Why charge for DVR

[hauler34]

I completely understand charging the DVR fee for people leasing the receiver from dish because it's simply more expensive than standard receiver that dish offers. It's adding functionally to your system and it's costing dish more to do Its my understand, however, that even if you buy the DVR receiver outright you're still charged the fee. That is a load of crap. They're charging me extra to use my own equipment!

 

[yaz96]

It's adding functionally to your system and it's costing dish more to do

How does it cost Dish more to give us DVR functionality?

 

[Peter Parker]

Thats what I thought the answer might be ... wasnt there a BIG tea party in boston a while back because of this sort of thing?

no. Not quite. I think that was protesting something else.

 

[hauler34]

Okay, well you have the cost of the receiver which I'm saying dish gives you for free. But in order to make that receiver a DVR you need to add in all the neseccary components such as a hard drive which increase the cost. So I understand them charging a fee because the DVR receiver is above and beyond what the cost of the standard receiver is.

 

[Chris Walker]

I was going to upgrade my 508s to dual tuner models after distants were turned off but as soon as I was told I had to pay the $5.99 a month I refused. I'll just make do with my 3 508s, it hasn't been as big of an inconvenience as I originally thought it would be.

 

[Chris Walker]

Nope. 501, 508 and 721 get the same guide with no fee. Just as previous posters have said the DVR fee is a "because they can" fee, nothing more.

NightRyder

Which is basically my entire problem with the DVR fee, they expect me to pay $6 a month for something I've been getting free for 3 years. I remember when I had to have one of my 508s replaced a few months back and they told me I'd have to take a 510. I told them I'll only do that if they waive the fee because I'm not paying it. They refused to waive it and I pushed them for another 508 that I was entitled to and they magically "found" one after I made an issue about it.

 

[cali_installer]

look at it from my point of view since i work for dish consider it a offset fee for all the free and hassles we deal with :

mirrors
attic crawls
under home crawls
wall fishes
carpet fish
dish relocations because the husband wasnt there and the wife said thats where she wants it
customer reeducation instaed of just reading the book
for people making appointments and then not being home
for us comming out but ur not ready for the install
complaints that we should have the monster hdmi cable @$300 so you cancle
those are just some reasons i can think of to charge people including me ($105 per month bill no discount)

 

[Smith P.]

Naive ... the money will never come into your wallet.

 

[bacchus101]

look at it from my point of view since i work for dish consider it a offset fee for all the free and hassles we deal with :

mirrors
attic crawls
under home crawls
wall fishes
carpet fish
dish relocations because the husband wasnt there and the wife said thats where she wants it
customer reeducation instaed of just reading the book
for people making appointments and then not being home
for us comming out but ur not ready for the install
complaints that we should have the monster hdmi cable @$300 so you cancle
those are just some reasons i can think of to charge people including me ($105 per month bill no discount)

I am still attempting to draw the logic out of this post........

 

[SRW1000]

look at it from my point of view since i work for dish consider it a offset fee for all the free and hassles we deal with :

mirrors
attic crawls
under home crawls
wall fishes
carpet fish
dish relocations because the husband wasnt there and the wife said thats where she wants it
customer reeducation instaed of just reading the book
for people making appointments and then not being home
for us comming out but ur not ready for the install
complaints that we should have the monster hdmi cable @$300 so you cancle
those are just some reasons i can think of to charge people including me ($105 per month bill no discount)

None of those complaints are specific to DVRs, and don't apply to this post.

But, since you brought it up, since a large number of the people on this forum have either done self-installs, or were model customers since we had everything prepared, thought out, and ready, how about you pay us the $5.99 per month fee?

Scott

 

[andrews777]

Many of the arguments about why Dish has to charge this fee are economically ignorant. The price plus (or whatever the theory is really called, I am not an economist) has been discredited a long time ago. Dish's costs are completely irrelevant, as is the amount they would lose if they started charging the fee. The key point is that they can get away with charging the fee, so they do. They also get people to upgrade packages who might not otherwise (such as Scott).

They apparently thought it was a good thing to not charge the fee for the early DVRs (I had one), but decided they could make more charging it for the later ones. It certainly annoys me, especially since I currently have no Dish programming (SkyAngel-only, lifetime sub, though I did add the PI channels since they are "free"), but I pay it because I like having access to my 2 522 receivers.

Customer wishes are irrelevent, except to the point where it ends up costing them money.

Brad

 

[MikeD-C05]

They charge them because the competition charges them and they felt that they could make extra money, because before they were giving it away for free. The reason why they charge the fee per receiver? PER GREED! Even the competition doesn't do that.

 

[cobra2225]

1. That's an assumption. You don't know anything about me, so my analysis may not be quite as outrageous as you believe it to be. As a matter of fact, it could be more accurate than you know.

2. There's more than 10,000 employees. And although customer's keep the business running, if half or more of the employees jump ship, I don't think the customers would have to worry about that 5.98 fee or much of anything else for much longer afterwards.

3. They could just add the DVR fees on all DVR/PVR models. Would that help?

Instead of criticizing my statements let's get some constructive feedback. What you just wrote is a personal attack, what I wrote is opinion, coupled with logical simple numbers and known opinions of the customer base. Shall we continue now?

i will make another assumption here, if it is as you say your figure's or more
accurate then we know, then i assume your are a dish employee,
second, the part "worring about half of the employees jumping ship"
i would be more worried about half of the customers jumping ship
if i were dish.i'm just glad i signed up for the month to month instead
of the 18 month contract i'll never make it that long.

 

[cobra2225]

I think this is one of the reasons some people are upset with Dish's DVR fees.

Back in the old days, Dish used to try and distinguish themselves from the "big old cable" conglomerates by not charging these types of fees. Remember those days? Many of the early customers were swayed to Dish because it finally looked like consumers were being charged a fair price for what they were getting.

That's all changed, and Dish is no different than any other provider. The value proposition they once offered had eroded greatly in the past five years.

Now, not only are there DVR fees, but there's also and HD-enabling fee (what a sham that one is), phone outlet penalties, plus the ever-present multiple receiver fees. I'm still waiting for the color-enabling fee, digital stereo fee, and EPG fees.

The frustration you see is just a result of good customers feeling that they've been betrayed and abandoned by a provider that they once admired.

Scott

i agree but darn i wish i had said it

 

[cobra2225]

I was going to upgrade my 508s to dual tuner models after distants were turned off but as soon as I was told I had to pay the $5.99 a month I refused. I'll just make do with my 3 508s, it hasn't been as big of an inconvenience as I originally thought it would be.

good for you, i think if more customer would "just say no" to things
like this it may change the way dish thinks. good job.

 

[Zero327]

i will make another assumption here, if it is as you say your figure's or more
accurate then we know, then i assume your are a dish employee,
second, the part "worring about half of the employees jumping ship"
i would be more worried about half of the customers jumping ship
if i were dish.i'm just glad i signed up for the month to month instead
of the 18 month contract i'll never make it that long.

Assume all you like about the situation and my thoughts. The fact of the matter is even if I were, I have a strong dislike for going out of my way to help someone that would rather gripe and criticize than resolve a problem, or even provide constructive feedback which could be considered helpful. More likely, I'm just wondering what the gripe is about paying a fee for a feature a service provides that is no different from text messaging on my cell phone. Can my phone do it without the fee? Sure... but it's money, and it serves a purpose for their business at some point.

In addition to that, focusing on a customer perspective in a business situation RARELY nets you a desired result. Do you really think DISH will do what you want just because 1/10th of the customer base screams about it? Do you really? If you want DISH to change an existing policy, you need to give them a better alternative to charging the fee, and threatening them (or more specifically threatening Charlie) with cancellation won't get that. It will get you a "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!" Charlie and DISH in general doesn't like threats. But that's ok, because I don't either.

You want good service, act like a person and be pleasant to someone trying their best to help you. If not, take that attitude up there, and give me a call or e-mail me. You'll find yourself at the bottom of my e-mail so fast it'll make your head spin.

 

[cobra2225]

look at it from my point of view since i work for dish consider it a offset fee for all the free and hassles we deal with :

mirrors
attic crawls
under home crawls
wall fishes
carpet fish
dish relocations because the husband wasnt there and the wife said thats where she wants it
customer reeducation instaed of just reading the book
for people making appointments and then not being home
for us comming out but ur not ready for the install
complaints that we should have the monster hdmi cable @$300 so you cancle
those are just some reasons i can think of to charge people including me ($105 per month bill no discount)

so if you think doing your job and dealing with customer is a hassle----quit
i know i wouldn't want you as my installer. but i guess this is the dish attitude.

 

[cobra2225]

Assume all you like about the situation and my thoughts. The fact of the matter is even if I were, I have a strong dislike for going out of my way to help someone that would rather gripe and criticize than resolve a problem, or even provide constructive feedback which could be considered helpful. More likely, I'm just wondering what the gripe is about paying a fee for a feature a service provides that is no different from text messaging on my cell phone. Can my phone do it without the fee? Sure... but it's money, and it serves a purpose for their business at some point.

In addition to that, focusing on a customer perspective in a business situation RARELY nets you a desired result. Do you really think DISH will do what you want just because 1/10th of the customer base screams about it? Do you really? If you want DISH to change an existing policy, you need to give them a better alternative to charging the fee, and threatening them (or more specifically threatening Charlie) with cancellation won't get that. It will get you a "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!" Charlie and DISH in general doesn't like threats. But that's ok, because I don't either.

You want good service, act like a person and be pleasant to someone trying their best to help you. If not, take that attitude up there, and give me a call or e-mail me. You'll find yourself at the bottom of my e-mail so fast it'll make your head spin.

first your text messaging thing is pointless, i don't have to text message every month to keep my cell phone service,second, it's good to finally here the truth
about how dish feels about there customes even 1/10th of us. third,i have never called dish with an attitude it has been that '' i have a problem can you help"
if i hung up from dish with an attitude it's because the c.s. gave it to me.
and lastly,i could care less about being at the bottom or anywhere else on your
email list,and there is nothing you can say are do to make my head spin,you or
dish don't have that much power.:

 

[OoTLink]

I will be completely frank here:

Dish's service, along with just about any other content provider's service, is a *@#%ing ripoff. The fees are a *U@#%ing ripoff, and, well, I have nothing more to say.

 

[m3ksh33p]

Assume all you like about the situation and my thoughts. The fact of the matter is even if I were, I have a strong dislike for going out of my way to help someone that would rather gripe and criticize than resolve a problem, or even provide constructive feedback which could be considered helpful. More likely, I'm just wondering what the gripe is about paying a fee for a feature a service provides that is no different from text messaging on my cell phone. Can my phone do it without the fee? Sure... but it's money, and it serves a purpose for their business at some point.

In addition to that, focusing on a customer perspective in a business situation RARELY nets you a desired result. Do you really think DISH will do what you want just because 1/10th of the customer base screams about it? Do you really? If you want DISH to change an existing policy, you need to give them a better alternative to charging the fee, and threatening them (or more specifically threatening Charlie) with cancellation won't get that. It will get you a "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!" Charlie and DISH in general doesn't like threats. But that's ok, because I don't either.

You want good service, act like a person and be pleasant to someone trying their best to help you. If not, take that attitude up there, and give me a call or e-mail me. You'll find yourself at the bottom of my e-mail so fast it'll make your head spin.

Who do you think will believe that a DVR is a "service", its not.
Thats like going to Walmart and buying a VCR or a DVD player/recorder and paying Walmart $6 a month to use YOUR player/recorder at home....