Think Twice Before Switching To Dish

3338 Views 21 Replies 10 Participants Last post by damondlt, May 29, 2012

Worn

Discussion Starter · May 28, 2012

I had dish installed last weekend. Got the 2 hopper, 2 Joey system. The installer put the dish on a portable mount and scheduled himself to come back this past Saturday to put it on a pole in concrete. I even received an email from dish stating I had an appointment this Saturday between 8-noon. The installer was a no show and I didn't even get a call. Waited around all day and nothing. This guy is employed by dish and not an independent installer. I called dish and they have rescheduled the install for next Saturday. All I got was a hard to understand "sorry". We have had some wind since this portable stand was put up with rocks holding it in place and sometimes I lose my signal.

Other than the above problems, which of course won't happen to everyone, here are other things I've not liked as much as Direct:

*Anytime I call since the install, I can't understand the representative very well. It's funny, the hard to understand person always transferred me to someone I could understand when I called to get dish, now I'm stuck with people who only speak English as a second language since I'm stuck in a 2 year commitment. On the other hand, direct always had "real" English speaking representatives.

*The HD quality isn't quite as good as direct.

On the bright side, I do like the hopper/Joey setups and PTAT. I also like the size of the dish compared to direct. There also are a couple more HD channels on dish that weren't on the other that I watch.

Hopefully once the dish is secure I won't have to call anymore and I will be happy with dish.

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1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Marlin Guy

· #2 · May 28, 2012

Sorry you're having so many problems.
The support calls are likely being handled off-shore during the holiday weekend. Hopefully, you'll get better results Tuesday.

With regards to the picture quality, I have seen some here say that you have to go into the menu and switch to 480, save, and then switch back to 1080i, and save again. Something about it not getting the setting the first time.

ON a broader view, some states have consumer protection laws that allow for a "cooling off" period when purchasing a contract service. You'll have to check on that yourself if interested.

domingos35

· #3 · May 28, 2012

Worn said:
I had dish installed last weekend. Got the 2 hopper, 2 Joey system. The installer put the dish on a portable mount and scheduled himself to come back this past Saturday to put it on a pole in concrete. I even received an email from dish stating I had an appointment this Saturday between 8-noon. The installer was a no show and I didn't even get a call. Waited around all day and nothing. This guy is employed by dish and not an independent installer. I called dish and they have rescheduled the install for next Saturday. All I got was a hard to understand "sorry". We have had some wind since this portable stand was put up with rocks holding it in place and sometimes I lose my signal.

Other than the above problems, which of course won't happen to everyone, here are other things I've not liked as much as Direct:

*Anytime I call since the install, I can't understand the representative very well. It's funny, the hard to understand person always transferred me to someone I could understand when I called to get dish, now I'm stuck with people who only speak English as a second language since I'm stuck in a 2 year commitment. On the other hand, direct always had "real" English speaking representatives.

*The HD quality isn't quite as good as direct.

On the bright side, I do like the hopper/Joey setups and PTAT. I also like the size of the dish compared to direct. There also are a couple more HD channels on dish that weren't on the other that I watch.

Hopefully once the dish is secure I won't have to call anymore and I will be happy with dish.

U got a bad install from a bad lazy tech.
it happens .call dish and get it corrected.
that what u should of done instead of coming here and bashing dish .

Worn

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 28, 2012

Marlin Guy said:
Sorry you're having so many problems.
The support calls are likely being handled off-shore during the holiday weekend. Hopefully, you'll get better results Tuesday.

With regards to the picture quality, I have seen some here say that you have to go into the menu and switch to 480, save, and then switch back to 1080i, and save again. Something about it not getting the setting the first time.

ON a broader view, some states have consumer protection laws that allow for a "cooling off" period when purchasing a contract service. You'll have to check on that yourself if interested.

Thanks Marlin Guy for the positive response. I've done the 480 thing, but the picture isn't bad. I'm just comparing HD on the same tv as directs and can notice a difference.
It's seems that since my install relly isn't complete, I'd have a legitimate reason to get out of my contract.

Mr-Rick

· #5 · May 28, 2012

I think going to a local retailer would have been a better option.

Worn

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 28, 2012

domingo, actually the installer was great. He just didn't come back when scheduled to do the permanent mount.
My point is to let people know of my concerns with dish. I would have at least expected the person at dish to say they will look into and let the install company know of my frustration. I would even think a credit until the installer does show up could have been offered. It doesn't seem right having this system and losing the signal, or having the picture get blotches unit because the dish isn't on a permanent mount.
It's too bad you feel my message was to bash dish. There were things I didn't like about direct as well. I am hopeful that when the dish is installed properly that I will be very pleased with dish.

Marlin Guy

· #7 · May 28, 2012

domingos35 said:
U got a bad install from a bad lazy tech.
it happens .call dish and get it corrected.
that what u should of done instead of coming here and bashing dish .

The installer IS Dish. He has every right to bash them in his case.

Inkosaurus

· #8 · May 28, 2012

I wouldnt take Domingos post to seriously Worn, he seems to react very negatively when someone's opinion of Dish isnt quite the same as his lol.

Regarding the CSR's. Theres not much they can do about your situation aside from looking at the schedule, I know first hand since I used to take those very same calls when I worked for Dish.
They can leave a note on the account but the tech wont see it, they can call Dispatch for your area but the agent cant really relay that info anywhere useful. The best action that could be done would be that the CSR's supervisor could send an email to your local dispatch office's supervisor and see if they can pencil you in. Thats about it.

Regarding the Tech not going back out, I suspect his warehouse was probably short on the necessary equipment to finish you up. I dont know if you have ever seen the show "undercover boss" but they once did an episode for Dtv and in the episode the CEO goes to a DTV warehouse and sees first hand the effect of equipment shortages, thats a really good segment that pretty much explains why most techs miss there appointments sometimes.
Ultimately though it is the Techs responsibility to inform you that he wont be able to make it so that is definitely inexcusable that you never got a heads up from him directly.

About the call centers. Its all about timing and luck of the draw, Dish has just as many Domestic call centers as DTV so I would chalk that experience up to bad luck lol.
As stated earlier im sure once the holidays are over and the agents start coming back in you should run into more domestic agents.
Alternatively you can also hop onto Dishnetwork.com and use the chat support option, accent dont translate very well to text lol

You can also request that you be transfered to an english agent and you will be rerouted to a Call center in america.

About credits, I wouldnt hold my breath your already getting a ton and I can promise you they will use that as reasoning not to pass along more.

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Marlin Guy

· #9 · May 28, 2012

Worn said:
It's seems that since my install relly isn't complete, I'd have a legitimate reason to get out of my contract.

I would think that's a valid point, but you'll want to be sure of where you stand legally before pursuing it, if that's what you want to do.
I think you'll be happy with Dish once you get past this initial bad experience, but tit's up to you on which way to go from this point forward.

If you are going to go back to DirecTV, then I'd suggest getting all of that worked out before the installation is made permanent.
On the upside for you, you could be in the driver's seat now with both companies.
Dish will likely offer you some compensations for your struggles with them, and DirecTV is already mailing you come back offers that are far better than what they would have offered to keep you as an existing customer.

Worn

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 28, 2012

I did a chat session with a manger and she issued me a no service credit until 6/2 when the next install appointment is. That resolved my concerns and I'm much happier. I just couldn't see paying for marginal service/reception.
On another note, I will wait until the dish is permanently installed to really compare HD.
I don't really want to go back to direct as I'm saving quite a bit with bundling with Frontier and do like the two hopper two Joey setup. It just crossed my mind if I can't get the dish installed correctly in a reasonable amount of time.

Worn

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 28, 2012

Inkosaurus said:
I wouldnt take Domingos post to seriously Worn, he seems to react very negatively when someone's opinion of Dish isnt quite the same as his lol.

Regarding the CSR's. Theres not much they can do about your situation aside from looking at the schedule, I know first hand since I used to take those very same calls when I worked for Dish.
They can leave a note on the account but the tech wont see it, they can call Dispatch for your area but the agent cant really relay that info anywhere useful. The best action that could be done would be that the CSR's supervisor could send an email to your local dispatch office's supervisor and see if they can pencil you in. Thats about it.

Regarding the Tech not going back out, I suspect his warehouse was probably short on the necessary equipment to finish you up. I dont know if you have ever seen the show "undercover boss" but they once did an episode for Dtv and in the episode the CEO goes to a DTV warehouse and sees first hand the effect of equipment shortages, thats a really good segment that pretty much explains why most techs miss there appointments sometimes.
Ultimately though it is the Techs responsibility to inform you that he wont be able to make it so that is definitely inexcusable that you never got a heads up from him directly.

About the call centers. Its all about timing and luck of the draw, Dish has just as many Domestic call centers as DTV so I would chalk that experience up to bad luck lol.
As stated earlier im sure once the holidays are over and the agents start coming back in you should run into more domestic agents.
Alternatively you can also hop onto Dishnetwork.com and use the chat support option, accent dont translate very well to text lol
You can also request that you be transfered to an english agent and you will be rerouted to a Call center in america.

About credits, I wouldnt hold my breath your already getting a ton and I can promise you they will use that as reasoning not to pass along more.

Thanks for all the info. The chat session worked and I'm being credited for the two weeks that I will have a temporary mounted dish.....if the installer didn't have the necessary equipment, I would at least expect a phone call so I didn't waste my whole day on a holiday weekend waiting around.

damondlt

· #12 · May 28, 2012

domingos35 said:
U got a bad install from a bad lazy tech.
it happens .call dish and get it corrected.
that what u should of done instead of coming here and bashing dish .

Yea we wouldn't want word to get out .

dmspen

· #13 · May 28, 2012

If you had to take time off from work and they didn't show, they could be liable for lost wages.

Inkosaurus

· #14 · May 28, 2012

Worn said:
Thanks for all the info. The chat session worked and I'm being credited for the two weeks that I will have a temporary mounted dish.....if the installer didn't have the necessary equipment, I would at least expect a phone call so I didn't waste my whole day on a holiday weekend waiting around.

Glad things worked out for ya. Heres a tip though, dont go around using those credits so fast! lol, spread them out a bit you only get so many credits, freebies, "fee removals" , ect. Before they pull the plug and dont offer you anything at all anymore =/

Marlin Guy

· #15 · May 28, 2012

Worn,
It sounds like a reasonable resolution is in the works.
It sucks that you have to wait so long, but I think you'll find the Hopper/Joey system to be superior to what you had previously in many ways.

Good luck and keep us posted when things get ironed out.

domingos35

· #16 · May 28, 2012

damondlt said:
Yea we wouldn't want word to get out .

yea directv techs are just as bad
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=205422

west99999

· #17 · May 28, 2012

domingos35 said:
yea directv techs are just as bad
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=205422

Not defending either company here but that post is about a bad receiver not a scheduled appt with a no call no show. To the OP the dish tech should have called in a utility locate to mark all utilities before a pole can be put in that is why the temp mount was used. Has that been done by the tech are yourself?

Worn

Discussion Starter · #18 · May 29, 2012

Marlin Guy said:
Worn,
It sounds like a reasonable resolution is in the works.
It sucks that you have to wait so long, but I think you'll find the Hopper/Joey system to be superior to what you had previously in many ways.

Good luck and keep us posted when things get ironed out.

Thanks Marlin Guy. I've had dish before and was happy. Just needed to vent about my current situation. Saving around $50/month with the year discounts and my bundled savings makes it all worthwhile!

sregener

· #19 · May 29, 2012

Worn said:
On another note, I will wait until the dish is permanently installed to really compare HD.

I think you'll find that the HD on Dish is just slightly worse than DirecTV's. For me, this is more than made up for by the fact that more of the channels I watch are in HD on Dish than DirecTV. SD on DirecTV was utterly unwatchable for me, and having some of my favorite shows in HD now helps.

And I had one of the notoriously slow DVRs from DirecTV, too. So I appreciate the speed of the Hopper. Eagerly awaiting the OTA module, though, as HD LiL is severely lacking.

Wire Nut

· #20 · May 29, 2012

sregener said:
I think you'll find that the HD on Dish is just slightly worse than DirecTV's.

I think you'll find that if you tell a lie often enough and hard enough, people are eventually going to accept it as fact. I see no difference, see them side by side almost every day.

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

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