View Full Version : Forced to wait for an installer?
I just got off the phone with DTV about getting a second HD-DVR. While they still want to charge me more than I hoped for the second unit I was amazed to learn that they refused to send me the unit with out having to wait for almost 2 weeks for a visit from an installer :( I assured the lady on the phone that all the wiring was where it needed to be but she wouldn't budge on the installer requirement (she claimed she couldn't get past that screen on her computer) Has anybody else ran into this issue?
LameLefty
12-17-08, 07:12 PM
That's weird. I just ordered another HDDVR (my third) from the Directv.com site and I was able to get it shipped to me directly, no installer necessary. I'm planning to deactivate another receiver (an old R15) but they had no way of knowing that when I ordered the new one.
roadrunner1782
12-17-08, 07:15 PM
I'd call back that doesn't sound right to me. If I'm not mistaken it cost money for a tech to come out and install one. Also if they weren't giving you any discount on the HD-DVR you can easily get one from Best Buy or elsewhere and not have to worry about an installer coming out, just hook it up and call D* to have it activated!!
The woman was adamant that I needed the installer! I dont' know why but this has me pretty steamed!! I went so far as to ask how what my early termination fee would be!
carlsbad_bolt_fan
12-17-08, 07:17 PM
Never had this problem and I got my 2nd HD-DVR from Costco.
I had two of them sent directly to me. Call them back.
Well one reason could be if you need to upgrade the dish to for the extra lines. Maybe you are using a switch and she did not know about that. That would be assuming that she was knowledgable about stuff and most CSR's are not so who knows.
Well one reason could be if you need to upgrade the dish to for the extra lines. Maybe you are using a switch and she did not know about that. That would be assuming that she was knowledgable about stuff and most CSR's are not so who knows.
Perhaps, but I assured her that everything that needed to be there was there. I guess I'll try again tomorrow and see what happens. I've always had great experiences calling DTV this is the 1st time that I've been told something so outrageous that I got upset enough to hang up.:(
paulman182
12-18-08, 04:31 AM
The same thing happened to me when I got my HR22 a couple of months ago.
I tried repeatedly to get her to ship it to me, but no-go.
I thought OK, at least I'll get a WB616 out of it, so I could go back to having two tuners in use on each DVR, but the installer didn't bring one...he cascaded two WB68s (which is working so far, by the way.)
Anyway, she absolutely insisted I had to have an installer.
Rockaway1836
12-18-08, 04:45 AM
Same thing for me a couple of weeks ago. No way would they drop ship. Even though I told them I did not need an installer and had all wiring in place. Then this week my friend gets an HD DVR from them. They did drop ship his. It seems he told them he had a tech living on the block that would install it for him. Guess who that was. lol
dog6869
12-18-08, 05:03 AM
I would call back and ask to talk to the retention guy.. IF they ask you why tel them if you do not talk to him you are going to canx Dtv...
Huh. If I really don't need the installer could I just have him hand me the DRV box and send him on his way or would they insist on coming in and setting it up?
I would call back and ask to talk to the retention guy.. IF they ask you why tel them if you do not talk to him you are going to canx Dtv...
That's actually very bad advice, at least for this case. If the OP hasn't at least tried calling back a second time and asking for a supervisor, calling retention is overkill.
If nothing else I would have suggested that he simply cancel the order for the DVR and go to best buy and get one himself. Problem solved. I've done that with my last 2 receivers. No need for the installer, no need to get D* involved, and the DVR at Costco was cheaper than getting it from D*
SO before you call retention, be sure that you want to do that. There's always the riskt that the retention CSR's that would be willing to take your early termination fee and cut off your service.
I'm going to give it one last shot and call and ask very nicely if there is anyway to get a unit and not have to wait for the installer to come with it. I'd probably be less upset if the quoted 'installation date' that I 100% do not need wasn't over two weeks away. The BestBuy route may be in my future.
Rockaway1836
12-18-08, 06:38 AM
I'm going to give it one last shot and call and ask very nicely if there is anyway to get a unit and not have to wait for the installer to come with it. I'd probably be less upset if the quoted 'installation date' that I 100% do not need wasn't over two weeks away. The BestBuy route may be in my future.
You can try what my friend did. Tell them you already have an instaler lined up. It may work, it may not. But it's worth a shot. BTW if you have a Costco near you, check it out. They go for $169. At my Costco they have HR22s
randyk47
12-18-08, 06:51 AM
This is interesting. I've gotten two new units from DirecTV in the past month. One was a replacement H20 for a supposedly defective unit and the other an upgrade to DVR from an H10. No problems, no questions, and no installer required. I had both units within two days of the phone call to DirecTV. They did ask if I needed an installer and I said no which obviously was good enough for them as they just simply shipped the units to me.
The woman I spoke with yesterday was emphatic that I needed and installer. She also wouldn't budge on a two -week wait for said needless installation.
Rockaway1836
12-18-08, 07:06 AM
I think the wait time depends on your area. When I called about mine it was a Thursday. They were here on the following Tuesday. As to the CSR you spoke with yesterday; you may have better results with a diifferent one today. You just never know.
SatliteHD
12-18-08, 07:14 AM
The woman I spoke with yesterday was emphatic that I needed and installer. She also wouldn't budge on a two -week wait for said needless installation.
This has happened to me before also. I could not get them to budge either its totally insane. A total waste of your time and the installers time.
paulman182
12-18-08, 07:17 AM
One thing the installer has always done here, is to get me to sign the contract extension.
jhindmon
12-18-08, 07:57 AM
same thing happened to me. apparently if you order online you can get it shipped to you. if you order via the phone, there is NO way they will send it w/o waiting for an installer. I tried to do this awhile back and ended up cancelling because it was going to be forever until the installer was going to come.
bizarre. when i asked why, the CSR let me know that the "online part is a completely different side of directv" and the phone peeps had to make you wait for an installer. sounds dumb to me.
and FYI I already have one HD DVR and an old direcTivo. I was just replacing the tivo unit that already had 2 lines run to it and connected to my current 5LNB dish. no work required by an installer whatsoever.
retarded.
rahlquist
12-18-08, 08:25 AM
same thing happened to me. apparently if you order online you can get it shipped to you. if you order via the phone, there is NO way they will send it w/o waiting for an installer. I tried to do this awhile back and ended up cancelling because it was going to be forever until the installer was going to come.
bizarre. when i asked why, the CSR let me know that the "online part is a completely different side of directv" and the phone peeps had to make you wait for an installer. sounds dumb to me.
and FYI I already have one HD DVR and an old direcTivo. I was just replacing the tivo unit that already had 2 lines run to it and connected to my current 5LNB dish. no work required by an installer whatsoever.
retarded.
My HR22 and R16 both ordered this year neither came with an installer. Both were drop shipped and ordered with a live CSR. If the balk ask to speak to Retention or ACE if you already have a HD and DVR based install.
randyk47
12-18-08, 09:12 AM
Again, and this has got to be another case of CSR roulette, my last two units have been shipped to me without any problems and no installer involved. Both units were ordered over the phone not via the Internet. I was asked if I needed an installer and I said "No, I can do it myself, it's just a case of plug and play". That was the end of the installer conversation and the units were delivered via FedEx within a couple of days. The phone versus the on line explanation doesn't wash but that gets me back to it depends on the CSR you talk to I guess.
LameLefty
12-18-08, 09:50 AM
It makes me also wonder if Directv flags the accounts of some users based on some criteria like "tech headedness" (for lack of a better term!). In other words, are some sub's tracked in the customer service database as likely to be able to handle some things without a service call based on (lack of?) prior customer service calls, history of obtaining and activating receivers on their own in the past without need for installation, etc., so that when someone calls, it either triggers or does not trigger the "requirement" (from the CSR system's perspective) the need for installation?
jpitlick
12-18-08, 09:53 AM
I recently got an HR22 as a customer loyalty "perk" from Retention for not switching to FiOS. I asked if it needed an installer and the woman said it would be drop shipped. End of story.
I did tell them that this DVR was going to replace an R15. Maybe that's why they didn't need to send an installer. They did send one when I got my first HR20, though.
paulman182
12-18-08, 09:59 AM
It makes me also wonder if Directv flags the accounts of some users based on some criteria like "tech headedness" (for lack of a better term!). In other words, are some sub's tracked in the customer service database as likely to be able to handle some things without a service call based on (lack of?) prior customer service calls, history of obtaining and activating receivers on their own in the past without need for installation, etc., so that when someone calls, it either triggers or does not trigger the "requirement" (from the CSR system's perspective) the need for installation?
I doubt it, since every time I've added a receiver that I got from DirecTV, they've insisted on sending an installer. I've never called them for any technical problems.
So there would really be no way for me to get a history of installing receivers on my own since they've never let me do it.
EDIT: Actually, they did let me swap out a defective D11 two years ago, and of course I got to do my own install on the receiver I field tested.
rudeney
12-18-08, 10:03 AM
I was glad to accept professional installation on my first HR20 because it required a dish and multiswitch upgrade. After that, I'd have preferred to do my own installs, but D* was adamant that they had to roll a truck. I explained that I already had the dish, all the wiring, open outlets on the switch, etc. and that i didn't want to pay extra for an installer's time. They insisted that the installation was included in the lease price. So, my H20 and next two HR20's were "professionally installed". My last one (HR20) was purchased on the website and drop-shipped, but it offered professional installation for an extra $99! Like my avatar says, it's Carousel of Policy!
rahlquist
12-18-08, 10:07 AM
It makes me also wonder if Directv flags the accounts of some users based on some criteria like "tech headedness" (for lack of a better term!). In other words, are some sub's tracked in the customer service database as likely to be able to handle some things without a service call based on (lack of?) prior customer service calls, history of obtaining and activating receivers on their own in the past without need for installation, etc., so that when someone calls, it either triggers or does not trigger the "requirement" (from the CSR system's perspective) the need for installation?
To the best of my knowledge the only offical personalized data they may keep is your fav NFL team, anything else could be stored in a free formatted note field.
I just went to the website to see my options and I can't even do an online order without installation. They won't allow self install and it also wants to charge me $99 for installation.
I just got off the phone with DTV about getting a second HD-DVR. While they still want to charge me more than I hoped for the second unit I was amazed to learn that they refused to send me the unit with out having to wait for almost 2 weeks for a visit from an installer :( I assured the lady on the phone that all the wiring was where it needed to be but she wouldn't budge on the installer requirement (she claimed she couldn't get past that screen on her computer) Has anybody else ran into this issue?
Did you explain to CD that you already have HD DVR service and that you have 2 lines coming into the where the new box is located? I recently got HDDVR for one set and decided to upgrade my other SD DVR to HD. I called them up and got the receiver 2 days later (today). If that does not work get the receiver from Best Buy or Circuit City. They charge the same as DirectV and you can choose your box!
sunking
12-18-08, 11:31 AM
Never had this problem and I got my 2nd HD-DVR from Costco.
Indeed. This is exactly what I've always done, and its often saves me money. What I have done is called Directv and finagled whatever discount they were willing to do. Then before they place the order ask them if they will credit your account upon activation for that amount if you buy it from a big box store. They've always agreed and its worked flawlessy twice for me. In fact, when I upgraded to my first HR20 I made $20 because they credited my account for the whole price they were selling for, $199, and Costco had them for $179. So I saved shipping/handling and made $20-taxes. Needless to say I was rather pleased with myself.
If you aren't looking for or don't think you'll get any sort of deal just buy it and call to activate. Its a no brainer and takes about 15 minutes.
jhindmon
12-18-08, 05:25 PM
I don't know but it sure is annoying as hell for them to not just ship you one. The reason I didn't order online is b/c at the time it showed up as $199 online but via the phone I could get it for $99. Why there are 2 diff prices I don't know either.
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