Dish Network rant

[mtanc]

Hello all.

I have come to this forum from time to time to learn things about the satellite networks and hi-def stuff in general and have learned a lot just reading the different posts. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people on here and I appreciate all I have learned.

I've had Comcast Cable here in NJ since it was available. They kept jacking up the prices. Sometimes a buck or two, sometimes more. I decided in July of this year to switch to the Dish Network. Deal was great, although I had to forgoe Comast Sportsnet, and a couple of local channels which I could easily live without. I am in the Philadelphia reception area.

Everything was OK until my old analog Toshiba TV crapped out the other day. I went out and bought a 32" LCD HDTV. I called Dish and said I wanted to upgrade to HD with DVR. Here's what transpired:

I called and got CSR#1 named Paul. Paul seemed very confused about what I wanted and told me that it would cost me $50.00 to go to an 811 box. OK. Then I said I wanted DVR and Voom channels. Paul said I need to get another dish ( a Super dish) which would cost nothing but the $50 and the extra programming charges. I asked what if I wanted to get the few local channels as well. He then said I needed to get the Dish 1000 in order to get the local channels I wanted and the Voom channels. I also had to keep the 500 Dish, or go to a 300 dish, and it would cost $99 plus 5.00 a month to lease the 942 box, plus the $5 for Voom and $5 a month for HD for a year. So, that's $15 a month for a year at least and then goes up another $5 a month after that for HD when the promotion for HD runs out.

I got cut off unexpectedly and called back and got Mark, who re-iterated everything (kind of) except he said I needed either three dishes or just one. He wasn't sure. I asked to speak to a supervisor and he then connected me with Tech support instead. I talked to Ron in Tech Support and he was very knowledgeable and explained that I would need a dish1000 and a dish 300 to do what I wanted. I explained to him that I didn't want buy anything if I was still going to be charged a lease amount. It didn't make sense to me. If I have to lease the equip for $5 a month why should I have to pay $99 plus the $50 to have it installed? It was starting to annoy me a lot. I got along real well with Ron. He, at least finally got me to a supervisor through another unnamed CSR.

I got to talk with Shane. She told me that the 942 box (HD DVR) had to be purchased for $799.00. They couldn't upgrade me to it for the $50 and the $99 install. Now we're talking $950.00 plus the extra programming fees of $20 a month. I told Shane that she convinced me to go back to the evil Comcast people and to take the dish and the rest of this equip and stuff it where the sun don't shine. I could see by the way she was listening that she may have been doing her nails, or listening to her iPOD while listening to my complaints. Believe me, I'm not a macho pig, but there are people that irritate me at times, male and female.

Bottom line is I called Comcast and told them I was thinking about going to Direct TV or back to them and what they would give me. I signed back up while holding my nose with them for $39.95/month for a year which includes all their digital channels, HBO, all HD channels they offer and a digital hd dvr box.

My point is that normally I am an easy going guy and don't try to get something for nothing. I don't mind paying for the programming I want. I don't mind the lease fees per month. I do mind talking to robots that don't know what in the hell is going on and getting different prices for stuff every time I call to upgrade or change services. My experience with Comcast the past 25 years or so may have been unpleasant as far as the increases went, at least they were consistent in their pricing.

Sorry for the long post, but I guess I needed to blow off all the turkey. If you are having trouble with Dish, call Comcast and see what you can get from them. Even after the $39.95 deal is gone after one year, It's still going to be a couple of dollars cheaper than the Dish. The only thing I would miss is the Voom channels and after perusing those channels, there are only a couple I would watch, anyway.

Hope you all had a great Holiday and thanks for all the info I get from here.

Mike

[daleb]

Mark was full of crap. Obviously did not know what he was talking about. Shane was probably bored sick having to explain everything the Mark got wrong. There is a $250 down/ lease deal on the 942, but that's only for new customers. Otherwise the real deal for upgrading current customers is loud and clear on their website.

I agree with you on Comcast. Without cable TV I got their high speed internet for 29.99/mo for 1 year after I told them I was going to DSL because I don't want to pay $52 for cable internet anymore. Kudos to their customer retention department.

[Cygnus]

Yeah its hard to beat Comcast's deal since you don't have to pay for the hardware, and if you haggle well, you can get the DVR and HD services for free. I threatend to leave Comcast last year and I got HBO, skinemax, HD service, DVR for $39.99. That promotion has ended and they tried to jack my rate up to about $85. Again I haggled and got the same package minus Skinemax for about $50.

[hidefman30]

Satellite companise are full of crap. Like I have said before the only way to work with them is like this: Get thier service and whatever you can get equipment wise for free, with contract. After your contract is over in a couple years don't dare think that they appreciate you and will upgrade you since technology has moved on. HD and DVR's are out of the question unless they can charge you good money for them. Instead just sign with whomever is the other satellite company (DN or DTV) and then make sure you get your upgraded equipment. You may have to pay a few bucks for HD DVR and related equipment, but no where near what they try to charge if you are a customer. Kinda screwed up right?

[daleb]

I have never had a problem. Every transaction over 7+ years with Dish was completely in line with whatever information they provide on their website. Sometimes cheaper if they were running a special.
The information is very clear whether you are a continuing customer or a new one. Not to say it is FAIR, or their customer service can not be lousy at times, but the info is clearly stated in writing.

[Cygnus]

Comcast is full of crap too. Why do I have to threaten to leave in order to get a good deal? If satellite companies could meet Comcast's price, I would give them a try.

[mtanc]

The reality is they are ALL full of s***! It's always been strange when I see the great promotions for new customers, and they try to squeeze as much as they can from existing customers. All we can do is to keep our eyes and ears open for who is offering what, and keep switching back and forth. I just wish they would be consistent in their pricing and their training. Their people really blew it Yesterday.

Comcast is re-installing my cable on Wed. I'll keep the dish on the roof and send them back the stb. If they come up with a super deal next year, maybe I'll go back.

Now if only Verizon could get FIOS to my area....................

Mike

[GRN]

I think the tragedy really does lie in the people that they have working for them now. I've been a DISH customer for about six years now, and on the few occasions when I had to call them, they were right on the money and had whatever problem I had solved within minutes.

Fast forward a couple of years and now they farm out part of their customer service to India. Now, I have nothing against India or its people. But anyone who has gotten an Indian CSR knows exactly what I'm talking about. How the hell can someone who works on the other side of the world help me? I remember calling DISH when I wanted to get the new VOOM channels, and was "lucky" enough to get an Indian CSR. Two things:

(1) I'll be damned if I could understand one word that the customer rep was saying to me, and...
(2) Once I did begin to understand what he was saying, the guy would not deviate from the script he had in front of him. It was like talking to a robot.

How is someone like this supposed to help me if I have a problem with a channel, or if I have a problem with my dish alignment, or if I'm having a problem with a transponder? Hell, the guy probably can't even pronounce transponder, much less know what it is.

And it's not just India. That's just part of the problem. On our side of the shore, they seem to go out, find someone with a pulse off a street corner, and prop them up next to a phone. If they can't get their information straight on promotions, how are they supposed to answer a question that actually requires them to think? If they give you attitude when you ask a simple question, what are you supposed to do when you have a real problem?

It never used to be like this. Ever.

[grb]

It isn't just the people, but that does add to the frustration. I have had good, bad and indifferent CSR's and techs in dealing with both Dish and DirectTV.

My biggest complaint with both satellite providers is that they have no respect for their customer base. They will give away the store to land a new customer and do practically nothing to keep that customer. Somehow through their market studies, they have decided that customers are unlikely to leave once they have signed up.

So, their philosophy is: if a pain in the a$$ current customer wants something, call his bluff -- he ain't going nowhere! Problem is some of us do make a change -- you just have to know how to become a "new" customer again and play the game to your advantage...

[dish_retailer]

Hello,
First thing I would like to say is that I am sorry that you were given such a hard time when calling Dish. I am a dish retailer and when I hear things like this, it makes my blood boil. I try my hardest to provide customers with nothing but the utmost best customer service that I can provide. I just got this email from my distributer and thought I'd pass this link onto all of you just for you own knowledge.
Best Wishes,
Dish_Retailer

http://www.suntimes.com/output/busin...comcast26.html

[Allin4greeN]

Originally Posted by dish_retailer

Hello,
First thing I would like to say is that I am sorry that you were given such a hard time when calling Dish. I am a dish retailer and when I hear things like this, it makes my blood boil. I try my hardest to provide customers with nothing but the utmost best customer service that I can provide. I just got this email from my distributer and thought I'd pass this link onto all of you just for you own knowledge.
Best Wishes,
Dish_Retailer

http://www.suntimes.com/output/busin...comcast26.html

LOL, shameless plug.

[GRN]

Originally Posted by dish_retailer

Hello,
First thing I would like to say is that I am sorry that you were given such a hard time when calling Dish. I am a dish retailer and when I hear things like this, it makes my blood boil. I try my hardest to provide customers with nothing but the utmost best customer service that I can provide. I just got this email from my distributer and thought I'd pass this link onto all of you just for you own knowledge.
Best Wishes,
Dish_Retailer

http://www.suntimes.com/output/busin...comcast26.html

Uhhmmmmmm..... who cares if Comcast is raising their prices? Is that going to help improve DISH's crappy customer service? Is that going to make that jabroni in India sitting in front of a phone with a script taped to his computer screen a better service rep? I don't really see the connection.

I guess Comcast raising their prices is supposed to comfort me when I call DISH and Mahmoud in India can't answer a simple question?

[mtanc]

GRN,

Amen! I am going to pay $39.95/mo for Digital Silver Plus, which includes all local channels and all Digital channels they offer plus HBO, plus HD, plus DVR STB. Add a few bucks for the tax garbage and it will come to about $45. (give or take a buck) for one year. The 4.5% increase will amount to about a little less than $2.00. ( based on the $39.95).

After being treated as I was by the robots (and so-called supervisor) at Dish, even though I was willing to pay the extra money for all the goodies per month which would have taken me to about $75.00 bucks a month for about the same stuff and programming, I STILL would have had to pay anywhere from $100 to $700 for the equipment, depending on who I talked to that day, including adding another dish on my home, I'll pay the extra two bucks, gladly. It just got really stupid on my part to continue with them.

Now I am going to fight them on the committment money. When they sent their people out (not a retailer) I signed a service agreement after the guy installed everything. I read it today. Every period, comma and number backward and forward. Not once on that agreement did it say anything about a committment. Not for a year or two, not for a day. They will play hell getting another dime from me.

Pictures at eleven.........................?

Mike

[dish_retailer]

So glad to see that you couldn't say this to me in the thread that I started. YES, I AM A FEMALE, AND YES I AM A DISH NETWORK RETAILER, AND YES, I DO MY DAMDEST TO PROVIDE GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE TO ALL OF MY CUSTOMERS AND TO FOLKS THAT AREN'T MY CUSTOMERS. YOU ALL ARE A BUNCH OF MALE CHOVENIST PIGS ON THIS BOARD, AND YOU ALL THINK THAT DISH IS SO BAD, WILL THINK AGAIN, WE ARE NOT ALL THAT BAD, AND YOUR ACUSATIONS OF SUCH ARE HURTFUL! I DID NOTHING, NOTTA, THING TO YOU ALL, I WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP BY GIVING SOME INFO. I AM BY NO MEANS RICH BY DISH, BUT FOR YOU ALL TO BE SUCH JERKS IS JUST BEYOND ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[technoguy]

Originally Posted by dish_retailer

So glad to see that you couldn't say this to me in the thread that I started. YES, I AM A FEMALE, AND YES I AM A DISH NETWORK RETAILER, AND YES, I DO MY DAMDEST TO PROVIDE GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE TO ALL OF MY CUSTOMERS AND TO FOLKS THAT AREN'T MY CUSTOMERS. YOU ALL ARE A BUNCH OF MALE CHOVENIST PIGS ON THIS BOARD, AND YOU ALL THINK THAT DISH IS SO BAD, WILL THINK AGAIN, WE ARE NOT ALL THAT BAD, AND YOUR ACUSATIONS OF SUCH ARE HURTFUL! I DID NOTHING, NOTTA, THING TO YOU ALL, I WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP BY GIVING SOME INFO. I AM BY NO MEANS RICH BY DISH, BUT FOR YOU ALL TO BE SUCH JERKS IS JUST BEYOND ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think GRN was intend to offend you,In your bussines spirit you're are triying to do the best for your costumers,But you need to understand Dish csr really suck and that is the reason many people are giving up E*.I work for a retailer too and the complaints over Dish csr's are growing the sad part of this situation is the top executives know this and until now nothing have been improve.