Should I ask for an antenna upgrade?
- Thread starter kspeters
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kspeters...I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you. Let us know what transpires...there are people here who want to and CAN helpl..
I'm not necessarily one of them (on the can part..., not the want to...I'm primarily a cheerleader, but I do have some past experience...Good luck on 4/4! Vicki
I'm not necessarily one of them (on the can part..., not the want to...I'm primarily a cheerleader, but I do have some past experience...Good luck on 4/4! Vicki
Voom Installers
This is the biggest reason that VOOM should get out of the installation business. They should A) ship the equipment to the homeowner, and B) provide a customer with a list of "qualified" installers in their area that they can hire to do the install if they'd like. That gets VOOM out of the picture, OTHER than being able to remove an installation company that has had X number of negative comments back to VOOM.
Lob[/QUOTE]
Voom's not in the install business, Install Inc, and others are. That may change in the not too distant future. No disrespect to Tyork and other installer's that take pride in their work, my hat's off to them, but Voom needs it's own inhouse installers that work exclusively on Voom installs. Self installations would only triple the amount of CSR's that Voom would need to handle the number of calls that would start coming in from customers that have no idea of how to set up a sat system. Hire a qualified tech? come on, that would cut the customer base in half. A lot of these people are only signing up because of the $1.00 install and base package. Force them to hire their own techs and watch them run to D* and E*. Personally, I think Voom needs to be restructured, starting from the top down and good installations should be one of the main priorities. I can see it now: "Hello, Voom?, I don't know what happened but, when I hooked up the receiver like you instructed me to it just kinda went up in flames, it was the darnedest thing!! Can you send me a new one?
This is the biggest reason that VOOM should get out of the installation business. They should A) ship the equipment to the homeowner, and B) provide a customer with a list of "qualified" installers in their area that they can hire to do the install if they'd like. That gets VOOM out of the picture, OTHER than being able to remove an installation company that has had X number of negative comments back to VOOM.
Lob[/QUOTE]
Voom's not in the install business, Install Inc, and others are. That may change in the not too distant future. No disrespect to Tyork and other installer's that take pride in their work, my hat's off to them, but Voom needs it's own inhouse installers that work exclusively on Voom installs. Self installations would only triple the amount of CSR's that Voom would need to handle the number of calls that would start coming in from customers that have no idea of how to set up a sat system. Hire a qualified tech? come on, that would cut the customer base in half. A lot of these people are only signing up because of the $1.00 install and base package. Force them to hire their own techs and watch them run to D* and E*. Personally, I think Voom needs to be restructured, starting from the top down and good installations should be one of the main priorities. I can see it now: "Hello, Voom?, I don't know what happened but, when I hooked up the receiver like you instructed me to it just kinda went up in flames, it was the darnedest thing!! Can you send me a new one?
"Voom's not in the install business, Install Inc, and others are."
Sorry...I disagree. Who pays Installs, Inc? VOOM. Who selects Installs Inc? VOOM. They are most certainly in the install business.
"Self installations would only triple the amount of CSR's that Voom would need to handle the number of calls that would start coming in from customers that have no idea of how to set up a sat system."
Other sat services don't seem to have a problem with self installs. Back when I had Direct, I knew several other people in my area that all signed on at roughly the same time. 3 hired contractors to do the installs, 4 of us did it ourselves. At that time there was (probably still is) as self-install kit you could buy. You didn't really need it, if you knew what you were doing, but if you didn't, you could follow the instructions and be up and running.
At that time, the contractor option was around $200 for a "standard" installation...but the price varied depending on what you wanted done.
"Force them to hire their own techs and watch them run to D* and E*."
Actually, people have ALREADY been running to D&E, mostly because of ridiculous installation fees and the ass-ache of having to make an appointment, take time off, etc.
Take a walk through your local campground and take a loot at the RVs parked there. At least 1/2 of them will have a dish on the roof. Every time that RV moves, those people do a self-install.
Remember...most people who are signing up for this already have an HDTV that they've managed to connect various components to and get it all working. Some better than others, but they've done it.
It's not rocket science, and the cost of trying to manage it remotely, in an industry that has it's share of questionable participants, is asking for disaster, and that's what they have.
"Voom needs it's own inhouse installers that work exclusively on Voom installs."
The cost involved in doing this would be astronomical. You're talking about adding thousands of people to the payroll, with no control over utilization. You want to pay 4 installers in North Dakota to sit in the office day after day hoping that someone signs up for VOOM? Not a viable model.
They need to smarten up and change their policy if they want to survive. Every install that gets done costs them hundreds of dollars at a minimum. Send the equipment to the customer via UPS ground and be done with it for $25.
Lob
Sorry...I disagree. Who pays Installs, Inc? VOOM. Who selects Installs Inc? VOOM. They are most certainly in the install business.
"Self installations would only triple the amount of CSR's that Voom would need to handle the number of calls that would start coming in from customers that have no idea of how to set up a sat system."
Other sat services don't seem to have a problem with self installs. Back when I had Direct, I knew several other people in my area that all signed on at roughly the same time. 3 hired contractors to do the installs, 4 of us did it ourselves. At that time there was (probably still is) as self-install kit you could buy. You didn't really need it, if you knew what you were doing, but if you didn't, you could follow the instructions and be up and running.
At that time, the contractor option was around $200 for a "standard" installation...but the price varied depending on what you wanted done.
"Force them to hire their own techs and watch them run to D* and E*."
Actually, people have ALREADY been running to D&E, mostly because of ridiculous installation fees and the ass-ache of having to make an appointment, take time off, etc.
Take a walk through your local campground and take a loot at the RVs parked there. At least 1/2 of them will have a dish on the roof. Every time that RV moves, those people do a self-install.
Remember...most people who are signing up for this already have an HDTV that they've managed to connect various components to and get it all working. Some better than others, but they've done it.
It's not rocket science, and the cost of trying to manage it remotely, in an industry that has it's share of questionable participants, is asking for disaster, and that's what they have.
"Voom needs it's own inhouse installers that work exclusively on Voom installs."
The cost involved in doing this would be astronomical. You're talking about adding thousands of people to the payroll, with no control over utilization. You want to pay 4 installers in North Dakota to sit in the office day after day hoping that someone signs up for VOOM? Not a viable model.
They need to smarten up and change their policy if they want to survive. Every install that gets done costs them hundreds of dollars at a minimum. Send the equipment to the customer via UPS ground and be done with it for $25.
Lob
Problems
Voom pays installs and others to do the installs, that does not make them installers. On that note, how much does it cost them in the long run for sub-standard installations, no call/no show credits, loss of service credits, trip charges because local techs are either to imcompetant or E* and D* biased and the customer no longer wants them on their property. No, we're not talking about adding thousands of people to the payroll, we're talking about dropping thousands from the payroll, namely; sub-contractors, who, in my opinion, do crappy jobs just so they can get a return trip out of it. It doesn't happen on all jobs, but it does happen a lot. Again, no offense to Tyork and others.
Gimme a break on the RV park thing, it must have taken a lot to run a 15' cable and aim the dish. It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to know where sse is and reaim the dish until you get a signal. You know as well as I do that house jobs can be a lot more complicated than that.
Unless you purchase your equipment, there haven't been any major installation charges for quite a while. Last year, Voom waived the 199.00 install fee, then they went with the Holiday offer for $1.00 People are not running to D* and E* because of install charges, they are running because of lousy service, usually related to install and other problems.
Sure, some people are capable of doing their own installs, the majority are not. Hire a local tech? Does that mean if the system screws up it will be up to the cx to fix it? There goes the guaranteed service plan.
I agree with you in part about most people that are ordering voom have hdtv's, but there are a lot of them that only have standard def's. The one's with sdtv's look forward to owning an hdtv but just can't afford it yet. More than you think are on fixed incomes and Voom is a splurge. Should Voom be an elite service that only the people with high end systems can afford?
Your right, they do need to smarten up. Their marketing could be a lot better. They could tier their packages, which I'm sure, will come when more channels are added, they could install the right equipment for the area the first time and reduce return trip fees, not to mention credits for service out and retain credits. Maybe all of this will change when Charlie Co. moves away from James and his shareholders, I don't know.
What I do know is that I talk with a lot of Voom customers every day, a lot of the them are very happy with Voom because of Techs like Tyork, who take pride in the quality of their jobs. Unfortunetely, those are outweighed by the ones that get installers who are only in it for the money and don't care if the system works or not before they leave. I've even had several techs calling in asking how to set up the system, and they had instructions in hand! Nice guys all, but.
Lobstah said:
Voom pays installs and others to do the installs, that does not make them installers. On that note, how much does it cost them in the long run for sub-standard installations, no call/no show credits, loss of service credits, trip charges because local techs are either to imcompetant or E* and D* biased and the customer no longer wants them on their property. No, we're not talking about adding thousands of people to the payroll, we're talking about dropping thousands from the payroll, namely; sub-contractors, who, in my opinion, do crappy jobs just so they can get a return trip out of it. It doesn't happen on all jobs, but it does happen a lot. Again, no offense to Tyork and others.
Gimme a break on the RV park thing, it must have taken a lot to run a 15' cable and aim the dish. It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to know where sse is and reaim the dish until you get a signal. You know as well as I do that house jobs can be a lot more complicated than that.
Unless you purchase your equipment, there haven't been any major installation charges for quite a while. Last year, Voom waived the 199.00 install fee, then they went with the Holiday offer for $1.00 People are not running to D* and E* because of install charges, they are running because of lousy service, usually related to install and other problems.
Sure, some people are capable of doing their own installs, the majority are not. Hire a local tech? Does that mean if the system screws up it will be up to the cx to fix it? There goes the guaranteed service plan.
I agree with you in part about most people that are ordering voom have hdtv's, but there are a lot of them that only have standard def's. The one's with sdtv's look forward to owning an hdtv but just can't afford it yet. More than you think are on fixed incomes and Voom is a splurge. Should Voom be an elite service that only the people with high end systems can afford?
Your right, they do need to smarten up. Their marketing could be a lot better. They could tier their packages, which I'm sure, will come when more channels are added, they could install the right equipment for the area the first time and reduce return trip fees, not to mention credits for service out and retain credits. Maybe all of this will change when Charlie Co. moves away from James and his shareholders, I don't know.
What I do know is that I talk with a lot of Voom customers every day, a lot of the them are very happy with Voom because of Techs like Tyork, who take pride in the quality of their jobs. Unfortunetely, those are outweighed by the ones that get installers who are only in it for the money and don't care if the system works or not before they leave. I've even had several techs calling in asking how to set up the system, and they had instructions in hand! Nice guys all, but.
Thanks Spahoose,
I agree about the tech Just putting up whatever to get by with. techs like dragon that has posted more than once that he will only put up what they ship and if he need a different antenna he makes the customer call at a later time to create a service call so he get paid for a returned trip. I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS AT ALL if you look on antennaweb.org you know when you go there what you need so take it with you cause voom will pay you back for what ever you use. I know that for a fact cause i do it all the time. I tech like these that are giving INSTALLS INC. and VOOM a bad name.
Just my 2 cents
t
I agree about the tech Just putting up whatever to get by with. techs like dragon that has posted more than once that he will only put up what they ship and if he need a different antenna he makes the customer call at a later time to create a service call so he get paid for a returned trip. I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS AT ALL if you look on antennaweb.org you know when you go there what you need so take it with you cause voom will pay you back for what ever you use. I know that for a fact cause i do it all the time. I tech like these that are giving INSTALLS INC. and VOOM a bad name.
Just my 2 cents
t
"but there are a lot of them that only have standard def's"
This I really doubt. There might be a few customers out there, but I'd want to see some actual numbers to back up that statement.
"Sure, some people are capable of doing their own installs, the majority are not. Hire a local tech? Does that mean if the system screws up it will be up to the cx to fix it? There goes the guaranteed service plan."
Again..."most" are incapable? This is purely subjective on your part. Why has this worked so well for other providers?
"No, we're not talking about adding thousands of people to the payroll, we're talking about dropping thousands from the payroll"
Sorry...but they're not on the payroll period. They get paid by the job. JUST LIKE IF THE CUSTOMER HIRED THEM
If VOOM tried to do this with employees?...yes, you would be adding at least hungreds, and more likely thousands. How many techs do you need in California? New York? Texas? LOL How many installs are you going to be doing, nationwide, in a week? That model just doesn't scale, period.
And yes, running 15' of cable and pointing the dish is pretty simple. THAT'S MY POINT For many installations, it amounts to running 50' of cable, and pointing the dish.
And I have no idea what you're talking about with this "service plan" deal...and not sure I care at this point.
In many ways...you sound an awful lot like Dragon. Amazingly so.
The point is, VOOM is failing miserably with installations right now. Let the people who are comfortable doing this themselves do it.
Lob
This I really doubt. There might be a few customers out there, but I'd want to see some actual numbers to back up that statement.
"Sure, some people are capable of doing their own installs, the majority are not. Hire a local tech? Does that mean if the system screws up it will be up to the cx to fix it? There goes the guaranteed service plan."
Again..."most" are incapable? This is purely subjective on your part. Why has this worked so well for other providers?
"No, we're not talking about adding thousands of people to the payroll, we're talking about dropping thousands from the payroll"
Sorry...but they're not on the payroll period. They get paid by the job. JUST LIKE IF THE CUSTOMER HIRED THEM
If VOOM tried to do this with employees?...yes, you would be adding at least hungreds, and more likely thousands. How many techs do you need in California? New York? Texas? LOL How many installs are you going to be doing, nationwide, in a week? That model just doesn't scale, period.
And yes, running 15' of cable and pointing the dish is pretty simple. THAT'S MY POINT
For many installations, it amounts to running 50' of cable, and pointing the dish.And I have no idea what you're talking about with this "service plan" deal...and not sure I care at this point.
In many ways...you sound an awful lot like Dragon. Amazingly so.
The point is, VOOM is failing miserably with installations right now. Let the people who are comfortable doing this themselves do it.
Lob
spahoose,
there is one other group of people who got voom installed, and it is because of a posting on this site that they did. the post basically said that voom wasnt shutting any one off even if 90 or 180 days late, forget which it was . we all know voom did this to inflate the sub counts, but,,,,,, i have been to homes and was setting up systems and the subs were calling friends , relatives etc telling them yeah theyre installing now, go and order!! these people have a cable drop , a dishnetwork and directv dishes all still on the house. and they have no intention of getting a hdtv. and ill be back in 6 months when they use a new cricket # to install another directv system, im not there to pass judgement, only for the $$$$$ and ill bet these subs are 20% of the total count
dragon
there is one other group of people who got voom installed, and it is because of a posting on this site that they did. the post basically said that voom wasnt shutting any one off even if 90 or 180 days late, forget which it was . we all know voom did this to inflate the sub counts, but,,,,,, i have been to homes and was setting up systems and the subs were calling friends , relatives etc telling them yeah theyre installing now, go and order!! these people have a cable drop , a dishnetwork and directv dishes all still on the house. and they have no intention of getting a hdtv. and ill be back in 6 months when they use a new cricket # to install another directv system, im not there to pass judgement, only for the $$$$$ and ill bet these subs are 20% of the total count
dragon
t ,
these cable drops and dishes are already there, they have already been shut off on all three and I DIDNT SELL THEM VOOM, they are the constant late pays , and the one i was telling you about was Quoting sat guys over the phone to her welfare families and friends!!
dragon
these cable drops and dishes are already there, they have already been shut off on all three and I DIDNT SELL THEM VOOM, they are the constant late pays , and the one i was telling you about was Quoting sat guys over the phone to her welfare families and friends!!
dragon
TYORK said:
t,
again i have been warned i am to install the eq shipped for said cx. all of it, no exceptions. so what do i do go against my contract and not get paid or wait around for 10 hours for a 3 ird HA HA HA , NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
dragon
ps mud pup ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,where are you????
t isnt GOD , just thinks she is a satellite god, hence the small case "g"
of course in the voom universe, she may be god, she is willing to stay for an un godly time waiting to get thru for an upgrde, AND WAS DENIED and stayed?????
dragon
of course in the voom universe, she may be god, she is willing to stay for an un godly time waiting to get thru for an upgrde, AND WAS DENIED and stayed?????
dragon
