After 15+ Years and $17,000, I'm Thinking of Leaving DISH

[barryaz1]

I checked back and I started with DISH in November of 1998 and have spent (thanks to Quicken) over $17,000 and now I'm considering leaving. And I don't know if it will be Direct, Cox, Century Link, cord cutting or some combination. And it's due to the incredible deterioration in both reliability and service and customer appreciation.

Of course I've moved through many receivers over this time, now on a HWS + 2 Joey setup. Have had an EHD for several years, going back to when it first became available on my 722 (or was it a 622?). And other than a bad EHD, that's worked easily.

And service from DISH had been exemplary, replacing bad receivers as needed, etc.

That seems to have all changed.

In fact, until 328, I never really had a problem with an EHD. Since then, nothing but. Now moving programs around after a defective Hopper, and bulk transfers of even a single program will not work.

OK, defective receivers happen.

But now, I'm still waiting for a DISH email of a return label which was not in or under the original label on the empty box AND THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME FOR THE TIME IT TOOK TO MOVE PROGRAMS OFF THE OLD Hopper. And of course, THAT TOOK AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF TIME SINCE THEIR BUM SOFTWARE KEPT MESSING UP TRANSFERS.

So it's come to this - leaving?

 

[Scherrman]

I'm sure you're upset but if it were me in your shoes I wouldn't find this a big enough reason to leave Dish. I love the Hopper system and know there isn't anything else out there that is going to fit my needs like the equipment I have now. This is just my opinion of course though.

 

[wallyhts]

But now, I'm still waiting for a DISH email of a return label

I have been waiting over a week for an email also. I called 3 times wasted an hour. Then Pm'ed dirt and they are mailing them now still sucks because dish charged my amex for $900.

 

[barryaz1]

And the proverbial straw is the charging me daily for the defective Hopper. So we'll see if DISH does the right thing - make that charge disappear. Still waiting on that label. DIRT?

 

[KaptainRandom]

15+ years and $17,000...
If you had been with Direct or cox or comcast all that time, you'd have been $25,000 or more for similar/lesser service...
Perspective is what you make it...
Commercial loyalty is non existant...
Not just Dish...
Every 'business' you do business with is exactly as loyal as your last payment and 'terms&conditions'
Good luck to you...
Hope you find the service/product you seek.

 

[dwarren2]

Did you try to peel off the shipping label? Last time I had to return a receiver, the return shipping lable was under the shipping label. Just had to peel the top label off.

 

[barryaz1]

Did you try to peel off the shipping label? Last time I had to return a receiver, the return shipping lable was under the shipping label. Just had to peel the top label off.

That's what I thought, too. Nope, just rips off the box.

 

[Gray Hair]

Dirt?

And the proverbial straw is the charging me daily for the defective Hopper. So we'll see if DISH does the right thing - make that charge disappear. Still waiting on that label. DIRT?

Dirt is DISH Network Internet Response Team, which is available by PM on Satelliteguys.
On link is some information on what they can and can't do.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/272906-A-Note-About-the-DIRT-Team


http://www.satelliteguys.us/forums/10-The-DISH-Forum
At bottom of a page is the DIRT members contact information on member's available to PM info to. Hopefully somebody more familiar will help you find this information? I am not familiar with them but many have used it with positive results.

I believe the members on site are the ones in red with Dish network after it. At the moment it is ZachS@Dish Network.

 

[barryaz1]

I believe the members on site are the ones in red with Dish network after it. At the moment it is ZachS@Dish Network.

Zach and I have been emailing and hopefully I'll get a label soon and even get to UPS before tonight's pickup.

 

[Tampa8]

I would be upset too if they were charging me, probably not enough to switch. But I hope it gets straitened out. BTW notice the 8 in my online name.

 

[barryaz1]

Things might be looking up - Zach got the label emailed to me, unit out to UPS and promised to take care of those charges. Hope to report all smooth and done soon.

 

[david_jr]

Glad to hear. DIRT is really great to have around for times like that.

 

[BeckiB@Dish Network]

I checked back and I started with DISH in November of 1998 and have spent (thanks to Quicken) over $17,000 and now I'm considering leaving. And I don't know if it will be Direct, Cox, Century Link, cord cutting or some combination. And it's due to the incredible deterioration in both reliability and service and customer appreciation.

Of course I've moved through many receivers over this time, now on a HWS + 2 Joey setup. Have had an EHD for several years, going back to when it first became available on my 722 (or was it a 622?). And other than a bad EHD, that's worked easily.

And service from DISH had been exemplary, replacing bad receivers as needed, etc.

That seems to have all changed.

In fact, until 328, I never really had a problem with an EHD. Since then, nothing but. Now moving programs around after a defective Hopper, and bulk transfers of even a single program will not work.

OK, defective receivers happen.

But now, I'm still waiting for a DISH email of a return label which was not in or under the original label on the empty box AND THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME FOR THE TIME IT TOOK TO MOVE PROGRAMS OFF THE OLD Hopper. And of course, THAT TOOK AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF TIME SINCE THEIR BUM SOFTWARE KEPT MESSING UP TRANSFERS.

So it's come to this - leaving?

We would hate to lose you as a customer! I would be happy to review your account and your concerns. Please send me a PM with your account or phone number!

 

[bwexler]

I know how you feel. I just upgraded from 2 H2K to 2 HWS.
i had the same EHD problem with 900 items on one H2K and 600 on the other. When I finally hooked up and activated the second HWS a very nice CSR reversed all the inappropriate charges and deactivated the old equipment. Hopefully today I will have time to pack it all up and get it shipped tomorrow.
when I got my new bill a couple days later I also saw the two $5 discounts for 18 months, apparently to offset the increased fee for the Hoppers. And yes I too was considering cutting the cable. We will see what happens in 18 months.
On another note I just ordered a 50" LED TV from Newegg for $400. It's on sale for Super Bowl weekend only.

 

[barryaz1]

An update...

After many PM's with DIRT, including my litany of the biggest current problems:

• I shouldn't have to reset my Hopper every morning just to get it to recognize my EHD2.
• I shouldn't have to worry when I finally see EHD2 and 75% of my recordings aren't appearing until I red button reset the Hopper.
• I shouldn't have to reset the Hopper when I get error messages about transferring.
• I shouldn't have to wonder what program is actually under an icon on a screen.
• I shouldn't have to make a note of a recording on my DVR because it won't appear on the Transfer screen.
• I should be able to press the FF and actually have it do something and not get frozen.

I get the long, canned response:

I completely understand your frustrations. Our engineers work on each issue that we send to them. There are some that take longer to resolve than other ones. We do not usually get updates on an issue after we send it to the engineers. We are always trying to put a better product out for our customers, so that we can keep up with our customer's needs. With the issues that you are having, we will post any updates that we receive.



And my response:

So now I get the long answer that says the same thing. The company line is clear. Please let me know when my contract commitment ends and I'll make my decision then after considering alternatives. Meanwhile, I surely won't be recommending DISH to anyone.

Over the years, I've probably been responsible for more than a half-dozen DISH customers. What company cares about current customers today?

 

[JM42]

The response they've given is all they can say. What do you expect them to do? Send custom builds daily until all your personal issues are fixed?

All DIRT, or any customer service can do is report the issue, work out the billing/shipping issues and possibly offer to replace the equipment again. With so many of your issues being EHD related, have you tried other drives?

I just upgraded two 85%-90% full H2Ks to HWS, transferred everything to external drives and most of it back again, without any issue at all. Your issues may not be isolated, but they aren't necessarily common either.

 

[GaryPen]

Considering all of the horrible receivers and SW released by Dish over the years, I find it surprising that the HWS is the worst Dish receiver you've had. I guess you never had an early 721 (they did eventually get it working pretty well), or a 921, which they never got working properly, or an 800, or a 922, or...

And DIRT is, without a doubt, the best Dish CSR's I've ever dealt with, other than a handful of Tech Support phone reps back in the day. (Tip: when using phone help, always choose Tech Support. They can help with ALL issues. And, they are a bit smarter than the regular CSR's.)

I'm no Dish fanboy. But, it seems like you're being a bit impatient and even a little unfair. Other than the issues with EHD's, the Hopper is generally quite stable and feature-rich. Actually, I think they waste too much time on unnecessary features instead of fixing bugs in the core features and basic operation. But, the bugs haven't been nearly as bad as with earlier models.

 

[craig559]

hard to believe I too have spent that much money and more with Dish, all in all tho they have been good to me

 

[Rangers484]

I have paid untold thousands to service providers over the years in exchange for a service. You make is sound like you are putting money into a savings account.

Last time I was unhappy with a TV provider I left Comcast for DISH. Why stick around if you are this unhappy?