I love directv???

3540 Views 21 Replies 13 Participants Last post by Bigjohn4real, Mar 20, 2012

miedwards72

Discussion Starter · Mar 13, 2012

So I called today to get the hr34. I talked to retention and the person told me I could have it plus connection kit for $149. She passed me on to another guy who went to order it and came back and said it would actually be 199 but since I was offered 149 he would do it for that. He just needed to talk with his supervisor. He came back and said I need to talk with Britney, a directv supervisor. She was the one who had to approve it. I waited on hold for fifteen minutes when the guy came back on and said Britney was ready to talk to me. Britney answered the phone, said that if I wanted the hr 34 it would cost 699 not 199. I said Oh, she said thank you and hung up. I literally just said "oh". No transfer, just hung up.

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

litzdog911

· #2 · Mar 13, 2012

$699?!? Where did that price come from? It's usually $399 for existing customers. Negotiable, of course.

MysteryMan

· #3 · Mar 13, 2012

Always get a ID number when talking with CSRs.

miedwards72

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 14, 2012

They said 200 to change my swm to the newest one.

miedwards72

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 14, 2012

I meant 650 not 699. 199 for swm install, 399 for hr34 and 50 for cinema kit.

ThomasM

· #6 · Mar 14, 2012

It is pretty obvious that DirecTV is only interested in NEW customers. Good, loyal customers of many years rarely get any deals other than an offer of $100 to suck someone new into subscribing.

Inkosaurus

· #7 · Mar 14, 2012

ThomasM said:
It is pretty obvious that DirecTV is only interested in NEW customers. Good, loyal customers of many years rarely get any deals other than an offer of $100 to suck someone new into subscribing.

Most people who think they are "good loyal customers" probably are not.
If you dont get a deal from your tv provider theres a reason why, and its definitely not because they prefer new customers.

trh

· #8 · Mar 14, 2012

There are a whole bunch of 'good, loyal' customers on the Official HMC 34 pricing thread that got the 34 heavily discounted (several even got it free).

RACJ2

· #9 · Mar 14, 2012

ThomasM said:
It is pretty obvious that DirecTV is only interested in NEW customers. Good, loyal customers of many years rarely get any deals other than an offer of $100 to suck someone new into subscribing.

I think DIRECTV does take care of good loyal customers. I was having problems with my HR22 and really wanted an HR34. I asked for a deal on an HR34 to replace the HR22 and they gave me an HR34 for free. All I had to do is agree to a 2 yr commitment. Since I have no intentions of changing providers, a commitment doesn't matter. So I thought that was more then fair. Based on your comment below from another thread, you didn't think so.

ThomasM said:
You accepted a 2 year commitment for "exchanging" your HD DVR for a different model HD DVR? That's outrageous!! The only time a new 2 year commitment should be triggered is if you ADD equipment or UPGRADE equipment. (An HD DVR swap for a different model HD DVR isn't an "upgrade")

You should have just paid $20 S & H for a replacement with NO COMMITMENT.

Maybe some people are asking for or expecting too much. Or they aren't as good of a customer as they think they are. I could have asked for a deal to add an HR34 and a like replacement for the HR22. But I wasn't interested in adding another DVR and paying the monthly receiver fee for it. So they gave me exactly what I wanted, for cheaper then a new customer, free.

lgb0250

· #10 · Mar 14, 2012

I just posted on this in another thread.

I called two weeks ago, freshly out of contract. Was able to get the HR34 for free, received another 24mos of free HD, received free (because of a scheduling problem on their part) installation to include a new SWM16 to replace the 8 I previously had. Lots of times it's just the tone of your voice that can make or break getting a deal when you call in. Not saying anyone here wasn't on their best behavior, but I know from experience I'm not always in the best mood when I call them. This time I had already finished my first glass of wine so I was at my best! LOL.

Boston Fan

· #11 · Mar 15, 2012

There is a world of difference between in-contract and out-of-contract relative to how well they take care of you.

Inkosaurus

· #12 · Mar 15, 2012

Boston Fan said:
There is a world of difference between in-contract and out-of-contract relative to how well they take care of you.

I used to work for DTV (and Dish too) and this is simply untrue.
It comes down to alot of varying criteria but the main one is your billing, I.E. Have you been late in the last "x" months? Had your services interrupted recently? Recently got credits from Retention"

Most companies will happily renew your contract even before you complete it the first time around.

ATARI

· #13 · Mar 15, 2012

I just called yesterday to complain about how much I was paying.

I received $20 off a month for 6 months.

I am not under contract.

Boston Fan

· #14 · Mar 15, 2012

Inkosaurus said:
I used to work for DTV (and Dish too) and this is simply untrue.
It comes down to alot of varying criteria but the main one is your billing, I.E. Have you been late in the last "x" months? Had your services interrupted recently? Recently got credits from Retention"

Most companies will happily renew your contract even before you complete it the first time around.

Of course there are a variety of criteria - no disagreement here. One of them is your contract status.

I called to cancel my service a few months ago (genuinely cancel - not just hitting them up for credits). I am not under contract, and the amount of stuff they offered me to stay is almost too ridiculous to mention. So ridiculous that I would have been a fool to cancel. Had I been under contract - and subject to an ETF - there would have been much less motivation on their part to offer what they did.

Inkosaurus

· #15 · Mar 15, 2012

Boston Fan said:
Of course there are a variety of criteria - no disagreement here. One of them is your contract status.

I called to cancel my service a few months ago (genuinely cancel - not just hitting them up for credits). I am not under contract, and the amount of stuff they offered me to stay is almost too ridiculous to mention. So ridiculous that I would have been a fool to cancel. Had I been under contract - and subject to an ETF - there would have been much less motivation on their part to offer what they did.

Anecdotal evidence does not lend itself much in the matters of business, as it is you will never know what they would have offered you to stay if you were under contract.

Ofcourse there not going to give the farm to someone who started there contract a month or two prior to calling in and asking for everything.
But someone whos been in a year can get alot of the same stuff as someone whos been with a company several years out of contract.
Contracts are relevant of course but the other criteria, like how good of a customer you really are weighs in alot more.

Dish and DTV have a cost of acquisition that takes longer then 2 years to pay off, it is very important to them to keep a customer around much longer then those 2 years so that they can be a profit rather then an investment.
Reinvesting in a good customer is something the use to ensure that they may stick around long enough to pay off there investment.
If a customer is always late or doesnt pay enough or what ever, the company will be far less inclined to invest in the customer again.

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Boston Fan

· #16 · Mar 15, 2012

You may be right, and part of it my be my own confidence in canceling knowing there was no penalty. I am a good customer and have been with them for 8 years. I still can't help but think that my contract status led to them offering what they did. BTW, I'm still not under contract.

lparsons21

· #17 · Mar 15, 2012

It is always a love hate relationship with D*!!

For all the posts that show up that give the 'inside' info on how D* gives incentives and such, it still ends up being the luck of the draw, phase of the moon, mood of the CSR and other non-business reasons that you either get or don't get that deal you read about here.

I doubt that will ever change! It can be so irritating when you call and get nada or some minimal offering when you just know others are getting much more. And a real joy when you call about changing programming or some such and they offer you a discount/rebate that you didn't expect.

Inkosaurus

· #18 · Mar 15, 2012

lparsons21 said:
I doubt that will ever change! It can be so irritating when you call and get nada or some minimal offering when you just know others are getting much more.

This has always perplexed me.
Not every customer is the same and not every circumstance is the same, to think "Customer a" is entitled to what "customer b" got is ridiculous.
The only places you can find a deal that every customer can have is in retail , aka jcpenny or a kmart

Though i will admit mood of the CSR and more so mood of there boss does weigh in alot. Calling in and being livid from the get go will get you no where with a CSR or supervisor.

RACJ2

· #19 · Mar 15, 2012

I agree that there are times I can call and get all kinds of credits or freebies. And other times where they can't offer me anything worthwhile. Some of that has to do with what programming I've added lately and credits/freebies that I received lately.

The CSR has screen they can look at, to see what your account is eligible for. For the front line csr, that's probably all they can offer. If your being rude or obnoxious, then maybe despite seeing offers, they may say they can't offer you anything. Now when it comes to retention, they have a lot more power, to do what they feel is going to make a good customer happy (and a "good customer" is based on the criteria DIRECTV uses, not your personal opinion of yourself).

lparsons21

· #20 · Mar 15, 2012

Inkosaurus said:
This has always perplexed me.
Not every customer is the same and not every circumstance is the same, to think "Customer a" is entitled to what "customer b" got is ridiculous.
The only places you can find a deal that every customer can have is in retail , aka jcpenny or a kmart

Though i will admit mood of the CSR and more so mood of there boss does weigh in alot. Calling in and being livid from the get go will get you no where with a CSR or supervisor.

Yep, making a call while mad and getting irate generally gets you nothing except more frustrated!

And yes, it is a bit ridiculous that some would think that everyone is the same, and the postings here sometimes leave out key information that would explain why they didn't get what they thought they should.

I work on my own 'policy', and that is if I think I should get something, I'll ask for it. If I don't get it I'll then decide how important that is and how far I'm willing to take the discussion.

For instance, when the HR34 became generally available for current subscribers, I took a shot at getting one for the $99 that some were getting. But I knew that since I was still in the 1st year that my odds weren't good. So when they wouldn't give me the deal, I played a bit of CSR roulette with the same results and then just went on. Didn't get mad since I didn't figure I'd get it, but if you don't ask you surely won't!

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