[Ray Trautman]

Hello,

I've been dealing with Dish Network Tech Support for weeks and I'm very frusterated. Hoping someone in here might have some ideas. The problem is that I can't rent any pay per view movies with my 301 or 501 dish network recievers because they both tell me that it needs to dial out to update the smartcard. When it attempts to do this I get a message that says "dial out failure, please check phone connection". Both receivers are hooked by themselves to known good phone jacks (known good with directv recievers using them prior to dish and checked by using a phone on them and the caller id on both recievers works perfectly). Also, you can pick up another phone in the house and hear the recievers dial up, hear dish network modems answer, hear my recievers modem then the reciever hangs up and gives me the dial out failure error.

I called dish network and have been told to take them to a local retailer and have them look at them and see if the receiver is bad. I explained that I rented them (digital home plan) directly from dish network and that no retailer is going to troubleshoot my rented equiptment when I'm not a customer of theirs and she says "sure they will, that's what they are there for". Obviously she doesn't understand that they are "there" to make money and service their own customers. I pointed out that my bill says that I'm paying $10 per month for "In home service plan" and she first tells me that's just a surcharge to have the dish network service in my home. I asked to speak to a supervisor and she puts me on hold and comes back and says that "that's only if your dish is out of allignment, you can't get a signal, your recievers quit working" but does not cover this and I need to take my recievers to a local retailer and have them looked at (remember this is rented equipment i got directly from dish network not from a local retailer). I asked to speak to a supervisor and she says they are busy and that's all they can do for me. I hang up and dial right back hoping to get somone else on the line, I do and ask to speak to a supervisor and she asks what's it in regards to and my phone number. To make a long story short, she set up a appt for next week to have someone come out and look at it but I'm still without pay per view. Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong? I thought it was a bad reciever but when I found the second reciver doing the same thing I'm thinking it may be a bigger problem.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Jacob S]

Are they going to charge you a trip fee for coming out? You got to watch or they will try to do that and say its not covered under the agreement. Usually what they can do and this works is to send down a hit to the receiver to make it dial out the ppv to them, that usually works for me and have had to do that before on different occasions. I have had the same trouble that you have had and dont know why it wont let you dial it out when you tell it to.

 

[HTguy]

Ray,

Sorry to read about your experience with "Tech Support" but I'm afraid it is typical, especially with unusual problems.

Of course, you are correct. A local retailer has no incentive to test your receivers for free if you didn't get the system thru him.

Before you get stuck for a possible trip charge, try this:

Go to the "Diagnostics" screen (Menu, 6, 3) and try "Connection" and "Dial Out."

If it tests OK & you still can't to a PPV w/the remote, try "remarrying" your SC to your rcvr. For the 501, 1st "power off" the rcvr & wait a minute for the Hard Drive to stop. Then, pull the card & unplug the rcvr. After a few seconds, plug it back in & replace the card. For the 301, you don't have to power it down first.

Come to think of it, it's been so long since I've had to do this I may have the 2nd part backwards. If it doesn't work, try again but this time replace the card before you plug the rcvr back in.

What doesn't make sense to me is that you report the same problem with both receivers. So if none of this works, try what Jacob says & ask for a "rehit."

 

[DishDude1]

This is what happens when you buy from dish directly and not through a local retailer

 

[Bob Haller]

I HATE companies that dont provide supervisors when a customer demands one. If all else fails call and tell them you want to disconnect. Typically retention CSRs have the most ability and training. Dont disco though. If this fails write that CEO charlie address.

POORE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE PITS!

You might try changing to pulse dialing even if you have touch tone. sometimes that can help/

 

[Swampthing]

Customer Service has been on a sharp decline in many service industries, including Dish Network for several years now. I can't begin to cite how many times I've dealt with downright incompetence, belligerance, or antagonistic CSRs in many service industries over the past few years! Not trying to single out any particular group, but in my experience most of the attitudes seem to come from folks under the age of 30. When you're fed up, they too often refuse to give full identifying information or even connect you with their supervisor. "He's in a meeting" "He doesn't have a phone" "There is no supervisor on duty today" all BS to cover for piss poor customer service these days... I know I'm preaching to the choir, but the service industry is really a steaming pile of doo-doo these days...

 

[Jacob S]

They act like they do not care about your problem anymore, most of them anyways, but I guess one should look at it two different ways, sometimes its not their fault and there is nothing that they can do but to try to help, but sometimes they get this attitude with me and I have even had them hung up on me but I never curse or say mean things towards them, I just get upset, and one should not cross the line and do those such of things. Has anybody ever had a CSR yell at you or curse or say mean harsh things towards you?

Sometimes they are just plain lazy and hope you call back to talk to someone else or too lazy to find out what is wrong.

 

[MediaMills]

Usually when I have to deal with customer service I will at the earliest point that it's appropriate explain to whomever I am talking to that, "I'm not a happy person (pissed). I'm not pissed at you, I'm pissed at the company you work for."
That usually gets them on 'my side' because the company pisses them off sometimes too and I can relate to how they feel. It's a strategy that requires really no additional effort and yields results more often than not.

 

[Bob Haller]

E CSRs at last reporet have little leeway to help even deserving folks. I have talked to many used to be CSRs and they ALL say they werent allowed to credit subs accounts even when the sub is right.

This REALLY should be changed... A $ credit can often make a %$#@& caller a happy camper,,,

I had my CSR troubles last week, over DSL. I ended up calling Verizon threatening to cancel EVERYTHING. They improperly charged my debit card for a DSL modem and bounced my checking account.

The disco CSR gave me twice the $ back, yep $38 times 2 plus tax.

Told them irst CSR should of taken care of this for me....

 

[Jacob S]

I tell them that I am not mad but mad at the company as well but then when they go and act like they cant help me like they are lazy or get an attitude with me then that changes things ya know. Its not my fault either and they should not act like its my fault unless its my fault for signing up in the first place and my fault that I got fooled thinking the company actually cared.