Post your VOOM Activation Stories here

I called this morning, CSR said that wasn't available, I started to argue, then she ask if I had a dish to 61.5 and I said yep. Then 2 minutes later I was in business.
 
Just called at 505 PM EST...CSR stated what she had written in front of her...Only new VOOM Subscribers only....not available to existing customers at this time. I told her that I had a dish pointed at 61.5 and had the HDPAK. I didn't argue with her...but some CSRs have the right info and some dont. I guess its back to the CSR Roulette game.

Mark
 
Dish Deal

I called Dish yesterday and ordered two (2) 811 receivers and two (2) dish for the local and 61.5 channels - keep in mind the "extra" dish was free yesterday when I signed up. After seeing they charged my credit card for the $49.99 "fee", I called Dish this morning to confirm my order. Well, for some reason they had me down for two (2) 322 receivers and one dish. After mentioning I was a former VOOM customer and wanted the dish to pick up the locals and VOOM channels, I was told the "free" dish was $100.00 ($50 for the dish and $50 for the installation). WTF, right? I immediately told the CRS to cancel my install and refund my $49.99.

I was turned over the the "never let them get off that easy" department. I unloaded on the poor guy who answered. I explained to him I ordered Dish on 4/30/2005, when they was no fee for the additional dish. After all was said and done, I had to agree to a one (1) year agreement, which I planned on doing anyhow, but Dish waived the $100.00 "extra" dish fee.

How kind!
 
I am a Current DishNetwork sub and was a Voom sub till the end (03:00 EDT this morning :( )

I disconnected my Superdish from my 811 and hooked the voom dish directly to it. Did a check Switch test and saw the voom channels in red in the guide. Called the regular dish CSR number i explained i hooked the voom dish up and saw the channels in red and she activated them for me (additional $5/month). 5 minutes later i was watching the 10 Voom channels and CBSHD from NYC because I had an existing waiver for SD CBS-NY (this was a nice extra because i only get ABC/FOX/PBS in HD OTA, CBS and NBC are only ED OTA untill the Fall, so now i get 4/5 in HD instead of 3/5).

Now the hard part, i have a SuperDish that uses DishPro (DP switches and LNB's) so the legacy LNB on the voom dish will not work with this. I was going to buy a DP LNB for the voom dish and a DP21 and install it myself, but the DP34/DP21 combo is not officially approved by dish (even though i read posts that it works) and for dish to support the config they want you to use a DPP44 Switch. Well new DPP44 switches cost $180 new ($80 on Ebay), so i figured heck with it and called DishNetwork back to confirm if i got the $99.95 2nd dish install from them it included everything (i.e. - dish 300, DP LNB, DPP44, Install and integration with existing SuperDish), she said yes so i am scheduled for this Thursday to get the install done.

So after Thursday my SuperDish will be seeing 110/119/105 birds (same as before), my new dish 300 will be seeing 61.5 bird, and they will all be tied togeather with a new DPP44 Switch (replaces my current DP34 Switch) :) .

Really not that bad of a deal for $99 dollars, you get:
a new Dish
a new DP LNB
a new DPP44 Switch
Install and integration with current SuperDish
 
Okay, called back at 520 PM EST, and got them added. The CSR did give me the line that my two 301 receivers still have the blue cards and that I won't be able to get them until I get the new cards in 3 to 7 days. I told her that I have an 811 and it didn't have a card. She said, oh yeah, I see the 811...it will work fine....do you see the new voom channels on your guide? I said yes and everything was done. Though I guess I'll get new cards in 7 to 10 days for my 301s!

mark
 
I received an email last night about 10:30 MDT from a CSR friend of mine saying that the channels had been added to my account so that I wouldn't have to deal with the calling in today. :)

And sure enough, right at 2:00am MDT this morning, the channels appeared! :D
 
Oh, and one other thing...the first time I called and was denied, I used the 1 800 WOW HDTV number. The second time I called DISH on the 333 number and it worked. So its probably better to call the regular dish number to get things added. They also asked how many dishes I had as well. But she then answered it herself when she saw the second dish on my account.

Mark
 
1) Called 800-333-DISH. Pressed button for programming. "Estimated wait time is 10 minutes." On-hold music starts.
2) After about 30 seconds, on-hold music stops. One minute later, still dead air. I hang up.
3) Called 800-333-DISH. Pressed button for programming. A nice non-Indian lady answers, apologizes for my hold even though I didnt have one.
4) Me: "I'd like to have the Voom channels activated on my acct please."
5) Nice Lady: "Im sorry, those wont be available for another week or so."
6) Me: "Thats not true, I know people who have had them for hours."
7) Nice Lady: "Please hold, Im going to check."
8) I hold about 1 minute.
9) Nice Lady: "Those channels are available, but only available to new customers at this time."
10) Me {frustrated}: "Bullsh!t! I know existing subs that are watching these channels as we speak."
11) Not-so-nice Lady: "HOLD!"
12) I hold another minute.
13) Supervisor: "Sorry about the trouble, lets see what we can do. Do you have 2 dishes?"
14) Me: "Yes, I have a dish pointed at 61.5."
15) Supervisor: "Great. Let me get this added."
16) Wait one minute.
17) Supervisor: "There ya go, you should be able to see them now."
18) The channels turn Gray on my 811. I can tune to them. (they arent coming in, but thats a different story)
19) Me: "So, why did I get the run around? Why dont the people who first answer the phone have all the information they need to get these channels activated?"
20) Supervisor: "At this time, we are not really marketing this toward existing subscribers and we also have to verify that you have the equipment necessary to receive the channels. People would get quite upset if we activate the channels and they dont have a dish pointed in the right direction."
21) Me: "That makes senses, but it would have been nice if the lady I originally spoke with would have known what was going on and she could have just sent me to you in the first place."
22) Supervisor: "True. Things will smooth out soon I'm sure."
23) Me: "Thanks."

So, thats my activation story. I ended up having to re-peak my dish though to see any odd transponders.
 
Wdam33 said:
The CSR did give me the line that my two 301 receivers still have the blue cards and that I won't be able to get them until I get the new cards in 3 to 7 days.
mark

What the hell does the 301's have to do with HD channels?
 
I called around 8 AM Pacific time.

Asked them to turn on VOOM.
They asked how many dishes - I said two one at 61.5.
They said just a minute.
Hold for a minute or so.
Came back and told me since I paid annual for my HD pack they would have to cancel the annual subscription to add VOOM.
I asked would they credit the unused months.
Yes it would show on my bill.
Said OK.
They said the channels should be on in 15-30 minutes.
A bit later fired up my 6000 and there they were.

I believe I now have 16 HD channels via Dish!
 
I called the 333-dish number and of course got a rep in India. I told her that I had already repointed my dish that WAS receiving 148 to 61.5 instead. She had no problem with adding the VOOM HD channels but when I told her that I would now need to get the CBS east HD instead of the CBS west HD she had a big problem. After researching it she said that I would have to get reauthorized to receive CBS east/west and it would take up to 45 days to do that. I got a supervisor involved and everything was then completed quickly.
 
I'm typing this right after I hung up with the CSR:


Got disconnected the first 3 tries (after entering the last action, the recording says I'm being transferred and the expected hold time is 2 min...then, there was about 2 seconds of hold music, then nothing...). This happened 3 times.

The 4th try, I got right through:

After the "with whom am I speaking" introduction...

CSR: How may I help you?
ME: I want to add the expanded HD content that you acquired from VOOM.
CSR: OK, I see you have the second dish, so that should be no problem.
ME: That'll be 6 months free, then 5 bucks a month afterwards, right?
CSR: No. It will be 5 dollars per month extra, however.
ME: Well, it was worth a shot.
CSR: <politely chuckles>, then he quickly explained that I'll have partial charges on the next bill, blah, blah, blah...(he seemed to be rushing through it for my sake, as he knew I already was aware of it) Then, "Alright, you do know where the channels will be located, then?
ME: Yes.
CSR: They should start coming on within 15 minutes. (he emphasized 'within'). Is there anything else I can help you with today.
ME: No, thank you, have a nice day.
CSR: You too, and thank you for calling Dish Network.

Absolutely the easiest programming change I've ever made with Dish.
 
This mornings results:

Its 6:15am ET and a short time ago I called Dish Network and was told by a CSR that the 10 VOOM channels would not be available to existing Dish Network customers right away, does anyone know something different.

This afternoons results:

Called and got a different CSR thank GOD, results at first were the same as this morning but after being on hold for a couple of minutes CSR returned and asked how many dish's I had told him two and one of them was pointed at 61.5 and that seemed to have been the magic words, within a few minutes I had the channels.
 
After prepaying for my second dish, calling back and getting turned down for waivers I called back a third time to cancel my dish install because I planned on fighting the Dish CBS/HD waiver to get a free second dish.

Argued with the CSR for a bit over how they had to give me a dish if I got the waiver, went around and around with her and then finally the supervisor. I never actually ASKED for a free dish, I just wanted some clairification on the rule before I made my fight.

He told me I had to pay for the second dish for CBS-HD no matter what, and this was after 20 minutes, he said "We can only give you a free dish if you want WADL"....I said fine, I want WADL and they refunded me my $100.00 and left my appointment in place.

I called several times today and each time got an intelligent CSR, did get hung up on the first time by the system but after that it was smooth sailing. The last CSR was a bit dense and a "read the script" CSR but the other ones actually knew which sat things were coming from and generally very helpful.

I plan on calling back again and seeing if I can get the free 6 months for being a Voom customer :)
 
I called the 333 number as soon as they showed in my guide, around 4:10am eastern time. I was in the chat room with about 60 other satguys after the big "shutdown". The CSR was SO nice, she said her system was being updated and I could hold or call back, I chose hold. She said that her system always updates at about 4am-415am eastern time every morning and pulls in the new promotions and pricing.

That could prove useful for future updates.

She asked if I had the second dish already and if I subscribed to the HD pack (yes to both). She clicked away at the keyboard and informed me of the 5$ monthly charge and by the time I hung up with her they were on.

She sounded excited about the channels. She said she was going to add the package to her account as soon as I was taken care of. She was also surprised they were in the guide so fast. She seemed very knowledgable and very interested in home theater "stuff". She asked me about what kind of tv I had, etc...

Very positive experience.
 
Hey guys, I was a voomer that had Dish installed 2 weeks ago and when I found out that they wanted $100 for the second dish to recieve the voom channels I remembered this thread. Free 2nd dish Called, I'm getting the second dish for my 3 missing locals for free. Guess where I'm gonna tell the installer to point it??? 61.5 I already had them upgrade my programing with the Voom for the $5/mo. extra. So now when I have the 2nd dish installed I'll be ready to go. Give it a try!
 

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