That is such crap. CSR's from Directv will tell customers anything to either get them to pay for a service call, or upgrade to a new 2 year commitment.
I have as much issues sometimes with CSR's as the next tech but in their defense, all they know is what they are told.
They (for the most part) could not peak an 18" dish if you handed it to them.
Also, D* (E* is no different) created this monster where not only do they not train them properly to trouble shoot, but monitor their call times making it more important for them to get the customer off the phone then actually help them.
They do the same things to us techs at times too.
For example, you know at times when you go on a trouble call that you need to reinstall the entire system taking 3 hours and more money in materials then the pay.
However, you can find a way to fix that system costing you only a couple dollars and be out in less then an hour knowing it will break again (i.e. cascading a 6x8).
What do most techs do? Take the easy way out because doing it right is not worth the service call pay.
Does it make it right?
Hell no, but D* created that monster too.
Lets face it, we are all working for a company that cares more about how things look on paper then actually keeping customers happy.