What a way to regain customers

[opsraja]

I disconnected Dish Network back in June '05. Now I am interested in rejoining them because I am interested in the HD they are offering. I called up (3 separate times just to make sure) and apparently, I don't qualify as a new customer for whatever reason. According to Dish, if I want an HD-DVR, I have to pay out of pocket $800 to BUY a 622 (leasing is not an option for me) and I don't get any free equipment (upgrade to Dish 1000). I'm also not too sure if the CSR was right about this, but according to him, I wouldn't be able to pick up any HD until I got the Dish 1000 anyway. The Dish 1000 has to come out of my pocket. Even when I originally signed up for them, all the equipment was my own (which i had spent a fortune on at the time). I currently have 2 Dishes installed, a 500 which points to 110 and 119, and a Dish 300 which points to 61.5. All of this is run to a SW-64 switch. I will be "eligible" to upgrade my stuff for "free" 6 months AFTER I resign with them.

Now why would I want to leave cable to spend an $800 startup fee? After the nightmares I've read on this forum about disgruntled customers who bought equipment from E* only to learn that it would become obsolete so soon, it makes you think twice.

 

[sonnyboy11]

I have not heard of leasing not being an option for anyone. I did know that you can never become a "new" customer once you have been a customer at some point and then left, and then gone back, etc. But I thought everyone qualified for the lease of the 622. Maybe I'm wrong. Did they say specifically why you did not qualify for the lease?

 

[garys]

Depending on your area, you may be fine with the dishes and where they are pointed now. You may be able to point 61.5 to 129 if you need to. There are promotions for returning customers, but I don't think you have been disconnected long enough to qualify for that. You may want to check what you may become entitled to if you reactive your account before trying to get a 622.

 

[opsraja]

Each CSR gave me a different reason as to why i didn't qualify for the lease; 1 told me that my final payment to them was a few days late, and the second told me that since i only had an international package when i did have them (as opposed to AT60 or whatever) that was the reason. However, I don't see the correlation between my final payment, channel package, and leasing a new receiver now. I asked the CSR when would I be considered a new customer; when would they get rid of my info in their system and his answer? Never. Makes no sense to me.

 

[opsraja]

Btw, I am in the NYC area, so I'm not really sure if I need 129 or not.

 

[RobertsD]

Whether you are a new customer or not, you should be able to lease the 622 for $299, which should include the Dish1000, and anything else needed.

 

[opsraja]

Do I really NEED a D1000 though?

 

[RobertsD]

I don't think so, but why not get one when it is included in the $299 price?

 

[Tom Bombadil]

No, you don't need a D1000. Your dish setup is just fine the way it is. In fact, you don't want one as you can't get a signal from the 129 location from NYC.

If you can't get a lease, then you might be able to pick up a 622 for around $650 from an on-line dish retailer. Then there are no lease fees and you own the receiver, and can recoup a lot of that price if you ever sell it. Over a 3 year period, it is highly likely that purchasing one would work to your advantage. You also would then be freed from having a commitment to sub'ing to HD Bronze or higher for 18 months.

Technically the correct answer to when you will be a new customer again is indeed never. Although some people have been able to negotiate a new customer deal, usually after a 2-3 year period.

 

[frontdischarge]

Have your wife call.

Kelly

 

[pip]

Have your wife call.

Kelly

Exactly, subscribe under a different name

 

[cheebs]

Exactly, subscribe under a different name

I doubt that would matter, as E* uses telephone number and address for their records. Maybe getting a Vonage line w/a different number and using like "apartment A" in the address would help?

 

[RobertsD]

IF you have a cellphone, you can use that as your number.

 

[Chrisc490]

Though some Sales reps may fall for it, they're not all so naive as to fall for the phone number trick. Especially if your wife appears anywhere in the account, notes, etc... You should qualify for the former customer promotion if you meet the following:

1. Voluntary disconnect on account.
2. Account disconnected more than 180 days.
3. Account previously active more than 180 days consecutively with no non-pay disconnects during that period.
4. If you had a non-payment disconnect on your account, you don't qualify.
5. Ask the sales agent to verify the account history as it may just be an error in the system.

 

[Cyclone]

Dish Network (and all others) suffer a "Customer Aquisition Cost". That means how much they have to spend on paying installers and subsidizing Dishes and Receivers to get you to become a customer.

Usually a potential customer will balk at paying nearly $1000 up front to become a DBS subscriber. So Dish and DirectTV pony up the $$$ upfront with the intention of regaining it back later through the usually subscription process. This CAC is I think over $800. This is why they have 1yr commitments and early termination penalties. But also they don't want to have pay this CAC more than once to a single customer. They figure that if you didn't stay with their service the first time, you likely will leave again in short order. Paying out $800 avg a pop is just bad business.

 

[Need]

I don't know about Dish Network, but for DirecTV, having wife call with different phone number doesn't work. I have both Dish and DirecTV, when we try to get the new customer promotion for DirecTV, anyone in the same address with the same last name is consider a old customer. It doesn't matter if you have a very common last name and last guy with the same last name as yours actually moved out. If you have the same last name, living in the same address, you are family of the original subscriber.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

If you eliminate the marketing cost to attract a new customer and are including only the subsidation of the receivers and equipment, then the CAC for the present offers is substantially less than $800.

Take the 622 deal. Many of us are in agreement that the manufacturing cost of a 622 is in the $400 neighborhood. A standard install for it and a D1000 and associate switches is probably around $200-$250. You pay $299 upfront. So the CAC is around $300-$350. This is before factoring in tax deductions for leasing the equipment out.

Since the programming commitment is a minimum of 18 months for HD Bronze at $50/month, Dish is guaranteed $900 on the back end as a minimum. They will likely take in much more than this. If they are hitting you for a lease, depends on the deal, that's another $108 over the 18 months.

Plus they retain ownership of the receiver, which is still going to worth $450 - $500 after 18 months. So if anyone terminates after 18 months, Dish makes out fine. This was not true on many of the new customer deals in the past, where people got multiple receivers, all installed, with a small commitment of 12 months to a $27 AT60 package.

Dish is not losing any money on these new deals. I believe that's the reason why they are offering the same deal to existing customers as for new customers.

 

[Furor]

I currently subscribe to Cox, but was wanting to switch to Dish due to lack of content (I'm an old Voom subscriber too). I am currently paying for an account at my girlfriend's house so I have something to watch when I'm there. I was just told over the phone that because I already have an account in my name, I am not qualified for the lease option on a 622. Am I understanding correct that I should still be able to lease a 622? If so, I'll place the order today.

thx

 

[DucTape]

Yes you can lease for 299.00 as anyone anytime can but you will have the 18 month commitment if you lease.

 

[jhogue@hrtc.net]

I would try calling again later and get another CSR. I had been a dish customer for about 8 years when I left to join the voom bandwagon. When voom closed I went back to Dish . The first CSR didn't want to give me the current new customer promotion, I tried the next day and got a different csr. They gave me the promotion without any problems.