Local News Report about Fed Up D* Installers

[BFG]

This is pretty funny.

CBS Affiliate WKMG in Orlando is showing a teaser for the 5 o clock news on Monday with a problem solvers report.

A bunch of directv installers showed up to the studios to be interviewed about how they're told to lie to customers.

Should be pretty entertaining :

Any Orlando D* installers there for this

 

[Questioner]

Yep, a few weeks ago an installer told me we would have hd locals and an mpeg 4 dvr out in the next month, neither is going to happen until fall at the earliest.

 

[moonman]

Yep, a few weeks ago an installer told me we would have hd locals and an mpeg 4 dvr out in the next month, neither is going to happen until fall at the earliest.

I thought the latest list had Orlando H/D locals in June 06 No?

 

[charper1]

Disgruntled. Smells of BS to me. Too much info out there.

 

[VagiDirecTV]

I thought the latest list had Orlando H/D locals in June 06 No?

June 2006 is correct. Straight from the D* online resource information system

 

[Happy Camper]

Vaporware.

 

[charper1]

Thats what I get after too much salsa and chili; Vapor Ware, enough already.

Everything is not VW because its not on shelves. VW is purposely lying about products that one never intends to market, and we all know these items will be released. Whine, moan, complain.

 

[moonman]

Vaporware.

Oh I hope not...most of Fla. is sked for June........

 

[Newshawk]

This is pretty funny.

CBS Affiliate WKMG in Orlando is showing a teaser for the 5 o clock news on Monday with a problem solvers report.

(Checks calendar...) Yep. it's time once again for May sweeps, folks. All the non-news you can stomach!

 

[galt]

installers lie? never!

IME, installers don't need to get paid to lie to customers, they do it for free.

 

[vurbano]

Vaporware.

Thats the Mpeg4 HD DVR

 

[chadzx11]

Disgruntled. Smells of BS to me. Too much info out there.

Disgruntled? You bet. Word is they all get shafted tommorrow. That's the date for which D* has mandated (supposedly) phonelines as part of the free installation. That means the installers don't get paid, they have to supply more labor AND materials, and they still have the possibility of a non-responder chargeback if a customer unhooks the IRD from the phone jack and hooks up another piece of gear instead. It I were forced to do this, I'd loose the biscuit jack, install a modular connector on that cat 3, and superglue that sucker into the modem. But I ain't been a D* installer in over a year, and I have NO plans on going back. A lot has changed in that year, and pay has pretty much gone down across the board, while costs of fuel have gone up which also affects the cost of supplies. Not a good time to be a D* tech.

 

[scotsmanron]

Oh I hope not...most of Fla. is sked for June........

No, not MOST of Florida....just a few of the bigger cities. Most of the square miles of Florida will still be in the dark.

Waiting forever right here in Tallahassee.

 

[Raydr]

That means the installers don't get paid, they have to supply more labor AND materials....

You left out one very important piece: The phone lines have ALWAYS been contractually required, and the techs know this, especially in every Florida market.

So, here's another way to think about it: The techs have been getting paid for years for the phone line install without doing it. Now they're no longer going to get paid for not doing it. If they get a chargeback for one they know they did, they can always dispute it with their immediate supervisor...but even if they don't dispute it, they can always think about the hundreds of other ones they DID get paid for when they didn't actually do it.

Does anyone have any more information on the original post? Link to news story or something? (Nothing on the WKMG site).

 

[stevo/65]

You left out one very important piece: The phone lines have ALWAYS been contractually required, and the techs know this, especially in every Florida market.

So, here's another way to think about it: The techs have been getting paid for years for the phone line install without doing it. Now they're no longer going to get paid for not doing it. If they get a chargeback for one they know they did, they can always dispute it with their immediate supervisor...but even if they don't dispute it, they can always think about the hundreds of other ones they DID get paid for when they didn't actually do it.

Does anyone have any more information on the original post? Link to news story or something? (Nothing on the WKMG site).

Wrong! Retailers get paid good money for commission and install. They are suppose to run phone lines to primary reciever only. if wallfish is required then customer will pay custom fee.If customer wants additional phone lines then they pay for it. As for HSP or Msp the tec only had to run phone line to primary as the contract stated. Now they are required to run phone lines to all recievers, that will not work with tecs (atleast not for long).
D* has been cutting corners for ahwile now, no more jumpers or channel line-up guide are supplied with the reciever (E* still provides both with thier equipment). D* pays retailers good money for primary phone lines only , the HSP or MSP do not pay their tecs for primary phone (it is required as contract states) but it is required now to run all recievers.
If D* wants phone lines to all recievers then they should provide wireless phone jacks with their equipment (oops forgot they have been cutting corners). And they save millions of dollars just passing it to the tecs to do for free.
Like i said it will not last, they will have problems keeping tecs, and some customers will not like having phone lines forced down their throat.

 

[moonman]

Does anyone have any more information on the original post? Link to news story or something? (Nothing on the WKMG site).

--------------
From the site.....

MONDAY: What's really going on at DirectTV? Local 6 News talks with employees who say they were told to lie to customers.
http://www.local6.com/index.html

 

[Raydr]

--------------
From the site.....

MONDAY: What's really going on at DirectTV? Local 6 News talks with employees who say they were told to lie to customers.
http://www.local6.com/index.html

LOL, right on the top of the main page. I guess I'm so used to blocking out ads mentally that I also block out anything that's shaped like one.

Thanks.

 

[RIRWIN1983]

one word, WOW.

i can see about 30 techs w/o a job tuesday morning. im shure there is something they did to violate policies.
-were they on the clock while doing this segment
-did directv give them permission to wear their uniform on tv
-they projected a negative image of directv-which is def a violation somewhere
-ect......

im support them 100% as a consumer for what they were doing, just thining how smart was it to drive the cov to the station, and stuff. you gotta be thinking about loosing you job when you do these things.

 

[goaliebob99]

I just sent them a link to stophdlite.com...

 

[lou_do]

I am sure the feathers are going to fly at MasTec. I got a chuckle out of the one guy who said, "If you don't plug your receiver into the phone line, it will blow up." I don't think to many customers would believe that one.