Voom finally upgraded my OTA. Went from 1 local OTA channel to 17! Complete Review:

[VMI]

Installer

I understand your frustration with service calls and VOOM in general for a lack of technical guidance, but if you find VOOM so bad why do you still do it when you could be making more with D*? Maybe stop your own whining and move on.

 

[jellison1]

I understand your frustration with service calls and VOOM in general for a lack of technical guidance, but if you find VOOM so bad why do you still do it when you could be making more with D*? Maybe stop your own whining and move on.

I am not whining i am just sick and tired of whining jerks like vurbano who costantly refer to installers as a**holes,retards,etc...and maybe you didnt read the last line of the post where i stated all i have done for V* in the past few months are de-installs...

 

[bnl107]

I am not whining i am just sick and tired of whining jerks like vurbano who costantly refer to installers as a**holes,retards,etc...and maybe you didnt read the last line of the post where i stated all i have done for V* in the past few months are de-installs...

I can say from my personal experience that the first few installers (all who came from the same company) were, to use the nicest, least offending adjective I can think of and still stay true to the experience, definitely incompetent. They lied, they were rude, they were unprofessional, and when it came down to it, they just did not do their job. Now granted, maybe Voom doesn't specifically train their installers on the intricacies of OTA antenna installation, but my first installers didn't aim or install the dish correctly, told me that I had to buy my own OTA antenna (and install it myself), did not correctly run the cables, and did not know how to hook the STB up to my television with component cables (not to mention that they told me Voom only supplied composite cable and I would have to buy my own if I wanted to use them). Now, of course this is only my experience, but from what I've read on this board and other online forums, this is a common level of Installs, Inc installer competence. I am sure there are many other people out there with similar, if not the same, complaints. Now jellison1, I am sure you will agree that these installer mistakes are basic and would apply to a D* install just as much as a V* install, right? So, even if Voom is at fault for not training their Installs, Inc counterparts fully, these incidents could not be blamed on Voom as they are basic and common attributes to any satellite install.

Secondly, if I was "making my living" installing satellite services as you pointed out you and the other installers are all doing, I would be sure to read up on and learn the different installation specifications for the companies I am servicing. If anything, to avoid the constant service calls you are complaining take away from the money you can make. Do it right the first time, and you won't have to come back. I can tell you that I had to tell almost every installer what to do. They didn't know how to use the remote, they didn't know what direction to aim the antenna (or how to check the signal level), they didn't know the different models of antennas or how to wire them, they didn't know how to contact Voom to activate my box, they didn't know how to hook the STB up to the TV, etc... I can tell you that if I, as a common everyday guy, can come online and find out all of this info (to the point where I have now completely rewired my setup to work correctly) within a few hours, I sure as hell would be taking at least that much time reading up on this info if I was doing this for a living.

Thirdly, from talking to my contact at Voom's Cooperate Headquarters over the last two weeks (while sorting through all of the problems my previous installers had caused for my setup), I have learned a few things about Voom's relationship with the different Installs, Inc sub-contractors. In fact, I was asked to put into writing my negative experiences with those first few installers (luckily I had been sure to get all of their names and was able to determine they were all from the same local installation company) and fax them to Voom. The woman I was working with at Voom then called me with updates. The installation company as a whole, and the specific installers I had documented problems with (blatant lies about me having to buy equipment they were supposed to give me, no calls no shows, or even those installers who had shown up trying to convince me to leave Voom and go to D*) were refereed to "Voom's Installation Review Board". I got a phone call from the same Voom supervisor last week telling me that the entire installation company had been removed from "Installs, Inc's Voom Installation Pool", Voom had made formal complaints against the specific installers, and I was given a two-month service credit for my help and in cancellation for my negative first experiences. Sure enough, when the installer came to fix up the botched OTA antenna installation from that first installation company (turned out they had attached the Winegard antenna to the satellite dish with a plastic zip tie), he was from another company a few towns away. He also confirmed that the other company I had had so many problems with was no longer able to do Voom installations and his company had taken over their accounts. Strangely enough, he did say that the other company would only be working with Voom systems if the owner was transferring to another service they were still allowed to install. I'm not sure jellison1, but I wouldn't be surprised if, with the negative attitude you obviously have towards Voom and what seems like a lack of knowledge with their product, maybe you are in a similar situation as that first installation company I dealt with. Could be an explanation as to why you are only getting the Voom uninstalls... maybe another, better Voom installer in your area is getting all of the paying Voom installs. Just a theory.

*** But anyway, this thread has gotten a little off track, can anyone answer my question from a few posts ago? Thanks.

 

[andrzej]

Nice post bnl107 and thanks for taking your time to write and send a report to Voom.

 

[jellison1]

first let me say sorry for the install experience you had .there is no excuse for what the first installers did.but you must understand there are bad people in every profession.i am just tired of people on here saying ALL installers are a**holes ,retards,complete incompetents,etc..

to your second point i did as i do with all products i install,i DID read up on it.including coming coming to this site,which is a much more valuable resource than any manual i have seen. thats the point of the frustration.even if you do the install EXACTLY as you are supposed too there are still problems. its the equipment we are given to work with in most cases.

to your third point i do not have a negative attitude towards voom. but to people like vurbano who are constantly putting down installers.i have never tried to talk someone out of getting voom and getting D*. even when installing voom on a 13" tv for someone who obviously didnt know what they were buying.

and as to your last point that i am probably only getting voom deinstalls because a "better" installer is getting the install is wrong because noone is installing voom.the orders just arent there right now.i hope voom does well because the more products there are to install the more work i have .

again this is not a rant against voom .it is a rant against posters like vurbano who costantly belittle installers.i would like to know how he would feel if someone who had seen his job done once or twice was telling him how to do his job even though he has years of experience