How much is the Hopper upgrade costing you?

[Scherrman]

I called them out on their additional receiver fees two years ago last February, when they hiked them from $7.00 to $17.00 for a Vip dual tuner dvr. One of the most ridiculous things that DISH has ever done. Coincidentally they started losing subs back then and have only added them twice in the last 8 quarters. This was another example of screwing their existing sub base. I used to think that DVR fees PER Dvr receiver were bad, but the additional receiver fees topped that. Their latest fiasco of a hopper upgrade will cost them even more subs . They never learn.

I bet this doesn't affect Dish as much as you think. Majority of people do not look into things as much as we do on here. The people that aren't that aware of the Hopper are not going to get it and the people that really want it will pay for it. They will have no idea that there are different prices for different people. Everyone on here is upset because they see other getting better deals and that upsets them.

If a customer came into my store wanting to upgrade and I told him it was going to be $300 he would just think that's what the going rate is. He's either going to get it because he wants it and thinks it's worth spending that much or he's not going to get it because he won't spend that much. Everyone here needs to stop thinking that the general public thinks like we do here.

 

[dare2be]

Everyone that has posted their price on has made sense to me.

There are a few that don't make sense to me. The most glaring is dwarren's.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I know everyone thinks the prices are inconsistent and are BS but there are reasons for them. Everyone that has posted their price on has made sense to me. The prices make sense other than I do not know the exact reason why that customer does not qualify. Basically anyone paying a minimum of $449 for the Hopper is not a qualifying customer for an upgrade. I will admit that I am surprised at the amount of people who are not qualifying though. We rarely get customers that do not qualify. What we usually end up running into is a customer that qualifies but does not have a credit card.

I only hope that DISH can afford to lose more subs and to gain more negative word of mouth over their upgrade procedures. I don't even know if I qualify for the upgrade or how much I would have to pay. I never upgrade through them for anything. I always do my own installs and purchase my receivers. I realize that DISH has their reasons for it, but this kind of unequal treatment though kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I 'm not sure I would want to upgrade anyway.

 

[Scherrman]

That's just the way the satellite industry chose to do things. I don't know why. DirecTV has the same practices.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I bet this doesn't affect Dish as much as you think. Majority of people do not look into things as much as we do on here. The people that aren't that aware of the Hopper are not going to get it and the people that really want it will pay for it. They will have no idea that there are different prices for different people. Everyone on here is upset because they see other getting better deals and that upsets them.

If a customer came into my store wanting to upgrade and I told him it was going to be $300 he would just think that's what the going rate is. He's either going to get it because he wants it and thinks it's worth spending that much or he's not going to get it because he won't spend that much. Everyone here needs to stop thinking that the general public thinks like we do here.

You don't think that negative word of mouth from subs who post on this board to all their friends , family and work associates doesn't hurt DISH? If that was true then why are the DIRT associates on this website? Obviously DISH feels that their are reasons to have them here. To run interference for problems that their own csrs cause . If they didn't care about rectifying these problems so subs are happy , they wouldn't care what we post. Plus DISH reads these boards to get opinions that we post , experiences that we encounter in our interactions with DISH etc. Not that they seem to listen to many of our suggestions . Negative word of mouth can do a lot of damage to a company. Can you say Bank of America and their $5.00 debit fee? Look how they backed off of that fee after the negative word of mouth and on twitter, facebook etc was spread for the world to see. Granted new subs who know NOTHING about satellite tv will either take your upgrade price or walk away. But most people who have had satellite tv in the last 15 years do know the difference.

Incidentally I have 3 DISH accounts for my parents, Aunt and my own family. I do all the installs, take care of their technical problems, and pay their bills for them and they reimburse me . To cut down on the negative experiences with their bills, and or technical problems , I took this on and to keep them DISH customers ,even if it is just through me. I get them the best offers/promotions, free movie packs etc. My dad would of left DISH years ago if he still had his own account. He flips out over any price hike and I've had to work to keep him with DISH. I bought his 722k receiver ,just like my Aunt's and added external hard drives to both his and my aunt's 211k so she would have a dvr . I do all this to keep the negative experiences down to a minimum.

 

[Scherrman]

You don't think that negative word of mouth from subs who post on this board to all their friends , family and work associates doesn't hurt DISH? If that was true then why are the DIRT associates on this website? Obviously DISH feels that their are reasons to have them here. To run interference for problems that their own csrs cause . If they didn't care about rectifying these problems so subs are happy , they wouldn't care what we post. Plus DISH reads these boards to get opinions that we post , experiences that we encounter in our interactions with DISH etc. Negative word of mouth can do a lot of damage to a company. Can you say Bank of America and their $5.00 debit fee? Look how they backed off of that fee after the negative word of mouth and on twitter, facebook etc was spread for the world to see. Granted new subs who know NOTHING about satellite tv will either take your upgrade price or walk away. But most people who have had satellite tv in the last 15 years do know the difference.

Incidentally I have 3 DISH accounts for my parents, Aunt and my own family. I do all the installs, take care of their technical problems, and pay their bills for them and they reimburse me . To cut down on the negative experiences with their bills, and or technical problems , I took this on and to keep them DISH customers ,even if it is just through me. I get them the best offers/promotions, free movie packs etc. My dad would of left DISH years ago if he still had his own account. He flips out over any price hike and I've had to work to keep him with DISH. I bought his 722k receiver ,just like my Aunt's and added external hard drives to both his and my aunt's 211k so she would have a dvr . I do all this to keep the negative experiences down to a minimum.

Obviously any negative word of mouth can hurt. I just think it's too early to say that Dish is totally screwing up. I'm giving them a week or two to straighten things out. If it's still a mess then I will be more concerned. The biggest thing for me is that the people who think the pricing is outrageous still have the option to stick with what's working. No one has to upgrade.

 

[NightRyder]

I've been a loyal Dish customer for over 14 years but I have finally had it with them. These unbendable requirements are the height of stupid. All I want is a Hopper and no Joey and they can't make it happen. What a bunch of marketing morons.

 

[Scherrman]

I've been a loyal Dish customer for over 14 years but I have finally had it with them. These unbendable requirements are the height of stupid. All I want is a Hopper and no Joey and they can't make it happen. What a bunch of marketing morons.

I have to agree with you on this one. I don't see what their theory is behind this business rule.

 

[Mike Russo]

And all I want to do is lock in for 2 more years giving an estimated $3120++ to them but apparently they don't want it for some reason.

 

[MikeD-C05]

And all I want to do is lock in for 2 more years giving an estimated $3120++ to them but apparently they don't want it for some reason.

You are not a new sub. DISH is all about the new subs and gives them the best deals on equipment and programming. Now if you go away for 120 days, you will be treated again like a new Virgin sub and you too can get all the deals again for free. Great system right?

 

[Tampa8]

I've been a loyal Dish customer for over 14 years but I have finally had it with them. These unbendable requirements are the height of stupid. All I want is a Hopper and no Joey and they can't make it happen. What a bunch of marketing morons.

Not sure I can 100% agree with you. I don't know how many Hoppers exist at the moment, does allowing anyone who just wants the Hopper prevent the real reason for one - whole home to someone else? If you waited a few months would that change? Don't get me wrong, 14 years, and assuming you pay on time etc.. I can see that side too.

 

[Mike Russo]

You are not a new sub. DISH is all about the new subs and gives them the best deals on equipment and programming. Now if you go away for 120 days, you will be treated again like a new Virgin sub and you too can get all the deals again for free. Great system right?

Is that 120 days number for real? because even even then i don't think any of of us would get a monthly promo rate like a new customer does. And I'm perfectly ok with that. But if someone 5 months into a brand new contract can get the Hopper for $99 then this thread really shouldn't exist.

 

[myron243]

You are not a new sub. DISH is all about the new subs and gives them the best deals on equipment and programming.

There seem to be quite a few of us who aren't new subs that are getting the $100 upgrade deal. I can understand some who aren't getting the deal being angry but I believe most of the folks who wanted the Hopper are getting the deal. In my case I had upgraded a 622 to a 722K less than a year ago and had several months left on my current contract. I now have a new 2 year contract, 1 Hopper and 2 Joeys for the $100 upgrade and free install. The $15 deductible for the DHPP was waived.

 

[Mike Russo]

Welp, i actually got a phone call back from whoever checks their ceo@ email address. When put on the spot if i was a "3 star" customer for accepting credits the person said that they had no response to that. Hah...

He reassured me that I am a valued customer who pays on time and that there was nothing visibly wrong with my account. Fantastic, so the $99 promo rate should be a sure thing now right? NOPE! Not budging...

And that he "didnt know why certain people get the promo rate and others don't"... I mentioned how people 5-6 months into their FIRST contracts are getting the $99 promo and he had no comment. Then when I asked if they want to lose this customer of 3 years (and my $3k++ of income from a new contract) over this inflated extra $201 he really didn't care. In short - "this is the price, take it or leave it"

This is the same apathetic "we don't care if we lose you" response I've gotten from almost every CSR. Insane. At least this time the price was quoted at $300 and not $649 or $449 or $700........

 

[Neutron]

Welp, i actually got a phone call back from whoever checks their ceo@ email address. When put on the spot if i was a "3 star" customer for accepting credits the person said that they had no response to that. Hah...

He reassured me that I am a valued customer who pays on time and that there was nothing visibly wrong with my account. Fantastic, so the $99 promo rate should be a sure thing now right? NOPE! Not budging...

And that he "didnt know why certain people get the promo rate and others don't"... I mentioned how people 5-6 months into their FIRST contracts are getting the $99 promo and he had no comment. Then when I asked if they want to lose this customer of 3 years (and my $3k++ of income from a new contract) over this inflated extra $201 he really didn't care. In short - "this is the price, take it or leave it"

This is the same apathetic "we don't care if we lose you" response I've gotten from almost every CSR. Insane. At least this time the price was quoted at $300 and not $649 or $449 or $700........

I hear ya. I was told the same thing from their CSRs and the DIRT. No one knows who gets the deal and who doesn't. Nice system DISH.... I can't get DISH to see the logical reasoning in that my ETF is a lot less than purchasing the Hopper/Joeys.

Hopefully once OTA capability is available we'll be able to upgrade to the Hopper getting the upgrade deal. I really don't mind committing for another 24 months.

 

[lparsons21]

If it makes you feel any better, D* isn't any more consistent in hardware upgrade pricing either!

I'm pretty convinced that both companies use the Magic 8 Ball in their hardware upgrade pricing for existing customers.

 

[Hall]

Sounds like there's been a memo sent out telling reps under no circumstances are they to override the system's calculated price. Even the folks who monitor the "ceo" email account -- and DIRT -- are unable to override it.

 

[sparc]

Welp, i actually got a phone call back from whoever checks their ceo@ email address. When put on the spot if i was a "3 star" customer for accepting credits the person said that they had no response to that. Hah...

He reassured me that I am a valued customer who pays on time and that there was nothing visibly wrong with my account. Fantastic, so the $99 promo rate should be a sure thing now right? NOPE! Not budging...

And that he "didnt know why certain people get the promo rate and others don't"... I mentioned how people 5-6 months into their FIRST contracts are getting the $99 promo and he had no comment. Then when I asked if they want to lose this customer of 3 years (and my $3k++ of income from a new contract) over this inflated extra $201 he really didn't care. In short - "this is the price, take it or leave it"

This is the same apathetic "we don't care if we lose you" response I've gotten from almost every CSR. Insane. At least this time the price was quoted at $300 and not $649 or $449 or $700........

you're basically trying to fight a computer system over and over. It's pretty obvious at this point there is almost no CSR who can change the costs in any substantial level once you are placed in Plan C.

Best thing to do is wait and see if they requalify people at some point, but who knows if it will ever happen because of their weird criteria.

If it were me, i'd call back in a month and see if anything changes. If at that point it's not all fixed, i'd then cancel rather then be treated like this. You could always come back as a new customer down the road.

 

[rnall1]

Is that 120 days number for real? because even even then i don't think any of of us would get a monthly promo rate like a new customer does. And I'm perfectly ok with that. But if someone 5 months into a brand new contract can get the Hopper for $99 then this thread really shouldn't exist.

I was gone for 2 years, and they still had my account...

 

[MikeD-C05]

Is that 120 days number for real? because even even then i don't think any of of us would get a monthly promo rate like a new customer does. And I'm perfectly ok with that. But if someone 5 months into a brand new contract can get the Hopper for $99 then this thread really shouldn't exist.

I am not sure . I read elsewhere on this board that to be a new customer again and get the promos it had been 6 months and now was reduced to 120 days or 4 months. The only way to know for sure is to email or talk to DISH to find out for sure.