Why I'm thinking of firing DirecTV

[wilbur_the_goose]

After yesterday's fiasco with Hockey Day In Canada, I drew up a list of reasons why I'm thinking of firing DirecTV.

Where was Hockey Day In Canada? This one show is a primary reason I've stayed with D*, and they messed it up yesterday

The fiasco over the guide data that caused millions of TiVos to become useless.

Hold times over 30 minutes most of the time

Customer service reps who either lie of are utterly clueless of what they're supporting. Provide these folks with training!

Poor picture quality compared to Fios

Sports blackouts that nobody can understand and the CSRs who make stuff up to explain them.

Too many shopping and religious channels

D*'s strategy - Championship Gaming Network? You're kidding, right?

Poor software quality. Too many bugs in their flagship receiver, the HR20

Lack of HD content. Where ARE the new satellites?

Lack of follow thru - promises made in ealier years' CES shows have never been fulfilled.

Price increases

Lack of PBS HD

[bonscott87]

You do realize, don't you, that there was no provider in the US (DirecTV, Dish or cable) that carried Hockey Day in Canada coverage until after NBC's games were over? NBC had a deal with the NHL for exclusive hockey rights in the US during that time window.
Same as Fox has on their baseball day, all MLB EI games are blacked out during their window of coverage.

So if you're ticked off about hockey you need to vent on the NHL and NBC.

[MikeR7]

Do what you need to do dude.

[dtv757]

i don't know about your area, but the FIOS Motorola HD DVR down here in VA BEACH has a lot of bugs too, it tends to freeze to the point where you cant change the channel cant access the menu or anything, you have to manually unplug it than plug it back in, i have had to do this like 5 times already since we had it installed at work last thurs, IMO the R15 now is more stable than this.

but yes IMO fios pq is better than any other provider out there, but once summer hits it will be interesting to see who will have the most HD channels, d* or fIos.

[bidger]

Do what you need to do dude.

What, move up to the "Great White North"? I guess he could just get ExpressVu.

[bwaldron]

I feel your pain.

Think through any decision calmly and carefully, though. A similar laundry list of complaints can be compiled for any provider. They all have strengths and weaknesses.

As an out-of-market sports fan, I still find D* to be best option for me, even for all its issues and problems. For now. FIOS is available to me, but their DVR is worse than the HR20 IMHO, and no pro baseball, hockey, or basketball packages are available. Picture is excellent, though.

[FLSHADOW]

I'm getting so tired of reading these rants from people, it's simple
just take your ball and go home. Things happen, the whole DirecTivo
fiasco caused some problems but it wasn't intentional. I've NEVER
waited on hold for longer than a few minutes to talk to someone regarding
an issue I've had. If you don't want to see the shopping and religion channels
then take them out of your channel line up. If you've been with DirecTV for
so long you should now that it ebbs and flows and normally everything is
above the board.

[bwaldron]

I'm getting so tired of reading these rants from people, it's simple just take your ball and go home.

Agree in part with some of your points...but if you're tired of reading "rants," the title of this thread gave a pretty good clue you shouldn't click on it.

Second, D* commits you to two years when activating equipment, making it difficult (or expensive) to "take your ball and go home."

[bidger]

Good points, bwaldron, but it was my experience when TWC knocked on my door last Spring that they were willing to buy my way out of both D* and Verizon DSL service if I took up their offer and they did talk monthly rate which would increment by $8/mo. for the 2nd and 3rd years of service, IOW- $116/mo. for the 1st year, $124/mo. for the 2nd year, and $132/mo. for the 3rd. Obviously I would have been committing to them if I took the offer and it would have been 3 years, not 2.

So, if you want out bad and cable meets your needs (don't think E* would be willing to buy out) and you don't mind swapping out one commitment for another, there are ways out without using your own funds. Bottom line is none of this is cheap and the folks who flitted from one service to another according to who offered the better deal at that moment screwed the pooch for the rest of us.

[Jhon69]

I think that change is good.Sometimes a person needs a change to realize what they had was better or not.Good Luck!and God Speed!.:)

[bwaldron]

Good points, bwaldron, but it was my experience when TWC knocked on my door last Spring that they were willing to buy my way out of both D* and Verizon DSL service if I took up their offer and they did talk monthly rate which would increment by $8/mo.

Wow, nice. :) Competition is good!

In my own case, even with my gripes with D* I'm planning to stick around. As a major sports fan, they are the best match for my needs.

[bidger]

Just to be clear, I didn't take that deal as witnessed by the equipment listed in my sig. TWC doesn't have FOX or CBS in HD in my area and I was well aware of how they felt about the NFL Network. As an NFL fan, I'd need at least those three things to give up Sunday Ticket. Plus, I'm a happy Verizon DSL customer. Yes, I know cable is faster, but I like the fact that I can get the 1.5Mbps down for $29.99/mo., with a 1 year commitment. There's that "c" word again. ;) I'd also like to check out FIOS if and when it's available in my area.

But, we're in agreement. D* still fits my situation the best of any provider. I have to admit though, I'm hesitant to add any more equipment though because that 2 year commitment is an albatross around your neck.

[FLSHADOW]

Agree in part with some of your points...but if you're tired of reading "rants," the title of this thread gave a pretty good clue you shouldn't click on it.

Second, D* commits you to two years when activating equipment, making it difficult (or expensive) to "take your ball and go home."

I think that when you send back the equipment your free of any expense
aren't you?

[JLucPicard]

I think that when you send back the equipment your free of any expense
aren't you?
As of March 1, 2006, the fee structure changed. With leased equipment, the equipment must be returned to DirecTv in a timely manner once you deactivate a leased unit, or you face a "Non-Return Fee".

That is completely separate from the Early Termination Fee for discontinuing service prior to the end of whatever programming commitment you are under. The early termination fee is charged regardless of whether you return your equipment.

[AnonomissX]

They announced 4 satellites to launch over the next 2 years in 2005 to provide HD. It is 01-14-07 as of this post.

Keep complaining about the new satellites....or you can get out and PUSH yer damn self. Complaining about the part that actually IS ROCKET SCIENCE is oh, gosh, making me laugh at you, and out loud too!

And too many church and shopping channels? So sorry they cater to a variety of customers to keep costs down. So sorry you have to exercize a little bit of bit finger to button time to create a favorite list that excludes what you don't want to watch.

I can see some of the arguments you make, but please don't make yourself look foolish by including specious arguments.

[bwaldron]

Just to be clear, I didn't take that deal as witnessed by the equipment listed in my sig.

Yeah, I got that. Just glad to see that competition is making providers that aggressive.

I'm probably going to move my internet service over to FIOS, as my RoadRunner via the cableco has been deteriorating over the past few months (slowdowns, long outages). If they offered the sports packages (save for Sunday Ticket, obviously), I'd give them a good hard look. The PQ for HD and SD is very nice indeed. Their DVR is worse than any D* model, though, at this point (and the Tivo S3 is too pricey for my tastes).

I went ahead an added an HR20 recently when we purchased a second HDTV, so I'm in for the next few years unless things really get bad (and frankly, I expect things to improve rather than get worse).

[Chesney09]

I REALLY hope so. I am so frustrated with D* and their problems... I just don't even know what to do. We are all trapped in 2 year agreements.... **** Hardware, **** Cust Service, and no one cares. Can it really get any worse?

Yeah, I got that. Just glad to see that competition is making providers that aggressive.

I'm probably going to move my internet service over to FIOS, as my RoadRunner via the cableco has been deteriorating over the past few months (slowdowns, long outages). If they offered the sports packages (save for Sunday Ticket, obviously), I'd give them a good hard look. The PQ for HD and SD is very nice indeed. Their DVR is worse than any D* model, though, at this point (and the Tivo S3 is too pricey for my tastes).

I went ahead an added an HR20 recently when we purchased a second HDTV, so I'm in for the next few years unless things really get bad (and frankly, I expect things to improve rather than get worse).

[bills976]

You do realize, don't you, that there was no provider in the US (DirecTV, Dish or cable) that carried Hockey Day in Canada coverage until after NBC's games were over? NBC had a deal with the NHL for exclusive hockey rights in the US during that time window.
Same as Fox has on their baseball day, all MLB EI games are blacked out during their window of coverage.

So if you're ticked off about hockey you need to vent on the NHL and NBC.

Actually, if you lived in Seattle, Detroit, or Buffalo, you would have seen it on CBC. I got lucky on that count.

[bwaldron]

Can it really get any worse?

I honestly don't think so -- at least not if DirecTV hopes to compete in non-rural markets.

[Peter305]

You do realize, don't you, that there was no provider in the US (DirecTV, Dish or cable) that carried Hockey Day in Canada coverage until after NBC's games were over? NBC had a deal with the NHL for exclusive hockey rights in the US during that time window.
Same as Fox has on their baseball day, all MLB EI games are blacked out during their window of coverage.

So if you're ticked off about hockey you need to vent on the NHL and NBC.

Is there clear evidence that this is the case or are you just speculating. I emailed the NHL about this and they have not replied.

Also if this was the case the why did DirecTV have the Ottawa - Montreal game in their listing if they weren't going to show it? And when DirecTV did come on at 4:30 why did they pull the plug at 6:30 while the program was still going?

Bottom line for me is that DirecTV promised a game, didn't show it and then couldnt or wouldnt tell me why.

[bwaldron]

Is there clear evidence that this is the case or are you just speculating. I emailed the NHL about this and they have not replied.

Also if this was the case the why did DirecTV have the Ottawa - Montreal game in their listing if they weren't going to show it? And when DirecTV did come on at 4:30 why did they pull the plug at 6:30 while the program was still going?

Bottom line for me is that DirecTV promised a game, didn't show it and then couldnt or wouldnt tell me why.

I believe from what I have read regarding the NBC-NHL deal, that they do have an exclusive window for their weekend games (i.e., only NBC games can be televised at that time). Not one as restrictive as FOX Saturday MLB, in that the NBC games not shown in your area are available to Center Ice subs.

Given that, you are entirely correct that D* screwed up by including the afternoon CBC game in the program guide, since it would not be available to any of their subscribers. It should not have been there, and having it in the guide led to a reasonable expectation that it would be available for viewing, thus setting people up for more disappointment than if it wasn't there. CSRs should have been provided with information on the error and what the rationale was for not showing the game.

I can't think of any reasonable explanation for pulling the programming at 6:30.

You are entirely correct that D* screwed up, and as is often the case with sports blackout issues, the CSRs are clueless to provide subscribers with correct information; they provide boilerplate answers which often aren't relevant, or they make up reasons. Generally serving to make the knowledgeable customer even more angry.

[Peter305]

I believe from what I have read regarding the NBC-NHL deal, that they do have an exclusive window for their weekend games (i.e., only NBC games can be televised at that time). Not one as restrictive as FOX Saturday MLB, in that the NBC games not shown in your area are available to Center Ice subs.

Given that, you are entirely correct that D* screwed up by including the afternoon CBC game in the program guide, since it would not be available to any of their subscribers. It should not have been there, and having it in the guide led to a reasonable expectation that it would be available for viewing, thus setting people up for more disappointment than if it wasn't there. CSRs should have been provided with information on the error and what the rationale was for not showing the game.

I can't think of any reasonable explanation for pulling the programming at 6:30.

You are entirely correct that D* screwed up, and as is often the case with sports blackout issues, the CSRs are clueless to provide subscribers with correct information; they provide boilerplate answers which often aren't relevant, or they make up reasons. Generally serving to make the knowledgeable customer even more angry.

The first CSR I spoke to told me that because the Montreal Ottawa game was a national broadcast in Canada they couldn't show it. When I challenged this and pointed out that this was the first time an all Canadian matchup had been blacked out on NHLCI there was silence on the end of the phone. I KNOW it is not the CSR's fault but DirecTV should be able to do a better job informing their subscribers what is going on.

If I hadn't just added a second receiver thus extending my committment by a year I might be considering switching to Dish Network.

[bwaldron]

The first CSR I spoke to told me that because the Montreal Ottawa game was a national broadcast in Canada they couldn't show it. When I challenged this and pointed out that this was the first time an all Canadian matchup had been blacked out on NHLCI there was silence on the end of the phone. I KNOW it is not the CSR's fault but DirecTV should be able to do a better job informing their subscribers what is going on.

If I hadn't just added a second receiver thus extending my committment by a year I might be considering switching to Dish Network.

Exactly my point about clueless CSRs as far as blackouts go. If they couldn't show it to anyone, why was it in the guide? And of course the stated blackout reason was bogus...many games which are national in Canada on CBC are shown in Center Ice.

As I stated previously, I am not blaming the CSRs per se -- these are complex issues (sadly), and they can't be expected to provide correct info unless they are provided it by those above. I think they need a special phone # for a "sports concierge" service for package subscribers, staffed with folks knowledgeable in the arcanities of sports blackouts.

However, regarding cancellation ... don't expect to have fewer problems or get better answers from Dish or cable on sports blackouts. Their CSR's are at least as bad on these issues.

(That said, if hockey is your priority, Center Ice on Dish is better in that you generally have access to multiple broadcasts of each game. On the other hand, I expect that D* will be the first to provide Center Ice in HD.)

[Osmani]

Sports blackouts that nobody can understand and the CSRs who make stuff up to explain them.

Boy, this one at least is true, I have had them screw up blackouts many times and just lie to me about the reason why, I say lie as the CSRs just make stuff up. I just happen to know the blackout rules as a part of my job. I think it's obviously some programming issue when it's all set up, but they should have a system to life the blackout in places it does not belong when it happens, but maybe that's impossible with their hardware/software.

[bonscott87]

I can give one advice - don't ever call DirecTV and talk to a CSR to explain a blackout. They can't explain it. You'll get better info on the various forums online on why there was a blackout. You're basically wasting your time.

Now certainly call and complain if you're being blacked out and you shouldn't perhaps you'll get a credit, but you still won't get the right explanation.

[DawgLink]

Bon, I would go even further and say don't call for many other issues.

I called awhile back in asking whether the Sunday Ticket auto-newed. I got 3 different people to answer the question and yet I got 3 different answers

"Absolutely"
"No sir, it doesn't"
"I am not sure..."

WOW

I think this board is where one should go for a lot of their answers. :)