crzychrisj
01-02-08, 08:27 AM
After a less-than-stellar start to the HD upgrade process, I think everything is finally right.
The first installer came out the Saturday after Thanksgiving, took a look at my existing 3LNB on the chimney (framed chimney, not brick), and said he couldn't put the new dish there, it would have to go on the roof. No ifs ands or buts, it was the only place he was "allowed" to put it. This was not going to fly because my townhouse HOA will not allow roof mounts, not to mention the roof was just redone about a month prior. He said there was no way he could install then, and if I wanted he would leave the new receiver and lock me into a new contract, but I wouldn't be able to get any of the new HD channels. Uh, no thanks buddy. So he continues to say "sorry" and hops in his van and leaves.
I called Directv the next morning and explained everything that happened, and of course they apologized profusely and said this never happens, it's an exception (hahaha, they obviously don't have a clue!). So they schedule me for a new appointment, 3 weeks later. Fine, best I can get, I'll take it.
The second installer was scheduled for a weekday, from 8 am to noon. He showed up at 11:45 and it was at least an hour before he even got to the back of the house to see where the thing was going. Now I was getting nervous because I had an appointment I had to leave for by 2:15. I told him this and he said no problem, he'd be done. I looked outside at 2:00 and both dishes were on the ground still, not making much progress here. I told him it was getting close and I had to get going. OK, almost done he says. 2:15 comes and no real progress, told him I gotta go. He isn't sure what to do, I suggested he go take care of his other calls (only had service calls) and come back when he was done, I should be back then. He could finish up everything outside, and take care of activation later. He called his super to confirm and we went ahead with this.
So, we agreed that he'd return around 6 - 6:30. He came around 8:30, and of course it's too late so he can't finish the alignment (which could have been done without me here). So he tells me I can call back and get it fine tuned another day and it should be no problem. Stupidly I agree to this, since everything is actually working and he did technically complete the installation. I had HD and thought it'd be fine.
Fast forward to last week. I'm watching TV and suddenly lost signal, everything is out except for my SD locals. I look outside the dish is still there, doesn't appear to have moved. I called Directv to get a tech out for a service call / realignment, knowing I wasn't gonna be able to get it done right. They got me scheduled for today, which was 5 days later. I figure OK I can deal.
In the meantime, I got on the ladder and checked some things out, and found that one of the bolts holding one of the support brackets had snapped causing the bracket to come loose, and the entire pole to shift outward (meaning the dish moved downward). I found a new bolt in my arsenal and pushed the pole back up into place, enough to get a signal and be able to watch some TV, and figured it'd hold me over till the service tech came.
Today's service call was scheduled from 8 to noon. The tech called me at 8, said he'd be here in 20 min. He got here in 10, I told him what happened and what I did. He got right to work. He took the whole assembly down and re-plumbed the mount and realigned the entire setup. He finished in about 25-30 minutes, and I checked the receiver and all the signal levels are between 95-100, instead of the high 50s and low 60s I had before on the 99 and 103. (110 and 119 had been OK the first time around). I was impressed, this guy did it right, and was quick and friendly. If only he had come here the first time around!
I'd still be kind of hesitant to recommend Directv to my friends for HD because of this experience I had. Until today it was nothing but a headache, and I don't know how a "normal" non-techie kind of person could deal with it. I understand that things don't always go right the first try and that patience can reward you, but other people just want the TV to work, and don't care about dishes and installers. Directv has definitely got their work cut out for them when it comes to the HSP's, and in my experience, Halsted in particular. Step things up a notch and get installers like my 3rd one doing everything, and things would be much better for all.
The first installer came out the Saturday after Thanksgiving, took a look at my existing 3LNB on the chimney (framed chimney, not brick), and said he couldn't put the new dish there, it would have to go on the roof. No ifs ands or buts, it was the only place he was "allowed" to put it. This was not going to fly because my townhouse HOA will not allow roof mounts, not to mention the roof was just redone about a month prior. He said there was no way he could install then, and if I wanted he would leave the new receiver and lock me into a new contract, but I wouldn't be able to get any of the new HD channels. Uh, no thanks buddy. So he continues to say "sorry" and hops in his van and leaves.
I called Directv the next morning and explained everything that happened, and of course they apologized profusely and said this never happens, it's an exception (hahaha, they obviously don't have a clue!). So they schedule me for a new appointment, 3 weeks later. Fine, best I can get, I'll take it.
The second installer was scheduled for a weekday, from 8 am to noon. He showed up at 11:45 and it was at least an hour before he even got to the back of the house to see where the thing was going. Now I was getting nervous because I had an appointment I had to leave for by 2:15. I told him this and he said no problem, he'd be done. I looked outside at 2:00 and both dishes were on the ground still, not making much progress here. I told him it was getting close and I had to get going. OK, almost done he says. 2:15 comes and no real progress, told him I gotta go. He isn't sure what to do, I suggested he go take care of his other calls (only had service calls) and come back when he was done, I should be back then. He could finish up everything outside, and take care of activation later. He called his super to confirm and we went ahead with this.
So, we agreed that he'd return around 6 - 6:30. He came around 8:30, and of course it's too late so he can't finish the alignment (which could have been done without me here). So he tells me I can call back and get it fine tuned another day and it should be no problem. Stupidly I agree to this, since everything is actually working and he did technically complete the installation. I had HD and thought it'd be fine.
Fast forward to last week. I'm watching TV and suddenly lost signal, everything is out except for my SD locals. I look outside the dish is still there, doesn't appear to have moved. I called Directv to get a tech out for a service call / realignment, knowing I wasn't gonna be able to get it done right. They got me scheduled for today, which was 5 days later. I figure OK I can deal.
In the meantime, I got on the ladder and checked some things out, and found that one of the bolts holding one of the support brackets had snapped causing the bracket to come loose, and the entire pole to shift outward (meaning the dish moved downward). I found a new bolt in my arsenal and pushed the pole back up into place, enough to get a signal and be able to watch some TV, and figured it'd hold me over till the service tech came.
Today's service call was scheduled from 8 to noon. The tech called me at 8, said he'd be here in 20 min. He got here in 10, I told him what happened and what I did. He got right to work. He took the whole assembly down and re-plumbed the mount and realigned the entire setup. He finished in about 25-30 minutes, and I checked the receiver and all the signal levels are between 95-100, instead of the high 50s and low 60s I had before on the 99 and 103. (110 and 119 had been OK the first time around). I was impressed, this guy did it right, and was quick and friendly. If only he had come here the first time around!
I'd still be kind of hesitant to recommend Directv to my friends for HD because of this experience I had. Until today it was nothing but a headache, and I don't know how a "normal" non-techie kind of person could deal with it. I understand that things don't always go right the first try and that patience can reward you, but other people just want the TV to work, and don't care about dishes and installers. Directv has definitely got their work cut out for them when it comes to the HSP's, and in my experience, Halsted in particular. Step things up a notch and get installers like my 3rd one doing everything, and things would be much better for all.