DirecTV Install Techs Claim They Were Forced To Lie To Customers
from the what-a-nice-company dept
While so much attention is paid to the recording industry for its sleazy practices, it's surprising that DirecTV doesn't get more attention for its practices. You may recall a few years ago when they (before the RIAA figured out a similar scheme) sent around letters to anyone they suspected of using a smartcard reader (they got a list of buyers) demanding $3,500 or promising a lawsuit -- even if there was no evidence that the smartcard reader was used to illegally access DirecTV signals. It was a similar plan to the RIAA, where they made it clear that it was much cheaper to just pay up, rather than go to court and prove your innocence (even if you were innocent). Eventually, the company was forced to stop the program, as a court found obvious problems with the practice. Just a few months ago, though, we noted that the company was being fined for two different violations. First, they were telemarketing to people on the Do Not Call list. Second, they were fined for their advertising, which didn't make clear certain blackout info and (of course) additional unexpected fees that subscribers would get.The latest news story represents even more fun for the company. Apparently, a group of DirecTV technicians in Florida (who work for an outside contractor) have blown the whistle on the fact that the company set up incentives that forced them to lie to customers, in order to get people to hook their telephone lines up to the DirecTV boxes. Technicians were told to tell users that it was required, or the device wouldn't work -- even though that's false. In order to enforce this, the company would fine installers any time a box was set up without a phone line connected. Unfortunately, the article isn't entirely clear whether it's the contracting firm or DirecTV who was directly responsible for the fines or the directives to lie to customers. DirecTV was contacted by the reporter doing the story, and they made it clear they plan to continue the practice of pushing installers to hook up phone lines, because users who do so are more likely to order fee-based content and can be more easily tracked by DirecTV. It's easy to see why DirecTV would want this -- and they could obviously turn around and say it wasn't about "fining" the installers, but simply paying them extra if they hooked up a phone line -- but, the fact that installers were encouraged to lie to customers and "do whatever it takes" to get phone lines hooked up is a problem. Especially from a consumer standpoint, it doesn't make DirecTV look very trustworthy -- even if the ultimate fault is with the contractor.
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I'd personally never use a Direc* service again.
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Phone lines?
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Re: Phone lines?
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Re: Phone lines?
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Phone Lines?
NOTE TO TECHDIRT: YOU GUYS REALLY HAVE TO FIX THIS ANOYING "Your comment has been flagged as potential spam, it will be reviewed by our staff before it is posted." MESSAGE I GET WHENEVER I POST FROM AN ADELPHIA.COM ACCOUNT IP ADDRESS. I NEVER GET THAT MESSAGE WHEN POSTING FROM A PACBELL.NET IP.
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Re: Phone Lines?
The spam filter is from Akismet. You can discuss it with them. We have no control over the filter.
I will say, however, that it does an amazing job of catching the 500 or so comment spam messages that we get every day, and it seems to only catch one or two false positives a day. That's incredibly useful.
However, it's not exactly a problem, is it? We do review the filtered comments, and the ones that aren't spam we do allow. So, it's not like the comment doesn't get posted.
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Re: Phone Lines?
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Mostly just wanting the sketchy character out of my house, I let them leave the box there. Sure enough, my first statement listed a $5.99 fee for the second hookup.
My favorite part about the company is the complete lack of irony they have in touting their voice-activated customer service that "really listens to you". If anyone has successfully navigated their system to reach a live agent in less than five minutes of navigation, I'd love to hear from you. Every time I think I've got it cracked I fall prey to one of their randomly convenient disconnections.
Only nine months left on the contract...
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It was best
$20.00 for shipping know take your pick
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Re: rates
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My motto: If you don't like your job then go work somewhere else or find a new line of work.
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Info:
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DirectTV
The alternative is the evil empire (Time-Warner) who screwed me for $1500 of programming that I paid for but their raggedy-ass network couldn't deliver.
Perhaps they scam a little but at least they don't RAPE you.
JS
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They're all crooked.
Dish screwed me over. They all gave a family member of mine a terrible fit over a defective PVR unit.
I'm not completely happy with DirecTV but as someone else alluded to, at least they don't cost you your first born like the cable companies.
You just have to chose which devil you want to deal with.
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Now it's clear...
I recall that when we ordered DirecTV, they really were pushing "free" installation, and discouraged self-installation. My wife wanted it installed ASAP & didn't want to wait for some seedy handyman type to come visit our house. So I climbed up on the roof and installed it myself in about 15 minutes (doesn't include snaking the wires around in the crawlspace -- which I admit was a pain).
After reading the above post, I bet that the company discourages self-installation because then they can't have an installer add extra equipment which you haven't ordered.
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Re: Now it's clear...
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Re: Now it's clear...
What you said that I didn't agree with was the "15 minutes" it took you to install the dish (minus the cable run through the attic). Apparently you did not install a NEC ground to the system or properly run the cable to the point where it entered the attic because I have done it thousands of times and I can guarantee you it takes longer than 15 minutes.
NEC ground uses a dual ground block or better, 10 gauge green solid copper to a NEC approved ground source, such as the utility ground, and a 17 ga. ground wire combined with at least 2 RG 6 coax cable running from ground block to dish. Cable must have drip loops at ground block.
I have to go out and work on improperly installed system all the time when they fail for one of several reasons.
mail me if you have any comments, I don't monitor this often.
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Now, you have to provide a credit/debit card or checking account # and pay at the time of purchase. The CSRs claim this is because my box isn't connected to a phone line, but it's never *been* connected in all the years I've had it.
As a result, each time I order a pay-per-view, I get charged, and then I get a bill with the PPV charge on it as if it were unpaid. So I have to scream at them to remove the charge.
It's unbelievable the lengths companies will go to in order to squeeze revenue out of customers without providing any additional service.
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Actually, DirecTV has a lot of spanish channels. My bet would be that that's the real reason there are so many with DirecTV.
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Yea, I noticed the ad for the news peice on local 6 the other day and missed it (damn). We had another case where they said they could install it, came back to my old place three times and finally said they couldn't but that I'd be charged for 'waisting their time.' When I told them to get out the guy told me he's sorry, its the company that takes money out of his pocket for unsuccessful installs, I said tough and he left. Called DirecTV and they were being asses about it saying that I still signed the contract at a dealer and even though I couldn't get service I was still liable and if I cancelled I would have to pay an early termination fee. Finally after enough creative talking (and refusing to get off the phone, since I wasn't cussing or yelling they wouldn't cut me off alone) I finally got to a manager who disconnected service. At the end of the call the manager said 'If you ever want to have service with us again, I'll note it in your account and you'll get a 30% discount on your first bill.' I decided to stick with brighthouse after that. More expensive but not as evil.
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On one hand, just on the principle of it, I don't like people tracking what my family watches. However, I don't mind sending a message loud and clear that I don't like to sit through blocks of commercials.
Whoever figured out how to meld the Tivo with DirecTv is a genius. I figure over the last couple of years that has saved me from watching roughly 250 hours worth of commercials.
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Response to: Shaun on May 3rd, 2006 @ 4:36am
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DirecTv
PS I did not even have DirecTv at the time. They got my name from White Viper when they busted them.
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Re: DirecTv
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no other options
we had a directv/tivo unit that quit after 2 yrs. so now we have a dvr combo unit.tivo has a much faster response time. but the dvr has some other perks.daily lotto,horoscope,weather and other stuff on one screen without looking up channels..i had aolplus in 98 which was aol/direcway. got the system at circuit city for 99 bucks..so when aol stopped using direcways dish service ,i got the direcway modem for free vs.the $600 upfront fee they now have. if i had dsl which is coming soon i hope(i have alltel which is totally behind the times)i will dish the dish. but for now as i said earlier some of folks have no choice.
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Obviously, YMMV.
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Problems with DirecTV
I was never told to hook up a telephone line except by the CSRs when I ordered it. When I told them that it would be impossible as I had only 1 phone jack in the home, they just said I couldn't order PPV stuff through the box. No biggie since I have broadband and a laptop, and I never order PPV anyway.
I guess I'm in the minority when it comes to decent service though.
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Re: Problems with DirecTV
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When do customer representatives not lie?
If I ask a sales associate if something is going on sale in a day or two they say they don't know even though they have all the sales promotions sitting in the coffee room.
Ask a cable tech if it is necessary to plug in the phone line and he is just going to say yes.
Ask a technical support staff why their product sucks and they are just going to tell you that the problem is at your end, their product is perfect and works perfectly.
I mean, I take anything said by any company representative with a grain of salt. Most times I know they are straight up lying to my face but what can you do? I have called people on it from time to time, and it just means you get less service and courtesy then you should expect.
The Internet is a wonderful place as you can find out for yourself the truth (or something close to it anyways). Articles like this will promote the truth and people like these techs can let the world know (or at least the people in Florida who should care about this) know what to think about their cable company.
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Re: When do customer representatives not lie?
I've dealt with a minimum of 60 directv customers a day.
Yes I really had encountered complaints from most of the customers that our installers were nasty and rude. Yes, they are, I guess they are the biggest mistake that Directv had. If you would noticed, Directv customer represenatives from phone are nice, yes because we are trained to be it! Evem though I'm talking to the dumbest customer or pretty much more stupid than a 5 year old kid, we have to talk nicely and with respect. Directv is investing money for this internationally trained rep.Dear,your reading the right thing,we are from outside United States. Tough huh?
do you ever wonder how good are we?We can adapt ypur language without you knowing that we are not white or the fact that we never been there.
We are not trained to lie. All of the answers that your getting from the rep over the phone are true.Conversations through the phone are monitored or sometimes recorded.So there's no chance for us to go nasty with you. If it happened, all you ave to do is just to call the same phone number and ask a rep to pull up your account and report the incident, and boom!the rep's dead. To tell you, were not idiots, stupid.We al knew it, it's just that, all we can respond to FUCK YOU is "thanks!"
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Re: Re: When do customer representatives not lie?
And next time you try to defend your intelligence, please write your defense better than a 1st grader would have..
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FUCK DIRECT TV
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Re: When do customer representatives not lie?
..its hard to see the "WHY" some techs lie about a simple stupidity like "it needs it to work", but if you were in some of our shoes, you would too..its only a a stupid lie to get "Grades" up...us techs are valued on a point system which gives a "Report Card" type evaluation of the work...
its like a pathagorist equation
% of jobs completed/canceled/rescheduled X (worked hours/earnings) + phonelines % installed on ea.IRD per job + protection plans sold - service calls created in 7, 30 or 90 days....Sh!ts insane right??!! i just made it up but its not far metch to what actually is done..mind you we work per piece rate but earnings are devided by hrs. worked to give an hourly base amount that should be grater than $15 if you want to keep a job..so you have to lie about hrs so you look good and their books dont show overly worked employees :)
sh!t SuX major SSA, that they expect all this but dont want to pay extra as for like running phonelines like we work for VeriZon or something..
QuEsTionS??..hit me up NEMESIS2004R@MSN.COM
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Might want to vist satguys.us and look in the DirecTv forum where this has been hashed out already.
Software and Interactive features are all Satellite based. They want the phone line to enable two communication to with the box plain and simple.
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Having a phone line connected is how they track your PPV.
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Not as bad as it sounds
I, too, have only had to call tech support once or twice and then only when upgrading equipment.
For those concerned about "phoning home" - they have an easily accessible option to "block the collection of viewing data" which I have opted for, and appears on bill every month of confirm (no charge of course). So, SUPPOSEDLY they aren't tracking my viewing patterns, just allowing the system to phone home to check for current software, schedules, adds, etc.
And it's never, ever, ever taken me 15 minutes to get a rep on the phone. If it takes you that long then apparently you need to learn to outsmart the voicemail system - hint: press 0.
Now cable companies - that's a different story. I'm sure they're all hit and miss, but I'll take Directv any day. My beef is that they are WAY overpriced for their sports packages (NFL Sunday ticket, etc.) but beyond that, they have always delivered exactly what was promised in a very timely manner.
Maybe I'm just a cable hater. Well, not maybe, defninitely : )
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Re: Not as bad as it sounds
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Phon-oisy
Of course I worked with their tech support on this, and they finally decided I had to get the phone company to fix my line. Of course I've already done that and DTV ignores my statement to that effect. Ironically when I connect the DTV receivers to the line the noise gets much worse; so I had to rig a relay arrangement that connects them to the phone in the middle of the night when I'm not using the phone. Just in case they decide to have the receivers phone home some night. Still they consider me not connected so no PPV for me.
Too bad they don't take advantage of the broadband I have all over the house. Dial-up gives them a cheesy way of locating their receiver in physical space but not much more nowadays.
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Re: Phon-oisy
There are alternate ways of ordering PPV that won't have to cost $5
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DTV
What? You dont know any stories? Oh well. Guess I'll stick with my dish on the roof. Quit complaining you boobs!
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ALL TO BLAME...
I can assure you that the contractor knows and encourages deception in order to satisfy the contract, especially if the phone line is part of the SLA.
DTV could care less how it gets done. In fact a large part of the reason the contractor does the dirty work in the first place is because DTV already tried the deed themselves unsuccessfully.
If supporting DTV customers is so straight-forward and simple (cost-effective), DTV wouldn't spend additional money to a contractor.
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Re: ALL TO BLAME...
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Re: Re: ALL TO BLAME...
40+ boxes a week times 10.00 =400.00
400.00 times 52 weeks =20,800.00
I may not be good at spelling or writing but I know math.
directv averages over a milion new customers a year now.
1,000,000.00 times 10.00= 100,000,000.00
40% tax base the IRS is missing out on $40,000,000.00
Yes these numbers are in the millions go ahead IRS,State,Local, you don't miss my few thousand, but you'll blink an eye few million. When someone takes money from my family pocket I just state facts.
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Adelphia's administrators are allowing suspicious activity on their networks.
Techdirt's filters are catching Adelphia for a reason.
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DTV
Second: I think the majority of peoples problems come from the fact that they are ordering through RETAILERS. Many people get confused over this when talking with my company alone and I'm sure this adds to the aggravation. A manager at DirecTV is NOT going to tell you that you can't cancel your contract on a service that hasn't even been activated yet. Thats a load of BS. Find someone you can at least semi trust over the phone, and get as much contact info for them as you can. I have no issues giving out my full name, company address, secondary phone#, email address, extension, etc. etc. Just be aware that *most* of the people you'll talk to over the phone are guys/gals making $7 an hour to take your info and throw you off the phone. They have a high turn-over rate, and honestly couldn't care much about their job (again, this is USUALLY the case, but certainly not always).
Third: The phone line issue. DirecTV does track your viewing habits for "generic statistical purposes". I.E. it doesn't directly point to you. Ever used a Kroger, Albertsons, Sams, Costco, etc. "savings" card? Guess what; you just let them know exactly what you purchased, when you purchased it, and how often you buy certain items. Do you still use those cards? Yes, unless you want to pay ~$20 week extra on groceries.
It still smacks of Big Brother, so I don't plug in my phone line on my DTV. I have been called by some of my customers before because the installer went out there and is telling the customer the DVR unit MUST be hooked into a phone line (we sell nationally, so we use a fulfillment company). After a few heated words, I usually get the tech to install it without the phone line, and everything goes just fine.
NOTE: Dish Network has dual tuner receivers that power 2 rooms off of one box (two remotes, both rooms can watch different things at the same time). If you do not plug these dual receivers into a phone line, Dish network WILL CHARGE YOU $5 a month per dual receiver. This is on top of the usual $5 charge for the box itself. This isn't really a rip-off, because customers who have a separate box for each room still pay $5 a box, you just have the chance of saving $10 a month if you have 4 rooms hooked up using 2 dual receivers and they're plugged into a phone line. Confused yet? Try explaining this to someone whose 105 years old, never had cable, and can't hear you correctly over the phone. You'll likely get a very disgruntled client who ends up muttering some curse words and hanging up in your face. And you wonder why the customer service reps are sometimes a little short fused? :)
Fourth: Social Security Number. Yes, for DirecTV we require this in order to process your order (for the credit check). HOWEVER, if you have lived at a residence for around 2 years or longer (and you're mentioned somewhere on the lease/mortgage/etc.) and you have good credit, we can usually process the order without your SS#. In the worst case scenario, you can opt not to give us your SS# even if it can't pull up a credit report, and you can simply pay the DNQ (Did Not Qualify) deposit of anywhere between $200-$300 depending on the equipment you want. Then DTV credits you back $10 a month till its all paid back to you.
Finally: DirecTV (and Dish network) don't want people to self install their dishes for 1 simple reason: Reliability. When the small dish first took off in the early 90's, almost all setups were self install kits. Most people can't properly install the system 100% correctly, and thus will have issues when the wind picks up or weather gets bad. That is why you have people who say they almost never lose the signal regardless of wind or rain (such as myself), and others who lose it at the slightest wisp of a cloud. It's mainly due to the quality of the install. Of course every once and awhile there will be someone who gets a defective piece of equipment, but its consumer electronics; there will always be some manufacture defects once in awhile, or damage from rough shipping/handling. Unfortunate fact of electronics.
Conclusion: Sure, the satellite companies have their flaws, but I'm still 100% sure they are better than almost all of the cable companies out there in terms of service and customer service, and they will always give you a better picture than cable. Now if you want internet, stay away from satellite broadband. That is just utter crap.
Care to comment? Shoot me an email so I know to read it.
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Re: DTV
As an installer, tech for 10 years with many contracting company's you said it well ! You sound like a true craftsman.
Thanks ,
gf haile
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people cry too much
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Re: DTV
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cable is just...well.. better
Buy Cable. its better.
the end.
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Such intelectual content
So well thought out, props garfalk
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Re: cable is just...well.. better
Satellite is better
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This is a perfect example of why to stay away from Dish and DirecTV. Why do they allow you to have a website if you aren't going to keep it up to date?
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I believe the guy who said that is from a third-party retailer, not directly from one of the networks.
I've just checked Dish Network's site and it seems up-to-date, and you can find a phone number for support. (Not that a customer needs to look there, since the number is printed prominently on the front of the owner's manual and all the other bits of paper I got from them when I signed up.)
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I don't approve of our information on the website being out of date either. I rather dislike it when a customer calls in wanting a price that is no longer available; it usually ends up wasting both of our time. However, I don't have control over that, I'm simply a CSR. I can however tell you the truth. Would you rather me lie to you and wait till you get your bill before realizing that I miss-quoted you by $30 a month? Or promised you something youre not going to receive? I am trying to push for our website to have something along the lines of "Website undergoing updates, please call us at ....." until we find a way to update all the information with the current offers. We certainly don't make money from our website having the wrong info. Our online ordering has been disabled due to the misinformation, so a customer MUST call and talk to a service rep before forking over any money, and to be honest the website is a dinosaur from years back when we did 90% of our orders over the web.
The main reason we keep up our website is simply for our name & number, type in DirecTV or Dish Network (or of course, DishDirect) into a search engine and you'll likely find our site somewhere on the first page. Unfortunately, there is another "DishDirect" that we've been battling with over for nearly a year now due to their name, that we often receive calls about their certificate program (all I can say is they are not positive calls, if you catch my drift). There are TONS of retailers out there that spew wrong information about both satellite & cable promotions. It's sad, but true.
And no, you shouldn't ever have to go and "align" your dish. You shouldn't ever touch it. It needs to be in a very exact position to ensure the best possible signal strength (and thus resistance to "rain fade"). Problems arise when people think they can "tweak" it to get a better picture, or something else with their system is defective and they believe moving the dish might help. OR when someone has the dish mounted in a way that allows children to play with it. If you move the dish, you will have problems until it is properly re-aimed. Period. And it shouldn't ever have a problem "blowing off the roof". It's held on by some pretty heavy-duty mounting hardware. Any winds that would rip off the dish are certainly ripping sections off your roof as well (we're talking hurricane Rita winds here). Again, if it's not properly installed you might have problems with the dish losing its signal in heavy winds (such as those installs I sometimes see in apartments with it extended way out on a pole, not good). The dish needs a very stable and secure structure to mount to.
And yes, Satellite will give you a higher quality picture compared to cable (both SD vs. SD and HD vs. HD). It is 100% digital, and is able to work with less compression than cable services (less compression = less digital artifacts and distortion). This is a fact. That is why Verizon Fios has an even better picture; it is able to transmit the signal in nearly raw format, with very little compression at all. Only issue with Fios is the horrible receiver and software they use. It is BAD, but that will likely change in time. Too bad it's such limited availability.
And as far as Internet: Yes, cable is MUCH better than satellite when it comes to broadband. There is simply no comparison. However, DSL usually gives you a higher upload speed (if your internet usage benefits from it, your usual user won't notice the difference just surfing the web), and a much more stable connection. When I had Verizon DSL I had incredibly consistent speeds, regardless of the time of day. My friends with cable would see a very noticeable drop in performance during "peak hours". I also had 0 packet loss, and most of my cable internet friends have at least a small issue with that. Now Verizon Fios internet blows them both away. How does 30mb down, 5mb up for ~$40-45 a month sound? :)
What I really enjoy is the fact that I don't have to worry about miles upon miles of cabling and hubs that may or may-not have been serviced well. All I have to worry about is the dish on the roof, the cabling in my walls, and the receivers at the TV's. That's why many surveys and research has shown satellite (DTV in particular) to be more reliable than cable, even taking into account rain fade. Less things to break + newer infrastructure = less problems.
-Chris
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Usually the owners would claim to have no idea how it happened. To avoid this I would put the dishes in as inaccessible a location as I could, hoping that some yahoo wouldn't climb across his roof and try to adjust the dish. I would also mark the correct alignment with a Sharpie when I first installed it, that way, unless there was a hurricane I could usually assume that the owner had "re-aimed" the dish because the mounts would be tight but my marks didn't line up any more.
Obvious owner error was probably 75% of the service calls. Another 10% was inability to operate the box.
I was paid by the hour by a company (Skyview) that operated by contracting to install the service in high-rises. But we also did some installs in the suburbs, usually for people wanting the foriegn language channels. Most service calls were from these customers.
There were no incentives so there was no reason to lie about phone lines or any other issues. I just wanted get the service up, instruct the customer, and get out. I got paid the same no matter what happened. For the installers who made a flat per-install fee like $50 or a per-item fee for each box installed, there was a tremendous push to rush it and extract as much money as possible. Business is business I guess.
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DTV, Phone Lines, Promotions
Regarding promotions, they vary from time to time. Many of them will only apply to NEW subscribers. When you order DTV for the first time you are offered promotions when you order. After that they are far and few between.
Self installs are looked at in a very poor light. The dish has to be pointed to a very specific spot. The techs that install have equipment that will determine the best signal even before they install the box in your home. Many tech will use existing cable if it is available, however you can request new cable.
As for the pay-rate for customer support representatives, that really varies. for outsourcing companies, which DTV uses Convergys, the reps start ok normally at $8.50 per hour.
I know everyone hates to disclose their SSN--however both Dish and DTV require it in order to run a credit check. By running the credit check it can save you having to pay a deposit. The customer service rep cannot see your credit report--it either says qualifies or doesn't qualify--that's it. If you don't give your SSN then be ready to pay a nice deposit depending on the equipment you get.
Order PPV via the internet thru their website. It will save you grief.
I know about all of this as I used to work for Convergys on the DTV project. The service is good when everything is aligned and things aren't moved. But once you move something then you will have issues. Cable has its ups and downs also I will agree. But I do agree with one posting--DON'T order Satellite Broadband--it is very expensive!!!
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Yes, it is from a third-party retailer. My point was why does DirecTV and Dish allow its retailers/installers to have outdated websites?
At any rate, DirecTV has a VERY poor record for customer service and billing problems. Not sure about Dish.
If you want broadband, cable is currently the fastest and probably the least expensive if you figure connection speed verses cost.
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What phone line?
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Worked as a cable and dish tech
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Florida Techs and phone lines
Let me explain something. It's not the fact whether or not techs are forced to hook up phone lines, nor does it matter what the phone lines are for (I will guarantee you any IMPORTANT software update will be done via satellite, not phone. If you don't believe me, reset your DIRECTV BRAND receiver and type 02468 when the screen says hello and see what happens), the big deal is the MONEY! I can't speak for all technicians, but in my company we are required to have a certain percentage of recievers installed with properly working phone lines. If we don't hit this number, we lose a SUBSTANTIAL amount of money on our paychecks. It use to be just a talk from the boss, or even heavy Q.C. checks to ensure you are doing your job. Supervisors calling back customers to verify whether or not there is a home phone. Not anymore.
IS IT FAIR to charge technicians HARD EARNED MONEY because 4 recievers didn't respond from Joe Smith's house because he only has a cell phone??? I can hook up every single phone line to all receivers I ever install. But if I have more than 3 or 4 decent installs that are cell phone only, I just lost nearly 20% of my paycheck for that week! It has now become part of the job to hussle customers into letting you run phone lines (for a charge or no charge, doesn't matter) by drilling holes in their new $300,000 home because they don't have nearby phone line, just so you don't lose HUNDREDS of dollars every paycheck. We use to be able to get by with customers refusing these services, but now it is affecting the technicians who don't have control over a customer's home phone!
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Re: Florida Techs and phone lines
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Re: Florida Techs and phone lines
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Re: Florida Techs and phone lines
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Re: Re: Florida Techs and phone lines
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Re: Florida Techs and phone lines
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Re: Florida Techs and phone lines
p.s. we don't have to run phones
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Re: Florida Techs and phone lines
... i see problems. I hate phonelines.
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Re: Florida Techs and phone lines
Bill
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DirecTV Phonelines
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Re: DirecTV Phonelines
well... so much for cell phone only households? not a chance! because the system does not, nor never has been dependant on a landline phone connection. THIS IS NOT A DIRECTV ISSUE? IT IS A HOME SERVICE PROVIDER'S WAY OF STEALING MONEY FROM THIER TECHS using the "standard installation" of a phoneline connected as a reason. What the attorney general needs to focus on, is that when figuring the % of receivers connected, DIRECTV'S NON-RESPONDERS % FIGURES ARE DONE WITHOUT THE CONSIDERATION OR SEPERATION OF THE CUSTOMERS WHO ONLY OWN A CELL PHONE! YET THEY STILL USE % FIGURES FROM ALL RECEIVERS INSTALLED, KNOWING DAMN WELL THAT THE CELL PHONE CATCH22 WORKS IN THIER FAVOR IN PAYING THE BONUSES, AND THEY ALSO KNOW DAMN WELL THAT IF THE BONUS ISNT COLLECTED FROM THEM FOR BEING UNDER THE CRITERIA %, THAT THE HSP'S ARE GOING TO COLLECT IT FROM THE TECHNITION. They are taking money away from these techs for not doing something that is impossible to do! You cannot hook a receiver up to a dead phoneline and have a positive response! MR ATTORNEY GENERAL IN ALL STATES.. THIS IS HAPPENING EVERYWHERE IN THIS COUNTRY AND HAS BEEN EVER SINCE DIRECTV WENT TO THE NEW HSP INSTALLATION SYSTEM. (which basically eliminated all the ma & pa installation companies and put them all under 1 roof) These HSP's are huge companies who now have a monopoly on every install in thier area(s). Arrigant fat cats, who now have the leverage to muscle and abuse thier installers into just about anything they decide to dream up to increrase thier bottom line! Directv's interest in the phonelines connected are for marketing thier pay-per-view revenues. people order pay-per-view on instinct and emotions, and when it can be done with the flick of the remote in 5 seconds, studies have proven that increases pay-per-view reveues. In my opinion, they use the phone connection in other ways of making a buck also.. like adware. log what you watch, and fill up your mailbox with advertising with your related product profile. I think they sell that info to advertisers at a pretty good price.
But people wake up... if directv absolutely required a landline for all customers, they would have to shut down probably 25% of thier customers due to the rising popularity of cell phone only phone customers. AND THAT IN ITSELF PROVES THAT MASTEC, PREMIER COMMUNICATIONS, AND ALL THE OTHER SCUMBAG HSP'S WHO HAVE RUINED AN ENTIRE INDUSTRY ARE NOTHING BUT LYING THIEVES! AND DIRECTV ALLOWS THIS TYPE OF CONDUCT IN THIER BUSINESS WORKS. I happen to know of 2 installers that were just hired that I found to be on the SEX PREDITORS LIST! All the professional satellite installers have moved on because of this very issue. The HSP in my area had approx 80 techs a year ago. now they are down to less than 25. All green peas, drug users I have heard, and basically nobody I would let on my property, let alone in my Home!
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Re: Re: DirecTV Phonelines
I heard thru the grapevine, that Direct is trying pull Premier's HSP contract!!!
They can't keep up with there "days to activate" (Not getting a new customer installed in a timely manner)...Hmmm, maybe they should treat there installers better!
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technicians
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DirecTV doesn't pay what the job is worth!!!
"and they could obviously turn around and say it wasn't about "fining" the installers, but simply paying them extra if they hooked up a phone line --"
None of these companies are paying for the installation of phone lines, they are simply wanting them hooked up!!!
The confusing part about all of this, is simply that if there is a phone block in the general area, then the Techs simply hook up the "Supplied Line", but if there is no Phone Block, then the customer may have to contract and pay someone to install the line, to the location of the Satellite Receiver!!! That can cost the customer between $50 and $150, by a qualified Phone Technician....
The fact that Mastec is being paid more money, for a connected phone line, lends credence that they were pushing the Techs to lie to their customers...
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Re: DirecTV doesn't pay what the job is worth!!!
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ie. they used to pay for phone lines, and second lines to dvrs, and wall fishing, and a whole bunch of other items...that now they expect us to do for free.
Oh I almost forgot...they used to pay for our materials [wire, etc.]....but now we have to buy that too.........
Regretably, this has had a negative impact for the customers..... in that the caliber of techs that the service providers are getting now is way sub-standard...a lot of the old heads.....are leaving fro greener pastures.......it's kind of sorry ....but you get what you pay for....the cheaper they get....the crappier installs....... they get
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Direct TV Techs. / Would like to Place new FL Tech
I would like to know more about Technician Void Created by Mastec Techs being Fired.
My company could provide new techs to fill the void.
Please forward any information to me asap.
Thank you,
G. S. Best
sbestcomm1@earthlink.net
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DIRECTV and Phone lines
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Abused by Directv!
We called directv and they tried to troubleshoot the loss of service. During this time, they evidently activated the new receiver. When they couldn't get it to work, they scheduled a subsequent installer to come back to our house. The new installer refused to repair the work of the first installer because he said that the first installer "botched" the original installation. Evidently, the second installer was only authorized to clean up the installation but because it wasn't actually installed correctly, he wasn't going to work on it until the first installer returned with their mutual supervisor.
We considered this to be a waste of time and asked them to remove everything and return it back to where we started. After the second installer spoke with his supervisor and a directv supervisor, they removed all the equipment, restored our previous systems and left.
Directv called a few days later and said that they were sending a fedex pickup for the receiver. We told them that the receiver was taken by the installer. The installers returned a few days later with the box and apologized for everything that occurred. Directv sent a fedex label which we used to return the receiver.
We never received the 600 credit for the receiver even though multiple customer service representatives tell us that our record shows that the box was returned and that we are due the credit.
Evidently, no one is authorized to credit anything over $200. We've been told by some supervisors that once an order is activated, there's no one that can issue a credit over $200. We are out $600 and we have been actively abused by some directv personnel who insist that since the box was activated, we can not receive a credit even though it was authorized, returned and permitted.
I've never been able to get a true understanding on this issue other than it's clear that directv is very sensitive to this particular box. I think it might be either a known defective product, a difficult installation or both but I can assure you that if they can't get it to work, they have no means by which to credit you.
I've initiated a charge back with the credit card company and intend to switch to comcast when we move in two months. For what its worth, we were a $100.00 a month customer with directv in the past with perfect credit and payment history.
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IORNWOOD PHX/ MANAGERS HAVING SEX
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Mastec Florida
What we need as installers is a guide to the piece work they are paying us, if we are all on the same page then starting a union will be realitvly simple. collective bargaining is better for contractors but my job is specifically employee relationship with benis and insurance. so unless the contractor situation gets better via the fines and oversite of the federal labor board i will take an employee position they stil have to pay overtime via piecework they have to make adjustments based on amounts paid in a normal week. I read that on a labor board site. let me know what everyone thinks?
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Pay Per View
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Get your Own Equipment
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Re: Get your Own Equipment
dont kid yourself............
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ps
the phone only needs to be connected for 30 days to call dtv back then it can be disconnected.
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BAD INSTALLATION!!!
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Re: BAD INSTALLATION!!!
After that, Direct will prosses your claim and forward it to the HSP. They should not have told you it was an "act of god", Dishes mounted properly on roofs should not leak.
If they refuse to open your claim, you will need to get a lawyer
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to the ppl who want more an dont pay
it is part of the job to install a phone-line to every box....but they only pay the contractors for running the line.."cable"..
so ok so u gonna pay me to run 1 cable line to the box they never said anything about running a phone line...or that they are goning to pay us for it...2 if u dont want it then u obviously dont want it or additional hole in ur home...3 u want anything extra done with the installation then u have to pay its clearly stated that what u get..a hole from inside the house to the outside of the house....you want fished walls that can be anywhere from $75 dollars to $150 just to run the wire....the if u dont want the dish on the house theres another custome charge witch costs ya 150bucks just to dig a hole....if you actually think we are going to install the best wire blabla...then ur wrong...All this blony cost those companies big bucks just for you to argue about what your suposse to get...dude you are already gettin the installation FOR FREE what the hell else do you want...jezzzz
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DirecTv and the phone lines
Is there anything that can be done about this?
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dtv bulsht
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Re: dtv bulsht
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installers charging to hookup when it is free
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Phone Lines
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I am very upset with Direct TV. Don't know whom to
Next day new installer came for right fitting. I asked her about how much installer charge for such clip, he told that there are no charges for clip. I am shocked, ho can people cheat like this.
Now we have end up paying $80 to 1st installer for a simple clip. And we have bucket with us which is of no use.
Will Direct TV do something?
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Who should I complain about DirecTV to regarding t
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Re: Who should I complain about DirecTV to regardi
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When I installed my own system I activated it via Pegasus as there was that crappy setup still going at the time.
When it came to the phone line setup I told them I had no land line (at the time it was true as well) and had to explian as a install tech I knew the box would live without the line. It took 10 minutes and my finally telling her that If she kept up I was going to just wait the 2 months for Direct to take control of the Pegasus areas.
From then on when asked if the phone was connected I always responded "Yes" or "No land line available to customer". Some times I wasn't lying about it either.
Tivos used to not work without the phone line unless you had a hack and then you could get away with not paying the tivo fee as well.
All their new equipment was garbage (on par with my RCA or the crappy Phillips boxes when there was a choice) at the time they went to DTV branded and only the Tivo didn't involve a longer install time (Most of the set up is un-needed to a tech who knows what the job takes) and we got many "dead in box" causing the techs to want extra boxes to prevent an install not going through, Most install companies are reluctant to do this.
Glad to have escaped the industry although it cost me about $2000 in lost startup (tools, truck and what needed to do it). Worse 4 months of my working life.
As it is, as long as Time Warner and Charter are in buisness, DirecTv and Dish Network(worse the DTV even!!) will have a line looking for service. I live in the City Limits of a major suburb of Ft. Worth and cant get cable? With lines run on the poles? Charter decided that they would just ignore this part of town as they can't keep enough customers. There's plenty of new houses in the area that will not get cable for years as Charter has no plans to expand.
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directv phone hookup
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Re:
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i think yr a retard
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Phone Line Connects...
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HELP ALL DIRECTV MISS TREATED CUSTOMERS
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Phone lines are not a problem.
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THE SAD TRUTH.
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Back again for comment on topic at hand
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The really bad thing about them was that they hired QC inspectors with a 48 point checklist ranging from NEC grounding code to a little silicone left over on the end of the wire... one thing wrong and they didn't pay for the work. Of course, they gladly raked in the money from the customer and left the "unsatisfactory" work at the site to be used, but they refused to pay the contractor. Everything fell on the techs. "Charge backs" were aplenty. When they say sh*t runs downhill, they mean it.
They would run us ragged 6 days a week and often more than 12 hours a day with unreasonable workloads, which always resulted in a frantic and rushed job. Didn't get a job done? Charge back. I honestly think that they made more money from charging fines and penalties to their HSP's than they did from programing. I know for a fact that there were months that our HSP was charged more than $10,000 in their BS charge backs.
And, yeah, there are some shady techs out there so make sure you know what you're supposed to be getting and what you're supposed to be paying for. It's hard to keep good help when you run a ship like they do, which is why I quit 3 years ago and never looked back.
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The really bad thing about them was that they hired QC inspectors with a 48 point checklist ranging from NEC grounding code to a little silicone left over on the end of the wire... one thing wrong and they didn't pay for the work. Of course, they gladly raked in the money from the customer and left the "unsatisfactory" work at the site to be used, but they refused to pay the contractor. Everything fell on the techs. "Charge backs" were aplenty. When they say sh*t runs downhill, they mean it.
They would run us ragged 6 days a week and often more than 12 hours a day with unreasonable workloads, which always resulted in a frantic and rushed job. Didn't get a job done? Charge back. I honestly think that they made more money from charging fines and penalties to their HSP's than they did from programing. I know for a fact that there were months that our HSP was charged more than $10,000 in their BS charge backs.
And, yeah, there are some shady techs out there so make sure you know what you're supposed to be getting and what you're supposed to be paying for. It's hard to keep good help when you run a ship like they do, which is why I quit 3 years ago and never looked back.
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installation in more than one location
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Abuse of power
1ST ACCORDING TO DTV'S POLICIES IT IS ILEGAL TO HAVE 2 DISHES AND 2 RECEIVERS IN 1 ACCT IN 2 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
2ND IF YOU WANT TO DO IT, GO AHEAD JUST DONT PLUG THE PHONE LINES. THEY CANT TRACK IT WITH OUT THE PHONE LINES.
3RD DTV CONTRACTORS AND MANAGEMENT KEEP PUSHING THE FUCKED UP IDEA OF "WORLD CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE" BUT AT SAME TIME THE CONTINUE TO UNDER PAY AND OVER WORK THE VERY KEY PEOPLE IN THEIR TEAM "THE INSTALLERS"..........THERE ARE A HOLE LOT OF VERY GOOD AND HONEST TECHS OUT THERE! AND A HOLE LOT OF DUMASSES PRETENDING TO BE DTV TECHS THAT ARE JUST IN THE FIELD BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE ANYWHERE ELSE TO GO.
IT DOESNT MATTER HOW MUCH DTV WANTS WORLD CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE BECAUSE AS LONG AS THEY CONTINUE TO UNDER PAY AND HUMILATE THE VERY PEOPLE THAT CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN "THEIR TECHS" THIS SHITT IS NO GOING ANYWHERE!!!!
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Re: Abuse of power
As an installer, I would have thought you knew that...
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b.s
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CHECK THIS OUT I'VE GOT THE CEO AT DIRECTV E-MAIL
CHECK OUT THE FLYER THAT WILL CIRCULATE AT THE ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS MEETING IN NEW YORK CITY
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connect tv (contractors for directv)
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Need to connect phone or no service!
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Need to connect phone or no service!
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DIRECTV Rubbish. Avoid at all costs or you'll pay!
I signed up for directv less than two months ago.
When I called up, I was told there would be no installation or connection fees, and someone would be sent out in a week. DIRECTV took $415 out of my account and naturally I cancelled and demanded my money be refunded. A representative assured me a mistake had been made, and promised it would not happen again.
So I set up another account and another installation date. This time the $300 deposit was actually explained to me (I had no credit rating since I just relocated from Australia). An installer came out a few days later, was unsure as to whether we could get reception, didn't have the right equipment, and left a phone number to contact them about coming back another day to do the install.
I called back SEVERAL times and my calls were not returned. I called Directv and found out my account had been cancelled by the installation person.
So I called back AGAIN. Set up ANOTHER account, got some great discounts because of the trouble I had been through and an installation was scheduled.
I didn't hear from Directv again until I called 4 days later asking when my installation guy was coming. And guess what? My account was cancelled AGAIN. The person on the phone was very helpful, and we eventually found out it was done by someone in the company (by error) since there was no record of me calling in to cancel.
So AGAIN. Another account set up. Another $300 fee. Note the only reason I am persisting with Directv is the opportunity to watch Australian sport.
Finally it goes well, and a real professional was sent out. The guy did a perfect job for the install. He went above and beyond what was required of him, and I thought finally things are looking up.
UNTIL I GOT MY FIRST BILL. I was told, when I signed up (I have all the information written down) that my monthly bill would be $29.99. It was more than $65!
I was told the following:
- Choice extra HD package (no dvr): $44.99
- HD access fee: $9.99
- $10 credit for $300 rebate
- additional $10 credit for all the trouble I went through
- $5 credit for something else (can't recall what it was for)
- free protection plan
- free HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, for 6 months instead of 3
- 10 free PPV coupons.
Conveniently all this was forgotten.
I called up, explained my situation, and my bill was SUPPOSEDLY fixed up for next month - BUT I HAD TO PAY THIS ONE. WHICH INCLUDED A DVR FEE WHEN I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A DVR!!!!
I just got this month's bill: more than $85!!!! Obviously I'm not paying it. It is TRIPLE what I was quoted. I will be calling directv for clarification, and if I am not satisfied with the result I will be consulting my lawyers to see where I stand.
If I don't get a solution, you will see my story in the media :-) Nothing like having friends in the business.
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Re: DIRECTV Rubbish. Avoid at all costs or you'll
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Re: DIRECTV Rubbish. Avoid at all costs or you'll pay!
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Get Real ...
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Get Real ...
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Directv/Skylink
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DTV WAY to big for their britches
Now, whats realy screwed up is that in Denver, Ironwood just gave us this notice last week, yet deducted thousands of dollars for jobs dating back to April.
Wait, theres more- contractors are also being charged a 10% discount on all recievers not hooked up to the phones- IE if 30/100 are non responders, then the company gets charged back $9.00 per, making it a total of $270.00
so- If I do an install at 65/15 pay rate- say a 4 reciever install, then I get paid $110.00 for the job. My cable, my truck, my insurance, my everything.
Now, Mrs Idiot decides to start screwing around with her sound system and cant get the DTV to have adio. The Lamo Tech Support guy gives up on the calll and generates a service call. ( This is a month after I installed, by the way ) Oh- don't forget the $10.00 per non responder cause Mrs Idiot was cell phone only...
I got paid $110.00 minus the $40.00 for the non reponders is
$70.00 dollars.
Now, I am back charged $100.00 for the service call, which puts me at $30.00 cash money , and time and supplies to even do the install, and I know have $50.00 and however much labor invested to someone I've never even heard of untill the install and they are no watching DTV oout my families mortgage and food money. I just had a wonderful baby boy born in September. What did he do to deserve this?
I think it's time to turn the tables. I think several class actions and FCC attention should be focused on this problem.
Wait- Whats that you say? Why don't I just quit?
I get paid 2 weeks after the payperiod ends. If I quit, then they will hold my check 90 days until the warantee time has expired to cover any chargebacks that might come up. So, If I quit, you can damned sure bet that Ironwood will close as many service calls as they can in order to not pay me at all. I wouldn't put it past them to be calling my customers and offering a free dish inspection and service call just to acompish this.
Since when did the poor start paying out more than they make just to have a job at all? Maybe we should all stop being techs and go hang out at the street corners begging for money.
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A *positive* experience with Directv
I called DirectTv, explained the situation and told them I was unable to pay that month's bill. Then I asked them to please just cut the service and send a paper bill (we are billed electronically).
The CSR asked me to wait a minute and after about 5 min, she came back and told me that she spoke to her supervisor and had managed to get 1) my previous balance paid in full. 2) the bill for July paid in full. 3) and our bill reduced $10 for the next year.
I know there are horror stories out there, but DirecTv helped me when my family needed it and that's what counts.
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fuck
when i sign up they promise everything
free local channels
free installation of 4 rooms
free movie channels for 3 months
rebate form will be sent in the mail
free this
free that
and once they installed everything i got 2 rooms, no local channels, no free movie channels and nothing.
they are fucktards
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phone lines
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Directv Phone lines
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you have a choice
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Jeremy Reimer is not a computer expert/authority b
Seems that Jeremy Reimer has been exposed as a "wannabe" who has no degree or certification in computer related disciplines and that he has no years to decades of actual hands on professional experience in the trenches doing the job. Do you think he is worth listening to? I do not.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=41095&cpage=193#feedbackAnchor
In the 2nd url just above, Jeremy Reimer was also caught impersonating others on his forums online, email harassing others (his isp shaw.ca caught him here), & had portions of his website removed under force by his hosting provider. Reimer's colleague in this and friend, Jay Little, also had his entire website removed by crystaltech.com for his misdoings as well.
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Jeremy Reimer also posts under multiple guises to
http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=41095&cpage=213#feedbackAnchor
Posting as others (i.e. same person posting under multiple names/guises/nicks/handles) along with his friend Jay Little above to "support one another" when they were found SO technically inacurrate, they were laughed off that site and both of them outright left & that was after law enforcement were called on them both. Windows IT Pro is a widely read publication in the field of computers.
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if there completion rate on phone lines is above 45% they get charged it is unfair and our hsp's are the ones charging us!
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directv
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Ed Teisanu
Former Sr. Team Lead for Premier
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Overtime lawsuit against Directech and others
To read about some of those cases, see
http://www.getmanlaw.com/investigations.html
http://directechovertime.com
http://jbmovertime.com
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UNION !!!!
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UNION !!!!
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Wish people would stop complaining and stop...
Former Directv Installer
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MAstec Sebring
My superviosr Dami** is the best, he will come to by job sight to lend me a helping had. My supervisor I** is ok, he can sometimes be a jerk.
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Use them for 90 days then fired them I told a friend to go their just to see what they would do to him they did the same used him for 90 days then fired him. For what we don't know
I was told to lie to the customer about channels and setup.
I will never work for MasTec
Paul Honner he used to drink in the office and now they
asked him to come back to work their sum guy told me to forget about the law suite and come back to work their and the guy Paul was their trying to get into the Management like he was because he was fired.
I hope MasTec get's it up the butt anyone that works their
is a loser
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phone lines
When you order a PPV with your remote it stores the purchase on the card. DTV receiver in 24 hour time frame needs to call to bill you for it. Many people will order PPV and not connect phone line so they do not have to pay for it. DTV loses mass amounts of money for people doing so. If you dont want the phone line hooked up then call in and have IPPV disabled so you can order on the web or on phone.
If you are too lazy or not intelligent enough to order a PPV that way then stick to a local rental store and quit whinning "big brother" because you are required to pay for what you watch.
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ripping off techs
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I just wanna watch tv in my room
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then they had the phone line issue... I have NEVER had the phone line connected, except when someone came out or I had to let them hear the click on the phone when it tried to dial out. I didn't watch pay per view but you could have run the card up as high as it would allow ($600 or so) and then just bought a new box. oops, that one broke and you could hook up a new one.
then came the card issue... lots of folks were buying cards from canada. some smart mofo figured out how to mass produce these cards with full access but directv would zap them and require you to get another one. it was supposed to be that in order to get it reprogrammed, you had to stick a valid card in to capture the old data. if you waited, they would just reprogram the new card and you moved on.
now they want you to lease the equipment, charge you $250 for a dvr and lock you into a 2 year agreement for HD.
they promised 150 HD channels when I switched to HD in late 2006. they said, lots of channels by spring of 2007, no we meant summer of 2007, no we said fall of 2007. it wasn't until late october we began to see some new HD channels. all the while we waited, they were charging for HD service, which consisted of 7 channels that were lousy. they swore that the rates wouldn't increase but once the HD channels started to appear, the loyal customer got shafted AGAIN!
once my contract / agreement is up... I'm going to FIOS!
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Phone line fines
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Phone Lines for DIRECTV
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Directv Phone Lines
Techs are fined for not installing phone lines if they do not meet a certain quota; but DTV is not taking anything from the techs that they didn’t already earn. The Tech gets paid for installing the phone lines, it’s part of the install that they gets paid for.
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Re: Directv Phone Lines
u said "Techs are fined for not installing phone lines if they do not meet a certain quota" when was a quota system legal in the USA f% brain? piece work is not quota work. and as a comp hardware installer Ill charge your dumb ass to run any copper in or out of your house. and the pay from dtv is not on par with current telcom pay so smoke that in your pipe because you must be ass kissing for dtv to be saying total bs like this.
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Oh really !
What I will tell you,is a firm I worked for here in Wisconsin,recently.Had it's trainer in it's training dept right out say,and I qoute.
"If any of you guys ever do not follow our procedures and think you are gonna go around us.Telling our customers other than what we tell you what to do and what not to tell a customer.Even attempt to steal away any of them.
You will be tagged and will never work for DISH Network anywhere,if we discover it.
I've been fired for reasons completely unbelievable ,they released me on precarious charges of Harrasment of an employee,with intentions of a sexual harrasment accusation.
Related to the girls that worked in the dispatch/call in center.
I went on to fight for my unemployment and won the case ,because the judge dismissed it due to the fact that they did not bring in the accuser and did not have any evidence to support any of thier accusations.
The company I worked for as I discovered also "Charged Back" a tech if they had troubles discovering a customers technical issues and had to return back to the customers home to further look at the system.
Of which in my case being a Tier 2 tech,almost always resulted in what I call "Operator Error" .
Or situations of simple customer re-orientation.
Folks out there in the world are not at all up to speed about technology and it is complicated and it does scare them.
A Tier 2 Tech is a tech that has a less than 3 percent error rate in all he does.At least by this companies standards.
THATS ACHIEVNG ALMOST GOD STATUS
Only the US Postal system does better at less than 2 percent error rate.
Yet I was charged back for the return call,and with no remorse or forgivness. My hard erned money from the installation,or service call was taken away and back from my payroll.
Mind you I have to pay all my own expences,car,gas ,ins,tools maintanence and upkeep,etc.....
Truth I discovered is DISH is paying for those service return calls,to the said contractor,I as a Sub though,I was lyed to and told DISH does not do that.To Boot,I had to accomidate a 90 day unconditional workmanship and return waranty.
NO MATTER what happened.........
Here's the good part.......
I discovered this is a conversation with a DISH Network tech center supervisor,Denver CO.DISH Headquarters......whom informed me that IDYUNO what you guys got goin on in Wisconsin ,but to my knowledge we pay for every visit to a customer in every other part of the country.
NO MATTER IF ITS A TECH FAULT OR NOT !!!!!!
Ive been working in communications all my life,I knew you dont need a tele line for that equipment,I knew exactly how stupid and idiotic that cheap equipment was,anyone that has had to activate one will agree.
It aint nothing more than a offair,DIGI converter box for a analog TV.
It's simply taking a radio transmission in and decoding it ,with the customer Smart card number and sending it off to the TV set in Ch 3/4 or 60,or a select input.
YEA REALLY,Thats all it is ! REALLY !
Oh if you wish they have a box with a little processor that will hold idyuno 8,10 20 gig of video,big deal,you can buy those at KMART at round 60 bucks and store all the crap you want in video.
I was being told some of these boxs, if I were to loose them or whatever would cost me upwards of anywhere 400 to sometimes 800 dollars,what a bunch of BS Man !
Guess what ?
I cant seem to get past the background checks and get in the door of those DIRECT guys now.
The truth is DIRECT and DISH are almost the same company.
ECHOstar and ECHOsphere,am I blind or does anyone else see what I see in those 2 names ?
Late last night ,I didnt hear the dogs barking.........
But,
I know somethings up,and goin on.............
Anyone monitoring this site from the Echo people or its affiliates,be careful of me........
Im 50 yrs on this planet now ,been working 30 of them in communications.
I know a little if you know what I mean,don't do anything you would'nt be able to back yourself up with OK
Ive got buddies that I consider the Good Guys in communications......
At one time we were 12,we coined ourselves The Dirty Dozen.
To date now,were up to at least 25
We fight against The Machine together,generally fix most problems too!
We know we won't win the war,but enjoy the small battles.
No Matter how mad you get,....BE NICE TO ME OK
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Phone Lines
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Re: Phone Lines
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Re: Scott
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They all suck
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directv
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Instalers are charged $5 of 30% that isn't hooked up!!!
DirectTV is very harsh on their employees- I guess workers are a dime a dozen right now- and jobs are not. DirectTV will charge back (take money out of installers pay) for multiple reasons without installer verification- then makes it very difficult for the installer to prove that the charges are false. DirectTV will not offer any perks to their employees for the good work they do, other than a pat on the back. DirectTV is terrible company to work for and hope that they will be more employee friendly opposed to the corporate devil that they are. Thanks DTV! (their tv service is pretty good though)
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Re: by Mike
had easily in most areas. The phone line requirement is a bit of a dinosaur. Also Mike, threat of losing your job is no excuse for fraud. it's wrong, that's all there is to it.
Have a spine. activity such as you have admitted doing, lying in order to keep your job, is just why satellite installers
have a "seedy" reputation.
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working with my hands up
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Re: working with my hands up
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they do lie a lot. sometimes i show up to install and they tell me all this misleading stuff people just say to to make the sale.
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working with my hans up pt 2
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Dialed DirecTV Toll Free Telephone at 1-877-781-4046 - Outstanding System & Service
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we need answers.
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we need answers.
Never his company payed him for a line phone connected. I believe that DirecTV pay to Mastec for that work but never Mastec pay to the technicians for that line work.
Mastec pay per piece hour, doesn't matter how many time the tech need to make the work. They pay per line on the work-order closed.
And my husband is evaluated as a service tech, and work like a production tech, when a production tech is evaluated with different score numbers.
We believe that this is something caused for Mastec, nothing to do with DirecTv. But is something that affect my family.
He prefer to work directly to DirecTv, but in Florida, we believe, that is something impossible.
Someone have answer for this?
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The real scoop
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and...........
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phone lines
they threaten inhouse techs with write-up and termination.
contractors main office gets fined then they pass those fines to techs based on what they call non-responders
recievers will try to call out every month on a assigned day automatically
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Direct TV Complaint about lying to get business
I ordered a package which included 225 channels, free lifetime high definition, an HD-DVR recorder, an HD Receiver and 3 standard receivers, I was promised 3 premium channels, Showtime, HBO and another, for the first 3 months. I was promised that I could record and watch those recordings (DVR) on any television, in any room. All of this for a monthly bill guaranteed amount of $69.00 for the first year, on a 2 year contract.
I set up installation for between 4:00 – 8:00 Friday July 24th 2010, My wife scheduled time off work, missed an important company dinner and waited, and waited. No phone call from them, NO Show!
I called Direct-TV, was told it would be between 9 and 9:30, I told them if it was after 9 pm it would have to wait because I have a six year old child, they apologized and rescheduled my installation to between 8:00 am-12:00 noon the following day. (Saturday July 25th) Again, we waited, missed a boating trip, when it rolled on noon, we called again to be told that we were not scheduled until the following week Saturday July 31, 2010?
As you can imagine I was very upset, I was told that the local company cannot install on Saturday July 25th because they didn’t have the required equipment, that tells me, they didn’t have the equipment on Friday, when I was supposed to be installed originally, I was told the equipment would have to be ordered, the earliest date was the 31st between 8:00am – 12:00 noon.
I reluctantly agreed, on Saturday July 31, 2010 the technician arrived at my home at approximately 1:30pm, he proceeded to remove my existing working Dish Network equipment and started to install the Direct TV equipment.
After about one and a half hours my wife came to me very upset and told me that the tech only had the HD DVR and then the standard receivers for the rest of the rooms and that for us to be able to record in each room in would cost us an additional $500.00 to $600.00 payable, up front?
I called Direct TV and was told that the tech was right and I should check my order. They told me basically that I was lying about being able to watch and record in every room and that I ordered a system that you can only record and watch in one room. The Dish account that I was replacing Direct TV with, gave me the ability to record in two rooms, why would I order less?
After 2 hours of phone calls and waiting on hold, I finally said enough take out your equipment and reinstate my Dish. Before I cancelled I asked the customer service rep if the tech would everything back as he found it, I was given a definite yes, but the tech had a different story. The Tech proceeded to cut the wires the Direct TV dish and removed some of the direct equipment leaving an ugly satellite mounting bracket and excess wires on my roof. Then the Tech (Jamie) proceeds to tell me that he cannot restore my Dish to working order??? I called again to Direct TV again, this time I pretended that I wanted new service and again, the Salesperson told me “yes you can watch, record and playback in every room on a standard receiver, the tech and my wife heard the salesperson on the phone promise something that the tech states is impossible, as did the original customer service rep that I cancelled with earlier in the day. I passed the phone to Jamie, the Tech, and asked him to explain. Jamie spoke to the salesperson who confirmed to Jamie that I could watch and record in every room, Jamie told him that in fact you need an HD Receiver to be able to record in every room and the salesperson stated that he was a new to Direct and had just finished a big training session about their new NFL promotion and this new DVR multi-room service package they are promoting and in his training was told different?
Jamie agreed that indeed customers are being mislead into signing with Direct based on false information, to be fair to Jamie he called his people while I was calling Direct TV. He corroborated the fact that I was promised recording equipment in each room and supported me in asking Direct to honor the original agreement. Direct refused to offer any kind of assistance, Jamie left my house, and I ended up not having any television service at all because each DISH wire had been severed.
Since that time, I ordered again new service, this time I recorded the conversation. I never told the sales agent any of the previous experiences; I just acted like a new customer. Again, I was told that I would get TV in 5 rooms with the ability to record and watch in all of the rooms. I made the sales agent repeat numerous times “Yes, you can watch and record in every room for a monthly bill of $69.00 with no upfront expenses”.
Later, I called Direct TV customer support and explained again the situation; I even played the tape to Daniel a supervisor who identified himself as #100254661. He was no help at all.
As it stands, I am disgusted by this entire ordeal, I wasted another day waiting on installation of Direct TV, I currently have no television service at my house at all, and I have a new install date of August 10th, I have ordered the same as I did previous except this time I wasn’t offered the 3 premium channels?
I have transcribed word for word some of the recorded conversation between myself and the Direct TV sales agent, as you will read I asked twice in this section of the transcript;
RH Lets just clarify what I want, I want 5 rooms, HD in one room is all I really need but I want the ability to watch and record in all of the rooms.
DTV Right
RH OK, how much is that going to cost me?
DTV Your monthly charges for that is $69.99
RH And that is the extra fees on top of the $39.99 for the package that I ordered?
DTV That’s $5.00 for each room for independent viewing, so you are looking at a total of $20.00 for your rooms and then we have got your HD DVR wholehome DVR service which is $10.00 as well waived with HD cost which is minus -$10.00 for that. Plus the $39.99 for the package, so that brings it to $69.99
RH That’s great.
DTV And I’m going to send you an e-mail of all this so you will be able to look at it.
RH OK, You are sure that I can watch and record in every room?
DTV I’m sure, you got the whole home in there so you’re good.
RH OK, great.
Later in transcript after I gave my credit card information;
RH So I have 1 HD DVR, 1 HD Receiver, 3 standard receivers, and I can watch and record on any room, right?
DTV Right! With that whole home DVR function, the installer has a special way of putting up your wiring so it’s all transmitted through each receiver.
RH And I don’t have to pay anything extra than what you have told me, the $69?
DTV No, I added everything together, $69.99.
RH OK, So when they come to install this it’s not going to be an issue with the installation guy?
DTV No why should there be an issue with the installation guy?
RH I’m just trying to be the devil’s advocate, so err….
DTV …Oh no….laughing.
I asked a total of 4 times “Can I watch and record in every room”, every time I was assured that I could. I confirmed the pricing numerous times, I have the complete recording of their lies, I believe that this constitutes fraud. Can you offer any help or advice?
Rob Hart
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Notice to to the real techs that wants to stand up
Contact your local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers(I.B.E.W.) Union hall!
www.ibew.org or look them up in your local phone directory!
Our organizers will be compassionate to your concerns. And will work diligently to come to a contract between the workers and company!
The thing is the companies have law firms that employ many people to represent them, shouldn't you? Other wise you are left to fight the companies alone!!!!
Or you can do nothing and continue to be rapped by the companies you work for!!
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We dont get paid to hook the phone line to the receiver. We get back charged $3.00 per box/receiver that does not have a phone line.
I honestly dont like lying to the customer and I dont need more money taken out of my weekly pay sheet along with other stupid stuff they back charge me for.
Most 95% of the time I am straight up with the customer and I will ask to hook them up for a week.
Yes we are forced to lie we pay for all of our own cable, fittings, concrete, barrels, tools, gas, etc. The only thing we dont pay for is receivers and the dish assemblies.
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Directv forcing techs to lie AGAIN
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I love Directv!
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VERY TRUE!!! MASTEC/DIRECTV LIES TO ALL OF YOU!!!
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nexg tv live tv
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Oh... one more thing about Sam's Club sign-up...
Is that considered a legally binding contract... or is that just used to kinda tricking people into thinking they can't get out of it (even though they can?).
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Re: Oh... one more thing about Sam's Club sign-up...
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Sam's Club sign up...
I signed up at Sam's Club, but they haven't installed the service yet. So my question is... is signing up at Sam's Club... them running my credit, charging my account $159.95 (upfront fee) and reading me the terms of service the same as a contract that they'll make me sign the day of installation (tomorrow) Tuesday 29th???
I'm not saying I want to totally cancel the deal... I actually am looking at upgrading to the highest tier with all the movie channels, but I want the price to be close to what I would get with Dish (comparable). Dish price per month for the upper tier is about $85 through the 1st year and $120ish for the 2nd year... for 6 TVs. Through Directv it's $130ish for the 1st year and $150ish for the 2nd... for 6 TVs. I'll do the upper tier with Directv... I just want them to come close to matching the price... $85 and then $120.
So, since they haven't installed it yet... can I still negotiate my deal or cancel them without penalty? And if so, can I get my $159.95 for the upfront fee and shipping fee... since I didn't receive anything.
Thanks....
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Re: Sam's Club sign-up...
Here's what I found out:
I can cancel if I want up till they do the installation... and they have to return all money I've already paid... $140 upfront fee plus the $19.95 for shipping.
When I called I was told that I got a $10 per month off for the first year as a $120 credit because I bought it from Sam's Club. Soooo... basically I paid and extra $40 at Sam's Club which I'm okay with... I get sales people have to make a living somehow. It's not that much more... I'll live.
I actually had been looking to upgrade before installation just in case they had to give me something different during the process.
When I called Directv and said I am interested in upgrading the package, but I think it's too high compared to what Dish offers for their highest package the guy offered to extend the Unlimited Showtime package for an additional 6 months for a total of 9 free months.
My pricing for the Premier package (with the Genie DVR w/ 2 other HD TVs and 3 standard TVs (total of 6)is:
$74.99 per month for the first 3 months...
$107.99 per month for the next 6 months...
$119.99 per month for the next 3 months...
$149.99 per month for the 2nd entire year...
Keep in mind I already paid the "upfront fees" of $159.95.
Overall I think it's a pretty decent deal... and the extra 6 months of the $12 savings takes off another $72. My Comcast just went up to $175 per month because we added a DVR that can only be used by one TV and has about 10% the storage capacity. That's with high speed internet, phone, and a decent amount of cable channels (without all the HBO, Showtime, Cinemax channels)... and a bunch of included sports channels.
Did anyone out there get a much better deal than that? Unless it's significant, it's not really worth the back-and-forth with them.
Thanks again for responding...
Eric
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BBI retainage scam
"HEY GUYS, IF THAT CUSTOMER DOESN'T HAVE A PHONE, RUN A LINE ON TOP OF GROUND TO NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE!"
"WHATEVER IT TAKES, HELL IF IT'S TOO FAR, BREAK INTO THE NID AT NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE OR AT STREET, TIP AND RING IS ALL YOU NEED! WE NEED THOSE RECEIVERS TO PING. WHATEVER IT TAKES! LIE YOUR ASS OFF TO THE CUSTOMER!! WHO CARES, RIGHT? DIRECTV HAS TO DEAL WITH THE SHIT WHEN WE LEAVE!!?"
I WOULDN'T WISH BBI ON MY WORSE ENEMY. THEY PRACTICE IN SCREWING THEIR TECHS DAILY. IF WE CHOOSE TO SCREW 10 TECHS OUT OF 2 JOBS A WEEK, THAT'S A CPL GRAND WE PUT BACK INTO THE BANK!
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Re: BBI retainage scam
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dirct tv endeavor communication
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I stopped doing these installs when the pay went to low and I was told I might be fined a fee higher than what I was being paid if the customer later disconnected and said it was the install.
The current installers are mostly unqualified and are only paid $10 or $20 for a install.
When I was doing it I got $140+ for install and I was a TV repairman so I knew what I was doing and all installs were correct..
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Re:
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bad installers
I own several rent houses and have set up rules they must follow. The other day one installed a dish on the roof without permission. We called him out to move it.
He said it had no signal on the ground in the front yard.
Nice trick, Problem is I am the guy Directv and DISH called out to get a signal when no others could find a signal I have a special setup I use for that.
I went to my truck pulled out a dish set it up against a rock on the ground aimed it with my meter in 20 seconds, connected it to the wire going into the house and the picture popped up. I said want to see the signal and he jumped in his truck and ran away...
He refused to do any work while I was watching.
Myself I am angry that real qualified installers are no longer used and that these $10 a job guys are being used.
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DIRECT TV LIES TO CUTOMERS
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phone lines
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Sick and tired of losing signal
If we get a little rain or a little snow, we lose our signal. I'm sick of it. I think AT&T is going to get a bad name buying these crooks out.
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