[TenaciousBuzz]

So I get a call from a DTV rep a couple weeks ago and she informs me that they have seen on some report that I've been losing signals quite a bit over the last couple months. I say yes, my HD channels have been very sensitive to rain fade/clouds and they have been on/off quite a bit (outlined in this thread, for those that care). She goes through the diagnostics w/ me on the phone and since my signals on 103/99 were in the 30's at the time (very cloudy day), she says they could send out someone to take a look at the dish alignment FREE OF CHARGE. I repeat, FREE OF CHARGE.

I don't have a service plan (too cheap to pay it) and won't align myself (30 ft. roof, minor fear of heights), so I'd learned to live w/ it.

Dude came out on Saturday, realigned the dish, now I'm getting signals in the mid 90's on the HD birds and 98-100 on the 101 w/ very dense clouds hovering over, due to TS Faye. Awesome customer service.

Too often many here dwell on the negative, but DTV has always been alright by me.

 

[Steve Robertson]

Great story thanks for sharing

 

[Michael D'Angelo]

Glad to hear you got it worked out TenaciousBuzz. I think this is one of the best things DIRECTV ever decided to do.

 

[Justin23]

When I read the title of the post....I thought it was going to be a negative story. Congrats on your realignment success!

J

 

[TenaciousBuzz]

When I read the title of the post....I thought it was going to be a negative story. Congrats on your realignment success!

J

Yeah, that's what I was going for. I figured I'd trick some of you guys.

Also, to top it off, the technician was ON TIME and prepared w/ a tall ladder.

 

[tkrandall]

yo did not happen to notice which sub contractor company he works for (written on the door of the van) did you?

 

[whalerfan]

Check your bill. Your "free" service call could end up costing you $80. You could also end up paying for the protection plan.

 

[Elephanthead]

huh what? DTV would never make an authorized charge! How dare you! lol.

 

[TenaciousBuzz]

Check your bill. Your "free" service call could end up costing you $80. You could also end up paying for the protection plan.

I clarified that w/ the CSR that called. She asked if I wanted them to come out, to which I replied "at no charge?" She said that my next bill would show a $79 charge w/ a $79 credit right behind on the same bill. Don't worry, I'll sick my wife on them and they won't know what hit 'em if they try to charge me anything extra.

 

[TenaciousBuzz]

yo did not happen to notice which sub contractor company he works for (written on the door of the van) did you?

He was a sub. Presumably for MASTEC. He was in a gold explorer w/ a DTV logo on the side.

 

[stlmike]

I received a similar call from D* saying my signals were low. We looked at signal strength and even though they were all above 70, they still wanted to send someone out and improve them, free of charge. The tech is supposed to come this Thursday!

I was very pleased by all of this, especially as pro and college football is about to begin!!!

 

[stephenC]

DirectTV called you first? How do they know that your signal strengths are low? Are the STB sending this information back to D* when they dial home? It sounds like great proactive customer service, but I'm confused how they are knowing who to call. Sounds a little Big Brother to me.

 

[dcowboy7]

I clarified that w/ the CSR that called. She asked if I wanted them to come out, to which I replied "at no charge?" She said that my next bill would show a $79 charge w/ a $79 credit right behind on the same bill. Don't worry, I'll sick my wife on them and they won't know what hit 'em if they try to charge me anything extra.

can u check your bill online to verify....the charge/credit should be already there.

 

[Sixto]

When I had my dish re-aligned last year, they were only going to charge me if the dish was properly aligned. The guy showed up, saw that the D10 (103) signals could be adjusted (better) and I was never charged. I did call back after the re-alignment to double check.

 

[davring]

DirectTV called you first? How do they know that your signal strengths are low? Are the STB sending this information back to D* when they dial home? It sounds like great proactive customer service, but I'm confused how they are knowing who to call. Sounds a little Big Brother to me.

The receivers do report various maladies back to D*. Many people don't like the idea, I think its great. The "OnStar" system on my car sends me an e-mail each month with the status of my car, right down to the tire pressure With all the technology today, let some of these gadgets take care of us for a change.

 

[rahlquist]

DirectTV called you first? How do they know that your signal strengths are low? Are the STB sending this information back to D* when they dial home? It sounds like great proactive customer service, but I'm confused how they are knowing who to call. Sounds a little Big Brother to me.

Yes, the latest software in the HD DVR will phone home if you have phone line hooked up or internet and report when you signals are below a certain threshold. You can look for the thread on Installation Verification for more detail it will also prevent a Tech from leaving your home after an install with poor signal quality without calling D* and getting a waiver.

As for big brotherish, I wish I had a big brother who always made sure my equipment worked right!

 

[Jon J]

I clarified that w/ the CSR that called.

With DirecTV verbal clarifications are usually worth the paper they are written on.

 

[Spazzman]

So I get a call from a DTV rep a couple weeks ago and she informs me that they have seen on some report that I've been losing signals quite a bit over the last couple months. I say yes, my HD channels have been very sensitive to rain fade/clouds and they have been on/off quite a bit (outlined in this thread, for those that care). She goes through the diagnostics w/ me on the phone and since my signals on 103/99 were in the 30's at the time (very cloudy day), she says they could send out someone to take a look at the dish alignment FREE OF CHARGE. I repeat, FREE OF CHARGE.

I don't have a service plan (too cheap to pay it) and won't align myself (30 ft. roof, minor fear of heights), so I'd learned to live w/ it.

Dude came out on Saturday, realigned the dish, now I'm getting signals in the mid 90's on the HD birds and 98-100 on the 101 w/ very dense clouds hovering over, due to TS Faye. Awesome customer service.

Too often many here dwell on the negative, but DTV has always been alright by me.

I wish they would have called me. I was having the same issues. I tried to ajust my dish myself yesterday and completely lost the signal. Despite two hours of trying to ajust it back, I can not find the signal again. I called D* and they are comming Tuesday 8/26 to fix. I have a feeling that they may need to replace my dish because the arm that holds the LNB's keeps falling down after I was messing around with it.

 

[hasan]

DirectTV called you first? How do they know that your signal strengths are low? Are the STB sending this information back to D* when they dial home? It sounds like great proactive customer service, but I'm confused how they are knowing who to call. Sounds a little Big Brother to me.

Yes, diagnostic data can be sent automagically via either phone or internet (if you have the box networked). There is a also a manual mode for CE testers, identifying specific problems in detail. This is a great feature, and I'm glad they have it. I hope they make more use of it in the future to make their troubeshooting more efficient.

 

[VaJim]

...so what's the advantage of having the service plan when DTV can now tell when your signal is weak and align your dish for free?