# D* is Probably Going to Lose Me



## crazycooter (Jul 1, 2008)

MODS: If this thread is in the wrong place please move it. I am fairly new here and I think this is appropriate but I am not sure.

I have been a DirecTV customer for 5 years. I subscribe to everything but the premium movie channels. I pay for HD and MLB EI and NFL ST. So, I am giving them a solid chunk of change every month.

This past fall my HD receiver bit the dust. I pay for the protection plan so I called them and told them about it. They said they would send me a new receiver, no problem. I get the new receiver and it has no hookups for my off-air antenna. I had been assured that it would have such hookups. I called and told them. They apologized and agreed to send me a 2nd new box with the proper hookups. They also said they would send me a "return kit" so that I could return the 1st new box they sent.

The second new box comes but no return kit. I called to have the second box activated and I told them that I didn't get a return kit. They assured me they would FedEx one immediately and it would arrive within 2 days. A week passes and no return kit. I call again. Same thing. Another few days, no kit. After several more attempts I finally get a return kit on 12/12 -- over a month after the kit was supposed to have been sent in the first place. I packed up the receiver and dropped it off at FedEx the same day.

Now, while all this kit mess is going on my bill shows up with a $240 "non-returned equipment fee" on it. My reaction was somewhat less than refined. I called them and they assured me that the charge would not affect my standing with them, cause me to be past due, or cause my service to be interrupted.

Guess what happened. I got a notice that my service is scheduled to be interrupted. I called and they said I had to have my tracking number for the return kit (which I have but not with me right now) and that tracking number has to be associated with a delivered package before they will credit my account. I asked why they couldn't just track the box itself since it had bar codes and numbers all over it: no response.

I have reached my breaking point with DirecTV. I am really enjoying the new MLB Network, but I just don't know if its worth it -- especially when the local cable co. will hook me up with a free DVR, bundle my phone and internet, and save me around $100/month in the process.


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## roadrunner1782 (Sep 28, 2008)

I had a similar problem with getting a return kit. I called 3 times and sent five e-mails and never got one. I wound up contacting the VP of customer service to get a recovery kit, but i got lucky and was never charged an equipment non return fee!!!


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

crazycooter said:


> MODS: If this thread is in the wrong place please move it. I am fairly new here and I think this is appropriate but I am not sure.
> 
> I have been a DirecTV customer for 5 years. I subscribe to everything but the premium movie channels. I pay for HD and MLB EI and NFL ST. So, I am giving them a solid chunk of change every month.
> 
> ...


I feel for you.. Keep at it, you'll get it fixed. As for your $100 savings.. look closer, and more than 6 months out and see what your bill would really be.... If you really think about going that route. While it may be cheaper, most areas, its not....


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## IcedOmega13 (Mar 3, 2008)

seriously. wow. How about the new box that directv sends you is also the return kit, it has a prepaid shipping label inside the box so you stick the bad one in it and send it back in the same box the new one came in.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

IcedOmega13 said:


> seriously. wow. How about the new box that directv sends you is also the return kit, it has a prepaid shipping label inside the box so you stick the bad one in it and send it back in the same box the new one came in.


I've received a new receiver in and the return kit was sent separately. In some cases that's how it works. 

Mike


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## Billzebub (Jan 2, 2007)

They just replaced my R-15 with an R-22. I was told to return the old reciever in the box the R-22 came in. It had a return label inside.


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## Johnnie5000 (Mar 26, 2008)

IcedOmega13 said:


> seriously. wow. How about the new box that directv sends you is also the return kit, it has a prepaid shipping label inside the box so you stick the bad one in it and send it back in the same box the new one came in.


Yeah. The fedex label is in a red plasic envelope. Its not rocket science or theater of the mind. Its a f'n cardboard box. If the op wants to cancel service over confusion with a cardboard box... well i just give up. :nono2:


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Johnnie5000 said:


> Yeah. The fedex label is in a red plasic envelope. Its not rocket science or theater of the mind. Its a f'n cardboard box. If the op wants to cancel service over confusion with a cardboard box... well i just give up. :nono2:


I don't read the OP post that he wants to cancel because DirecTV wasn't able to provide the return kit or adequate instructions on the return kit. That problem was resolved. I read his post in that he is just mentioning that to show a pattern of poor service by DirecTV.

I read his post in that he wants to cancel because DirecTV charged him $240 in error, and can't seem to fix the error.


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

Johnnie5000 said:


> Yeah. The fedex label is in a red plasic envelope. Its not rocket science or theater of the mind. Its a f'n cardboard box. If the op wants to cancel service over confusion with a cardboard box... well i just give up. :nono2:


4 returns in last 5-6 months due to 2 original units failing and 2 refurbished units having issues before even starting up. 1 did NOT have the return label inside the pouch.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Just call back with the tracking number. Give them time to receive & process the return.


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

Johnnie5000 said:


> Yeah. The fedex label is in a red plasic envelope. Its not rocket science or theater of the mind. Its a f'n cardboard box. If the op wants to cancel service over confusion with a cardboard box... well i just give up. :nono2:


in the last 6 months i have had 2 return kits come separately from the receivers that they sent me.........


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## Piratefan98 (Mar 11, 2008)

Johnnie5000 said:


> Yeah. The fedex label is in a red plasic envelope. Its not rocket science or theater of the mind. Its a f'n cardboard box. If the op wants to cancel service over confusion with a cardboard box... well i just give up. :nono2:


Eaaaaaasssy. I don't think that was the OP's main gripe.

Maybe a nap would do you good. :grin:

Jeff


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Their system really is messed up. I was once charged $999 because D* lost my returned HR10-250. Fortunately I kept the shipping receipt. The charges were credited but D* STILL charged my credit card and wouldn't refund the money. So my bill showed a balance of ($999)


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Wilbur -- Almost every time I've returned a receiver, DirecTV charged my credit card well after the receiver was returned to them. The first time, I just paid the credit card bill and left the credit on my DirecTV account until it was worked off. The times after that, I called my credit card and challenged the charge.


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## cjever19 (Jun 2, 2007)

Same thing happened to me with the non-return fee, you'll get it. 

Save $100 a month with cable? Really? Hard to believe.


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

crazycooter said:


> MODS: If this thread is in the wrong place please move it. I am fairly new here and I think this is appropriate but I am not sure.
> 
> I have been a DirecTV customer for 5 years. I subscribe to everything but the premium movie channels. I pay for HD and MLB EI and NFL ST. So, I am giving them a solid chunk of change every month.
> 
> ...


My best advice to you is to contact the VP of Customer Service
(email... Ellen Filipiak at [email protected])
Explain in detail what has happened and someone from her office will call you probably within 48 hrs. She is very responsive and will get your problem taken care of. I have gone this route in the past as have others, with great success.


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## CorkyMuldoon (Oct 6, 2006)

This is the one area, too, that I've had repeated problems with. Appears the left hand doesn't know what the right hand's doing at DirecTV (with recovery kits, anyway).

It was a hard lesson to learn, but during my last two recovery kit experience, I've kept the tracking number close at hand and called DirecTV when tracking confirmed the box's arrival.

Keep at 'em.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

bnglbill said:


> My best advice to you is to contact the VP of Customer Service
> (email... Ellen Filipiak at [email protected])
> Explain in detail what has happened and someone from her office will call you probably within 48 hrs. She is very responsive and will get your problem taken care of. I have gone this route in the past as have others, with great success.


Abuse that email address and it will go away. This is total overkill. He just needs to call back with the tracking number (which he says he didn't have when he spoke with them) and it will be done. This isn't a Vice President's office matter. :sure:


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## dshu82 (Jul 6, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> Abuse that email address and it will go away. This is total overkill. He just needs to call back with the tracking number (which he says he didn't have when he spoke with them) and it will be done. This isn't a Vice President's office matter. :sure:


Agreed.

They will straighten it out, as had the same happen to me and it got cleared up in a week or so.

As for the return kits, it appears as if they are moving away from sending seperate boxes and asking to put back in one new reciever came in. Had both in the past, recently CSR told me to use that box and look for shipping label.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

Upstream said:


> Wilbur -- Almost every time I've returned a receiver, DirecTV charged my credit card well after the receiver was returned to them. The first time, I just paid the credit card bill and left the credit on my DirecTV account until it was worked off. The times after that, I called my credit card and challenged the charge.


That is why when my card on my account expired, I never put a new one on it.....


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> Abuse that email address and it will go away. This is total overkill. He just needs to call back with the tracking number (which he says he didn't have when he spoke with them) and it will be done. This isn't a Vice President's office matter. :sure:


I believe she needs to know about what he has gone through, it should not be regular practice for anyone to have to call that many times to get something so simple accomplished. Who needs that extra stress in their lives, the system is not working and she needs to be made aware of it Peroid.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

Johnnie5000 said:


> Yeah. The fedex label is in a red plasic envelope. Its not rocket science or theater of the mind. Its a f'n cardboard box. If the op wants to cancel service over confusion with a cardboard box... well i just give up. :nono2:


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

bnglbill said:


> I believe she needs to know about what he has gone through, it should not be regular practice for anyone to have to call that many times to get something so simple accomplished. Who needs that extra stress in their lives, the system is not working and she needs to be made aware of it Peroid.


You suggested he contact the VP's office to get his problem taken care of when he hasn't even called the regular CS number back with the tracking number yet. I agree that he shouldn't have to go through all the phone calls but give them a chance to remove the $240 by following their procedures (which, again, he hasn't done) before escalating it.

Now, suggesting he let the VP know about the shortcomings in their processes and procedures is certainly a good idea. But Ellen Filipiak won't be responding to his inquiry personally. Your suggestion that this is a "regular practice" is likely exaggerated. Sure, it happens, but the people that are most vocal are those with issues. You don't see threads started that praise DirecTV on the efficiency of their recovery kit process.


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> You suggested he contact the VP's office to get his problem taken care of when he hasn't even called the regular CS number back with the tracking number yet.


He shouldn't have too. Why does he have to prove to them that he sent their package back. They sent him the label therefore, they have the tracking number, this should be their responsibility to check to see if they have received it and where it is and to make sure he doesn't get billed. That is what is wrong here and it is a problem that needs to be addressed.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

bnglbill said:


> He shouldn't have too. Why does he have to prove to them that he sent their package back. They sent him the label therefore, they have the tracking number, this should be their responsibility to check to see if they have received it and where it is and to make sure he doesn't get billed. That is what is wrong here and it is a problem that needs to be addressed.


Exactly. How bad are the DirecTV systems and procedures? Can they track anything? They can't differentiate between different receivers, they can't be bothered to check their own shipping system before charging customers. They need the customer to send them their own tracking number? Sheesh...this is a matter for the VP's office maybe they can attempt to fix a couple of problems that occur way too often.


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## MIKE0616 (Dec 13, 2006)

bnglbill said:


> He shouldn't have too. Why does he have to prove to them that he sent their package back. They sent him the label therefore, they have the tracking number, this should be their responsibility to check to see if they have received it and where it is and to make sure he doesn't get billed. That is what is wrong here and it is a problem that needs to be addressed.


This is NOT an isolated incident as the apologists suggest and only when enough *****ing is done at the correct levels will the situation be resolved.

Funny, but I do not remember E* having this problem when I sent them back their hardware when I switched back to D* (when D* finally added locals.) If one company can accomplish this, the other should be able to as well.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

bnglbill said:


> He shouldn't have too. Why does he have to prove to them that he sent their package back. They sent him the label therefore, they have the tracking number, this should be their responsibility to check to see if they have received it and where it is and to make sure he doesn't get billed. That is what is wrong here and it is a problem that needs to be addressed.


Fine, he should tell Ellen's office his opinion about the process. But it's the system that's in place and all he has to do is call CS and give them the tracking number. I agree, it sucks, but why have an upper-level department perform a task that CS could do with one phone call?

My prediction is that Ellen's email will be disconnected in short order here. It's being abused.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

MIKE0616 said:


> This is NOT an isolated incident as the apologists suggest and only when enough *****ing is done at the correct levels will the situation be resolved.
> 
> Funny, but I do not remember E* having this problem when I sent them back their hardware when I switched back to D* (when D* finally added locals.) If one company can accomplish this, the other should be able to as well.


It's not nice to call people apologists just because they don't bash DirecTV with the rest of you. Be nice.

And no one ever called this an "isolated incident."


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## Canis Lupus (Oct 16, 2006)

I can think of many instances with many companies, organizations, or government entities when I've had to take matters into my own hands, pull my hair out, and almost blow gaskets to get something accomplished or straightened out. This surprises me not at all. What surprises me more is that some people are still surprised by it. 

Keep your expectations extremely low and you'll sometimes be suprised.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

My first comment to the OP -- good luck with the cable plan. I have yet to see the lineup and picture quality match D* -- even for the price and equipment.

My second comment to EVERYONE calling the CSRs of ANY company. DOCUMENT and GET THEIR NAME / ID / Phone Extention and tell them you are documenting the call.

I had a $407 charge appear the week of Christmas over an incorrect return and first called them at 9pm -- they agreed to credit the bill. I received a call the next morning asking about the charge! After explaining it was a new receiver (HD DVR) - not a replacement, she agreed to credit the bill.

The Monday after Christmas it was still listed on my account online, I made a second (my second, total third) call. I explained, she talked with a supervisor, and agreed to credit.

The Monday after New Years, I emailed from the form on the website, listing all the calls / conversations. Two hours later I received an email indicating a credit would be on the bill the next day. It was.

Not making excuses for a sucky system or sucky employees but it's everywhere.

Just document and get their name. I've found that gets a little bit of accountability.


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## drill (Jun 28, 2006)

in my opinioin, the problem here is that in this situation, directv treats their customers like crooks when the problem is in directv's system and procedures. as stated, this is not an isolated incident. it happened to me as well. directv should own up to their short comings, and treat the customer with respect and apoligize profusely. directv is supposed to be asking for our business, the customer should not have to get on their knees and beg for service or jump through hoops to keep directv happy.

all directv has to do is:
1) fix their system so recovery kits are sent on time. if no recovery kit is sent, their system should not expect anything back. the recovery kit can be tracked. the return clock should not start until the recovery kit is received by the customer.
2) directv prints the label for return. they already know the tracking number. their system should be able to track the return and see that it is in shipment. the customer should not be required to provide a tracking number.
3) when the system screws up, directv should credit a persons credit card immediately. directv will not do this ... and instead credits the subscribers account.

all of these things directv does wrong and it leaves a very bad taste in their customer's mouth. its not customer service. its customer punishment. anyone at directv that cares about how their company is perceived, and how happy their customers are, should WANT to know this. the office of the VP should not view this as abuse of the email address. if they view this as abuse, then they obviously don't care.


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> Fine, he should tell Ellen's office his opinion about the process. But it's the system that's in place and all he has to do is call CS and give them the tracking number. I agree, it sucks, but why have an upper-level department perform a task that CS could do with one phone call?
> 
> My prediction is that Ellen's email will be disconnected in short order here. It's being abused.


How is that abuse? He is not happy with the lack of customer service that he has received, he is not happy with the way his receiver was replaced, he is not happy with the lack of knowledge of the CSR's. He still has a problem that has not been resolved and he is being charged money that he does not owe after several calls to the CSR's and he has reason to believe that the CSR's are not capable of getting this rectified because of his experiences so far. These are legit. complaints that a president of a company should be made aware of. It's not like hes going to treaten her and ask for freebies, etc., he just wants to voice these complaints and have someone oversee the CSR's and make sure he doesn't get billed for this. This is not abuse, this is one of the functions of her office.


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> It's not nice to call people apologists just because they don't bash DirecTV with the rest of you. Be nice.
> 
> And no one ever called this an "isolated incident."


I certainly hope that you don't consider me "bashing" Directv, I am merely trying to help Directv correct their shortcomings by bringing them to the attention of the president. My goal here is to help Directv to improve their customer service and standout among their competitors. I have been with Directv a long time and I know that there are many worse companies out there. I appreciate that Ellen has made her office available to us for help in these situations, and this is truely a part of Directv that works well and I have seen it work. it is my hope that as we bring these situations to the attention of the president, theses such threads will become less prevalent and Directv's customer service will become better and better.


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## skylox (Aug 10, 2008)

I have been with Directv for only a few months with no issues. I had my local cable co for 6 years and wanted to kill them everytime my tv went out or my IP phone stopped working. I have yet to call Directv for any issues but it cannot be any worse then my old cable co. Also, the $100 per month for tv/phone/internet only last 1 year, after that they refuse to help you with pricing even if you threaten to leave.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

bnglbill said:


> I certainly hope that you don't consider me "bashing" Directv, I am merely trying to help Directv correct their shortcomings by bringing them to the attention of the president. My goal here is to help Directv to improve their customer service and standout among their competitors. I have been with Directv a long time and I know that there are many worse companies out there. I appreciate that Ellen has made her office available to us for help in these situations, and this is truely a part of Directv that works well and I have seen it work. it is my hope that as we bring these situations to the attention of the president, theses such threads will become less prevalent and Directv's customer service will become better and better.


No, sorry, I don't consider you a basher and I'm sorry if, in my haste, I categorized you as such. I just get irritated that there is sometimes this grouping of people as "apologists" and, on the other side, "bashers." There is an in-between, which I think I fall into. I'm just as quick to call out apologists as I am the bashers, however on this site there seems to be more of the latter which makes me look like the former. :grin:


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> No, sorry, I don't consider you a basher and I'm sorry if, in my haste, I categorized you as such. I just get irritated that there is sometimes this grouping of people as "apologists" and, on the other side, "bashers." There is an in-between, which I think I fall into. I'm just as quick to call out apologists as I am the bashers, however on this site there seems to be more of the latter which makes me look like the former. :grin:


Fair enough, I consider myself in-between as well and have taken both sides in the past. There are a lot of great things going on at Directv right now and I am very excited about that but at the same time, they have some problems that they need to deal with as well.


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## je4755 (Dec 11, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> No, sorry, I don't consider you a basher and I'm sorry if, in my haste, I categorized you as such. I just get irritated that there is sometimes this grouping of people as "apologists" and, on the other side, "bashers." There is an in-between, which I think I fall into. I'm just as quick to call out apologists as I am the bashers, however on this site there seems to be more of the latter which makes me look like the former. :grin:


As one who has criticized DirecTV in several areas - marketing claims rendered hyperbolic by unimpressive performance in adding new national HD channels, for example - I only have had positive experiences in exchanging failed hardware during 13 years as a DirecTV customer. Most recently (under the protection plan), installers - initially from Ironwood and then DirecTV - replaced two HR20s and one H20. These individuals arrived on time and proved both courteous and helpful. Over the years, I also obtained several replacement receivers through the mail with no difficulty.

Nevertheless, I sympathize with the frustrations encountered by the OP and hope matters are resolved both quickly and satisfactorily.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

bnglbill said:


> How is that abuse?


I think the point tcusta was making is that that Email address is thrown around this forum A LOT.

If that keeps happening, there's a chance the Email address will go away and when people really need it (we don't know if the OP needs it yet - a phone call might take care of the issue for him), it won't be there.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Yes, before anyone uses that email address they should request that a poll be created here and ask for comments after a minimum of 72 hours the self-appointed forum group will determine whether a poster's problem qualifies for submission to that email address or if they're entitled to any customer support from DirecTV at all. Their rulings are, of course, binding with no right of review or appeal.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

I have no idea what you're talking about Ken.

If you don't understand what's been said and the fact that that email address lends itself to abuse, then there's no way I (or anyone else) would ever be able to explain it to you.


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## tomkarl (Jan 6, 2009)

Ken S said:


> Yes, before anyone uses that email address they should request that a poll be created here and ask for comments after a minimum of 72 hours the self-appointed forum group will determine whether a poster's problem qualifies for submission to that email address or if they're entitled to any customer support from DirecTV at all. Their rulings are, of course, binding with no right of review or appeal.


+1 to this tongue in cheek post.

If a customer has a problem, they have every right to contact the company. If the company shuts down an e-mail address because of a lot of customer complaints, perhaps they should look at their customer service (or lack thereof).


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

You're missing the point Tom (and so is Ken, apparently). There are ways to send Emails to Directv to voice your opinion and/or complain.

This particular Email address is someone's personal Email. Her (or her team) probably monitors the other Emails (via the website) as well, but if her box gets overloaded with Emails from customers (regardless of what they say), it's pretty likely she'll get a new Email address and then people from this site that have serious issues will no longer have that outlet.

Do you have a job tom? How about you Ken? Does your company ever get complaints? Are there procedures to handle it? Would you want your personal email distributed on the web for all? I doubt it. 

This isn't rocket science and I can't believe you two are making a big deal out of it. Whether you think it's right or not and if you want to keep making snide posts about it, that's fine too, but the fact remains that if that Email address continues to be posted on all the threads where someone has a complaint, then there's a good chance it will go away. Plain and simple. Regardless of whether you agree it should go away or not.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

To quote George Santayana:



> Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.


Now for a pop quiz.

What happened to the direct number to the retention department?


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## tomkarl (Jan 6, 2009)

spartanstew said:


> You're missing the point Tom (and so is Ken, apparently). There are ways to send Emails to Directv to voice your opinion and/or complain.
> 
> This particular Email address is someone's personal Email. Her (or her team) probably monitors the other Emails (via the website) as well, but if her box gets overloaded with Emails from customers (regardless of what they say), it's pretty likely she'll get a new Email address and then people from this site that have serious issues will no longer have that outlet.
> 
> ...


I'm sorry if her personal e-mail gets overloaded with complaints or problems. I'm not sure how it got out into the wild in the first place.

My point is that if they had good CSR's or responded promptly to e-mails sent via the website - there would be no need to have an extra special e-mail address to get customers' problems resolved.

I appreciate the information on this website and have found many users to be quite helpful. However, I don't think it is appropriate for the users here to determine if a poster has a problem that is worthy of stepping up the ladder.

I have no reason to hide behind a secret personal e-mail at my job. If it's my responsibility to help customers, then the manner in which they contact me is not material. Helping them is.

I shouldn't have visited this thread and got involved in this! My recent experience with Directv customer service has left a lot to be desired, so perhaps I am grinding a personal ax.


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## jlast01 (Nov 19, 2008)

Lots of speculation about a potential reaction on the other end of that email address... Someone should just go ask her what she expects.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> I have no idea what you're talking about Ken.
> 
> If you don't understand what's been said and the fact that that email address lends itself to abuse, then there's no way I (or anyone else) would ever be able to explain it to you.


You have no idea what I'm talking about yet you chose to respond and start insults?

I fully understand what you're saying I just disagree with you and the other posters that were trying to tell people when, who and how to communicate with DirecTV. Especially one that had already spent a fair amount of time on an issue with them already.

The customer has the right to use every available means to get an answer to his/her complaint or question. If DirecTV wants to shut down that part of the customer service because it's getting used too much that speaks volumes about the problems with there standard systems and procedures.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

tomkarl said:


> I'm sorry if her e-mail gets overloaded with complaints or problems. I'm not sure how it got out into the wild in the first place.
> 
> My point is that if they had good CSR's or responded promptly to e-mails sent via the website - there would be no need to have an extra special e-mail address to get customers problems resolved.
> 
> ...


I don't want to speak for others, but here's what I think they are trying to get across.

It's fine to call, write emails or snail mail letters. By all means thats the customers right. Even you said, "stepping up the ladder". There is a difference between working through the lower levels to get the issue resolved fairly, and jumping straight to the top. Every company has procedures in place. Customers and employees should follow them.

Let me ask this, if you have to take back some socks to Wal-Mart, to you demand resolution from the regional or district manager straight away? Or, do you let the returns counter drone do their part first?

Why should dealing with DirecTv or Dish or whoever be any different?


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## Sirshagg (Dec 30, 2006)

Look, if the first, second, third line CSR's could actully do things correctly then that email address would not need to be used. I would think if it's being overused they would look at why and fix that instead of just removing the line completey.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> You're missing the point Tom (and so is Ken, apparently). There are ways to send Emails to Directv to voice your opinion and/or complain.
> 
> This particular Email address is someone's personal Email. Her (or her team) probably monitors the other Emails (via the website) as well, but if her box gets overloaded with Emails from customers (regardless of what they say), it's pretty likely she'll get a new Email address and then people from this site that have serious issues will no longer have that outlet.
> 
> ...


1. That email address is not someone's personal email...it's a part of their customer service system. Tlhey have a team that answers issues sent to that address...just as most large companies have with addresses such as that. Or do you think she's sifting through all that mail to get to her corporate email?

2. Yes, I have a job and yes...every single one of our clients has my personal email and phone number. But that's not applicable here as that address is not her personal email.

3. Yes, and if people keep calling their customer support number will that go away too?


----------



## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

RobertE said:


> I don't want to speak for others, but here's what I think they are trying to get across.
> 
> It's fine to call, write emails or snail mail letters. By all means thats the customers right. Even you said, "stepping up the ladder". There is a difference between working through the lower levels to get the issue resolved fairly, and jumping straight to the top. Every company has procedures in place. Customers and employees should follow them.
> 
> ...


Except in this case he had already communicated with the other levels several times. Just not enough times to satisfy some posters here I guess.


----------



## tomkarl (Jan 6, 2009)

RobertE said:


> I don't want to speak for others, but here's what I think they are trying to get across.
> 
> It's fine to call, write emails or snail mail letters. By all means thats the customers right. Even you said, "stepping up the ladder". There is a difference between working through the lower levels to get the issue resolved fairly, and jumping straight to the top. Every company has procedures in place. Customers and employees should follow them.
> 
> ...


If the drone (your word) doesn't do their job to my satisfaction, then of course I would step up the ladder.

I was agreeing with Ken S's post that users on this site shouldn't be the ones to determine when it is appropriate to step up the ladder. That's all. If a customer feels their problem warrants stepping up, then by all means it is their right to do so.

PS: I wouldn't give Wal-Mart one red cent in the first place, so I would never be there returning anything. hee hee!


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## Bushwacr (Oct 31, 2007)

Sirshagg said:


> Look, if the first, second, third line CSR's could actully do things correctly then that email address would not need to be used. I would think if it's being overused they would look at why and fix that instead of just removing the line completey.


Bingo !! We have a winner .........

Been there and unfortunately for the poor guy that worked for me, done that.


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## DJPellegrino (Nov 18, 2005)

spartanstew said:


> You're missing the point Tom (and so is Ken, apparently). There are ways to send Emails to Directv to voice your opinion and/or complain.
> 
> This particular Email address is someone's personal Email. Her (or her team) probably monitors the other Emails (via the website) as well, but if her box gets overloaded with Emails from customers (regardless of what they say), it's pretty likely she'll get a new Email address and then people from this site that have serious issues will no longer have that outlet.
> 
> ...


spartanstew...1 point...her email address is NOT her personal email address...it is her business email address! And as such should be able to be used for directv business. If she is the head of the customer care dept, then she should be aware of the 'shortcommings' of her dept, and as a leader, should look into fixing such shortcimmings. don't you think?

I have a job, I am the owner of a business and I surely want to hear about issues people have with my business. I do what I can to resolve the issue and see that in the future the issue is more of an exception rather than the norm.


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

tomkarl said:


> I was agreeing with Ken S's post that users on this site shouldn't be the ones to determine when it is appropriate to step up the ladder. That's all. If a customer feels their problem warrants stepping up, then by all means it is their right to do so.


If users on this site shouldn't "determine when it is appropriate" to step up the ladder, then perhaps we shouldn't ever give the email out. Wouldn't that be making a determination that it *is* appropriate to step up the ladder? 

Of course, I am saying the above tongue in cheek. We each have opinions about when it may or may not be appropriate. The posters have a right to express their opinion. None of them are in any way binding on the OP. No one is preventing him from going up the ladder just because they have said that he shouldn't. No on is forcing him to go up the ladder just because they have said he should.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

While I wasn't very pleased with the action from the promises of the phone calls I made, I was very pleased with the response to the email I sent from the website 'Contact us'.

No need to bother Ellen's office at this time.


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

RobertE said:


> I don't want to speak for others, but here's what I think they are trying to get across.
> 
> It's fine to call, write emails or snail mail letters. By all means thats the customers right. Even you said, "stepping up the ladder". There is a difference between working through the lower levels to get the issue resolved fairly, and jumping straight to the top. Every company has procedures in place. Customers and employees should follow them.
> 
> ...


The op has benn working on this for over a month and a half, how long should he wait for "returns counter drone do their part first?"


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## crazycooter (Jul 1, 2008)

Johnnie5000 said:


> Yeah. The fedex label is in a red plasic envelope. Its not rocket science or theater of the mind. Its a f'n cardboard box. If the op wants to cancel service over confusion with a cardboard box... well i just give up. :nono2:


There was no return packing label or red plastic envelope. I know how its supposed to work. That's not how it worked this time. Thanks for the kind reply.


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## crazycooter (Jul 1, 2008)

sigma1914 said:


> Just call back with the tracking number. Give them time to receive & process the return.


As I mentioned in my post, I don't have the tracking number in hand and won't until the weekend. I just hope someone didn't misplace it or throw it away. As for processing the return, I was told that would take 6 to 7 days. They should have gotten the receiver by December 16th. It is now January 7th.


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## crazycooter (Jul 1, 2008)

bnglbill said:


> He shouldn't have too. Why does he have to prove to them that he sent their package back. They sent him the label therefore, they have the tracking number, this should be their responsibility to check to see if they have received it and where it is and to make sure he doesn't get billed. That is what is wrong here and it is a problem that needs to be addressed.


This is something I pointed out to the CSR to no avail. They generated the return shipping label along with its tracking number. Yet they claim they have no way of knowing what that number is.

They also claim they have no way to track the box itself. It has bar codes and numbers all over it, yet they apparently have no idea where it is. I pointed out that since they didn't actually track the box at all (according to the CSR) the entire process was _designed_ so that I would have to call back in with my tracking number in order to ever get credit. In other words, it was never possible for the process to be automatic as they stated. The response? Stunned silence.


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## crazycooter (Jul 1, 2008)

tcusta00 said:


> You suggested he contact the VP's office to get his problem taken care of when he hasn't even called the regular CS number back with the tracking number yet. I agree that he shouldn't have to go through all the phone calls but give them a chance to remove the $240 *by following their procedures (which, again, he hasn't done) * before escalating it.
> 
> Now, suggesting he let the VP know about the shortcomings in their processes and procedures is certainly a good idea. But Ellen Filipiak won't be responding to his inquiry personally. Your suggestion that this is a "regular practice" is likely exaggerated. Sure, it happens, but the people that are most vocal are those with issues. You don't see threads started that praise DirecTV on the efficiency of their recovery kit process.


As I noted in another post, they claimed that the process was automatic until I called this last time without my tracking number. Only when I said that I didn't have it did they claim that such was the only way for me to get credit.

In other words, the process is apparently "we'll take care of it for you, unless we don't."


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## eandras (Feb 16, 2007)

Wait till the op goes and tries to cancel. He will be charged for the early temination fee for that replaced receiver unit replaced under the protection plan. Even though he should not have an extension it will be on his account that it was extended 2 additional years becuase his csr didn't process the activation correctly.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

Ken S said:


> Yes, before anyone uses that email address they should request that a poll be created here and ask for comments after a minimum of 72 hours the self-appointed forum group will determine whether a poster's problem qualifies for submission to that email address or if they're entitled to any customer support from DirecTV at all. Their rulings are, of course, binding with no right of review or appeal.


:lol: Seriously, though, I think the "Ellen" e-mail address should be used with care. Personally, I would not escalate my problems to her without at leas trying to get satisfaction through front-line CSR's, then their supervisors, then retention. When all that fails, yes, I'll e-mail (or phone) Ellen's office. Luckily, I have never had a situation come to that.


----------



## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

I swear, some of you do not even read what is written. You jump in stating the same things over and over regardless of other peoples points. It gets so monotonous and frustrating.

It has NOTHING to do with whether or not this was handled right on D*'s end or whether their CS is good or whether or not Ellen should know what's going on with customers or whether the OP SHOULD Email or shouldn't. Only the OP can make that decision.

I'll try to remind all of you of my original point, even though several people have said my point is something else entirely:

If that Email address keeps being used for every little thing (not making a judgement on the OP's case, just overall) because people see it posted on this site all the time, then there's a chance the Email address will just go away. That's it. Nothing nefarious. Just a simple piece of logic that you can choose to discard at your leisure.



tomkarl said:


> My point is that if they had good CSR's or responded promptly to e-mails sent via the website - there would be no need to have an extra special e-mail address to get customers' problems resolved.


Obviously. Nobody said otherwise. I would think everyone here would have that same thought, so I'm not sure why it's "your point". That has nothing to do with it.


tomkarl said:


> However, I don't think it is appropriate for the users here to determine if a poster has a problem that is worthy of stepping up the ladder.


Nobody determined anything. It was mentioned that this Email address could go away and to be careful.


tomkarl said:


> I have no reason to hide behind a secret personal e-mail at my job. If it's my responsibility to help customers, then the manner in which they contact me is not material. Helping them is.


But you probably have your own personal work email address with your name in it, don't you? That's not published on the internet? It's not secret and nobody's hiding behind it.



RobertE said:


> Now for a pop quiz.
> 
> What happened to the direct number to the retention department?


EXACTLY. Everyone started using it for every little issue and it WENT AWAY.
I will never understand why some don't why that might not happen here.


Ken S said:


> You have no idea what I'm talking about yet you chose to respond and start insults?


I read my post three times and I still don't see the insult. If you don't get it, I can't explain it to you (I tried and failed).


Ken S said:


> I fully understand what you're saying


But you don't.


Ken S said:


> I just disagree with you and the other posters that were trying to tell people when, who and how to communicate with DirecTV. Especially one that had already spent a fair amount of time on an issue with them already.


Perhaps you should read my first post again Ken (the one you responded to originally). I told NOBODY when or how or how to communicated with D*. It goes back to my first sentence in this post. You don't read what others write. You assume.


Ken S said:


> The customer has the right to use every available means to get an answer to his/her complaint or question. If DirecTV wants to shut down that part of the customer service because it's getting used too much that speaks volumes about the problems with there standard systems and procedures.


Yep, the customer has every right. Again, I never said otherwise. Just a warning of what could happen. And it does not speak volumes as you claim. If they got rid of their "contact us" Email on their webpage or if they got rid of a complaint line, that would speak volumes. Getting rid of someones personal work Email address doesn't say anything except for the fact that it might hinder her ability to get to all her other Emails.


Sirshagg said:


> Look, if the first, second, third line CSR's could actully do things correctly then that email address would not need to be used.


Again, nobody said otherwise and it's not the point.


Sirshagg said:


> I would think if it's being overused they would look at why and fix that instead of just removing the line completey.


overused? I don't think it's supposed to be used at all. Someone got her name and figured out her Email address.


Ken S said:


> 1. That email address is not someone's personal email...it's a part of their customer service system. Tlhey have a team that answers issues sent to that address...just as most large companies have with addresses such as that. Or do you think she's sifting through all that mail to get to her corporate email?


When I sent an Email to that address 6 months ago over a 6 month issue I couldn't get resolved, I received an answer from her personally. So, yes, my interpretation is that she's sifting through all that mail to get to her corporate mail. 
If that's not the case, then why don't they just publish that email on directv.com? Why isn't it just [email protected]? Why would they use her actual name in the same format as many other employees personal work Email addresses as a customer feedback Email?
Now, if that is some type of customer feedback Email that is not directly linked to a specific person, but merely a portal to the customer service team, then you're right, there should be no problem flooding it with Emails at every opportunity. I just don't think it is.


Ken S said:


> 2. Yes, I have a job and yes...every single one of our clients has my personal email and phone number. But that's not applicable here as that address is not her personal email.


It's her personal work Email. It is applicable. And each one of my clients has my home and cell phone number too, but obviously, it's a bit different. Mine contact info isn't published on an internet forum (nor yours, I'm assuming).


Ken S said:


> 3. Yes, and if people keep calling their customer support number will that go away too?


Of course not. Why do you have to do that Ken? Make stuff up? The customer support number is to support customers. That's what it's there for. If her Email address was for customer support, it would be listed on the web page, but it's not. A different contact Email is listed. Please read what is written and focus on that. 


Ken S said:


> Except in this case he had already communicated with the other levels several times. Just not enough times to satisfy some posters here I guess.


I disagree. He contacted the other levels about different issues (which all eventually got solved - he got his replacement and he got his return box). He contacted them about the $240 charge and they said they'd remove it. They didn't and when he called back they said they could take care of it, they just needed the tracking number which he said he'd give them when he got back home. That's it. He had to call about this issue twice. Does that mean it's OK he had to call twice? No. Does that mean they have great service? Of course not. Does that mean it hasn't been frustrating? Nope.
Should he have needed the tracking number? Probably not. Should he have needed to call about it in the first place? No. But that has nothing to do with Emailing Ellen. Sounds to me like it's well on the way to being worked out (finally for him).


DJPellegrino said:


> spartanstew...1 point...her email address is NOT her personal email address...it is her business email address!


Symantics. Obviously (whoops, guess not), that's what I meant. I didn't think it was [email protected]


DJPellegrino said:


> And as such should be able to be used for directv business. If she is the head of the customer care dept, then she should be aware of the 'shortcommings' of her dept, and as a leader, should look into fixing such shortcimmings. don't you think?


Yep, it should be used for company business. All the internal Emails from the other people at D* have to get to her somehow. If her box is filled up with Emails from customers, she'll have a much harder time doing her job and communicating with others in D*.
Of course she should be aware of the shortcomings. That's why they have a contact us Email on the web page. I would think her (and her team) monitor that Email address every day to find out their shortcmings. And hopefully she looks into fixing them. What does that have to do with using her personal (work) Email address?


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> When I sent an Email to that address 6 months ago over a 6 month issue I couldn't get resolved, I received an answer from her personally. So, yes, my interpretation is that she's sifting through all that mail to get to her corporate mail.


I'm not going to bother to respond to your entire post. Obviously, we disagree. Perhaps it is you that don't understand the point I was trying to make. I'm also not going to bother to try and explain it any further.

I don't believe that email address is her personal address anymore than the other widely known email address for her is ([email protected]) or [email protected] is their CEO's personal mailbox. Pretty standard procedure for corporate execs.

She may review that box, but there are others reading it before her. I also know she has another email address for corporate/outsource partners because I've seen it during some work I did at one of their former outsource groups.

Oh, those addresses are far from a dbstalk secret do a search on either one and you'll find a great many hits from many other popular consumer and dbs forums.


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## gnahc79 (Jan 12, 2008)

Ken S said:


> I'm not going to bother to respond to your entire post. Obviously, we disagree. Perhaps it is you that don't understand the point I was trying to make. I'm also not going to bother to try and explain it any further.
> 
> I don't believe that email address is her personal address anymore than the other widely known email address for her is ([email protected]) or [email protected] is their CEO's personal mailbox. Pretty standard procedure for corporate execs.
> 
> ...


+1, her day to day internal email address could be completely different.
If anything the 'sacred' [email protected] inbox could just be a 'level 2' inbox as a general repository for all CSRs to examine as escalated cases. If there's a 'level eleventy billion' case MAYBE it'll reach her real inbox. It's not that hard to do and a very real possibility IMO.


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## Piratefan98 (Mar 11, 2008)

DJPellegrino said:


> spartanstew...1 point...her email address is NOT her personal email address...it is her business email address! And as such should be able to be used for directv business. If she is the head of the customer care dept, then she should be aware of the 'shortcommings' of her dept, and as a leader, should look into fixing such shortcimmings. don't you think? I have a job, I am the owner of a business and I surely want to hear about issues people have with my business. I do what I can to resolve the issue and see that in the future the issue is more of an exception rather than the norm.


+1

Jeff


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> So, yes, my interpretation is that she's sifting through all that mail to get to her corporate mail.
> If that's not the case, then why don't they just publish that email on directv.com? Why isn't it just [email protected]? Why would they use her actual name in the same format as many other employees personal work Email addresses as a customer feedback Email?
> Now, if that is some type of customer feedback Email that is not directly linked to a specific person, but merely a portal to the customer service team, then you're right, there should be no problem flooding it with Emails at every opportunity. I just don't think it is.


It is not her personal email. It is part of the DirecTV customer service escalation system. Also, it was published on the DirecTV site (where do you think we got it). Recently DirecTV has changed their site, so when you click on the link to email Ellen Filipiak, it doesn't open a mailto: command, but instead opens an email form to the "Office of the President". But it goes to the same place.


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## macmikey (Sep 24, 2007)

IcedOmega13 said:


> seriously. wow. How about the new box that directv sends you is also the return kit, it has a prepaid shipping label inside the box so you stick the bad one in it and send it back in the same box the new one came in.


I had the same issue. The new receiver DID NOT have a return label in it.

I had to finally email customer service after about 6 weeks and complain.

I finally got the kit yesterday and FedEx picked it up.

they do not follow through, and not every box has a label in it.

Mike


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## Piratefan98 (Mar 11, 2008)

Upstream said:


> It is not her personal email. It is part of the DirecTV customer service escalation system. Also, it was published on the DirecTV site (where do you think we got it). Recently DirecTV has changed their site, so when you click on the link to email Ellen Filipiak, it doesn't open a mailto: command, but instead opens an email form to the "Office of the President". But it goes to the same place.


"The Office of the President" ..... maybe that would be a good place for our "Where is ESPN-U, and Travel HD, and HBO's, etc." e-mails? Maybe Ellen would like to know the sentiment of people waiting for those (and other) channels.

Jeff


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## SledDog (May 6, 2007)

gnahc79 said:


> +1, her day to day internal email address could be completely different.
> If anything the 'sacred' [email protected] inbox could just be a 'level 2' inbox as a general repository for all CSRs to examine as escalated cases. If there's a 'level eleventy billion' case MAYBE it'll reach her real inbox. It's not that hard to do and a very real possibility IMO.


My business e-mail address is public record as a matter of goverment policy. But, I also have an additional e-mail address that is only available to the public via a freedom of information act request.

So yes, IMO, the e-mail address we have is a address that is monitored by "others". These others pass on e-mails to her for review and possible action.

I don't think this e-mail address will go away from over use. But I think it will be filtered to determine what is real, what is spam, what can be serviced by other departments. If the volume of mail goes up, it will take longer to get a response. Besides, the corporate phone number are available...

Will they turn off these phones number if they get too many calls? Nope...


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## nelsonrl (Aug 16, 2007)

Back to the original post. It is frustrating that DirecTV does make as many billing mistakes as they do. I have converted back to sending them a check for the monthly bill because of this. I have been charged for 2 receiver that I returned, then last month the protection plan was magically added to my bill. Of all the utilities I have, DirecTV is the only one that I have had these issues with. Am I leaving, no - I do like the service they offer, but as I said it is frustrating. I do not remember them making an error in my favor on billing issues.

As for email, I would highly suspect the office of the VP email was set up for the sole purpose of getting comments from the customers. I would be extremely surprised if her internal or non-customer relations emails are received through that account. I would also be surprised if she sees more than a random sampling of the emails sent there.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

nelsonrl said:


> Back to the original post. It is frustrating that DirecTV does make as many billing mistakes as they do.


IIRC, there are 16 million subscribers to DirecTV service. The fact that there is a daily post on a forum with seventy-thousand registered users doesn't make the problem so prolific that there should be a witch hunt to fix the "problem."

Sure, they _shouldn't _make mistakes, but then again neither should any of us. How many people here work for an organization that's perfect? To say that it's epidemic or that there are "many" mistakes fails to take in the entire scope of the situation. 16 million subscribers. They're doing _something_ right.

I'm not saying people shouldn't be vocal about the errors, but this old adage applies: He who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones. The OP's problems are bad and he should get them resolved to his satisfaction, in whatever manner he sees fit. Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill.


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## Ytsejamer1 (May 15, 2008)

Hey all,

I had to use the email address to make her aware of a problem I experienced and thought needed to be dealt with once and for all. It wasn't about the stupid $5, but the main point of my email to her was that if they're ignoring my requests, charging other customers $5 extra for no good reason, then there is a bigger problem.

I emailed her all details, was polite, and indicated that the $5 credit owed to me, promised to me, but subsequently ignored repeatedly, was not the main point of my email. The main point was that I spent a half hour on the phone twice and sent numerous emails to billing through the website. Unfortunately I was told "yes you'll get the credit" and have it not applied, or never receiving any correspondence back from DTV via email. Why is *my* time less valuable than one of their support supervisors? Eff that notion...I have better things to do than chase down overcharges that weren't a result of something _I_ did.

I agree that the address shouldn't be abused but I think letting her know about ongoing problems are important...perhaps she can get the difficulties straightened out, making things better for all DTV customers.


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## nelsonrl (Aug 16, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> IIRC, there are 16 million subscribers to DirecTV service. The fact that there is a daily post on a forum with seventy-thousand registered users doesn't make the problem so prolific that there should be a witch hunt to fix the "problem."
> 
> Sure, they _shouldn't _make mistakes, but then again neither should any of us. How many people here work for an organization that's perfect? To say that it's epidemic or that there are "many" mistakes fails to take in the entire scope of the situation. 16 million subscribers. They're doing _something_ right.
> 
> I'm not saying people shouldn't be vocal about the errors, but this old adage applies: He who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones. The OP's problems are bad and he should get them resolved to his satisfaction, in whatever manner he sees fit. Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill.


Its just interesting that the mistakes I have seen on my account are always in DirecTVs favor. Not at all saying it is on purpose, but they do need some checks and balances in their billing system.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

nelsonrl said:


> Its just interesting that the mistakes I have seen on my account are always in DirecTVs favor. Not at all saying it is on purpose, but they do need some checks and balances in their billing system.


Would people start threads complaining about too many credits? :lol:

I had DirecTV send me one too many AM21s when they were released. I sent the extra one back.


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## Sirshagg (Dec 30, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> I swear, some of you...


I'm so happy we have you here to determine if any post to this board is warranted.


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## MIKE0616 (Dec 13, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> It's not nice to call people apologists just because they don't bash DirecTV with the rest of you. Be nice.
> 
> And no one ever called this an "isolated incident."


So you consider yourself an apologist, do you? :lol:

As for bashing? WTH? Anyone who does not agree with you is bashing, right?

Those of us who want what we pay for and to not be extremely frustrated when dealing with systems that do not work are "bashers"?

Interesting take on "customer service", and yes, very much different than the one I have.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

I'm going to email Ellen and wish her a Happy New Year.... Maybe twice. :lol:


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

MIKE0616 said:


> So you consider yourself an apologist, do you? :lol:
> 
> As for bashing? WTH? Anyone who does not agree with you is bashing, right?
> 
> ...


Nice use of spin to twist my words. :nono2:


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

tcusta00 said:


> Nice use of spin to twist my words. :nono2:


look, you E*D* fanboys should just stay silent  :grin:
no soup for you!! 
ain't semantics great?

I haven't said much on this one, but I will say this. if you pay for something, legitimate attempts to correct problem fail, and you have the resources to get it fixed quick by doing this...do it. screw protocol.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Sirshagg said:


> I'm so happy we have you here to determine if any post to this board is warranted.


If that were true, you'd have less than 1000 posts.


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## Sirshagg (Dec 30, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> If that were true, you'd have less than 1000 posts.


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## jlast01 (Nov 19, 2008)

BKC said:


> I'm going to email Ellen and wish her a Happy New Year.... Maybe twice. :lol:


Good idea. Please tell her I said hello. Actually, no... I should just email her myself.


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## Piratefan98 (Mar 11, 2008)

Give her my regards as well.

TIA,

Jeff


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## djwww98 (Jan 12, 2006)

Johnnie5000 said:


> Yeah. The fedex label is in a red plasic envelope. Its not rocket science or theater of the mind. Its a f'n cardboard box. If the op wants to cancel service over confusion with a cardboard box... well i just give up. :nono2:


Well then, do us all a favor and give up then. Yet another apologist for yet another example of incredible, unbelievable incompetence. Over and over, again and again. You know why they can get away with this? The telephone. Go back a couple of generations when whatever business you were doing, you could go into a local office and talk with someone face to face. This kind of thing would never become routine just due to common human decency... nobody could look you in the face and lie to you or make promises that can't be kept or be that incompetent and stay in business. If nothing else, enough of this kind of thing and sooner or later, someone would get violent. But since it's all done anonomously over the phone and there is no way to ever see anybody face to face, they are allowed to get away with completely unacceptable levels of customer service.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

djwww98 said:


> Well then, do us all a favor and give up then. Yet another apologist for yet another example of incredible, unbelievable incompetence. Over and over, again and again. You know why they can get away with this? The telephone. Go back a couple of generations when whatever business you were doing, you could go into a local office and talk with someone face to face. This kind of thing would never become routine just due to common human decency... nobody could look you in the face and lie to you or make promises that can't be kept or be that incompetent and stay in business. If nothing else, enough of this kind of thing and sooner or later, someone would get violent. But since it's all done anonomously over the phone and there is no way to ever see anybody face to face, they are allowed to get away with completely unacceptable levels of customer service.


Back in the day when there was face to face contact, store owners also had customer loyalty to go along with that service. They also had no problem tossing overbearing, self important, sniveling, whinny customers out the door either when needed. They didn't have to put up with people coming in all the time demanding this, that and everything else for free.

But your right, doing things anonomously over the phone has changed things. Alot. For BOTH the company and the customer. After all, there is someone on BOTH ends of the phone.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Damn Alexander Graham Bell. If he would have never invented the stupid phone, we'd all be so much better off.


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## WERA689 (Oct 15, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> Damn Alexander Graham Bell. If he would have never invented the stupid phone, we'd all be so much better off.


This is my first post in this thread. It is not the first time I've felt the need to call out Spartanstew, however. Dude...do you just HAVE to have the last word? Why must you drag every thread out into a hair-splitting, line by line analysis of why you're right about everything? 
I know and understand that this is not necessarily the place to bring this up, but it is getting very tiresome, and is causing me to visit here less and less. And that is a damn shame, because this forum is the best place anywhere for DBS information. This kind of ongoing bickering is eating away at that status, and you have become one of the prime offenders in that happening.
"This is a discussion forum, so why shouldn't we discuss" just doesn't cut it any more.

/rant


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

WERA -- Give Stew a break. He is going through cognitive dissonance. It is hard to insist that DirecTV never does anything wrong. Then he finds out that DirecTV has actually set up an email address for customers to contact the VP's office when DirecTV does things wrong. That's quite a challenge for him. How could DirecTV determine they need an email address to fix mistakes if they never make mistakes.

There must be some other explanation. That isn't what the email is for. The customers are abusing it. It is our fault. It is your fault. It is Alexander Graham Bell's fault.

Anything is better than admitting that DirecTV recognizes that their customer service system needs a method for customers to escalate problems that aren't fixed at lower levels. 

It is obviously your fault.


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## djwww98 (Jan 12, 2006)

WERA689 said:


> This is my first post in this thread. It is not the first time I've felt the need to call out Spartanstew, however. Dude...do you just HAVE to have the last word? Why must you drag every thread out into a hair-splitting, line by line analysis of why you're right about everything?
> I know and understand that this is not necessarily the place to bring this up, but it is getting very tiresome, and is causing me to visit here less and less. And that is a damn shame, because this forum is the best place anywhere for DBS information. This kind of ongoing bickering is eating away at that status, and you have become one of the prime offenders in that happening.
> "This is a discussion forum, so why shouldn't we discuss" just doesn't cut it any more.
> 
> /rant


I was thinking the exact same thing. Well, maybe not _exactly_... it was more along the lines of "dude, get a life".
The OP is about bad, bad, unacceptably bad customer service, of which there seems to be a lot of examples of. That is not debateable... unless you turn to a hair-splitting - parsing every word - have to get the last word in about every point - type debate. Then, with the proper psychotic frame of mind, you can justify _anything_.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

At the end of the day...this is a personal decision.

These endless threads where people solicit input whether or not to leave or come to DirecTV just lead to an endless cycle of other personal opinions on pros and cons.

If the original posters really wanted to do whatever they wanted to do.....they wouldn't be asking for an open forum on their non-decision. It appears its simply an exercise in validating one's decision.

There's no right or wrong...just whatever one decides to do, based on *their own *assessment.


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## Italia (Dec 8, 2008)

Where is the good sense D*? Seriously, any good business would have taken care this customer from the get go and would have never have let it get this far. The problem is when you call in to D*......for the hundredth time, you start all over again as if it was the first call. Your built up frustration is felt only by you. I have had similar response issues with this company. It's a slap in the customer's face. Customer retention isn't the highest priority with this company. I think in the long run, D* will feel the effects of this. I'm counting the months down to when all my receivers have met their two year commitment and then I will review who my dish/cable provider will be.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

WERA689 said:


> This is my first post in this thread. It is not the first time I've felt the need to call out Spartanstew, however.


I can try to explain things to people, but unfortunately I can't teach people how to have a sense of humor. It had nothing to do with the "last word" as it wasn't even related to what was being discussed earlier.

You can say what you want about my other posts in this thread (and if you read the posts by Upstream and djwww, you'll see they still don't get it), but if you can't see that the Alexander Graham Bell post was simply humor, then that's your loss. Some things can't be taught.

The majority of my posts have humorous overtones. Look at the post I made to Shirshagg about his post count (post #81). I'm sure if that was you, you would have taken offense and started bashing me for saying most of your posts were useless.

Obviously, Sirshagg has a sense of humor and even though we were debating things, can see things for what they are (post #82).

Much like THIS POST in THIS THREAD. It seemed to me the humor would be obvious, but it wasn't to everyone. Some have more trouble grasping humor (unless it's surrounded by smiley faces and LOL's) than others. Not everything has to hit you over the head with a sledgehammer, subtlety seems to be a lost art. Pity.


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## Canis Lupus (Oct 16, 2006)

There are different senses of humor. I think we can consider yours "dry" :lol:



spartanstew said:


> but if you can't see that the Alexander Graham Bell post was simply humor, then that's your loss.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Canis Lupus said:


> There are different senses of humor. I think we can consider yours "dry" :lol:


Yep, been told that before. It was also suggested in another forum, that people should read all of my posts with an assumed smiley (well, not all, obviously). Oops, there I go, getting the last word in again.



Canis Lupus said:


> To be fair though, it can sometimes be difficult to "hear" a comment and its undertones when all one has is text to read.


Fully understand that. I also understand people get the wrong idea a lot (IMO) about my posts (but can be a d**k, sometimes too). I've just been anti-emoticon for years and it would hypocritical for me to start using them now.

edit: quoted Canis' post that follows this one in this post so I wouldn't be getting in the last word.


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## Canis Lupus (Oct 16, 2006)

To be fair though, it can sometimes be difficult to "hear" a comment and its undertones when all one has is text to read.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Canis Lupus said:


> To be fair though, it can sometimes be difficult to "hear" a comment and its undertones when all one has is text to read.


As opposed to the undertones in your avatar which are decidedly loud and not _under_tones at all.

!rolling

Sorry, carry on.


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Stew -- Obviously your Alexander Graham Bell thing was an attempt at humor (as is our claiming that you are blaming a guy who died 85 years ago for DirecTV's current problems).

But you continue to claim that other people "don't get it", when you seem to be the one who doesn't get it. You've berated multiple people in this thread for advocating use of DirecTV's customer escalation process. It seems you've misunderstood the customer escalation process to be Ellen Filipiak's personal corporate email. And even though it has been correctly pointed out to you multiple times, you've continued to berate people for using the escalation process. 

And you continue to claim other people don't get it. When it seem you are the one who is not getting it.

WERA's complaint to you wasn't about the Alexander Graham Bell comment. It was about the fact that he perceives that you nit-pick every comment to prove you are right. And he is annoyed that you find the time to come back to crack jokes, but when you make an honest error (like all of us do from time to time), you don't come back to acknowledge that your concusion was incorrect if your assumption was in error.


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## tomkarl (Jan 6, 2009)

Upstream said:


> Stew -- Obviously your Alexander Graham Bell thing was an attempt at humor (as is our claiming that you are blaming a guy who died 85 years ago for DirecTV's current problems).
> 
> But you continue to claim that other people "don't get it", when you seem to be the one who doesn't get it. You've berated multiple people in this thread for advocating use of DirecTV's customer escalation process. It seems you've misunderstood the customer escalation process to be Ellen Filipiak's personal corporate email. And even though it has been correctly pointed out to you multiple times, you've continued to berate people for using the escalation process.
> 
> ...


+1


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Sorry, this I have to respond to.



Upstream said:


> But you continue to claim that other people "don't get it", when you seem to be the one who doesn't get it. You've berated multiple people in this thread for advocating use of DirecTV's customer escalation process.


I didn't berate anyone in this thread, other than claiming people aren't getting what I'm saying. Which they're clearly NOT.



Upstream said:


> It seems you've misunderstood the customer escalation process to be Ellen Filipiak's personal corporate email. And even though it has been correctly pointed out to you multiple times, you've continued to berate people for using the escalation process.


It was mentioned once and I commented with the following (it was then mentioned several times after I posted):



spartanstew said:


> When I sent an Email to that address 6 months ago over a 6 month issue I couldn't get resolved, I received an answer from her personally. So, yes, my interpretation is that she's sifting through all that mail to get to her corporate mail.
> If that's not the case, then why don't they just publish that email on directv.com? Why isn't it just [email protected]? Why would they use her actual name in the same format as many other employees personal work Email addresses as a customer feedback Email?
> Now, if that is some type of customer feedback Email that is not directly linked to a specific person, but merely a portal to the customer service team, then you're right, there should be no problem flooding it with Emails at every opportunity. I just don't think it is.


See what I say there? If it is simply a customer service portal, then use it freely. Where's the berating?



Upstream said:


> WERA's complaint to you wasn't about the Alexander Graham Bell comment. It was about the fact that he perceives that you nit-pick every comment to prove you are right. And he is annoyed that you find the time to come back to crack jokes, but when you make an honest error (like all of us do from time to time), you don't come back to acknowledge that your concusion was incorrect if your assumption was in error.


I'll try and state MY POINT, one last time:

IF that Email address is someone's personal work Email, it's not worth sending Emails about every little thing, because that Email address has proven to be useful to many people that couldn't get resolution any other way. And I'd hate to see it vanish. That's it.

I never said D* shouldn't be notified of bad service. I never said D didn't have bad Customer service . I never said D* doesn't do anything wrong. I never said the OP shouldn't use that Email All those things (and more) have been written by others saying I SAID THEM. That's why I claim people don't get it. They don't. If they can read what I write and specifically make claims that I said things I never said, then clearly they don't get it.

I do get it. I do get that people want to complain to D* when things suck. I get it that they want to use every means available. I get it that it's possible that that Email address will never be shut down and that it might be a perfectly viable Email address that D* wants people to use (although that's not been my experience - which is all I have to go on). I get all of that.

Lets not forget this all started with this one simple post:



spartanstew said:


> I think the point tcusta was making is that that Email address is thrown around this forum A LOT.
> 
> If that keeps happening, there's a chance the Email address will go away and when people really need it (we don't know if the OP needs it yet - a phone call might take care of the issue for him), it won't be there.


People took that post to mean that I was a D* apologist, that the OP had no right to use that Email, that I needed to judge who should use it and who shouldn't and all kinds of other crazy thoughts that had nothing to do with that post. So, yes, that's why I say people don't get it.


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## Canis Lupus (Oct 16, 2006)

?????

I see you're no longer sporting your Patriots avatar.



tcusta00 said:


> As opposed to the undertones in your avatar which are decidedly loud and not _under_tones at all.
> 
> !rolling
> 
> Sorry, carry on.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Canis Lupus said:


> ?????
> 
> I see you're no longer sporting your Patriots avatar.


Ouch dude. 

Has it been a week already?


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

From DirecTV's website early 2008 (via Internet Archive):










So I guess we are all in agreement that DirecTV intended the email address to be used to resolve unresolved issues.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

I have no problem saying that I'm in full agreement with that. If fact, that's very good to know and I'm glad you found that.




Of course, now I blame tcusta for originally mentioning the abuse thing and putting that thought in my head.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> I can try to explain things to people, but unfortunately I can't teach people how to have a sense of humor. It had nothing to do with the "last word" as it wasn't even related to what was being discussed earlier.
> 
> You can say what you want about my other posts in this thread (and if you read the posts by Upstream and djwww, you'll see they still don't get it), but if you can't see that the Alexander Graham Bell post was simply humor, then that's your loss. Some things can't be taught.
> 
> ...


Perhaps if people aren't understanding your message it's the form and style you use to communicate that is at fault and not them. Just a possibility. It seems with you there are two choices: 1. Accept and agree. 2. Not understand what you're saying.

Guess what...some people do understand what you're saying and may not agree with it...AND they may be correct and you could be wrong.

Please stop lecturing all of us on how we just don't understand you.


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## Canis Lupus (Oct 16, 2006)

Yup 



tcusta00 said:


> Ouch dude.
> 
> Has it been a week already?


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> Of course, now I blame tcusta for originally mentioning the abuse thing and putting that thought in my head.


:lol: :lol:


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## Piratefan98 (Mar 11, 2008)

Upstream said:


> From DirecTV's website early 2008 (via Internet Archive):
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Imagine.

Jeff Lennon


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> I've just been anti-emoticon for years and it would hypocritical for me to start using them now.


While I can understand being anti-emoticon, because they are so often overused, and abused. However, in a face to face conversation we receive 80% of our information about the emotion of a comment by non-verbal means (facial expression, tone of voice, and body language). In a written forum you need to add this information back in some way. It can sometimes be done by selecting just the right words. A dry wit like yours can be difficult to catch without some sort of signal.

Saying something, but doing something else is hypocritical. Changing your mind is never hypocritical.


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> Of course, now I blame tcusta for originally mentioning the abuse thing and putting that thought in my head.


It's not really his fault. It all goes back to that Alexander Graham Bell thing. And probably Marconi, too.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Didn't Marconi play the Mamba?


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> Didn't Marconi play the Mamba?


_You just don't get it._

Listen to the radio. Don't you remember?


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Are you calling me irresponsible? Writing me off the page?


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

Upstream said:


> From DirecTV's website early 2008 (via Internet Archive):
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Epic PWNing of spartanstew.... Good job


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

BKC said:


> Epic PWNing of spartanstew.... Good job




I really hate to keep saying people don't get it, but then they keep posting.


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> Are you calling me irresponsible? Writing me off the page?


Someone's always playing corporation games.

And with that, I think this thread has come to a conclusion.


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## MartyS (Dec 29, 2006)

Upstream said:


> Someone's always playing corporation games.
> 
> And with that, I think this thread has come to a conclusion.


And I wish a Mod would close it.


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## crazycooter (Jul 1, 2008)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> At the end of the day...this is a personal decision.
> 
> These endless threads where people solicit input whether or not to leave or come to DirecTV just lead to an endless cycle of other personal opinions on pros and cons.
> 
> ...


I am not asking for validation. I will make my own decision as I always do. I simply thought it was important to report my troubles on this site because it is one of the few means that I have at my disposal to vindicate my rights and receive some modicum of justice. It may not be much, but now at least a few more people now that D* doesn't care one bit to screw over a long-standing customer.


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## crazycooter (Jul 1, 2008)

The Conclusion (I hope):

I finally got back to my house today and found the all-important tracking number. I checked it myself. FedEx said the package had been picked up on 12/15 (that is accurate as I dropped it off on Friday 12/12 and apparently the business that I used didn't have another pickup until Monday 12/15), and delivered to DirecTV on 12/17. So, DirecTV had no idea that they had received the package for at least three weeks after it had been received.

I immediately called in to speak to a CSR. When I finally got one she made me go through the whole story yet again. After that she "researched" my claim for around 10 minutes. When she was finally done she said she would have to escalate me to someone who had authority to refund the charge. She cut me off.

I called back. After going through the whole computer menu yet again I finally got another CSR. I had to tell the whole story yet again before she would agree to escalate me. I also got her name and mentioned that I would be reporting her if she cut me off (I get cut off almost every time I get "escalated"). This time I didn't get cut off.

I was escalated to some kind of second level CSR. This guy seemed at least reasonably intelligent. I calmly explained the whole story to him and offered to provide the tracking number. He said there would be no need for me to provide the tracking number as he already had that information called up on his computer screen and could easily confirm receipt with FedEx as well as see where DirecTV had documented the return of the box in their own internal systems.

I hit the freaking roof. I was careful to explain to the guy that I was not mad at him, but he damn sure had to listen to what I thought about the lower level CSRs. So after I got that out of my system he apologized profusely. Of course I told him that he didn't need to apologize but that I wanted him to make sure to tell his superiors.

After all that the CSR2 told me that he didn't have the authority to refund the charge and the he had escalated the claim to a yet higher level. He said they "should" refund the charge within three business days.

If they don't refund the charge by then I am going to report this to the Kentucky Attorney General's Office.


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## djwww98 (Jan 12, 2006)

Wow. It's been a more than a day and no D* apologists. I guess maybe there actually is a point where even the fanboys can no longer defend the indefensible. Hope this really is the end of it for you crazycooter.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

djwww98 said:


> Wow. It's been a more than a day and no D* apologists. I guess maybe there actually is a point where even the fanboys can no longer defend the indefensible. Hope this really is the end of it for you crazycooter.


How is this productive? :nono2:


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## djwww98 (Jan 12, 2006)

My question would be how was 5 pages worth of debate productive when there is nothing to debate. This is unnacceptable behavior by a company, period.. not debateable. :nono2:


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## Tybee Bill (Oct 21, 2008)

A few years ago I had to return a burn't out box via their return system or face a $300 plus charge on top of a $200 plus charge for a new box.

I returned it and got charged anyway. They said they never got it.

I was pissed but, even though the return shipping box didn't have a tear-off with the tracking number on it, I had written the tracking number down. 

I checked the tracking, found out who, where and when it was signed for by D* and called them back.

They caved immediatly and not only gave me back the $300 plus but also reversed the $200.

I think they were embarrased about being caught in a lie.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

crazycooter said:


> I am not asking for validation. I will make my own decision as I always do. I simply thought it was important to report my troubles on this site because it is one of the few means that I have at my disposal to vindicate my rights and receive some modicum of justice. It may not be much, but now at least a few more people now that D* doesn't care one bit to screw over a long-standing customer.


The problem with todays businesses in general is that every customer thinks they are the most important, for any number of reasons, and the companies see no difference in any of their customers, because of the way everything is set up on a systematic approach, rather than person by person approach (which can't be done easily with any decent sized company)

For the majority of people, the majority of the time, it means little... but sometimes, the businesses get screwed, and sometimes the customers get screwed...

Unfortunately, this is one of those times when the customer got screwed. I'm glad to see it looks like you are finally taken care of...

By the way, I hope you realize that if Directv credits you in three days, your credit card will take another 2 to 5 days to actually show the credit... because credit card companies never give people their money back on refunds when its processed, yet they gladly charge your account the second someone swipes your card... You want to talk about rip offs.. for the individuals, its pennies in interest at most, for the credit card companies, its millions every year...


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> The problem with todays businesses in general is that every customer thinks they are the most important, for any number of reasons, and the companies see no difference in any of their customers, because of the way everything is set up on a systematic approach, rather than person by person approach (which can't be done easily with any decent sized company)
> 
> For the majority of people, the majority of the time, it means little... but sometimes, the businesses get screwed, and sometimes the customers get screwed...
> 
> ...


No, the problem here is that of DirecTV having remarkably poor systems for handling standard and expected transactions. In the case of receiver returns and replacements it has been going on for years and there is no evidence they've made any effort to improve on this issue. This same thing happened to me several years back.

This has nothing to do with a customer expecting "special" service or feeling they're more deserving of service than another. Every DirecTV customers should expect that they can return a receiver without being charged and not have to go through the time and effort of multiple phone calls AND having money taken from their bank account or charged to the credit card.

While I'm no fan of some of the credit card companies they generally do process every electronically received transaction immediately. The delays you're speaking of are almost always on the part of the merchant (in this case DirecTV).

There are other things that may be delayed like how quickly they process payments from customers.

Also, when you speak of holding money for interest....please don't forget DirecTV bills in advance, processes all auto payments on the bill date (not the due date) and in this case has delayed returning this customer's money for quite some time....so if you're going to claim someone is involved in a rip off...


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