[RACJ2]

Since most people post things to complain about installations, I decided to post this to give props to Mastec for a couple reasons. First, for providing the equipment I requested. Second, for the effort the installer made in completing the install.

It started out a bit rocky, but ended well. On my first schedule date, they planned to bring me a Slimline Dish and HR21’s, despite the notes requesting the HR22’s and SWM LNB. After a couple calls, I was able to talk to a manager and he agreed to have the installer bring 2 HR22's along with the SWM LNB (Since I only had a total of 4 tuners, they normally won’t install the SWM LNB, so I was glad he agreed). In order to get that equipment I had to reschedule, but I felt it was worth waiting a couple days.

The day of the second install date, waiting for the installer to show up with the correct equipment wasn’t the best experience. Once he got here it was great. The promise time was between 8 AM and noon. After multiple calls and being promised he would be on site by 2 PM, he finally arrived at 7:30 PM. I was really impressed that they would show up that late to start an install. And he was very friendly and actually stayed until 11:45 PM to complete the install. It was dark and there was light rain, but he persisted until he was done. He also gave me HDMI, component and RCA cables for both DVR’s. No attempt to sell them to me. I plan to send his supervisor an email to praise his efforts.

 

[Brannayen]

As a fellow Mastec employee, it makes me feel good to see our efforts noticed. From my experience, we provide a level of service unmatched by many, if not most sub-contractors. Since we don't have to buy our own materials, we have no motivation to cut corners, or charge money for cables.

 

[MIAMI1683]

Mastec is here too. During my last "move" the guy was great, Good job

 

[joe diamond]

You guys are the first.

When I answer installation company ads my first question is. "Are you somehow in the MASTEC stream of work?"

I know and have met competent, hard working techs within MASTEC but they were all quitting for he same reasons I won't work for them. I do OK just fixing the obvious errors of beginners.

Pretend someone explained an obvious error on a bogus charge back with the explanation that a pallet of Tivos disappeared from a depot and corporate said to make it up on QCs. How about "tell the customers their recievers will catch fire unless they are connected to a land line?

That MASTEC?

Joe..............yeah I know, an isolated example, but so many over so many years?

 

[RACJ2]

You guys are the first.

When I answer installation company ads my first question is. "Are you somehow in the MASTEC stream of work?"

I know and have met competent, hard working techs within MASTEC but they were all quitting for he same reasons I won't work for them. I do OK just fixing the obvious errors of beginners.

Pretend someone explained an obvious error on a bogus charge back with the explanation that a pallet of Tivos disappeared from a depot and corporate said to make it up on QCs. How about "tell the customers their recievers will catch fire unless they are connected to a land line?

That MASTEC?

Joe..............yeah I know, an isolated example, but so many over so many years?

I can't comment on what its like to work for them, just the fact that I was pleased with the installer. And the effort his manager made in getting me the equipment I requested. From what I have read, they work their installers to death, so they probably aren't a company I would want to work for. That makes appreciate even more, what a what a good attitude and work ethic my installer had.

 

[Rockaway1836]

When I moved last year Mastec handeld my Movers Connection setup. They also did my friends house without problems as well. Then yesterday another friend was to have an install from them. Instead of a Mastec truck they pulled up in an SUV pulling a small trailer behind. These guys were not Mastec employees, but were subs for Mastec. Right off the bat they were looking to charge her for a pole mount (EVERYONE ELSE HERE GOT THAT FREE)and to run a cable to where the DVR was to go, and from what I understand, they were looking to charge her for a few other things as well. I got a call to come down to check out what they were up to. After talking to the guys for a bit I learned that they had never heard of a SWM and swore to me that HD stations do not come from 99 and 103. In fact they even said that the dish they were there to install could not see either bird. The conversation ended right there. Install was cancelled and set for another day by someone that (keep fingers crossed) is more qualified. For her own peace of mind she demanded that D at least make sure a truck with D's logo on it showed up.

 

[joe diamond]

Home Service Providers (HSPs) like MASTEC can use up to 20% subcontractors.
The subs pay for all materials as opposed to HSP employees who work by the hour and should be provided everything. Due to the work situation in both settings there is a high turn over. Training is spotty..and the SWM is not distributed everywhere at once.

To put the best spin on things, DTV is in a transition between an old system with many problems to a new system that could be improved. I am amazed it took so long.

The truck with the D logo won't guarantee anything. Everyone has a first day.
The guys in the D trucks are more likely to be doing their first day with you.

Joe

 

[thespaceghost]

Joe explained it well. Subs have to pay for everything out of their pocket. If you want a polemount, its min. $20 out of the subs pocket to put it on a pole. Mastec will not let thier inhouse techs charge customers for anything. Subs are allowed much more freedom.

Most of our subs in our area do a pretty good job. Usually they have been around the industry for a while. With inhouse techs, you get the best service from rookie techs or guys who have been with them for years. After 6 months or so, inhouse techs learn how to play the game and what they can and can not get away with.

 

[joe diamond]

As a fellow Mastec employee, it makes me feel good to see our efforts noticed. From my experience, we provide a level of service unmatched by many, if not most sub-contractors. Since we don't have to buy our own materials, we have no motivation to cut corners, or charge money for cables.

Brannayen,

In case you missed it this cx was not served well. He eventually got the installation he ordered but the usual MASTEC enviornment took two visits and much more time than necessary do do a real common installation.

The folks who could have done better have walked away.

Joe

 

[Rockaway1836]

Home Service Providers (HSPs) like MASTEC can use up to 20% subcontractors.
The subs pay for all materials as opposed to HSP employees who work by the hour and should be provided everything. Due to the work situation in both settings there is a high turn over. Training is spotty..and the SWM is not distributed everywhere at once.

To put the best spin on things, DTV is in a transition between an old system with many problems to a new system that could be improved. I am amazed it took so long.

The truck with the D logo won't guarantee anything. Everyone has a first day.
The guys in the D trucks are more likely to be doing their first day with you.

Joe

You will not hear an argument from me on any of your points. As far as the logo goes. It's something that will just give her the feeling of a more professional person coming to her home. I don't think anyone would be comfortable to see Bubba and his trailer pull up to their door.

I had situation that was much the same with my sister. In her case it was not Mastec subs. It was the subs for some company that I never did get the name of. (Since I had moved down here at the time and she was still in NY) Anyway, the boys from the hood showed up. (complete with dew-rags) They made an abortion of the job. With wires strung around her chimmey and just drapped over the house. Inside they left black wires (white walls) either loose in some places or just tacked to whatever was handy. (I only saw the pictures of the job when my nephew came to me for a vist.) My sister called me, when she got home from work almost in tears. There were coax clippings all over the place and in general the job was left in a mess. To top it off, they had installed the wrong dish. I told her to call D right away, which she did.

The CSR at D told her they could not send anyone for at least a week. Another call from my sister to me prompted me to call D. After me talknig to them, her service appointment was moved to the next day.( After getting many mea cupas)

Now moving on to a month ago. ( again me not being in NY since I moved) My other nephew was here for a vist. He asked me why I seemed to have so much mor HD than they did. It took me a little while to figure it out. The answer was, that the first (so called techs) had installed a Phase 3 dish and set the the receivers as such. The followup people had never re-programed the receiver for the Slimline either.

I had wanted to post that story last year, but did not. I thought installers get a bad enough rap as it is. I know for the most part they know what they are diong, and do a good (if not great job ) most of the time. However we must all be aware that there are fly by nighters out there.

 

[joe diamond]

Rockaway,
The last install job I did was for a MASTEC sub. The parts clerk did not know what multiswitches were for but put one 25 piece bag of fittings in each truck on Mondays......."turn in the empty when you want another." He did remove all the R20s from all the trucks without letting anyone know..had to go back to MASTEC for inventory. When I called him to change a WO that said "upgrade" to "mover install" it took two days. It goes like that.......jobs at least one hour driving apart scheduled for the same AM.; do your best, one may cancel".........
When I explained that another "lead tech" had connected two lines to a wall plate with only one active feed I was told I was not a supervisor and was told I should not have explained the error to a customer because it made the company look bad. It goes like that.
I was assured I didn't have to worry about the MASTEC connection because I was an employee of the subcontractor. You can imagine my surprise when his paycheck bounced.

It goes like that

Joe

 

[RACJ2]

Brannayen,

In case you missed it this cx was not served well. He eventually got the installation he ordered but the usual MASTEC enviornment took two visits and much more time than necessary do do a real common installation.

The folks who could have done better have walked away.

Joe

You're half right, it didn't half to be this difficult to get the latest equipment. Actually, based on the way DirecTV's order system works, you don't get a SWM LNB unless you have at least 5 tuners. Also, you can't request what type of HD DVR you get, you are simply told you will get an HD DVR. I insisted on the HR22.

I don't agree with the 5 tuner policy and not having the ability to choose a specific DVR model. Since I was technically asking for a special request, I appreciated the fact that the Mastec manager approved it. Also, I only had an installer on site once and that was to do the actual installation. The other 2 installers called before coming and since they didn't have the correct equipment, they never came on site.

 

[RACJ2]

Home Service Providers (HSPs) like MASTEC can use up to 20% subcontractors.
The subs pay for all materials as opposed to HSP employees who work by the hour and should be provided everything. Due to the work situation in both settings there is a high turn over. Training is spotty..and the SWM is not distributed everywhere at once.

My suggestion for anyone that doesn't want a subcontractor is to be sure you insist on the SWM LNB. The first 2 installers that called, were subcontractors. When I mentioned SWM LNB, they said "I am not trained on that so I can't do the install". FYI, if your order meets the 5 tuner minimum, the DirecTV order system should add the SWM LNB to the order and you should get a Mastec employee.

 

[2dogz]

What the heck are props?

 

[RACJ2]

What the heck are props?

Props - Slang term for "accolades", "proper respect", or "just dues".

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=props

 

[2dogz]

Props - Slang term for "accolades", "proper respect", or "just dues".

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=props

Hmmm. Guess I'm just in a different subculture. And different era.

 

[hogon41]

Home Service Providers (HSPs) like MASTEC can use up to 20% subcontractors.
The subs pay for all materials as opposed to HSP employees who work by the hour and should be provided everything. Due to the work situation in both settings there is a high turn over.
Joe

HSP techs get paid by the job, not by the hour.

Joe explained it well. Subs have to pay for everything out of their pocket. If you want a polemount, its min. $20 out of the subs pocket to put it on a pole. Mastec will not let thier inhouse techs charge customers for anything. Subs are allowed much more freedom.

Mastec does let their inhouse techs charge for custom work. There IS an approved price list for custom charges such as wall fishes.

 

[joe diamond]

HSP techs get paid by the job, not by the hour.

Mastec does let their inhouse techs charge for custom work. There IS an approved price list for custom charges such as wall fishes.

Yup,

My last experience was set so that the custom work was paid to MASTEC, they took a cut and sent it back as a commission. Since I was being paid wages by the subcontractor the cash tips went further than the checks made to other people's companies.

Some of the confusion comes from the decision not to walk away from jobs that require more than what is offered in the basic installation. HSPs will give away a pole...and make up the difference out of the installer's pay (my opinion).

Recently DTV bought some HSPs and kicked out a few others. The big M is still around but we will see.

Joe

 

[Brannayen]

Brannayen,

In case you missed it this cx was not served well. He eventually got the installation he ordered but the usual MASTEC enviornment took two visits and much more time than necessary do do a real common installation.

The folks who could have done better have walked away.

Joe

Yes, the install could have gone alot better. However, there are several things to keep in mind. First, we don't choose what receivers go on our truck. Believe me, I've tried. Our warehouse manager reminds me of the "soup nazi" from Seinfeld.
Second, and probably most important, ALL companies, subs, etc. will have good and bad days. It's also a matter of how the company handles it. Just try getting a sub to come out and fix a bad install, and that's where Mastec's quality will show.

 

[joe diamond]

Yes, the install could have gone alot better. However, there are several things to keep in mind. First, we don't choose what receivers go on our truck. Believe me, I've tried. Our warehouse manager reminds me of the "soup nazi" from Seinfeld.
Second, and probably most important, ALL companies, subs, etc. will have good and bad days. It's also a matter of how the company handles it. Just try getting a sub to come out and fix a bad install, and that's where Mastec's quality will show.

Brannayen,

I am guilty of making my problem their problem. My dealings with MASTEC have all been through subcontractors and I am done. My first experience with them was before they had been forced to make installers into employees.
MY most recent one was as an employee of a company getting work from them. No good reports.

Details skipped.......they would go here.

You are seeing a quality of MASTEC I have never seen.
Glad it is working for you.

Joe