wurlwynd
04-05-08, 07:43 AM
First - I don't post here as often as I should. I participate in just about every CE I can, and report glaring things when I can. This community is great. I wanted to thank you all for that. I absolutely love this place. And, of course, I loves me my TV.
Here is what happened yesterday to me with my latest installation. This may get a bit long winded, so please forgive me. You can skip to the "Installation" if you want...
The scenario: My mother in-law, who has been discovered to have stage 3 Alzheimer's, has been abandoned by my wife's four other siblings. My wife and I decided to build out the detached garage and turn it into a 700 square foot home for her (and the old man). The in-laws were Dish subscribers and Dish said that they would come install them for free, yadda, yadda, yadda. - As a practical matter, the primary purpose of selling their home and moving them into mine was preservation of capital and an attempt to rebuild assets by reinvesting their social security income. Their home was their only asset, and with a middle of the range care facility at 4K a month, she would be in a state home in less than 18 months with the small amount of assets they have. I promised my wife that as long as I live, her parents would live with dignity and love, and you can't get that at a state facility. DirecTV would be free to them as just one more receiver on my package, and every penny is critical.
The problem: (for this forum anyway) is the lack of TV out there. I did say detached, btw. I have one hr20-700 on a 5 lnb dish, and a host of other receivers on the old style dishes. I even have an old Voom dish up on my roof still. The High command (read: wife) requests (read: orders) that no more dishes be placed on the roof for fear of structural collapse. That means coax to the detached garage. That means conduit. That means digging. Under concrete.
I needed to run cat6 to the garage anyway, as I have the whole house wired up with it for HD video over Ethernet and all the other computer nonsense I fiddle with all the time.
The Installation: I called DirectTV, and after the required jockying to get to direct sales, I got the supreme hook up. I now have a hr20-700, hr20-100, hr21-100, hr15-100 (not sure about that last one, it is still in the box- no time). Total cost to me $99, but after I explained all of the above, I got my HD service and my HD extras package free for a year. Never being late on your bill and ordering PPV regularly paid off for me.
Blue Star satellite in Houston came to install the DVR that was going in what is now known to my kids as "Grandma's House". It was full of contractors and had no power. I had run the drops in the walls, and the drops to the house were in a muddy trench. I had been digging the conduit trench all day. They called at 10:00 to confirm the 12:30 appointment (that is not a joke, they really did call). I told them that there was no way I could have the lines run to the dish by then, and that I needed them to come at two. They said no problem.
It started raining at 1:00. HARD. Check yesterdays radar for Houston. He came out at 2:00 exactly and I explained that they (in-laws) were moving in TODAY (Saturday) and I wanted the experience to be painless for my Mother in law. People with Mental disorders can be touchy, you know?
His phone rang and he told one of his techs that the tech was under no obligation to do anything while it was raining. This, as he was pulling his ladder off the truck.
He converted all my drops to my 5 lnb dish in 20 minutes, had the new receivers up in running within an hour, mostly because he had to wait on hold, and absolutely refused the beer I kept trying to give him.
Total satisfaction with DirecTV and their installers in my book.
Here is what happened yesterday to me with my latest installation. This may get a bit long winded, so please forgive me. You can skip to the "Installation" if you want...
The scenario: My mother in-law, who has been discovered to have stage 3 Alzheimer's, has been abandoned by my wife's four other siblings. My wife and I decided to build out the detached garage and turn it into a 700 square foot home for her (and the old man). The in-laws were Dish subscribers and Dish said that they would come install them for free, yadda, yadda, yadda. - As a practical matter, the primary purpose of selling their home and moving them into mine was preservation of capital and an attempt to rebuild assets by reinvesting their social security income. Their home was their only asset, and with a middle of the range care facility at 4K a month, she would be in a state home in less than 18 months with the small amount of assets they have. I promised my wife that as long as I live, her parents would live with dignity and love, and you can't get that at a state facility. DirecTV would be free to them as just one more receiver on my package, and every penny is critical.
The problem: (for this forum anyway) is the lack of TV out there. I did say detached, btw. I have one hr20-700 on a 5 lnb dish, and a host of other receivers on the old style dishes. I even have an old Voom dish up on my roof still. The High command (read: wife) requests (read: orders) that no more dishes be placed on the roof for fear of structural collapse. That means coax to the detached garage. That means conduit. That means digging. Under concrete.
I needed to run cat6 to the garage anyway, as I have the whole house wired up with it for HD video over Ethernet and all the other computer nonsense I fiddle with all the time.
The Installation: I called DirectTV, and after the required jockying to get to direct sales, I got the supreme hook up. I now have a hr20-700, hr20-100, hr21-100, hr15-100 (not sure about that last one, it is still in the box- no time). Total cost to me $99, but after I explained all of the above, I got my HD service and my HD extras package free for a year. Never being late on your bill and ordering PPV regularly paid off for me.
Blue Star satellite in Houston came to install the DVR that was going in what is now known to my kids as "Grandma's House". It was full of contractors and had no power. I had run the drops in the walls, and the drops to the house were in a muddy trench. I had been digging the conduit trench all day. They called at 10:00 to confirm the 12:30 appointment (that is not a joke, they really did call). I told them that there was no way I could have the lines run to the dish by then, and that I needed them to come at two. They said no problem.
It started raining at 1:00. HARD. Check yesterdays radar for Houston. He came out at 2:00 exactly and I explained that they (in-laws) were moving in TODAY (Saturday) and I wanted the experience to be painless for my Mother in law. People with Mental disorders can be touchy, you know?
His phone rang and he told one of his techs that the tech was under no obligation to do anything while it was raining. This, as he was pulling his ladder off the truck.
He converted all my drops to my 5 lnb dish in 20 minutes, had the new receivers up in running within an hour, mostly because he had to wait on hold, and absolutely refused the beer I kept trying to give him.
Total satisfaction with DirecTV and their installers in my book.