# DISH Customer Service and Retention Useless....



## sega_102 (Jan 26, 2013)

After 3.5 years, bye bye dish.

I called Dish on Thursday and told them I was thinking about getting Direct TV and wanted to know if they had a similar deal. 

I was offered a hopper with sling and 2 joeys for a little bit more than I am paying now. No upfront fees.... I called back about an hour later to confirm I would be getting the hopper with sling and was told I would. 

Fast forward to today. The installer came and did about 30 minutes worth of work. He then went to get the Hopper and told me that the work order said it was just a hopper. He called Dish and they said the Hopper with Sling would be 200 dollars extra. I said no, they transfered me to Retention who told me they'd knock 100 dollars off the price. I still said no and they immediately canceled the work order. The poor installer didn't even get paid for the time he spent here. 

I was going to sign a 2 year contract worth almost 2000 dollars and Dish wanted to argue with about 100 dollars.... What terrible customer service. 

I guess I'll be calling DirecTV this week and calling Dish for the final time early this week.

Edit -- 

To clarify, I did not speak with the DIRT team. I got them confused. I spoke with Customer Retention.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

sh!t happening all times with all companies ... beware !


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Yep call Directv. Welcome aboard.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Yep, call DirecTV, but keep in mind they are no better or worse with existing customers in general. Both have issues that keep popping up.


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## Bradrlz (Jan 19, 2013)

Agree Dish CSR are a complete waste


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

OR - you left the deal over just $100. Sometimes we stop thinking and just react. Looking at it when not in the situation, and because I do my homework, I would pay the $100 because that's how much better I like the Dish system and packages.

And beyond that, not sure I can believe your post, first it's your only post here, but more than that I have never heard of being "Transferred" to DIRT...


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## sega_102 (Jan 26, 2013)

How am I losing anything? I'll be just as happy with DirecTV and the 2 year price is about the same. 

And they asked me if I wanted transfered to retention because they couldn't do anything. I said yes. The installer was standing right there with me, but he couldn't do anything of course. 

The main reason I wanted to stay with Dish is the 30 second skip. I like it better than D*'s but I just found out that I could change the 30 second skid to 30 second skip with DirecTV with a simple command.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

sega_102 said:


> How am I losing anything? I'll be just as happy with DirecTV and the 2 year price is about the same.
> 
> And they asked me if I wanted transfered to retention because they couldn't do anything. I said yes. The installer was standing right there with me, but he couldn't do anything of course.
> 
> The main reason I wanted to stay with Dish is the 30 second skip. I like it better than D*'s but I just found out that I could change the 30 second skid to 30 second skip with DirecTV with a simple command.


Yep, Sorry too much BS comes with Dish service.

I'll take a slightly worst HD DVR, and Stable programming anyday of the week.


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## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

I fail to see how DIRT is involved with them as they are an Internet Response Team on this forum and are not an actual department you can speak to nor be transferred to over the phone.

I also fail to see how a contract thats worth 200$ is suddenly worth 2000$ (as you put it).
Even with all the equipment value tallied up its no where near 2 grand.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Inkosaurus said:


> I also fail to see how a contract thats worth 200$ is suddenly worth 2000$ (as you put it).
> *Even with all the equipment value tallied up its no where near 2 grand*.


Really?
What does Dish all of a sudden provide free monthly programming now?


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## bobukcat (Dec 20, 2005)

Sorry you had a bad experience but don't be surprised if you end up in the same boat when you want to upgrade with D* next time. And don't confuse retention department with DiRT who I believe are Internet focused resources. I will say though that my experience with E*'s CSRs and definitely the DiRT people here have always been much better than most other companies, but of course I'm better educated than many people about a lot of this stuff thanks to this forum


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## sega_102 (Jan 26, 2013)

Inkosaurus said:


> I fail to see how DIRT is involved with them as they are an Internet Response Team on this forum and are not an actual department you can speak to nor be transferred to over the phone.
> 
> I also fail to see how a contract thats worth 200$ is suddenly worth 2000$ (as you put it).
> Even with all the equipment value tallied up its no where near 2 grand.


Let's see $85 per month x 24 month contract = $2040. I know this isn't complete profit, but it's much more profit than $0 they will get when I switch.

The bottom line is, I was promised something, The technician showed up to my door with something else, and dish wouldn't resolve the issue.


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## sega_102 (Jan 26, 2013)

bobukcat said:


> Sorry you had a bad experience but don't be surprised if you end up in the same boat when you want to upgrade with D* next time. And don't confuse retention department with DiRT who I believe are Internet focused resources. I will say though that my experience with E*'s CSRs and definitely the DiRT people here have always been much better than most other companies, but of course I'm better educated than many people about a lot of this stuff thanks to this forum


I've had no problem with the up to this point. I even used Dish Mover with 0 problems.


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## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

damondlt said:


> Really?
> What does Dish all of a sudden provide free monthly programming now?


Fair enough :lol:


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

sega_102 said:


> Let's see $85 per month x 24 month contract = $2040. I know this isn't complete profit, but it's much more profit than $0 they will get when I switch.


On average DISH normally clears around $5 per month per subscriber. Sure, you cost them money by cancelling the install after some work was completed - but the profit is more like $120 ... and they only make that if you stay the full two years (hence the penalty for early termination).



> The bottom line is, I was promised something, The technician showed up to my door with something else, and dish wouldn't resolve the issue.


I'm sorry you were disappointed. I hope you enjoy your service with whatever provider you end up using.


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## CheriT @ DISH Network (Dec 28, 2010)

Hi, I am very sorry for the issue that you have experienced with our service. I can understand how frustrating this is for you. I'd be happy to review your account and see what I can do to assist you. Can you please send me a PM with your account number or phone number on the account? Thanks!


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

James Long said:


> *On average DISH normally clears around $5 per month per subscriber*. Sure, you cost them money by cancelling the install after some work was completed - *but the profit is more like $120 ... and they only make that if you stay the full two years *(hence the penalty for early termination).
> 
> .


Sorry don't buy that! Back up that statement.:nono:

Dish wanted me too pay $212 on a 2 hopper 4 joey system including tax.
For the pack I wanted, and monthly fees Total price per month was $169
OK first 3 months was only discounted $75 (_30 in rebates and 45 in premium rebates_)
Then From Month 4-12 it cost me $140 per month

Month 13-24 $169 per month

So out of total programming and upfront fees of $3800 if I full fill my contract
Dish only makes $120. :hurah::hurah:

Even if I canceled after the first month, they would have still gotton the $212 I paid upfront and gotton all their receivers back as well as the $480 ETF 
that $692 for sending out a tech dropping a dish and some coax.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Inkosaurus said:


> Fair enough :lol:


Just saying. :lol:


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## sega_102 (Jan 26, 2013)

CheriT @ DISH Network said:


> Hi, I am very sorry for the issue that you have experienced with our service. I can understand how frustrating this is for you. I'd be happy to review your account and see what I can do to assist you. Can you please send me a PM with your account number or phone number on the account? Thanks!


I sent you a PM .


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

lparsons21 said:


> Yep, call DirecTV, but keep in mind they are no better or worse with existing customers in general. Both have issues that keep popping up.


Welcome back!


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

James Long said:


> On average DISH normally clears around $5 per month per subscriber.





damondlt said:


> Sorry don't buy that! Back up that statement.:nono:


Profit divided by months divided by subscribers.
For 2Q 12* that would be $226 million divided by 14.06 million divided by 3.
$5.35 per month per subscriber.

(3Q 12 was the only quarter DISH posted a loss since 2003, so I skipped that for the math. 2010 was a abnormal year, but the averages for 2009 $5.81, 2008 $3.76, 2007 $5.50, 2006 $4.57, 2005 $3.87 - DISH does not make much on a per month per subscriber basis.)

Totaling up what it would cost YOU to have DISH for two years does not reflect what it would cost DISH to have you for two years. Take away the average cost of having customers (running the company, paying the channel providers, etc) and there is not a lot of margin.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Paul Secic said:


> Welcome back!


?? I'm with Dish now, just switched last week.

Aren't you still with D*??

EDIT: Duh! I read your sig and it didn't connect! 

and thanks.


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## Rduce (May 16, 2008)

I fail to understand why some folks have so many problems dealing with Dish. I have been with Dish for 10 years this summer and the few, perhaps three times, I have had an issue, be it technical or administrative, and I have had the problem resolved relatively effortlessly on my part with a single phone call, chat or DIRT contact.

I am mystified by the constant complaints and numerous equipment failures a few people seem to have continually. It makes me feel I am one lucky SOB or some folk’s expectations are far too high to be met. Now, do not ask me about trying to deal with AT&T or Charter Cable, because I can have an entire manifesto about those companies service and methodology, yet their CSR’s were always very understanding and did all they could to resolve issues never promising what they could not deliver. 

To be honest, I recently did research switching to Direct, because the thought of a 5-tuner receiver intrigued me. However, once the costs were projected out over 24 months, I saw no savings at all. In fact it would cost me more even with the promotion than I am currently paying even with the recent price increases. Besides, if you take the time to read the Direct forums it is like looking into a mirror. They have their share of fan boys, malcontents and equipment issues just as much as Dish. 

I just upgraded to a VIP 922 receiver from a 722K, which handles my family room HD set, a small bedroom set, and that is more than adequate for my viewing needs. With the OTA mod installed, I can record 4 streams and am very pleased. 

My trusty 722K now sits at the ready should it ever need to be called to service once again. Although, I have never had any problems with equipment failures with any receiver, with the exception of a lightening strike in a neighboring tree taking out a DSL modem and the modems of a 722 and 211 4 years ago. That problem was found to be the DSL/Phone lines were not properly grounded and if they had been it is unlikely the lightening surge would have caused that damage. 

It just amazing me that with my somewhat pernickety nature how completely pleased I am with my Dish service and others are found to be so outraged. Of course, I am considered a 5 star customer, so perhaps they treat us better than the conventional rabble.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

The only issue I have had with DISH was over OTA channels ... people all the way up to Executive Resolutions lying to me about how the guide data on DISH receivers is provided. Sorry - I know better, so don't lie to me. (And yes, I do know better - They were saying guide data was received OTA from each station by the receiver. The truth is DISH transmits guide data for OTA feeds and links the data to each station. I can show them the channels and EPG data in the satellite feeds that are used to provide the guide data - but the people I dealt with would rather believe their own lies.)

Now I have a receiver that does not receive OTA ... and I'm not going to pay for a module to get OTA until they can prove they fixed the guide data for my market.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Those people are just office clerks, no way they're know and (more then that) do understand the System Info tables streaming and its content.
You will need to find someone from related Dept, who are responsible to at least first level of the feed, perhaps in that dept what have a deal with TVGuide's owners.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

I don't mind them not understanding ... but they did not pass me on to any more educated people. (Getting to those people is not trivial.) They claimed that they could send on my complaint but (even for executive resolutions) "there was no way to follow up on the request". That is sad. One would think that executive resolutions would have a way to follow up to see if anything got done.

Oh well ... it's only TV.


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## joyandjerry (Jul 3, 2012)

One can have a poor experience with any business. Don't thow out the baby with the bathwater! 

We have been with Dish for nearly nine years, with AEP (DVR plus all of the premiums). When pricing these, they are always a little less exepnsive than D*. My husband and I have "only" two TV's. Dish has provided *OUTSTANDING* CS IMOSHO.

When they dropped AMC temporarily last summer, we were given many incentives to stay, and I'm glad we did. When I told Dish I was thinking of switching, (as AMC is important), I was serious, firm, but _polite_ and praised their past CS. They seem to want to retain a good customer. Of course, I'm sure with the package that we have, we are (hopefully) making Dish more than $5/month profit! 

One can hear "horror stories" about any large business, but at the end of the day, _your_ personal satisfaction is what counts.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

He wanted a better deal than they were willing to give to keep him...I dont see how this has anything to do with CS or retention being useless. It seems to have everything to do with someone who didnt get their way and has a false sense of entitlement.


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## DaveM (Feb 16, 2011)

CCarncross said:


> He wanted a better deal than they were willing to give to keep him...I dont see how this has anything to do with CS or retention being useless. It seems to have everything to do with someone who didnt get their way and has a false sense of entitlement.


If I'm reading the original post correctly, and unless there's more to the story than we're hearing about, it seems that Dish promised him something initially, and then *they* reneged.

If that's the case, I'd probably be PO'ed as well.


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## Orion9 (Jan 31, 2011)

Yes but I suspect it was a phone conversation and the other party probably had a different understanding. Happens all the time, unfortunately. Local Dish retailers can have issues of their own, but at least it's easy to get a piece of paper out of them that tells you what you will get. Or, with a text chat or PMs here it's easy to save the messages. But verbal agreements can be dicey.


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## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

DaveM said:


> If I'm reading the original post correctly, and unless there's more to the story than we're hearing about, it seems that Dish promised him something initially, and then *they* reneged.
> 
> If that's the case, I'd probably be PO'ed as well.


Maybe. Maybe not.

The sign up phone call goes over so much information and so many lines of terms of service that the customer has to verbally agree to. Most customers start drowning out everything the agent says and just starts saying yes to everything..

Ive seen multiple times where a Agent finds out that the customer didnt quite qualify for everything, he tells them but since the customer just head a minutes worth of Dish Jargon they just tune it out and agree to the new changes..


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Inkosaurus said:


> Ive seen multiple times where a Agent finds out that the customer didnt quite qualify for everything, he tells them but since the customer just head a minutes worth of Dish Jargon they just tune it out and agree to the new changes..


It would be the responsibility of the agent to make sure that they communicated accurately and professionally and that the actual terms were understood. The ones pushing to wrap the sale and letting someone else figure out the problems after install are a problem.


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## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

James Long said:


> It would be the responsibility of the agent to make sure that they communicated accurately and professionally and that the actual terms were understood. The ones pushing to wrap the sale and letting someone else figure out the problems after install are a problem.


Its the customers responsibility to listen to what there agreeing too :lol:
The scenario may vary, but agents arent money hungry D-Bags who go for the sale.

There calculating employees trying to protect there pay check, what do you think happens if there sale is canceled when the tech gets to the house?
Furthermore they even lose a cut if the customer *changes* there programming/equipment with in the first two weeks of being a customer.
They make darn sure they set up the customer with what they want before the phone call ends, but theres only so much they can do if the customer is just tuning most of it out.

Theres a lot of measures set in place to prevent agents from being sneaky money grubbers just looking for a sale, if they were all trying to screw the customer they would be getting extremely small pay checks, followed by a swift loss of employment 

Sure theres bad eggs, theres some in every business and department. But honestly the most trust worthy people you can meet are sales agents, cause they have a pay check to protect. Technically the same can not be said for other departments.


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## DaveM (Feb 16, 2011)

Inkosaurus said:


> Maybe. Maybe not.
> 
> The sign up phone call goes over so much information and so many lines of terms of service that the customer has to verbally agree to. Most customers start drowning out everything the agent says and just starts saying yes to everything..
> 
> Ive seen multiple times where a Agent finds out that the customer didnt quite qualify for everything, he tells them but since the customer just head a minutes worth of Dish Jargon they just tune it out and agree to the new changes..


Hence, my qualifier about there being "more to the story than we're hearing about." That is, I'll accept that the lines of communication *may* have possibly been blurred or misinterpreted at some point.

On the other hand, the OP stated that he verified what he thought he was getting *twice* before the actual install. Thus, it would have required a misinterpretation or miscommunication......twice.


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## ken100 (Feb 2, 2013)

I left Dish over $60 or should I say they let me go over $60. I was no longer under contract with them. I had a DVR, but wanted to upgrade to the hopper. They were willing to waive the fee and install for the hopper. Sure there was a new 2 year committment and I had no problem with that. But I'm like hey if I'm committing with you for 2 more years you should give me a small deal on programming, because if I go to Directv they have the Genie and they will give me $35 off for 12 months, then $10 off for the next 12 months, plus all premiums free for the first 3 months. So all I wanted was $10 off for 12 months and HBO free for 12 months, much less than what Directv would offer me. Dish was willing to give me $10 off for 6 months and that's it. Nothing more take it or leave it. I talked to their Dirt team, retention dept. they could care less if I left for Directv so I did. And I was ok if they didn't want to give me HBO for the year. When I finally called to cancel after I had my Directv install all set up the Dish retention person told me she would have given me what I was asking, but I told her too late. I had wasted enough time with them. I had heard that Directv has a better retention dept. and was happy to be with a company that would treat existing customers better. My wife's friend who was out of her committment with Directv was given $20 off a month for 12 months. It was like pulling teeth for me to get $10 off with Dish. My bill would have gone up $5 a month had I stayed and my Choice package is no longer $4 more than AT 200 it's now the same and all the channels I want are in there. And with Sunday Ticket now only $199 I can hardly wait for football season to start again.


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## ebox4greg (Dec 3, 2012)

the problem here is when talking to retention, one rep can make you a terrific deal to stay, but if you don't take it right then and there, the deal is NOT documented in the notes......so when you call back, the details of the deal and sometimes even the call it self are non-existent.

I talked to 5 different reps on 5 different phone calls, and every rep quoted me something different, including the last one that told me I'd have to pay $199 to reactivate my account..

Even the corporate office eventually handled my issue, and admitted "sometimes you just get stuck in a black hole with the call centers"....

You think?


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## ken100 (Feb 2, 2013)

I was never offered anything different. I probably talked to 5 or 6 either via internet or phone. Only the very last one when cancelling said, oh I would have given you $10 off your programming for a year to keep you. The thing is read some of the Directv post their retention people are much more generous when dealing with existing subs in good standing and I've heard that before with people my wife or I know as well. Dish is tight when it comes to retention of customers.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

I found it is interesting to count expenses for DTV/dish to make customer like you happy:
- a few minutes of CSR time: less then $5
- update your record in customer's DB: less then $1
- keep your record in DB: less then $12 per year
- send EMM commands via sats to update your smart card in STBs: a few cents
- what else I missed ? CEO premium payment ?

Signal e.g. programs is broadcasting to all devices same time, regardless if it counted as 1M or 100M of these;
Equipment ? - appreciated after 2 years contract, could be totally written off books or after minimal expenses for cleanup will be leased to other subscriber for a good profit.

What else I missed ?!


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## david_jr (Dec 10, 2006)

I wish I had a dollar for every post I've read that talked about being promised a free upgrade only to learn later that it wasn't. Some realize on install as the OP did and some figure it out when they get the bill. Seems there is some blame to be had on both ends or there wouldn't be so many stories. I know when I call for an upgrade that they didn't reach out to me for that there is some cost involved because I keep current on what the going rate is for an upgrade. When the going rate is in my comfort zone I upgrade if I'm so inclined.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Since Dish is very good with chat, I've never figured out why anyone would call to do an upgrade. Do it with chat and save the session and then you have the info you need if something goes awry.

And chat also reduces the chance that language/accent barriers cause miscommunication.


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## CeeWoo (Dec 1, 2008)

I guess I'm the exception to the rule, but over the years, my free equipment upgrades have been fully free  (other than the expected 2 yr agreements)



david_jr said:


> I wish I had a dollar for every post I've read that talked about being promised a free upgrade only to learn later that it wasn't. Some realize on install as the OP did and some figure it out when they get the bill. Seems there is some blame to be had on both ends or there wouldn't be so many stories. I know when I call for an upgrade that they didn't reach out to me for that there is some cost involved because I keep current on what the going rate is for an upgrade. When the going rate is in my comfort zone I upgrade if I'm so inclined.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

lparsons21 said:


> Since Dish is very good with chat, I've never figured out why anyone would call to do an upgrade. Do it with chat and save the session and then you have the info you need if something goes awry.
> 
> And chat also reduces the chance that language/accent barriers cause miscommunication.


I did point about that as preferred way of communication, when we discuss other nasty outcome - your owned equipment become dish property one day.

But ppl do post same questions, falling in same traps without hesitation to read good history here


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

P Smith said:


> What else I missed ?!


DISH expects to give customers a discount for one year and then have them pay regular price for at least one year more after that. People who keep pushing for additional discounts cause DISH to lose money. If DISH gave a new customer deal to customers every two years it would be more difficult to get to the point where customers are paying full price for their service.

DISH needs the right kind of customer ... a customer who is paying full price.


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## DoyleS (Oct 21, 2002)

It would be nice if the OP could give us an update on the situation after talking to DIRT. I would think something would have been resolved in the last week either stay or go.


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## gov (Jan 11, 2013)

Some years ago I had several issues with the local Dish hub not putting items on the truck called for on the agreed to work order.

The 'real' problem, I believe, was the Dish home office was not reimbursing the local hub for some items, but from my POV as an independent HT installer, I don't care what internal problems are going on in the Dish organization, leave me TOTALLY out of your internal P'ing contest. First encounter with the problem was not fun and took much time, second occurrence and I am no longer Mr. Nice Guy. Eventually, the Dish ERT mailed me the items directly from the home office, as the local hub never put the equipment on the truck, in spite of the work order showing it.

I'm still annoyed I was pulled into some internal fooferall, very unprofessional, and a huge time wasting ordeal for my clients and myself.

Fortunately, that problem hasn't come back for several years and I've had pretty smooth sailing with Dish since.

Much to my surprise recently, I negotiated an upgrade for a client, had a confirmation number, install appointment, and had given the rep all the numbers off a preowned H20 and it was cleared for a transfer to a different clients account. Last step was to get a new card for the old box, and the 'card guy' absolutely would not issue a card for the old H20. I explained to the 'card guy' I had given the RID and access card number, and it was clean, DirecTV did not want the box back (they still don't as of last Friday) done deal, don't mess this up, etc. and still no card.

I stressed that any kind of 'internal turf war' thing at DirecTV would cause a 10 year customer to jump to the competition, still no card. The guy swore the box could not be recarded, and I, even anticipating this, had gone over this very point with the CSR when we made the deal. Still no go. Ok I say, as long as the $$$ is the same, send a different box and I'll mail back the hinky H20. No go, need $100 now to complete the deal.

I repeated the confirmation #, and said you HAVE to honor the deal, or we're walking. He said no card, and that was it.

And we called Dish.

Same day the Dish install occured, FedEx brought a H2X (I didn't open the shipping box). Have no idea what triggered that, but Dish was there, and my customer got a Hopper and 3 Joeys. Few days later, got the shipping boxes from Direct and everything went back, except the hinky H20 the still don't want.

I don't really know what's wrong, first CSR took the numbers and cleared it, don't know why the recard guy couldn't get the same info from the DirecTV computers, but he couldn't, wouldn't or didn't. For me, once we have a deal, a deals a deal. Renege at your peril.

Very unusual situation for me, I've had boxes recarded before, I've had a few run ins with Dish and DirecTV (never Cox cable though, don't know why) but it was really wild how far south that one went.

Doesn't sour me on Direct, just like the old work order problem with Dish didn't sour me on them. Heck, I call both companies every week and head off problems all the time. I'm first name basis with most all the Dish and Direct installers in this area, and like working with all of them except 'Tod'. LOL. Stuff happens and we move on.


Any one want an H20 ?


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## ilike2eattacos (Mar 25, 2013)

I have (2) VIP722 receivers in my house.
This is my current bill.

America's Top 250 - $74.99
HD/SD (2TV) DVR Receiver - $17.00
DVR Service - $7.00
Protection Plan - $7.00
DVR Integration - $4.00
HD 250 Free ($10/Mo) - $0.00

Monthly Charges = $109.99

I've never understood the $24 total in DVR fees.

I've been a DISH customer for 15 years now and im about to contact them before I unplug my service and switch to directTV.

I called them last month and offered me a hopper at a discounted price (woohoo..) but told me i would have to pay yet another DVR fee on top of the DVR fees im already paying. So I said no thank you. They didn't offer me any discounts or anything despite having NEVER been late on a payment.

I don't blame the user hear wanting to split over $100.
I'm about to do the same if they offer me zero discounts to stay with them.


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## ilike2eattacos (Mar 25, 2013)

ilike2eattacos said:


> I have (2) VIP722 receivers in my house.
> This is my current bill.
> 
> America's Top 250 - $74.99
> ...


*************
Here is what I was offered:

Rufus (ID: HZE): Yes, *****, however, there would be a one time charge of $100 for Hopper with Sling receiver.*

lol
I guess it's time to move to direct tv?
Maybe.


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## dishrich (Apr 23, 2002)

ilike2eattacos said:


> I have (2) VIP722 receivers in my house.
> This is my current bill.
> 
> America's Top 250 - $74.99
> ...


Well first of all, why ARE you paying the $4 DVR Integration fee??? Unless you are running your DVR through that Google TV box, that fee should NOT be on your account.

Second, you are ONLY paying $7 in actual DVR fees; the $17 is for the monthly prog fee for your 2nd 722; this fee is charged for each additional duo (2-room) DVR you have past the 1st one.

Now regarding the DVR fee for the H/J system; they didn't clearly explain the DVR fee on it; it's actually $10/month per account, so you DVR fee would only be going up $3 (IOW, the $7 fee changes to $10, which is actually a DVR/whole house fee for the H/J system) However, if you switched both 722's to a H/J system, (they will NOT let you mix other DVR's on an account w/the H/J system) do keep in mind there are only 3 tuners in the Hopper receiver; you have 4 now between both your 722's. Depending on how use your receivers now, that could be an issue for you...


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

What Rich said. The $4 integration fee is for a Logitech GoogleTV box. You can cut that and only lose the GTV indexing the DVR's recordings.

Dump the protection plan. With those gone plus moving from dual 722's to a Hopper/Joey setup you'd go to 92.99 (if my math is right).

Base: AT250 $74.99
Joey: $7
WHDVR: $11


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## ilike2eattacos (Mar 25, 2013)

Thank you dishRICH and RasputinAXP for the comments.
I now have a better understanding of the fees.

1. I need to ditch "DVR Integration - $4.00"
(I don't use the google TVbox, I don't need it.)

2. I should dump the $7 protection plan

Ok, so I guess my qestion next is what should I ask for?
With two DVRs (722) I was able to watch/record on 4 TVs. (I have 5 TVs now)

Getting rid of 1 & 2 above I now save $11 a month.

As I mentioned earlier, the only offer they made was a Hopper with Sling receiver and making me pay $100.

The retention person I chatted with was very short and seemed like they wanted to split instead of help me. A little dissappointing to say the least.

I appreciate your comments/help.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

Depends on if you want all 4 tvs hooked up. I'd be inclined to go with the 2 Hopper 2 Joey combination but cost wise that brings you to $21 in receiver fees a month. Then again that's 4 tvs in HD and six tuners to work with.

Up to you. Each H or J is 7 a month, so if you do a hopper with sling, a regular hopper and 2 joeys you're paying the same as 1 hopper and 3 joeys. Up front cost may be a little more. I'm not sure where they are with 2nd hoppers.


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## puckwithahalo (Sep 3, 2007)

ilike2eattacos;3199671 said:


> Thank you dishRICH and RasputinAXP for the comments.
> I now have a better understanding of the fees.
> 
> 1. I need to ditch "DVR Integration - $4.00"
> ...


Well, right now you are paying $24 in equipment fees ($7 dvr fee, $17 for the second 722). You have 5 tvs. If you did 2 hoppers and 3 joeys, your fees would come to $38. With the $11 you're looking at saving, that would put you $3 higher than current, and running all 5 tvs. Or if you're ok with still only having 4, would be looking at $31, so saving $4. I'd suggest two hoppers and 2 joeys in that case. Just my two cents.


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## ilike2eattacos (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks to all that replied and offered some assistance.
Dish didn't offer me much. I'm very dissapointed and think I may cancel my service this weekend.


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## Rduce (May 16, 2008)

I have been with Dish for nearly 10 years now and have had excellent customer service in that time period. I have never paid a dime for a tech visit or any replacement equipment they have sent out to me. Only had a couple of glitches in billing or own equipment and either a single phone call or contacting a DIRT member has resolved those. 

Cannot complain at all. Love them over my local cable company!


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

Been with Dish since March of 2003.

Currently have a 722k with MT2 module and Sling adapter plus 2 ViP211's and one ViP211k.

Contacted DIRT about upgrade to Hopper last week,

Scheduled for 2 standard Hoppers and 3 Joeys install tomorrow afternoon - no up front cost other than subbing to DHA to prevent $95 tech visit and I'll buy 2 Hopper OTA adapters asap since Dish does not have our locals in HD.

About 3 years ago I got the 722k free as an upgrade from my 622.

My monthly bill with Dish is just under $100 - the Hopper stuff will bump it to just over $100, but my daughter who lives with us pays me for the 2 movie channels we sub or I still would be below $100/month.


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## Orion9 (Jan 31, 2011)

We've been with Dish since 2000, and currently are paying $57. We just get less stuff. Fewer receivers, smaller package. Sometimes you just have to decide what's really important. For instance when we look at the AT250 package vs the one we have now, we would like to have BBCA, and as I recall, one other channel. $15/month is a bit much for 2 commercial channels so we just stick with what we have now. With a DVR, we still have to give up some shows because there simply isn't time to watch everything in the AT120 package we have now. (And there are two lower priced packages too.) There are lots of options.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

I cancelled the Hopper install yesterday am after discovering that on 5/22/2013 the fees on the Hopper jump from $10 to $14 for DVR fee and from $7 to $14 for the receiver fee on 2nd+ Hopper.

My monthly bill would have gone up $17 anyway with the Hopper (had to add the Protection Pack for $7) but with the fee hike that turns into $28/month and the Hopper system is just not worth that much more.


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## comizzou573 (Aug 6, 2007)

sega_102 said:


> After 3.5 years, bye bye dish.
> 
> I called Dish on Thursday and told them I was thinking about getting Direct TV and wanted to know if they had a similar deal.
> 
> ...


Good thing I didn't follow through my sling loaded hopper. They were going to offer it to me for $50 dollar upgrade, dish used to have good customer service but after the 15 yrs of being with them they are horrible and rising their prices.


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## ilike2eattacos (Mar 25, 2013)

I just called a few minutes to ask what they had to offer for my two crappy broke down dvrs. THey work 50% of the time, and yes I pay for the $7 insurance as mentioned above.. they offered to replace them, and offered me a hopper to replace one of them.
I am now 48hrs awy from cancelling my service after 15+ years.
Their customer service/retention folks are not very good unlikes past years.

Last 48 hrs as a dish customer unless i get a miracle call back.. and that won't hapepn. What they don't know is i'm also going to cancel (2) business accounts.
In total i was paying dish $400 a month. oh well


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

Seems like the best thing for you AND Dish is to just move on. Dish it seems has come to that conclusion.


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

> I just called a few minutes to ask what they had to offer for my two crappy broke down dvrs. THey work 50% of the time, and yes I pay for the $7 insurance as mentioned above.. they offered to replace them, and offered me a hopper to replace one of them.
> I am now 48hrs awy from cancelling my service after 15+ years.
> Their customer service/retention folks are not very good unlikes past years.
> 
> ...


So you ask what they could do, they offer to replace with the best stuff they have and so you are going to drop them? What did you want? DISH to come out and hit the remote buttons for you while you sit on your couch?


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

I dont quite understand this either, they were going to replace what he has with new stuff and he doesnt think its a good enough deal?


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## ilike2eattacos (Mar 25, 2013)

They want to charge me $50, give me a hopper no joeys or anything else. Sure, you can look at it that way, they are giving me an upgrade but I have to pay $50.
Well, my bill will increase with that hopper.
Should I be happy that they are replacing my broken DVR's, I guess so.. but isn't that would they should do since I've paid the $7 a month for 3 years now?
The point is I'm not being offered ANYTHING more than what a customer thats been w/ them for 2-4 years would get and I've been a customer it turns out for 17.5 years.
Hey, no biggie. Monday afternoon i'm ditching.

*"What did you want? DISH to come out and hit the remote buttons for you while you sit on your couch?"*
((((You sound like the Dishnetwork person I spoke with. Same attitude, are you an employee of dish?))))

*"I dont quite understand this either, they were going to replace what he has with new stuff and he doesnt think its a good enough deal?"*
((((New stuff? A hopper upgrade with a $50 charge and increase in my bill.. as far as replacing my stuff, they are obligated, i pay the insurance. They did not care that I was going to cancel my service.. was treated like the average customer.))))


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

ilike2eattacos said:


> They want to charge me $50, give me a hopper no joeys or anything else. Sure, you can look at it that way, they are giving me an upgrade but I have to pay $50.


Not a bad price for an UPGRADE. The $7 per month protection plan is for the system you already have. It does not include "free" upgrades. Nor price protection on plans or equipment fees.

If you're really paying $400 per month for service why does $50 one time bother you so much?



ilike2eattacos said:


> ... I've been a customer it turns out for 17.5 years.
> Hey, no biggie. Monday afternoon i'm ditching.


A customer since 1995? I suppose that is possible. Somebody had to be their first customer.

And as far as leaving - we have heard that before ...
Enjoy your Roku.

After complaining for months it is time to poop or get off the pot.


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## inazsully (Oct 3, 2006)

First off you're calling him a liar. Yes you are. Unless you've done some research and are sure of what you're saying I find it increadable that a moderator would do that. Even if you are 100% correct it should be beneath a moderators integrity to say something like that tp a Dish sub. It's hardley up to you or anybody else to question why $50 bothers him so much. If it wouldn't bother you that's fine but if it bothers him that's fine too. Enjoy your Roku? Another cheap shot beneath the Moderator title.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

I am not calling him a liar ... that is your word, not mine. And I am posting as a regular member of this forum, not as a moderator, when I make the comments I made. (When I speak as a moderator it is about site moderation ... asking people to post within the rules of our forum ... and most of those actions are done outside of the public eye as to avoid embarrassing moderated users. Most of the time.)

If you wish to read all of "ilike2eattacos" posts you will see that he has threatened to leave DISH before and has mentioned that he would be leaving for Roku. It is in context.

$50 is a good deal. He will have to agree to stay with DISH for two more years, which may be more painful than the one time upgrade fee (considering the complaints). I have not gone back to see if he mentions how he gets to $400 per month (the average DISH customer is not paying that much per month). That level of cost usually comes from having multiple receivers with fees ... something that can be reduced by going to the Hopper (although the fees were less when he first started complaining in March ... and he could have been grandfathered in at lower rates had he made a move then).

It is his choice ... advice was given when he first posted his problem and a good deal was offered. Personally doing nothing but complaining on the Internet is not helping his problem, is it?


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

The defective boxes should have been replaced at no cost with no increase in monthly fees. Adding fees is how Dish is driving people away.


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## sregener (Apr 17, 2012)

ilike2eattacos said:


> They want to charge me $50, give me a hopper no joeys or anything else. Sure, you can look at it that way, they are giving me an upgrade but I have to pay $50.
> Well, my bill will increase with that hopper.


They offered you a Hopper. Did they require you to take it? That's like going into McDonald's and being upset that the order-taker said, "Do you want fries with that?" If you have the protection plan and broken DVRs, they should replace those with like receivers at no cost. An upgrade is a different story. I would be upset if they didn't at least offer you the upgrade.

In this thread, you've been saying for months you want to cancel your service, but you haven't done it yet. If you're dissatisfied, that's your right. But the deadlines pass and you're still here, which seems to me like you keep hoping somebody from Dish will come along and offer you a free lunch. Go ahead and switch to DirecTV, enjoy your 12-months of discounts, and then enjoy the higher programming and box fees. Pray hard that you don't get one of their dog-slow DVR models (and they claim not to be able to tell the difference between models when you order.) Dish isn't perfect. But neither is DirecTV. Both have their issues. I switched to Dish last year, and am generally happy I did so. My bill is lower, I get more channels I actually watch, more of them in HD, and I have a DVR that actually responds to button pushes every time. Hard to argue with that, even at full price.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

ilike2eattacos said:


> They want to charge me $50, give me a hopper no joeys or anything else. Sure, you can look at it that way, they are giving me an upgrade but I have to pay $50.
> Well, my bill will increase with that hopper.
> Should I be happy that they are replacing my broken DVR's, I guess so.. but isn't that would they should do since I've paid the $7 a month for 3 years now?
> The point is I'm not being offered ANYTHING more than what a customer thats been w/ them for 2-4 years would get and I've been a customer it turns out for 17.5 years.
> ...


 :icon_band "Now it's the same old song". :icon_band ......Since March you've been complaining about DISH and threatening to cancel your service with them. What are you waiting for? An Act of Congress? You've made your point! Stop complaining and switch providers. But remember, as with any service provider the only thing you will be "entitled" to is the service you will be paying for.


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## Wilf (Oct 15, 2008)

I just has a very pleasant experience with a CSR when I cancelled by Dish account after 15 years. No hassle or fuss. The return of the 722 is on Dish, which was a big surprise.


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## ilike2eattacos (Mar 25, 2013)

I did cancel my accounts TODAY at 913am Eastern Time this morning. I placed my first directtv order at 8:30am just before the phone call.

I was not expecting that kind of response from a moderator. You sound like an angry employee of dish or a stockholder.
I'm done reading the posts here, moving onto another forum. I wasn't looking for sympathy or lots of free stuff, initially was looking for help/advice, now it's a matter of just telling you my story.. and how they lost big $$$ from us.

Our business accounts are through (3) hotels I own and operate. Yes, we have a huge bill but it was worth paying to keep my customers happy.
Why the fuss over $50? It's my choice isn't it? Just like it's my choice to leave this morning instead of March. $50 isn't going to kill me guys.. but why offer me nothing but what I'm already entitled too.

I would like to thank those of you that encouraged time o take my busniess elswhere. [...REDACTED,,,]

By the way, the rep I spoke with on the phone to cancel with was very nice and professional. She tried to persuade me to stay when she realized the little bit i was offered this week. She said I was the customer they wanted to keep (she looked at my personal account for the last 17 years, and business account for the last 6 years.. I cut her off (3) times and told her it was too late.. I was done. I was now a directtv customer.

For those of you that replied with advice, again I thank you.


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## Orion9 (Jan 31, 2011)

I find it comforting that Dish isn't always cutting special deals based on how much you whine and/or how many business accounts you have, who you're friends with, etc. I recently switched away from a business when I found out they were doing that.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

+100

Anyone who says my dvrs never work right or anything along those lines, and never bother until they "reach their last straw" to even try to get anything fixed has no leg to stand on with me. If you have a dvr that is not working right, you call in and they send you a replacement. You dont go for months and months with one that isnt working correctly without doing anything about it, then come out and say "this device has never worked right" or "this device hasnt worked right for months", oir "they cant fix the problem" Especially if you might have never let them know you have a problem. Now it sounds like he brought out his false sense of entitlement to expect much more than he was offered. DId you want your stuff replaced for free? It sounds like they were more than willing to do that . Did you expect a Hopper for free and not for the $50 they offered? Unless I missed it, the last guy never really said what he expected them to do to keep him, but that what they did offer apparently wasnt enough.


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## Inkosaurus (Jul 29, 2011)

SayWhat? said:


> The defective boxes should have been replaced at no cost with no increase in monthly fees. Adding fees is how Dish is driving people away.


Except what happened is most likely that he called in to get the broken receivers replaced and wanted an upgrade and not a model for model replacement, then got pissy that there were strings attached.


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## Orion9 (Jan 31, 2011)

Yeah, in context with his other posts going back to March, I think he was annoyed that he didn't have the newest DVR rather than having an actual technical problem. I don't see any post where he asks for any help with any specific DVR issue.


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## satinstallerguy (Apr 21, 2013)

damondlt said:


> Yep, Sorry too much BS comes with Dish service.
> 
> I'll take a slightly worst HD DVR, and Stable programming anyday of the week.


I disagree with the slightly worse DVR...... I believe the HR 44 is superior to the hopper.......... Especially when you can run 3 clients with separate tuners unlike the hopper......... plus the Service is far better but that's just my opinion........

SIG


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## sregener (Apr 17, 2012)

satinstallerguy said:


> I disagree with the slightly worse DVR...... I believe the HR 44 is superior to the hopper.......... Especially when you can run 3 clients with separate tuners unlike the hopper......... plus the Service is far better but that's just my opinion........


You may be right about the HR44. And with the special offers DirecTV runs, I'd give it a serious consideration after my 2-year commitment is up, but there's this one little problem. DirecTV will not promise me an HR44 when I sign up. I might get the slower HR34. This "receiver ignorance" is why I'm a Dish customer in the first place. Dish will promise you a Hopper or Hopper2 when you sign up, and they'll deliver the model you asked for.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Wait, dish has two differnt hoppers, can't guarantee one or the other? That's the same thing with DIRECTV and their genies.


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## sregener (Apr 17, 2012)

inkahauts said:


> Wait, dish has two differnt hoppers, can't guarantee one or the other? That's the same thing with DIRECTV and their genies.


No, you order which one you want. That's what you get. Dish doesn't pretend they're the same, or that their system "can't tell" which is which.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

So they have two distinct hoppers? I'll have to go look it up and see what the differences are. Should be easy to find on their web site if they distinguish between them.

And you seem to suggest that there is a massive difference between the two genies DIRECTV has model wise. I have them both, and there the same dang thing for 99.99% of everyone. The differences are completely negligible, they both DO the exact same things.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Careful! Our favorite *agent provacateur** will try to quote someone else as saying they are a lot different in order to start a flame war....

* unnamed but he knows who he is, as do many regulars....

:sure: :smoking: :bang


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## sregener (Apr 17, 2012)

inkahauts said:


> So they have two distinct hoppers? I'll have to go look it up and see what the differences are. Should be easy to find on their web site if they distinguish between them.
> 
> And you seem to suggest that there is a massive difference between the two genies DIRECTV has model wise. I have them both, and there the same dang thing for 99.99% of everyone. The differences are completely negligible, they both DO the exact same things.


Hmmm. You're not very informed if you don't know about the original "Hopper" and the new "Hopper with Sling." You can, of course, get an external Sling adapter for the original Hopper (I have the original and a Sling Adapter) but it isn't quite the same as the Hopper with Sling built-in.

I haven't had a Genie. I had an HR22-100. It was dog slow. 30 seconds to respond to button presses (if ever) at times. Sometimes, it was plenty fast, but other times I'd press a button a dozen times and couldn't get it to work right. Go online, read the forums, and they're riddled with complaints about the HR22s and 23s, and lots of people saying how much better the HR24 was. Call DirecTV up and while they can offer to replace my HR22-100 (and renew my commitment for 24 months), they can't promise me that my "new" (probably refurbished) HD-DVR would be an HR-24 and not an HR21, 22 or 23. "They're all the same in our system," they say, "and we can't tell you what you're going to get." Fast forward to today, and there are still threads started all the time complaining about the slow DVRs, and some even say the HR34, while better than the 21-23s, is still not as fast as the Hopper. The HR44, they say, is just about as fast. Now you have both and claim they're the same. The "do" the exact same things, but does that mean they do them at the same speed? My HR22 had the same features as the HR24, except for when it refused to listen to the remote control, which was quite often. Then all the features in the world didn't mean a thing to me as I couldn't change a channel and had to fight with a DVR to get "A Baby Story" off the screen with two young children in the room. I could have paid $200 to SolidSignal and gotten an HR24 (and a 2-year commitment with no programming credits) or I could get a free Hopper from Dish and over $300 in programming credits over that same time frame. $500 was too much money to spend to stick with DirecTV after suffering an abominable DVR for 24 months.

I wish I had the tennis multiplex during majors. I wish I had the slightly sharper picture DirecTV offers on HD channels. But wild horses will not drag me back to using a DirecTV DVR that does not perform swiftly, and unless or until DirecTV realizes that they're losing customers like me over this exact issue (and yes, I told everyone including Customer Retention my exact reason for leaving, and none of them could fix it) I won't be coming back.

Meanwhile, over in Dish land, I've had very few issues with my Hopper, and all of them were user error except for my first Sling Adapter which died and Dish replaced promptly. The DVR isn't quite as blazing fast as it was when new, but it is so much faster than my HR22-100 ever was.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

it's old H aka H2k and new H2 aka HWS (w/Sling): XiP813 vs 913


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