Moving Locally - What to do?

[ERSanders]

I have been a Dish subscriber for over 10 years with the AEP package most of the time. Currently I have two owned 625's.

I am thinking about, but have not decided whether to go to HDTV. This will depend on the cost from Dish as well as the obvious cost of the HDTV's.

I contacted a local retailer who sells both Dish and DirecTV and he pushed strongly for Direct as a new customer due to the "newbie" deals that are available. For a number of reasons I would prefer to stay with Dish, but at what price?

What has been Dish's real (versus advertised) practices for retaining and upgrading a long time premium customer (who is also a shareholder!) along the lines of a premium DishMover type arrangement?

Any input would be appreciated, even from the DirecTV side of the house.

 

[Laddyboy]

Another possibility is to cancel your E* (Dish) service in your name and sign up as a new customer using your wife or another householder of majority age with good credit standing as the subscriber.

On the other hand D* (DirecTV) has better sports packages, more local HD, and some national HD like the Fox and Viacom HD that E* doesn't have.

In my opinion, E* has better DVRs than D*. I think D* only charges 1 DVR fee no matter how many DVRs you have on the account. E* charges for each one after the first if you sign up under the DishDVR Advantage program.

Some long time customers have received pretty good deals from E*, some have not. The regular CSRs aren't going to give you a special deal. That'd have to come from the Retention Office or from the CEO's office. You could call the regular E* customer service number and ask for retention and talk to them. Just tell them you are considering a D* offer.

Your best bet would be to get a solid price locked in for D* based on the packages they have available and what you want. Be sure that D* or E* have your locals in HD as that may affect your decision. and then contact E* to see what they will do. I've been with E* since August 1998 when I installed my first system myself and upgraded to HD in April with a 722 receiver (1 OTA HD and 2 satellite HD tuners for recording). It cost me $125. They really didn't give me much of a deal considering how long I had been a customer. I lost a little money as well, since they would no longer allow me to prepay for a full year. Leasing receivers from E* is a pretty good deal at $7 per month excluding the first. It's certainly cheaper than buying them. There will be a 24 month commitment with either one I think.

 

[levibluewa]

ESanders...

I sent you a private message. Where RU located?

 

[ERSanders]

I sent you a private message. Where RU located?

Just outside of Rochester, NY 14450

 

[levibluewa]

Ahhh,

then fortunately you won't have to worry about the 129 ...did you receive my private message?

 

[ERSanders]

then fortunately you won't have to worry about the 129 ...did you receive my private message?

Yes, I got it...thanks. So far my experience with Dish has been exceptional and I do like the PVR functionality and the UHF remotes. I will keep your experience in mind if I decide to consider the "dark side" .

 

[ERSanders]

Anybody else? There must have been others in this situation!

 

[tastim]

Anybody else? There must have been others in this situation!

You can combine Dish Mover with Dish 'N' It Up upgrades.... with commitment extension of course.... I've seen people upgrade to HD for as little as $49 (one HD DVR) and $99 for an HD DVR and a HD non DVR (222).

It all depends on who you talk to and how long it has been since you upgraded. Also, the deals change quarterly, so one month could be completely different from the deal you're offered the next month.