Hey everyone. Original poster here. I wanted to provide some closure to my situation (I always find it annoying when someone starts a thread, asks for help, but never returns to provide updates). Thanks for everyone who responded.
I ended up staying with Dish and signing a new 2-year contract. I've been happy with dish for 6 years now and wanted to stay. In return for a new contract, Dish gave me:
*upgraded me to the Hopper for free
*an installer came to my house for free
*installer gave me a new system: New dish, ran and buried new cable, upgraded some wiring and wall plates in my house. All at no cost.
*gave me credits on my monthly bill for months 1-12 and 1-24. In other words, credits for the life of the contract.
I've been happy with dish and I felt like me being with them for 6 years allowed me to negotiate a good deal. Of course I mentioned all the goodies DirecTv was offering as I was seriously contemplating jumping over. I was pleasently surprised that I did not have to threaten to cancel to receive my upgrades and credits. The tech I spoke with before called me back when she said she would and then transferred me to an account specialist who offered me the incentives. Overall, I'm quite pleased with how Dish handled the situation. I realize that they are out to make a profit and sometimes you have to drive a hard bargain to get what's best for you. I used to sell cars, so I'm always up for a good negotiation!
As far as the signal loss goes, turns out that my exterior line was bad. Also, my dish had moved slightly. With a brand new cable and dish, I have great signal now.
I ended up staying with Dish and signing a new 2-year contract. I've been happy with dish for 6 years now and wanted to stay. In return for a new contract, Dish gave me:
*upgraded me to the Hopper for free
*an installer came to my house for free
*installer gave me a new system: New dish, ran and buried new cable, upgraded some wiring and wall plates in my house. All at no cost.
*gave me credits on my monthly bill for months 1-12 and 1-24. In other words, credits for the life of the contract.
I've been happy with dish and I felt like me being with them for 6 years allowed me to negotiate a good deal. Of course I mentioned all the goodies DirecTv was offering as I was seriously contemplating jumping over. I was pleasently surprised that I did not have to threaten to cancel to receive my upgrades and credits. The tech I spoke with before called me back when she said she would and then transferred me to an account specialist who offered me the incentives. Overall, I'm quite pleased with how Dish handled the situation. I realize that they are out to make a profit and sometimes you have to drive a hard bargain to get what's best for you. I used to sell cars, so I'm always up for a good negotiation!
As far as the signal loss goes, turns out that my exterior line was bad. Also, my dish had moved slightly. With a brand new cable and dish, I have great signal now.
