Whew! I got the call . . . . but it was a painful experience. My wife called me from home this morning and said someone offered us the $200 for $199 deal. She did the right thing by calling me. I just wish I would have been there to accept on the spot. Unfortunately, tracking down the right person to talk to at DISH is a colossal and time-consuming challenge. You must be mentally prepared and have your afternoon wide open if you want to initiate the call to DISH.
My initial excitement in finally, FINALLY, getting "the call" was immediately squelched by my irritation at the DISH organization. According to my wife, the DISH CSR that called her said that my account was notated and that anyone at 800-333-3474 could help. WRONG!
Attempt #1: The guy could not even pull up my account because his system was malfunctioning. He transfered me to someone else, but since I do work for a living, I couldn't wait indefinitely. Hung up. Try again later.
Attempt #2: Spoke with some foreign feller. I explained to him the deal, he seemed to understand, he took all my info in a long time consuming exchange, and in closing he said, "so we're going charge you $299 . . . " I asked if he was even listening to me, and he said there is no such promotion. I said, "Do not change my account, and do not charge anything." Click.
Attempt #3: Spoke to someone else, cut to the chase and asked him to check my account for notes about this phantom call my wife got this morning. He said he saw the notes but can't honor the deal, but that deal starts June 9 and to call back. I said the freakin' guy was trying to offer my wife the deal this morning. He said that was impossible, and that he apologized for the misinformation we received. Click.
Attempt #4: Spoke with another lost soul. I said, "I am extremely agitated, and it would save us both a great deal of unpleasantness if you transfer me to your boss or someone that can make special decisions regarding account promotions." He did so, and after a long wait I spoke to Nicole. She was very nice and intimately familiar with the promotion and made the arrangements for me. Done.
What a cluster @#$%&! Advice: immidiately speak to someone called "Account Specialist" right off the bat. Don't waste your time with anyone else. It was interesting that one of the operators mentioned that after Jun 9, this same promotion will be available in all the call centers' systems as an option.
Some additional info about our setup: I had Dish for about 2 years, most basic package, DVR-510. Got married & moved. Closed my account, opened new account in wife's name to get free equipment and promotions including a leased 942, AMT60, and the old HD pak. Locals are not yet available in St. Louis but are supposedly available any time. As best I can tell from this forum and my own experience, the only requirement to receive this promotion is to own or lease a 942.
Good luck everybody!
. Here is a list of current and planned HD-LIL for this year. I don't see Fresno on the list.
