I was leaving DISH for DirecTV after 6.5 years

[Blackhawks]

I was going to pull the trigger and leave "E" for "D" or AT&T U-Verse.

Changed my mind after AT&T U-Verse NO CALLED/NO SHOWED for an install. Got nowhere with CS. As for switching to "D" heard too many horror stories of late.

AT&T and "D" are apart by $2.00 for Top Package with 3 TV's too.

It isn't always greener on the other side, as the old saying goes.

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[Mr Tony]

As for switching to "D" heard too many horror stories of late.

such as?

 

[3HaloODST]

Yep... There's another thread on U-verse here where another U-verse horror story may be read...

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/267225-dish-channel-line-up-vs-t-5.html

D, while it's great for watching tons of sports, has nowhere near the level of customer support, particulaly online, that E has...

 

[Blackhawks]

such as?

My friends & coworkers dislike DirecTV and complaints are too many to list.

Maybe I should try for 24 months?

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[Mr Tony]

ok name some "complaints"......seriously I'd love to see what they are.

saying there are too many to list but then not listing anything sounds like a cop out in my opinion...but whatever works I guess. If Dish works for ya then enjoy. If Directv works for ya I say enjoy

 

[3HaloODST]

Well, it all depends on what matters to you. Do the channels D has that E doesn't matter to you more than the channels E has that D doesn't? If so, then yes do it. If not, then why else would you want to switch? If it's for the savings, then sure, you can go for the new customer savings with D, but just weigh in all the channels/features/customer support between the two and make sure that it is worth it to you... Most likely the big savings (if there are any) are only for the first 12 months, after that probably a minor difference in cost... The channels that D has that E does not are slowly buy surely closing in on each other, meanwhile E still has more of the national HD channels...

 

[Blackhawks]

ok name some "complaints"......seriously I'd love to see what they are.

saying there are too many to list but then not listing anything sounds like a cop out in my opinion...but whatever works I guess

I trust my friends and co-workers and their recommendations with thumbs up and/or down.

-They hate robotic overseas Call Centers, where they get nowhere. Language barrier.

-Constant billing errors that are never corrected right the first time they call.

-Installs not being done correctly the first time. Late and lazy installers. Then a supervisor has to come out and re-install to get it done correctly.

The above are just some of the complaints they've told me. I realize nothing is ever perfect no matter what.

NO CALL/NO SHOW for a scheduled install/appointment will put a company, etc on my NO LIST.

I had Cable TV from 1983-2005, which included Cablevision of Chicago, Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, TCI, MediaOne (again) and Comcast all in the same town. TCI & Comcast were both bad and I dumped cable because of the crappy Customer Service.

I still haven't cancelled my "D" install, as I'm still listening to friends that have and like "D".

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[Blackhawks]

Well, it all depends on what matters to you. Do the channels D has that E doesn't matter to you more than the channels E has that D doesn't? If so, then yes do it. If not, then why else would you want to switch? If it's for the savings, then sure, you can go for the new customer savings with D, but just weigh in all the channels/features/customer support between the two and make sure that it is worth it to you... Most likely the big savings (if there are any) are only for the first 12 months, after that probably a minor difference in cost... The channels that D has that E does not are slowly buy surely closing in on each other, meanwhile E still has more of the national HD channels...

You're correct. I like "E" and have had very little problems if any. I'm still exploring my options.

"E" is slowly closing the gap and MLBN is a step in the right direction too.

Sometimes change is good or not.

Anyway, thank you for all the comments/suggestions thus far.

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[Mr Tony]

-They hate robotic overseas Call Centers, where they get nowhere. Language barrier.

I've had Directv for 20 months now and every time I have called I got a US based rep who was very easy to understand. Until Dish got the DIRT folks here I cringed when I had to call Dish to fix an issue.

-Constant billing errors that are never corrected right the first time they call.

interesting. One time I had a billing error (they forgot the $29 credit that you got monthly for a year) and a day after the bill printed I got an e-mail from D* letting me know they screwed up and would get double credited next month which it did

The installers I cant comment on as both times I had an installer) when I started and upgraded to HD) both installers rocked. They were prompt and very neat. And my HD install was done when it was -4 out

But like you say no system is perfect. Thats why I've had both systems

 

[Tampa8]

I have had Dish since almost the time they started, but if I were to switch it would be to Direct TV.

 

[3HaloODST]

I've had Directv for 20 months now and every time I have called I got a US based rep who was very easy to understand. Until Dish got the DIRT folks here I cringed when I had to call Dish to fix an issue.

Funny because whenever I called DISH (like 3 times in the past 5 years) I always talked to an American and they have had their online chat which is almost as good as DIRT for quite a while now. D still has no good online options like that.

2 out of 3 DISH installs were flawless, but 1 install was not horrible, but 110 was very low (40s,) installer installed the dish on the roof behind a tree. Had to call dish back out to fix it. They trimmed the tree but it grew back. I have since trimmed it myself but I kinda wish the installers would have let me know about the tree issue, because I would have told them to put the dish somewhere else instead of having to climb up on the roof to trim a tree and risk falling 20 feet onto my concrete driveway. Think I got the tree issue fixed for the most part (hopefully it won't grow back) and I love that the dish is practically invisible from almost all angles, though. Kinda hate that tree anyway because I can't use my driveway because it spits sap and pecans and crap all over the cars.

 

[chrisn]

The worst thing Direc ever did to me was offer a few free ppv movies as part of a customer appreciation program... and then, i would later find out, started a new 2 year commitment when I accepted the freebies.

They did waive the cancellation fee when I asked to hear audio of myself accepting the terms, so it worked out okay. But last I checked, Dish gave me (us) free Starz and two free ppv's, no strings attached. So yeah, there's my complaint... not to mention they were relentless with their upgrade-your-package telephone calls. Dish has irked me as well, but it's been a much better experience overall.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I wouldn't even consider putting that Uverse garbage in my home, in my book Uverse is a tier below Dish and Directv.

 

[DodgerKing]

The worst thing Direc ever did to me was offer a few free ppv movies as part of a customer appreciation program... and then, i would later find out, started a new 2 year commitment when I accepted the freebies.

They did waive the cancellation fee when I asked to hear audio of myself accepting the terms, so it worked out okay. But last I checked, Dish gave me (us) free Starz and two free ppv's, no strings attached. So yeah, there's my complaint... not to mention they were relentless with their upgrade-your-package telephone calls. Dish has irked me as well, but it's been a much better experience overall.

Your contract is only extended with equipment upgrade deals, not with programming deals

 

[oldengineer]

Your contract is only extended with equipment upgrade deals, not with programming deals

However D* has "accidentally" extended contracts for defective equipment replacement so I believe anything can happen.

D* extended my contract after replacing a defective HR-21 and it took several calls and emails over a month to finally correct it.

 

[peano]

such as?

Supplying dead slow, banged up refurb receivers for new customers. Fairly common unfortunately.

 

[chrisn]

Your contract is only extended with equipment upgrade deals, not with programming deals

This was five or six years ago and I can tell you they specifically stated that by accepting the free ppv's I had begun a new two-year commitment. Maybe it's changed since, but I'll never go back to find out.

 

[memo90061]

I trust my friends and co-workers and their recommendations with thumbs up and/or down.

-They hate robotic overseas Call Centers, where they get nowhere. Language barrier.

-Constant billing errors that are never corrected right the first time they call.

-Installs not being done correctly the first time. Late and lazy installers. Then a supervisor has to come out and re-install to get it done correctly.

The above are just some of the complaints they've told me. I realize nothing is ever perfect no matter what.

NO CALL/NO SHOW for a scheduled install/appointment will put a company, etc on my NO LIST.

I had Cable TV from 1983-2005, which included Cablevision of Chicago, Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, TCI, MediaOne (again) and Comcast all in the same town. TCI & Comcast were both bad and I dumped cable because of the crappy Customer Service.

I still haven't cancelled my "D" install, as I'm still listening to friends that have and like "D".

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Off topic: I used to have the channel lineup from Continental Cablevision and MediaOne. I can't find them anymore! They were from the early 90s to mid 90s.

 

[whatchel1]

I wouldn't even consider putting that Uverse garbage in my home, in my book Uverse is a tier below Dish and Directv.

Improved their quality?