Was I unreasonable?

[54ChevyMan]

It's not just Dish CSRs that go by a script. A lot of "phone/chat supported" services are this way. I understand the frustration too. Sometimes, the script is so insisted upon that it makes it a lot harder than it should be. There are times that the call could end in success in just a few minutes if only they would stop reading the script and listen.

It's obvious that Wilson didn't pay much attention past the first sentence. Him not asking if it was the remote for the 622 was almost certainly because he didn't pay any attention to that part (as opposed to the multiple receiver possibility). The script didn't have a fork in the road for that, so his brain just skipped it.

Sometimes it really makes you want to say things back that you shouldn't say. It's easy to take it personal, when really, it's just the way the machine works. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at the management that creates the conditions for this to happen.

Otherwise, just accept how things work. A lot of people want to change the world and right the wrongs. Getting old & tired will cure a lot of that.

 

[rapidturtle]

I just went through tech support for a wireless router. Every step I was told to do, I had already tried, but I had to go through them again. It is what it is. They are just doing their jobs, which is making sure that it is not something simple, before handing the phone off to someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[jbrelish]

Unreasonable, I would say yes. You have to realize, you probably were dealing with someone who is not a tech.

As for the remote problem, it seems to be a common problem with the remotes. If you disassemble the remote you would see the remote buttons are not actually switches. They are what seems to be carbon buttons that complete a circuit on the circuit board when a button is pressed. I have taken many apart and cleaned the carbon button and the circuit board. In some cases I actually spun the carbon button as to reset the contact point.

It seems to me the pad which houses all these small carbon buttons is made of silicon or some like material. And for some reason this pad "bleeds" some kind of oily substance onto the circuit board. So I made sure I clean everything with a high grade contact cleaner that is safe for use with circuit boards. If a person were able to just buy t a new button pad it probably would reduce the need to just replace the whole remote.

I am not suggesting this be the answer to all remote problems, just stating what I found and what I do to repair instead of replace.

 

[TG2]

Unreasonable, I would say yes. You have to realize, you probably were dealing with someone who is not a tech.

imagine that ... you call // chat into a tech support line.. and you don't get someone who is a tech. <sigh>

 

[mfoster711]

When are you going to lean to go through the DIRT members??

EXACTLY!!!! Call Dirt, they will take care of it!!!

 

[Dishman1978]

Welcome to DISH Network Chat.
Wilson (ID: V67): Hi Roger.
Wilson (ID: V67): How may I help you today?
Roger : Hi- couple of things
Wilson (ID: V67): Please go ahead.
Roger : My remote is dying
Wilson (ID: V67): I?m very sorry to hear that you are having an issue. I?d be happy to resolve that for you.
Roger : Also I can't get BB movie pass yet on my 622
Wilson (ID: V67): Is the issue with one button or are none of them working?
Roger : No several of the most used buttons are requiring a lot more pressure to work
Wilson (ID: V67): What is the model ID number of your receiver to which remote belongs to? The model ID is listed in the lower left hand corner on the front of your receiver. You can also find this by pressing the sys info button on your receiver. The model ID will be listed near the top of the system info screen or in field D.
Roger : 622
Wilson (ID: V67): Okay.
Wilson (ID: V67): Please check to make sure you have the correct remote for this room. Is it a TV1 or TV2 remote?
Roger : tv 1 remote gets the most use.
Wilson (ID: V67): Do you have fresh batteries installed in the remote? If not, please replace them.
Roger : Batteries r okay- Just several buttons require more effort other work just fine - tried that today to make sure.
Wilson (ID: V67): Have you ever unplugged the DISH receiver for 10 seconds and plugged back in to reset it?
Roger : Wilson, its the remote.
Wilson (ID: V67): I understand.
Wilson (ID: V67): It will also works sometimes if you reset the receiver.
Wilson (ID: V67): Please unplug your receiver from the power outlet and leave it unplugged for 15 seconds. Plug it back in, you may have to power the receiver back on. This may take up to 2 minutes.
Roger : I'm not at home but since you insist that i can't figure out if its a worn out remote I guess we are done for tonight
Wilson (ID: V67): Okay. Roger, once you are at home. Please reset the receiver and check if that works.
Roger : You really don't get it do you. I'm pissed. It's the remote. Not hard to understand but since you want to be difficult I'll just copy this and send it to customer service as well as on prominent web site. Have a nice night.
Wilson (ID: V67): I apologize for the inconvenience.
Wilson (ID: V67): Roger, please understand that it is one of the step of troubleshooting the issue you have with the remote.
Wilson (ID: V67): Please do not worry, if that did not work. We will then replace the remote for you.
Wilson (ID: V67): And it will be free for you.
Roger : 3 or 4 buttons arent working and you think the remote isn't the problem- Just doing you job I guess
Wilson (ID: V67): I did not mean that, Roger.

Wow! Take a chill pill bro.

 

[Dishman1978]

You don't understand. Dish wants (demands) their employees to follow script (follow policy). Because if they don't, then they can't "micro-manage" them to death.

+1

 

[Claude Greiner]

I don't think you where unreasonable, but its the stupidity of other customers out there that they put you through all the troubleshooting steps that is frustrating.

You know what your doing and have already detemined the remote was bad.

The problem is that a replacement remote probably costs Dish around $15 by the time they package it up and ship it out, and if they didn't spend the time to go through troubleshooting steps they would be throwing their money away by sending out remotes to customers who didn't realize that they need to change the batteries.

I had a little old lady who was complaining to me that every 2 weeks she was replacing batteries in her UHF Remote. We did some trouble shooting and the first time we replaced the batteries no problem. Problem went on for about a month, and I was asking her if she was sitting on it, but she would always change the batteries and it would be good.

Couldn't figure out why her remote was eating batteries, until I finally asked her what type of batteries she was using and found out that she was using dollar store batteries that where made in China that she got 16 for $1.

Finally made her spend $5 for a pack of Duracells and that solved the issue.

If we didn't troubleshoot her remote, we would have sent out a new one for no reason./

 

[jahost]

What the heck is a DIRT member? "John"

 

[Mr Tony]

DIRT-DIsh Internet Response Team (their names are in red here on the site)

Dish folks who can solve damn near any issue

 

[LER]

What the heck is a DIRT member? "John"

The "Dish Internet Response Team", the folks with @Dish Network (or similar) in their usernames.

They appear in red in the user list on the front forums page.

 

[mmcl26554]

I have had the same problem with a Dish remote, I took it apart and cleaned with alcohol the circuit track and bottom of the rubber membrane the pushbuttons press against. That fixed it. Try it after you get the new one then you will have a backup!
Michael

 

[Scherrman]

As a person that has to deal with customers everyday I thought it was pretty harsh. I'd have to think the Dish guy deals with people that have no idea what they're talking about on a regular basis. I know that I have to ask my customers a lot of questions in order for me to know the exact problem. My favorite is when a customer tells me that their receiver is bad, like they know. They usually have their TV on the wrong input.

 

[eacalhoun]

How difficult would it be for DISH CSRs, Tech Support, etc, to rate the troubleshooting knowledge of their customers? While "us regulars" on this board are pretty savvy troubleshooters - soft reboots, hard reboots (unplugging power cord), running scheck switches, checking connections, checking separators, ETC - I guess the majority of DISH customers are "novice" subscribers. While I had very few - if any - past service issues, I've had quite a few since upgrading to HD with a 722k in January of this year. It is during this calendar year, I've become a savvy troubleshooter. I have now learned that if I encounter a problem, that I FIRST do all the troubleshooting I can think of, note the results and THEN place a call to DISH. Upon calling, I tell the CSR to listen to me very carefully - here's the problem, and here's the troubleshooting I've performed with the results, where applicable. I usually get connected with advanced tech support very quickly. On the customer's account that only the CSRs can view and edit, why could there not be an area where a customer is rated on his/her troubleshooting ability and/or knowledge of the equipment? This would then be viewed by any CSR whenever the customers calls in with a problem.

 

[TG2]

On the customer's account that only the CSRs can view and edit, why could there not be an area where a customer is rated on his/her troubleshooting ability and/or knowledge of the equipment? This would then be viewed by any CSR whenever the customers calls in with a problem.

Because the first time a Tier II found the customer wasn't up to snuff, they'd get the black mark of "lies" or some other crap comment.

and whats to say they don't already do that?

In reality the front lines people should be the ones that drive this up to the next level.. they should be able to identify the problem the customer is describing.. and if known steps have been passed down, they walk through them.

The problem comes in, that they aren't understanding the problem up front ... case in point .. our remote control OP ... the Tier I tech/csr didn't ask the right questions.. like "do those functions on the receiver work?" "Is it that they are slow to respond, or not seeing the commands" ... more specifically ... "which buttons are you seeing a problem with?"

so OP says.. the numbers 3, 2, 8, and buttons page up/down, and enter ... so the tech asks for a quick test.. if you press 4 5 or 6 .. does the box immediately respond?

if the box is responding quickly to other buttons but not those that the customer listed ... you know its not sluggish dish receiver problem, and you'd also know that it isn't directional (has to be aiming right at the box) and that its not the backlight on the LCD ...

you build these steps to quickly eliminate what the cause is.. rather than just starting the standard "unplug the power"... troubleshooting steps. Its like their front line people have no clue where to start.. so they just start at the beginning and run through everything.

At the very least that is wasteful of time on both the customer's and Dish Tech's part ... I would have thought Dish would reward those level 1 techs that can quickly resolve or hand off the call correctly .. thus incentivizing their staff to develop those skills.. to be able to pinpoint quickly, and not by just reading and demanding the customer move faster.. but to skip that which is inconsequential to the issue.

Of course I could just be dreaming of lollipops and unicorns, the land where dish just works... the more we get away from dish's core service (the delivery of TV via Satellite) the more we see Dish is not prepared, and not operating cohesively.

 

[KAB]

Of course I could just be dreaming of lollipops and unicorns

Yes, you definitely are.

 

[whatchel1]

Because the first time a Tier II found the customer wasn't up to snuff, they'd get the black mark of "lies" or some other crap comment.

and whats to say they don't already do that?

In reality the front lines people should be the ones that drive this up to the next level.. they should be able to identify the problem the customer is describing.. and if known steps have been passed down, they walk through them.

The problem comes in, that they aren't understanding the problem up front ... case in point .. our remote control OP ... the Tier I tech/csr didn't ask the right questions.. like "do those functions on the receiver work?" "Is it that they are slow to respond, or not seeing the commands" ... more specifically ... "which buttons are you seeing a problem with?"

so OP says.. the numbers 3, 2, 8, and buttons page up/down, and enter ... so the tech asks for a quick test.. if you press 4 5 or 6 .. does the box immediately respond?

if the box is responding quickly to other buttons but not those that the customer listed ... you know its not sluggish dish receiver problem, and you'd also know that it isn't directional (has to be aiming right at the box) and that its not the backlight on the LCD ...

you build these steps to quickly eliminate what the cause is.. rather than just starting the standard "unplug the power"... troubleshooting steps. Its like their front line people have no clue where to start.. so they just start at the beginning and run through everything.

At the very least that is wasteful of time on both the customer's and Dish Tech's part ... I would have thought Dish would reward those level 1 techs that can quickly resolve or hand off the call correctly .. thus incentivizing their staff to develop those skills.. to be able to pinpoint quickly, and not by just reading and demanding the customer move faster.. but to skip that which is inconsequential to the issue.

Of course I could just be dreaming of lollipops and unicorns, the land where dish just works... the more we get away from dish's core service (the delivery of TV via Satellite) the more we see Dish is not prepared, and not operating cohesively.

Ever done trouble shooting on the phone?

 

[Dishman1978]

Ever done trouble shooting on the phone?

Its a BI!&euro;#

 

[TG2]

Ever done trouble shooting on the phone?

Yes actually.. I have and I still do. Been doing tech support in different capacities since 1990..

Worked with everything from printers to blade servers, dialup, isdn, dsl, t1 thru t3, FDDI, FNS/EoF, and OC3, Call Center, NOC, and onsite installation/repair.

In the future I'd love to work at a CLEC/ILEC especially with line troubleshooting and then work one of the MAEs or MXP's. The amount of data going through places like that.. I mean.. I've been in the cages my companies have had .. but never as a tech working for the company that lease out the cages that my companies have had..

 

[whatchel1]

Yes actually.. I have and I still do. Been doing tech support in different capacities since 1990..

Worked with everything from printers to blade servers, dialup, isdn, dsl, t1 thru t3, FDDI, FNS/EoF, and OC3, Call Center, NOC, and onsite installation/repair.

In the future I'd love to work at a CLEC/ILEC especially with line troubleshooting and then work one of the MAEs or MXP's. The amount of data going through places like that.. I mean.. I've been in the cages my companies have had .. but never as a tech working for the company that lease out the cages that my companies have had..

Then think about that if you didn't really know the equipment what it would be like. Most CSR's don't use the E* equipment and know much less than those of us on the forum. It would even been worse than a PC person trying to diag Mac problems. You really are harder on them than you should be as far as I'm concerned. I've been in their shoes (not as sat) and it can be a real PITA.