hobbes4444
07-05-07, 09:04 AM
So I'm scheduled for a mover's install on Sat 6/30, 12-4. 1st mistake. Should have taken 8-12, but I wasn't sure we;d be ready if they showed up at 8. We moved to a new house on Friday. I'm wiped from the move, but nevertheless need to get the TVs set up for D* Sat AM. I called twice during the week to confirm the appt and to verify the equipment (2 HR20, Zinwell multi, 5 LNB dish).
At 12:30PM on Sat I checked in with the local Direct Tech (DirecTech ?) installers to get a sense of when they'd arrive. They said the installer was running a little behind. Uh-oh #1. But the move went well, so I'm feeling upbeat. 3:00 rolls around, nothing. 3:30, I call the install company again. 30 minutes on hold and no one picks up. I've listened to muzak Tears in Heaven and the LOTR theme 5 times each and I'm about to blow a gasket. So I call D* at 4:00 to see what's going on. 15 mins on hold there and finally get someone to look into it. Rep says, you are scheduled from 1-5 for an install. Uh-oh #2. I explain that's not the case, it's 12-4. He calls the local install company again. Not sure when they'll be there, but they have the appt as 4-8. Uh-oh #3. So I ask to be rescheduled. Next appt is Wed July 4. Are they really going to install on July 4th???
So I ask to speak to a supervisor. He puts me on hold. Few mins later, comes back with, the supervisor is on the phone with another customer and cannot speak to me. But he'll just tell me that I have to reschedule for July 4, so there's really no point in speaking to him. Nice. Now I've gone from aggrivated to really p.o.'d. So I ask to be transferred to retention since I'll just cancel my service and go with FIOS if this is the kind of CS I can expect (and after D* screwed up my programming 3 times in one week last week). Transferred to retention.
Get a nice lady in retention who is checking the local installer again. They have me at 4-8, and Wed is the next appt. Now we're well over the 1 hour mark on this phone call. She is going to try to elevate this to a supervisor. On hold again. I ask if she can call me back. Sorry, we can't make outgoing calls. Only supervisors can. She'll see if she can get that to happen. But she then offers me a $100.01 credit for the missed install. I say OK as there's nothing much more I guess they can do at this point. So we have dinner plans and have to leave, and I'm waiting for the D* supervisors call. 1 hour 45 mins on the phone with D* and I'm without an install.
7:00PM and we're heading into dinner. Phone rings. Installation dispatch. He says, well our installers are running a little behind. He'll be there at 8:45PM. Is that OK? No. Silence for about 10 seconds. OK, well then do you want to reschedule. Yes. I want someone out there tomorrow morning, first appointment. He puts me on hold. More Tears in Heaven muzak. Comes back, yeah, we can get you in tomorrow. Maybe not the first install, but definitely second. I say OK.
Up early Sunday morning. Ready for the install. Have a sick kid, so we're watching dvds. 8:00 rolls around, 9, 10, 11. Call the install company. Message says, you've reached us after normal hours. Our hours are Sunday 8AM - 7PM. . . OK. Try again, same message. 11:30 nothing. Noon, call D*. Our systems are updating, so we cannot access any information. Call us back within the hour.
Call back at 1. Systems still updating. 2, still updating. No installer. Need to go back to the old house to clean up a few things. Find a message on the machine left at about 2:30 indicating there are not enough installers today to get someone out to do my install. I'll have to call back to reschedule.
So I get my stuff done and head back home around 5. Call D*. WTF is going on with you guys? Have a clueless CSR. He calls the install company. Comes back after 10 mins and says the installer's systems were down and they had to reschedule everyone's install. I said the msg I received was that there were not enough installers for Sunday. Well, I'll still have to reschedule. But he can't do that now because the installer's systems are still down. But for the inconvenience he can offer me a $5 per month credit for 12 months. Whoa, $60 for another wasted day. I want to talk to a supervisor. She's not available right now, but he'll check. Comes back 5 mins later, she's still busy. But since I'm an A-list customer, he can offer me a $100 credit. Still want a supervisor. OK.
10 mins later she comes on. Listens to me rant about the last 2 weeks of screw ups by D* and their contractors. I can easily switch to Verizon FIOS as they are coming the next day to install internet access. She understands my frustration, but she can offer the $100 credit since I had another $100 credit from the previous missed install. $200 does not cut it for a weekend spent waiting for someone to show. No one called me the whole time to tell me what was going on (aside from the msg left at the old house). Constant screw-ups, and I'm A-list, having been with D* for close to 10 years now, that's all she can do? She asks what would I like? How about waiving the $99 fee for the HR-20. Sorry, can't do that. How about SuperFan for Sunday Ticket. Sorry can't do that. Throwing more money at this won't solve the problem, but I can offer you free movie channels. Lady, time is money, and by the way, I have the Premier package. You don't have anything to offer me other than premium sports and foreign language channels. Well, I'm sorry I can't help you. Nice. Oh, and I can't reschedule you either. I ask her if she can find out the available times and call me back - hey supervisors can make calls. Well she won't be back in the office until 5pm tomorrow. So yet again, I have to call to fix their screw-up.
So I call Monday. Systems are up. Next appt is Thursday. Nothing sooner. I explain my situation, and she gets the local install company on a 3 way call. Nothing they can do despite their f*** ups. I'm not missing another day's work, so I take a Saturday 8-12 appt. I ask them both to include that I will be the first install. And I explain that this is the last chance. If they mess up this one, I am going to fiber optic.
Then a few hours later a rep from the install company calls to confirm my Sat install. I give her an earfull. She apologizes, insists that someone will be there on Sat to do the install.
So we're waiting for Saturday to come. I am going to be all over the installer too to make sure every wire is run precisely, or else it will be done over.
SERENITY NOW. . .
At 12:30PM on Sat I checked in with the local Direct Tech (DirecTech ?) installers to get a sense of when they'd arrive. They said the installer was running a little behind. Uh-oh #1. But the move went well, so I'm feeling upbeat. 3:00 rolls around, nothing. 3:30, I call the install company again. 30 minutes on hold and no one picks up. I've listened to muzak Tears in Heaven and the LOTR theme 5 times each and I'm about to blow a gasket. So I call D* at 4:00 to see what's going on. 15 mins on hold there and finally get someone to look into it. Rep says, you are scheduled from 1-5 for an install. Uh-oh #2. I explain that's not the case, it's 12-4. He calls the local install company again. Not sure when they'll be there, but they have the appt as 4-8. Uh-oh #3. So I ask to be rescheduled. Next appt is Wed July 4. Are they really going to install on July 4th???
So I ask to speak to a supervisor. He puts me on hold. Few mins later, comes back with, the supervisor is on the phone with another customer and cannot speak to me. But he'll just tell me that I have to reschedule for July 4, so there's really no point in speaking to him. Nice. Now I've gone from aggrivated to really p.o.'d. So I ask to be transferred to retention since I'll just cancel my service and go with FIOS if this is the kind of CS I can expect (and after D* screwed up my programming 3 times in one week last week). Transferred to retention.
Get a nice lady in retention who is checking the local installer again. They have me at 4-8, and Wed is the next appt. Now we're well over the 1 hour mark on this phone call. She is going to try to elevate this to a supervisor. On hold again. I ask if she can call me back. Sorry, we can't make outgoing calls. Only supervisors can. She'll see if she can get that to happen. But she then offers me a $100.01 credit for the missed install. I say OK as there's nothing much more I guess they can do at this point. So we have dinner plans and have to leave, and I'm waiting for the D* supervisors call. 1 hour 45 mins on the phone with D* and I'm without an install.
7:00PM and we're heading into dinner. Phone rings. Installation dispatch. He says, well our installers are running a little behind. He'll be there at 8:45PM. Is that OK? No. Silence for about 10 seconds. OK, well then do you want to reschedule. Yes. I want someone out there tomorrow morning, first appointment. He puts me on hold. More Tears in Heaven muzak. Comes back, yeah, we can get you in tomorrow. Maybe not the first install, but definitely second. I say OK.
Up early Sunday morning. Ready for the install. Have a sick kid, so we're watching dvds. 8:00 rolls around, 9, 10, 11. Call the install company. Message says, you've reached us after normal hours. Our hours are Sunday 8AM - 7PM. . . OK. Try again, same message. 11:30 nothing. Noon, call D*. Our systems are updating, so we cannot access any information. Call us back within the hour.
Call back at 1. Systems still updating. 2, still updating. No installer. Need to go back to the old house to clean up a few things. Find a message on the machine left at about 2:30 indicating there are not enough installers today to get someone out to do my install. I'll have to call back to reschedule.
So I get my stuff done and head back home around 5. Call D*. WTF is going on with you guys? Have a clueless CSR. He calls the install company. Comes back after 10 mins and says the installer's systems were down and they had to reschedule everyone's install. I said the msg I received was that there were not enough installers for Sunday. Well, I'll still have to reschedule. But he can't do that now because the installer's systems are still down. But for the inconvenience he can offer me a $5 per month credit for 12 months. Whoa, $60 for another wasted day. I want to talk to a supervisor. She's not available right now, but he'll check. Comes back 5 mins later, she's still busy. But since I'm an A-list customer, he can offer me a $100 credit. Still want a supervisor. OK.
10 mins later she comes on. Listens to me rant about the last 2 weeks of screw ups by D* and their contractors. I can easily switch to Verizon FIOS as they are coming the next day to install internet access. She understands my frustration, but she can offer the $100 credit since I had another $100 credit from the previous missed install. $200 does not cut it for a weekend spent waiting for someone to show. No one called me the whole time to tell me what was going on (aside from the msg left at the old house). Constant screw-ups, and I'm A-list, having been with D* for close to 10 years now, that's all she can do? She asks what would I like? How about waiving the $99 fee for the HR-20. Sorry, can't do that. How about SuperFan for Sunday Ticket. Sorry can't do that. Throwing more money at this won't solve the problem, but I can offer you free movie channels. Lady, time is money, and by the way, I have the Premier package. You don't have anything to offer me other than premium sports and foreign language channels. Well, I'm sorry I can't help you. Nice. Oh, and I can't reschedule you either. I ask her if she can find out the available times and call me back - hey supervisors can make calls. Well she won't be back in the office until 5pm tomorrow. So yet again, I have to call to fix their screw-up.
So I call Monday. Systems are up. Next appt is Thursday. Nothing sooner. I explain my situation, and she gets the local install company on a 3 way call. Nothing they can do despite their f*** ups. I'm not missing another day's work, so I take a Saturday 8-12 appt. I ask them both to include that I will be the first install. And I explain that this is the last chance. If they mess up this one, I am going to fiber optic.
Then a few hours later a rep from the install company calls to confirm my Sat install. I give her an earfull. She apologizes, insists that someone will be there on Sat to do the install.
So we're waiting for Saturday to come. I am going to be all over the installer too to make sure every wire is run precisely, or else it will be done over.
SERENITY NOW. . .