# Now I see why people are frustrated with DirecTV



## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

I signed up with the NFL package with free HD for life, we don't watch a whole lot of TV so I wanted to lower from premier to another plan. I was offered Select which I asked at least a half dozen times if my Free HD would carry over. I was assured it would and all was well.. Then I got my bill. I understand the prorated charges for the switch in plans, but I noticed the HD Access Fee. I called DirecTV and was told that Select was no eligible for the HD rate I was given when I signed up.. Fine.. put me to Choice Extra. Well I notice my account didnt change from Select to Choice Extra so I called again.

Apparently once they moved me to Select I lost and am no longer eligible for the HD Access promotion. Nor would they give me even the 2 years free I see some have gotten here. They said they would give me a $120 one time credit, but honestly thats still making me pay for their employee lying to me about switching plans and being able to keep my Free HD. 

At this point, I will try to call customer retention again, but I think I am to the point where I will pay the $280 ETF and move over to Dish. I love DirecTV, the clarity of their HD as well as the programming suits me and my family just fine, however I feel completely lied to given the situation. Besides that If I went to Dish I could get free HD again, and eventually would recoup the cost of the ETF. Basically I figure it would be $280 - $130 credit the account would have on it leaving me with $150 as an ETF. After 15 months with Dish I would have recouped the money.

I am willing to try any other suggestions from folks here, I am not adverse to keeping DirecTV if they are willing to give me what was promised when I signed up. I feel like DirecTV's lack of customer service as well as being unwilling to right a wrong that their own employee caused is bad business, not to mention horrible customer service.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

They won't let you use the credit for an ECF.


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## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

Shades228 said:


> They won't let you use the credit for an ECF.


Yea, I'm on with them now. Bleh.. Honestly at this point I am rather ticked with their lack of customer service.


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## joe diamond (Feb 28, 2007)

PSXBatou said:


> I signed up with the NFL package with free HD for life, we don't watch a whole lot of TV so I wanted to lower from premier to another plan. I was offered Select which I asked at least a half dozen times if my Free HD would carry over. I was assured it would and all was well.. Then I got my bill. I understand the prorated charges for the switch in plans, but I noticed the HD Access Fee. I called DirecTV and was told that Select was no eligible for the HD rate I was given when I signed up.. Fine.. put me to Choice Extra. Well I notice my account didnt change from Select to Choice Extra so I called again.
> 
> Apparently once they moved me to Select I lost and am no longer eligible for the HD Access promotion. Nor would they give me even the 2 years free I see some have gotten here. They said they would give me a $120 one time credit, but honestly thats still making me pay for their employee lying to me about switching plans and being able to keep my Free HD.
> 
> ...


Try an old installer trick,

Just call back and start over. You will get another person. Disavow any changes in your original deal. Get them to reinstate your billing as it was. Start over on the web site. You are entitled to understand what you are buying. CSRs just make this stuff up and or are tired, confused and not current on the weekly deals.

Joe


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## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

joe diamond said:


> Try an old installer trick,
> 
> Just call back and start over. You will get another person. Disavow any changes in your original deal. Get them to reinstate your billing as it was. Start over on the web site. You are entitled to understand what you are buying. CSRs just make this stuff up and or are tired, confused and not current on the weekly deals.
> 
> Joe


Well, apparently "the credit is the best they can offer", this after talking to a person in retention, then their manager.

This is absolutely ridiculous in my opinion, customer service at its worst.

What do you mean by start over on the website?

The part that frustrates me the most is I was basically lied to by one of their employees, now rather than making it better and restoring my account they are telling me even if they move my account to Choice Extra the HD option is no longer available for my account. They basically said take the $120 credit and call back in a year to see if we can give you another offer, which in this situation is not reasonable in my opinion.

As much as I like DirecTV as far as programming and HD Quality I am very close to just eating the $360 (was higher than I thought) and moving to Dish, I am very frustrated with the lack of customer service DirecTV has shown me.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

PSXBatou said:


> They said they would give me a $120 one time credit, but honestly thats still making me pay for their employee lying to me about switching plans and being able to keep my Free HD.


I understand that the CSR you talked to was mistaken, but honestly what's the big deal.

They have you a $120 credit (HD free for a year). Next year there might not even be a charge for HD and if there is you might be able to get HD free then (with auto bill pay).

It sucks when a CSR is uninformed (which is different than lying, BTW), but in the grand scheme of things it's not really worth the hassle you're putting yourself through.

You're willing to switch providers because a CSR didn't understand a policy??


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## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

spartanstew said:


> I understand that the CSR you talked to was mistaken, but honestly what's the big deal.
> 
> They have you a $120 credit (HD free for a year). Next year there might not even be a charge for HD and if there is you might be able to get HD free then (with auto bill pay).
> 
> ...


More the principle, they honestly as a company should make right what their employee screwed up. I just don't think its good customer service to do what they are doing, the right thing would be to reinstate my account how it was on the offer that I signed up for.

That said I see what you're saying, it just bugs me that they are not willing to correct what their employee did. I understand mistakes happen and people can be misinformed, we are all human after all. However I think its the companies job to correct what their employee did, and in this case while they made some concessions they really didn't fix what they broke.

I was given 3 months Showtime on the last call, that with the $130 credit I will at least sit on this until my credit disappears. I don't really have a lot of tolerance for poor customer service, thats one of the main reasons I left Comcast and moved to DirecTV.


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## prospect60 (Aug 26, 2006)

sounds like it's time to send a note to [email protected] assuming she is still filling the same role.


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## joe diamond (Feb 28, 2007)

PSXBatou said:


> Well, apparently "the credit is the best they can offer", this after talking to a person in retention, then their manager.
> 
> This is absolutely ridiculous in my opinion, customer service at its worst.
> 
> ...


About the start over....

For years as a DirecTV contract installer I had to interact with their call centers to activate customer equipment. Occasionally (rarely) there would be some problem with customer records. In those instances I would just hang up, wait, and call back to start over with another CSR (Customer Service Representative). Most of the time a new person would hear the same situation and come up with a different solution. I would wait for a solution that allowed activation that day, hour and minute.

Customers can go to the DirecTV web site..DirecTV.com and try the same thing...no guarantee...give it a shot. Verify your record and start over. Any questions, re read 1984.

Joe


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## Barcthespark (Dec 16, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> I understand that the CSR you talked to was mistaken, but honestly what's the big deal.
> 
> They have you a $120 credit (HD free for a year). Next year there might not even be a charge for HD and if there is you might be able to get HD free then (with auto bill pay).
> 
> ...


How do you know the CSR wasn't lying? That is an assumption on your part. And yes, losing what you were promised is a big deal.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Barcthespark said:


> How do you know the CSR wasn't lying?


Logic.

What would be her motive? What benefit? Would have been just as easy for the CSR to say "you need to stick with your current package or lose the free HD", or "you'll lose free HD with that pacakge, but you can go down to XXX and still keep it".

You'll find that the use of logic is beneficial in many aspects of life. Give it a try.


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## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

prospect60 said:


> sounds like it's time to send a note to [email protected] assuming she is still filling the same role.


I did just that! I posted my email below.



Barcthespark said:


> How do you know the CSR wasn't lying? That is an assumption on your part. And yes, losing what you were promised is a big deal.


I don't think a CSR has a reason to lie, however I agree that losing what I was promised is a big deal to me.

Here is the email I sent to her I also CC'd '[email protected]' and '[email protected]' (an alternate email for Ellen I had found in Google.), I included my phone and my acct number at the end (obviously not posting that here). I'll update you all if I hear anything. I don't have a lot of faith that anyone will respond to me, but figured it was worth a shot.



> Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 8:12 PM
> To: '[email protected]'
> Subject: Issue with DirecTV Customer Service - Help Please
> 
> ...


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

joe diamond said:


> Try an old installer trick,
> 
> Just call back and start over. You will get another person. Disavow any changes in your original deal. Get them to reinstate your billing as it was. Start over on the web site. You are entitled to understand what you are buying. CSRs just make this stuff up and or are tired, confused and not current on the weekly deals.
> 
> Joe


This Is One Of The Best Post I Have Ever Seen On DBSTALK.COM about CSRs!!! :hurah:

Joe You Are A RIOT!!!


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Dont feel bad. I was told by two CSRs that I would continue getting my "Free HD for two years" if I dropped to Select. 

I got an email yesterday telling me I needed CHOICE or above.

I called to discuss this, and the CSR told me the email was wrong, and everything on my account was in order to continue getting Free HD. 

My bill will be drafted on the 30th. If there is a HD fee on it, then things will start getting ugly.


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## swyman18 (Jan 12, 2009)

I think most people that have had D* for a while know to not believe anything a CSR tells them. Just start by paying full price for whatever services you want, and if you can get some credits along the way... great. Just be glad if you're not getting overcharged. Does it suck that a company can't get all it's employees on the same page? Yes. But it is what it is.


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## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

Update: I just got a call from the office of the president Mike White, and while it wasn't him of course the agent on the line "speaking on his behalf" was able to reinstate my HD for life. They moved my package to choice extra as well as reinstated my auto-pay, which I never had an issue with to begin with.

It took some nudging and prodding, but DirecTV came through and fixed the problem that they caused.

As an added bonus they let me keep the credit that they had applied on my account, something I never would have expected!

I haven't heard from Ellen, after this I doubt I will, but using the [email protected] email seemed to do the trick for me, hopefully this thread can help out someone else that is having CS issues with DirecTV.

Thanks to all that gave me suggestions and listened to me rant!


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Please .. *do not* use [email protected] .. The proper path is [email protected] .. While sending a note directly to the CEO may make you feel better, it actually delays the process of resolving your problem.

BTW, Ellen runs "The Office of the President" response team.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> Please .. *do not* use [email protected] .. The proper path is [email protected] .. While sending a note directly to the CEO may make you feel better, it actually delays the process of resolving your problem.
> 
> BTW, Ellen runs "The Office of the President" response team.


So you're saying the VP of customer relations is who "really" deals with customers? :lol:


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## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

Doug Brott said:


> Please .. *do not* use [email protected] .. The proper path is [email protected] .. While sending a note directly to the CEO may make you feel better, it actually delays the process of resolving your problem.
> 
> BTW, Ellen runs "The Office of the President" response team.


Either way they solved this issue pretty fast. Apparently with the NFL package I signed up with my minimum package was the "ultimate" for free HD, so well.. I went this far so I just upped it to that in order to be in compliance with the terms of my agreement with DirecTV. Now my bill is about $12 more than what I was paying with Select, but I get a hell of a lot more programming than I did with Select. Plus I still have $110 of the original $130 they gave me last night over the phone, which was very generous of them to let me keep it.

I appreciated how fast DirecTV fixed this issue for me, as well as going so far as to let me keep the credit they issued to me previously.

To counter what you said about emailing Mike White. The person on the phone said my email was assigned to anther agent, but she had received my email from Mike White so she reassigned it to herself and contacted me this morning.

I think DirecTV should empower their CSR's to do more for customers rather than having to go through other methods to correct an issue that they caused. I am very happy that they took the time to call me and fix the problem, it demonstrates that they do at least care about retaining a customer and fixing a problem that they caused.


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

PSXBatou said:


> I think DirecTV should empower their CSR's to do more for customers rather than having to go through other methods to correct an issue that they caused. I am very happy that they took the time to call me and fix the problem, it demonstrates that they do at least care about retaining a customer and fixing a problem that they caused.


No, what DIRECTV should do is empower the frontline CSRs to get you to the person that can resolve the issue. DIRECTV won't, and shouldn't, empower their frontline CSRs to do whatever is necessary to appease the customer. That is above their pay grade.

I am glad your issue was resolved, though.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

All of the DirecTV promos state that in order to get the "free HD" offer you need Choice Extra. That should have given you a clue. Why on earth did you drop to Choice for a measly saving of $5 a month? Frankly, I can't figure out for the life of me why they have two packages priced only $5 apart while Extra gives you many worthwhile channels that are more than worth the $5 which doesn't even buy you a decent lunch today.

Meanwhile, I do see why you are irked. When you call a company, you expect to be given accurate, truthful information which does not result in a surprise when your next bill arrives. DirecTV should reverse the problem caused by one of their untrained (or should I say inadequately trained) CSR's. Since you are paying through the nose for NFLST, I can't imagine that they won't make this right if you are persistent.

But don't threaten to cancel and go to DISH or lose your temper on the phone. Just present the facts and demand what a good customer should get.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> Please .. *do not* use [email protected] ...


Right!! !rolling I know it's already in my address book.


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## gnahc79 (Jan 12, 2008)

ThomasM said:


> All of the DirecTV promos state that in order to get the "free HD" offer you need Choice Extra. That should have given you a clue. Why on earth did you drop to Choice for a measly saving of $5 a month? Frankly, I can't figure out for the life of me why they have two packages priced only $5 apart while Extra gives you many worthwhile channels that are more than worth the $5 which doesn't even buy you a decent lunch today.


The same reason people get all worked up when service providers raise rates by $5/month.

Every dollar counts, especially for channels that you never watch. I dropped from Choice Extra to Choice a while ago and never missed it. All of our viewing fits in the Choice package, so why pay more? I still have the 2 yr free HD access after changing packages. I just got a 3 month Choice Extra loyalty gift this month, nice to get but I won't miss it when it goes away.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> Right!! !rolling I know it's already in my address book.


Not to spoil your fun [well since it's you.. maybe] this address I'd bet dollars to donuts doesn't get to who you think. With the email addresses I do have, the format is wrong for what DirecTV does use.


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## ffemtreed (Jan 30, 2008)

BKC said:


> Right!! !rolling I know it's already in my address book.


Abuse it and lose it. go through the right channels.

As for the OP, lots of people have been misinformed by CSR's, its all part of the fun game. I can tell you DISH/Comcast and Verizon are no different.

The problem is these big call centers rely too much on metrics to judge employee's performance. Just about everything they do is measured in some way. They will do almost anything to make those numbers look good.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 18, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> Please .. *do not* use [email protected] .. The proper path is [email protected] .. While sending a note directly to the CEO may make you feel better, it actually delays the process of resolving your problem.


I don't know...it's hard to argue with the results the OP got!


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

Exactly. Last year they were saying the same thing about Ellen's email. It was supposed to be some top secret email address only a few select people had and it shouldn't be used. Then someone from here shut them all up by finding it on the DTV site :lol:


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Boston Fan said:


> I don't know...it's hard to argue with the results the OP got!





BKC said:


> Exactly. Last year they were saying the same thing about Ellen's email. It was supposed to be some top secret email address only a few select people had and it shouldn't be used. Then someone from here shut them all up by finding it on the DTV site :lol:


The OP sent an email which didn't get to the intended addressee, but was assigned to the customer advocate group, for attention.
[email protected] goes to this same group and is listed publicly.
Does anyone here really thing a private email address of the board of directors would last for than a few mins on this forum, before removal? :lol:

Googling returns this [email protected], which is also bogus.

Knowing how BKC is to some degree, I doubt this will change anything for him, but to others this is all smoke and mirrors, so if you need to email, use [email protected] since that's what it's for.

As for BKC, I'll just yet to sit back and laugh for a while. !rolling


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

I believe you should be removed from this discussion after that outburst....


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> I believe you should be removed from this discussion after that outburst....


Oh dear, my feeling have been hurt.  :lol:


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

As bad as my feelings were hurt when you cried and had me removed from the dropout thread?


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Boston Fan said:


> I don't know...it's hard to argue with the results the OP got!


Yup .. It was routed to the exact same team that Ellen's E-mail address goes to. That team tends to be quite helpful, but it's much smaller than the regular CSR team that you would normally deal with.

I'm only posting here because Google will point a lot of folks to this very thread.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

BKC said:


> Right!! !rolling I know it's already in my address book.


BKC .. You go ahead and send your message to Mike directly. I'm sure for you he'll drop everything and send someone right over </sarcasm>


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## fireponcoal (Sep 26, 2009)

This board puts every apple msgboard to shame in it's never ending pursuit to continuously keep certain corporate insiders happy. Actually I've never seen anything like it anywhere. I know why it's done but it reeks of the most loveless relationship one could possibly be in..


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> BKC .. You go ahead and send your message to Mike directly. I'm sure for you he'll drop everything and send someone right over </sarcasm>


Thanks for the permission! </sarcasm>


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

fireponcoal said:


> This board puts every apple msgboard to shame in it's never ending pursuit to continuously keep certain corporate insiders happy. Actually I've never seen anything like it anywhere. I know why it's done but it reeks of the most loveless relationship one could possibly be in..


Plus about 90% of them have NO sense of humor at all. Unless of course you post a pic. of a bad install and even then it won't be the installer's fault. :lol:


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## nitz369 (Dec 15, 2005)

Honestly I understand it sucks getting misinformed then having to pay for the mistakes but from a DirecTV standpoint the issue is the deal you signed up for you did not keep, you recieved a package that gave you free Premier programming for 5 or 6 months which got you basically free Sunday Ticket. DirecTV pays so much money for that Sunday Ticket exclusive that they do everything they can to keep you on it, and Sunday Ticket auto-renews.
Have you tried asking for your OLD deal back? I would suspect they would give you your old deal back but I doubt you would be able to get Extra and Free HD now.


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## ChristopherO (Mar 25, 2007)

ThomasM said:


> Why on earth did you drop to Choice for a measly saving of $5 a month?


Not sure if this has been mentioned... You know what's worse? I'm grandfathered on Total Choice, which is $7 cheaper than Choice Extra, however Choice Extra has only a small handful of channels I don't have, something like 2HD and maybe 5SD. They keep adding new channels to my legacy package as well. "Upgrading" to Choice Extra is just plain dumb because it includes only a handful of channels I would never watch over the legacy Total Choice (but I'd lose tons that I watch if I went with "Choice", and I'd pay $2/mo *more* to lose those channels, something like 20HD/SD).

So here is the stupid part. Anytime I want to change my account... Add a premium, HD Extra, etc. I have to *call* a CSR. Their website tells me I need to upgrade my package before it will let me proceed with anything.

Not only is my account cheaper, but I cost them money because I need to hassle employees rather than save everyone's time. Must be their grand plan of forcing me to upgrade by wasting my time.

No wonder DirecTV's has fallen do far in JD Power customer satisfaction (albeit still beating Dish, but I think every other TV provider is now higher)... It must be due to their committments, ETF, and useless website (for 10-year customers). They still treat me great on the phone, but this is 2011 and I shouldn't need to use a phone.

Also, they just need to drop the stupid HD fee entirely. We're getting to the point where HD broadcasting is the norm, not something for early-adopters who love toys.


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## ChristopherO (Mar 25, 2007)

fireponcoal said:


> This board puts every apple msgboard to shame...


Nah, because most fanatics on an Apple forum would give up their brain if Steve Jobs required a spare. I just don't get those Apple users. Sure, they are nice computers... But heck, they're only a computer. I guess that's sort of like some of those TiVo fans?  Although in fairness to Jobs, I have cancer survivors in the family, so I hope the guy miraculously pulls through, yet again.


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## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

nitz369 said:


> Honestly I understand it sucks getting misinformed then having to pay for the mistakes but from a DirecTV standpoint the issue is the deal you signed up for you did not keep, you recieved a package that gave you free Premier programming for 5 or 6 months which got you basically free Sunday Ticket. DirecTV pays so much money for that Sunday Ticket exclusive that they do everything they can to keep you on it, and Sunday Ticket auto-renews.
> Have you tried asking for your OLD deal back? I would suspect they would give you your old deal back but I doubt you would be able to get Extra and Free HD now.


Actually I got Free HD back, they also let me keep the $130 in credit from the phone calls before (its all on the first page ). The Sunday ticket/premier deal came with a few gotchas, the first one being that you could only go down to ultimate and still get the discounts to carry over, whether or not that means im stuck at ultimate until the end of time or if I can shift plans without losing free hd for life after my 2 years I really don't know. I cancelled the Sunday Ticket auto-renew, they can only hold me to that first season that I signed up for (and paid for since my first 5 months are gone).

DirecTV took care of me and resolved the issue in a timely manner is the bottom line


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## Boston Fan (Feb 18, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> Googling returns this [email protected], which is also bogus.


Didn't get the sense that the email the OP used for Mike White was bogus, in fact just the opposite seems to have been the case.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Boston Fan said:


> Didn't get the sense that the email the OP used for Mike White was bogus, in fact just the opposite seems to have been the case.


It got to the same "people" as [email protected]

"The point being" nobody is going to get to the CEO with the emails that have been posted. I do know how their email format is for when you do get to "a" [email protected] by name.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 18, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> It got to the same "people" as [email protected]
> 
> "The point being" nobody is going to get to the CEO with the emails that have been posted. I do know how their email format is for when you do get to "a" [email protected] by name.


He got the results that he wanted and very quickly. Given that, who cares if he sent it to Mike White as well? Who's to say that it didn't expedite the resolution? Anything to the contrary is just wild speculation given the results.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Boston Fan said:


> He got the results that he wanted and very quickly. Given that, who cares if he sent it to Mike White as well? Who's to say that it didn't expedite the resolution? Anything to the contrary is just wild speculation given the results.


Can you see the possibility that some here have been asked to not send to that address? That the results are-or certainly could be-notwithstanding??


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Boston Fan said:


> He got the results that he wanted and very quickly. Given that, who cares if he sent it to Mike White as well? Who's to say that it didn't expedite the resolution? Anything to the contrary is just wild speculation given the results.


Who's to say?
Give that it would be faster to send it to "the people" directly and that there was ZERO chance Mike had anything to do with it, I'll leave this for others to figure out how would be best for them to get this addressed.
Maybe you haven't emailed before, but since I have, I do know how fast the customer advocate group responds.

At this point "frankly charlotte i don't give a damn", so email whoever you want.


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## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

veryoldschool said:


> Who's to say?
> Give that it would be faster to send it to "the people" directly and that there was ZERO chance Mike had anything to do with it, I'll leave this for others to figure out how would be best for them to get this addressed.
> Maybe you haven't emailed before, but since I have, I do know how fast the customer advocate group responds.
> 
> At this point "frankly charlotte i don't give a damn", so email whoever you want.


Not to question you since you seem to know more than anyone else, but why would the rep that contact me even bother to tell me that the ticket was assigned to someone else but after she received my email from Mike White she reassigned it to herself and contacted me? I mean thats quite the lie, if thats what you are implying? Basically she says the email I sent was initially issued to another rep, but after Mike White sent the email to her she took it over.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

PSXBatou said:


> Not to question you since you seem to know more than anyone else, but why would the rep that contact me even bother to tell me that the ticket was assigned to someone else but after she received my email from Mike White she reassigned it to herself and contacted me? I mean thats quite the lie, if thats what you are implying? Basically she says the email I sent was initially issued to another rep, but after Mike White sent the email to her she took it over.
> 
> If anyone questions what I am claiming I would be more than happy to post a screenshot of the $110 that i have left from the $130 in credit that was left in my account. I, like the person that was so gracious to help my situation have no reason to lie to anyone in this community.
> 
> Edit: in fact here.. The credit and the 3 months showtime


Give it up PSX, you won't win this one no matter how much proof you have. Be happy that Mike's office got it done for you and the rest of us pee-on's thank you for the email address


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

PSXBatou said:


> Not to question you since you seem to know more than anyone else, but why would the rep that contact me even bother to tell me that the ticket was assigned to someone else but after she received my email from Mike White she reassigned it to herself and contacted me?


First let me say I don't know more than anyone else.
I'm sure there are more addresses that go to this group than the two posted in this thread.
Why the rep told you what they did may be just part of them trying to let you know of DirecTV's concern, as I've heard the same, but since I emailed Ellen, it was from her. It's not hard to think these people have our emails in front of them with the address we sent it to.
As to assigning, I've seen this to and if the person isn't working one day, someone else has taken over.

I'm also not questioning the results you got, as this is exactly what this group is there for.
I've seen similar responses with the times I've contacted them.

I will question those that think a company with over 18 million customers will be able to email directly any of the VPs or the CEO and actually have them read your email.

As has been posted here all messages to "the office of the president" are handled by Ellen's group.

To actually send an email to anyone at DirecTV, one would need to have their email address, which from those that I do have, show a different form than: [email protected]


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

BKC said:


> Give it up PSX, you won't win this one no matter how much proof you have. Be happy that Mike's office got it done for you and the rest of us pee-on's thank you for the email address


who's questioning it didn't work? DIRECTV contacted me some time ago and asked that Ellen's address be used and not Mike's address. Maybe DIRECTV has changed things internally since then, I don't really know.

The key thing is really not that it wouldn't get through at all .. just that in general .. Sending to Ellen is the proper route because it will, in general, provide the quickest path to resolution of special issues. How is that so hard?

You guys are hanging your hats on a sample size of one person. I'm passing on information that was given to me from DIRECTV. If it makes you guys feel better, then keep sending it to Mike. I'm just saying there's a better way.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 18, 2006)

To be fair, Doug, you specifically stated that sending an email to Mike White "delays the process of resolving your problem", and VOS seemed to suggest that the email used was bogus. 

But the email used for Mike White was not bogus, and sending it to him clearly did not slow the resolution process down any. That more than anything is what I (and I suspect others) are responding to.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Boston Fan said:


> To be fair, Doug, you specifically stated that sending an email to Mike White "delays the process of resolving your problem", and VOS seemed to suggest that the email used was bogus.
> 
> But the email used for Mike White was not bogus, and sending it to him clearly did not slow the resolution process down any. That more than anything is what I (and I suspect others) are responding to.


If it truly goes to mike White (I don't know if it does or not :shrug, then "delays" is the right term because there is no guarantee that it will be forwarded to Ellen's team in a timely manner or not. This sample of one could very well be that it went to Mike, he forwarded it right away to the team, and they responded. The next case may be Mike's on a plane trip and doesn't see the note for hours. That's a delay.

So I stand by what I've stated .. DIRECTV has asked me explicitly to ask folks to not send it to Mike, but to send it to Ellen instead so that the message is not delayed. That's all. And this case (again) is a sample size of one person. It's not a guarantee that the next person will have the same results.


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

Let me tell you all a secret. 

If you want to know how to get an issue solved and Doug gives you an email address to a certain person, It's pretty likely that it's the best way to take care of what you are trying to accomplish.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> who's questioning it didn't work? DIRECTV contacted me some time ago and asked that Ellen's address be used and not Mike's address. Maybe DIRECTV has changed things internally since then, I don't really know.
> 
> The key thing is really not that it wouldn't get through at all .. just that in general .. Sending to Ellen is the proper route because it will, in general, provide the quickest path to resolution of special issues. How is that so hard?
> 
> You guys are hanging your hats on a sample size of one person. I'm passing on information that was given to me from DIRECTV. If it makes you guys feel better, *then keep sending it to Mike. *I'm just saying there's a better way.


Once again thanks for the permission Doug. I'm thinking about sending him one on the 15 month old audio dropout problem, no one else seems to care including Ellen's office. Want me to tell him hi for you?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Boston Fan said:


> VOS seemed to suggest that the email used was bogus.


To be fair, I used "bogus" for the Google search and email address it returned.
It simply was [email protected], instead of [email protected].

I've actually send an email to someone at DirecTV using first.last and it was returned undeliverable, and then checked my contacts and sent it to the correct address.

I've also been in a chat with Ellen and used the address given here to thank her and got a phone call from the customer advocate people in response to this email, when if Ellen had even seen it, it wouldn't have required a reply/response.

I will ask again: 
Does anybody in their right mind think the CEO's personal email address would still be visible here?
Should someone actually post it, it would be deleted/retracted so fast as to make your head spin.
If you don't believe this, then there is nothing more that can be said. :nono:


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

Who said it's his personal email address? You don't think that's Ellen's personal email address do you? I'm sure ole Mike has a few people in his office too. lol


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## joe diamond (Feb 28, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> To be fair, I used "bogus" for the Google search and email address it returned.
> It simply was [email protected], instead of [email protected].
> 
> I've actually send an email to someone at DirecTV using first.last and it was returned undeliverable, and then checked my contacts and sent it to the correct address.
> ...


Very Old,

I think you are correct in what you state,

However, any executive who would intentionally duck and avoid negative comments about a product they were involved in is a symptom of a bigger problem. Directv customers so pissed off they would go on line and then address a CEO have something to say. If DirecTV won't listen perhaps DISH or FIOS or the local CATV sales office might pick up the phone.

I think,

Joe


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

joe diamond said:


> Very Old,
> 
> I think you are correct in what you state,
> 
> ...


Joe, 
I'd guess DirecTV has many email addresses that all go directly to the customer advocate group run by Ellen, since it's her job as VP of customer relations.
The "Ellen address" is on their website for things like this too.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

joe diamond said:


> Directv customers so pissed off they would go on line and then address a CEO have something to say.


In today's "direct line to the top" world of email contact what appears to be the CEO's address is less likely to be the CEO. There are simply too many complaints for the people at the top to handle them all - and it seems arrogant to expect them to do so.

Perhaps a few years ago writing the president of a company might have worked. But today such contacts are so abused by people who should call normal customer service (and have not even tried to do so) and think that they are so special that they deserve the president's ear that directly reaching the CEO is impossible.

So the next best thing is to follow the methods provided ... if a company says "this is the way to contact us" follow those ways. For best results, follow instructions. That is their system is set up to handle problems. The more people abuse "back doors" the more likely they will be slammed shut for future use (if they have not been already). For best results, use the methods that the company wants you to use.

For those who still think that they deserve a direct line to the CEO: DirecTV says goodbye to well over 3 million customers a year. Losing one more won't be the end of them. You're not that special.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

Are you saying they would cancel someone's service for using that email address Jimmy? I really would have to throw the BS flag on that. :lol:


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

BKC said:


> Are you saying they would cancel someone's service for using that email address Jimmy? I really would have to throw the BS flag on that. :lol:


No. Only that the use of that address does NOT guarantee that your problem will be answered to your satisfaction. You can easily be one of the next 3 million people DirecTV says goodbye to. You are just not that special.

Seeing your account canceled would just be karma.


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## PSXBatou (Sep 5, 2010)

James Long said:


> In today's "direct line to the top" world of email contact what appears to be the CEO's address is less likely to be the CEO. There are simply too many complaints for the people at the top to handle them all - and it seems arrogant to expect them to do so.
> 
> Perhaps a few years ago writing the president of a company might have worked. But today such contacts are so abused by people who should call normal customer service (and have not even tried to do so) and think that they are so special that they deserve the president's ear that directly reaching the CEO is impossible.
> 
> ...


I see what you and others have said. I in no way expect the CEO to address my problem, while I am a paying customer so are every other one of their customers and you're spot on no one person is special enough for that sort of access. If you actually look back on page 1, when I sent out that email I honestly didn't expect a response.

That said, DirecTV went over and beyond to help me, I'm a happy customer again getting what I was promised when I signed up. I posted what I was told over the phone, whether its true or not is debatable as shown here by 2 pages of back and forth :lol:


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

PSXBatou said:


> I see what you and others have said. I in no way expect the CEO to address my problem, while I am a paying customer so are every other one of their customers and you're spot on no one person is special enough for that sort of access. If you actually look back on page 1, when I sent out that email I honestly didn't expect a response.


Don't get me wrong ... I'm glad you got a good response. That should happen more often - and way below the CEO level.
It is the others, those with a sense of entitlement, that I was speaking about.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Also, the Office of the President is there for a reason. If you can't get it resolved through normal channels, this is the escalation path and PSXBatou, this seems exactly the path you took. My only comment was the E-mail address that folks really should be using.

The 'Ellen' or 'Mike' E-mail addresses shouldn't really be used without a call to customer service first. In most cases CSRs can help, but there are times when your situation doesn't fit in a nice little bucket that a normal CSR can handle.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 18, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> To be fair, I used "bogus" for the Google search and email address it returned.


To be fair, what you said was that the email address your Google search produced was "*also* bogus" implying that the email address we were discussing was bogus. That may not have been your intention, but I can only respond to the words you actually used.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Seems to me we've gone far enough in this thread .. Also seems the question has been asked and answered. Time to move on.


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