silly to blame the switchers. If these businesses offered incentives to keep customers (instead of just those that bring new customers in the door) there would be less jumping around.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

It's silly to blame the switchers.

It's not silly if the switcher doesn't bother to check their options with Dish, and instead relies on responses and advice from fellow Dish subs like us....

 

[empiretc]

BUT, we know that the rest of us are footing the bill for these switchers in higher prices at Direct and Dish. That might be why the poster told him about the door.We kinda get tired of hearing from these switchers who are costing us in higher prices.

Agreed!- no incentives were offered upon returning to DN. They would not give promotional pricing or any freebies. However, considering other options, dish was the way to go. the recent hbo, sho, starz, and multisport were the first freebies given!

It's silly to blame the switchers. If these businesses offered incentives to keep customers (instead of just those that bring new customers in the door) there would be less jumping around.

Agreed as well. More incentives should be given to long time subscribers, however, they are the ones subsidizing the new customer promotions. Friends are constantly reminded of this when they are constantly switching to the next best deal.

It is laughable when they call to complain and threaten to leave even though they really do not have any thing to complain about. they just want to see if they can get something for free.

 

[TimberWolf]

Why did this thread go on for 4 pages when MattG was the second reply?
If the OP contacted him, he would either like the offers made or not and go from there.

 

[whatchel1]

Well said Rey

Nay he's just being a post HO. Just kidding I even put a like on it.

 

[KAB]

Welcome to open forums. Though I agree. Most is just BS malcontent-ion.

 

[rb8484]

Wow, didnt know I would stir things up so much. I like how people jump to conclusions! I would like to have HD, just dont want to pay $10 per month for it as I was doing before they had the free HD for life. I do not want to have paperless billing and dont want to have autopay. So, that is why I opt out of HD at this time. I have not been in contact with Dish yet, but I did just email the DIRT member with my number. I just wanted personal experience from those of you that have had each dish and direct.
Call me a switcher if you want, but I have been with Dish for many years, and have never had Direct, which is why I am here asking questions! Thanks to those of you that have been helpful so far!

 

[HanoverPretzel]

I say, if you can deal with the hassle of switching, and you can get a better deal with Directv, switch to Directv. All these satellite companies have BS exceptions to their deals and try to screw people with bad credit, so I recommend calling Directv and making sure you qualify for their deals before you quit Dish, but if you do qualify, then there is absolutely no reason to stick with Dish. You'll save money for the first year with Directv and then probably break even the second year. Then after the second year when your contract expires, you can come back and get Dish again. You could even throw cable in the rotation. The only reason not to do it is if it's going to be too much of a hassle (and I do understand if it is -- I have horror stories about dealing with Comcast in particular you wouldn't believe, and if you search the Internet, there are people with horror stories about all these companies.).

I'm completely serious here, though. All these companies only care about the bottom line, and they're perfectly willing to screw their customers anytime they think it will make them a few extra dollars. And the long-term customers who pay their bills loyally every month are always the ones who get screwed the worst. I was struggling to pay a cable bill last year, and knew I couldn't pay it, and called to get even a small deal to make it affordable for me, and they said no -- even though articles in the newspaper about rate hikes always pointed out that that those hikes don't apply to the 60% of their customers on promotional rates. I'm poor and pay my bill loyally for 5 years and can't be in that big majority that gets a promotional rate? I took a hike and am now saving money with Dish. If Dish won't cut me a deal when their contract expires, I'll get someone else to cut me a deal -- maybe back to Comcast.

When I cancelled my tv with them, Comcast wanted me to pay $60 plus a modem rental fee plus tax every month for Internet service or something like that. I quit for 6 months, and then came back and suddenly the same service was $20 a month plus modem rental and tax for a year. I think I even still get a lesser discount into the second year with no obligation or contract beyond year one.

Now, I already see the posts in this thread that say "Blah, blah, blah, people are being jerks and taking advantage of the system". Well, guess what? These companies are being jerks to their long-term customers, some of whom are in poverty and really sacrificing and juggling things around to pay their bills. I'm not going to shed a tear for some big corporation that feels people are taking advantage of them. Guess what? Corporations aren't people. They don't have feelings. And if they don't want people to take advantage of their special offers, don't make special offers. And if they want customer loyalty, then they should show loyalty to their long-term customers by offering them the best possible rates instead of offering them the worst possible rates. What goes around comes around.

In a perfect world, these companies would just offer a reasonable flat rate to everyone. But they don't. So people are forced to juggle things to be able to continue to afford television service. If they were to offer their best rates to long-term customers, guess what? I would have just stuck with cable my entire life probably. If Dish were to offer their promotional rates to long-term customers and their current regular rates to new customers, I'd probably stay with Dish indefinitely. But my financial incentive is to reconsider and jump every time a contract or promotion expires and I feel like I can stomach dealing with the hassle of switching, and my bottom line is more important to me -- you know, so I can afford to eat and feed my dog and pay basic bills -- than some corporation's bottom line. Dish made a quarter billion dollars in the last fiscal quarter, I don't think Charlie's hurting for anything.

 

[DS0816]

Why stay with Dish Network over DirecTV??

Look at the HD lineups to help inform yourself (in case you're not already) of which provider comes closer to refecting what you want.