Existing Customer: Dish HD Options

[Minsk1]

I agree with you. As voom and dish customer, I can't lease 942. If I canceled Dish when I got Voom I would be able to get 942 now. That was confirmed to me by several Dish reps. It is incredibly stupid policy which will cause them to loose customers.

I was Voom and Dish customer too. And I wanted 942 too. Maybe I just wanted it more then you, dishguy,( ), because I tried to get it calling them two weeks. Finally, I asked to transfer me to the retention department. Finally, they arranged a sweet deal for me: cancellled current account, open a new account with 942, 811, updating to SuperDish for $250. Later I just added the upgrade of 61.5 dish to DishPro (I had Dish 500 & Dish 300 system) with Dp44+ switch free of charge. My argument to upgrading free of charge was that I actually had the correct setup (two dish system) to pick up Voom package. Installation of SuperDish with Dp34 just ruined my ability to get what I had. So they agreed to free upgrade. Now I have Voom package and is very satisfied with 942 . I find 811 almost identical to 6000 receiver (not so good, especially weak OTA tuner).

 

[BobMurdoch]

Their churn numbers were much lower than the "Street" expected on their most recent earnings conference call. We keep talking like E* must be hemorraging customers for their recent policies, but the numbers aren't bearing that out.

They ARE losing market share though as D* is continuing to grow faster than they are. The LIL momentum is losing steam (Adding Markets #152 and 168 don't deliver as much bang for the buck as #37 and 51 did (note these numbers are bogus.... it is just an example for illustration purposes)) and the D* TV commercials promising massive HD upgrades were having their desired effect and were attracting more early adopter types.

It will be interesting to see if E* can market the Voom channels properly now. D* spends a lot on TV air time, while I can't remember seeing a commercial for E* on TV anywhere (other than the ones they insert into their programming feeds). No one but us hard core types know about the Voom additions, and they need to get the word out to reverse the market share erosion trend.

 

[bobaphx]

Yes, it does seem like an odd way to treat your customers... especially someone that has been that has been with them so long (8 years). If I was "allowed" to have new product when it became available, I would probably be a customer forever.

I have completely upgraded my tv (to Pioneer Plasma) and audio equipment and expected that my satellite service would let me upgrade to enjoy the full potential of the thousands on dollars I've spent on new equipment. I have a 508 DVR and have become reliant on that machine to let me watch the programs I enjoy when it is convenient for me. I didn't mind paying for the right to lease the 942, but I didn't want to own it (it might have been different if MPEG4 wasn't on the horizon with no guarantee from Dish that my purchased DVR wouldn't be useless in 6-12 months). I have the money to spend on this kind of thing and I'm insulted that I had to beg to get the 10 VOOM channels and beg even harder to try to get the DVR... but was put off and denied because I'm a good customer.
This is just plain stupid!

(p.s. I went through the rentention department and it got me nowhere except a thanks for your business... and good bye)

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Well, I finally got around to setting up my 61.5 dish and called Dish back about picking up an HD receiver. My first call, described earlier in this thread, netted me an offer of a leased 811 for $100 upfront and $5/month.

This time the deal was a bit better. They only wanted $25 upfront (I'm a 7 year sub, don't know if this helped out), $5/month lease, and free HD for the first 6 months.

The first "offer" I got would have cost me $280 for the first year, this deal will run $145, rising to $205 once I get the receiver and then add the VOOM tier. This is acceptable. And I can dump off the 811 once Dish has a MP4 solution.

But I sure will miss having DVR functionality on the HD channels. My 510 will hold fort for SD.

 

[SteveinDanville]

I emailed ceo@echostar.com on Tuesday to ask if I, as an 8 year subscriber, could upgrade from a 721 to a 942 on a lease basis, and the answer came back in a couple of hours as "Yes"! For $250 I will be getting a new 942 to go along with my new Fujitsu 55" plasma, so am I happy? Absolutely.