Suspicious install situation?

[crawfish963]

Hello all, I've been reading here for a while but I just joined. I am hoping someone more knowledgable than me can give some advice or tell me if this sounds right.

I ordered service with the HD DVR for one room on Wed, 2/12. My install day was set for today. I live on the 3rd floor of a 3 story apartment complex. The install guy shows up and says "I don't think I can do this". Immediately I'm thinking what the heck? I ask why and he says there's no way I will get a signal (I live in the city limits, near tons of houses, but none are taller than my apartment and there are no obstructions such as trees). The apartment runs north-south and I asked him if he could put it on the roof. I got permission from my apartment manager saying that as long as the install and removal was professionally done, she had no problem with me putting it on the roof of my unit. I simply had to pay $.25 per hole drilled in my wall. No problem.

The installer asks for a form showing my apt. manager will allow a roof mount. I give it to him. He says that there's no way he has a ladder to get onto the roof of the 3rd floor. He said I'm out of luck, he'll call and cancel the order, and have a nice day. I immediately call Directv, tell the the situation, and the customer service rep says as long as the apartment will allow a roof install, they'll do it. She reinstates the order, calls the install tech here in my town, and he calls me. He was pretty frustrated with me, I could tell and He is on his way to "Examine the situation".

Is he being lazy or will they really refuse to do the install? I have a sloping roof, but it's less than 20 degrees and there's a clear view of the southwest sky there. Anyone know?

 

[crawfish963]

Also, my install company is Premier.

 

[webbydude]

Unless you have a way for the tech to get to the roof safely from a balcony, you're definitely venturing into the realm of custom work. Three stories is taller than what most tech ladders (28 foot) will reach.

It's easy for a CSR to guarantee an install. They (a) aren't there to assess the overall situation and (b) any way to get the customer off the phone so that they can boost the overall satisfied phone call percentages.

 

[crawfish963]

Any rough idea of how much I could expect to drop? Local cable isn't an option because the apartment is new and the cable company claims they can't run service here. If I can't get satellite, I'm sunk.

 

[webbydude]

At least in our area (NE Ohio) it can be done...but you'll have to make darned sure to specify with your installer that a 40 foot ladder is needed.

IMO, you're better off trying to get things done with a local retailer. You and him can have a one-on-one, face-to-face. The less surprises/glitches...the better it will be for him and you.

 

[stevelite]

I have seen satelite dishes installed on 100 ft/ 250 ft polls. Okay maybe they weren't dishes, but microwave dishes.

Technical stand point, sounds like you should be able to get the signal, but if the installer doesn't test, how would someone know?

I think that someone in this situation needs to assess to see if the risk of injury or it's worthwhile to install it on 3 story roof. Since the installer gets a fixed installation fee paid by DirectTV, might not want to in your situation. You could try to call back DirectTV and ask for different installation company.

 

[crawfish963]

Well here's the update. A tech supervisor drove over. The apartment manager told him in-person that she had no problem with roof install and he demanded to talk to my apartment's corporate office. The said no, of course, because they can and because the reason that if I get a dish on the roof, others will want the same thing.

So next week a corporate rep is coming to meet with this tech supervisor on site to determine if and how a dish could be mounted. Current discussed options include:

-Place a dish on ground level where LoS exists, run cable to apartment on 3rd floor

-Place dish outside of Pavlov Media's hub shed where Pavlov runs their signal and splits it to all the units. The idea would be to use the existing cable line from that shed to run signal to my apt.

-Place a 40+ foot tall poll on the corner of the foundation and mount the dish there.

 

[Zynergi]

Unfortunately with any type of Apartment complex you really run into some serious liability issues with the Installer and his/her company. The Sup was smart to ask Corporate for permission, had he not, then the next 8 some odd people who are unhappy with the cable system can now get "permission" to put their own dish on the roof. And you and possibly the installing company would be liable for replacing that buildings roof.

Take a look here to see what "rights" you have FCC - Satellite Television and Network Signals

What I do for Apartments is install the Dish on a Non-Penetrating mount, be-it a sled or tripod on the balcony, using cinder blocks to prevent movement. But this needs to be installed in your leased area and generally not to protrude into common or others leased areas.

On your next encounter with a installer/sup.. see if the above is possible (may cost extra), and they can use "flat" cable to prevent any holes being drilled.

 

[crawfish963]

The question now becomes this:

Since I can't put it on a wall or roof, and because my apartment complex has no balcony, private patio, or other south-facing private area, am I pretty much out of luck?

 

[Van]

If the manager for the complex cleared the customer then it falls on the manager and not the customer specialy considering that the customer has it in writing. The supervisor asking to talk to the coporate office was trying to get out of the install as he doesnt want to pay extra to have a second body out there helping the installer set up a 40ft ladder.

What could be done and the supervisor could have and should have suggested is setting up an MDU account for each of the buildings to offer service seeing as how there is no cable tv service there.

Installing a 40ft pole is considerably more of an eyesore than to have a dish on the roof, what they could do is use 10ft fence pole atached to the outside of the balcony to get at or above the roof line and its easy to do.

Do as others have suggested and talk to a local retailer and forget the subcontractor.

 

[porter6]

Most apartment buildings with flat roofs will have roof access from within the building like thru a hatch or something. Most I have run into have AC units mounted on the roof that need access to them. I would try to find your building maintenance person and see if this is the case.

 

[crawfish963]

Unfortunately, my roof is angled. When he went above my apartment manager's head, the person he talked to, of course, said "No way is that going on the building wall or the roof". Of course, FCC rules allow me to have a satellite, but since I have no common areas such as a patio or balcony, I don't think there's anything I can do. For all intents and purposes, my manager's decision to allow the dish on the roof is now void.

 

[Skibum]

Are your utilities included with rent? If so, just open up a window, set up a tripod, and throw some cardboard over the opening and tape around the edges to prevent drafts. Very energy-wasteful, but I've had to do things like this in Yellowstone Nat'l Park, where the employee housing is government-owned and heat/electricity is paid for. XD You can pick up a signal through cardboard, but not glass.

Less than ideal for sure, but I would also see about just setting up a tripod on the ground and running that up to your third floor or using existing pre-wire (if there is any).

 

[1sweetchevy]

Also, my install company is Premier.

Well that's your problem right there. Premier sucks!

 

[gcrantstl]

I'll second that, Premier is horrible.

 

[crawfish963]

Unfortunately my apartment runs north/south, me being on the northeast end of things. Aside from a roof mount or a wall mount with a boom high enough for LoS, I can't use the window option as no windows face south/southwest.

 

[Skibum]

Why not petition for MDU satellite service then? Hook the entire damn building up. Woot!

 

[charper1]

or at least give everyone the choice.

 

[BluegrassGuy1976]

After reading all the replys to this, simply put, a residential technician is not allowed to install anything into a multi-dwelling unit such as an apartment complex situation. At least for the sub I work for. I personally will not install into a complex type setup, period. Unless I see other dishes already there and EVEN THEN I ask to see WRITTEN landlord permission. Cover my ass. That is considered commerical work for one thing, but mostly as had been already mentioned there A LOT of legal and liability issues when dealing with complexes like that. To the person who said the Sup was just trying to get out of it... maybe... but more probable he was covering his ass as well as the companies ass by doing the right thing. I've gotten into situations exactly like this where the customer has gotten permission from the onsite bullding management, but when the corporation or whoever actually owns the complex is contacted the answer is usually no. And with good reason. If one person gets a dish, then everybody wants one. And they don't want to have to pay to have them removed, holes patched, roofs repaired when a tenant leaves, they don't want cables strung all over hells half acre looking like a tangled spiderweb etc. Usually for us they have to go through our MDU office, they deal with the complex owners and set everything up. They have commercial techs who do nothing but apartments. So it can be done but is has to go through the proper channels. Usually to do it the whole building has to be converted over to DBS, not this piecemeal stuff, one apartment there, one over there etc. Don't be mad at the tech who said he didn't think he could do it, I would have told you the same thing.

As for the roof, there should a roof access point somewhere on the top floor. It's required by law in a building that size if it's 4 or more stories I think.