[falconress]

I started this thread because I found nothing similar within a recent timeframe. Hope it's okay to do that.

DirecTV Choice Ultimate would cost $36 a month for months 1-12, $51 for months 13-24, including one HD and one standard receiver, and after new subscriber discount and AAA promo. Total for 24 months: $1,044.

DishTV America’s Top 250 costs me $77 a month, including two standard receivers. Total for 24 months: $1,848.

I am with Dish for over ten years, paid with Auto Pay, and had no other contact with them. I used to have America’s Everything Pak, but about half a year ago I ditched the premiums in favor of Amazon Prime + Netflix. The main Dish quirk, that I learned to live with, is that it goes out for awhile as soon as the first raindrops fall. I’m sure DirecTV has its own quirks.

All else being equal, I don’t care which company gets my money. But all else is not equal. We recently replaced one of our TV’s with an HD TV. I contacted Dish to find out about upgrading one receiver and adding HD service. Their answer surprised me so much, it sent me looking for other ideas.

Dish said that they can’t sell me an upgraded HD receiver instead of one of our standard receivers because “at this time there are no HD receiver lease promotions.” I would have to buy an HD receiver outright, pay the monthly HD service surcharge, and also pay monthly for a third receiver, even though we only have two televisions and only need two receivers and two Smart Cards.

When they insisted the only way I can add HD is if I agree to pay a monthly receiver charge for a third receiver I don’t need (after buying an HD receiver outright), I started looking around and found the DirecTV offer.

Considering the gap is so substantial, and would be even bigger if I did add HD to Dish, does it even pay to call Dish and try to “negotiate” a matching offer or is it just a waste of my time and theirs?

 

[lparsons21]

Having switched a few times myself, I know that from purely a dollars and cents standpoint, you save money. And that is because of the new customer offers. Both do it.

As to negotiating, well when you cancel they will make some offers at the time and might negotiate a little bit otherwise as long as they think you will leave. But the offers are seldom as good as the 'new' or 'returning' customer offers.

That said, make sure you know what you get for the money. Sometimes there is equipment costs upfront because of the number and types of equipment. And there is a bit of a hassle with a switch, both because of the installation stuff, and also the differences in how each provider's equipment works.

 

[phrelin]

The receiver information you describe makes no sense to me. You should be able to get a ViP722DVR as part of whatever package you choose. That will serve one HD TV and one SD TV controlled independently.

I'm not sure what impact your status as a returning customer has on eligibility for some discounts.

Maybe a somebody from DIRT can interact with you.

 

[Paul Secic]

I started this thread because I found nothing similar within a recent timeframe. Hope it's okay to do that.

DirecTV Choice Ultimate would cost $36 a month for months 1-12, $51 for months 13-24, including one HD and one standard receiver, and after new subscriber discount and AAA promo. Total for 24 months: $1,044.

DishTV America's Top 250 costs me $77 a month, including two standard receivers. Total for 24 months: $1,848.

I am with Dish for over ten years, paid with Auto Pay, and had no other contact with them. I used to have America's Everything Pak, but about half a year ago I ditched the premiums in favor of Amazon Prime + Netflix. The main Dish quirk, that I learned to live with, is that it goes out for awhile as soon as the first raindrops fall. I'm sure DirecTV has its own quirks.

All else being equal, I don't care which company gets my money. But all else is not equal. We recently replaced one of our TV's with an HD TV. I contacted Dish to find out about upgrading one receiver and adding HD service. Their answer surprised me so much, it sent me looking for other ideas.

Dish said that they can't sell me an upgraded HD receiver instead of one of our standard receivers because "at this time there are no HD receiver lease promotions." I would have to buy an HD receiver outright, pay the monthly HD service surcharge, and also pay monthly for a third receiver, even though we only have two televisions and only need two receivers and two Smart Cards.

When they insisted the only way I can add HD is if I agree to pay a monthly receiver charge for a third receiver I don't need (after buying an HD receiver outright), I started looking around and found the DirecTV offer.

Considering the gap is so substantial, and would be even bigger if I did add HD to Dish, does it even pay to call Dish and try to "negotiate" a matching offer or is it just a waste of my time and theirs?

Try CSR roulette.

 

[satcrazy]

doesn't sound right.

try CS again, if they give you the same reply, you could try asking for the "customer loyalty" dept.

If that fails, jumping ship is the option. direct did sort of the same to me and I left them for dish. It is all a shell game and the winner gets your money. The idea is not to give more than you have to.

 

[tampa8]

Just to be clear they will not match the Direct (or any) new customer promotion. Or at least I should say they have a history of never doing that. The feeling is you got a promotion when you first signed up.

That said, I do think you can get a better deal on staying with Dish. I have two suggestions. One is as already said, go through a CSR that is on this site. They will look at your account and see what they can do. It does make a difference on your payment history and level of services I believe.

Second though, you may want to wait for the Hopper to come out and see what the cost of that will be and how it may fit your needs.

 

[falconress]

Thanks so much to all of you who read and made suggestions. I really appreciate it.

I made an error calculating the second year. I factored in the AAA promo discount as $10 a month, but it only goes for 20 months. So the second year would cost 40 bucks more, and of course DirecTV might raise rates across the board, including new-subscriber rates. Ultimately, though, the total DirecTV cost is still much lower by several hundred $’s than my current Dish package, which has no HD.

But I’ll admit, the thing that makes me think it’s pointless to try talking with Dish was their weird stance on the HD upgrade. I’ll try contacting the DIRT team and ask for their input before I decide.

Thanks again.

P.S. @tampa8, what's the Hopper? We are the antithesis of power users, BTW. The Luddites would welcome us happily. So if the Hopper is something bright and shiny, I'll probably wait till it's dull and tarnished before having a look. :lol:

 

[boba]

I would guess from your existing offers DISH does not value you as an existing customer. Go to Directv and save the money just remember it is a 2 year commitment so double check your calculations.

 

[lparsons21]

I would guess from your existing offers DISH does not value you as an existing customer. Go to Directv and save the money just remember it is a 2 year commitment so double check your calculations.

While his past history and such are all part of the deal he might get from E*, you can't really tell from the offers what his account is like. Just like D*, the luck of the draw with a CSR plays as much a part of it as anything else.

When I cancelled with E*, they offered a few bucks off for a few months to stay. And I'm one that has nearly the top package, and always have 2-4 premiums involved, and buy PPVs on occasion, with nary a late payment and no real *****ing.

 

[falconress]

I would guess from your existing offers DISH does not value you as an existing customer. Go to Directv and save the money just remember it is a 2 year commitment so double check your calculations.

Yeah, they really don't . We always paid with AutoPay (i.e., on time), and until recently always had the top package, so I'm not sure what it takes to get some love.

I never used pay per view or anything like that, though, and never needed more than standard receivers. Maybe they're like the credit card companies, who like customers who pay lots of interest fees more than customers who pay off their balance each month.

 

[satcrazy]

If direct offers the second year at a discounted rate [ it is on their web site] can they change it at any time during the 2 year agreement?

Seems to me after the initial 12 mo. promo, there is a price increase.

I would double check that, as it figures into your cost/savings.

 

[falconress]

If direct offers the second year at a discounted rate [ it is on their web site] can they change it at any time during the 2 year agreement?

Seems to me after the initial 12 mo. promo, there is a price increase.

Yes, the prices are different for the second year. But with the promo they are running now, even the second year gets a discount off full price. The first year, the discount is $31/month, the second year it's $16/month.

For Ultimate Choice (with 1 HD and 1 standard receiver):
Basic full rate: $71
Newbie rate, months 1-12: $46
Newbie rate, months 13-24: $61
Plus, if you sign up through AAA, there's an additional $10/month for 20 months.

Also, I assume that when they increase prices across the board, they will also increase these prices. I didn't see anything that says the prices are locked in. The discount is apparently locked in, but of course the basic rate could go up. I figured that even if it goes up 4% a year, it's still cheaper than what I'm paying Dish. Much cheaper, by hundreds of $'s. Possibly cheap enough to make the hassle worthwhile. That's what I'm trying to decide now.

 

[satcrazy]

they did have a promo awhile back locking in price, which has probably expired. I think this was their answer to dish's price freeze til 2013.

If you switch, it would be interesting to read your experience/satisfaction with direct.

Can't beat the price,tho.

cheers!

 

[mdavej]

falcon,

Your thread is pretty much identical to THIS one. You will save money as a new customer no matter where you go. When the discounts run out, nobody will match another competitors newbie deals to keep you. Sounds like you want to play the game to save money, which is fine. But DirecTV is missing a heck of a lot of HD content (~20 channels). So even though it's cheaper short term, it would really suck to have to actually watch it. So $36 for crap is a lot worse than $77 for quality, IMO.

My 2 cents.

 

[falconress]

they did have a promo awhile back locking in price, which has probably expired. I think this was their answer to dish's price freeze til 2013.

If you switch, it would be interesting to read your experience/satisfaction with direct.

Can't beat the price,tho.

cheers!

I'm kind of philosophical. Dish has its quirks, and I'm sure Direct has its own quirks. That's generally the case with lots of things in life, KWIM? Go to an HP board, they tell you Dell is the devil's handiwork. Go to a Dell board, they'll mock you for even considering HP.

I don't have any real complaint against Dish. I understand that every company will have attractive offers for new subscribers, and be less inclined to give discounts to long-time customers. Now, though, not only am I looking at lower costs with DirecTV, but Dish seems to be making it unnecessarily difficult and expensive to replace one of our receivers for an HD receiver.

I will contact someone on the DIRT team, maybe they will help try to figure out what's going on. I have a nagging feeling the CSR missed something, because her conclusion makes no sense. Why would they care if I own a third receiver, if only two are active on the account? You can hoard old receivers piled from floor to ceiling in your basement; Dish would neither know nor care. The only ones that matter are the ones that are actively on the account. At least, that's my logic.

If they come up with an acceptable solution, maybe I'll consider asking about getting a lower price. Otherwise, I think maybe the universe is telling me it's time to become someone else's new subscriber and enjoy those perks for a change.

 

[phrelin]

I don't really like debating the issues between the two providers as I think they are both great. Each has advantages and disadvantages. In terms of interest I always ask people considering each whether they like to have a lot of sports or watch a lot of movies. To those that like a lot of sports, I suggest DirecTV might be better for them. Dish might be better for those who like a lot of movies.

But I'm going to make an observation here.

IMHO being a long term Dish customer, I know I'm required to make some effort to get the best pricing available to me. For the period from February 2011 through January 2012, I paid an average of $104.47 (including taxes) for AT200 HD, 3 Premiums (HBO, Showtime, & Starz), PlatinumHD Channels, a ViP722DVR and a ViP612DVR. That required me to do a fast shuffle to be sure I got Platinum free for the Anniversary year, plus the three premiums for free for three months.

I do go the extra mile. If for a period of more than two months there is no series show I want to record on one of the three premiums, I cancel it. I order it back on when a series show that I want to watch comes on and during that period record the movie premiers I missed.

I have a feeling its going to be harder to keep the "before taxes" monthly bill average under $100. But this Forum seems to keep me aware of what deals might be possible. I use the Dish Online Chat seems to get me those discounts, albeit on a few occasions over the years I've had to play CSR Roulette.

And then there's the base package choice. I "must" subscribe to AT200 because AMC and BBCA are unavailable in AT120. But after May, I'm going to be studying to see if I can cut back that $15 a month for even just one month.

Given the limited number of shows we watch on AMC and BBCA, I'm going to have to evaluate the streaming option. I know that many prior seasons of BBCA shows are available for us to stream for free on Amazon Prime. And Netflix has acquired the rights to past episodes of "Mad Men" though that would require a new subscription and hardware considerations.

 

[MadScientist]

Hello,
That is my post referenced too. I have decided to stay with Dish for now. I was asking for some help with my bill, and to keep me with Dish! Well Dish did help me! It's not a lot but it helps! I am now getting $10 off my bill for 16 months with no contract! I feel that dish should offer people like me and the OP a discount for being a good paying on time customer. I too have been with Dish 10+ years. This is just my .02cents!

falcon,

Your thread is pretty much identical to THIS one. You will save money as a new customer no matter where you go. When the discounts run out, nobody will match another competitors newbie deals to keep you. Sounds like you want to play the game to save money, which is fine. But DirecTV is missing a heck of a lot of HD content (~20 channels). So even though it's cheaper short term, it would really suck to have to actually watch it. So $36 for crap is a lot worse than $77 for quality, IMO.

My 2 cents.

 

[satcrazy]

falcon,

Your thread is pretty much identical to THIS one. You will save money as a new customer no matter where you go. When the discounts run out, nobody will match another competitors newbie deals to keep you. Sounds like you want to play the game to save money, which is fine. But DirecTV is missing a heck of a lot of HD content (~20 channels). So even though it's cheaper short term, it would really suck to have to actually watch it. So $36 for crap is a lot worse than $77 for quality, IMO.

My 2 cents.

good point

without having to go through over 200 channels line by line, would you happen to know what hd channels are missing? I think this might influence alot of would be jumpers.

thanks

 

[tommiet]

If saving money is the primary reason to chance, do it! Dish will never meet Directs price and you can always jump back and forth and save money. I've changed multiple times when new hardware comes out and my current provider wants an arm and a leg to upgrade.

DISH will not even think about leasing us a "HOPPER" for at least a couple of years. New customers get the new toys first. Another reason to jump to Direct. You can get a 5 tuner receiver today!

Hmmmm... I think I need to check into this too.

 

[James Long]

good point

without having to go through over 200 channels line by line, would you happen to know what hd channels are missing? I think this might influence alot of would be jumpers.

thanks

I cheat. I already went through the channels line by line.

http://jameslong.name/hdcount.html is the list by programming package (to the best of my knowledge - channels change packages occasionally).
http://jameslong.name/hdadditions.html is the list of additions each year 2008 to present (look for DISH only and DTV only images).

There is also a PDF chart that I maintain in the General Satellite forum (in this thread).

If it were not for the lists I would not know every channel. But I would be certain to check the competition for every channel that I currently watch in HD and channels that I wish were also in HD. And I'd also check the SD lineups to see if said channels were in SD or just missing from the other provider.