Horrible service and I don't even HAVE Dish yet...

[Rukes]

I decided to dump D* for E* because of the lack of HD on the former...called up E* earlier this month, scheduled an appointment for 10 days later, the earliest possible, which is today, the 16th. I chose the 12-5PM slot.

So after a long night at work on the 15th, and very little sleep, I wake up just before noon to get ready for them to come by and set up my satellite. And wait. And Wait. 5 and a half hours later, nothing. No call from the installers to let me know they can't make it, or will be late. Nothing.

I call up E* and they give me the runaround. No, I shouldn't expect a call in the first place since most technicians don't have cell phones. (what?). No, there is no way to contact or find out who is installing the dish. The only option they could give me was to just reschedule my date for ANOTHER week, on the 24th. The only consolation is they said to call back tomorrow and see if I can get it pushed up.

I'm pretty disappointed, since there were some shows I was expecting to watch tonight...and this week.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I would hope that since they decided to cancel my appointment and not let me know, they might be nice enough to push my date up sooner than later...but I doubt it. Am I going to have to wait forever to get Dish installed?

Better TV For Your Home
Begins on "whenever"!

 

[kenny911]

Not sure where you live but its not unheard of for them to come to your house after 5 pm. I know one time I had a 12-5 and they came over at 7 pm.

 

[Rukes]

I thought that was true, but the rep I spoke to said they would definately not come after 5...

Anyway, I JUST got a call from the installers, an hour and 20 mintues late. They said they can get me in on Friday...and they said the reason was that no installers were available with the 622. Figures....

At least I dont have to wait too much longer.

 

[HDTVFanAtic]

In all honesty, all installations suck for all cable and satellite.

In all honesty, all csrs suck for E* and D* and cable (and phone companies as well).

Its just a fact. We all go through it. It's like a right of passage or a fratentity hazing.

 

[miguelaqui]

In all honesty, all installations suck for all cable and satellite.

In all honesty, all csrs suck for E* and D* and cable (and phone companies as well).

When I had Adelphia,,the install was scheduled between 3-5...at 7PM, it was Fall, so it was dark, they do the install with a spotlight...that's good service. They did call and ask if I wanted a night install or to reschedule.

I was impressed!

I will say this...back when cable still had local offices, I think the service was better! Now, nobody will answer the phone at the local office.

As far as that install...there have been several issues with the 622 installs...just search around and you'll see.

 

[branchbouncer]

We have Adelphia now(Massanutten,Va) and we are supposed to have E*installed almost two weeks ago,LOL.When we moved to the house on Dec 16 2005 we went ahead and had Adelphia installed as we were unsure what we were going to do about our D* service(in suspend mode).The Adelphia installer was 15 minutes early,had all the equipment needed,and when out of his way to check all the cable outlets(5)to make sure they had been wired properly and that the signal was with in the proper limits,he even changed the F connectors on 2 of the outlets that he didn't like,installed the 3 SA 8300HD stb's made sure they worked right and ran us through thier operation.
I'd write a review of the E* install but they haven't shown up yet and the family is starting to have serious doubts that it's worth it.I want to do it for side by side comparsion,and keep which ever service provides the best PQ

 

[Poke]

Sorry to here about that! You might try a local reseller in your area to do the install that. That way you have point of contact and your dealing with someone locally. Dish might call someone that in not in or near your area which could take longer for them to get there so on.

 

[caesar gdi]

I call up E* and they give me the runaround. No, I shouldn't expect a call in the first place since most technicians don't have cell phones.

OMG that is BS. The installer always has a cell phone... a Nextel phone so they can call in and activate your service.

 

[sprintcarcrazy]

When I tried cable a year ago, the installer showed up, put the DVR in, turned it on, walked all over my carpet and got mud all over the place, even after I told him he had mud on his shoes, then left. Didn't even test the install, it took 4 days for someone to come out and replace the box and drop that wasn't good.

Mediacom (Mediacrap) cable.

 

[branchbouncer]

Sorry to here about that! You might try a local reseller in your area to do the install that. That way you have point of contact and your dealing with someone locally. Dish might call someone that in not in or near your area which could take longer for them to get there so on.

I am dealing with a local installer,also has two or three other tech's working for him.It's no big deal "sh*t happens" I work for myself and there is something always coming up that can mess with your schedule. I am just interested to see how good the PQ is.I really think that Adelphia is going to beat E*, since(E & D) have been downgrading thier PQ to allow more programing(so has D*) but eyes will be the deciding factor.

 

[volkodav]

I'm a tech for dish. it is really hard to be at customers house on given windows, 8-12 and 12-5. because all the tech over loaded with jobs.

another thing is yes we do have Nextels with us but they turned all services off on it no cell phones they even turned alert options on them to save money. i don't want to use my personal phone because people giving it to other people and i had to change my number 2 times already.
i always tell my dispatch to call customer 30-40 min. out. the problem with that when you have 1 dispatch per office and 25 tech a day and every one calls him 10+ times a day just to say they are it the job and when they are done. it keeps them really busy.

 

[danm2z]

If the dispatch knows which jobs you're scheduled for and where you are, they should be able to tell a customer when to expect you. Also, some installers / trade people have asked to use my phone to call their next appointment, when they leave. I always figure that's a courtesy I can give the next appointment in a similar way that previous appoinments have given me.

As for using a personal or company cell phone, turning off outgoing caller ID is a simple matter (*67), if privacy is an issue. Most cell phone carriers will even give an option to permanently block outgoing caller ID information so you're number doesn't get "out there" to customers who shouldn't be contacting you directly.

On a related note, all of my installations and service calls have been subcontracted to a local installer. That company calls me the day before to confirm the appointment and schedule time, along with which "stop" I am during the day to better estimate when they'll arrive.

I do believe that with all the technology available (GPS, automated dispatch routing, handset location services), that a windows doesn't have to be 5 hours any more for a customer to block out of their day. From a convenience standpoint, I work 15 minutes from home, and there's no reason I can see that I can't get a call 15-45 minutes before a tech arrives to let me know when they'll be there.

My last gripe is with Dish itself. I had my equipment installed ~ 10 months ago. At the time, the installer put in a DP32 switch along with compatable feed horns. My switch failed, and the tech who came out told me that most recently installed DP32s fail since they're remanufactured ones. He indicated there was no reason for the original installer to have put that one in. The larger problem was he didn't have a replacement switch with him (despite my equipment manifest being on the account, and the appointment was scheduled for 1 week after my initial call). He had to argue with Dish for ~ 20 minutes in order to replacement my equipment with a DP64 and compatible gear. My receivers were both compatible with the newer gear (508 & 921). On top of that, I was told that while the part was covered under warrenty, the labor to put it in was not. Dish tech support told me that since I wasn't a qualified technition, they couldn't just ship me the part to install myself, either. If the tech had to come back again, it would have only been to remove the Dish antennas to make room for D*.

 

[volkodav]

most people wont take blocked calls, and doesn't it cost to use ( *67). Also when dish starts to re embers me for my minutes then i will start using my phone

 

[SimpleSimon]

In all honesty, all installations suck for all cable and satellite.

I must STRIDENTLY disagree!

While MANY (even most) installers can be pretty bad, I am NOT one of them.

 

[Alvn8r]

as long as I've been installing Dishs, I always try to keep my customers informed. As far as company phones...YEA RIGHT. also everyone is out of luck when your in an area that can't get good reception. There have been alot of really late nights for me (well past 5pm) but that happens sometimes. I've had customers call up and complain that I was late (not there right at 12), I have 3 and 4 installs a day and they can be spred out quite far. one last thing, GPS and all these other high tech routing systems don't exsist to people who are underpaid and overworked. I have much more to say but I fear of getting kicked off this website.

 

[volkodav]

HDTVFanAtic
In all honesty, all installations suck for all cable and satellite.

in all honesty i don't ( s---). if a was bad tech there is no way they will let me do all high end jobs in my aria, and why do all techs from other offices call me for support

 

[seandudley]

OMG that is BS. The installer always has a cell phone... a Nextel phone so they can call in and activate your service.

I think they do have cell phones (at least usually), but at least for me when they have called in to activate service, they have used my land line phone.

 

[Greg Mueller]

Welcome to the world of DN "service".
Same thing happens to lots of people including me. If you have not gotten your 622 (shipped to you via a shipper like UPS), the installer will show up whenever they get around to you and ask you where it is because he won't have it. Then you get to start over and listen to all the lies the csrs can dream up as to why it didn't happen the way it was supposed to.
I cancelled my 622 after a series of lies and no shows and push outs.
When my 18 months is up, my 211 goes back and that will be the end of my relation with DN.

 

[papalittle]

One thing I tell people is to NEVER EVER call dish for installs, use a local retailer. local retailers usually can get you installed within a few days and most provide faster service if you need it.

 

[Van]

We have Adelphia now(Massanutten,Va) and we are supposed to have E*installed almost two weeks ago,LOL.When we moved to the house on Dec 16 2005 we went ahead and had Adelphia installed as we were unsure what we were going to do about our D* service(in suspend mode).The Adelphia installer was 15 minutes early,had all the equipment needed,and when out of his way to check all the cable outlets(5)to make sure they had been wired properly and that the signal was with in the proper limits,he even changed the F connectors on 2 of the outlets that he didn't like,installed the 3 SA 8300HD stb's made sure they worked right and ran us through thier operation.
I'd write a review of the E* install but they haven't shown up yet and the family is starting to have serious doubts that it's worth it.I want to do it for side by side comparsion,and keep which ever service provides the best PQ

2 week delay to me says its not worth it and if its due to the 622 then that says that they are probably fixig some new problem that they found on the doorstop of a receiver.