# Asking for a pin # when calling 800-824-9081



## Blitz68 (Apr 19, 2006)

Did they change something?

I used to dial 800-824-9081 and get someone instantly who has a clue. Now when I call this number it is the regular ol BS line with push this button for this and push this button for that BS.

What happened?


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## boba (May 23, 2003)

Too many people got the direct number.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

DirecTV is changing all the direct dial phone numbers that have been posted on the internet, and thus abused for their intended purposes.

They did the same thing last year, and the year before that.


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## dtv757 (Jun 4, 2006)

Mr Earl Bonovich, are you going to share with us the new retention number when you receive the updated number?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

dtv757 said:


> Mr Earl Bonovich, are you going to share with us the new retention number when you receive the updated number?


Don't need it.... I have better phone numbers to use...


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## mckeemike505 (May 11, 2006)

This is a retention phone # that now says It is the Directv customer express line. What's the deal?

Thanks,


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## mikhu (Oct 10, 2006)

Was the retention number really that abused? Whenever I used it I got through within a minute, if not immediately. So unless direct dial calls got routed to #1 in the que it didn't seem to me like it was being abused?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

mckeemike505 said:


> This is a retention phone # that now says It is the Directv customer express line. What's the deal?


Direct access to this level of service may be restricted to most favored customers now.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Mike Huss said:


> Was the retention number really that abused?


"Abuse" in this instance, is getting calls that could have been answered by lesser CSRs.

You don't want to have knowledgeable technicians wasting time asking if the customer has fresh batteries installed in their remote or if they subscribe to the service that they aren't getting.

Self-righteous subscribers force them to rotate the priority numbers periodically.


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## mckeemike505 (May 11, 2006)

harsh said:


> Direct access to this level of service may be restricted to most favored customers now.


Yeah and they give me this "special" Alist # to call and is a joke it is basically the same as the main # now.

Thanks,


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## mikhu (Oct 10, 2006)

harsh said:


> Self-righteous subscribers force them to rotate the priority numbers periodically.


I understand that. FWIW *I* didn't use the number for stupid stuff in case you were calling me self-righteous. I only used it when I had issues that I knew regular CSR's wouldn't know how to handle. I've always called the main number for regular things like activating receivers. But I could see where it would be abused by those who think they are more important than the rest.

Does anyone know what kind of retention D* has themselves as far as CSR's? How many people actually stick around long enough to make it to retention? I assume the base level CSR's are entry level jobs in the company and those types of positions typically have a ton of turnover.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Mike Huss said:


> I assume the base level CSR's are entry level jobs in the company and those types of positions typically have a ton of turnover.


I suspect that some of the higher level support people get kicked upstairs because they may not be so good with customers.

It is probably apparent from my previous post that I have little use for those who just want to chat and are looking for any excuse to call and talk to someone... anyone....

Not everyone is cut out of the right cloth to coddle those who are too lazy and/or stupid to help themselves. I suspect that the turnover rate isn't all that high. We simply assume that because the typical CSR doesn't seem to know much about what is going on that they are necessarily noobs. The fact is that they are paid to figure out where to route people to find the answers that aren't painfully obvious.

As an example from another company, SunRocket has three tiers of CSRs and you have to go through them in sequence each time you call in.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Exactly...

Most of the direct phone numbers, or transfer points will require a PIN number to be entered.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

mckeemike505 said:


> Yeah and they give me this "special" Alist # to call and is a joke it is basically the same as the main # now.
> 
> Thanks,


However, when you call from your home phone number, it does "state" you are one of their A-List customers. So it could be as simple as priority routing, or an indicator on the screen when someone picks it up on the other side.


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## mlobitz (Oct 11, 2006)

I only called that number after IRONWOOD COMMUNICATIONS missed FOUR of my installation appointments without so much as a phone call. I could get through to someone in a minute or two. If I have to wait when these a**holes do it again, then some on the other end at DTV is going to incur my wrath...:lol:


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## mikhu (Oct 10, 2006)

Speaking of A-list customers. I've seen numerous discussions on that topic, but no definitive answers. As a long-time customer (~10 years) with NFLST and SF for the last 4 or 5 and an account that is always in good standing, would I be considered A-List? Or is the fact that my typical (non NFLST months) bill is $84 not "enough" to put me on the A-List?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

ITOLDYOUPINYESTERDAY said:


> Of Course I Posted Yesterday That Pin Numbers Was Coming, But Earl To Protech His "pimpin" Of Directv Erased It,
> 
> And Yea Earl I Know The Direct Numbrs Ya Use To Directv, I Know Them, And Use Them As Well,
> 
> ...


Chris...

If you had the same phone numbers that I do at DirecTV.. .you wouldn't hesistate to post them....

I would ask you to post them, but then again, I think is now your 53rd account banned here.

To everyone else, this account was not banned because of the statements made... Chris made his bed a LONG time ago, and violated several rules of the forum. Was put on vacation, then proceded to open a 2nd, 3rd, .... 53rd account. Which results in a permanant ban from our site.


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## shendley (Nov 28, 2005)

Okay, how do we go about getting a pin number?

I can't believe they've changed the retention number. That's always my fall back when I can't get things done with the first tier of CSRs.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

shendley said:


> Okay, how do we go about getting a pin number?
> 
> I can't believe they've changed the retention number. That's always my fall back when I can't get things done with the first tier of CSRs.


You can't.

The Pin is entered in two different ways.
One via the automated menu tree... The other via the CSR transfering the call. When it is the 2nd method, the PIN number is usually displayed on their screen, and they change often enough that they can't be "posted".


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## shendley (Nov 28, 2005)

Then, am I right in infering that the direct line to customer retention is gone? That really stinks!There's such a world of difference between the first tier CSRs and the Retention folk. I had come to think of the latter as my pals!



Earl Bonovich said:


> You can't.
> 
> The Pin is entered in two different ways.
> One via the automated menu tree... The other via the CSR transfering the call. When it is the 2nd method, the PIN number is usually displayed on their screen, and they change often enough that they can't be "posted".


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

shendley said:


> Then, am I right in infering that the direct line to customer retention is gone? That really stinks!There's such a world of difference between the first tier CSRs and the Retention folk. I had come to think of the latter as my pals!


Yes... you are correct..


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## shendley (Nov 28, 2005)

So, if they do this every year, how long should it take to find another direct line to retention/tier 2 csrs? I've only been frequenting this site since this summer. Does anyone remember how long it took to dig up these numbers from dtv in the past?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

shendley said:


> So, if they do this every year, how long should it take to find another direct line to retention/tier 2 csrs? I've only been frequenting this site since this summer. Does anyone remember how long it took to dig up these numbers from dtv in the past?


They have only done it twice in the last few years.

The problem is these forums have gotten so popular, and the search engines... quick repeat the number.

From what I know... there isn't going to be a direct phone number to any of the other "tiers". Usually the phone numbers are obtained when some one is given the number by someone in that Tier as a way to get back in touch with them.


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## Twosted (Sep 18, 2006)

I just found this out too. I am having the H20 rebooting issue. Called retention and it asked for a pin. Didn't enter one and it took me to the regular recording. They were well aware of my issue and are sending me a replacement. Took only 10 mins.. I was surprised. But I do have a question.

Why is there a need for 2 different tiers of CSRs? I can understand the need for customer retention, but why 2 different tech level CSRs. The recording already runs you through the steps to reset your receiver. That used to be the first thing the techs would tell you to do. Shouldn't all of the techs be trained to a level 2 knowledge? Or is it just a case of experience? I mean, are the level 2 techs trained that way off the bat, or do they work their way up based their level of experience with calls?


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Didnt D* advertise a few months ago about LIVE CSR's answering the phone? Guess that went by the wayside.


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## iunlikeearlstatefacts (Nov 7, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Chris...
> 
> If you had the same phone numbers that I do at DirecTV.. .you wouldn't hesistate to post them....
> 
> ...


Earl, I can see you have no insight into communications whatsoever, because if you did, you would have known, that yes that each defined location and all departments within those locations all have direct lines.

This is for saftey as well for companies to show the pretense that customers can contact any level of the company needing help.

For unknowelegable folks such as earl and the public who fails to do their research companies thrust these 1 stop numbers and bury the actual help out of reach unless 1. you get lucky or 2. know soomeone 3. have common sense.

and no earl I would not post them, as that would violate their right to privacy and also i said i would not reveal them, you know it is called integrity,

and i only violated 1 real rule and 1 phony rule.......

the rule was not having more than 1 account, but of course like most elected officials, earl believes the rules does not apply to him, as he has multiple accounts as well , as do other of the higher ups here...

the phony rules, is though shall not tell the tuth and reveal thy earls lack of knoweledge and shall not reveal his spin and not reveal thyn real truth.

also amazing, he leaves my 1st message, but my 2nd message, stating it was not a personal attack her erases, proof that he is immorally trying to shape opinions and rewrite facts to suit his stories


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Earl Bonovich said:


> The problem is these forums have gotten so popular, and the search engines... quick repeat the number.


Yes and no. The real problem is that most of us here, on this forum, know how to trouble shoot our own systems. We don't need to deal with the latest graduate of DTV101 that doesn't know the difference between a HR10 and a HR20. We've run through all of the trouble shooting processes that we know about (which is more than the first teir CSR knows about) and we're real tired of sitting on hold for faulty DVRs.

Taking away these direct phone numbers is just another step in DTVs process to loose their bread and butter business.

We keep hearing here that the only folks here are the techies. No real run-o-the-mill users look to forums. Only the power users. If that's true then why would DTV choose to block out the power users? Grandma and Grandpa Jones do not come to this forum so they don't know these numbers. They'll call the general Web number and do exactly what the CSR robo-tron tells them to do.

If DTV want's all of their customers to be Grandma and Grandpa Jones, fine. But I for one will not be one of those customers. I will call the Grandma and Grandpa Jones public DTV number and I will immediately insist on being transferred to a supervisor or the next level of support.

So, is anyone thinking this entire change is due to the amount of calls DTV is receiving due to their Next Generation DVRs that work so well? I think even Grandma and Grandpa Jones are wondering why these DVRs don't work like their old ones did.

Why have DTV forums such as this gained such popularity? Is it because these DVRs work so great everyone wants to get one and comes here to find out how? Or is it because everyone with one is having problems and forums such as DBSTALK.com provide info on how to work around problems and when a fix may be coming. Sad that the popularity of the DTV section of DBSTalk has grown due to poorly designed and coded DVRs released by DTV.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

While I do agree... that there should be some way for those that know the systems, that have done all the basics, should be able to get directly to the 2nd tier.

The larger problem is, once those numbers get out there... they are going to get to people that don't have that same level of knowledge that just want a quick answer.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

iunlikeearlstatefacts said:


> Earl, I can see you have no insight into communications whatsoever, because if you did, you would have known, that yes that each defined location and all departments within those locations all have direct lines.
> 
> This is for saftey as well for companies to show the pretense that customers can contact any level of the company needing help.
> 
> ...


Umm.. Chris... Do you really think that every single phone in a company, has a direct hardwire line? There are plenty of digital PBX systems, that each extension doesn't have direct phone numbers.

Hence why you normally (in most larger companies), have to dial a main number and then enter an extension.... As for what is exposed by a direct phone number, is completely under the control of the Digital PBX system and how it is setup.

So if they so choose not to have a direct phone number, they can set it up that way. 
And with more and more VoIP based systems... some of the older "rules" to setting up multiple department systems, are changing.
So now, even if you have to "cross" PBX systems, some of these newer ones you don't have to expose a direct dial number.

(It is funny what you learn when you sit in on AT&T and other phone carrier presentations, when they are trying to come in and replace your PBX system)

Companies can set their phone tree structure however they like. If they want to route all customer service calls through a first tier person, that is their choice.... and if you as a customer don't like it.... stop being a customer.

As for the phony rule... it is a rule.. and it is a rule that almost all of the forums have. And you violated it... multiple times... And as for me have a 2nd account here on this forum... please do point it out, as I do not have a 2nd account here.

And as for your 2nd message deleted... the one you copied 3 times accross multiple posts... Yes... I deleted it, as your original post wasn't personal.

Oh... and as for why I left the first post..
Well let's just say... I don't claim to know any more then I do know.

Should I undelete the other 10 or so replies to your post?


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## AnonomissX (Jun 29, 2006)

iunlikeearlstatefacts said:


> Earl, I can see you have no insight into communications whatsoever, because if you did, you would have known, that yes that each defined location and all departments within those locations all have direct lines.
> 
> This is for saftey as well for companies to show the pretense that customers can contact any level of the company needing help.
> 
> ...


I will simply state that up untill June of this year, 2006, I worked for Directv's 800 call in line. I was Tier I, then trained on Tier II. You don't just give first off techs access to advanced troubleshooting and replacments on HD and DVRs, also, there has to be an upper level of tech support for more advanced problems.

Unfortunately, some of the Level 1 support will abuse this, and transfer to level 2 at any time they can....while just the same, customers will share over the internet phone #'s that get overrun when you are supposed to keep them for the special cases.

The last time I was there, Level 2 had a direct # that you as a level 2 (Tier II) agent could give out, but had to give a pin that would expire in 5 days ( the problem would either resolve or cause a call back w/in 5 days, at which point, the customer should get another pin for the day).

The pin was on the internal help website and would increase a digit or 2 daily...I wish I had retained the pin and the day, I could of extrapolated one for todays date 

Multiple accounts? Directv usually would require it if you have receivers in more then one geographic location. Directv likes people with multiple accounts, they spend more money. WTF are you talking about?

By the WAY, "iunlikeearlstatefacts" you are an @$$. Earl is a great source of info, and he has earned it as an every day customer who treated the company and a lot of fellow customers with help and respect. You are also jealous, and unable to post with your regular handle for fear of getting exposed now are we?? How girly of you, must get you a lot of dates, as a female I just find that kind of bloated self worth just....so unattractive :lol: :lol: :lol: .


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

I don't understand the big deal about getting to retention. I have 4 major bugs since 6.3. Audio drops, short recordings, remote control hiccups, to do list won't page correctly. I've been calling tech support for 2 weeks (4 times). On my first call, I was given a phone number and a pin. I didn't try to use it until today. When I tried it, it was expired. I was supposed to use it if I wanted my box swapped out. I didn't want to lose the recordings, but after last night's frustrations, I decided it was time. Since the PIN didn't work, I went through the prompts to get to tech support. I was told I needed to speak to "a different department" and was transferred. I explained the situation and was told I needed to be transferred to tech support. I said I was just talking to them and they transferred me to you. I asked the guy what department he worked in and he said "installations". He promised to transfer me to the person who could arrange a swap for my box. A couple of clicks later, I was disconnected. I called back again and when asked (by the automation babe) what I needed, I said "stop service". Within 2 minutes, I was transferred to retention, explained the situation and have a box on its way. If you REALLY must speak with retention, just follow the prompts to get there. It doesn't have to be some big internet only secret.

By the way...I hate playing the "I'm gonna leave if you don't take care of me now" game, but it seems like it's the only way to get results.

1 year left on my contract. If my cable company could be at all competitive, I just might switch. Right now, Cox sucks terribly and I wouldnt go with the 622 because it has only one OTA tuner. Of all my options, sorry as they are, DirecTV is the current leader.

Finally ... to the Earl basher...you will find no friends here, or at SatGuys or TivoComm...start your own board with all that inside info you have.


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## crockett (Sep 12, 2006)

Great post.

I simply don't understand why corporations waste so much money trying to come up with bandaid solutions, work arounds, loop holes, stop gap measures and bailing wire fixes instead of solving the real problem with a workable solution.

So now they've invented a PIN number. So instead of someone doing a web search to find a Tier 2 phone number they will now find "Just tell them your considering stopping your service." This has actually been the method I use most often in the past and it worked just fine when I was a subscriber for E* as well

Whenever, I've said that I've for the most part been honest and in all cases I was transfered to a more experienced CSR.

My question is why don't they just develop a tech support line that is more dynamic and can easily indentify problems that need to be passed up. This is what they need to focus their time and money on. Instead they keep it status quo and take the heat of Tier 2 until people figure out you just need to indicate your considering stopping your service.


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## mlobitz (Oct 11, 2006)

I'm sorry, but I have to laugh. I've been treated like c*ap by IRONWOOD COMMUNICATIONS and DTV for two months now, trying to get my HR20 actually installed, much less battle through the poor product which is the HR20. All of this PIN # stuff just kills me. Welcome to my DTV experience. You're not special or "A" list or whatever. You are now just a bunch of PIN#s that last for five days. Nice...

Sorry lost my mind over the weekend...

As an aside. I love all this gadgety stuff. I've had DBS since 1995. Bought my first system for $799 at a local Sears and installed it myself. Still have my old Sony dish working somewhere. The one with the blinking red light to help locate the satellite. Crawled under my house or friends houses countless times pulling RG6. Scampered up rooftops to set up the dish. Pulled hard drives to reformat and update to bigger drives on my old SAT-T60. HDMI this, Monoprice that, optical here, coaxial there. I mean, I'm a geek at heart and love reading all the posts Earl, Wolfpack, others...all great...Thanks for your help.


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## shendley (Nov 28, 2005)

Just to chime in on this, I guess the next time I'm really frustrated with the responses I'm getting from tier 1 support, I'll simply say "stop service" to the autonomaton babe! But I don't like doing that. Frankly, it would take a lot to get me to stop service with dtv because, overall, I like the product I get from them quite a bit. So I hate to have to ratchet up the pressure in what would be for me a deceitful way. In the past, whenever I've spoken with Retention I've been honest, told them of my concerns and whatever frustrations I had and always, always been satisfied with the response. I even recently got the $100 credit for turning someone onto dtv, in part, by stressing that if they ever had any problems that couldn't be resolved by calling 1-800-directv, they could call the retention number and typically find themselves one happy customer at the end of the conversation. So, I'm not going to bolt from dtv because of this, but it is very disappointing. 

And, to chime in on one other aspect of this thread: thanks to Earl for all the useful information and help he provides on this board. I've just been reading through the Earl bashing. It's a rude distraction to what I come here for - intelligent, informed discussion of dtv concerns.


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## devellis (Oct 18, 2006)

Special or direct access to higher-level techs is always a tricky issue. The fundamental problem is, if everyone has access, then it's no longer special. In an ideal world, people who have already tried the obvious wouldn't have to put up with being told to go do it now. And the tech support folks at a higher level wouldn't have to put up with people calling them who haven't checked the basic issues before calling. But this isn't an ideal world. People on a board like this are the most likely to be frustrated by an imperfect system because they're far more likely than most folks to have already checked the batteries in their remote, already tried a red-button reset, etc. But for the system to work well for the largest number of people on the largest number of occasions, some kind of triage is probably necessary. 

I agree that this penalizes the people who, given half a chance, would be the most efficient users of the system. But it seems that when they are given some form of direct access, that system winds up being abused to the point that it becomes self-defeating.

I'm certainly not trying to defend the current system and I get as frustrated as the next person when a robotic voice instructs me to do what I've already done. Fact is (and this is true with computer tech support, also), most of the time, if I can't figure out what to do, neither can the person on the other end of the phone. It's not that I'm brilliant, or anything, just that I approach problems logically and try to rule out the possibilities over which I have some control. So, when I call, it's usually because something's broken that can't be fixed by pushing a few buttons. Either a setting is incorrect at their end (like the time a service I was subscribed to became unsubscribed spontaneously) or there's a hardware problem. I suspect that's true for many of us here. 

I've decided, as frustrating as it can be at times, to make every effort to be patient, work my way through whatever hierarchy I face, try to be as informative to the person on the other end so that they can do their job to the best of their ability (which varies considerably from individual to individual), and hope that the issue gets resolved. The one thing I've done on occasion that departs from this is to politely disengage when I've gotten a CSR who seemed to have an attitude and seemed not to be listening to what I was saying. On those occasions, I've said, "thanks for your help," and called again in the hope of getting a better CSR.

The world shouldn't work this way, but it does. And driving my blood pressure through the roof isn't going to change that.

Just my point of view and no disrespect intended to anyone who disagrees.


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## spidey (Sep 1, 2006)

Blitz68 said:


> Did they change something?
> 
> I used to dial 800-824-9081 and get someone instantly who has a clue. Now when I call this number it is the regular ol BS line with push this button for this and push this button for that BS.
> 
> What happened?


Damn called last week trying to get a deal,for wiring my OTA since installer wouldnt when the installed my HR20s in Sept. No luck so was going to call back today. But now my 2 year old RCA rcvr is maybe on the fritz so looking for a free rcvr with install so I can get installer to connect the damn OTA to the HR20s while hes installing the new HD rcvr. WIll try a call from home and maybe I can set a pin or something so I can get to the good agents in retention


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## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

spidey said:


> so I can get installer to connect the damn OTA to the HR20s while hes installing the new HD rcvr.


If you do get the installer to connect the OTA to your HR20s, be prepared that it may cost extra as the OTA is not enabled yet, so I doubt that a work order would be written to do that. I could be wrong.


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## Blitz68 (Apr 19, 2006)

iunlikeearlstatefacts said:


> Earl, I can see you have no insight into communications whatsoever, because if you did, you would have known, that yes that each defined location and all departments within those locations all have direct lines.
> 
> This is for saftey as well for companies to show the pretense that customers can contact any level of the company needing help.
> 
> ...


Dude. Why would you intentionally rip on a member who is here simply to infom us and share his knowledge (he is allowed to that is).


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## Twosted (Sep 18, 2006)

Blitz68 said:


> Dude. Why would you intentionally rip on a member who is here simply to infom us and share his knowledge (he is allowed to that is).


I think that is the same guy who has been banned like 59 times.


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

Yep, called the Retention Phone number, 800‑824‑9081. It's asking for a pin, if you don't have one, it sends you to the regular DirecTV Que.


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

Do we really need another thread on this? Search is your friend..
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=69410


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

Sorry, my bad. :grin:


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

God, these morons are now trynig to charge me for their stupid myriad service calls they are having to make and now I can't get through to get it taken off and now I am on hold for God knows how long, I should have known the other day when a retard annswered the phone this was no longer retention and the dude lied to me and said it was, bofoons. Now some idiot is going to try and tell me since I did not get their rip off "protection plan" I have topay it, i'll have to ask for a supervisor, he will say no, i'll have to get ugly, tell him to turn of my service, then get put on hold for another 10 minutes, retention will get the turn off call and do it and give me a PIN, all the while I have better crap to do.


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

And on othe thing, "abuse" my ass, if they were competent and had good customer service on the front end, there woulkd be no need for a two tier system, how can it be abuse to call a line to talk to to someone competent to help you with a problem?


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## serenstarlight (Sep 16, 2006)

Mike Huss said:


> Was the retention number really that abused? Whenever I used it I got through within a minute, if not immediately. So unless direct dial calls got routed to #1 in the que it didn't seem to me like it was being abused?


The retention department was created for one purpose only, to retain customers that were thinking of disconnecting. It was never set up as a "I'm going to threaten to disconnect my services so I can get a discount" department, or the "I can't get tech to fix my problem so I'll call this #" department. Or the "I'm tired of talking to the peons of dtv I'll call this # for all my concerns" department. And unfortunately for those customers who were legit in calling are getting punished because the # was passed around more than a joint. I have to laugh because I saw this day coming. And honestly I would hope they would do the same thing with my department because there's nothing more aggrivating than having to do someone elses job. 
Besides why can't you all just ask for the retention department?


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

If the other department's did their job, it would not be a problem for you. I know that's not your fault, but it is a fact. The CSRs are all very nice people 99% of the time, but they have no authority and seldom are helpfull, and the "system" always for examples charges me for stuff they say tehy won't and then I have to call back again and again, but more often thannot if I talk to retention it works.


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

yep, sames tupid drill, refused to take it off, talked to the manager, same stupid line, "protection pla" (but very polite), threatened to cancel, got to retention, problem solved, gave me the new 800 number, no PIN involved so not sure what that's all about, I won't give it out if that's really what the fraking problem is all about. If you'er an A list customer, call and get if yourself. That should not be a problem.


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## serenstarlight (Sep 16, 2006)

geaux1 said:


> And on othe thing, "abuse" my ass, if they were competent and had good customer service on the front end, there woulkd be no need for a two tier system, how can it be abuse to call a line to talk to to someone competent to help you with a problem?


Because you're calling a line that is not designated to take that call. Why is that so hard to understand that they have seperate departments who are trained in different things? The retention line was not set up as a tier number. There is not tier 1 retention and a tier 2 retention. The only department that is set up to do that is our technical team.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

serenstarlight said:


> The retention department was created for one purpose only, to retain customers that were thinking of disconnecting. It was never set up as a "I'm going to threaten to disconnect my services so I can get a discount" department, or the "I can get tech to fix my problem so I'll call this #" department. Or the "I'm tired of talking to the peons of dtv I call this # for all my concerns" department.


When I was calling to activate my HD DNS stations, the original CSR was clueless as far as where to send my call. He said he only had two choices, Installation, and Retention.

He said something to the effect of "Retention is the department with special offers that give you things." Once I got there, they knew where to send me.

When the HR20 national rollout began, I emailed D*, asking for a price break. I had only been a customer for two months. D* left a message and callback number on my answering machine. That number was Retention, even though I was still under 22 months of contract.

Point is, in my experience, the employees of D* have been perfectly happy to "abuse" their Retention department. If your call to D* was to accomplish anything, it almost had to involve that department.


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## serenstarlight (Sep 16, 2006)

paulman182 said:


> When I was calling to activate my HD DNS stations, the original CSR was clueless as far as where to send my call. He said he only had two choices, Installation, and Retention.
> 
> He said something to the effect of "Retention is the department with special offers that give you things." Once I got there, they knew where to send me.
> 
> ...


The HR20 issue is something that retention could have helped with and will help with and are trained to help with and as far as the first agent that refered you to the retention department is, to put it lightly is not the brightest lightbulb in the world and unfortunately I have to deal with those people too.
But you can't honestly tell me that they few inept individuals who work for directv have caused the onslaught of calls that the retention department had to deal with. Maybe one day if you have a lot of time on your hands you can count the numberous posts that contain the #800 for this site alone.


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## tstarn (Oct 1, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> Yes and no. The real problem is that most of us here, on this forum, know how to trouble shoot our own systems. We don't need to deal with the latest graduate of DTV101 that doesn't know the difference between a HR10 and a HR20. We've run through all of the trouble shooting processes that we know about (which is more than the first teir CSR knows about) and we're real tired of sitting on hold for faulty DVRs.
> 
> Taking away these direct phone numbers is just another step in DTVs process to loose their bread and butter business.
> 
> ...


Right on, to use a quaint 60s phrase. This is getting sickening, and D* is gonna lose some customers real soon. If it were up to me (and it's not, since I have a family), I'd be long gone, moving to Comcrap or E* just as a show of no-confidence. Interesting to see where it all goes, but it doesn't look good right now.


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

I personally believe that Retention is capable of handling problems that normal CSR's can't and have more resources, training and ability to do so. It's often the only way some issues can be resolved. It's unfortunate they have to have a retention department that does more than they are suppose to, but handling issues, is going to retain more customers, so it's not so bad.

I'm sure the call volume into the retention number is likely the reason they cut it off to the outside people.


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## Dbadone (Nov 9, 2006)

tstarn said:


> Right on, to use a quaint 60s phrase. This is getting sickening, and D* is gonna lose some customers real soon. If it were up to me (and it's not, since I have a family), I'd be long gone, moving to Comcrap or E* just as a show of no-confidence. Interesting to see where it all goes, but it doesn't look good right now.


In my humble opinion it's no different than any other company. Just because one person is more tech savy does that entitle them to special treatment like updates on the HR20 for example. To me it's not different then the problems that others like Microsoft, Motorola with it's razer phone, or in one case my creative soundblaster on my computer. It's a known issue we are working on it is all you ever get. If you go to boards like this one you may or may not get he answer your looking for. All I have ever gotten with even Cox Communications for example is it's a known issue that will be fixed with a download we are working on it. It's not just D*, I know E* does the same exact thing with my parents system. Just because I can build computers doesn't give me a super secret number to Microsoft or any other software application I still have to go though the troubleshooting happened the other day with the phone company when my dsl went down, yes I had already tried all the troubleshooting steps but they have to go through there hoops to get to a resoulation. Just my opinion.


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## tstarn (Oct 1, 2006)

Dbadone said:


> In my humble opinion it's no different than any other company. Just because one person is more tech savy does that entitle them to special treatment like updates on the HR20 for example. To me it's not different then the problems that others like Microsoft, Motorola with it's razer phone, or in one case my creative soundblaster on my computer. It's a known issue we are working on it is all you ever get. If you go to boards like this one you may or may not get he answer your looking for. All I have ever gotten with even Cox Communications for example is it's a known issue that will be fixed with a download we are working on it. It's not just D*, I know E* does the same exact thing with my parents system. Just my opinion.


Fair enough. But creating the retention line was D*'s choice, and chance to differentiate themselves from the rest of the companies you mention. Now, they lost that competitive edge.


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## serenstarlight (Sep 16, 2006)

tstarn said:


> Fair enough. But creating the retention line was D*'s choice, and chance to differentiate themselves from the rest of the companies you mention. Now, they lost that competitive edge.


A retention line is not used as a "competitive edge". Dish has a retention line and I'm sure cable companies do to. All they are is a seperate department that disconnects accounts and tries to save customers.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

serenstarlight said:


> Besides why can't you all just ask for the retention department?


That does/did work. Now sure with all these changes.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

AlbertZeroK said:


> I personally believe that Retention is capable of handling problems that normal CSR's can't and have more resources, training and ability to do so. It's often the only way some issues can be resolved. It's unfortunate they have to have a retention department that does more than they are suppose to, but handling issues, is going to retain more customers, so it's not so bad.
> 
> I'm sure the call volume into the retention number is likely the reason they cut it off to the outside people.


It appears that the folks that work in retention are given more user capabilities on the system with more access to more screens. For the most part I see the front line CSRs as the human model of that freggin' automated response system they have. Just asking scripted questions and not having the knowledge or power to really do anything other than transfer the call.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Dbadone said:


> It's a known issue we are working on it is all you ever get.


If only we did get that. I'm guessing 90% of the time the response received from a front level CSR is in this order:

We've had no report of that problem.
Please reset your unit.
Please reformat your unit.
Let me ship you a replacement.
I mean no disrespect here Dbadone, but I don't think you've tried reporting many problems to DTV if you've gotten the "we know about it" answer.


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

I don't care about all these excuses DTV and their fans and employees give, I was a fan and almost am no more sicne I can't even recieve a signal anymore. I expect to be able to call and get an answer. I am not a techie about TV and don;t want to be, that's what I pay others to do, period. I only expect answers fast because they sent me crap on purpose after tricking me into a contract under false pretenses, can't fix it, keep screwing up my account, etc. If they ahd fixed it the first 6 or 7 times it screwed up and they lied, gave false info., it broke, whatever (insert one of 12 reasons here), I would not be so rude, angry, insistent fior an answer and immediate now, now and now service and an answer. I would just be fine with the scirpted line, wait at home from 1-5 and some dude shows up and it works, but now on my 12th or 14th or mroe visit, i'm just not nice about it, i'm tired of free credits and stuff, it does me no good if it does not work.


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## beavis (Jun 9, 2005)

Most of the mainbank CSR's aren't that technically knowledgeable, and even most Tier 1 doesn't do much with HD, DVR, etc. Most Tier 2 agents (myself included) are very knowledgeable, even though sometimes that we may not say we're aware of issues, we are. People who threaten to disconnect if they don't get something for free I gladly pass on to retention. Personally I'd just disconnect them myself and that'd be the end of it.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

I know people threaten to cancel when they are upset, but I did not threaten anything when I called Retention.,

I certainly could not threaten to leave because I had 22 months left on my committment.

I asked for their help in getting started economically in HD, using the phone number they left on my answering maching (which was Retention.) They got me into the HR20 for about $39, after programming credits. This was at the start of the HR20 national distribution, when they probably did not anticpate the demand.

I am just saying that we should not be condemned too much for using the number to get freebies, when the first-level CSRs, and whoever calls you in response to emails, were giving it out to us. "Retention" seemed to just the name of the "Special Deal" department.

I have not had any truly "bad" experiences at any level when I have called D*.


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## cybrsurfer (Sep 17, 2006)

beavis said:


> Most of the mainbank CSR's aren't that technically knowledgeable, and even most Tier 1 doesn't do much with HD, DVR, etc. Most Tier 2 agents (myself included) are very knowledgeable, even though sometimes that we may not say we're aware of issues, we are. People who threaten to disconnect if they don't get something for free I gladly pass on to retention. Personally I'd just disconnect them myself and that'd be the end of it.


I have to agree with you. Certain customers are never going to be satisfied, and it's a sport to get as much as they can from DirecTV. :lol:


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

_Personally I'd just disconnect them myself and that'd be the end of it._

That's why companies don't leave important decisions like these up to people who answer the phone, they would soon be out of business.


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## cybrsurfer (Sep 17, 2006)

geaux1 said:


> _Personally I'd just disconnect them myself and that'd be the end of it._
> 
> That's why companies don't leave important decisions like these up to people who answer the phone, they would soon be out of business.


Working in a call center these days is a joke... no respect at all handling 100+ calls in a 8 hour shift, 99.9% of the customers are unreasonable and looking for freebies.


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

_I am just saying that we should not be condemned too much for using the number to get freebies,_

I don't use it to get freebies, I use it to get themof their rear end to fix their stuff that is poor quality and does not work and reconnect me after they fail to send me a bill and put stuff on my bill that does not belong and....I could go on and on, then they just give me free stuff after I get the run around for 30 minutes or longer and get mad and threaten to disconnect if they don;t fix the problem in order to appease me for their poor service. The only "freebie" I have ever asked for is not to pay for a servcie I could not recieve when the thing would not work or some ridiculous rip off like 99 bucks for "super fan" which I never had to do because they gave it to me before I could call as they had messed up my install four times before I could get around to it.


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

_Working in a call center these days is a joke... no respect at all handling 100+ calls in a 8 hour shift, 99.9% of the customers are unreasonable and looking for freebies._

Can't disagree with you there, but that's the companies fault, not the customers, or yours individually and that goes around to DTV again.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

cybrsurfer said:


> Working in a call center these days is a joke... no respect at all handling 100+ calls in a 8 hour shift, 99.9% of the customers are unreasonable and looking for freebies.


And so there's something wrong when a customer calls and requests to speak with a REP that's knowledgeable in the current promotions a company is offering?

No one has put a gun to DTVs head. They always have all sorts of promotion codes to offer customers. Myself, I have Total Choice Premier and I purchase NFL ST, SF and have 7 active DVRs. I don't get the free HBO weekends or free Showtime weekends like others that purchase lower level packages get as I already pay for them. In fact, on those weekend I have to put up with the "free weekend" ads even though I already pay for those packages.

So in my case last July I called to see what kinda deal retention could do for me to get me another HR10. The rep looked through all of the current "promotions" that were available and hooked me up. If DTV has deals available why is it so bad to call and ask for them?

Do you walk on a new car lot and tell the salesguy "I'll pay sticker for that model"? I doubt it. Should I chastise you for asking for "freebies" from a dealership when they routinely give out these deals?

If you believe 99.9% of customers are unreasonable, let me ask what you do for a living? You surely deal with some type of customer and must be just a peach to work with given your attitude.


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## cybrsurfer (Sep 17, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> And so there's something wrong when a customer calls and requests to speak with a REP that's knowledgeable in the current promotions a company is offering?
> 
> No one has put a gun to DTVs head. They always have all sorts of promotion codes to offer customers. Myself, I have Total Choice Premier and I purchase NFL ST, SF and have 7 active DVRs. I don't get the free HBO weekends or free Showtime weekends like others that purchase lower level packages get as I already pay for them. In fact, on those weekend I have to put up with the "free weekend" ads even though I already pay for those packages.
> 
> ...


I just think your so called 7 DVR's are at other households other than your own! Come on 7 TV sets? What are you Rockefeller? You must be a billionaire.:hurah:

Just because you subscribe to all possible programming doesn't mean you should get special treatment. You need to pay for services rendered. DirecTV isn't in business of playing favorites.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

cybrsurfer said:


> I just think your so called 7 DVR's are at other households other than your own! Come on 7 TV sets? What are you Rockefeller? You must be a billionaire.:hurah:


Good thing it doesn't matter what you think. Two kids in college with their TVs, one in my office, one in our bedroom, an SD and HD in our family and another in a guest bedroom.



cybrsurfer said:


> Just because you subscribe to all possible programming doesn't mean you should get special treatment. You need to pay for services rendered. DirecTV isn't in business of playing favorites.


I never said I was entitled to anything. We're not talking about "special treatment". These are the same deals DTV has to offer anyone qualifying. All I said was I don't get the benefits of the bi-monthly free weekends as others so since I pay for the package. Plus if a company runs promos why not take advantage of them?

I see you missed my question regarding the purchase of an auto. Do you freely pay sticker for cars? Do you refuse to use coupons when grocery shopping? Do you tell BB or CC you don't want their sale price for the TV/DVD/PC you're about to purchase and that you'd rather pay list price?


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## bidger (Nov 19, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> No one has put a gun to DTVs head. They always have all sorts of promotion codes to offer customers.


I agree completely and when I got my first programming package special, back in the USSB days, it was them calling me to opt in, not the other way around. It was one of the things that reinforced to me I'd made the right decision moving away from cable.

If you're a quality customer, a company should do every thing they can to make sure you're gonna stay put.


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## tpayne105 (Aug 29, 2006)

I will say this...the first time I called retention, I was told by the Retention Rep to "never feel bad to ask for promotions. Someone like you deserves them. Wow, you have spent a lot of money with us the last 10 years, it is the least of what we can do for you."

That is a direct quote....I have spent tons of time with them getting great information, even just shooting the bull for nearly 40 mins!! 

Interesting huh?


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## cybrsurfer (Sep 17, 2006)

:lol:


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

I don't see why anyone would have a problem with people asking to get deals from DirecTV or any other company. I ask for deals all the time, and *I usually get them.* Like Wolffpack said, nobody is holding a gun to the company's head. If they don't want to give me a deal, they can say no. Then it's up to me whether I want to continue, or walk away.

I'm sorry, money is money, and if I can get DirecTV to give me $10 off for the next 12 months by making a simple phone call, I'm going to do it every time. And I don't feel the least bit bad about it either.


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## cbeckner80 (Apr 19, 2006)

iunlikeearlstatefacts said:


> Earl, I can see you have no insight into communications whatsoever, because if you did, you would have known, ~~~not a personal attack her erases, proof that he is immorally trying to shape opinions and rewrite facts to suit his stories


GOOD GRIEF, number 54? :nono2:


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

I am glad  that this finally happened and its probably due to exactly what a few here are saying they did. Just like with my company, there is a set order of reps for people to talk to about products/problems etc.... People seem to be so impatient and think their problems are more important than others and want to go right thru by pressing 0 or trying to get faster service by going thru another department.

Just look at what happened to the premium channels recently.  A few abusers constantly ordered HBO/Sho/etc... for one movie or day then canceled and thought they were above everyone else. Now they ruined it for everyone and there is a large fee if you now cancel under 30 days. 

What I never understand is on top of blatantly abusing the system, knowing what they are doing is not the correct way to do things and now ruining it for everyone else they have the nerve to complain about it like its DirecTV's fault they abused the system and DirecTV had to take steps to remedy it. Please......:nono:


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

cbeckner80 said:


> GOOD GRIEF, number 54? :nono2:


They really need to file a complaint with his ISP or even go thru the legal system. Its sad that people think they can hide and do things thru the Internet.

In reality it is SO EASY to track down 99% of people even if they created a few hotmail/gmail accounts using totally false information or even using an IP masking program.


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## cbeckner80 (Apr 19, 2006)

cybrsurfer said:


> Working in a call center these days is a joke... no respect at all handling 100+ calls in a 8 hour shift, 99.9% of the customers are unreasonable and looking for freebies.


Did you ever think that "no respect" is a result of haveing to talk to a computer for five minutes or more just to get to a human.


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## cbeckner80 (Apr 19, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> Good thing it doesn't matter what you think. Two kids in college with their TVs, one in my office, one in our bedroom, an SD and HD in our family and another in a guest bedroom.


Wolfpack, WHY would you dignify that with an answere.


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## AnonomissX (Jun 29, 2006)

cbeckner80 said:


> Did you ever think that "no respect" is a result of haveing to talk to a computer for five minutes or more just to get to a human.


Directv grew its business, and struggled to train, and then KEEP good agents, and this has caused long hold times at the SAME TIMES AS OTHER 800 NUMBERS EXPERIENCE LONG HOLD TIMES! Even so, losing respect for a company does not logically dictate you can abuse the phone system and department lay out. It was developed in RESPONSE to peoples needs, and the company needed to have certain resources available for more complex or advanced cases, or people who had repeated trouble earlier calls could not fix.

Now who are you really disrespecting when people share phone #s? Lets follow this logic chain, shall we?

....................................

Did it ever dawn on you that the reps KNOW there are calls in the queue, and the amount of time the longest call is waiting? Should they slack the service to all the people who called before you did, just so when they get to YOU, you now get all the BEST treatment not given to the poor slob who called just before you did, but got the bums rush off the phone?

But wait, lets just jump YOU forward in the queue! Great Idea!

Did you .....PAY for that kind of service? Did you pay your FELLOW CUSTOMER to have them let you jump ahead of them? Did you ask THEIR permission? Did you even consider the amount of respect for your fellow customer you should be showing?

Try that kind of logic and behavior in line at Circuit City, the grocery store, or corner convenience store. The other people in line will not be your buddy :nono2:


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## Malibu13 (Sep 12, 2004)

Bobman said:


> They really need to file a complaint with his ISP or even go thru the legal system. Its sad that people think they can hide and do things thru the Internet.
> 
> In reality it is SO EASY to track down 99% of people even if they created a few hotmail/gmail accounts using totally false information or even using an IP masking program.


Yes, and you would think this person would know that, but then again....................:nono2:


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Bobman said:


> Just look at what happened to the premium channels recently.  A few abusers constantly ordered HBO/Sho/etc... for one movie or day then canceled and thought they were above everyone else. Now they ruined it for everyone and there is a large fee if you now cancel under 30 days.


Did you really mean what you typed? A few abusers were constantly ordering premiums for one day then cancelling and that action by those few abusers caused DTV to change their policy and ruined it for everyone else? Are you saying it was okay to do this once in a while (everyone else) but it's not okay to use this practice constantly? Sounds a tad hypocritical to me.

Kinda like it's okay to kill one or two people in your lifetime but those serial killers really ruined it for the rest of us. Now none of us can do it without going to jail. :grin:


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## serenstarlight (Sep 16, 2006)

cbeckner80 said:


> Did you ever think that "no respect" is a result of haveing to talk to a computer for five minutes or more just to get to a human.


Ok correct me if I'm wrong but what I'm reading in your statement is that it is ok for a customer to completely disrespect a CSR because they can't seem to possibly use an automated system and spend 5 mins dee dee deeing through the system?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Wolffpack said:


> Good thing it doesn't matter what you think. Two kids in college with their TVs, one in my office, one in our bedroom, an SD and HD in our family and another in a guest bedroom.


As long as the college kids are living at home.

Perhaps the inquisitor hasn't been around DirecTV very much. It is popular for outsiders to question why anyone needs more than a few receivers.

This all goes to show why DirecTV customers, on average, pay $9.88 more per month for service than their Dish Network counterparts (Q3 2006 financial reports).


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

harsh said:


> As long as the college kids are living at home.


Unfortunately they're here WAY too often. :grin: I guess they're too "busy" at school so they feel the need to come home every couple of weeks to catch up on their selection of shows.


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

_They really need to file a complaint with his ISP or even go thru the legal system. Its sad that people think they can hide and do things thru the Internet.

In reality it is SO EASY to track down 99% of people even if they created a few hotmail/gmail accounts using totally false information or even using an IP masking program._

File a complaint over people admitting they used HBO for a day and cancelled it when the system allowed you too way back when, LOL, good luck with that, then maybe they will track you down for a psyche eval. I think you'll are tacking this way too seriously. Simple fact of life, DTV needs to get their act together or their employees will keep getting abused from irate customers, that's the way America works. If the customers had the # to the fools who ran the company, trust me, they would call them and not you, so just post their direct lines or eprsonal numbers here, and you will stop getting calls, trust me on that one.


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## Malibu13 (Sep 12, 2004)

I believe Bobman was referring to a member who has been banned for numerous accounts and not the issue of the thread.


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## tstarn (Oct 1, 2006)

serenstarlight said:


> A retention line is not used as a "competitive edge". Dish has a retention line and I'm sure cable companies do to. All they are is a seperate department that disconnects accounts and tries to save customers.


You don't know anything about customer service. Preventing churn is certainly a competitive advantage. Sorry, but you just don't understand the business. The better the retention department, the more customers you keep. That's not a competitive advantage?


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## OneOfOne (Sep 19, 2006)

tpayne105 said:


> I will say this...the first time I called retention, I was told by the Retention Rep to "never feel bad to ask for promotions. Someone like you deserves them. Wow, you have spent a lot of money with us the last 10 years, it is the least of what we can do for you."
> 
> That is a direct quote....I have spent tons of time with them getting great information, even just shooting the bull for nearly 40 mins!!
> 
> Interesting huh?


a little over a year ago this was said to me almost verbatim. if you are paying for a lot of services from them they WILL hook you up. if you are not you get what you pay for.


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## OneOfOne (Sep 19, 2006)

tstarn said:


> You don't know anything about customer service. Preventing churn is certainly a competitive advantage. Sorry, but you just don't understand the business. The better the retention department, the more customers you keep. That's not a competitive advantage?


most companies who are fighting to grow and keep their customer base have retention departments. I used my cell phone providers' to get a better deal when my contract expired earlier this year. its also how I intend to get my current soon to be obsolete dtv hd dish upgraded this year. am I abusing the 'service'? hell no. since I am one of their 'most valued customers' they are going to do this to keep my business. and in return I will continue to pay for the level of programming I get from them. they told me earlier this year that I couldnt get a discount on the super fan package because they had no offers. they were wrong.


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## tstarn (Oct 1, 2006)

OneOfOne said:


> most companies who are fighting to grow and keep their customer base have retention departments. I used my cell phone providers' to get a better deal when my contract expired earlier this year. its also how I intend to get my current soon to be obsolete dtv hd dish upgraded this year. am I abusing the 'service'? hell no. since I am one of their 'most valued customers' they are going to do this to keep my business. and in return I will continue to pay for the level of programming I get from them. they told me earlier this year that I couldnt get a discount on the super fan package because they had no offers. they were wrong.


Agree 100 percent.


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## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

serenstarlight said:


> A retention line is not used as a "competitive edge". Dish has a retention line and I'm sure cable companies do to. All they are is a seperate department that disconnects accounts and tries to save customers.





tstarn said:


> You don't know anything about customer service. Preventing churn is certainly a competitive advantage. Sorry, but you just don't understand the business. The better the retention department, the more customers you keep. That's not a competitive advantage?


I guess I took serenstarlight's post to mean that D* did not create their Retention Department to tout the fact that they have such a department as being a competitive advantage for D* over other companies. I think all companies that provide ongoing services to customers have some kind of Retention Department. It's not a feather in D*s cap that they have one.

Now that being said, having a better retention department than the "enemy" can be a competitive advantage. I do think serenstarlight does understand that.


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## tstarn (Oct 1, 2006)

JLucPicard said:



> I guess I took serenstarlight's post to mean that D* did not create their Retention Department to tout the fact that they have such a department as being a competitive advantage for D* over other companies. I think all companies that provide ongoing services to customers have some kind of Retention Department. It's not a feather in D*s cap that they have one.
> 
> Now that being said, having a better retention department than the "enemy" can be a competitive advantage. I do think serenstarlight does understand that.


Is that why he said a retention dept. is not "used as a competitive advantage"? Guess I took that sentence literally, since that is what he wrote. My point is a poorly performing retention department will be a competitive disadvantage, because it will cause people to potentially leave. The flip side is a competent retention department is an advantage, because it will cause people to stay. In my chats with retention people, they seem to be the best CSRs D* has to offer. That means they are important, and hence, a competitive advantage (if they are good at their jobs).


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## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

tstarn said:


> Is that why he said a retention dept. is not "used as a competitive advantage"? Guess I took that sentence literally, since that is what he wrote. My point is a poorly performing retention department will be a competitive disadvantage, because it will cause people to potentially leave. The flip side is a competent retention department is an advantage, because it will cause people to stay. In my chats with retention people, they seem to be the best CSRs D* has to offer. That means they are important, and hence, a competitive advantage (if they are good at their jobs).


I absolutely agree with that post 100%!


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## serenstarlight (Sep 16, 2006)

tstarn said:


> You don't know anything about customer service. Preventing churn is certainly a competitive advantage. Sorry, but you just don't understand the business. The better the retention department, the more customers you keep. That's not a competitive advantage?


First of all "He" is a "She". Second of all I can't believe this conversation has continued this long but either way that's beside the point.
So I don't know anything about customer service? This is a statement coming from someone who can't find it the least bit understandable why a company would want to prevent calls to a department that has no business going to that department. 
I fully understand the concept of what a *Retention department *is and what it was created for. Someone who needs a new remote or needs to troubleshoot a receiver should be going to technical not retention. And you can rest assure the individuals who have complained about the calls is retention themselves. There's nothing worse than having a small number of agents in one department and continue to have calls transferred that have nothing to do with a discount or saving a customer from disconnecting. And what happens when they're busy and customer are in queue? The valid calls are put in queue and end up having to wait 5..10.. 15 mins to talk to an agent. The whole point is that there's a specific place for a specific problem. 
I.. unlike you work for the company. So I.. unlike you.. understand the impacts far more than you could understand. The day you are screamed at because Mr So n So had to wait to reset his password on the website which takes a mere minute to do, because you had to help a customer troubleshoot searching for satellite for over an hour.. then maybe your view might be valid.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

serenstarlight said:


> First of all "He" is a "She".


Weak and uncalled for. I don't do a he/she every freggin time I make an example or respond to a question. So now I'll add my generalization. Some "She's" get all ticked of if they are represented by the wrong sex. No "He's" do this. If you want to make sure your referred to as a "she" then change you signature or in some other way note you are a she. Otherwise, accept the fact that most forum responses referred to "he" as "he or she".



serenstarlight said:


> Second of all I can't believe this conversation has continued this long but either way that's beside the point.
> So I don't know anything about customer service? This is a statement coming from someone who can't find it the least bit understandable why a company would want to prevent calls to a department that has no business going to that department.
> I fully understand the concept of what a *Retention department *is and what it was created for. Someone who needs a new remote or needs to troubleshoot a receiver should be going to technical not retention.


Sorry, I have not noticed any reference to someone calling the direct retention number to replace a remote or troubleshoot a receiver. My understanding here is that most who have posted to this thread were upset because they had already troubleshooted their environment or they didn't have a problem and simply wanted to talk to someone that had the authority to make a decision, versus suggest reformatting their unit. Having a direct number to call when you know those folks are the folks to talk to, isn't all that bad and also streamlines the queues.



serenstarlight said:


> I.. unlike you work for the company. So I.. unlike you.. understand the impacts far more than you could understand. The day you are screamed at because Mr So n So had to wait to reset his password on the website which takes a mere minute to do, because you had to help a customer troubleshoot searching for satellite for over an hour.. then maybe your view might be valid.


So you work in Retention and you're getting these type of calls? If so, that's not good. How about you do as the 1st Tier CSRs do and when the customer says they can't get a signal, you tell them you'll transfer them to the "signal" department and push them back to 1st Tier.....or simply hang up on them like many 1st Tier CSRs do?

Just another comment, if you do work in the Retention Department, (and I doubt that as most folks I've talked to there are very helpful and pleasant) how do you know someone calls you directly or is transferred from a CSR? I've been transferred to Retention by a CSR and I've also called the line directly, both ways you get into another queue. Are you saying you can tell where your calls are coming from? I worked in IT in call centers that utilize DAVOX equipment, and once a call is put into the queue the person answering doesn't have any idea where it came from.


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## Wicker 54 (May 7, 2006)

Blitz68 said:


> Did they change something?
> 
> I used to dial 800-824-9081 and get someone instantly who has a clue. Now when I call this number it is the regular ol BS line with push this button for this and push this button for that BS.
> 
> What happened?


 Just like E CRAP


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## cbeckner80 (Apr 19, 2006)

AnonomissX said:


> Directv grew its business, and struggled to train, and then KEEP good agents, and this has caused long hold times at the SAME TIMES AS OTHER 800 NUMBERS EXPERIENCE LONG HOLD TIMES! Even so, losing respect for a company does not logically dictate you can abuse the phone system and department lay out. It was developed in RESPONSE to peoples needs, and the company needed to have certain resources available for more complex or advanced cases, or people who had repeated trouble earlier calls could not fix.
> 
> Now who are you really disrespecting when people share phone #s? Lets follow this logic chain, shall we?
> 
> ...


I'm referring to ACTUALLY "having" to talk to the computer at D*. I would prefer to just be put on hold with elevator music than have to tell a computer what my problem is, especially as has been said in this post that many of the users here usually do the basics before even calling D* for help, and I said nothing about "jumping" me or anyone else ahead of prior calls.


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## cbeckner80 (Apr 19, 2006)

serenstarlight said:


> Ok correct me if I'm wrong but what I'm reading in your statement is that it is ok for a customer to completely disrespect a CSR because they can't seem to possibly use an automated system and spend 5 mins dee dee deeing through the system?


See my last post.


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## geaux1 (Oct 23, 2006)

_Someone who needs a new remote or needs to troubleshoot a receiver should be going to technical not retention. _

I'll keep calling retention for this type of stuff untill this stupid company devices a way that a custoemr who spends almost 200 a minth since 1996 can get to a person instead of a system that makes me wait on hold for 30 minutes past interminable voiice mail or whatever it's called only to get to a retard. I agree with your point, but if the company provided a capable eprson withing a reasonable amount of time at te other department, I would gladly call it, until then, I will call you or whoever I can get on the phone.


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## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

Sounds like it's about time this thread was closed.


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