VOOM Installations

[Sonnie Parker]

I did get the 18" dish and it's in the garage.

I let him use my E* dish since it was dialed in already and made it easier. We got a signal strength of 94-95 which he said was very good.

 

[Smiley79]

Smiley your other opiontion is to go purchase a approve satellite surge protector to put on the inside of you apartment and the it will be grounded.

I do have a Monster Cable Home Theater Power Center (HT700) that I'm running the dish's coax through. Would that suffice?

I'm still going to give Voom a call, about my locals anyway, but just in case, I'll have the installer make sure the dish is grounded correctly.

 

[kawdog]

Well, I finally got installed yesterday and it was an experience to say the least. I will start off by saying my installer was a good guy and went out of his way to do the best he could for me. This was his first VOOM installation and he was not able to attend the VOOM class, I think the guy who had the class quit or something and he was filling in. So, due to circumstances out of his control, he knew little at all about VOOM.

I was set for an install window of 8-12, he arrived a little after 12. Due to LOS issues we could not use the existing cable that I had running from my old Dish Network dish and I finally suggested we do it on the other side of the house mounted to the fence. I have a two story house and he was not told to bring a 40’ ladder, so he couldn’t mount it on the roof. After unpacking the STB’s he noticed that the boxes did not contain remotes. He assumed they would since Dish and Direct work that way. Anyway, he said he had two VOOM remotes back at his house that had come separate from the boxes, he thought they were extras. I will mention now that this is a three room install and I need three remotes.

He said he could not install because he needed the remotes to get to the tuning menu, which seemed to be the case since I could not find a way to get there from the box itself. He had two more installs to do that day (Dish or DirectTV) about thirty miles away and offered to drive back to his home when he completed those and then drive back to my house to finish the install. He said it could be around 6:30 before he made it back. So, he left all the boxes at the house and the dish for me to put together to save time. I went back to work. When I got home I went ahead and setup all the receivers to my televisions.

Around 6:40 he made it back to the house and we got the dish mounted and a signal, even though we were not sure if we were getting the right sat. because it was higher than he thought it would be. You have to remember this man had never done a VOOM installation, I don’t know if there is a certain way you combine the signals to be able to use your OTA antenna and I wonder if it is done right. If I remember correctly the two lines are coming out of the sat. and they run up to the house into a mulitiswitch. There is also a line running into the antenna part of the multiswitch. Then I have three lines running out to the receivers. At one receiver I have a diplexer and then from the diplexer I have a line going to the sat. connection and a line running to the antenna part. He was not able to put the Winegard Sensar together (it came with no instructions) , and said it was too late to install it anyway (10:00pm). I really wanted my locals so I kept fooling with the thing till I got it mounted on the arm it comes with. He said we could go ahead and just test it and he would hold it up and I could go check and see if I was getting any locals on the one tv that had the diplexer. (he was not able to set the other two up and one of them did not come with the OTA scanner module). Anyway, I went up to my HDTV (which is the main one I want locals on and the one with the diplexer and everything connected) and I cannot get any locals. Do you guys think it could be hooked up wrong? Either way the Winegard is not mounted, I really wish I could get someone to put it up on my old Dish mount on the roof. I really don’t want that big antenna mounted on my fence in the front yard.

My issues so far: No OTA antenna mounted, one remote missing, one OTA module missing, no locals.

I am around 37-40 miles from the towers.

I don’t blame the installer, I appreciate him staying so late to at least get my Sat. channels going and he has never had a VOOM class or done an installation. He was also a really nice guy. But if anyone from VOOM is listening, I would like my OTA antenna mounted on my roof instead of sitting on the ground unmounted, and I would like my installation checked to make sure the OTA will work the way he has it connected through the multiswitch and diplexer. He said he would be back whenever he gets the missing remote and module and would check on me then and we would get it working, but I don’t know if he knows enough about it to get it working.

Thanks for this great forum,

kaw

 

[Sean Mota]

Kaw,

I know you are trying to be nice to the installer but you need to call VOOM and let them know that your installation needs to be completed. You may want to send Wilt and email also so that you can get up to speed and they could send someone else that has the equipment and it is able to do this. I hate to see you waiting weeks for this.

 

[kawdog]

Yeah, I don't want my installer to get in trouble or anything for not being able to finish, he did the best he could with what he had. Why installs would let a guy go out without the training class is beyond me, I feel sorry for him. And he has like three more VOOM installations he has to do Monday. I might email Wilt just to see if I can get someone out here to mount my antenna on my old Dish mount and check the install, but wouldn't they just send the same guy who is still learning?

kaw

 

[Sean Mota]

Yeah, I don't want my installer to get in trouble or anything for not being able to finish, he did the best he could with what he had. Why installs would let a guy go out without the training class is beyond me, I feel sorry for him. And he has like three more VOOM installations he has to do Monday. I might email Wilt just to see if I can get someone out here to mount my antenna on my old Dish mount and check the install, but wouldn't they just send the same guy who is still learning?

kaw

Just let Wilt know the specifics of it. They may get someone else to do it.

 

[Hawkshaw]

Install scheduled for Monday

I ordered VOOM on May 27th. The install was scheduled for Monday June 14th. I just got word from WireTek that the equipment arrived this morning. So looks like I’m good to go!

I was quite worried after hearing all the problems others have had. I guess the equipment arrival was JIT.

I’ll let you know how it goes Monday.

Thanks to all for your post.

Hawk

 

[agi]

I had the install scheduled for today 8-12 by Broadway Satellite here in Little Rock, AR. I called the guy twice a day before he was to arrive. He told me he had to go like 3 hours away from Little Rock (to Texarkana) and will be back at 3PM. Well, at 4 I called the office and was told he is in some city on the way back to Little Rock. Well, I wait and wait and call back at 5:30. The offices told me he is 30 minutes away and will be here shortly. I wait and wait and call back after 6 but the offices are closed. I wait some more and at 7:30 I decided to call Installs to find out what the ****. She said she would call me in 10 minutes after she finds out. She calls me back and said there is no voicemail at their office so she could not even leave the message. She also called the technician on this cell but to no avail.

I'm not suprised that happened (if you know what I mean) as this is how the business is done here in Little Rock. Bunch of morans running companies, do not care about customers and whining why the economy is so bad. I'm just suprised why Voom is not caring who is installing their equipment and pretty much loses potential business.

I really want Voom, but .... ehh.

 

[va_steve77]

VOOM Installation Nightmare in MD

Ordered Voom on 5-14-2004 and it was supposed to be installed 5-28-2004 and I am still waiting. No call from anyone since 5-26-2004. Called Voom twice - no help. Called Installs, Inc. twice, they said my equipment had been shipped to Satellite Masters this week but no call from them. I have now left them a message too. Very poor business planning by Voom to not have supplier ready to meet demands of their aggressive marketing blitz. I already have DirecTv HD and Comcast HD but I crave more. I keep hearing rumors of more HD for DirecTv soon, but unfortunately they appear to be just rumors for now. Perhaps with the way things are going with Voom the DirecTv rumors will become fact and I can just cancel the Voom install and save myself a few $$!!

 

[Sean Mota]

Ordered Voom on 5-14-2004 and it was supposed to be installed 5-28-2004 and I am still waiting. No call from anyone since 5-26-2004. Called Voom twice - no help. Called Installs, Inc. twice, they said my equipment had been shipped to Satellite Masters this week but no call from them. I have now left them a message too. Very poor business planning by Voom to not have supplier ready to meet demands of their aggressive marketing blitz. I already have DirecTv HD and Comcast HD but I crave more. I keep hearing rumors of more HD for DirecTv soon, but unfortunately they appear to be just rumors for now. Perhaps with the way things are going with Voom the DirecTv rumors will become fact and I can just cancel the Voom install and save myself a few $$!!

Steve,

welcome. send an email to "Wilt Hildenbrand" wilth@optonline.net. with the above story so that he can escalate this. This should not happen.

 

[TYORK]

Well, I finally got installed yesterday and it was an experience to say the least. I will start off by saying my installer was a good guy and went out of his way to do the best he could for me. This was his first VOOM installation and he was not able to attend the VOOM class, I think the guy who had the class quit or something and he was filling in. So, due to circumstances out of his control, he knew little at all about VOOM.

I was set for an install window of 8-12, he arrived a little after 12. Due to LOS issues we could not use the existing cable that I had running from my old Dish Network dish and I finally suggested we do it on the other side of the house mounted to the fence. I have a two story house and he was not told to bring a 40’ ladder, so he couldn’t mount it on the roof. After unpacking the STB’s he noticed that the boxes did not contain remotes. He assumed they would since Dish and Direct work that way. Anyway, he said he had two VOOM remotes back at his house that had come separate from the boxes, he thought they were extras. I will mention now that this is a three room install and I need three remotes.

He said he could not install because he needed the remotes to get to the tuning menu, which seemed to be the case since I could not find a way to get there from the box itself. He had two more installs to do that day (Dish or DirectTV) about thirty miles away and offered to drive back to his home when he completed those and then drive back to my house to finish the install. He said it could be around 6:30 before he made it back. So, he left all the boxes at the house and the dish for me to put together to save time. I went back to work. When I got home I went ahead and setup all the receivers to my televisions.

Around 6:40 he made it back to the house and we got the dish mounted and a signal, even though we were not sure if we were getting the right sat. because it was higher than he thought it would be. You have to remember this man had never done a VOOM installation, I don’t know if there is a certain way you combine the signals to be able to use your OTA antenna and I wonder if it is done right. If I remember correctly the two lines are coming out of the sat. and they run up to the house into a mulitiswitch. There is also a line running into the antenna part of the multiswitch. Then I have three lines running out to the receivers. At one receiver I have a diplexer and then from the diplexer I have a line going to the sat. connection and a line running to the antenna part. He was not able to put the Winegard Sensar together (it came with no instructions) , and said it was too late to install it anyway (10:00pm). I really wanted my locals so I kept fooling with the thing till I got it mounted on the arm it comes with. He said we could go ahead and just test it and he would hold it up and I could go check and see if I was getting any locals on the one tv that had the diplexer. (he was not able to set the other two up and one of them did not come with the OTA scanner module). Anyway, I went up to my HDTV (which is the main one I want locals on and the one with the diplexer and everything connected) and I cannot get any locals. Do you guys think it could be hooked up wrong? Either way the Winegard is not mounted, I really wish I could get someone to put it up on my old Dish mount on the roof. I really don’t want that big antenna mounted on my fence in the front yard.

My issues so far: No OTA antenna mounted, one remote missing, one OTA module missing, no locals.

I am around 37-40 miles from the towers.

I don’t blame the installer, I appreciate him staying so late to at least get my Sat. channels going and he has never had a VOOM class or done an installation. He was also a really nice guy. But if anyone from VOOM is listening, I would like my OTA antenna mounted on my roof instead of sitting on the ground unmounted, and I would like my installation checked to make sure the OTA will work the way he has it connected through the multiswitch and diplexer. He said he would be back whenever he gets the missing remote and module and would check on me then and we would get it working, but I don’t know if he knows enough about it to get it working.

Thanks for this great forum,

kaw

Kaw
You should contact Wilt on this My under standing is unless you have taking this Voom Training than you can't install them sounds like the jobs have been sent to your local company and they are sending untrain installers to install them. You want get the installer in trouble no his fault it the companys fault for send him. If they don't have trained Voom installer then they should no accept the jobs.

 

[kawdog]

I contacted Wilt, he said he was on it and someone would be in touch. Thanks for everyones help.

kaw

 

[bigtex]

My install was scheduled for June 2, I postponed an out of state trip so I would be available June 2nd. I was called May 29th and told they only had one STB and I had ordered two. So installation date changed to June 11th. The lady who called was very nice and said she would be sure to save me two STB's with the new software.

The installer arrived June 11th as scheduled. I requested new cable as my old cable had been up for six years and had been through two lightening strikes. The installer would not install new cable. He said the serial numbers on the STB's did not match the numbers on the order. I received one STB with the new software and one with the old software.
The installer did not know about software at all. One STB was getting a good strong signal one was not. I later checked the software on each and discovered one had the old software. That is why it showed poor signal.

The second STB was hooked into my Mitsubishi with both digital and analog signals. I had no picture on digital at all. He intended to leave it that way. I told him I ordered VOOM for the HD programing and did not want just an analog signal. I then remembered the output settings on the STB. I pushed the red button and viola I had a digital picture. He said he had never seen that. He said that in fact he had had that problem before and VOOM had never mentioned output adjustment.
He did not check to see if I had OTA signal or not. He did not program the remotes.
He left all of the cable ends and cable pieces he had cut off behind the TV. Had me sign all of the paper work and left. Said if I had problems they would send him back.

I did subscribe to Starz and remembered to check channels 261 & 262 as he drove off.
On one STB I was getting Starz and on the other I was getting Bravo.
I tried to call VOOM, but stayed on hold for about 15 minutes and then was cut off.

This morning I checked my Credit card bill. ( I had been told, it would not be charged until 30days after installation date ) Not only had it been charged on the date of installation, but I had not received credit for the sears program. I was also being charged for the free Starz program ( sears program ). Not only had I been WAY over charged, I had been charged FOUR TIMES for everything. I now owed over three thousand dollars for my install.

I did get through to customer service this morning and started trying to get it worked out. After about fifteen minutes of working on it I was cut off. I called again and started over with them. They are supposed to get back to me on the charges. They are sending the installer back this week to change out the STB with the incorrect programing. I only hope it all works out.

Other than that, I had discontinued Directv as of June 3rd. I was really suffering withdrawal symptoms from having to watch only local network TV. It is great having decent programs again. I really like having multiple HD channels.

 

[chlbkl]

Hi. I live in Ohio. Two days ago, my installer was to arrive between hours of 12pm and 5pm EST.

He failed to arrive till 8pm EST, 3 hours well after the schedule. Between 12 and 5, I received no calls; not even a 2 minute call to let me know why he’ll be late or when he’ll be here. I personally called the installer at 3pm to verify the installer is still coming.



Around 5:45pm, I called VOOM. I got a hold of a female representative asking her to check the status. She had told me that I should give my installer an hour to get here. I let her know that was not acceptable, had I been notified, I wouldn’t be as upset. I let her know she was not helping me at all and I need a supervisor. She refused to get me a supervisor and instead continue to read me her script and by the time I was fed up with her, she told me to call 8 minutes afterwards, which bring us to 6pm EST. I said fine and hung up. But, obviously, she refused to take any responsibility of handling the situation.



At 6pm, I called VOOM again. This time, I got a representative named Curt. Curt was a little more helpful than the last lady I spoke to. He put me on hold and tried to contact my installer. To make the long story short, Curt spoke to someone at the installer company and promised me that my installer would give me a call in 15 minutes. By the time, we hung up, it was 6:24pm. I waited 15 minutes, no call from installer and called VOOM again. Now, it is 6:50pm.



This time, I got another female representative. I don’t remember her name but she went through the same process of checking my account, see if anything was noted by the installer. She proceeds then to try to contact my installer. After failing to contact the installer or the company, she offered to reschedule. I let her that is not helping me. I wanted to know why my installer is late, and if my installer will ever come today. NOBODY HAS THE ANSWER, NOT EVEN VOOM. Why did I contact VOOM and not the installer, because I already tried. If I was able to get a hold of the installer, this issue wouldn’t have come up in the first place. However, I contacted VOOM. I purchased satellite service through VOOM and not my installer. Though there seems to be a void where nobody knows what’s going; not the customer nor the customer service representatives. Now it is 7:15pm.



My wife spoke to a supervisor regarding the tardiness and was offered the same thing, to reschedule and grant a month of free service. We asked if the same installer wants to reschedule, it needs to be tomorrow. We were told that’s not going to work. So, we asked if not tomorrow we want someone else to come install it. After all, why stick with someone who’s tardy and doesn’t even call the customer and let them know. We told the supervisor nevermind, I guess we won’t be a VOOM customer after all, if they can’t deliver what they promised.



So, we gave up and decided to make our dinner. Our frustrations grew short and made us hungry. It is now 7:45P.M. The installer finally called and said he needs direction and is on his way. I gave the installer the instructions to get here, he arrived approximately 8:20pm. It is well 3 hours and 20 minutes after the promised time. The installer briefly went through the building and said he doesn’t have all the items to setup the dish and that installation charges for what we needed are extra. I was told he needs cash from me $60 to buy the items he needs to install dish. I was ready to tell him to forget it and pack his things and get out of here. However, instead, we went to Wal-Mart so I can withdraw money for him to get the installation finished. By the time he’s done, it is now 12:00AM EST. I’m sure there’s a log somewhere to see when my satellite receiver was activated.


THE ABSOLUTE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE ever experienced.

Here are the following reasons why:

1) poor customer service support at VOOM (lied to the first time, I didn’t have to wait 1 full hour after promised time of 5 PM to file a complaint or to ask for a supervisor)

2) poor customer service (feel lied to, the second time, installer never called as promised)

3) POOR COMMUNICATION -- nobody knows what’s going (where’s the installer, why will he be late, why wasn’t there a courtesy call)

4) Installer was 3 hours late in calling, interrupted my dinner

5) I have to go get cash to pay for parts for the installer to install. Installer has no cash on him!!!!!!

6) Installer did not finish till 12:00AM. Bed time, anyone?


How would you feel, if you were me? Would you feel that you were overpromised and under delivered? Would you think there was a lack of communication?


Why did I change my mind and decided to have installer put up the satellite dish? Two reason; for my wife and my frustration ever since from 12PM-8PM when the installer finally arrived. The last reason is I’m not a quitter and I believe VOOM has something great going for it as a company. However, there is lack of communication and customer service support. I spent 1.5 hours to try to get a situation resolved.

That's right folks, I waited from 12PM till 12AM from start to finish to get VOOM installed at my place.

 

[jimboeau]

chlbkl:

what equipment did you have to give him $60 for? most likely you will get that reimbursed from voom. tell them the story or email Wilt with your saga and you should get your money back most likely.

 

[chlbkl]

chlbkl:

what equipment did you have to give him $60 for? most likely you will get that reimbursed from voom. tell them the story or email Wilt with your saga and you should get your money back most likely.

I had to pay $50 for installation of the pole for the satellite dish and $10 for a flat cable so the door can close on a cable?

I told the installer that I thought the installation was free as well. I already emailed Wilt but I didn't give him a breakdown of what $60 included. I guess I'll email him now, doesn't hurt I suppose. To give credit where credit is due, Wilt did advise me he'll escalate the issue with an email on a Sunday morning.

 

[jose44]

Here is the text of an email I sent to the guy Wilt who keeps getting mentioned:


This is edited. I had sent an email to Wilt complaining about the installer, Crave Electronics, who have given me a royal runaround, with lying the rule not the exception.

However, late this evening a guy came, installed me on the West Coast with a signal strength of 89 with a little dish, and everything works great.

So, I deleted the complaining note, and have to admit that, once they got here, they did a great job. The whole thing took about 45 minutes, as I had the audio and video connections set up and ready to go.

The picture looks fine, but I'm at a loss of what to do with the SD pictures except get up and push the hidden red button to show 480. Now there's something a remote ought to be able to do!

 

[Badlands]

Reading BigTex's response sounded exactly like the install I had in the Houston area. Though Voom has been great to deal with, they should scrutinize their installers more. I was forced to "beg and plead" with the guys to climb up on the roof and not try to aim around the tree (from the side of the house) that they said wasn't really in the way.

I'm also waiting for my second box, as the one I currently have is not working but just sitting on the floor by a TV. It has been one week since my install and I still haven't heard back about that box.

To voice my biggest frustration, the installer had no idea how to get the box to output 1080i. I have a Mitsubishi TV and it doesn't support 720p. I repeatedly asked the guy how to switch the box to 1080i and he said you couldn't. I hooked it up through the regular y-video cable said I've got a picture and call voom about the HD output. Well, lucky for me, this forum had posted how to set the box to 1080i.

Voom is great, install service is lacking.

 

[Sean Mota]

Badlands,

Welcome. Make sure to send an email to Wilt to expedite this.

 

[Hawkshaw]

Install in Memphis Tennessee

VOOM installation notes: a mixed experience in Memphis, Tennessee.

I ordered VOOM on 5/27/2004 and set up install for 6/14/2004 (the earliest date available). After reading POST on this forum I was concerned about equipment arriving on time. I contacted VOOM, Installs, Inc, and WireTek (the local installer). Nobody could tell my anything! Nobody knew if or when the equipment would get to the local installer. I even threatened to cancel the install.

On Friday prior to the Monday install, WireTek finally got the equipment.
Early Monday morning (the day of the install) I got a call from WireTek telling me that the Remote was not included. We went ahead with the install without the remote.

Now, I must say that WireTek always answered the phone. They could get no information from VOOM either.

The install went OK without the remote. Brian, (the installer) peaked the dish with his meter and reception is sorta OK. He just guessed at the position of the OTA antenna. I get 4 out of 8 local channels. This, is of course, unacceptable. There was a thunder storm in the afternoon and I lost all reception. Too early to demand a larger dish I guess.

I’ll know more when I get the remote. As of now I am not very impressed. Folks, I don’t think VOOM will be around for long if they cannot get their customer service in line and get the equipment issues resolved. This is just no way to do business.