[Chip Moody]

Since they seem to cater to DirecTV and not at all to Dish, I figured I was safe starting this thread under the DirecTV umbrella - my apologies to the mods if it should have been put in the "general" DBSTalk forum...

Has anyone had less than stellar experiences with Solid Signal?

After researching the SWM8 here before buying one, I got the impression that the company was staffed by folks that really "got it". My personal experience with them has kinda nuked that impression right out of my head, though.

Don't get me wrong - I almost feel bad starting this thread, because I don't want to rag on the company - the people I spoke with over there were all extremely nice, and the level of service I got as far as ordering hardware and getting what I asked for in a timely fashion was indeed awesome, at what I believe was a great price. My issue is with the knowledge level of one representative I spoke with - a person that insisted that I needed certain hardware when I was 99.9% certain I didn't. (And after getting hardware I asked for installed and tested, proved this person was working with incorrect information)

So starting this thread might be a little indulgent, and I apologize for that, but I'm just curious whether I'm the one in a million customer that had a bad time, or if they're not as super-awesome as I had them made out to be and that people should exercise a little care when dealing with them...

Anyone? Bueller?

Thanks,
- Chip

 

[Grentz]

They do have dish stuff as well:
www.solidsignal.tv

But it is fine to post here I am sure, most of us deal with the directv side around here

Also remember that not all CSRs know everything and some are better than others. I have had ones even at Directv that are just amazing and others that seem to know nothing.

 

[Stanley Kritzik]

They do have dish stuff as well:
www.solidsignal.tv

But it is fine to post here I am sure, most of us deal with the directv side around here

FWIW, my experiences with Solid Signal have always been 100% good, including a return of a product I ordered in error. However, in all cases, I knew what I wanted (often because of this site), and I got the right stuff each time.

Stan

 

[flipptyfloppity]

I have never availed myself of their expertise, merely ordered what I knew I needed. I'm not sure I ever even talked to them on the phone.

They have delayed shipping my stuff before without notifying me, but shipped it with faster shipping than requested, so the overall delay until receipt was minimal.

 

[66stang351]

I never talked to anyone there before ordering so can't talk to that aspect. I did however make an order for 2 of an item once and they sent one. I called and complained and they insisted that they had sent two even citing the weight of the package when shipped. After making it very clear that they were right and I was wrong they agreed to send me another...then they promptly sent 2. In the end I got three because first they sent to few then complained about me stealing from them and then sent me to many.

 

[diggerg56]

...Then there was the time I ordered one of the old Zinwell 6 x 8 multiswitches (before the WB68) andwhat I got was a box with six of them. The other five had shipping labels taped to them for the other five folks that were supposed to get them.

I called three times and each time they promised to send a return label (I wasn't going to return them on my dime) but nothing ever showed up. They're still laying around somewhere.

The second part of the story is while this was going on I got a letter from a guy from Oklahoma. His letter said that he had received an order from Solid Signal and had received six multiswitches when he had only ordered one. Same deal, all six had a label taped to them and he was actually writing each of the people to see if they wanted him to send along their multiswitch.

I wrote him back and relayed my part of the story. I'm not sure if he ever had contact with Solid Signal or not.

Overall, I've ordered from them several times and always had good luck other than this bizarre deal.

 

[Redlinetire]

I've had nothing but good experiences with them, including the one time I had to call them.

But then I try to be flexible in dealing with people and I don't expect perfection.

It seems in this day and age we don't even forgive honest mistakes.

 

[techrep]

About a dozen transactions, all smooth.

 

[bakers12]

I found an error on their web site once. An OTA pre-amp with specs that were really worse than what they posted. I sent an email informing them and got a reply back the next day. The guy said the pre-amp was indeed not as good as he thought and he was taking it off his recommended list.

After I got the email, I checked the web page and it was corrected.

 

[Jason Whiddon]

Ive always had great service from them (4 orders)

 

[RichH25]

I have used Solid Signal for multiple items. I have talked with them twice. The rest of the time I just ordered a part or item straight for their site. I have always been very pleased and would definitely order from them again. In fact, when I need an OTA or D* part, they are the first place I check. That being said, even the best companies can have dud employees. I would reco that you try them again. As another reco, I also research any part that I order online from multiple sources such as dbstalk and avsforum so that I can get multiple POV's before ordering.

 

[CliffV]

I've used them 3 times. All three times I got a good products at a fair price with fast delivery.

On one other occasion, I used their pre-sales support to get advice on what I needed to pick up my OTA HD channels reliably. In that case, they didn't read my question carefully and gave my bum advice. When I pointed that out, they grasped at straws for some decent advice. I chose not to buy from them in this fourth case.

So certainly, buy from them when you know what product you need. However, seek advice from dbstalk and avsforum before you buy.

 

[Chip Moody]

In my case I simply called and asked for a SWM8 and a SWS2. The rep asked what I was hooking up and I explained I was going to put an H20 on one output of the SWS2 and an HR21Pro on the other.

He insisted - even after I called back after installing the hardware and verified all three tuners were operational - that the SWS2 would only allow two tuners to operate - that I'd either have both tuners on the 21P and nothing on the H20, or both boxes working with only one tuner running on the 21P. He continued to state that I had to have an SWS4 and terminate the two unused outputs on it. The claim was that the splitter was the key in the SWM8's determination of how many channels to allocate. At the time I was ordering, I politely thanked him, said that was not my understanding, and asked for the SWS2.

He thanked me for calling him back and letting him know that it was working for me, but said he was still going to steer customers to buying splitters that had enough physical connections for the number of tuners that would be connected. (Even if a DVR was using a single cable - there had to be an unused, terminated port on the splitter)

In the end, I'm okay because I came here first to do my homework ahead of time, but at the same time I'm left feeling bad that other customers were going to be given incorrect information down the road. I'll buy again from them in the future if the price is still good, but - like this time - I'll put my shopping list together based on input from the folks here on this fourm.

- Chip

 

[say-what]

FWIW, my experiences with Solid Signal have always been 100% good, including a return of a product I ordered in error. However, in all cases, I knew what I wanted (often because of this site), and I got the right stuff each time.

Stan

Same here. I've never had to speak to one of their associates. I've always figured out what I needed and placed the order.

 

[litzdog911]

I've done lots of business with Solid Signal and am 100% satisfied with them. I recommend them often.

 

[goober22]

Ordered from them 3 times.

Twice, all was good. (antenna, multiswitch x2, pre-amp)

The 3rd time I ordered some rubber o-rings ($2.00) as part of the order and received a 12' component cable set ($18.00). Part numbers not even close. Was going to return them for a swap but they wanted me to pay return shipping! Just kept them instead and they are still in the pack!