# will Dish match Suddenlink's $500 offer to switch to cable?



## tenwinecans (Aug 21, 2012)

I was just chatting with the Suddenlink cable installer who was doing 
my next door neighbor. They just moved in and chose cable.

The installer gave me a brocher that offered $500 to current Dish or DirecTV 
customers who switch. $350 one-time credit on the first bill, and followed
by $12.50 per month for the next 12 months. They just need a copy of the
current satellite statement. The only other requirement is subscribing to 
their HDTV service with a HD DVR. No contract needed....

Can't say that I'm not tempted. However, I'm wondering if there's any kind
of counter offer that Dish will offer me to stay. Has anyone gotten anything
from Dish lately? Suddenlink's offer used to be just $200. Maybe they're
desperate or something? 

Update: just got off the phone with a Dish agent. Now I feel kind of insulted... 
She offered me a *$5 credit*. Yes, a one time $5 credit. I took it. (because
$5 is still money, right?)


----------



## Eqdonk (Oct 25, 2012)

That $500 dollar deal sounds almost too good to be true. I'd be sure to read the fine print and research it first. But if it is legit, it'd sure be hard to pass up - especially with no committment!


----------



## tenwinecans (Aug 21, 2012)

Eqdonk said:


> That $500 dollar deal sounds almost too good to be true. I'd be sure to read the fine print and research it first. But if it is legit, it'd sure be hard to pass up - especially with no committment!


The two most important things in the fine print are:

(1) customer must provide copy of most recent Dish(or DirecTV) statement and documentation that the account is still under on contract. I was told that an online chat log with Dish will be sufficient. 

(2) customer must sign up monthly auto-pay.

One thing that kind of disturbed me is that the brochure also said the Suddenlink installer must render the satellite receiving dish *permanently unusable *during the installation. What the heck? Does Suddenlink really hate Dish/DirectTV that much? :eek2:


----------



## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

tenwinecans said:


> I was just chatting with the Suddenlink cable installer who was doing
> my next door neighbor. They just moved in and chose cable.
> 
> The installer gave me a brocher that offered $500 to current Dish or DirecTV
> ...


I came very close to that amount when I came back to DISH for the second time when you figured all the free stuff that gave out at that time.But your best offer will be if your a returning customer after say 3 or 4 months away.I was away for 3 years and came back to stay.

Good Luck!


----------



## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

tenwinecans said:


> The two most important things in the fine print are:
> 
> (1) customer must provide copy of most recent Dish(or DirecTV) statement and documentation that the account is still under on contract. I was told that an online chat log with Dish will be sufficient.
> 
> ...


Are you currently under contract with Dish?


----------



## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

tenwinecans said:


> The two most important things in the fine print are:
> 
> (1) customer must provide copy of most recent Dish(or DirecTV) statement and documentation that the account is still under on contract. I was told that an online chat log with Dish will be sufficient.
> 
> ...


Well DISH and DirecTV do have a hell of alot more channels available so I would guess Yes!.

But they cannot tell you you can't have cable and satellite too right? That's taking away your right to view!.:eek2::ramblinon


----------



## Eqdonk (Oct 25, 2012)

Thinking about this more, I'm curious if they have install fee included in the first month to offset that rather large $350 credit. How much are their packages? Even with a modest install fee, you'd probably still be getting 1-3 months FREE and up front! All this with no contract? Where do I sign?:lol:


----------



## boba (May 23, 2003)

Go look at your neighbors picture then decide if you want to consider switching. Maybe Suddenlink has improved but the last time I saw it I couldn't watch it.


----------



## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

tenwinecans said:


> One thing that kind of disturbed me is that the brochure also said the Suddenlink installer must render the satellite receiving dish *permanently unusable *during the installation. What the heck? Does Suddenlink really hate Dish/DirectTV that much? :eek2:


So get an old Dish 500 and a legacy LNB and put in in place of your real dish. Let them hack at that one.


----------



## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

tenwinecans said:


> I was just chatting with the Suddenlink cable installer who was doing
> my next door neighbor. They just moved in and chose cable.
> 
> The installer gave me a brocher that offered $500 to current Dish or DirecTV
> ...


Cable isn't any good. They raise their rates after 6 months. Also their DRVS are horrid.


----------



## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

Answering the question, no, Dish will not match $500 based on past history. They virtually never do any kind of matching like that. Why should they? It takes awhile to make a $500 profit off someone, in fact I don't want Dish to match that kind of offer, I want Dish to stay in business...


----------



## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

I would think that if Dish would attempt to pay up to $500 to get someone to switch, the subscriber would be looking at at least a 5-year lease and the ETF would at least double if not triple. Otherwise, I agree with Tampa in that most people who switch to satellite do not return to cable so why would Dish offer that kind of money to get customers.


----------



## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

garys said:


> I would think that if Dish would attempt to pay up to $500 to get someone to switch, the subscriber would be looking at at least a 5-year lease and the ETF would at least double if not triple. Otherwise, I agree with Tampa in that most people who switch to satellite do not return to cable so why would Dish offer that kind of money to get customers.


Well they have a 2 year lease on a 700-800$ subscriber acquisition cost, but it usually takes a customer about 4 years to pay that off.
Tack on an additional 500$... Who knows.

@OP, no Dish wont match it. Why should or would they? They have more then enough customers to not miss you. Suddenlink may not have the same luxury.

That said this deal reaks of to good to be true.
I bet theyll do "Free install" but charge you like 300$ for an "activation fee"


----------



## olguy (Jan 9, 2006)

I tried Suddenlink with that offer a couple of months back. My local office said just bring us a copy of the final bill and sent the installer. I told the office I wanted to compare and they said fine. The installer did not disable my Dish connection other than to use the drop to one of my Joeys. The super duper Tivo they use drove me crazy and I took it back after about a week. Too many years with Dish I suppose to re-train my ancient brain. :lol:


----------



## tenwinecans (Aug 21, 2012)

Well... I figured Dish wouldn't do anything to match Suddenlink's offer,
since I'm currently a Dish customer under contrct.

Instead, I called *DirecTV* today and told them what the Suddenlink rep
told me. DirecTV matched Suddenlink's offer. *Free installation with
two HD DVRs, one-time $350 credit on the first statement and $15 
credit per month for the next 11 months, and also free HBO for 6 months.*

DirecTV scheduled me for installation on Nov 7. I asked for that date
so I can get a chance to find out how much Dish will charge me for
early termination. If it's too much, I'll just call DirecTV and cancel.


----------



## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

tenwinecans said:


> Well... I figured Dish wouldn't do anything to match Suddenlink's offer,
> since I'm currently a Dish customer under contrct.
> 
> Instead, I called *DirecTV* today and told them what the Suddenlink rep
> ...


Dtv's match sounds to good to be true... I know when I worked there an agent could get fired for offering signifigantly less.
Not to mention theres also the fact that they agent probably cant make that much of a offer happen anyway


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Yep ... when you don't get the deal the person at DirecTV promised make sure you complain in the DirecTV forums, not here in a DISH forum. 

The only way that companies give out that much in discounts is when their prices are padded enough to cover the loss or the new customer is worth the price they pay to get that new customer. DirecTV has an up to $200 credit to pay the cancellation fee for leaving another provider ... DISH does not. Providers are already paying hundreds of dollars to acquire new customers ... handing out hundreds more in cash and credits pushes the subscriber acquisition cost too high.

If a provider pays that much to acquire you as a customer you better be worth it. At minimum expect a contract with a high early termination fee so they can get the money they paid to terminate your old provider's service back.

As far as DISH's fee ... how many months do you have left on your contract? Generally contracts are two years, so 24 minus the number of months you have had the service will provide a count. Depending on the contract you signed it could be $17.50 per month remaining with a maximum of $420.


----------



## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

I'm always amusing by the numbers from both sides ... Where the hundreds $$$ came from ? Any factual base for claim such ? Besides to repeat corporate answers during shareholder meetings/calls. 
I'm not just skeptical, but just not believe to any number what is usually coming from company's PR channel.
I've been in position to count cents in BOM and I know tear-down sheets, but always can't withstand PR statements without any calculations - just numbers.


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

The numbers come from official reports to their shareholders as filed with the SEC.
The numbers are coming from the financial side of the company ... not PR.

If you don't like the claims sue the companies ... everyone else does.


----------



## sregener (Apr 17, 2012)

tenwinecans said:


> Instead, I called *DirecTV* today and told them what the Suddenlink rep
> told me. DirecTV matched Suddenlink's offer. *Free installation with
> two HD DVRs, one-time $350 credit on the first statement and $15
> credit per month for the next 11 months, and also free HBO for 6 months.*


Here's hoping they don't give you a pair of HR22-100s. Mine was so slow, I actually left DirecTV over it.


----------



## olguy (Jan 9, 2006)

James Long said:


> If a provider pays that much to acquire you as a customer you better be worth it. At minimum expect a contract with a high early termination fee so they can get the money they paid to terminate your old provider's service back.


Both times I tried Suddenlink, a couple of years ago and a few months ago there was no contract. It was month to month. Plus 30 day free trial.


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

olguy said:


> Both times I tried Suddenlink, a couple of years ago and a few months ago there was no contract. It was month to month. Plus 30 day free trial.


I can't find the $500 offer specifically, but here is Suddenlink's residential service agreement:
http://www.suddenlink.com/terms-policy/residential-services-agreement.php
*Early Termination Fees.* If you cancel, terminate or downgrade the Service before the completion of any promotional term to which You agreed ("Initial Term"), you agree to pay Suddenlink an early cancellation fee of up to two hundred ($200.00) plus all outstanding charges for all Services used and Equipment purchased for which you have not paid us prior to termination. You agree that early cancellation fees or any other fees may automatically be charged to your account and your credit or debit card provided to Suddenlink Communications and you agree to pay such fees.​I would be surprised if the $500 rebate did not have a higher cancellation fee or a promotional term attached.

If the OP or someone else could find a link to the specific offer it should reveal the full story.


----------



## fudpucker (Jul 23, 2007)

Having been a customer of DirectTV and Dish, my general observation was that DirectTV had a much more aggressive customer retention program than Dish. We have moved quite a bit, and when we had DirectTV I would call them and tell them we were moving, and I was assessing my options. No threats, no BS, just the truth. If I was talking to a customer retention specialist, they always offered some very nice incentives to stay with DirectTV. And they seemed to do it in a very personal manner - e.g. once the customer service rep asked me my general viewing preferences, sports likes, etc. I was living in Chicago at the time, and she asked if I was a Bears fan. Yep, sure am. OK - what if we give you the NFL Sunday Ticket next season for free, no obligation to continue to purchase, so that you can follow them after you move to Kansas City? That was a nice touch. They also always upgraded me to the latest and greatest highest end equipment, no charge, each move. And the usual, like HBO for a year, etc. 

Dish, on the other hand, seems kind of apathetic. When we have moved with them (and we subscribe to a $100+ package, autopay and never missed a payment, etc.) they were very "OK, so what?" Well, do you have any incentives to stay with Dish? Oh. How about $10 off for 3 months? That type of response.

I actually asked the customer retention specialist that asked about me and offered the Sunday Ticket, upgrade to highest end equipment, and so on why the effort? She said her boss stressed to them the desire to keep good customers, and how little it actually cost them. She said, were you going to spend the $350 for Sunday Ticket had I not offered it? I said probably not. She said, do you think it actually costs DirectTV $350 to push a button and let you watch it? And if you're the kind of person who WOULD subscribe, you probably will after watching it for a year, so it's a win/win. She said it costs DirectTV very little to upgrade me to the latest and greatest equipment, since they give that out to new customers all the time, so why should we treat a loyal customer worse than someone who has just started subbing to us? The attitude was always just a bit more personal and thoughtful than what I've seen with Dish.

Caveat: That is just my personal, anecdotal experience as a Satellite subscriber since 1995. I don't know if it is normal or unusual, but for me, it has been pretty consistent.


----------



## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

fudpucker said:


> Dish, on the other hand, seems kind of apathetic. When we have moved with them (and we subscribe to a $100+ package, autopay and never missed a payment, etc.) they were very "OK, so what?" Well, do you have any incentives to stay with Dish? Oh. How about $10 off for 3 months? That type of response.


I agree and that's why I answered above Dish will not match that to keep a customer. I am a very long time customer of Dish, never had Direct TV, so I can't speak from experience or direct knowledge about Direct TV. That said, the numbers quoted on what was promised just does not seem realistic. That's $560 off, or something like five months or so free of a two year contract. I can say with all certainty in no way would Dish ever give that to keep a customer, so I don't know about Direct doing that to get a customer.


----------



## patmurphey (Dec 21, 2006)

tenwinecans said:


> ...DirecTV matched Suddenlink's offer. *Free installation with
> two HD DVRs, one-time $350 credit on the first statement and $15
> credit per month for the next 11 months, and also free HBO for 6 months.*...


Okay, "installation" is free. Did you ask what charges the $350 credit applies to?


----------



## olguy (Jan 9, 2006)

James Long said:


> I can't find the $500 offer specifically, but here is Suddenlink's residential service agreement:
> http://www.suddenlink.com/terms-policy/residential-services-agreement.php*Early Termination Fees.* If you cancel, terminate or downgrade the Service before the completion of any promotional term to which You agreed ("Initial Term"), you agree to pay Suddenlink an early cancellation fee of up to two hundred ($200.00) plus all outstanding charges for all Services used and Equipment purchased for which you have not paid us prior to termination. You agree that early cancellation fees or any other fees may automatically be charged to your account and your credit or debit card provided to Suddenlink Communications and you agree to pay such fees.​I would be surprised if the $500 rebate did not have a higher cancellation fee or a promotional term attached.
> 
> If the OP or someone else could find a link to the specific offer it should reveal the full story.


My geezer memory may have kicked on the contract issue but I do know it's 30 day free trial because I canceled after less than 30 days and there was no charge. And I currently don't plan on leaving Dish unless I decide to go OTA only.


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

olguy said:


> My geezer memory may have kicked on the contract issue but I do know it's 30 day free trial because I canceled after less than 30 days and there was no charge. And I currently don't plan on leaving Dish unless I decide to go OTA only.


For the offer you took you are probably right. The cancellation terms I found were for accounts that had a "promotional term" ... a commitment period. I would not expect a $500 rebate to be offered without some promotional term/cancellation penalty.


----------



## tenwinecans (Aug 21, 2012)

sregener said:


> Here's hoping they don't give you a pair of HR22-100s. Mine was so slow, I actually left DirecTV over it.


That's what I was afraid of. I was a former DirecTV customer, until they 
stopped offering TiVo DVRs. Then I jumped ship to Dish and have been
pretty happy.

I also wonder why DirecTV can match Suddenlink's offer, but Dish wouldn't.
Guess it's like Verizon and AT&T. A couple of months ago, I had a problem
with my new Verizon Samsung GSIII. After two long calls to tech support,
the problem turned out to be unsolvable(which was recently solved via a
software OTA update). A day later, I called again and got a level II tech
support supervisor, who immediately offered me a $75 account credit or
a free exchange to a "better" phone, the Motorola RAZR, which IMHO was
definitely not a "better" phone than my GS3.  I took the $75. My point
is that it's really YMMV who you talk to at the big corporations. Some will
offer you zilch and some offer a bit of money to shut customers up. :nono:


----------



## boba (May 23, 2003)

tenwinecans said:


> That's what I was afraid of. I was a former DirecTV customer, until they
> stopped offering TiVo DVRs. Then I jumped ship to Dish and have been
> pretty happy.
> 
> ...


Or squeaky wheels like you are just cut loose to become someone elses problem.


----------



## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

> I also wonder why DirecTV can match Suddenlink's offer, but Dish wouldn't.


D* hasnt matched the offer.
A CSR who is likely to be fired sooner or later claimed it could be matched, we have yet to see if they will (aka, they wont).


----------



## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

fudpucker said:


> Having been a customer of DirectTV and Dish, my general observation was that DirectTV had a much more aggressive customer retention program than Dish. We have moved quite a bit, and when we had DirectTV I would call them and tell them we were moving, and I was assessing my options. No threats, no BS, just the truth. If I was talking to a customer retention specialist, they always offered some very nice incentives to stay with DirectTV. And they seemed to do it in a very personal manner - e.g. once the customer service rep asked me my general viewing preferences, sports likes, etc. I was living in Chicago at the time, and she asked if I was a Bears fan. Yep, sure am. OK - what if we give you the NFL Sunday Ticket next season for free, no obligation to continue to purchase, so that you can follow them after you move to Kansas City? That was a nice touch. They also always upgraded me to the latest and greatest highest end equipment, no charge, each move. And the usual, like HBO for a year, etc.
> 
> Dish, on the other hand, seems kind of apathetic. When we have moved with them (and we subscribe to a $100+ package, autopay and never missed a payment, etc.) they were very "OK, so what?" Well, do you have any incentives to stay with Dish? Oh. How about $10 off for 3 months? That type of response.
> 
> ...


I don't know if you are the exception, and I don't know about how dish would react to leaving, but when I had Direct, I satisfied my contract, had autopay, wasn't a "problem" customer. Direct had at that time a free preview of the next tier for subs. When I tried to upgrade, they insisted I needed a HD reciever. I asked why, if I could already view those channels on my SD box [ didn't have a HD tv then] They couldn't answer that, they just insisted I needed a HD receiver to upgrade to the next tier. When I asked if I upgrade to a hd receiver, would that lock me in to another 2 year contract, the first 3 CSR's said no they didn't believe so.[?] Not a definitive answer yet, so I called again because I thought it would. The forth gal finally said yes, it would. [ I didn't want another contract]
It just felt so underhanded to me, and I wanted those extra channels without the BS. So by jerking me around they lost a customer, and shortly after subbing with dish the "come back" calls started with multiple offers, including paying off my remainder with Dish. I finally told them that I intended to honor my contract with Dish, just like I did with them, and if I decide to come back, I would call, but until then, please stop the phone calls.

Perhaps Direct has changed policy now, but at the time it left a bad taste in my mouth.


----------



## fudpucker (Jul 23, 2007)

What I found, many years ago, was that you needed to ask to be connected to a customer retention specialist when you were moving or contemplating a change in order to get a higher level of "personal" touch from DirectTV. Again, maybe I was just lucky, but the 5 times we moved while we had DirectTV we were always treated like someone they really did not want to lose (when talking to Customer Retention people) and it was usually a very personal discussion rather than a simple "Here's the standard offer I'm reading off a sheet". Discussions of whether I was a sports fan and which sport and my favorite teams, do I have kids and what are their ages if I don't mind sharing, what kind of shows do you and your wife prefer or if you got a free year of a premium movie channel, would you prefer the kind of shows on HBO vs. Showtime (even once, we'll give you both for 3 months, then you decide which you prefer and let us know and we'll give you that one for free for the rest of the year,) etc. I even had one retention specialist suggest that she give us one more free HD DVR than I thought we'd need, when she heard that the house we'd be moving to had a full finished basement and our kids were now in their teens. 

My experience with Dish is less than with DirectTV - only one move - but I really felt like an account # only at that time. We're moving, looking at all our options, fulfilled our contract with Dish, at the $100+ level with Dish with autopay/never missed a payment, the response was do you want to schedule a move? Well, maybe, does Dish have any special deals or anything at this time to consider as I consider my move? Nope. Silence. Etc.


----------



## tenwinecans (Aug 21, 2012)

OP here... just a little update.

The same Dish agent called me back and made me an offer I couldn't refuse: 

*(1) one Hopper (normally $99, I believe?)
(2) three Joeys or 2nd Hopper (I accepted three Joeys)
(3) account credit of $10 for 12 months
(4) free install, provided I sign up for protection plan and keep it for 120 days
(5) HBO or Cinema at half price for 6 months.
(6) agree to renew my contract for 24 months
(7) maintain at least "Dish America" package(or above) for 30 days*

I accepted the offer yesterday afternoon. All except (5). The installer showed up
this morning and did the job in an hour. I'm now a very happy camper.


----------



## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

I dont see why number 7 on that list would be necessary


----------



## tenwinecans (Aug 21, 2012)

Inkosaurus said:


> I dont see why number 7 on that list would be necessary


the agent said it was necessary because other wise the system wouldn't let her 
put the work order through... not really sure why... but she said I can just
go ahead and downgrade after 30 days, or after the next statement is printed,
*whichever comes first. *


----------



## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

I used to work there and unless they drastically changed how things work I cant really see why that would be neccessary. Thats pretty fishy..

What receivers did you have before the upgrade, which package ect?

Are you signing up for HD for the first time? The reason I ask is because I know there are some agents who didnt have the nerve to tell a customer that they couldnt qualify for HDfree for life, so they would just sent them up on one of the Dish America packages instead (since there 10$ cheaper) and then just hope the customer wouldnt bother to check the line up during the call.

That just does not seem right to be honest, I would ask DIRT to check that out for you to be safe.


----------



## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

fudpucker said:


> What I found, many years ago, was that you needed to ask to be connected to a customer retention specialist when you were moving or contemplating a change in order to get a higher level of "personal" touch from DirectTV. Again, maybe I was just lucky, but the 5 times we moved while we had DirectTV we were always treated like someone they really did not want to lose (when talking to Customer Retention people) and it was usually a very personal discussion rather than a simple "Here's the standard offer I'm reading off a sheet". Discussions of whether I was a sports fan and which sport and my favorite teams, do I have kids and what are their ages if I don't mind sharing, what kind of shows do you and your wife prefer or if you got a free year of a premium movie channel, would you prefer the kind of shows on HBO vs. Showtime (even once, we'll give you both for 3 months, then you decide which you prefer and let us know and we'll give you that one for free for the rest of the year,) etc. I even had one retention specialist suggest that she give us one more free HD DVR than I thought we'd need, when she heard that the house we'd be moving to had a full finished basement and our kids were now in their teens.
> 
> My experience with Dish is less than with DirectTV - only one move - but I really felt like an account # only at that time. We're moving, looking at all our options, fulfilled our contract with Dish, at the $100+ level with Dish with autopay/never missed a payment, the response was do you want to schedule a move? Well, maybe, does Dish have any special deals or anything at this time to consider as I consider my move? Nope. Silence. Etc.


fud,
At the time, I didn't know about customer retention specialists, [ I actually learned about them from this forum] but when I did have a question about my service not too long ago, after a few questions from a regular CSR, they put me through to one, and the issue was taken care of. Direct never gave me that option. Had I known what I know now I would have approached it differently.

I'm good with Dish tho, so things worked out well.

So, did you ask for a retention person when you got the silent treatment?


----------



## fudpucker (Jul 23, 2007)

satcrazy said:


> fud,
> At the time, I didn't know about customer retention specialists, [ I actually learned about them from this forum] but when I did have a question about my service not too long ago, after a few questions from a regular CSR, they put me through to one, and the issue was taken care of. Direct never gave me that option. Had I known what I know now I would have approached it differently.
> 
> I'm good with Dish tho, so things worked out well.
> ...


Yeah, and the guy acted like he didn't know what I was talking about, seemed very insulted. He was someone at an Indian support desk, but I assume they know the system.

OTOH, I just had a long chat with a guy from their Indian support, and while he did the usual "follow my directions to the T" approach, he eventually worked to determine that I should not have been charged for something recently and put a credit on my bill. Service is like everything, right, it all depends on the person you get.


----------



## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

fudpucker said:


> Yeah, and the guy acted like he didn't know what I was talking about, seemed very insulted.
> 
> 
> > He was someone at an Indian support desk, but I assume they know the system
> ...


1. Not always

2. Absolutely agree. As it has been pointed out on these forums "CSR roullette"


----------



## Singe0255 (Jan 7, 2011)

satcrazy said:


> 1. Not always
> 
> 2. Absolutely agree. As it has been pointed out on these forums "CSR roullette"


+1

This.


----------

