# Dish Network tops an interesting list



## ChicagoBlue (Apr 29, 2011)

Having been around this business for several decades, this doesn't surprise me. They have a good product, but they have a lot of unhappy employees.

#1 worst company in America to work for in 2012

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/08/14/the-11-worst-companies-to-work-for-in-america/

Hopefully Clayton can turn that around.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

363 employees voted so it's not like there's a real sample size in any of those. This is just ad revenue driver. HP is the only one I'd really take focus on due to sheer volume of people who did the survey.


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

I can tell you as someone who works with Dish network one of the things that seems to be in agreement all around is that no one likes the whole "we don't believe in holidays and you better be available 24/7" attitude that Dish has. It just really wears on you, nothing like trying to figure out which co-workers have to work on Christmas or Thanksgiving to kill morale.


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## DoyleS (Oct 21, 2002)

Very interesting to see that the article was written by AOL Jobs Contributor. Click that link and you find that you can be an AOL Jobs Contributor by sending an email to AOL Jobs. Can't say I put a lot of stock in the article. No real backup of how or where the data came from. 

Most of the Dish article was about dropping channels not about employee comments. Didn't seem to be any complaints about pay which was the main complaint on a number of other companies. I have to say the Dish employees I have interacted with have all been very positive from installers to CSRs and DIRT. One of the facts of life is that if you have a company that provides a 24/7 service, you have to have workers to work those hours. I am a little more surprised that companies like Home Depot that works people 6-7 days a week by not giving them full 8 hour days did not make the list. In this economy, most people are happy just to have a job.


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## 356B (Oct 11, 2008)

Over the last 5 years I've had 4 different Dish employees on my property and communicated with 2 DIRT members here and elsewhere. All the people I have dealt with are happy just to have a job.....says something about the times we live in? or not.


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## pmjones (Aug 3, 2012)

356B said:


> Over the last 5 years I've had 4 different Dish employees on my property and communicated with 2 DIRT members here and elsewhere. All the people I have dealt with are happy just to have a job.....says something about the times we live in? or not.


Four more years? 

The folks I have dealt with on the phone and via chat all seemed pretty nice. I guess if they are good to customers and save the grousing for their coffee breaks, I have no complaints.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

Shades228 said:


> 363 employees voted so it's not like there's a real sample size in any of those. This is just ad revenue driver. HP is the only one I'd really take focus on due to sheer volume of people who did the survey.


Percentage wise they were nearly the same.
I'd say Dish has some work to do in the employee relations department. HP has scored low for so long that it's a bit of a tradition now.


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## DoyleS (Oct 21, 2002)

I don't buy it. If you look at the other articles on that page, there is one with the 10 most hated companies in the country. ATT, Facebook, Netflix, Bank of America......etc
Interesting that the one missing from the lists is AOL. 
Not sure what these guys are trying to do but I don't put any credence in their trash piece.


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## brett_the_bomb (Oct 24, 2009)

I surely dont like dish, but i think its probably fair to say that disgruntle employees speak the loudest. I think a job is what you make of it, good or bad.


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## Wire Nut (Apr 6, 2012)

D.I.S.H.= Did I Sleep Here?


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## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

"tsmacro" said:


> I can tell you as someone who works with Dish network one of the things that seems to be in agreement all around is that no one likes the whole "we don't believe in holidays and you better be available 24/7" attitude that Dish has. It just really wears on you, nothing like trying to figure out which co-workers have to work on Christmas or Thanksgiving to kill morale.


Pretty much this. That and my call center was doing mandatory 6th day (an extra half shift on top of your 40 hours on a random "day off") because not enough people were signing up for over time and the shifts were all ****ed up (more shifts at graveyard less at peak hours).

Aside from the terrible job my center did at scheduling it was a great job. More then enough pay at base even more if you got p4p. Guaranteed 40+ hours a week, flexible time off (aside from holidays). And an easy as heck job what more could you ask for?


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

They should take the opposite approach and incentivise off-peak and holidays. it's been my experience that there's always one or two in every group who take every bit of x2.5 pay you put in front of them.
That way you send a happy to be there service tech out on calls.


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

Inkosaurus said:


> Pretty much this. That and my call center was doing mandatory 6th day (an extra half shift on top of your 40 hours on a random "day off") because not enough people were signing up for over time and the shifts were all ****ed up (more shifts at graveyard less at peak hours).
> 
> Aside from the terrible job my center did at scheduling it was a great job. More then enough pay at base even more if you got p4p. Guaranteed 40+ hours a week, flexible time off (aside from holidays). And an easy as heck job what more could you ask for?


Yeah I like most things about my job as well. However the whole working on holidays thing is a little perplexing. After all what percentage of people are going to call Dish on a major holiday and actually expect a tech to be there that same day? First of all it's pretty rare for same day service to available on any day anyway let alone a holiday and what person is actually going to expect an install on a major holiday? Yet Dish schedules them, I can tell you we lose a fair amount of appts set up on holidays to begin with because when we call to confirm the appts people will say things like "oh I didn't realize that I had scheduled that on Thanksgiving, I need to reschedule." It seems to me you could get away with just having the over-seas call centers that don't celebrate U.S. holidays open on those days and give their employees here in the USA a day off to spend with family and just about everyone would be happier. Seems like an easy way to improve morale and if you have happier employees you're more likely to get improved interactions between them and your customers.


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## ChicagoBlue (Apr 29, 2011)

As I stated in my original post, the rating doesn't surprise me. This industry is littered with former DISH employees that have escaped. It is a terrible place to work. When travelling, you are forced to share a room with another employee, sometimes share a bed. That is not a joke. Never, in all my years have I heard that out of a Fortune 500 company. It has led to more than a few harassment lawsuits. Expected to work on all holidays except Christmas and Thanksgiving, work on Saturdays. Notoriously cheap with programmers and very cheap with employees. Morale is very low and turnover very high. It is a shame, great place to live but they just don't believe in people.


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## nmetro (Jul 11, 2006)

ChicagoBlue said:


> As I stated in my original post, the rating doesn't surprise me. This industry is littered with former DISH employees that have escaped. It is a terrible place to work. When travelling, you are forced to share a room with another employee, sometimes share a bed. That is not a joke. Never, in all my years have I heard that out of a Fortune 500 company. It has led to more than a few harassment lawsuits. Expected to work on all holidays except Christmas and Thanksgiving, work on Saturdays. Notoriously cheap with programmers and very cheap with employees. Morale is very low and turnover very high. It is a shame, great place to live but they just don't believe in people.


Living not far from either the DISH Uplink Center (Cheyenne) and their DISH Corporate Headquarters (Denver Tech Center, Englewood), it is true that DISH is not a pleasant place to work. It is actually, for IT systems support, satellite uplink support and programming support what we call in the IT industry a sweat shop.

I interviewed once, back in 2002, with the Cheyenne Uplink Center. At that time, you got 6 paid holidays per year (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day), two weeks holiday (3 weeks after 5 years), average medical benefits, dental, sick time is by arrangement with your supervisor, basic life insurance and participation in a 40k(k) plan. In the IT areas noted above, you would be on call 24/7. At home you are equipped with DISH network for free, not because you work for DISH, so you can work at home to deal with technical issues without having to drive into work. Of course, most times, one would end up doing so anyway.

As part of the interview process, even though one was not hired yet, they require a drug screen after the interview is complete. This, in addition to the normal background checks. At any rate, while the interview was no different then typical It interviews. What I did notice was very tired individuals, crowded work areas (people on top of each other) and a feeling that these people were not very happy, but at least dedicated to their work. Yet, it seemed, that asking questions about the company and the benefits was a topic that was best to be avoided.

On my 90 mile trip back to Longmont from Cheyenne, it was one of those experiences where you said to yourself that you hope that you did not get the job. The only positive, I did get from the experience, was a great tour of their data center and satellite uplink facility.

So, it seems, things are not much different then they were 10 years ago.


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

tsmacro said:


> Yeah I like most things about my job as well. However the whole working on holidays thing is a little perplexing. After all what percentage of people are going to call Dish on a major holiday and actually expect a tech to be there that same day? First of all it's pretty rare for same day service to available on any day anyway let alone a holiday and what person is actually going to expect an install on a major holiday? Yet Dish schedules them, I can tell you we lose a fair amount of appts set up on holidays to begin with because when we call to confirm the appts people will say things like "oh I didn't realize that I had scheduled that on Thanksgiving, I need to reschedule." It seems to me you could get away with just having the over-seas call centers that don't celebrate U.S. holidays open on those days and give their employees here in the USA a day off to spend with family and just about everyone would be happier. Seems like an easy way to improve morale and if you have happier employees you're more likely to get improved interactions between them and your customers.


Dish has been providing same day service when I call about anything for the parents. I called in the afternoon last year after teh new roof was installed. They were watching TV by 6PM the same day.

Your Satellite TV goes out do you really think anybody is going to say, It's a Holiday. I'll Call tomorrow, No they grab the phone and they expect service

I can tell that where I used to work they had no problem getting more than enough people to work the Holidays.

Union Job. 9 Hour guarantee pay for the holiday. Then Any hours worked were Time and a half. So for the first 9 hours it was 2.5 times base pay (Double time and a half). After 9 Hours it was 1/2 hour subtracted for lunchtime then Time and a half for the rest of the hours.

There were more volunteers than work for them.

I used to do it myself now and then as it was easy. No big bosses around only a supervisor and he was just as likely to be watching OTA sports on his Sony Watchman. Remember those? They had a special shape picture tube.

Easy enough to get volunteers, just pay enough.


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

TBoneit said:


> Dish has been providing same day service when I call about anything for the parents. I called in the afternoon last year after teh new roof was installed. They were watching TV by 6PM the same day.
> 
> Your Satellite TV goes out do you really think anybody is going to say, It's a Holiday. I'll Call tomorrow, No they grab the phone and they expect service
> 
> ...


I agree that you need someone to answer the phone for you 24/7 and luckily Dish has overseas call centers that make just such a thing possible. However you don't really need anyone in the USA working on a major holiday, sure if I have to call on a holiday I will expect someone to answer the phone but no way would I expect someone to come that same day, I'd expect most people to be spending time with friends and family and not available for a tech call. I guess you're lucky to live somewhere where they have same day service, as someone who's big part of my job is scheduling techs I can tell you most places I schedule for are on average 2 to 3 days out. Not saying a same day service call never happens but it's not the norm by any means. Sure I suppose if you pay people enough they won't gripe about working holidays, which must mean they don't pay us enough where I work because everyone I work with would rather have the day off than work on the holidays.


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## ChicagoBlue (Apr 29, 2011)

nmetro said:


> Living not far from either the DISH Uplink Center (Cheyenne) and their DISH Corporate Headquarters (Denver Tech Center, Englewood), it is true that DISH is not a pleasant place to work. It is actually, for IT systems support, satellite uplink support and programming support what we call in the IT industry a sweat shop.
> 
> I interviewed once, back in 2002, with the Cheyenne Uplink Center. At that time, you got 6 paid holidays per year (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day), two weeks holiday (3 weeks after 5 years), average medical benefits, dental, sick time is by arrangement with your supervisor, basic life insurance and participation in a 40k(k) plan. In the IT areas noted above, you would be on call 24/7. At home you are equipped with DISH network for free, not because you work for DISH, so you can work at home to deal with technical issues without having to drive into work. Of course, most times, one would end up doing so anyway.
> 
> ...


Your story is shared by 1000's of former Dish employees


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## DoyleS (Oct 21, 2002)

Seems to me that the last person you want to talk to on New Years Day when you have a house full of football fans is someone in India telling you that it is a US holiday and no one is working in the US. Can't say that Dish's policies look any different from Macy's, Target, Best Buy and a lot of other companies that have people coming into work on the day after holidays at Midnight when their normal work hours are 9-5 or something similar. 
Employment is an agreement between an employer and the employee and either can choose to break that agreement if they are unsatisfied. In the current economy I would venture to guess that there are plenty of people that would step up to take vacated jobs at Dish and be thankful for it. Just my opinion.


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## Zero327 (Oct 10, 2006)

DoyleS said:


> Seems to me that the last person you want to talk to on New Years Day when you have a house full of football fans is someone in India telling you that it is a US holiday and no one is working in the US. Can't say that Dish's policies look any different from Macy's, Target, Best Buy and a lot of other companies that have people coming into work on the day after holidays at Midnight when their normal work hours are 9-5 or something similar.
> Employment is an agreement between an employer and the employee and either can choose to break that agreement if they are unsatisfied. In the current economy I would venture to guess that there are plenty of people that would step up to take vacated jobs at Dish and be thankful for it. Just my opinion.


Only someone who has no implication of what that statement entails would make it...

Yes, someone would step up to a vacated job at DISH. As to whether ANY would be thankful for it a year later...well, that would be interesting to see. Everyone's thankful to be working coming off unemployment. It's what happens next that matters.

As far as the employer/employee relationship and the platitudes there; unless you're willing to put in some time at DISH, stick to the facts. Opinions are not served here unless you've done some time.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Zero327 said:


> As far as the employer/employee relationship and the platitudes there; unless you're willing to put in some time at DISH, stick to the facts. Opinions are not served here unless you've done some time.


So DISH is the only bad job on the planet? There are no other places where people could "do some time" in a job where they are overworked, underappreciated, overstressed and underpaid? Really?

There are a lot of people making the best of the job they have. And yes, putting a year or two at a job you hate (if the hiring manager lets you in the door) is better than joining the 99 week unemployed and getting no benefits population (which with unemployment cutbacks is less than 99 weeks in many states).

The facts are that there are people to take those unwanted jobs. Perhaps they would be happier somewhere else but we're not in a position as a nation to have everyone in their dream job getting paid for what they love to do. We're in a position as a nation where many are simply looking to get paid for something they can tolerate - for a while.

Unfortunately there is also a lot of unfilled jobs that people don't want to do ... not enough to completely wipe out unemployment but enough to notice when one is looking at the problem as a whole.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

> And yes, putting a year or two at a job you hate (if the hiring manager lets you in the door) is better than joining the 99 week unemployed and getting no benefits population (which with unemployment cutbacks is less than 99 weeks in many states).


Now we're talking ...
So, what would the person in SW Dept create ? Perhaps just do bug's squashing and making new as we see in almost each new version of same software. Not telling about missed old good features for new development like set a timer by time for XiP813.


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## DoyleS (Oct 21, 2002)

In my 10+ years as a Dish customer, I can't say I have come across any disgruntled employees on the phone or with the service guys that have come to my house. I have always treated them fairly and usually give the service guys something in appreciation for their service as I do with most service people. I have talked to former Comcast people and depending on the job they are in some of them have been unhappy with Comcast and as a result no longer work there. 
Zero327: Having been gainfully employed for over 40 years, I still find a lot of satisfaction in my work. I have worked the 16 hour days, the all nighters, the interrupted holidays and the long days away from home. Hopefully you have been able to move on to a position that is also more satisfying to you.


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## JosephF (Apr 23, 2002)

As a former employee of 20+ plus years I can tell you that this is 100% accurate. In fact as a hiring manager my primary goal in an interview was always to try and scare the hell out of the prospect, as I did not want them coming in without knowing what they were getting themselves into (I was definitely in the minority here!)

Echo isn't a whole lot different, although it at least has fun challenging work that you can use for satisfaction instead.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

P Smith said:


> James Long said:
> 
> 
> > And yes, putting a year or two at a job you hate (if the hiring manager lets you in the door) is better than joining the 99 week unemployed and getting no benefits population (which with unemployment cutbacks is less than 99 weeks in many states).
> ...


Actually since my reply was to Zero327 it related to the CSR jobs. Those fine folks who show up at all hours to listen to crabby customers ask for the world and a 50% discount off of the sale price.

The people in software development would not have that lifestyle. Nor the turnover ratio.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

But they do ...


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

P Smith said:


> But they do ...


Software designers are expected to be at their desks at midnight on Black Friday or Boxing Day? Really?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Some of them like these who do work for nagrastar.


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## Tribbs (Feb 12, 2012)

#17 DIRECTV
#12 Cox Communications
#4 Time Warner Cable
#3 Comcast
#1 Charter Communications

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-18-worst-companies-in-america-2010-11?op=1

DISH didn't make _this_ list!


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## Zero327 (Oct 10, 2006)

James Long said:


> Actually since my reply was to Zero327 it related to the CSR jobs. Those fine folks who show up at all hours to listen to crabby customers ask for the world and a 50% discount off of the sale price.
> 
> The people in software development would not have that lifestyle. Nor the turnover ratio.


DISH isn't just "another job", good, bad or otherwise. DISH isn't average at much of anything. When they get it right, they REALLY get it right, and when they f*ck it up...

You cannot have any concept of what working for DISH is like unless you've actually signed on. Comparing a "rough day" at DISH to a regular job is like comparing a Geek Squad employee from Best Buy with an Engineering Director at Intel. Sure, the base concept of their jobs are roughly the same (troubleshooting), but the intensity, the expectations, the accountability, the weight of that statement does not accurately convey reality.

In Colorado there's a saying: You don't work for DISH, you survive it.

Did you know that most employers around DISH consider 1 year of working for them to 7 elsewhere? DISH employment is literally counted in dog years. If you actually do survive there for a few years, some employers won't hire you for fear that if you made it in DISH long-term, you "fit" into their culture; it's not considered a good thing.

Yes, there are worse places to work I'm sure; actually I can quote DISH's CEO now as he's apparently worked for them. But I'm saying few of them have so well-earned a reputation.


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## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

Zero327 said:


> DISH isn't just "another job", good, bad or otherwise. DISH isn't average at much of anything. When they get it right, they REALLY get it right, and when they f*ck it up...
> 
> You cannot have any concept of what working for DISH is like unless you've actually signed on. Comparing a "rough day" at DISH to a regular job is like comparing a Geek Squad employee from Best Buy with an Engineering Director at Intel. Sure, the base concept of their jobs are roughly the same (troubleshooting), but the intensity, the expectations, the accountability, the weight of that statement does not accurately convey reality.
> 
> ...


Your attributing some universal things in the call center business as Dish only problems lol.


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## Zero327 (Oct 10, 2006)

Really? Do tell...because there's not a single reference in any post I've made whatsoever that are directly attributed to a call center job. 

In fact, my statements apply from the lonely CSR all the way up. Assumptions are great, tell Umption I said hi.


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## JosephF (Apr 23, 2002)

Inkosaurus said:


> Your attributing some universal things in the call center business as Dish only problems lol.


Well in my 20+ years there, absolutely ZERO were spent working in a call center. Rather I was in what would most definitely be called a white collar professional position.

With that said, I can with full experience say that Zero327 is right on the mark.

Anyone else can try and spin it however they like, but I am absolutely speaking with experience. Dish/Echo have a horrible reputation in the Denver employment market. Of course in the current market this reputation has very minimal impact. But I can assure you there will be a mass exodus when the economy finally heats back up. I've seen it happen there before and it most certainly will again.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Zero327 said:


> In fact, my statements apply from the lonely CSR all the way up. Assumptions are great, tell Umption I said hi.


Wow. You worked every job at DISH from CSR all the way up? Or are you assuming that every part of DISH was as bad as you claim your part of DISH was?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

James, you did question me on the topic related aspects ... I would point you (if you missed ) to a post#33 as supporting my point of view.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

P Smith said:


> James, you did question me on the topic related aspects ... I would point you (if you missed ) to a post#33 as supporting my point of view.


JosephF says they have a horrible reputation in the Denver employment market. What services are provided out of Denver and what services are provided out of other markets?

Is there an uplink center in Denver that we somehow missed? There were 10 uplink centers the last time I counted ... and none were in Denver. There are hardware and software development centers outside of Denver as well.

I'm sure that if you could eliminate the call center employees and installers from the complainers DISH's reputation in Denver (and elsewhere) would be fine. If you could eliminate people who also complain about their previous or next job they would likely be even better. Some people live to complain.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

You missed or intentionally try to ... That's THE company 'culture' regardless of attempts to reduce the circle to Denver only. Perhaps you understand it's not local (like Denver) management atmosphere and it's propagating from one point - from a top.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

P Smith said:


> You missed or intentionally try to ... That's THE company 'culture' regardless of attempts to reduce the circle to Denver only. Perhaps you understand it's not local (like Denver) management atmosphere and it's propagating from one point - from a top.


I recognize that it is the OPINION of those people complaining that it was a culture problem starting at the top - but I reject their assertion that they are correct.

Perhaps _their_ part of DISH was screwed up ... perhaps not and the complainers are just blaming their problems on someone else. DISH has plenty of dedicated long term employees both in the Denver area and outside the Denver area who are not complaining. To say that those complaining speak for all 34k employees is a huge assumption.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Then you could start recollecting well known facts - law suits ...


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

P Smith said:


> Then you could start recollecting well known facts - law suits ...


Sure ... but limit yourself to lawsuits related to being employed by DISH.

Some people take every opportunity to pile on a company that does one thing that they do not agree with. We would not want this to become one of those threads.


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## Zero327 (Oct 10, 2006)

James Long said:


> Sure ... but limit yourself to lawsuits related to being employed by DISH.
> 
> Some people take every opportunity to pile on a company that does one thing that they do not agree with. We would not want this to become one of those threads.


You sound just like Joe and Charlie... That's not an opinion, that's a fact based on previous observations compared with your last three posts.

If someone says the sky is blue, pointing out that on some days it's gray doesn't change the base fact that the majority of the time, more often than not, it is in fact blue. When the majority of a region says one particular employer has severe problems, pointing to the one office in the inbred backwoods of Kansas doesn't prove otherwise; it just proves that if you look hard enough, you can find SOME small exception, SOMEWHERE.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Zero327 said:


> You sound just like Joe and Charlie... That's not an opinion, that's a fact based on previous observations compared with your last three posts.


No, you are wrong. Your statement is an opinion. You cannot make it a fact by simply declaring it to be a fact.

The same goes for your previous statements ... they too are opinions ... which is fine as long as you don't make the mistake of claiming them as facts. We all share our opinions on this forum. Some use facts (real facts) to support their opinions but the conclusions drawn remain opinions.

BTW: I'm glad working for "the worst employer ever" (paraphrase) didn't leave you bitter.


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## Zero327 (Oct 10, 2006)

You should sign up. With unintuitive and inflexible logic like that you'd fit in nicely.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

So ... if DISH is such a bad employer with such a nasty reputation in their home town of Denver why do people work there? Why did you work there?


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## Zero327 (Oct 10, 2006)

James Long said:


> So ... if DISH is such a bad employer with such a nasty reputation in their home town of Denver why do people work there? Why did you work there?


Well that's easy.

Because they're one of very few Fortune 500 companies based in Colorado. As such they're also one of the largest employers in the state. The company itself may fluctuate around 30k employees, but if you take the meat grinder into account, an obscene number of people have been through the slaughterhouse over the years.

I'm not sure it would be an exaggeration to say that some whole percentile of Colorado applicants likely pass through DISH at some point in their lives. The reasons vary, but they touch a lot of people, not all CSRs.


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## JosephF (Apr 23, 2002)

James Long said:


> JosephF says they have a horrible reputation in the Denver employment market. What services are provided out of Denver and what services are provided out of other markets?
> 
> Is there an uplink center in Denver that we somehow missed? There were 10 uplink centers the last time I counted ... and none were in Denver. There are hardware and software development centers outside of Denver as well.
> 
> I'm sure that if you could eliminate the call center employees and installers from the complainers DISH's reputation in Denver (and elsewhere) would be fine. If you could eliminate people who also complain about their previous or next job they would likely be even better. Some people live to complain.


I'll give you that call center employees especially and to some degree installers as a general rule are going to be unhappy. They (especially the CSRs) have horrible jobs that I would never want to do. I've double-jacked on many calls and don't see how they do it for any period of time. I also went on multiple truck rolls and found that generally speaking the techs were much happier than the CSRs.

That said, I started with the company LONG before Dish Network ever existed. Their poor reputation started long before Dish as well.

My last role was one where I worked closely with all of the technical arms of the business (Engineering, Service, Call Centers & Field Service). I dealt with people from the executive level (of which I was a direct report to) to the agents & techs, so I can speak in a rather well informed manner. Generally I would say that middle management and worker bee turnover is terrible. Most of the senior level people are very vested in the company and have succumbed to the Dish way of doing things.

Why did I stay... first and foremost this was my first Engineering job and I didn't know any better. Also as an entry level Engineer it was a great environment to learn and grow. That environment still exists today, but to a much lesser degree as the roles have become more specialized and the work environment more like a sweatshop. Still it is a good place for a young Engineer to learn and grow (then move on to a much better workplace -- which happens all the time).

The two main uplink centers (Cheyenne & Gilbert) are not as bad as the corporate environment largely because they are far enough away and that the scope of their work has far less corporate control.

The Atlanta & UK Engineering centers fare only slightly better than Denver, but only because of the distance and limited autonomy that comes from not having the Denver senior management on site often.

Frankly I could give a rats @$$ if you believe what I say. I lived it for more than 20 years, I still see people from there on a weekly basis and have moved on to a much better work environment (although less interesting work). So, I'm ready to be done with this topic


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## JosephF (Apr 23, 2002)

James Long said:


> So ... if DISH is such a bad employer with such a nasty reputation in their home town of Denver why do people work there? Why did you work there?


Very simple, they are one of the larger employers in the area.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

JosephF said:


> Very simple, they are one of the larger employers in the area.


They are only one of the larger employers because people agree to work there. People like the ones DoyleS noted: "In the current economy I would venture to guess that there are plenty of people that would step up to take vacated jobs at Dish and be thankful for it. Just my opinion."

There seem to be plenty of openings ... but for a company of that size opening are to be expected. And the long hours/high pressure jobs such as CSR and installer are typically hard jobs. I doubt that Thom Beers will give them a "reality show" where we can follow their lives like Ice Road Truckers.


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## Zero327 (Oct 10, 2006)

James Long said:


> They are only one of the larger employers because people agree to work there. People like the ones DoyleS noted: "In the current economy I would venture to guess that there are plenty of people that would step up to take vacated jobs at Dish and be thankful for it. Just my opinion."
> 
> There seem to be plenty of openings ... but for a company of that size opening are to be expected. And the long hours/high pressure jobs such as CSR and installer are typically hard jobs. I doubt that Thom Beers will give them a "reality show" where we can follow their lives like Ice Road Truckers.


I'm seriously beginning to think you're either a DISH apologist, or on their payroll James.

You have received answers to your questions, and everything has a rebuttal. I went to the store the other day. I bought sweet tea instead of green tea. I could have bought green tea, but the sweet tea was closer to my right side and since I'm right handed, I chose it... That example is beginning to mirror your logic at this point.

People work for DISH because it's a big name, they're as I recall Denver's largest employer and it's easier to get an opening at a company that size than a smaller one where you may be laid off should the business go under or your salary quickly become too much for them to manage. That doesn't make them a better business, and honestly size doesn't make them any worse either.

But what they do to people once you're on board, THAT is the issue most have with them. So now you have answers. If they are insufficient, you really need to fill out an application. Because I haven't seen a single legitimate reason for you to refute the claims being made, and it appears that only first hand abuse is going to allow you to fully accept some of the statements being made. If you can't be convinced, go convince yourself.

Get back with us after a year or three.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

I still cannot believe that a company with what has been reported as such a bad reputation in the marketplace would be able to hire unless 1) people are just that desperate for work (as DoyleS suggested) or 2) people are really stupid and accepted the job despite the reputation or 3) DISH's reputation is not as bad as portrayed by a few haters on the Internet.


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## DoyleS (Oct 21, 2002)

Joseph, I can see where that would be a tough position for an engineer. To have a job that is technically challenging but unsatisfying from a working conditions standpoint. With the only alternatives of either leaving the area or working in a job that is not technically challenging. I have never faced that living in Silicon Valley. Lots of challenging opportunities. Some companies run a lot better than others but even some of the old stalwarts like HP are now struggling. In my 40+ years of employment in the engineering field, I have worked for 4 companies, All were technically challenging. As management and attitudes changed in 2 of the companies I left for better working conditions. I have a friend that is an technical consultant that moved to the Denver area to be close to family and in 10 years, he never had a consulting job in the Denver area. They were always in Silicon Valley or some other area. He just moved back to the Valley.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

James Long said:


> I still cannot believe that a company with what has been reported as such a bad reputation in the marketplace would be able to hire unless 1) people are just that desperate for work (as DoyleS suggested) or 2) people are really stupid and accepted the job despite the reputation or 3) DISH's reputation is not as bad as portrayed by a few haters on the Internet.


It happens with Wal-Mart.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Perhaps these "a few haters" has the real knowledge. Opposite to the believers.


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