Are hsp installers required to have company identification and also be sbca certified? Is it ok to just put anyone with very little training in a van that says direct tv and send them out into the field? I'm really curious to know how many homeowners out there want these type of installers drilling holes in their homes!
hsp requirements
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1) I'm curious as to why having company identification makes a difference to you letting someone drill holes in your home. If they have ID, it's okay for them to drill; but if they don't have ID it's not okay?
2) The SBCA certification requirement varies by company, but is generally not a requirement due to the costs associated with the testing. Most companies will not pay the technicians to take the test, and most techs don't want to spend their own money.
3) Define "very little training". The only rocket science involved in this job was what was needed to put the satellites into space. The job is not that difficult if you have a basic understanding of hand tools and how the signal interacts with the dish.
Guys,
A few more issues?
Is the hsp tech an employee of Directv? Is he a contractor who is self insured? If the drill goes through your main power cable who fixes it? If the tech drills himself and starts bleeding on your rug is he your guest? Will your homeowner insurance pay for the rug or the tech?
There are other issues.
Joe
A few more issues?
Is the hsp tech an employee of Directv? Is he a contractor who is self insured? If the drill goes through your main power cable who fixes it? If the tech drills himself and starts bleeding on your rug is he your guest? Will your homeowner insurance pay for the rug or the tech?
There are other issues.
Joe
In our HSP, the techs are responsible for the first 750 dollars(if a site survey was filled out before hand its a smaller number).....The tech is not an employee of DIRECTV. the company they work for works for directv. The contractor works for the HSP...and they have the own insurance. If the tech drills through your power that is between you, the tech and the hsp. If he bleeds on your carpet, the tech and the hsp are responsioble for getting your carpets clean.
The HSP's are required to carry insurance in the states that require it. In addition if you are worried that you will be sued by the technician you are absolutley right. They can sue you and your insurance company. One way around this is that you can request that the HSP provide you with a Certificate of Insurance. The Certificate of Insurance must have a hold harmless clause listed on the form with you named as an additional insured. The HSP's certificate of Insurance will also list Directv as additional insured so you would have not recourse against Directv. Another item that I requested was an imdeminfication clause which would automatically settle all and any claims as a result of the installation of the dish. The indemnification clause will protect you if the dish falls off the roof and hits a person or does damage to your property in a reasonable amount of time.
All this paperwork is available to you upon request. This is a good pratice for any one who does work at your home or business. If they don't provide one then don't let them do the work. You are liable if you don't have this paperwork or information.
Ed Andrascik
All this paperwork is available to you upon request. This is a good pratice for any one who does work at your home or business. If they don't provide one then don't let them do the work. You are liable if you don't have this paperwork or information.
Ed Andrascik
A certificate of insurance establishes a pecking order when the customer sues. If you are an independent 1099 contractor, and you were required to provide your client (in this case the HSP) with a certificate of insurance listing the HSP and(or) DIRECTV as additionally insured, then your insurance must pay out its maximum coverage before the person suing can go after the company that hired you. If the law suit damages exceeds the coverage of both your insurance AND the company that hired you, then DIRECTV's insurance kicks in.
Or another way to say it,
If you hire a technician, and he screws something up while installing for your company, the person suing can sue YOU and the installer at the same time, or they may decide to skip past the installer and go after you. If you have your company listed on the installers insurance as additionally insured , then that policy can be forced to pay out first.
Or another way to say it,
If you hire a technician, and he screws something up while installing for your company, the person suing can sue YOU and the installer at the same time, or they may decide to skip past the installer and go after you. If you have your company listed on the installers insurance as additionally insured , then that policy can be forced to pay out first.
Todd,
That was fun.
Should we look at who pays for the installation if the hsp doesn't pay the installer or is there still some left in the difference between an employee and a contractor?
One of my fondest memories was an hsp "service call" to a residence that had been visited by a guy on one of those first days we all had. He ran double cable down the middle of a white sided wall, over the gutter and down the middle. Every 18" was a DTV approved screw type cable hanger. The adult daughter was going nuts about both the wire location and all the holes in the new siding. And the phones didn't work after he left.
I explained the difference between a service call and an insurance claim.
Joe
That was fun.
Should we look at who pays for the installation if the hsp doesn't pay the installer or is there still some left in the difference between an employee and a contractor?
One of my fondest memories was an hsp "service call" to a residence that had been visited by a guy on one of those first days we all had. He ran double cable down the middle of a white sided wall, over the gutter and down the middle. Every 18" was a DTV approved screw type cable hanger. The adult daughter was going nuts about both the wire location and all the holes in the new siding. And the phones didn't work after he left.
I explained the difference between a service call and an insurance claim.
Joe
Direct Tv requires a roll of wire and a ladder, do what ever it takes to activate and on to the next.
The way I got it....All installers will be SBCA certified by about a year or so ago.......I finally broge down and did it after almost ten years of related experience and everyone else in the class was highly experienced. It was a check writing party with pizza at the end and cute little badges. Foe a brief period DTV would ask for your number when you activated a job. But the HSPs (read MASTEC here) said they would do in house training and were not going to pay to certify their techs. DTV said OK.
Now the SBCA is drifting away.
Is that how others saw the certification thing?
Joe
Now the SBCA is drifting away.
Is that how others saw the certification thing?
Joe
contractors howecer do not have to be certified. like NiFi said but this is for contractors-direct Tv requires a roll of wire and a ladder, do what ever it takes to activate and on to the next. lol
Yes they are... but none of them actually carry the I.D. with them.
SBCA... haha yes they are. what is so funny? THIS
They are usually given the SBCA test after a few (3-6) months in the field. If they fail, they are simply required to wait and take it again, and put back into the field in the meanwhile. The HSP around here doesn't want to pay for multiple test, so they give the techs the answers while they are taking the test (they get to keep and use the training manual for the test).
Problems with that is most techs don't stay long enough to actually be there 3-6 months. The techs that are there long term don't renew the SBCA when it expires.
Here is why HSPs are comical. They had a problem with too many failed QCs at one point. So you QC more and find out who needs to work on things and what they need to work on, uptrain them and do more qcs right? Not if you are an HSP! They simply fired the QC techs and eliminated the QC position!
Get a retailer to install your system. Ask the retailer if they will warranty their work in writing. If they won't, do not use them. I personally warranty every install for the length of the contract, then I will provide any service call needed after that for $25 flat. Retailers that do good work will warranty their work. Most will only do it for 60 days, because after that they won't get charged by directv if D* has to send out an HSP tech. BTW, Hsp service calls are $70 each, and usually take more than one visit before it is all fixed.
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