# Punishment of long time Tivo owners



## csgraber (Feb 8, 2006)

I remember when I thought of Tivo as a good customer service company. That changed when I got an HD tivo. I switched over my old service to the new HD unit. . .then I tried to setup my old dual tuner as a second tivo. 

THe only thing that they would do was a 16.95 1-year subscription plus a 7.00 discount for having multiple units? 1 year required subscription? I have had a tivo for 7 years. . .

So I gave the DT to my wife's parents and they switched over their service from a 7 year old series 1 to the DT.

So I guess I'm never going dual tivo


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## Ben_Jamin75 (Dec 18, 2003)

why didn't you just sign up for the 3 year monthly plan? With the multi-service discount it would be $6.95/month.


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## Tiresius (Mar 22, 2004)

Ben_Jamin75 said:


> why didn't you just sign up for the 3 year monthly plan? With the multi-service discount it would be $6.95/month.


I can't speak for csgraber, but maybe it's because having to commit to 3 effing years to get the $6.95 MSD price is total crap.

It's worth keeping an old Tivo around for $6.95 a month, but a three year contract... c'mon that's even WORSE than the cell phone companies want. Especially when we're talking about a box that could be several years old & Tivo has long since recovered any hardware subsidation costs on.

The cost to Tivo to have a longtime customer keep an old box active when they get a new one is virtually nothing, especially if it's networked and there's no phone charges to cover.

The benefit to them is a continued stream of $6.95 a month coming in, for however long the customer wants to keep it active.

But not for 3 FREAKING YEARS!!! I like the Tivo product too much to see them run themselves out of business over stupid policies like this.


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## Ben_Jamin75 (Dec 18, 2003)

To each their own.

My personal theory is if my box dies within the 3-years, I'll end up buying another box to replace it. If I buy it from a store, instead of tivo.com, then I should be able to swap my TSN via tivo.com and move the service commitment to my new box.

Either way, as a tivo junkie, I know I'm going to have a tivo for at least the next 3 years, and i'm used to paying 6.95 for my non-lifetime boxes.

But, that's just me.


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## EVizzle (Feb 13, 2005)

I understand your frustration with having to sign a 3 year contract, but I think of it much differently than a cell phone contract. I would LOVE my cell phone company to give me a discount on monthly rates if I signed a longer contract, all they do is give me a deal on a new phone. Every time I get another discounted phone, my contract is extended for 2 years. 

Tivo gives you a monthly rate based on your length of contract you agree to. If a series 4 becomes available, you can transfer the service to another box, continue with your current service or take advantage of a promotional service that becomes available.

I bought a S2 40-hr. single tuner about 4 years ago with lifetime. That has given me the service at a discount already, and now I save a bunch each month because it still works. Value-wise, the S2 is as valuable today as when I bought it, and it saves me 6.95 per month on service. THAT is quite impressive for an electronics device! Paying 12.95 per month for a S3 service with a 3 year contract seems a bit hard to handle, but 6.95 because I have a second Tivo is a great discount.

I would even be happy if Tivo had a "New Customer Discount" where they would save money on a box and the service for being a first time customer. Getting the box into people's hands is the hard part, once it is there it sells itself!


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## Microman66 (Nov 29, 2004)

When I got this Tivo HD, I already had two S2's one a lifetime and one 6.95. I was lucky I guess, just 6.95 a month for the new Tivo HD, and lady said they will only make me go a yr for that price, and then of course it continues for as long as I keep it going.
But no 3 yr obligation.


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## Tiresius (Mar 22, 2004)

EVizzle said:


> I understand your frustration with having to sign a 3 year contract, but I think of it much differently than a cell phone contract. I would LOVE my cell phone company to give me a discount on monthly rates if I signed a longer contract, all they do is give me a deal on a new phone. Every time I get another discounted phone, my contract is extended for 2 years.
> 
> Tivo gives you a monthly rate based on your length of contract you agree to. If a series 4 becomes available, you can transfer the service to another box, continue with your current service or take advantage of a promotional service that becomes available.


You're missing my point. I've got 3 Tivos, one of them for over 6 years. Add it all up and I've got 11+ box-years of Tivo service. I have ALWAYS paid $6.95 for the additional Tivos and have NEVER had to sign a "contract" to get that pricing. I'm as loyal a customer as you'll find, but it really pisses me off when a company decides they have to coerce me into being loyal by forcing a long-term commitment -to get the same price I've had for years WITHOUT a commitment.

Here's the simple math for Tivo in my case.
Right now I have:
Series 1: 12.95 - no commitment
Series 2: 6.95 - no commitment
Series 3: 6.95 - no commitment
Total : $26.85 a month total income to Tivo.

What I would do without a multi year-contract commitment(I'd do one year):
Series 1: 12.95 - no commitment
Series 2: 6.95 - no commitment
Series 3: 6.95 - no commitment
TivoHD: 6.95 -new box making 4th active Tivo
Total: 33.80 a month total income to Tivo.
That's a lot to pay each month. But keeping the S1 alive just might be worth 6.95 a month to me.

Becuase of their inane policies, IF I buy a Tivo HD, I'll shut off the S1 and swap the service number to the new box.
What their policy is forcing me to do:
TivoHD: 12.95 a month - no commitment, 
Series 2: 6.95 a month - no commitment
Series 3: 6.95 a month - no commitment
Total : $26.85 a month total income.

How can this make any business sense at all for them? There's virtually no difference in operating cost to them but they would get an additional $6.95 a month in income by letting me keep the S1 active without a commitment.

Ben_Jamin75 - I'm used to paying 6.95 for my extra boxes too, WITHOUT a multiyear contract. Now I want to buy a 4th Tivo and they tell me I have to pay more than 6.95 a month for it or sign a 3-year contract?

Spin it anyway you want, that's no the way to treat your loyal customers.


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