tireman9

Just bought my Dish system on Sat 12/16 from Sears.
Called the 800 number at DISHand made appointment of install. Best they would do was "Sometime between 8AM & 12 noon Thur 12/21.
I took 1/2 day off from work waiting for the installer who never called and never showed up.
At 11:58 12/21 I called 1-800-333-3474 and was told that they didn't know why the installer didn't show up, but that they would have a supervisor call me in 1 or 2 hours. They then offered to do the install Jan 6 sometime between noon and 5PM.

By 7PM 12/21 I had not heard from anyone at DISH so I called again.
This time they said they needed the smart card number and unit numbers, which I provided. There was no mention of any other problems. The person said they would contact the Installer Company and have them contact me directly. I asked what would happen if we had an appointment but I didn't cancel and wasn't there to meet the installer. I was told I could expect a $59 "drive out" charge.

Noon 12/22 No call from installer Co so called DISH again. This time I was informed that my account had been canceled 12/18 and that the appointment had been canceled so I should not have expected an installer to show up. No one would accept any responsibility for not notifying me that my account had been "canceled" or did they seem to care that I took time off from work to sit and wait for the installer to not show up.

I asked to talk with a supervisor and eventually got one who said they were sorry no one had done their job and contacted me concerning the canceled install job. This person made no effort to take steps to correct the situation. She showed no understanding or concern for the fact that I took time off of work. She also refused to provide a mailing address so I could bill DISH $59 for their "no show".

Sears however has been very helpful. I have name and number of District MGR. At DISH. I will report back what happens when / if he returns my call..

DVD_O_Rama

quote:<HR>Originally posted by tireman9:
Just bought my Dish system on Sat 12/16 from Sears.
Called the 800 number at DISHand made appointment of install. Best they would do was "Sometime between 8AM & 12 noon Thur 12/21.
I took 1/2 day off from work waiting for the installer who never called and never showed up.
At 11:58 12/21 I called 1-800-333-3474 and was told that they didn't know why the installer didn't show up, but that they would have a supervisor call me in 1 or 2 hours. They then offered to do the install Jan 6 sometime between noon and 5PM.

By 7PM 12/21 I had not heard from anyone at DISH so I called again.
This time they said they needed the smart card number and unit numbers, which I provided. There was no mention of any other problems. The person said they would contact the Installer Company and have them contact me directly. I asked what would happen if we had an appointment but I didn't cancel and wasn't there to meet the installer. I was told I could expect a $59 "drive out" charge.

Noon 12/22 No call from installer Co so called DISH again. This time I was informed that my account had been canceled 12/18 and that the appointment had been canceled so I should not have expected an installer to show up. No one would accept any responsibility for not notifying me that my account had been "canceled" or did they seem to care that I took time off from work to sit and wait for the installer to not show up.

I asked to talk with a supervisor and eventually got one who said they were sorry no one had done their job and contacted me concerning the canceled install job. This person made no effort to take steps to correct the situation. She showed no understanding or concern for the fact that I took time off of work. She also refused to provide a mailing address so I could bill DISH $59 for their "no show".

Sears however has been very helpful. I have name and number of District MGR. At DISH. I will report back what happens when / if he returns my call..<HR>

Did you get a package deal with the equipment and install for free? I don't know if they are still doing that, but I got mine for free, along with free installation.
If you intended to pay for the install, I'd save my money if i were you. It takes about 5 mins. to do it yourself, and there's nothing to it.

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DVD Reviews..with an attitude

Miami Dolphins: AFC Champs 2000.

[This message has been edited by DVD_O_Rama (edited December 22, 2000).]

tdamico

Dish Network's customer service is horrible. I won't even go into the arguments I have had with them over the years. But cable was no better, and the Dish picture is fantastic, and the choices are great. I will say that if, and when, you get a manager, they WILL give you your money back in the form of credits. They have done so with me three times.

Kman1011

There CS is horrendous, I have had so many problems with them, definetly push for free programming they normally do 39.95 for each problem.

pmf

It's saddening to hear stories like that esp. if reason for their abandoning you is not your fault. I had Dish for more than three years and from what I heard and read they've always been ahead of DirectTV CS-wise. Only problem I have with Dish has always been the long wait time at the toll free number.

I don't recall if I was the one initiated the call when I first had it installed. I did get my installation free as an introductory offer and had since upgraded to the Dish 500 by paying $25 for the big dish's S&H (free install again). About one year ago my 5000 receiver started acting up. After talking to and going through some troubleshooting (via the remote) with a techician at Dish they decided my unit is malfunctioning and would send me a refurbished replacement which is still working fine. Keep in mind the original unit was already out of it's standard one year warranty. I figure by doing this they at least keep me from switching over to DiectTV.

I would suggest you call Dish back and clarify the misunderstanding for I am sure there got to be some way they can reinstitue your account again.

PF

Frank S

This is exactly why I say you should go through a local DISH retailer (not a retail store like Sears or a online store)! If you go through a local dealer you will get far superior service then a store who is just in it to sell systems and leave the customer on their own to deal with installations. With a local dealer you would order what you want and they would show up with the equipment and do the install right then and there! Also if something goes wrong with any of the equipment a local DISH retailer can give you a loaner while your equipment is being replaced same day. Try and get that from Sears or a online dealer!

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My Home Theater Equipment

[This message has been edited by Frank S (edited December 24, 2000).]

Heat

I have had Dish since August 1997 and have enjoyed it very much. The only thing that pisses me off about them is that they now require "professional" installation (or at least add it to the price). Let me add my enthusiastic support for Frank S, buy from a reputable small dealer, they will provide service after the sale (of course, not all small dealers are reputable).

As explained to be by the small dealer who sold me my dish, the only times they installed the dish was when the customer was elderly and could not climb a ladder, or for the few who had enough money that they really didn't want to screw with it. As they put it, a trained monkey can install the dish network.
Tireman 9, as an engineer, you can install this in 20 or 30 minutes with one hand tied behind your back. What I think happened, though, is that your "installer" actually had some key component of the system, thus they prevented you from installing it.

Anyway, once you actually get it installed, you will be happy with Dish. By the way, don't let the "installer" put it in your front yard, have him put it on your roof, in your back yard, whereever *you* want to put it.

Kenny J

Sorry to hear about your problems with
your "Dish" install Tireman.We've been
with the Dish Network for about two years
now have been totally satisfied with it.
Have not had to use "CS" yet so I cannot
comment on that.
I will say that we got ours thru a
local Sat dealer. When we looked into a
dish set-up the first time they prefered
the "Dish" over Direct TV. For one Dish
make their own recr's and their sat's are
considered top notch. The programing has
been excellent.The picture and sound has
surprised everyone who has seen it.
Again I'm sorry for your problem.As
for us I'll go back to rabbit ears before
I go back to cable.

BenCJedi

It is easy to install the dish yourself. When I upgraded to Dish500 I was scheduled for a free installation, but opted out of it and installed it myself. Dish gave me two months of free programming because of this because they didn't have to pay someone to come out and do it for me. Here's something like what my installation was like:

My satellite dish bucket install

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[This message has been edited by BenCJedi (edited December 25, 2000).]