Is the programming worth all the trouble?

[cuffdaddy]

I made the switch from Comcast to DirecTV back in December and while I've been impressed with the great programming I've had so many problems I'm seriously considering switching back to Comcast. Thus far I've had to have 4 different technicians out to my home before the dish was aligned properly and also had two defective multiswitches. I'd estimate in the 7 months I've had DirecTV that my service has been substandard in some way for 1/3 of that time.

The latest issue I called about were poor signals (20% -50%) on the 103(c) satellite which have produced intermittent 771 errors. When I called for service most of the stations were coming in by some miracle so the CSR told me I would have to call back when I had an outage. I demanded a manager which eventually got me a service call but not until Friday. A couple hours later my HD-DVR starting reading zeros across the board for Tuner 2 so now that may be on verge of dying. Thankfully a reset resolved that problem for now.

Along with this litany of issues I'm increasingly getting frustrated by the quality of service. Either the CSRs don't want to help me or they begin to and then I mysteriously get disconnected so I have to call back and start the process over again with a different agent. And not once has a CSR ever called me back after a disconnect even though they have all my information on their screen. It must be some unwritten rule among the CSRS that whenever they can't resolve an issue using the troubleshooting script they should just hang-up.

I know a number of you maybe even the majority of you are satisfied DirecTV customers so what gives? I can't believe DirecTV would be so sucessful if this was common. Also does anyone have any suggestions for improving the situation. Like I said I love the programming but at this point it doesn't seem worth all the headaches not to mention the $100+ I pay per month.

[Paul A]

guess I've been lucky. 9 year customer. Not a SINGLE thing gone wrong, ever, and I curently lease 5 receivers. I'm extremely happy.

Paul

[rustynails]

I love the programming but hate the Dvr even though I have had no trouble with the HR21. It just isn't a good product as far as I am concerned when you compare it with E. I gripe alot about D's products but since I can't get E and I don't want cable then D is my only option. It is a Dvr and it does record but that is all that I can say about it.

[ThomasM]

I love the programming but hate the Dvr even though I have had no trouble with the HR21. It just isn't a good product as far as I am concerned when you compare it with E. I gripe alot about D's products but since I can't get E and I don't want cable then D is my only option. It is a Dvr and it does record but that is all that I can say about it.

What on earth is "E"?? :confused:

[mx6bfast]

What on earth is "E"?? :confused:
E* = Echostar, Dish

[Grentz]

I have been happy for my 12 or so years. Never really had an issue, D* has only been to my house 3 times in that whole time frame, and all 3 were in the last 3yrs or so when I upgraded to a new standard receiver, then a DVR, and then an HD-DVR. All went smoothly. (originally we setup our own system back when you could just buy all the stuff and set it up yourself)

[davring]

Almost all problems people experience are due to poor/bad installations. Very unfortunate for the customer. Poor signal strength leads to very substandard performance from a HD DVR. If and when you get your 103c into 90 plus your current problems will cease. If you get a tech out for a realignment, do not let him leave until 103c is at the very least in the upper 80's.

And Welcome to DBSTalk...

[cuffdaddy]

DirecTV's weak email response:

"Thanks for writing. I'm sorry to hear about the technical problems you've been having. I wanted you to know that difficult service experiences like the one you had are rare and we certainly do not take them lightly. I apologize for the trouble you had and hope that I've been able to resolve your issue. "

Maybe I'm missing something but how did this email "resolve" my issues? Awful customer service.

[prospect60]

14 year subscriber and Direct has never been to my house. Other than a couple billing office screwups and hassles over upgrading equipment for lowest cost I can't say I've had much problem. Then again I've installed all my own stuff since day one so maybe that eliminates most of the issues.

One of my initial receivers quit working after 6 years and my first H20 went on the fritz after a few months, but out of 8 or 9 receivers including at least 4 DVR those are the only equipment failures I've had.

[curt8403]

I made the switch from Comcast to DirecTV back in December and while I've been impressed with the great programming I've had so many problems I'm seriously considering switching back to Comcast. Thus far I've had to have 4 different technicians out to my home before the dish was aligned properly and also had two defective multiswitches. I'd estimate in the 7 months I've had DirecTV that my service has been substandard in some way for 1/3 of that time.

The latest issue I called about were poor signals (20% -50%) on the 103(c) satellite which have produced intermittent 771 errors. When I called for service most of the stations were coming in by some miracle so the CSR told me I would have to call back when I had an outage. I demanded a manager which eventually got me a service call but not until Friday. A couple hours later my HD-DVR starting reading zeros across the board for Tuner 2 so now that may be on verge of dying. Thankfully a reset resolved that problem for now.

Along with this litany of issues I'm increasingly getting frustrated by the quality of service. Either the CSRs don't want to help me or they begin to and then I mysteriously get disconnected so I have to call back and start the process over again with a different agent. And not once has a CSR ever called me back after a disconnect even though they have all my information on their screen. It must be some unwritten rule among the CSRS that whenever they can't resolve an issue using the troubleshooting script they should just hang-up.

I know a number of you maybe even the majority of you are satisfied DirecTV customers so what gives? I can't believe DirecTV would be so sucessful if this was common. Also does anyone have any suggestions for improving the situation. Like I said I love the programming but at this point it doesn't seem worth all the headaches not to mention the $100+ I pay per month.


to better help you, it would be helpful to see images of your satellite dish installation so we can tell if something should be done.

Also your readings for 101, 110, 119, 99S and 103 S and C help

[rkreitl]

guess I've been lucky. 9 year customer. Not a SINGLE thing gone wrong, ever, and I curently lease 5 receivers. I'm extremely happy.

Paul
I was in the same situation as you up until we moved the beginning of May. How from night to night I have a 50/50 chance of viewing my HD channels. Happens on both HR20s even after swatting them and BBCs.

During the day, everything is fine, then at night I can almost never receive HD locals without pixelation and lip sync problems. Prior to our move I had no problems for 2 1/2 years in the old house.

With this latest install the installer made the decision to use non-powered multiswitches mounted under the eve. Plus he has the feeds from the Slimline split to each multiswitch.

I believe the real problem here is with new installs and the lack of a proper QC procedure that installers follow. If your setup is good and has been for 9 years, it will continue to be. But if you move next month, there's a good possibility to land in the world of repeated calls to CS, repeated disconnects from CS, repeatedly asking for a supervisor and repeated tech visits.

I'm not picking on you Paul, you were just the first to respond and I quoted your post. But posts like yours in reply to someone that's having problems, doesn't help. I'm not really sure why, over and over, some feel the need to post a "I haven't had any problems" response to someone that obviously is having problems.

Something that may help is discussing what could be causing the problems. I seem to lose most all HD channels in the evening, but only every other day or so. The most consistent problem is with local HDs even though I can receive those same channels HD OTA without problems.

I'm guessing I need powered multiswitch(s). and possibly remove the splitters between the dish and multiswitches. It probably also doesn't help that neither the dish, splitters or multiswitches are grounded. But to get there, I need to run through the call center, speak with 2-3 CS reps and eventually ask for a supervisor to get another service call scheduled. Good thing I've got the protection plan.

[scootergirl863]

cuffdaddy, i had a similar issue with D* when I first installed the service. I had an awful time trying to get help on the phone. if you call and speak with the CSR reps always ask for their i.d. or something to reference them at the beginning of the call (this helped me). i finally worked my way to a supervisor who in turn set up a service call and sent out a supervising tech who resolved my problem. if you send an email, try asking for a call back from a CSR supervisor. maybe that will help you. good luck.

[Greg Alsobrook]

To the OP:

:welcome_s to DBSTalk!

Sorry to hear about all of the issues you're having... and I commend you for coming here and clearly explaining your problems instead of just bashing...

Where and how is your dish mounted? Do you know if it is grounded? Does the dish have the two stabilizer arms coming off the sides?

If I were you, I would write an email to ellen.filipiak@directv.com ... she is the Senior Vice President of Customer Service... You will more than likely receive a call back from the "Office of the President" within 1 business day...

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Dolly]

D*'s installations can be bad I think because the installation people aren't really D*'s employees. They are contracted by D* to do the work. But I do believe I read something recently about D* buying at least some of the installation companies. I could be wrong about this and if I am I'm sure someone will correct me. Also the DVRs do seem to be a weakness. And I have to say in the time I have been with D* their service level has really dropped. When I first started with D* in 1995 you could not have asked for a better company for the service they provided. However, I have noticed that within the last few years the service has deteriorated. I have had calls that disconnected and only one time did anyone call me back. I have received misinformation from CSRs. It is a real problem to get a Sport's Ticket auto-renewal cancelled for some reason. So after all of that you may be thinking why in the world is she staying with D*? And my answer is the programming especially the sports programming. And, of course, the HD programming that D* now has and will be getting more of before this year is over. I would suggest that you get D*'s Protection Plan. I know some people don't think the Protection Plan is worthwhile, but read up on all that is covered by it. I personally think it is very good especially for people that have those "weak" DVRs. I had one that went bad on me and D* got it replaced immediately. And also I have seen it on this Forum a lot of times where people have left D* thinking things would be better with another company only to find problems with the company they changed to. Service just seems to be going downhill with so many companies and not just Sat. TV companies. A sign of the times I guess :( Sorry I didn't mean to write a book :blush:

[Upstream]

Cuffdaddy -- To your original question: Yes, most people here think DirecTV is worth the trouble. Some have had no problems or minor problems which are easily resolved. Others have had major problems and have been able to persevere until the problems were corrected. For some, DirecTV is their only option, or the other options are inferior, so they put up with the issues. And there are lots of people on this forum who actually enjoy the satisfaction they receive in troubleshooting and solving their problems. For them, problems such as yours are just a challenge to test their technical skills.

Of course there are still the one out of every five DirecTV customers without commitments who cancel every year.

[cuffdaddy]

Thanks for all the suggestions. For those that haven't had any issues for X number of years all I can say is I wish I was in the same boat. Here is some more information for those that are curious and maybe to clarify some things from my initial post:

* All the equipment was installed by a Halstead Communications installer. I have no problem running coax but I'm not too keen on climbing on to my roof where the dish is mounted. Also the dish has no obstructions in its path but I don't know if it has the stabilizer arms as someone suggested. That might be the problem.

* The dish was aligned properly after the 4th tech came out to replace my 2nd failed multiswitch a couple months back. He told me the dish was never aligned properly from the start which I already knew and reported. At that point I had just about given up on getting a good signal because the 3 previous techs told me that the "numbers" on the satellite readings didn't mean anything since I still had a picture for all HD stations. This tech got all my readings into the 80s and 90s for 103(c) where they stayed until last week. We had some thunderstorms last weekend so I'm guessing that caused the dish to get out of alignment again at least for 103(c)

* My readings for 103(c) are currently between 0 - 24 so basically I have no HD service. The other readings are OK - between 80 - 90 so at least I have SD content.

* I have a protection plan but even that didn't get me a scheduled service visit without demanding one from a manager.

[rustynails]

What on earth is "E"?? :confused:

I know that you had to be kidding about this. This forum is where I learned what E was. I hate abbreviations but this is what yaw use here. Los, dlb. etc. How many more can we come up with? LOL!

[Carl Spock]

^ Go to a Dave Matthews concert and "E" will be something completely different. The only thing in common is outer space is involved with both.

Hang in there, cuffdaddy. I'm one of those folks whose system is reliable. Satisfaction with DirecTV is so installation dependent. There is also nothing more maddening, for both the owner and the technician, than an intermittent problem. Listen to folks here - not me, I'm just the class clown - and they will give you good advice, certainly as good or better than you'll get calling in, and here people will respond right away, redundantly, with a couple of non-sequiturs thrown in along the way.

Welcome to DBSTalk. :)

[rudeney]

D* customer service is terrible. I believe they have very serious flaws in their business model that, if not corrected, will be their downfall. It seems that CSR’s are penalized for having customers on the phone for a long time, and they are rewarded for “upselling”. Given the complexities of a D* installation, this is not the best model for customer satisfaction. On top of that, they hire contractors and then pay them a very small flat fee no matter how complex the installation. This means you’ll likely get better service if all you are doing is swapping a receiver vs. having an entire system installed. It makes no sense to introduce new D* customers with poor service like this. On top of that, they lock customers into commitments with ETF’s *and* up-front lease fees, which gives them no incentive to do anything to retain the customer’s business. A new customer that has no idea of how bad D* customer service is will be unable to get out of a bad installation and this bad customer service without it costing them.
Given that cable can offer bundles with Internet and phone service, and their installations are far simpler, it is probably a better choice for mainstream consumers. Cable’s customer service is crappy, but honestly, I don’t think it’s any worse than D*’s has become. Probably my biggest complaint about cable is the fact that so many of their channels are still analog, and thus prone to poor signal quality. D* has mentioned how they are “refining” their target market an insinuating that they are looking to more affluent pro-sumer customers. Unfortunately, these are exactly the customers who expect and demand a high level of customer service. They won’t long stand for a “do you want fries with that?” attitude from D*’s CSRs.

[RAD]

cuffdaddy, I'd recommend sending an e-mail to ellen.filipiak@directv.com, document all the problems that you've had and see if that helps. Ellen is the VP of customer satisfaction, and while you won't hear from her you'll hear from the executive offices and maybe they can get someother company out to get your problems resolved.

[cuffdaddy]

Thanks again for all the information. I received a $1.16 credit to my account today!! It took all my restraint not to tell them to pound it where the sun don't shine. Either way I'll email the Customer Service VP as some have suggested and wait for the service call on Friday. I'm hoping that everything will get resolved since I'm not looking forward to going back to Comcast and the 25 channels of HD.

[Stuart Sweet]

Cuffdaddy...

I agree with the others here, you had a pretty bad installation, it sounds like. I do suspect that once that's resolved you'll be a lot happier. I know that DIRECTV is taking steps to improve the installation experience, they know it could be better.

[malice95]

I've had several issues with DTV over the years but they have always been resolved by being a PIA. When I had my HD servuce installed.. a month later the dish went out of alignment... then two months later.. same thing. This time I went up on the roof with the tech and made sure he used locktight and really clamped down on the bolts. So far so good.. IMHO the install techs just dont care in most cases.. they are looking to get in and out as quickly as possible.

Mike

[Paul A]

Either way I'll email the Customer Service VP as some have suggested and wait for the service call on Friday.

How did your service call go, cuffdaddy?

Paul

[gb33]

I love the programming but hate the Dvr even though I have had no trouble with the HR21. It just isn't a good product as far as I am concerned when you compare it with E. I gripe alot about D's products but since I can't get E and I don't want cable then D is my only option. It is a Dvr and it does record but that is all that I can say about it.

Wow! I would have more trouble feeling any more opposite than that. REALLY dislike Dish's DVR and products in general. Love my HR20 and DTV.