# HD Upgrade for existing customers



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Apparently dish must be adding something to add value to the hd lineup. HD upgrades for exsisting customers to the 722 are now 125 dollars with no rebate, no free HD and, a 24 month contract.


----------



## theoak (Nov 5, 2007)

I was going to originally wait till February to go DishHD, but then I saw posts of rumors that the deals would not have been as good.

With that being said however, I paid $150 for my 722, mind you I sent in my rebate, but I have heard that Dish's track record with rebates pretty much sucks too.

At least I am getting DishHD free for 6 months which gets me $120 back.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

this current offer is supposed to run until 7-31-08. I myself waited to see what the new offer would be and, i guess i made the wrong choice. now i will wait 7 more months till my contract is up and see what D* is offering then i will relay that offer to dish's retention deparment:lol:


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Typically offers are different for different customers. I have not checked to see what the latest offers for me would be. I'll have to login and see if the offer is the same for me.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Well, I did not know that. Please do I am interested of how much different it might be.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

seeing that dish is giving the 722 to new customers for free with free hd and a new customer can also waive the 24 month contract by paying the 49 dollar activation fee and waivering the free hd seems that it makes better business sense to give the freebies to longtime customers that have paid on time for years thant to give them to someone they have no history with. dish does not even offer the hd sevice without a contract to an exsisting customers directly from dish it just does not seem right.


----------



## Mr. Vega (Jan 30, 2008)

jclewter79 said:


> seeing that dish is giving the 722 to new customers for free with free hd and a new customer can also waive the 24 month contract by paying the 49 dollar activation fee and waivering the free hd seems that it makes better business sense to give the freebies to longtime customers that have paid on time for years thant to give them to someone they have no history with. dish does not even offer the hd sevice without a contract to an exsisting customers directly from dish it just does not seem right.


is this common practice for satellite providers? i've only had "E*" so i'm curious if Directtv does this as well.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

well, from what i can tell D* does not make it so easy for new customers to get on with no contract but, it does seem to be common practice to give better deals to new customers than exsisting ones.


----------



## Friendswood (Jan 17, 2008)

jclewter79 said:


> well, from what i can tell D* does not make it so easy for new customers to get on with no contract but, it does seem to be common practice to give better deals to new customers than exsisting ones.


That's a business practice that I've never really understoood! It's not just Dish, but Directv, cell phone providers, internet providers and several other services.....soooo much for customer loyalty! :nono2:


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

tru dat


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

jclewter79 said:


> Well, I did not know that. Please do I am interested of how much different it might be.


Will do.. Unfortunately I have been unable to login all day. The Dish Web site has been giving a "technical difficulties" message all day if you try to login. I suspect they are in the process of making updates or something.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

me too. logged on to it earlier but here lately getting same message maybe they are changing those upgrade prices lol


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Ok, finally able to login this evening...

Looks like I have 2 options for either ViP622 or ViP722 receivers.

$50 for a ViP622 or $75 for a ViP722, shipped to me with no install required.

OR

Add $50 to the above ($100/$125) for the receiver + install.

What was odd, was it also seemed like there was an option to get a ViP612 for the same price as the ViP722. I'm still not sure I understand the need for a ViP612 when it is the same as a ViP622 without the TV2 outputs... I'd much rather have the larger hard drive in the ViP722 for recording if the upgrade price is the same.


----------



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

HDMe said:


> Ok, finally able to login this evening...
> 
> Looks like I have 2 options for either ViP622 or ViP722 receivers.
> 
> ...


Thie picture of the 612 is of a black box like the 722. Other than that, I can't see any reason for getting a 612?


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

looks like the same thing in my dishin it up thing


----------



## nneptune (Mar 30, 2006)

Friendswood said:


> That's a business practice that I've never really understoood! It's not just Dish, but Directv, cell phone providers, internet providers and several other services.....soooo much for customer loyalty! :nono2:


I agree. I've been with thm since '96 or '97. My original equipment cost me an unbelievable amount of $$$.
I've stuck with them through everything! Why not give us some incentives?
Oh well, it seems commonplace...unfortunately!


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

I agree 100 precent. That is why when wanted my 625 to add to my current setup i did not feel bad about talking to retention to get it for free. that is how i got the contract for the first time. in 7 months i won't feel bad about doing the same to get upgraded for free. only this time i will be prepared to make the switch if i am denied i have lost some confidence with echostar. they need to remember to dance with who brung them.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

actually HDME the price of the612 and the 722 are not exactly the same. the 612 is $75 installed and the 722 is $75 shipped. but still if you already had the dish 1000 and everything setup for HD might as well have the 722 shipped to you and if you just wanted to use one tv use the PIP and it would be better than a 612


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

jclewter79 said:


> actually HDME the price of the612 and the 722 are not exactly the same. the 612 is $75 installed and the 722 is $75 shipped. but still if you already had the dish 1000 and everything setup for HD might as well have the 722 shipped to you and if you just wanted to use one tv use the PIP and it would be better than a 612


You're right, I missed that part. No option to get a ViP612 shipped... so just one price for it, $75.. so it is either cheaper or the same as a ViP722 depending on if you actually need an install or not.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Just wondering, anybody in here have any luck getting retention to match the new customer offer for an exsisting customer HD upgrade? Did you have a contract at the time? How long were you a customer? I think these details would be helpful to many people.


----------



## Kman68 (Jan 24, 2008)

Contact a local installer. They have more wiggle room than you do with Dish. I ordered through DishNetwork online and over the phone late during the evening in anger (just left the competition). When the installer came he said that if I would have joined through his company I would have gotten free equipment, free install and a free iPod. In addition, I could have had the antennae (dish) installed were I wanted it, but since I went through Dish the antennae had to be in a certain place - Dish audits installers. The installer went on to let me know that even with the iPod giveaway he would have made about 3 times what Dish pays.


----------



## rrmills (Jan 29, 2007)

jclewter79 said:


> Just wondering, anybody in here have any luck getting retention to match the new customer offer for an exsisting customer HD upgrade? Did you have a contract at the time? How long were you a customer? I think these details would be helpful to many people.


You might try emailing [email protected]. I was an existing customer wanting to upgrade to HD about a year ago, but couldn't get any breaks from Dish CSRs. I contacted Comcast in my area and found out what their special was for switching - $25/month off for 16 months and free installation/re-wiring from the dish (!) if you showed them a E* or D* bill. I made up a detailed spreadsheet showing how much cheaper it would be for me to switch to Comcast for my HD instead of sticking with E* and attached it to my initial email. After a few persistent emails with the person who responded to my email, I got:

1) The $5/month phone line fee removed permanently
2) The $6/month lease fee for upgrading to the ViP622 through Dishin it Up removed
3) A $50 rebate (that I was not technically eligible for) applied to my bill as a $50 credit.

I still had to pay $99 dollars to get the 622, so my deal wasn't quite as good as the one new customers got at the time (free), but it was a heck of a lot better than just accepting what the normal CSRs wanted me to pay.

All-in-all, I'd say it worked out for me  YMMV, but I'd recommend at least trying this.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

those are all great tips, thank you all. wish that cable was avalible in my area just to have more options to show them. when i spoke to retintion to get my free dvr i was able to show them that directv would send me a dvr for free as a new customer. only thing is that directv charges 100 dollars for their hd dvr which is about what my upgrade cost are. if i had cable to compare to also it might help. to me thought it is not just what another company can do it is what my current company is willing to do for a new customer that they are not willing to for current customer. anyways i think that directv's hd dvr's will become free for new customers when dish network's channel lineup becomes larger again. maybe by then i will be out of contract and have a little leverage against them.


----------



## Kman68 (Jan 24, 2008)

jclewter79 said:


> those are all great tips, thank you all. wish that cable was avalible in my area just to have more options to show them. when i spoke to retintion to get my free dvr i was able to show them that directv would send me a dvr for free as a new customer. only thing is that directv charges 100 dollars for their hd dvr which is about what my upgrade cost are. if i had cable to compare to also it might help. to me thought it is not just what another company can do it is what my current company is willing to do for a new customer that they are not willing to for current customer. anyways i think that directv's hd dvr's will become free for new customers when dish network's channel lineup becomes larger again. maybe by then i will be out of contract and have a little leverage against them.


Caution on switching over to the D*ark side. The D* DVR is a work in progress. The DVR they sent me was refurbished. Installer said all he ever gets are refurbished DVRs. The box should have had "BETA" stamped on it to let you know that you are a tester. I asked a lot of questions before pulling the trigger and "upgrading." Most of the important advertised features do not work. The three best features of any DVR are Search and Auto Record (Wish list) do not work because you can not limit "Channels I get" to list channels you receive and actually watch.

In short, I received the D* DVR on Friday. I returned the D* DVR on Sunday.


----------



## DaGnome (Mar 17, 2005)

I'm in the same boat.... been a customer since early '93... called to get an upgrade price from my owned 721PVR to the new 722DVR... $125.00 no other rebates/offers, and my bill goes up by at least $16 (10HD + 6DVR fee).

So I've been searching around and found a thread in the D* forums entitled "How to get an additional $240 off as a new D* customer" (can't post the link due to forum requirements  )

Basically after looking at the packaging and discounts I can get with D*, especially the channels which are offered in HD by DTV, I can't find a reason to stick with E*. 

I'd be getting more channels, More HD, Lower Price... The only thing I lose on DVR itself that I can see is the fact that I can't watch 2 programs on 2 different TVs (Which I can't do now..). 

I always thought D* stuff was the leader, since they used the whole TIVO model.. is that wrong?

The bottom line for me.. is I hear horror stories from both sides on customer service, equipment issues etc so that's a wash in my eyes... for me... if it works, and if it's cheaper and has more features.. it's a no brainer... 

Unless E* gives me some incredible deal to stay with them... I'm switching to the darkside once my IRS cash comes in. :nono2:


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

i really don't want to switch at all i just want directv to offer their hd dvr for free to new customers for free. that way i can call E* and tell them that i am that i am switching due to cheaper upgrade cost. hopefully they will offer a free upgrade with a 622 or 722 and then i can stay with E*. but then again if that does not work i might switch anyways and see for myself how bad directv is. i guess to me saving a good customer is better than signing a new one but if E* does not see it that way i guess they froced my hand.


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

jclewter79 said:


> i really don't want to switch at all i just want directv to offer their hd dvr for free to new customers for free. that way i can call E* and tell them that i am that i am switching due to cheaper upgrade cost. hopefully they will offer a free upgrade with a 622 or 722 and then i can stay with E*. but then again if that does not work i might switch anyways and see for myself how bad directv is. i guess to me saving a good customer is better than signing a new one but if E* does not see it that way i guess they froced my hand.


I'm not bashing you as much as it will sound like here, but...

Say I have a friend from elementary school... I've known him for 20 years, and we've been good friends all that time. Meanwhile, I start a new job and meet some new people and make a few new friends.

So, my friend of 20 years one day says... "why do you eat lunch with your new friend from work and not with me? I've known you for 20 years, and you didn't eat lunch with me when we first met!"

Then my old friend says "I want to be your friend, but if you don't eat lunch with me like you do your new friends then I will go get a new best friend".

Ask me how much I consider that a real friendship with an ultimatum...

That's how I see sometimes these "I've been a loyal customer for X years and now Dish won't give me something free so I'm not going to be loyal anymore" statements.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

I can understand your point HDME and you are entitled to it. But, on the other hand if E* loses one loyal customer over 125 dollars and gains a new one due to free equipment AND 120 dollars in free programming, what have they gained?


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Also, I would like to add that I have never considered my Dish Network Subscription a friendship. In my eyes it is a business relationship. I think that E* fells the same way. When E* feels that a channel raises their prices to much they do not hesitate to take measures to show they are serious in how they feel about it. Why should I feel bad about doing the same?


----------



## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

HDMe said:


> I'm not bashing you as much as it will sound like here, but...
> 
> Say I have a friend from elementary school... I've known him for 20 years, and we've been good friends all that time. Meanwhile, I start a new job and meet some new people and make a few new friends.
> 
> ...


I'm renaming you Analogy Man! lol......I love it:goodjob:


----------



## DaGnome (Mar 17, 2005)

jclewter79 said:


> Also, I would like to add that I have never considered my Dish Network Subscription a friendship. In my eyes it is a business relationship. I think that E* fells the same way. When E* feels that a channel raises their prices to much they do not hesitate to take measures to show they are serious in how they feel about it. Why should I feel bad about doing the same?


Exactly how I feel... my "Friends" wouldn't try to hide deals from me and make me 'ask' for them to get them, nor hesitate to give me a channel or two extra that is not in my 'package', even if I was willing to pay for it.

Business is Business.. their job is to make money... our job as consumers is to get good values while spending the least amount of our money


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

jclewter79 said:


> Also, I would like to add that I have never considered my Dish Network Subscription a friendship. In my eyes it is a business relationship. I think that E* fells the same way. When E* feels that a channel raises their prices to much they do not hesitate to take measures to show they are serious in how they feel about it. Why should I feel bad about doing the same?


This is exactly my point... in addition to the loyalty example for friendship and ultimatums... people forget that this is a business relationship, not a buddy.

It costs Dish more to get new customers than to retain existing ones... BUT customers who try to strongarm good deals are not worth keeping. Why? Because if you strongarm them and they give in now... then you'll do it again in 6-12 months.. and you'll keep doing it. Dish knows this, and once you start down the "give me something or I'll leave" path, they say "bye".

Ultimately this kind of customer will turn right around and try to strongarm DirecTV or his cable company in similar fashion... and when they don't give in, then he'll come back to Dish one day. Nomad customers like this aren't worth spending any money trying to keep because they will cost you increasingly more each year to keep... and if you spend nothing on them they will come back to you eventually anyway.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

You are correct to a point. On the other, hand if you were 100% percent correct I don't see that E* would need a retintion deparment at all. I don't want to be buddies with them, I only want to be cosidered as valueble to them as a new customer. To me the message that E* is sending the prosective new customer is: "Yes you are right, we don't have all the HD programming that D* offers but, we will give you a nice new HD DVR for free." On the other hand, what they are telling their longtime customers that want to upgrade to HD service is: "No, we don't have all the HD channels that D* does but if you want to hang around and wait and see if we get the one you want and, they already have, it will just cost you the 26 dollars more than they want charge you to set you up with everything you need." Where is the logic in that? The reason that they charge those upgrade prices is because some will pay it. Then again some won't. In my personal case I have never had D* or cable. Went straight from the OTA to E* and they are only pay TV service I have ever had. They should put some value to that.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

And I can't even begin to understand why they offer a NEW customer the chance to sign up without a 24 month contract simply by paying the 49 dollar activation and waiving the free programming. In my mind this is the most unfair thing of all. They DO NOT even offer an exsisting customer a HD upgrade without a contract unless you pay full price for the receiver, which you can't even buy from them. That is just plain not right.


----------



## Islandguy43 (Oct 2, 2007)

jclewter79 said:


> Apparently dish must be adding something to add value to the hd lineup. HD upgrades for exsisting customers to the 722 are now 125 dollars with no rebate, no free HD and, a 24 month contract.


That stinks. I upgraded in October with no contract committment, and $100 net (no rebate necessary), but with E* new HD lils announcment and buffalo dma not being offered, I will most likely be with D* once hockey season is over (nhl ci subscription), unless D* would give me balance of hockey season free and I would be there sooner.


----------



## Sat4me (May 13, 2006)

I can give you a one word answer of why you want to stay with E* ----

EQUIPMENT.

D* equipment is drastically inferior to E*. You are basically watching the same programming with either provider so why not go with the one that has the best equipment? It isn't even a contest. I'm talking reliability as well as functionality.

If you state your case of why you are about to leave E*, they will usually cut you a deal but you must be serious about being willing to switch to the competition and you better be prepared to let them know that you've done your homework and you have good reason to switch. Do this by telling them exactly how much money you can save by switching but that you prefer to stay with Dish if they will work with you. They pay little attention to someone who calls and just throws around threats about switching. 

A month ago, I called E* and just asked to be upgraded to a 625 for free. I outlined why I was going to switch to D* if my request was not honored. I gave them the savings to the dollar if I were to switch. They complied with my request and also offered to give me the 722 instead of the 625 if I wanted it. Also free installation and they came and installed it 2 days later. Oh, they also gave me HBO and Cinemax free for 3 months. I have been a Dish customer for about 10 years and I have never had trouble getting a reasonable deal from them. One more thing, no matter how your conversation goes, keep in mind that you will never win by being nasty. You must be firm but friendly.

I assume that I talked to someone from "retention" because when I made my request to the CSR, she asked to put me on hold and I said "ok". When she came back online in about 3 minutes, she had another person hooked in and he is the one who complied with my request, after asking me to restate my request. I did NOT ask who he was.


----------



## Ressurrector (Jan 1, 2008)

theoak said:


> I was going to originally wait till February to go DishHD, but then I saw posts of rumors that the deals would not have been as good.
> 
> With that being said however, I paid $150 for my 722, mind you I sent in my rebate, but I have heard that Dish's track record with rebates pretty much sucks too.
> 
> At least I am getting DishHD free for 6 months which gets me $120 back.


okay I am getting pissed now. I gave 150 for my 722 as well and them ****s ACT like they screwed up when it was 199 or something so they cut me off and are making me pay the 2 month advance reconnect I just sent them SOB's about 230  
and to add insult to injury they got THREE of my free hd months in ONE month... how?? its beyond me......... I posted an article here and someone suggested I hit up [email protected] an email....... I sent a few and he has not replied yet and its been a few days.......... Dude I'm ABOUT to go better business buerow on Dish if something ain't done soon:flaiming

Oh I was told that I got a "rebate" as well......... so a month passes I never got ****........ I called em and they informed me "I had to get it online and print it out" also that I had 60 days from time of HD installation to do this in as well..........:nono2: So they were just gonna let my rebates expire and not say a word dude............ Thats ****in foul man


----------



## theoak (Nov 5, 2007)

I was told several times that I had to go online to get the rebate. I was also told several times the web site address. With that being said, I mailed it the last week of January and it is still not listing up on their web site. Hopefully soon ...

I was dinged two months of my free HD in one month. With that being said however, a credit is a credit. If they want to give me all 6 credits in one month that is fine, it still works out to $120.


----------



## Ressurrector (Jan 1, 2008)

theoak said:


> I was told several times that I had to go online to get the rebate. I was also told several times the web site address. With that being said, I mailed it the last week of January and it is still not listing up on their web site. Hopefully soon ...
> 
> I was dinged two months of my free HD in one month. With that being said however, a credit is a credit. If they want to give me all 6 credits in one month that is fine, it still works out to $120.


Well your right it does....... However they told me several times it came in the mail


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Think about it this way... You are running a business, and you advertise to get new customers. You don't advertise to keep existing customers, because you see them in your business.

So... you have a regular customer who comes in every day like clockwork... and you see a new customer walking by your front door. Who do you put more effort into? The guy who has been there every day for years and will be again tomorrow? Or the guy who hasn't come in yet and you want to convert to a regular?

I'm not saying treat regular customers like crap... but good business means you have to spend more time and dangle more carrots to entice the new customer. IF you had to do that for every customer from now until eternity, then you never turn a profit. If you have to keep giving free stuff all the time, then you never dig out of the hole from when you enticed the new customer.

I think the problem is more customer expectations than it is anything to do with the company's offers.


----------



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

The problem is the business model. It's designed to create "churn" as they call it, but each provider seeks to create churn in their competitors customers and I think it creates as much churn in their own customers. But when I think about alternatives, I can't figure out anything that works so long as one provider (cable, FIOS, D* or E*) keeps doing it.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

jclewter79 said:


> seeing that dish is giving the 722 to new customers for free with free hd and a new customer can also waive the 24 month contract by paying the 49 dollar activation fee and waivering the free hd seems that it makes better business sense to give the freebies to longtime customers that have paid on time for years thant to give them to someone they have no history with. dish does not even offer the hd sevice without a contract to an exsisting customers directly from dish it just does not seem right.


Look at the financial information under the heading of "Subscriber Acquisition Cost" and see if you think that they can keep that up with everyone.


----------



## tomcrown1 (Jan 16, 2006)

Ressurrector said:


> okay I am getting pissed now. I gave 150 for my 722 as well and them ****s ACT like they screwed up when it was 199 or something so they cut me off and are making me pay the 2 month advance reconnect I just sent them SOB's about 230
> and to add insult to injury they got THREE of my free hd months in ONE month... how?? its beyond me......... I posted an article here and someone suggested I hit up [email protected] an email....... I sent a few and he has not replied yet and its been a few days.......... Dude I'm ABOUT to go better business buerow on Dish if something ain't done soon:flaiming
> 
> Oh I was told that I got a "rebate" as well......... so a month passes I never got ****........ I called em and they informed me "I had to get it online and print it out" also that I had 60 days from time of HD installation to do this in as well..........:nono2: So they were just gonna let my rebates expire and not say a word dude............ Thats ****in foul man


BB will not help if you feel you have been done wrong you can go to an attorney and see if you have a case. If you do he will do it pro bono and bring a hugh class action suit to Dish.

PS I understand that Dish will suspend most if it promotions because of the misunderstanding that new customers have in regards to how the promotions wok.


----------



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Yeah, well, about that rebate form. I stupidly failed to read it carefully and didn't send the right attachments. I got an explanation letter in the mail 8 days _after_ the deadline indicated in the letter for me to get the attachments to them. And I got the three months "free" in the first month. I guess someone thought that would make subscribers happy. To me its just confusing, but I'm old.:lol:


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

I'll relate a semi-but-not-really related story..

I worked in a retail store many moons ago. We had posted store hours that did not change. Hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday were the same. Wednesday we were open later. Saturday was like the rest of the week, and Sunday was abridged.

I closed most days.. and I opened and closed on most weekends. I was there for a while, and was actually a customer myself, so I knew most of the regular customers as well as many of the semi-regulars.

I was never in a big hurry to go anywhere Saturday nights... so I didn't boot people out automatically once it hit our closing time. I figured I was doing good for the customers, gaining extra business for the boss, and like I said I was in no hurry anyway.

But people started to abuse things... so I had to start locking the door at closing time so people wouldn't keep coming in. People would keep coming in and would look around for 30-45 minutes after closing if I let them.. and sometimes wouldn't even buy anything after all that.

So.. I eventually learned I had to enforce the policy. Lock the door at closing time, allow customers inside already to mill around but I announced it was closing time. I then began to break-down displays and things that went home with me for the night.. did everything but closing the register.. then made a last-call where people had to pay so I could finish closing OR they had to go.

I remember one evening.. I had cleared out everyone, broke down everything, and was working on the register.. a guy came up to the door, half an hour after closing.. and wanted to come in. I told him we were closed, and I was almost gone. He got mad. He knew full well we should be closed when he left his house, but he came anyway and didn't even call to ask if I would still be there.

Long story short.. I made a regular customer mad... by enforcing known policy.. and he wanted extra special treatment for being a regular customer. That kind of customer, ultimately, was worth losing if he decided to take his business elsewhere because he began to want increasingly special treatment each time I gave in to something. The next week he would expect me to be there later. Some customers getting a discount began to want more of a discount.. Longer-term customers wanted their orders filled first even if someone else newer beat them to the request line. It goes on and on.


----------



## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

rrmills said:


> You might try emailing [email protected]. I was an existing customer wanting to upgrade to HD about a year ago, but couldn't get any breaks from Dish CSRs. I contacted Comcast in my area and found out what their special was for switching - $25/month off for 16 months and free installation/re-wiring from the dish (!) if you showed them a E* or D* bill. I made up a detailed spreadsheet showing how much cheaper it would be for me to switch to Comcast for my HD instead of sticking with E* and attached it to my initial email. After a few persistent emails with the person who responded to my email, I got:
> 
> 1) The $5/month phone line fee removed permanently
> 2) The $6/month lease fee for upgrading to the ViP622 through Dishin it Up removed
> ...


[email protected] never answers. The best way to contact them is to go the corperate site.


----------



## Ressurrector (Jan 1, 2008)

HDMe said:


> I'll relate a semi-but-not-really related story..
> 
> I worked in a retail store many moons ago. We had posted store hours that did not change. Hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday were the same. Wednesday we were open later. Saturday was like the rest of the week, and Sunday was abridged.
> 
> ...


I think I understand what your sayin.I worked at a pizza joint once and yes all kinda people had to be turned away or you would just simply never get to close and break it all down......... Although I kinda feel like your comparing apples and oranges here.... I really dunno if any above was directed at me but if it was I just say this....... A company MUST stand behind their policies..... NOT shadow box them every chance they get. Standing behind and respecting company policy and some of the tactics they use are 2 different things I think. You ever seen "Free Credit report.com" ?? It started off with the guy in the directors chair saying "I'm thinking of a number" well they swindled SO many people with their FREE service they were legally made to say at the end "offer requires enrollment in triple advantage" notice that on the new pirate restaurant one they have...... Without changing the subject here you can call dish a dozen times and have CSR's give you a different answer on something EVERY time you call. They gave me all kinds of different figures on a 722 every time I called. Reasoning with Dish is about like reasoning with the Borg.... I really don't care either way , I am just stating an opinion on what all I think about it.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Customers do expect these thing because the companies have made it that way.


----------



## Kman68 (Jan 24, 2008)

HDMe said:


> I'll relate a semi-but-not-really related story..
> 
> I worked in a retail store many moons ago. We had posted store hours that did not change. Hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday were the same. Wednesday we were open later. Saturday was like the rest of the week, and Sunday was abridged.
> 
> ...


Funny. Things you learn about people in a retail environment.

I lived on a long skinny island with two grocery stores - one at each end about 20 miles apart. If you wanted groceries you had your choice, one or the other. The grocery store nearest my home was great. The manager instructed employees not to ring up large sales in the Express lane. If some one would start loading more than 10 items on the Express lane conveyor belt, the cashier would load all of it back in a cart, push the cart back in to the store and instruct the customer to choose the correct lane.


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Kman68 said:


> Funny. Things you learn about people in a retail environment.
> 
> I lived on a long skinny island with two grocery stores - one at each end about 20 miles apart. If you wanted groceries you had your choice, one or the other. The grocery store nearest my home was great. The manager instructed employees not to ring up large sales in the Express lane. If some one would start loading more than 10 items on the Express lane conveyor belt, the cashier would load all of it back in a cart, push the cart back in to the store and instruct the customer to choose the correct lane.


I also love the Post Office for their rule enforcement too. They may have 3 people running the cash registers, but only one line. People are determined to break in line and go straight to someone, and they will put them back in place. They actually pay attention and know who wasn't there 5 minutes ago!

Post Office also has a policy against cellphones while being helped. If you are being helped and you answer your phone, they stop helping you and move to someone else! Great!

I also remember a story related to me about fairness a long time ago about my grandfather... He was in a line once, and someone came up to him and asked if he would let them in line ahead of him. He said, "Sure. If you to everyone behind me and ask them if it is ok and they all say yes, then you can get in front of me." The guy got mad and went to the end of the line.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Spoke with a CSR last night over chat who says my contract went out 2 months ago. This does not sound right because I got my 625 about a year ago and was supposed to have gotten a new 18 month contract then. If the 2 months ago was true might be upgrading to HD soon. I'll keep ya'll posted it I get a deal.


----------



## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

jclewter79 said:


> I can understand your point HDME and you are entitled to it. But, on the other hand if E* loses one loyal customer over 125 dollars and gains a new one due to free equipment AND 120 dollars in free programming, what have they gained?


One customer isn't anything to any company.


----------



## marcuscthomas (May 4, 2006)

Friendswood said:


> That's a business practice that I've never really understoood! It's not just Dish, but Directv, cell phone providers, internet providers and several other services.....soooo much for customer loyalty! :nono2:


It's all about churn. They sign each other's customers back and forth and if they hesitate, they lose. The loyal, long-term customers (like me) can be counted on to keep sending checks every month, so they can safely ignore us. For awhile.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

You have a point Paul, you really do. They do not care about a single customer. For every current customer they run off their is someone that the compitition ran off waiting to take their place.


----------



## DaGnome (Mar 17, 2005)

Well to turn this thread a bit on the positive side...

I'm staying with E*! 

I had gone and signed up for DTV's packages, got all the rebates and was happy as a clam. They were coming out tommorrow to install it.

Then I called E* tonight to cancel my service (mainly so that there wouldn't be any problem with taking down the dish while the service was still on).

I was put through to a 'specialist' right away, nice lady... who basically got me the same rate as new customers get, waved the whole DVR upgrade cost (for a 722 no less) and provided a few movie channels for 3 month (also got the cinemax for a penny deal).

They are coming out Thursday now to install 

The only thing that makes me upset at the whole situation was the fact that I was all set to leave, even scheduled the install with the other company, and THEN they offer me a better rate... I didn't even ask this time, I just said I wanted to cancel my service.

I think overall it's really a shame that both companies run their business via 'specials'. IMO they should just have one fixed rate, perhaps a 'sale' every now and then, but no more than 1x or 2x per year. Then let the best provider win. I find it ironic that it's illegal for retailers to have physical merchandise advertised as 'sale' or 'promotion' pricing for more than X amount of time (there is a ratio of regular vs sale price that must be followed) yet there doesn't appear to be any sort of rule for services such as Satellite or Cell companies.. they have promotional pricing year round. But only for 'the new kids', they are special.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

That is a great story. Were you out of contract and, were you required to get a new one?


----------



## cariera (Oct 27, 2006)

DaGnome said:


> I think overall it's really a shame that both companies run their business via 'specials'. IMO they should just have one fixed rate


They do have a fixed rate. They gave it to you but you did not want to pay it. That's why you were half way out the door. Because you found a better deal.

The only thing that saved you is that they gave you a new customer offer.

The shame is that you accepted this offer. This perpetuates this business model in the face of your beliefs and opinions.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

The only reason a D* customer would switch right now is better hardware for free and, for a pure channel counter that is even not enough. It is not such a shame that they must use the same tactic to keep the long channel couters over here.


----------



## Mr-Rick (Dec 1, 2004)

phrelin said:


> The problem is the business model. It's designed to create "churn" as they call it, but each provider seeks to create churn in their competitors customers and I think it creates as much churn in their own customers. But when I think about alternatives, I can't figure out anything that works so long as one provider (cable, FIOS, D* or E*) keeps doing it.


My question to everyone:

Would you prefer to receive NO new customer benefits, but get retention benefits instead? Example,

New customer offer: $199 install for up to four tuners. No equipment to buy. $49.99 activation fee. No monthly credits and no free premium movies. 12-month contract required.

Existing customer upgrade: After 12 months and one upgrade per year, free install on the upgrade, no equipment to buy, and one month of all premiums for free.

Would you want this? Would you have signed up for satellite with no upfront giveaways? No way. They provide upfront giveaways to get new customers. Existing customers receive a benefit by receiving reduced charges for upgrades. What does your electric company offer you? I've had an electric bill for who knows how long, you think I get a free month? You think I get free service? If I build a new home will my water company give me a free connect to the water supply? But I've been a customer for years!

You obviously get my point by now. Practically ALL business models reward the new customer as the trick is to get more customers. It's the customers who falsely think they are entitled to continued benefits and are not satisfied with getting what they pay for.


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Did your water or electric company give you a discount to sign with them. Necessities and convienences are two different things. Don't hate the player hate the game.


----------



## DaGnome (Mar 17, 2005)

jclewter79 said:


> That is a great story. Were you out of contract and, were you required to get a new one?


I never had a contract at all actually, since back in ohh 03 or something, I purchased my PVR myself (Dish didn't offer the 721 back then). And yes I was required to sign a new 2yr contract... which is fine with me.

To answer someone else's question... YES I'd much rather have a 'loyalty' program vs New customer program. It makes more sense from a business ethical standpoint to reward longtime customers, cuts down on the 'churn' factor and generally keeps customers happier. Credit cards already do this with lower interest rates, waving of late fees etc.. Even the 'customer reward' points from many retailers and credit cards are just an extension of this concept. Would I have switched in the beginning... yep, for me it was the PVR feature that hooked me, something cable didn't offer back then... if it were today... who knows, it would depend on service etc... I always look out 3-5 years on a purchase myself to determine what the long term costs are.. so if factoring in any loyalty discounts after the first year or two were possible, it might just make me switch even today.

I personally hate the business model of Cable/Sat/CellPhones...and so do many of the customer service reps I talk to. Does that mean I'm not going to use it? Hell no. My Job as a customer is to get the best service for my money. If that means having to use deals, tricks, coupons or whatever then so be it. If I withheld my cash it wouldn't change thier model in one bit... one person's purchase doesn't have that kind of power. However mentioning to every customer service person that I wish they'd change has a bit more power (only slightly, but it does't cost me a thing).


----------



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

I think it is very interesting that the dishin up page has changed. It no longer lists prices for HD receivers shipped. It also now shows a six dollar HD rental charge instead of 7. Lastly instead of saying the offer ends 7-31-08, it says offer subject to change at any time.


----------

