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IS DTV going out of their way to hack me off?

5K views 72 replies 29 participants last post by  grizzly 
#1 ·
I purchased a HR20-700 from a co-worker and went to activate it. No problem there, it was owned, all I had to do was give them $20 for a new card. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt...

That was on the 17th. Usually it gets here pretty fast. So today (22nd), I call in. First customer service person says, it's been ordered should have got there by now. I tell them I know that, they transfer me to access card dept. I get snotty guy telling me that that there are "fulfillment issues" and that my card order won't even be processed until tomorrow that they are processing orders from orders taken before the 14th.

I ask, if they knew this when I ordered on the 17th, why didn't they tell me there was going to be a delay. He says its not their responsibility to tell me that. Since I'm supposed to be an "A List" customer, isn't there something they can do )expedited shipping perhaps). He says no, I'll get it in 3-5 business days from when it's processed. I ask to speak to a manager, he refuses, says it won't do me any good, they've got hundreds of calls about this. I'm flabbergasted.

Has DTV customer service sunk to a new all-time low? Should I call JD powers and see what they think about this kind of service? This really just frosts my boat.

They'd already charged me for something they haven't shipped and not even processed yet. This just doesn't seem right and not what I'm used to with DTV. Is this normal for them now?

I try to talk to someone in the retention dept and they tell me all their computers are down at 11PM for updating until 7AM tomorrow. Good lord, what happened to 7x24 customer service?

Is this the new improved DTV?

Kevin
:mad:
 
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#5 ·
In my numerous calls to get my new HR21 ordered and the new dish installed, and then request an AM21, I've been very happy with the service I received... I did however talk to some seriously clueless people, who could do themselves a tremendous favor if they'd catch up on the tech discussed in these forums (D* should require it)... But other than that it was a pretty good experience. Clearly DirecTV has many layers, and those layers don't communicate well, but I think we should all be experienced enough with this sort of thing to realize there are going to be glitches...

And when it come to rude behavior, I try to tell myself maybe that person is having a bad day... If you really get nowhere, I've read that maybe it's just better to say thank you, hang up, call back, get a new CSR and maybe the experience will be different (hopefully better).
 
#6 ·
Upstream said:
You're "very surprised" that a customer received poor customer service from DirecTV? Have you read this board recently?
Well, to be fair, subs who call customer service don't have problems, usually don't post tell us how well it went. :rolleyes:

With the call volume Directv receives, it think the majority goes well enough to get good marks in customer service surveys. ;)

Mike
 
#7 ·
Re: Is DTV going out of their way to hack me off?

No, the trick is going out of your way for the customer.

I don't think it's happened here but I would advise the OP to not escalate this thing out of control. It sounds like DirecTV got behind on their orders. I'd suspect the first CSR didn't know this at the time the order was taken and the second one, rather than admitting the obvious, that he is a minor cog in a much larger machine, gave the standard, "not my job" excuse.

To answer your questions, I don't think getting behind on orders is a standard thing for DirecTV. I haven't seen that here. A CSR not handling the situation well? Unfortunately, a more common occurance.

The order didn't get processed for a few days. Sad to say, in general when it comes to large companies and order processing, to use the OP's own words, "been there, done that, got the t-shirt..."
 
#8 ·
MicroBeta said:
Well, to be fair, subs who call customer service don't have problems, usually don't post tell us how well it went. :rolleyes:

With the call volume Directv receives, it think the majority goes well enough to get good marks in customer service surveys. ;)

Mike
I would certainly hope the majority of customer service contacts go "well enough". But even if 90 percent go well, that is still 10 percent that don't go well.

You don't need to read this board very long to realize that customer service mishaps at DirecTV are not rare or isolated. I'm very surprised that one of the board moderators is "very surprised" that someone encountered a customer service problem with DirecTV.
 
#9 ·
Upstream said:
I would certainly hope the majority of customer service contacts go "well enough". But even if 90 percent go well, that is still 10 percent that don't go well.

You don't need to read this board very long to realize that customer service mishaps at DirecTV are not rare or isolated. I'm very surprised that one of the board moderators is "very surprised" that someone encountered a customer service problem with DirecTV.
Maybe he's "very surprised" about it being the access car team. I have had to deal with them before . They have always been excellent!
 
#10 ·
Miami -- Maybe. I don't view the customer service problems with DirecTV as being the fault of the customer service reps or specific teams. I see the problems as being systemic, which is why many different customers encounter the same types of problems over and over again, regardless of which agent or team is on the other end of the phone.

In the OP's case, the systemic problems are lack of visibility to a product being on backorder (relatively minor problem) and charging the customer for a back-ordered product which has not shipped (major problem). There is also the systemic problem that DirecTV does not provide it's agents with talking points or a script to provide information to customers regarding other problems.

Certainly the agents could have been more polite and apologetic about the problems. But they're only human and they are probably already burnt out from being yelled at by customers who have been charged for access cards they didn't receive and didn't know they were on back-order.
 
#11 ·
MicroBeta said:
Well, to be fair, subs who call customer service don't have problems, usually don't post tell us how well it went. :rolleyes:

With the call volume Directv receives, it think the majority goes well enough to get good marks in customer service surveys. ;)

Mike
+1

Over the past 10 years, I've called Directv enough to build an overall impression of their customer service and it's quite good. I have dealt with some that read through the "possible solutions" checklist but they were still nice and passed me along to others that could help. I've even called about access cards and got great service from them, as well. I would actually rate Directv's customer service among the top of companies I've called. Typically they're extremely friendly and they've handled every problem quickly and professionally.

But you're exactly right, people typically don't log on to websites to talk about great customer service.
 
#12 ·
Upstream said:
Miami -- Maybe. I don't view the customer service problems with DirecTV as being the fault of the customer service reps or specific teams. I see the problems as being systemic, which is why many different customers encounter the same types of problems over and over again, regardless of which agent or team is on the other end of the phone.

In the OP's case, the systemic problems are lack of visibility to a product being on backorder (relatively minor problem) and charging the customer for a back-ordered product which has not shipped (major problem). There is also the systemic problem that DirecTV does not provide it's agents with talking points or a script to provide information to customers regarding other problems.

Certainly the agents could have been more polite and apologetic about the problems. But they're only human and they are probably already burnt out from being yelled at by customers who have been charged for access cards they didn't receive and didn't know they were on back-order.
I do agree that the communication from the CSR's (D* for that matter) should be better. No doubt. They charged him for his access card, but didn't ship it yet (backorder?) I doubt it. Maore like thier order system or warehouse hasn't shipped it yet (maybe). Even still maybe Tom was just surprised to hear it was the access card team. Thats all. I hope the OP gets his card "SOON :lol: "
 
#13 ·
Carl Spock said:
Re: Is DTV going out of their way to hack me off?

No, the trick is going out of your way for the customer.
There appears to be some new management book that some companies are thumping (sorry, I can't dig up the title right now) that says "trying to please every customer all the time isn't profitably sustainable." It apparently says that you just need to keep your products to a point where they are just slightly better than your competition. That way, if you were to happen to lose a customer, they'll come back anyway because of this.

My company started preaching this to us, but of course I ignore it.

Sad.
 
#14 ·
Yeah, I've heard that same philosophy, but the way I heard it, it actually makes sense. i do think that 5% of your customer base causes you 95% of the problems. It would make sense to identify customers you want to keep, but of course the problem is identifying that 5%. In a small business, "everybody knows" who the problems are. In a large one like DIRECTV how do you decide?
 
#15 ·
Yes my surprise was both the rudeness and delay by the access card team. I have seen the issues (and the successes) of the front line CSRs, so wouldn't be surprised if it was from them--tho I still would be saddened.

Thankfully, my own interactions with CSRs has been very good; exceptionally good with the DBStalk'er CSRs. They know what's going on. :)

Cheers,
Tom
 
#16 ·
Stuart Sweet said:
Yeah, I've heard that same philosophy, but the way I heard it, it actually makes sense. i do think that 5% of your customer base causes you 95% of the problems. It would make sense to identify customers you want to keep, but of course the problem is identifying that 5%. In a small business, "everybody knows" who the problems are. In a large one like DIRECTV how do you decide?
That same model applies in other industries as well - in fact, in the business area I operate in, it applies almost literally.
 
#17 ·
blmoore said:
There appears to be some new management book that some companies are thumping (sorry, I can't dig up the title right now) that says "trying to please every customer all the time isn't profitably sustainable." It apparently says that you just need to keep your products to a point where they are just slightly better than your competition. That way, if you were to happen to lose a customer, they'll come back anyway because of this.

My company started preaching this to us, but of course I ignore it.

Sad.
I agree with you. My feeling is that no matter how bad your competition is, there is a point where customer service is most profitable by really serving the customer well. That won't make 100% of htem happy as that is impossible anyway, but sure makes more of them happy which and reduces duplicated return calls.

Cheers,
Tom
 
#18 ·
It seems that DirecTV subscribes to the same philosophy. Rather than addressing their low customer satisfaction ratings, they pride themselves in the fact that their customer satisfaction ratings are slightly better then Comcast and TWC.

And perhaps they're right. After all, most consumers have limited choices in TV providers. If a customer is dissatisfied with DirecTV, there really aren't a lot of options.
 
#19 ·
hdtvfan0001 said:
That same model applies in other industries as well - in fact, in the business area I operate in, it applies almost literally.
Wwe try to "serve" our customers completely here, and to thier satifaction. My industry its called CSI. If we aren't over 97% for the month there will be hell to pay at the corporate level. Having said that we still undrstand we can't make everyone happy. Oh and Tom, I was surprised to hear it was the access card team also. They have always been very good at getting it done for me!
 
#20 ·
Well folks, I have an update. I talked with a access card supervisor today and the upshot is "We don't know when we'll send out your card, but we'll send it out FedEx next day when we do, Oh and if BTW it doesn't get there in 9 days from the 17th, then the card we send you won't be any good, so we'll start this whole process over again and charge you another $20 and thanks for being a valued Directv customer and have I answered all your questions today?"

I'm not asking for free stuff. I'm not asking for an HDPC20 (although if you are listening DTV, I would consider this matter moot if you sent me 2 or 3 of those out as compensation for my bad customer service experience :D )

All I'm asking for is an access card I'm paying you for sent out and received within the 3-5 business days that you promised me! Is this asking too much?

I'm considering calling up JD Power and telling them that they should ask for their award back...

Kevin
 
#21 ·
MIAMI1683 said:
Wwe try to "serve" our customers completely here, and to thier satifaction. My industry its called CSI. If we aren't over 97% for the month there will be hell to pay at the corporate level. Having said that we still undrstand we can't make everyone happy. Oh and Tom, I was surprised to hear it was the access card team also. They have always been very good at getting it done for me!
It's not just customer satisfaction...its also customer profitability.

If you have someone who calls CSRs weekly, and has all sorts of cost-bearing issues that are far outside the norm, it turns the relationship into a win-lose scenario. I don't think any company doens't intend to strive for 100% customer satisfaction, rather, its more a matter of a small percentage creating a disproportionate cost for customer service. At some point, it may make sense to cut the cord.

In terms of an Access Card - there should be no reason NOT to send a satisfactory status customer a new one overnight.
 
#22 ·
Stuart Sweet said:
Yeah, I've heard that same philosophy, but the way I heard it, it actually makes sense. i do think that 5% of your customer base causes you 95% of the problems. It would make sense to identify customers you want to keep, but of course the problem is identifying that 5%. In a small business, "everybody knows" who the problems are. In a large one like DIRECTV how do you decide?
When your customer service scores barely beat the IRS, your problem is a heck of a lot bigger than 5% of your customer base.
 
#23 ·
I really wish people would stop using that IRS analogy. The IRS, while a hated entity, actually has pretty good customer service. I got audited a few years back and was very satisfied with the service I received from them. It was always professional, phone calls were answered in a decent amount of time and the process was painless.
 
#24 ·
Can i ask how much money you saved by buying a used receiver? I am not in any way justifying how you were treated,but this transaction is generally outside Directv's business model. Even for free, geting a used receiver is not worth the aggravation of getting a new card and hoping there are no problems. I do understand though that some people will do anything to save a buck.
 
#25 ·
Let me start by saying that the few times I've needed to call D* for help I've been pleased.

I must admit, however, that my expectations going in were low. Why? Because of what I've read on these boards for sure, but also because of what I encounter in my everyday life.

So - I've had my expectations exceeded at D* - which is great, and I've been recommending them to my friends and relatives as a result.

What do I mean by everyday life? Have you noticed how service has degraded in general in the last 10 years? I always tell my wife (and I'm not exaggerating) that I have about a 1 in 4 chance of Dunkin' Donuts getting my order correct at the drive-up when I order a large black coffee. If I order more than one item the odds sink to 50/50 - no exaggeration. This is all from a person who has to take orders and fill them within seconds of receiving them. Very few layers to deal with at a drive-up window.....

The same is true at Best Buy, Circuit City etc. when asking a question. The same is true just about everywhere when you compare how things were just 10 or 15 years ago. Sometimes I'm just happy to get someone to help me that can speak English...... Forget about the poor kid confused when making change if you give him/her the extra dime so they don't have to give you 90 cents and can give a dollar instead!

It must be very tough to find good people today, and it will only get tougher. I hope I haven't strayed off topic here, but great CS is very difficult to find just about anywhere today. Not an excuse, just a fact.
 
#26 ·
tcusta00 said:
I really wish people would stop using that IRS analogy. The IRS, while a hated entity, actually has pretty good customer service.
Except the comparison with the IRS is for Customer Satisfaction, not Customer Service. And as you say the IRS is a hated entity. Just the nature of what they do, plus the fact that they can throw you in jail or heavily fine you, means that their customer satisfaction scores start in the dumper.

I think it is a pretty damning indictment of the cable/sat industry that most of the industry has lower satisfaction ratings than the IRS, and one of the top performers is comparable to the IRS. As Heisman says, it is not a 5% problem.
 
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