Directv customer retention lies about DISH Network

[Claude Greiner]

This is one of the reasons why Directv unlike DISH Network is not loosing customers each and every month for the past year.

How many customers like me who are on the edge of disconnecting, are they giving huge un-necessary discounts just to keep them as a subscriber?

A few people here have said this is un-ethical, and as far as im concerned if Directv is willing to deeply discount their programming to keep me as a customer shame on them.

Not for anything, they should be smart enough to know that the $480 cancellation fee they require on all of their contracts should be enough to keep customers connected to their service. All they had to do was put their foot down and call my bluff.

 

[jacmyoung]

I'll admit both satellite companys lie, But I've never heard E* say anything about D* while I was on the phone with them.
But I've heard D* bad mouth E* on a number of occations. Yea my conversations were about the same . D* CSR spreading BS around that they know nothing about.

I had switched between the two at least 3 or 4 times in the past many years, both retentions would tell me why I did not want to go to the other side, and they both used some facts they learned about the other side.

Only that in my case, the E* retention was more educated about the D* facts, the D* retention had no idea what was the real facts about E*, they had just thrown anything at me.

It is good to know D* is trying very hard to keep its subs. My account is in suspension, when the time comes I will find out if D* will try hard to keep me around, only at that time, it would not be D* v. E*, rather D* v. ATT Uverse.

It would be hard for D* to match the price of ATT Uverse, despite of some obvious deficiencies with Uverse.

 

[jacmyoung]

... All they had to do was put their foot down and call my bluff.

Not so easy, these days many call to disconnet simply because they can no longer afford to pay. Sending them a $400 bill will not lead D* anywhere with them, especially in cases similar to yours. I know two guys who bought into the NFL ST deal, and after the games were over and the discount periods passed, they realized it became too expensive for them for the service they did not care so much for (other than the NFL ST), so they are now trying to disconnect. Some are willing to pay the early cancellation fee, it would still be worth the deal because the local cable, Fios or Uverse cost are just so low, and some companies are even willing to cover the early cancellation fees if they switch.

 

[MikeinBaja]

This is one of the reasons why Directv unlike DISH Network is not loosing customers each and every month for the past year.

How many customers like me who are on the edge of disconnecting, are they giving huge un-necessary discounts just to keep them as a subscriber?

A few people here have said this is un-ethical, and as far as im concerned if Directv is willing to deeply discount their programming to keep me as a customer shame on them.

Not for anything, they should be smart enough to know that the $480 cancellation fee they require on all of their contracts should be enough to keep customers connected to their service. All they had to do was put their foot down and call my bluff.

Claude - you are certainly entitled to your opinion and, obviously, have no ethical issues with your conduct or your blatant boasts about it.

In the future I'd strongly recommend that you wear a good quality condom before you dial the 800# for D. Would hate to get a virus in their system since your intentions with them is perfectly clear.

 

[varaonaid]

When I asked about the cancellation fee for early termination (to know what I'm getting into) I was told that it's $20/mo for the remainder of the contract. Is this not correct?

 

[jacmyoung]

Claude - you are certainly entitled to your opinion and, obviously, have no ethical issues with your conduct or your blatant boasts about it.

In the future I'd strongly recommend that you wear a good quality condom before you dial the 800# for D. Would hate to get a virus in their system since your intentions with them is perfectly clear.

I recommend you wear a good quality condom when you dial any 800# as well, just because you think you are clean does not mean you may not pass on any virus or get screwed over by the other. Always good to have protection.

 

[Claude Greiner]

When I asked about the cancellation fee for early termination (to know what I'm getting into) I was told that it's $20/mo for the remainder of the contract. Is this not correct?

Yes, and at 24 months its $480

 

[William1]

I've seen the same switching done in the job market. Work at a place for six months, quit, work somplace else at a higher rate and then attampt to go back. I worked at a place, this one person came and left four times. When they applied the fith time, I was the manager, I refused to hire them (they had already quit thier current company), cause was a lack of stability. Had I been 'forced' to hire them, I would of done so at the rate they had the very first time they had been hired, certainly not at the greatly inflated fourth hire rate.

The companies need to flag these habitual people. The people that deserve the heavy discounts are the long term loyal customers.

 

[wh5916]

When talking discounts and raising rates....The Satellite companies also offer pretty generous discounts to keep folks from moving on and after to come back. I just got a note in the mail to come back to direct and they were offering the current new sub program (12 months discounted rates) I have been away from Direct for about a month. I would think, but I dont know this for sure becouse I had one company for about nine years (Direct) that periodicly I will keep getting them.I dont mind this as it will let me know they may want my business back. Down the road if I really have the Sunday ticket blues next season, wont do this season becouse I was ready for a bit of a break from sunday ticket, maybe there will be something that will catch my eyes.

There isn't a month when I don't receive a "come back" offer from DirecTV with very attractive one year rates. I don't take the offers because their base prices have become too high for my wallet, and I'm not one who wants to call and haggle with customer retention every few months in order to keep my bill low.

Hats off to those who do. It's DirecTV's fault for permitting this type of selective discounting to begin with.

 

[Kevinw]

Wow i could make a great comment here about the topic starter but i won't since he is a Retailer and Staff member......

Isn't this making a comment great or otherwise You have nothing to fear by disagreeing with a staff member as long as you don't call names. I don't know what retribution he can exact upon you being a retailer for disagreeing with him.

 

[jacmyoung]

I've seen the same switching done in the job market. Work at a place for six months, quit, work somplace else at a higher rate and then attampt to go back. I worked at a place, this one person came and left four times. When they applied the fith time, I was the manager, I refused to hire them (they had already quit thier current company), cause was a lack of stability. Had I been 'forced' to hire them, I would of done so at the rate they had the very first time they had been hired, certainly not at the greatly inflated fourth hire rate.

The companies need to flag these habitual people. The people that deserve the heavy discounts are the long term loyal customers.

It all has to do with supply and demand. In high demand, I know folks switch jobs just to get better pay and benefit, in fact using one offer against the other for the best deal. But when economy soured, they stayed put, just the way things are, as long as you know a way out.

Those who decide to stay at one place for life are of course good folks too, to each his own.

 

[ChrisK114]

I don't see a problem with what he did. This is the market we are in now. If you were a bussiness owner, wouldn't you try and get the best deal you can? I guess if D* called you tonight and offered to give you $50 off your bill for a year, you would turn it down because it would make everyone else's price go up. I don't think so. I am in the service industry and it happens to us all the time. People call and threaten to quit because they got a better offer from a rival company. We have to do what we have to do to keep a customer. I don't know about D*, but when we lose a customer, it takes 6 new customers to make up what we lost. What the total value of a customer is can not be calculated. If they are happy, they will tell some friends, who in turn will tell other friends, and so on and so on...

 

[paulman182]

Claude, when you told the one lie about intending to cancel, they told you more lies than you told them, so I guess you are a little more honest than they are.

In fact, if you do decide to cancel, be sure to call and say you lost your job and see if they will waive the cancellation fee, because I hear they do that for some out-of-work people.

You can lie to them a few more times before you break even...that is how you view honesty, right?

 

[Curtis0620]

Not like DISH ever lied about getting out-of-market NFL games.

 

[jacmyoung]

Claude, when you told the one lie about intending to cancel...

On that point I agree, when I called to use cancellation as a way to get better deals, I actually was ready to cancel and pay the termination fees, if any.

He took the risk and won, they could have disconnected him on the day that was scheduled, and billed him the termination fee.