Poor service

[govteach51]

I am sorry, but I have got to say Directv is one of the worst companies I have dealt with. It is now after 5pm and I am still waiting for my 8am-12noon installation. I have called both the installer and Directv and they keep saying they are coming. This is after I was promised installation last Saturday, and didn't receive it.
It is nearly dark, and I have now spent my last two Saturdays at home waiting for the Direct tech......I've had it, they've lost my business....:new_cussi

[govteach51]

BTW: Just spoke with Directv. Tried to get some sort of answer. I received none, the girl I spoke to was pretty " I don't care about your problem."
Why do you people stay with this service? The NFL?

[bobnielsen]

Most customers have a better experience than you have had. I did the SD installation myself and when I upgraded to HD, Ironwood called to give me a time window and about an hour before the end, the installer called to say he would be about 30 minutes late (he was earlier than that).

DirecTV is buying up many of the HSPs, which should help.

[David MacLeod]

BTW: Just spoke with Directv. Tried to get some sort of answer. I received none, the girl I spoke to was pretty " I don't care about your problem."
Why do you people stay with this service? The NFL?

installed my own, no scheduling issues then.

[1948GG]

Usually I'd wait until a couple dozen (or more?!) folks chimed in, but installation/service has been one of those areas that DirecTV has tended to fall flat on their face, and is why they are rapidly buying up the 'independent' contract companies, to try and level that field.

Sure, there are lots of 'good' service companies out there; as you are right in the gunsight (the gulf coast) of where I did loads of 'bidness' with the oil companies back in the 80s/90s, such outfits are the absolute norm - I consulted with MANY of them from Corpus to Panama City, logging more hours on helicopters over the gulf than 20 years in the military.

You don't say which of those companies actually showed up in your area to do your setup; I guess re-reading your posts, you don't know, as NO ONE has actually showed up! You might ask on your next call, or if anyone does show up, what ID they have or what company is listed on the truck as 'under contract' to DirecTV. Of course, if it actually IS a DirecTV employee, it's simply another level of pathetic.

In doing nationwide field engineering for close to 15 years before I retired (admittedly, before 9/11 and the current airline debacles), there were times I had to get off the plane and DRIVE several hundred miles simply to get to the clients place. It was a judgment call. But if you've read much of the threads here, the typical installer (not all, I'll grant you, but a pretty high percentage), lack that....judgment.

Hopefully, someone, someday, will show up, and correctly (oh, that's another level!) do the install.

Good Luck.


(Some folks 'beat me to it' on this thread, and I'll put my 2cents in about their comments)

First, A VERY large percentage of folks buying into DBS/Sat and DirecTV how are NOT familiar with any of the installation, or, in fact, anything to do with sat reception. Those of us who transitioned from C-Band, or have done commercial installations, or even have many years of 'playing around' with dbs again, have to realize that the 'newbies' on the block have only had cable for x+ years, and the level of knowledge is.... next to zero.

(Here's my 'prof' coming out....)

I've taught electronics/telecommunications all over the world, to folks and societies that are less than a generation away from goats and tents. The vast majority of consumers in the U.S. are just about on the same level (if not worse!) than that. Worse because a lot of this 'stuff' has been done for them in the past.

It's like trying to bring folks who have some small dealings with, say, a Model-T auto, and now they're trying to get up to speed with a new Escalade Hybrid. Or say a private pilot, dropped into the cockpit of a 777.

Some things look familiar. 90+ percent is a blank. Put a gun to their head, you might get 20 feet down the taxiway (or roadway), but little else.

DirecTV knows this, which is why the buying up of the HSP's. But there will still be 'consumer reporting' on local TV (bobnielsen? did you see the report on KOMO the other day?), of folks who's installers were so poor, and the customer didn't think to get a '2nd opinion', that it almost made one cry.

To me, I'll tend to give the actual installers a bit of a pass, but where oh where is the supervisors??? (Stupidvisors?).

And then the supervisors supervisor. Up the Chain.

[R0am3r]

installed my own, no scheduling issues then.

I will do this on my next install or system modification. I was scheduled for a 12-4 time slot on Wednesday for a realignment. The local D* install company is Halstead Communications from Rome, NY. The installer was a good guy and did his job, but he arrived at 5 PM! I wasted a half day of work because Halstead can not figure out how to properly schedule their personnel. A quick Google search for Halstead Communications results in numerous complaints about this company. Nice, huh?

[Beefcake]

I will do this on my next install or system modification. I was scheduled for a 12-4 time slot on Wednesday for a realignment. The local D* install company is Halstead Communications from Rome, NY. The installer was a good guy and did his job, but he arrived at 5 PM! I wasted a half day of work because Halstead can not figure out how to properly schedule their personnel. A quick Google search for Halstead Communications results in numerous complaints about this company. Nice, huh?

90% of what we read after researching a contractor is probably going to be horror stories. The majority of truly satisfied customers don't send positive feedback in about the tech/installation. They don't have frustration fueling the fire.

[govteach51]

installed my own, no scheduling issues then.


You know Mr Macleod, in the past, I probably would, but now that I am disabled, I would wind up in the local hospital trying to hook up my own system.:nono:

[David MacLeod]

You know Mr Macleod, in the past, I probably would, but now that I am disabled, I would wind up in the local hospital trying to hook up my own system.:nono:

I know, believe me I know. had no choice though.

[Canis Lupus]

You deserve better treatment, and it's well known this is the weakest link in DirecTV's business. Unfortunately you sometimes have to be willing to swim through a lake of quicksand to get to the tropical island. I was helping a friend today with her upcoming upgrade to HD and had to spend most of my time learning about her installation, and warning her about the potential pitfalls.

You know Mr Macleod, in the past, I probably would, but now that I am disabled, I would wind up in the local hospital trying to hook up my own system.:nono:

[satjoe]

I am sorry, but I have got to say Directv is one of the worst companies I have dealt with. It is now after 5pm and I am still waiting for my 8am-12noon installation. I have called both the installer and Directv and they keep saying they are coming. This is after I was promised installation last Saturday, and didn't receive it.
It is nearly dark, and I have now spent my last two Saturdays at home waiting for the Direct tech......I've had it, they've lost my business....:new_cussi

Unfortunalty there are not enough technicians out there. Direct TV scheduals the installs and service calls regardless of man power. The local contractor and the technian than receive all the flak from the customer. It is very difficult to make Direct TV and the customer happy at the same time, but they try. When you see a technician out after 6 PM they have allready put in atleast a 10 hour day.

Be Kind

[govteach51]

Unfortunalty there are not enough technicians out there. Direct TV scheduals the installs and service calls regardless of man power. The local contractor and the technian than receive all the flak from the customer. It is very difficult to make Direct TV and the customer happy at the same time, but they try. When you see a technician out after 6 PM they have allready put in atleast a 10 hour day.

Be Kind

I understand, but would it hurt the tech to call and tell me, " Hey, I'm sorry, I can't make it today." That way, I can go on about my day, rather than keep it on hold. He has the number....But when I called the installer, the tech kept telling them, to tell me "He was coming."

[1948GG]

I understand, but would it hurt the tech to call and tell me, " Hey, I'm sorry, I can't make it today." That way, I can go on about my day, rather than keep it on hold. He has the number....But when I called the installer, the tech kept telling them, to tell me "He was coming."

I could relate some neat 'horror stories' about trying to run multiple TEAMS of professional installers (telecom and satcom) all over the country in the 80's, pre-CELL PHONES. Say, pager tag anyone?

Well, okay, there were such devices, at $2K each, with coverage limited to the downtown's of major cities. I was still fighting companies to get their techs cellphones (or Nextels) as late as 1998. After they finally 'bought the bullet' so to speak, the efficiency of their staff took off so fast I had the CEO's of the companies stopping me in the hallway asking what the He** did I do to ramp up their completed job rate (with the same staff) so fast...?!?!

Companies that don't supply their field staff with cell phones today ought to be sent back to B-School. Freshman Class. It's inexcusable.

[carl6]

Companies that don't supply their field staff with cell phones today ought to be sent back to B-School. Freshman Class. It's inexcusable.

I don't know about you, but one of the reasons I am retired today is that I was just plain tired of putting up with the ridiculous, micro-managed, penny wise and pound foolish executive level management of most companies. It was such a pleasure saying "Take this job and stuff it" when the time came.

[thespaceghost]

I understand, but would it hurt the tech to call and tell me, " Hey, I'm sorry, I can't make it today." That way, I can go on about my day, rather than keep it on hold. He has the number....But when I called the installer, the tech kept telling them, to tell me "He was coming."

Unfortunately they are not allowed to do this. Doing so implys the tech is over booked and the contracting company is not ran properly. There have been times when I KNOW i would not make a certain job early in the day, but I would have to wait towards the end of the window to reschedule. I grew tired of lying to customers day in and day out for being overbooked.

[BattleZone]

Here's the basic problem: until very recently, DirecTV never had a single installer; everything was outsourced. And that's fine, except that over the years, the dozen or so "big" contractors who were given "HSP" (Home Service Provider) status, have steadily lowered installer pay while the systems have gotten more and more complicated to install.

6 years ago, a tech made more installing a single 18" dish and 1 standard-def receiver than a tech does today installing a big, heavy 5-LNB dish, 6x8 multiswitch, and 8 lines to 4 HD-DVRs. How much more complicated do you think the latter install is? How much more do the installation supplies cost? How many more problems can come up? How many more questions can the customer have? How much more likely that *something* doesn't work quite right? The installer has to deal with all of that, for less pay, plus wait on hold to activate receivers ("oops, computer is flakey, please hold while I go talk to my supervisor"), and then wait on hold to close out the job with the HSPs off-shore call center ("I am pleasing for you to be closing this job. Did you install a dish today?")

Installers are forced to work 6 days a week, and a typical day is 12-15 hours. A typical new install or HD upgrade takes 3-6 hours, yet it isn't unusual in many areas for a tech to be assigned 6 or more jobs per day. Do the math: if each install averages only 3 hours, and there is no drive-time in between, and the tech takes no breaks and eats no meals, and knocked on his first door at 8am, then he will arrive to start his last job at 11pm. In reality, half of his jobs will never see him. He will be late to several of his jobs anyway, and his customers will be upset at him, and he will have to spend valuable minutes trying to calm them down.

That's just a slice of life as a DirecTV installer, which is why DirecTV has such a high turnover and never has enough installers for the work load they have. Their product is great, but for the last decade, they have refused to place the proper amount of importance on the installation portion of the business (heck; they were totally hands-off with it!).

DirecTV needs to eliminate the HSP program entirely, which they are finally starting to do by buying out a few of them, and run installation like Dish does: the "in-house" techs work for Dish, and the contracting companies work for Dish, with no middleman competing directly against you. Dish treats their installers, both in-house and contractors, much better, and pays much better, and has much lower turnover as a result.

DirecTV still has, IMO, the best TV service there is. Yes, in some areas, the wait times and no-shows makes the installation process frustrating, but once you are installed, DirecTV is great. Most folks come to understand this, but whatever frustrations you do have need to be focused on DirecTV corporate, and not on the individual installers or the small contractor he works for. They aren't overbooking themselves; that's happening at DirecTV, and is a result of corporate policy.

[1948GG]

I don't know about you, but one of the reasons I am retired today is that I was just plain tired of putting up with the ridiculous, micro-managed, penny wise and pound foolish executive level management of most companies. It was such a pleasure saying "Take this job and stuff it" when the time came.

I hope that the OP gets the job done, accurately, at some quick point.

But, I saw what you're saying when I first got into the 'private sector, as they say.

But I very quickly got up to the point of doing nothing other than being called in to 'fix' organizations. Somewhat where I was in the military/government, if I dropped a few names there (set your way-back machine to the early 80's), I'm sure your jaw would drop.

So most if not all the time the CEO types knew there were problems, which is why I was sitting in his corner office (on the 30th or so floor) in the first place. Doesn't mean, of course, that all the bureaucracy wasn't still there. From the IT guys, to the WAN guys, to the... you get the drift. 90% of fixing the problem was 'getting around' the impediments to actually fixing the root problem.

But virtually all of the time I had 'carte blanche' to a large extent. Doesn't mean one could run roughshod over folks, quite a bit of smoothing things over, lots of 'long, wet, lunches' if you get my drift.

But I got to retire almost 15 years 'early'. The biggest thing I think about a couple times a week right now, is the absolute MESS Sprint made buying Nextel; I designed a LOT of the original Sprint Long Distance Fiber in the mid-80's when I first left the Feds.

Now, as you can see in the commercials, Verizon Wireless is 'eating Nextels lunch' (and it's true, from the subscriber numbers). I guess maybe in a couple of years when Sprint craters we may find out exactly what went wrong....

Don't think that can happen to DirecTV, but all they need is a couple more network newscasts on their problems, and......

[govteach51]

You know, this is all of this talk is well and good, but this still doesn't get me HD service, nor does it tell me when, or if I should try a third time, or just give up, which I am inclined to do at this point. I just can't keep "hoping" the Directv guy is going to show-up. I can't just have every Saturday sitting around for a tech....You know, at this point, as far as I can tell, Directv are a bunch of liars....

[1948GG]

You know, this is all of this talk is well and good, but this still doesn't get me HD service, nor does it tell me when, or if I should try a third time, or just give up, which I am inclined to do at this point. I just can't keep "hoping" the Directv guy is going to show-up. I can't just have every Saturday sitting around for a tech....You know, at this point, as far as I can tell, Directv are a bunch of liars....


What would you do if you had to get your car fixed; the local dealership is hosed (been there, done that myself), the dealer in the town over is just as bad if not worse, and the manufacturer doesn't give a hoot (been there too, which is why GM is 'going to bite the big one' IMO).

Call them tomorrow. Tell the person that you have tried and tried to get service, and from your standpoint, you're getting blown off (which is true). Tell them they have one more chance, and that it better be done on time and correctly, or you will make sure that your local newspaper and tv stations learn 'up front' the problems they are having. And that they can figure ZERO...

Yes, they can expect ZERO, customers from your area going forward from that point.

If (okay, a big IF), they actually respond (probably a supervisor at this point), maybe it'll get done, and done right.

This is one of those "don't hold your breath" things. But it might, just might, yank their chain just enough to get some reaction. Like installing your dish.

Good Luck

[njblackberry]

You know, this is all of this talk is well and good, but this still doesn't get me HD service, nor does it tell me when, or if I should try a third time, or just give up, which I am inclined to do at this point. I just can't keep "hoping" the Directv guy is going to show-up. I can't just have every Saturday sitting around for a tech....You know, at this point, as far as I can tell, Directv are a bunch of liars....

You are 100% correct, and unfortunately too many of us have had similar situations. I had three missed appointments (2 without any calls or notification at all) before the installer came. He did such an awful job that they had to come back out twice before everything was working.

The fault lies with the subcontractor, but Directv's name is on the service. We call *them* and not the subcontractor who overschedules the installers. Directv should be ashamed of this terrible customer service - and they are buying up some of the installation companies - but that doesn't help you a bit.

Keep after them. Call Directv and demand a credit for a no show. Keep pushing them for service. It's totally unacceptable, but that's the way it is.

Everyone I know with Directv in my area has some sort of installation or repair story to tell (gee - all use the same installation company here).

None of this makes you feel better, but if you keep after them, one day you may get to enjoy HD.

And I love the people who say "do it yourself". Maybe that's not an option for everyone.

Good luck and keep pushing!

[joe diamond]

Directv knows the problem.
For a long time the answer would have been..."The contractor is working on it."
But the reason the "contractor" has a problem working on "it" is that nobody will work for them anymore. Fathers tell their sons about the incompetence and dishonesty of "contractors" and advise college or the military.

DTV installation could have been a gateway employer but they needed to get that FREE installation into the homes of whoever had a TV. It will take some time for the turnover of customers and technicians who have had bad experiences to fade away before this system can be fixed.

There are other technologies on the horizon.

Joe

[govteach51]

Well, we received a phone call this afternoon from Directv, asking if the installer ever appeared. We of course told them no.....Long story short, the installer is supposed to be at the house between 12noon and 5pm tomorrow....I am not holding my breath....

[David MacLeod]

Well we received a phone call this afternoon from Directv, asking if the installer ever appeared. We of course told them no.....Long story short, the installer is supposed to be at the house between 12noon and 5pm tomorrow....I am not holding my breath....

I hope it works out for you, best of wishes.

[joe diamond]

Well we received a phone call this afternoon from Directv, asking if the installer ever appeared. We of course told them no.....Long story short, the installer is supposed to be at the house between 12noon and 5pm tomorrow....I am not holding my breath....

In fairness to the tech, I have had work orders with incorrect phone numbers....Try to find out if he had your work for today or even knew about the appointment.

Joe

[govteach51]

In fairness to the tech, I have had work orders with incorrect phone numbers....Try to find out if he had your work for today or even knew about the appointment.

Joe

I doubt they'll show up tomorrow. I also found out from the Directv person that called that the installer had 9 installs for Saturday. That means if it took 2 hours per-install, it would take at least 18 hours, not counting travel time, or if the poor old guy took a sandwich break, or a restroom break, or even stopped to get a cup of coffee or a coke. There is no way the guy could make the appointments. ( And you know many of these installs take 3-4 hours. So if they are averaging 9 installs at 3 hours each, there are not enough hours in the day to make the appointments.)

I am about to decide this no-show mess is Directv's fault. They are the one's making the appointments. :nono2:
This means to me, not only do they not care about their customers, they don't care about their pseudo-employees. The entire thing is becoming clear. Someone at Directv needs to get fired, and it should be a VP or higher.

[BenJF3]

I'm very close to switching to DirecTV, but I have seen the shoddy work of subcontractor for Dish. My father had nothing but problems from the get with his Dish install and as soon as his contract was up, he switched back to cable. I can do most of the work myself and whenever possible, I actually choose to. The only thing I can foresee needing help with would be the Dish alignment and peaking. In fact, I intend to have everything wired up before the installer gets here. I'll leave a single coax up on the roof where I want the dish and then all he'll have to do is mount and aim it. The bigger issue is that DirecTV will not supply me the equipment to do all the leg work. Once, my home theater upgrade is finally finished, then it will be decision making time and unless Time Warner comes through with some must have HD then I'm pretty certain I'll be switching up.

[govteach51]

Well, the tech didn't want to make it....He was at a 3 hour job at 6pm and it is pouring down rain...At least he called to see if he could come after 4pm tomorrow.....I am still not holding my breath for tomorrow. This is now 3 days I have wasted waiting on the Directv tech....
I am sorry Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a badly run company.....I am really wondering if I am making a mistake?

[David MacLeod]

at least you got a call today, thats a little bit better. know it doesn't help though.

[joe diamond]

Well, the tech didn't want to make it....He was at a 3 hour job at 6pm and it is pouring down rain...At least he called to see if he could come after 4pm tomorrow.....I am still not holding my breath for tomorrow. This is now 3 days I have wasted waiting on the Directv tech....
I am sorry Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a badly run company.....I am really wondering if I am making a mistake?

DTV has several bosses!

They have shareholders and they have customers. Both pay for something and have expectations. Everybody else is expendable overhead. The problem with installations is that eventually, enough jobs go in that the several thousand that are a problem.....just go away.

I know how to do it better but not cheaper; so do they.

Joe

[David MacLeod]

Well, the tech didn't want to make it....He was at a 3 hour job at 6pm and it is pouring down rain...At least he called to see if he could come after 4pm tomorrow.....I am still not holding my breath for tomorrow. This is now 3 days I have wasted waiting on the Directv tech....
I am sorry Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a badly run company.....I am really wondering if I am making a mistake?

don't know if its an option, or it might have been mentioned in previous post, but have you considered a private installer/company?
it would cost more, but more than likely you'd be more satisfied.

[govteach51]

Well, I am giving Directv a break today......The NWS has us under severe thunderstorm warning. I really don't want the man out in this weather working. It is pouring cats and dogs here....The tech did call and ask about the weather and told him not to come. I am checking my gauge and we have had 4.3 inches....