I had a different situation when I tried to upgrade this last time.
Background: I have been with Dish for more than 10 years, starting up because I refused to pay for cable when I moved out on my own. Over that time, Cable has improved a lot (customer service sucks a little less, or not much worse than DBS; broadband bundles; HBO on demand) and in the meantime I've paid for a lot of crappy, crash-prone equipment from Dish while I've watched the stellar customer service department decline.
So now that DirecTV is giving some attractive offers and, surprisingly, so is our local cable company, I called Dish and was offered only the $199 upgrade. The rep was clueless and the supervisor was snippy, and I was actually ready to cancel at the end of next month. They were so very accommodating to help me cancel, but could only schedule 30 days in advance, so I said I'd call back.
I called today and got a much smarter, nicer and attentive account specialist, and not only did he knock the $199 to $99, but he also told me about the $10 / month rebate, so that makes it essentially free…and includes the Warranty plan free for the 18 months I'm committing to. Add to that the fact that they're throwing in a $50 phone jack device so I don't have to buy equipment to avoid getting dinged the BS $5/month no-phoneline fee (my TV is nowhere near a phone line), and I'm doing better.
Oh yeah…and they're also replacing my not-well-functioning 811 under my existing warranty, which will allow me to resell it!
But keep in mind....this is the third time I've called in 3 months, and until this guy, it seems most reps would rather lose the customer.