# Tried to get 522 promotion - was told i couldnt



## ZJedi01 (Mar 5, 2004)

Last January I took advantage of Dish's offer to commit to one year of service and get a 811 receiver and 301 receiver for new customers. If I held to the commitment the hardware was mine to own. That part has been fine (I do believe they no longer offer this promotion instead choosing to go soley with leases of equipment). So with the news of the 522 being offered to existing customers for lease as of Feb 1. and it being just over 1 year since I signed up with Dish, I thought that I would call up and lease a 522 under the new promotion. The CSR i talked to pulled up my record and said that I could not get a 522. I asked him why...he said he didnt know it just didnt show up on the screen as an option to upgrade to. He couldn't tell me if that was a current offer even, let alone tell me why I didnt qualify. Should I call back or what?


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

Yes, call them back. If the CSR you talk to tells you you don't qualify and can't tell you why ask to speak to a supervisor. If you don't qualify they should, at the very least, be able to let you know why.


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## rhindle (Jan 29, 2005)

Read this thread I started yesterday after I was told I qualified for $148 upfront instead of $99 like most others: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=38338

It seems to be a combination of many things and the computer makes the decision on the price (or whether you qualify at all) and from what the supervisor told me last night is non-negotiable.


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## ZJedi01 (Mar 5, 2004)

Called back. Talked to the CSR. She verified I had been a customer for 1 year, that I do own my equipment and it is not leased. Asked why I didnt qualify for the 522, said that the computer automatically detects who is eligible and appearently I dont and that she couldnt give me and exact reason and either could her supervisor. This is BS. Dish should state exactly what is required to get an upgrade instead of me wasting my time to call and wait on hold for 10 minutes twice now and be told no and no reason why exactly other than the machine she's typing into says no. JD power #1 my ass.


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

ZJedi01 said:


> Asked why I didnt qualify for the 522, said that the computer automatically detects who is eligible and appearently I dont and that she couldnt give me and exact reason and either could her supervisor. This is BS.


I agree with you. Computers don't make the rules; people that program the computers write the code that determine what the computer tells the CSRs and CSRs ought to have enough information to tell customers why they don't qualify. You may want to send an e-mail to [email protected]. They should be able to find out some information for you and maybe they can get the problem corrected so that the computer gives the CSR the information they need to tell the customer why they don't qualify.


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## rhindle (Jan 29, 2005)

ZJedi01 said:


> JD power #1 my ass.


Sounds like we both got one in the pooper, but you didn't even get any l00b. It's pretty sad when they just refer to the computer and don't have the ballz to tell you what the real reason is.

This is what lack of competition does unfortunately. Too bad there aren't more compelling options than E*, D* or cable or we'd get treated better. I mean, who am I compared to 11 million other knobs out there? Nothin, that's what. :nono2:


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## ZJedi01 (Mar 5, 2004)

Now I guess my question is, How do I get a 522 without spending a fortune. Should I Contact my local echostar dealer and see if I can get the promo through them, get a 522 off a ebay or what. I find it ridiculous that echostar has decided deny certain customers (customers who pay their bills on time, met all their commitments, etc.) its only dual tuner dvr (yes i know there's the 721 but its an extra fee or something , doesnt have dual outputs, or named baesd recording). I know of no other company that will refuse to sell a product to a customer who is willing to pay for it. Simply outrageous. When I told my wife that we couldnt get it, she asked if we could switch to DirecTV... I'm not sure that Charlie/Co. are aware this is how most people work.


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## rhindle (Jan 29, 2005)

I know, I feel kinda stuck too although at least I can pay $148 for it. I'd like to save going to D* for when there is a really good deal, say HD dual tuner DVR for $0 upfront lease or something. That will be a while and since the HD/DVR market is in constant flux I want to wait before I jump ship. I don't think D* would have much more or nothing more to offer me right now to justify jumping the E* ship just yet.


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## finniganps (Jan 23, 2004)

The 721 doesn't have duel outputs (it has duel tuners), but you don't have that now. You may want to consider a 721 if you can't get the 522. It doesn't have the NBR, but it is a nice box IMO.


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## JohnL (Apr 1, 2002)

finniganps said:


> The 721 doesn't have duel outputs (it has duel tuners), but you don't have that now. You may want to consider a 721 if you can't get the 522. It doesn't have the NBR, but it is a nice box IMO.


Finniganps,

Them there is fighting words, DUEL is a fight. Dual means two. I've never heard of fighting LNBF's.

John


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## buckyp (Dec 17, 2003)

I called for my 522 today and the csr said they couldn't do it because I just got the 510. I e-mailed amanda who responded to my [email protected] e-mail in december about me not being able to get a 522. She called me on the phone with 5 minutes of my e-mail and said she would get me the 522. she said it would cost me $99. I agreed and it is being installed Saturday. She was very nice. I may have been able to complain and get it for less, but I'm not looking to be a jerk. I just want to be able to get what everyone else can!(for the same price)


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## zer0cool (Nov 24, 2004)

I really liked my 721, (before I moved to HDTV and the 921), and it did not have a $5.00 fee for DVR.


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## JohnL (Apr 1, 2002)

buckyp said:


> I called for my 522 today and the csr said they couldn't do it because I just got the 510. I e-mailed amanda who responded to my [email protected] e-mail in december about me not being able to get a 522. She called me on the phone with 5 minutes of my e-mail and said she would get me the 522. she said it would cost me $99. I agreed and it is being installed Saturday. She was very nice. I may have been able to complain and get it for less, but I'm not looking to be a jerk. I just want to be able to get what everyone else can!(for the same price)


buckyp,

I did exactly the same thing to get the 522. Although the first CSR I spoke to was really nice and kept on passing me up the Management structure. The final representative was great, explained," The reason for the $149 fee was not just for the recevier, but the service call and installation of extra switches and running new cables". I told this representative that I already had A Dish 500 with 2 SW64 installation that I had done myself as well as run another cable in the room with a Diplexed Satellite signal and OTA signal.

His response was "Oooh, you know much more than most subscribers". I said I probably knew alot more than alot of CSR's, I also mentioned these internet forums I post too. At this point the representative said "Since you have all of the neccesary installation done, I'll give you the 522 for $99 and also credit your account an additional $49."

My point is that you don't have to be a jerk to get a deal. In fact, most places a polite conversation along with the call will generally get you what you want 85 to 95 percent of the time.

I hope we both enjoy the new 522's, TWO TUNERS is going to be great.

John


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## buckyp (Dec 17, 2003)

JohnL said:


> buckyp,
> 
> His response was "Oooh, you know much more than most subscribers". I said I probably knew alot more than alot of CSR's, I also mentioned these internet forums I post too. At this point the representative said "Since you have all of the neccesary installation done, I'll give you the 522 for $99 and also credit your account an additional $49."
> 
> ...


I agree. Actually I have had 3 conversations with E* this week. I didn't let the 522 CSR get out of hand knowing I had Amanda in my pocket.
BUT the other two impressed me. The Amanda incident and when I couldn't get any HD channels on my 811. The tech was polite, and sent out a tech the next day. Plus he credited me $5 because I couldn't watch HD right now. In the past I have had bad experinces with the CSR's and techs. This week has been a pleasant surprise.


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## jblight (Mar 31, 2002)

I've had nothing but bad luck with the CSR's as well. I just bought a 522 last month and played the game with the CSR's trying to activate it. I still don't understand why they make you jump through a bunch of hoops on this crap. They know that people own them and have them activated yet they insist on saying that it's a 'lease only' type deal. Idiots. Then when you try to play the lease game, they give you more hassle.
My point is, the Executive CSR's at the [email protected] is the way to go. No grief, no stupid questions, and no problems.
Just write [email protected] and explain the situation. They'll take care of you.


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