Anyone Have the Inside Scoop on How Customers are Evaluated by Dish?

[HanoverPretzel]

So, we know a lot of things like dish mover, free HD for life, and so on and so forth are dependent on Dish's evaluation of you as a customer. Depending on how they rate you, you may get those things for free, have to pay for them in full, or somewhere in between.

When you're first signing up, Dish seems to evaluate you based on a credit check. What about later, though? Does the credit check still come into play? Or do they simply look at whether you've paid your bills on time? What other factors are considered? Do the people with more expensive monthly bills rate higher with Dish when it comes to evaluating things like this? Does switching plans a lot hurt you? What about paying on-time but at the last minute? Does complaining to service reps about stuff hurt you? Does physical location matter? What else helps or hurts? How does all this stuff rank relative to each other in the evaluation (i.e. does paying your bill on time count for 50%?)? Is there a set time when this all kicks in for if you request a promotion (i.e. after you've been with Dish a certain period of time)?

Does being initially placed on pre-paid "hurt" you when qualifying for this stuff for the life of the account? Or do pre-paid customers eventually get placed on a level playing field with everyone else if they pay their bills on-time or whatever?

I figure we have enough current and former Dish employees around that someone has to know what the formula is. Free free to sign up with a different more anonymous account to fill us in so it can't be traced back to you if necessary.

 

[boba]

They takes some bones put them in a container shake them up and spill them out. Then a Shamin interprets the results and you get a score.(now where is that tongue in cheek symbol?)

 

[CK SatGuy]

Supposedly, Dish ranks all customers using a star based system (no joke) from 1 star to 5 stars. If you're a 4 star or 5 star customer, you get to pay the lower prices when it comes to upgrading equipment, etc. I found this pdf on Dish tech portal from June 2010 explaining the "new" fees for upgrading equipment and using DISH mover and etc. It may or may not help find what you're looking for.

 

[TonyT@DISH Network]

They takes some bones put them in a container shake them up and spill them out. Then a Shamin interprets the results and you get a score.(now where is that tongue in cheek symbol?)

WOW! I am pretty sure someone will be upset now that you spilled our secret! Which department do you work at? Just kidding.

Does complaining to service reps about stuff hurt you?

Complaints are not symptoms of a ‘bad’ customer, simply an unhappy one. Understand that we do not ‘give away the world’ over a complaint, though. If it is a genuine complaint, from an otherwise happy customer, we do work hard to resolve the issue. Keep in mind that occasionally the complaint is unfounded, or out of our control.

“I am mad because you keep shutting off my service” will only get you so far when the disconnect happens for non-payment.

Does being initially placed on pre-paid "hurt" you when qualifying for this stuff for the life of the account? Or do pre-paid customers eventually get placed on a level playing field with everyone else if they pay their bills on-time or whatever?

On the subject of PIA (Pay in Advance, pre-pay) customers, those accounts are PIA for the life of the account. The account itself does not 'switch' from that status. PIA customers can be people who have excellent credit, but don't want a contract, as well as customers with negative credit reports or no credit. I want to be clear that PIA customers are as diverse as non-PIA customers, both on credit scores and billing.

To directly answer the question, being a PIA customer does not ‘hurt’ anything, except that any charges applied to the account (if applicable) must be paid for at the time the charge is added.

 

[HanoverPretzel]

Supposedly, Dish ranks all customers using a star based system (no joke) from 1 star to 5 stars. If you're a 4 star or 5 star customer, you get to pay the lower prices when it comes to upgrading equipment, etc. I found this pdf on Dish tech portal from June 2010 explaining the "new" fees for upgrading equipment and using DISH mover and etc. It may or may not help find what you're looking for.

Thanks. The pdf didn't answer all my questions, but it did answer some of them -- and it's kind of cool to be able to get an insider look at what some of the Dish Network employees are seeing.

“I am mad because you keep shutting off my service” will only get you so far when the disconnect happens for non-payment.

Understandable.

To directly answer the question, being a PIA customer does not ‘hurt’ anything, except that any charges applied to the account (if applicable) must be paid for at the time the charge is added.

The pdf file linked to above, which appears to an internal Dish Network training document says "1 Star and all PIA (Pay in Advance) accounts require an additional $100" under DishMOVER.

Also, under promotions, there is what appears to be a chart of how much customers are asked to pay for new receivers. The DHA24 folks, which I read as being the customers who lease equipment but do not pay in advance, lists a charge of $200 for a 922 receiver, with all other receivers being free. The Flex24, which I read as being the customers who lease equipment but do pay in advance, lists a charge of $600 for that same 922, and lists two models that are free for DHA24 customers as having $200 fees associated with them for Flex24 customers. Are those just initial costs for new customers? Or would the same apply to customers upgrading their equipment?

I did note that the document was close to a year old and stuff may have changed since then. It's also entirely possible that I'm misunderstanding it.

 

[Claude Greiner]

This is purely speculation on my part, but here is how I understand it this to work.....

There is basically 3 types of customers when you first start out...

Premium DHA 24 customer - Low Risk
DHA 24 customer - Medium Risk
Pay in Advance, Flex customer - High Risk

Initially, I believe this makes a difference. However, as your account is more established, its mainly based off of payment history and the amount of programming that is ordered.

Good payment history, and a high programming bill will get you better deals.

I will say this, a Non-pay disconnect where your programming is shut off more than 15 days due to non-payment, will pretty much be held agenst you for a very long time and will prevent you from getting the best deals.

Now I don't think that should be confused with just being shut down on a soft disconnect, where your programming is shut off for non-payment, and you call a few hours, or the next day and make a payment to reconnect your service. I don't think that has any negative effect, as long as its not happening every month.

 

[DishSubLA]

I had heard that several things are considered: level of subscription; customer loyalty; additional purchases/services such as PPV's/VOD's (fairly regularly) and international or sports pack, etc.; frequency of upgrades (as in new equipment); total bill per month (those dropping under $100 per month are not going to get quite as many "complimentaries" or butt-licking as those dropping closer to $200 per month); payment history; number of disputes; unfounded complaints (Charlie did actually say in a quarterly that those who are at the low end calling to complain about things Dish really can't control should find another provider--citing that it cost him "$1 per minute" for those people to tie up his toll-free line belly-aching about stuff. But ". . . if they have a legitimate complaint, we will do our best to fix things." And he went on to say that if people want to improve their viewing experience, "we will happily set them up with our latest technology." Basically complaining bottom feeders actually COST him money, so those folks would be gladly shown the door. That is classic Charlie spreadsheet prayer mat .

In other words they consider a lot of things in trying to get a sense of "what kind of a customer" you are. Could our DIRT members comment on some of the things I've listed. This is based on like 5 year old information.

 

[Bob Haller]

well ultimaetly E doesnt mind free or such upgrades, since the tie the sub to a contract....

 

[sbsi]

That PDF file is outdated. Some Int'l packages are GONE!!!

 

[CK SatGuy]

I know its outdated. I said in my first post that it was dated from June 2010.

 

[TonyT@DISH Network]

This is purely speculation on my part

I answered this in my first post. Flex/Flex24 accounts are not "Siberia" for people with bad credit. Some people choose to have this type of account due to the benefits it provides. First off, PIA accounts have no unauthorized charges on them, being that charges are prepay. If I have a kid who likes to order movies (Adult or Disney), I can be assured that I won't be paying a $300 bill because my kid will have to pay for them upfront to watch them. Also, the Flex (no commitment) type of account can be turned off whenever and turned back on without worry, great for summer RVing customers who have a different service at home.

In some cases, prepay is the only way a customer can get DISH Network, much like a Cricket phone for customers wanting a cell. The point is not to place them in a category, but give them a feasible opportunity to have service and control their monthly bill more easily. It helps them not get further, and allows DISH to serve their needs as well.

Before a divorce years ago, I had prepay phone, internet, and television service. I was looking to buy a house and the mortgage company I had inquired about a loan through mentioned the number of credit inquiries on my credit report actually hurt my score (or recommendation for the loan?). Being that my credit has always been only marginal, I had to keep inquiries off and get my debt to income down. Not having nutty random charges on my phone, TV or internet for overages or order, I was actually able to improve my credit dramatically over two years.

DHA/DHA24 are post pay accounts, basically being able to be billed for certain things at a later time, even though it is technically still paying for the next month of service up front. DHA is no commitment and DHA24 is the two year. Premium? I haven't seen one. Some people, even though they qualify for this, refuse it and choose to go with a prepay service.

I know its outdated. I said in my first post that it was dated from June 2010.

Which is likely why it shouldn't have been posted. It added more questions that cannot be answered. It can also lead to people being upset over things that have no bearing at all. Also wanted to bring notice to the fact that every page does say Confidential Property of DISH Network. I would personally feel better if it would go away.

Could our DIRT members comment on some of the things I've listed.

Unfortunately not. I seriously hope you understand that while we like the patrons at SatelliteGuys, we love our income from DISH. Since things change so often, even if we were able to answer the question today, to remain correct it may have to be changed tomorrow. This is part of the reason why internal documents should stay internal.

Some of the best questions are the ones that have no answer, though. So good question.

 

[TonyT@DISH Network]

Oops.. Looks like I missed something in my post.

The pdf file linked to above, which appears to an internal Dish Network training document says "1 Star and all PIA (Pay in Advance) accounts require an additional $100" under DishMOVER.

Remember its age when you think of its relevance.

 

[Mike_H]

Hmm, Anytime I call Dish, I'm told (by the automated voice) I'm one of their exceptional customers. How many stars is that, or is that computer voice just shining me on?

 

[csmith5111]

Hmm, Anytime I call Dish, I'm told (by the automated voice) I'm one of their exceptional customers. How many stars is that, or is that computer voice just shining me on?

So am I. I feel so special. Any time I feel down I call just to hear that. At least someone appreciates me.