[dstout]

I cancelled DirecTV around one month ago. I got the email today offering Choice Extra for $39.95 for a year, Sunday Ticket, new equipment, etc... It was very attractive offer. I am in a contract with Dish for 23 more months.

If I had been smart, I would have hooked up cable for a month, and waited on the DirecTV offer that you guys said would come...

 

[banditt76]

Yeah DISH was your worst possible option with all their disputes lately that they have no intentions of settling. Their customer service has gone way downhill and they are nowhere near the company they used to be.

 

[ohioguy714]

I am having Dish installed tomorrow morning. I cannot tell you how many people I have talked to at Directv in the last 2 weeks since I closed my account. It is the teens at least + a couple supervisors.. Multiple offers that could not be completed and even a planned appt that magically vanished with no record of it ever being made.

As far as I am concerned Directv has the worst communication within their own company I may have ever seen. I liked Directv but man between the hardware and the customer service they leave something to be desired. I hope Dish's csr's have a grasp on what they are talking about. I cannot imagine it being any worse.

 

[banditt76]

I am having Dish installed tomorrow morning. I cannot tell you how many people I have talked to at Directv in the last 2 weeks since I closed my account. It is the teens at least + a couple supervisors.. Multiple offers that could not be completed and even a planned appt that magically vanished with no record of it ever being made.

As far as I am concerned Directv has the worst communication within their own company I may have ever seen. I liked Directv but man between the hardware and the customer service they leave something to be desired. I hope Dish's csr's have a grasp on what they are talking about. I cannot imagine it being any worse.

DirecTV's HD DVR technology is the best in my opinion. DISH's customer service has turned into a joke too. DirecTV has probably just gotten too big for it's own good. 30 million customers (including PR) to keep track of something is bound to get lost in transit. A lot of the problems also just have to do with ignorance and not following procedures on the customers end. They don't read the contract or details of the offers and want to blame DirecTV for their laziness. Also DirecTV relies way too much on incompetent subcontractors that are either too stupid or too lazy to do the job right the first time. DISH has an advantage there that they use mostly their own employees to do installations so quality service can be provided on a regular basis and controlled more internally.

 

[MysteryMan]

I cancelled DirecTV around one month ago. I got the email today offering Choice Extra for $39.95 for a year, Sunday Ticket, new equipment, etc... It was very attractive offer. I am in a contract with Dish for 23 more months.

If I had been smart, I would have hooked up cable for a month, and waited on the DirecTV offer that you guys said would come...

May your 23 month commitment pass quickly. :sure:

 

[dstout]

My wife really likes the Hopper. I had never had HD before. I wouldn't say that I am dissatisfied with Dish, but I view DirecTV as a premium product. I do miss the 101 channel or whatever it was called.

 

[ATARI]

I cancelled DirecTV around one month ago. I got the email today offering Choice Extra for $39.95 for a year, Sunday Ticket, new equipment, etc... It was very attractive offer. I am in a contract with Dish for 23 more months.

If I had been smart, I would have hooked up cable for a month, and waited on the DirecTV offer that you guys said would come...

Get used to it. After three weeks of mailings, today DirecTV started emailing me offers. I'm happy with my Hopper/Joey experience. Also saving over $50/month with a phone/Internet/Dish package is nice, too.

 

[banditt76]

Get used to it. After three weeks of mailings, today DirecTV started emailing me offers. I'm happy with my Hopper/Joey experience. Also saving over $50/month with a phone/Internet/Dish package is nice, too.

It's always nice during the promo period. What really matters is how you feel about the value after paying non-promo pricing after 12 or 24 months.

 

[billsharpe]

DirecTV is still trying to get me to come back after ten months with Verizon.

We'll see what they are offering 14 months from now, but I've been pretty well satisfied with FiOS TV.

 

[Rich]

I am having Dish installed tomorrow morning. I cannot tell you how many people I have talked to at Directv in the last 2 weeks since I closed my account. It is the teens at least + a couple supervisors.. Multiple offers that could not be completed and even a planned appt that magically vanished with no record of it ever being made.

As far as I am concerned Directv has the worst communication within their own company I may have ever seen. I liked Directv but man between the hardware and the customer service they leave something to be desired. I hope Dish's csr's have a grasp on what they are talking about. I cannot imagine it being any worse.

Verizon is worse. Sony, Toshiba, Samsung are worse.

Rich

 

[djr5899]

Your best option to get anything done with DirecTV anymore is to ask for your contract end date or go straight to cancellation. I have been a DirecTV customer for almost 15 years, and their customer support has really gone down hill lately. I have an old HR-700 DVR that technically is still good, but the hard drive is going. Seeing some choppy recordings and the hard drive will sit there and defragment or whatever for 20 minutes at a time.

I called DirecTV about a month ago, I pay for replacement plan, but they would not replace. I did not want whole home DVR and all that stuff, I only wanted a new HD DVR. They were trying to charge me $100-200 depending on who I talked to. Never had issues like this before. I am leasing the equipment from them, and in the past they would just ship me a knew one. I finally had enough and called back for a 3rd time, and when I got the same runaround, I said forget it, transfer me to someone who can tell me my contract end date. Needless to say 5 minutes talking to this person and I now have my new DVR coming for a $20 shipping charge, reasonable compared to $100 for the receiver and $100 installation charge they were trying to get from me.

So I'm locked in for 2 more years, but I see some more calls in my future. They are trying so hard to get new customers that they are ignoring and infuriating their current customers.

 

[ohioguy714]

So I'm locked in for 2 more years, but I see some more calls in my future. They are trying so hard to get new customers that they are ignoring and infuriating their current customers.

This is exactly why I left DTV to begin with. At the end they did not deserve my patronage. Dish was installed today and so far I have to say i'm pleased with it. The hardware is certainly a step up. We will see what the future holds but honestly, I would have went strictly OTA before I gave DTV another dime.

 

[Nick]

Verizon is worse. Sony, Toshiba, Samsung are worse.

Rich

:scratch: Rich, would you care to expand on that?

 

[billsharpe]

Verizon is worse. Sony, Toshiba, Samsung are worse.

Rich

I'll agree that Verizon customer service is poor. I never had to call Sony or Samsung when I owned their TV's and have not owned a Toshiba product.

Fortunately my Verizon FiOS service has been rock solid for many months and the billing is now straightened out so I haven't had to call recently. FiOS internet has been solid for over two years now.

 

[Rich]

:scratch: Rich, would you care to expand on that?

I was talking about tech support, Nick. And customer support. Add Panasonic to that list.

Rich

 

[Gone2Maui]

I need to put my house on the market and had to cancel my Dish install since I can't get into a two year agreement. If I cancel DirecTV in the hopes of getting a new offer, and use rabbit ears in the meantime, will they lock me into a 2 year contract?

What is the best offer you got?

How long did you have to wait until you got a decent offer?

Does holding onto the old equipment affect when you get an offer? I was hoping to watch my recordings before sending the equipment back.

Since the house across the street and the one next to me are also for sale, it will probably take a long time to sell my home.

 

[Cavicchi]

Talking about DTV offers, I was offered quite a bit after telling them I was going to my local cable company. I had a nice Verizon package for phone and Internet, cost wise, but tired of the 3Mbps speed and went to cable for 15 Mbps speed down and 2 Mbps Up. After I cancelled my Verizon Internet, they raised my phone bill to more than double! In effect, I would have been paying the same amount for phone alone as having both phone and Internet. My local cable company, owned by the same family since 1954, offered a very nice package deal for TV, Internet, and phone. I would save over $50 dollars a month by switching to them.

I called DTV to cancel and was offered $30 dollars a month off my bill for a year, free NFL Sunday ticket, $5 dollars off my HBO service for 6 months, and they would include Showtime and Cinemax frree for 3-6 months. I had the Choice Ultra package with them along with HBO.

My cable company's offer that would still save me over $50 dollars a month included everything, all premium channels for one year, phone and Internet.

I had purchased one HR-24 DVR before joining DTV over 2 years ago. They gave me one free when I joined, so I had 2 HR-24 DVRs and one HD receiver. They want the "leased" one I bought for $200 dollars back. Well, at first I was upset about that, and still am to a degree. Anyway, let me add that they said we will suspend your service while you try out the cable service, 30 days, and if you decide to come back, they will do the reconnect, installation free!. Not only that, but I was offered the new DVR with 1 terabyte HD.

After living with my local cable service for 2 weeks, I decided to stick with them and save the money. DTV is good, but not good enough for me to overpay around $50 dollars a month. By the way, I've had my local cable service provider before and I know their service is unbeatable. They will come to the house for free and usually next day if there is a problem.

Regarding picture quality, they have mpeg 4 for HD on local, premium and other channels, and picture quality looks about as good as DTV. The real difference is between DVRs, DTV's DVR is technically more advanced in terms of hours for HD and 1080P capability. However, I can download 1080p 24 movies from Vudu for the same price that DTV offers.

I did occasionally have issues with DTV service, mainly picture freezing with bad weather, though not frequent.

Getting back to that "leased" HR-24 that I paid for, yes, it was leased, but over 2 years and what is it worth now? The DTV representative compared it to leasing a car. Well, you do have an option to buy that leased car.

I would have left DTV with a better taste in my mouth if.... As it is now, I don't have any inclination to return.