# Horrible experience with DTV customer service



## Jedis (Jul 16, 2005)

I purchased 2 receivers on eBay. I called to activate them a couple days ago by telling them I needed to update my receiver information. Specifically, I was going to replace two D10 receivers with one R10 and one DSR708.

The customer service rep said I needed two new access cards at the cost of $20 each and that she would need to transfer me to the access card department. Once transferred, someone picked up right away. The access card department rep told me the same thing the other CSR told me: that I needed two need access cards. When I asked if I could use the ones from my D10's, I was told no. Okay, no big deal I think. I'll just pay for them.

The two new access cards come in the mail today. I follow the instructions in the mailer and place them into the receivers. I then call the 800 number to use the automated system to activate the new cards. I get all the way to the end and it tells me that there was an error activating the cards. The system then transfers me to a CSR. The CSR answers right away and tells me she needs 5 minutes to look at my account info in order to proceed. I wait on hold for 5 minutes. She comes back, asks for all of the same info that the lady asked for the other day. She then places me on hold for another 10 minutes to "activate" the cards. She comes back and asks if they are working. To which I answer no. She tells me she needs to transfer me to tech support.

I wait on hold another 5 minutes for tech support to answer. When they do answer, I tell him all of the receiver ID, serial number, and access card information again. He looks up my account, without placing me on hold, and tells me that the previous woman I had spoken with went in and managed to deactivate an R10 in the basement and added 2 additional receivers onto the account. My account was showing 7 receivers instead of 5. He tells me that the access cards already show activated and he didn't know how that was possible because I should be getting service on the two new units. But, I wasn't. He says he needs to go get his supervisor to deactivate the card and reactivate it. He doesn't place me on hold and I proceed to hear a conversation between other DTV techs about how a blind date went horribly wrong the other night. It sounds like a party is going on in the background. 

The tech comes back and says the card shouldn't have been activated yet because I hadn't received them and he didn't know how it got activated because the system won't even let them do it without a supervisor. He has me take out the access card and reinsert the card and does some typing and stuff on his end. Finally, service starts working on the two new units. Then I ask about compensation for having to wait on hold forever and he transfers me to retention.

The lady in retention reviews my account and I tell her the story and then she proceeds to tell me that there's been a billing error on my account for the last 7 years and I should be getting charged an additional $4.99/month on my bill.

So what do I walk away with? Massive headache, 1:11 minutes on the phone with DTV today, a $5 credit for 3 months, and $4.99 added onto my bill every month.

Genius.


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## kpurcell (Jul 13, 2005)

Jedis said:


> The lady in retention ... proceeds to tell me that there's been a billing error on my account for the last 7 years and I should be getting charged an additional $4.99/month on my bill.


What did they say this was for? The DVR fee?


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## DTVPro (Jun 24, 2005)

sad


I still contend that the Protection plans worth it for the money (although there are bad reps there as well, like anywhere)

I'm biased, but if I was a DTV customer, I'd get the protection plan, and never even deal with the other departments unless it was a billing thing


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## Billy Bob Boy (Jul 25, 2004)

It could be worse they could say we are charging you retroactive for the past 7 years. 

Heck look at it this way you saved 420 dollars. Just looking at the positive aspect of a bad experience.


Btw I figured someone would point this out except they might say your whinning and you should be happy that you saved this money. But IMHO It still blows to find out your bill is going up. Many folks are on strict tight budgets and even 5 dollars hurts. Try retention again and say you are not happy with the outcome and perhaps they will throw u another bone to make the increase more palatable!


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## Jedis (Jul 16, 2005)

kpurcell said:


> What did they say this was for? The DVR fee?


No, that $4.99 is in addition to the DVR $5.99 service fee.


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## Netbudda (Mar 3, 2005)

Jedis said:


> Then I ask about compensation for having to wait on hold forever and he transfers me to retention..


  ....How greedy are you...?



Jedis said:


> So what do I walk away with? Massive headache, 1:11 minutes on the phone with DTV today, a $5 credit for 3 months, and $4.99 added onto my bill every month..


LOL !!!! Serves you right.


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## Jedis (Jul 16, 2005)

Netbudda said:


> ....How greedy are you...?
> 
> LOL !!!! Serves you right.


Greedy? The first lady said I was ready to go a couple days ago; the cards didn't work.

The second lady didn't know what she was doing and messed up my account. The third tech had to go wipe out everything she did and I had to go around to each receiver and go thru the process of making sure they were activated and working.

For something as simple as getting two access card activated, it turned into a nightmare. I don't see how I am being greedy when I paid $40 for two new cards and then had to basically reset my entire account to get everything working. I lost an hour of work because I had to putz around on the phone with them.

I'm not one of those people that steal service or pretend to "move" to get things they shouldn't. I was trying to be compensated for the inconvenience that was caused to me.

If you can't see that, I'm sorry.


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## Billy Bob Boy (Jul 25, 2004)

Jedis said:


> Greedy? The first lady said I was ready to go a couple days ago; the cards didn't work.
> 
> The second lady didn't know what she was doing and messed up my account. The third tech had to go wipe out everything she did and I had to go around to each receiver and go thru the process of making sure they were activated and working.
> 
> ...


Don't let it get to you. I told you someone would say this. Every post in this forum regarding problems with D* Has a Post like this. Your whining,your greedy, yada yada yada. Some people on the net have absolutely no manners, especially since it is all anonymous. I would love to see how these big mouths would go about it if you had to have your REAL name and info to post on a BBS. Say you had to use a credit card. And everyone knew who u are and where you live. I bet things would be different. I bet the trolls would vanish into thin air POOF!!!!

To the butthead that called the OP greedy. TIME IS MONEY!! And it is not greed to want to be compensated for a loss of time. This is my wish to you I hope you call 15 stores looking for something and the stores tell you they have plenty, you have to drive 3 hours to get to the stores and Whoops our computer was wrong. Lets see how easy going you would be about losing hours of your time because of stupid stores or CSR,s!

Btw This has happened to me And I wish there was a law that states that if a company causes you to lose time because of stupidity like counting broken returned items as stock and telling customers that we have 3 of the items you are looking for and you drive 1-2 hours up and back to find out that they are 3 broken missing half the parts not new items, the store is responsible to refund you time and whatever else it cost you. Gas ect. Or a csr has to give you something because they caused you to waste your time on mistakes like those that occurred to the OP. It should not be a voluntary compensation It should be mandatory.


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## Netbudda (Mar 3, 2005)

Billy Bob Boy said:


> Don't let it get to you. I told you someone would say this. Every post in this forum regarding problems with D* Has a Post like this. Your whining,your greedy, yada yada yada. Some people on the net have absolutely no manners, especially since it is all anonymous. I would love to see how these big mouths would go about it if you had to have your REAL name and info to post on a BBS. Say you had to use a credit card. And everyone knew who u are and where you live. I bet things would be different. I bet the trolls would vanish into thin air POOF!!!!
> 
> To the butthead that called the OP greedy. TIME IS MONEY!! And it is not greed to want to be compensated for a loss of time. This is my wish to you I hope you call 15 stores looking for something and the stores tell you they have plenty, you have to drive 3 hours to get to the stores and Whoops our computer was wrong. Lets see how easy going you would be about losing hours of your time because of stupid stores or CSR,s!
> 
> Btw This has happened to me And I wish there was a law that states that if a company causes you to lose time because of stupidity like counting broken returned items as stock and telling customers that we have 3 of the items you are looking for and you drive 1-2 hours up and back to find out that they are 3 broken missing half the parts not new items, the store is responsible to refund you time and whatever else it cost you. Gas ect. Or a csr has to give you something because they caused you to waste your time on mistakes like those that occurred to the OP. It should not be a voluntary compensation It should be mandatory.


I imagine you are the kind of BUTTHEAD that goes to the doctor for your 10:00 am appointment and when you don't get to see him until 10:30 am you ask for compensation........GREEDY PEOPLE JUSTIFY EACH OTHER WAYS.

P.S I don't have Direct TV, I just posted because the final result of his experience was POETIC JUSTICE and made laugh extremely hard.


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## chantaltivo (Jun 29, 2006)

Netbudda said:


> I imagine you are the kind of BUTTHEAD that goes to the doctor for your 10:00 am appointment and when you don't get to see him until 10:30 am you ask for compensation........GREEDY PEOPLE JUSTIFY EACH OTHER WAYS.
> 
> P.S I don't have Direct TV, I just posted because the final result of his experience was POETIC JUSTICE and made laugh extremely hard.


You are not a very nice person :down: :down: That is all I have to say to you.  Please go back and crawl back under your rock. Greed and justifiable compensation are two different things. And yes the doctor SHOULD reimburse his patients for wasting their time. Again its Justifid compensation. Just because we dont get compensated when Businesses,doctors, Phone reps, waste our time. We should! Wanting compensation for wasted time is not Greed Its Justice. :up:


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## Netbudda (Mar 3, 2005)

chantaltivo said:


> You are not a very nice person :down: :down: That is all I have to say to you.  Please go back and crawl back under your rock. Greed and justifiable compensation are two different things. And yes the doctor SHOULD reimburse his patients for wasting their time. Again its Justifid compensation. Just because we dont get compensated when Businesses,doctors, Phone reps, waste our time. We should! Wanting compensation for wasted time is not Greed Its Justice. :up:


You 3 should form a "Compensation Union", and try to squeeze money out of every situation. I swear the 3 of you must be ambulance chasing lawyers. I love when people like you land on their face, it's because of people like you that everything is so complicated and everybody is out there watching their backs, you never know when the blood sucking vampires are coming. Now I will not take any more of your time since I don't want to get a bill for your "precious" time.


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## StEvEY5036 (Jul 9, 2003)

Billy Bob Boy said:


> Don't let it get to you. I told you someone would say this. Every post in this forum regarding problems with D* Has a Post like this. Your whining,your greedy, yada yada yada. Some people on the net have absolutely no manners, especially since it is all anonymous. I would love to see how these big mouths would go about it if you had to have your REAL name and info to post on a BBS. Say you had to use a credit card. And everyone knew who u are and where you live. I bet things would be different. I bet the trolls would vanish into thin air POOF!!!!


thank you.


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## Billy Bob Boy (Jul 25, 2004)

Netbudda said:


> Now I will not take any more of your time .


Good than thats the last we will hear from you


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## Adv1sor (Oct 7, 2002)

D*TV service is definnately getting worse. A lot worse.

I got an HD DVR from DirecTV a few months ago. I called Friday to see if I could get my local channels in HD yet. The lady there said all I needed was a 5 line dish and she didn't know why they didn't give me a 5 line instead of a three when I upgraded to HD.

I told her that I thought their HD DVR didn't work for HD local channels other than OTA. She didn't know what I was talking about.

I looked today at the order and they had me set to get a five LNB dish and swap my HD DVR with an HD receiver.

I called and spoke with seven different people and got seven different stories ranging from different numbers of LNBs (2-3-5) to different recivers and DVRs.

Finally I got someone who said they were a supervisor.

He tells me that DirecTV HD DVRs didn't work for HD local channels other than OTA. Maybe later this year there will be an upgrade. When I asked about the pending order he said that that was for a new receiver. I told him to cancel the order, which he did.

You'd think with the competition from cable and FIOS D*TV would be trying to get better, not worse...


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## DTVPro (Jun 24, 2005)

The systems are getting more and more complicated as time goes on, which of course presents a natural challenge for customer service


It's hard to sqeeze in all the necessary training, and even when you do, the sheer volume of it is hard to comprehend at times. 


Yeah, it's easy to say "I've had a tivo for 5 years, I know this thing inside and out, stupid csr's dont' seem to know anything" but it's also hard for a csr to be totally knowledgable about everything, but that's why DTV has things divided into departments. 

I know it's what is expected, and part of the real problem is agents not realizing what their role is and trying to fix problems they have no right to be doing.

An example of this is billing agents who try to get smart and troubleshoot problems, telling customers this is wrong, or that, and being totally off base when a troubleshooting agent does get them. If feeds the confusion. 

Or someone in technical or billing trying to tell you what you need for an upgrade, etc etc, instead of transfering you to Installation support.



One rule of thumb I always do is this


when I get someone on the line, I ask

what department are you with?


If they say billing, and I have a technical problem, I request technical.

If it's technical, and I have a billing problem, I ask for billing.

If I want to upgrade stuff, I don't mess with telling it to anyone else, I ask for the upgrades department.


It's a pretty simple thing to do that will make sure you end up with the correct department...although there will be screwups and bad agents there, at least a larger % of them will know what your talking about.



I still think one of the main reasons they're going to their own DVR (dtv that is) is because they want all menu's the same on all recievers, and want a standard platform for customers.....not so much for customer convience, but because it would make training agents 100X easier than if you have to train them on how to program 20 different remote types, how to do things on 50 different reciever models and makes, etc etc


I think ultimately the more d*series DVR's/Standard recievers get out there the better customer service will be. 


I guess I ended up in quite a rant, but the same CSR's you complain about because they're dumb, could be trained much better, paid a lot more to retain the good agents....

but then you all would complain that D* had to save money in other areas, like not giving out free HDDVR's to everyone who complains loud enough, etc etc.


You guys all want a cheaper product, equipment for free, free service calls for everything, etc etc, but don't realize this demand for the lowest price on everything is exactly what drives down the quality of customer service, when they don't pay enough to keep good reps and outsource jobs to people who barely speak english.


it's all a vicious cycle that's as much the consumers fault in this walmart age as it is DTV's


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## waygrumpy (Jul 23, 2006)

DTVPro said:


> The systems are getting more and more complicated as time goes on, which of course presents a natural challenge for customer service


You are correct about this in many respects but the receivers they are using are pretty old hat. They have been around for years and even the new ones have roughly the same features. As a matter of fact the new ones I just received (the R15) and returned have less features and seems to be a way worse product. 
It's hard to sqeeze in all the necessary training, and even when you do, the sheer volume of it is hard to comprehend at times.



DTVPro said:


> Yeah, it's easy to say "I've had a tivo for 5 years, I know this thing inside and out, stupid csr's dont' seem to know anything" but it's also hard for a csr to be totally knowledgable about everything, but that's why DTV has things divided into departments.
> 
> I know it's what is expected, and part of the real problem is agents not realizing what their role is and trying to fix problems they have no right to be doing.
> 
> ...


Then they just should not do it. This is exactly what he was complaining about. I work in a very high tech role and a portion of my responsibilities is in interfacing with customers. It is my responsibility not my customers to know the constraints of my position, knowledge and job description. So should be the case with them.



DTVPro said:


> I still think one of the main reasons they're going to their own DVR (dtv that is) is because they want all menu's the same on all recievers, and want a standard platform for customers.....not so much for customer convience, but because it would make training agents 100X easier than if you have to train them on how to program 20 different remote types, how to do things on 50 different reciever models and makes, etc etc .


Did you know that the Rupert Murdoch's took control of directv in 2003 and also has holdings in NDS the author of the new bad R15 software. Please do not try and make this sound as altruistic as trying to make it easier to support the product. The issue is that they are trying to make a product in house no matter what the quality of the product. This in the long run makes a cheaper product for them.

If it was an equivalent software no one would be grumbling. The fact that it is a major downgrade gets many of not most of us up in arms.

Using your logic Mac would be the dominant computer. HMMM nope it is Micro$oft. The support issue of thousands and thousands of different configurations of computers has certainly not hampered the sales of Windows.



DTVPro said:


> I think ultimately the more d*series DVR's/Standard recievers get out there the better customer service will be.
> 
> I guess I ended up in quite a rant, but the same CSR's you complain about because they're dumb, could be trained much better, paid a lot more to retain the good agents....
> 
> but then you all would complain that D* had to save money in other areas, like not giving out free HDDVR's to everyone who complains loud enough, etc etc.


This is a self perpetuating issue. We get bad service so we feel we should not pay. They try to cut back to make it cheaper and we expect to pay less.

I cannot understand whatever happened to plain courteous customer service. Basic training on a simple product like a DVR is not a big thing. My 14 year old son can run through how to set up, troubleshoot and operate all 3 types of direct TV DVRs/Recievers here at my house. You are saying we can not expect a company that wants long term commitment and sells a fairly expensive product to do any less.

To the person that did not feel someone should be paid back for their time get real. If you are late for you Dr appointment doesnt he have a late or no show fee. If you are late for an appointment to an attorney, dont you think his clock will be running?

Anyhow backing up big business giving them excuses to treat their customers like garbage is plain silly. An expectation of quality product for the price and decent support for the product is little enough to ask for. If you believe otherwise good luck to you. Even WalMart (to use your example)will stand by what they sell or give you your money back.

This company thinks they can offer a substandard product made by a company owned by a partial owner of its that gives them an increasing profit margin. They do not support it and are rude in the process.


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## untouchable (Apr 13, 2005)

Yes, time is money...but no one should expect a company to compensate them for time they have had to spend on hold or on the phone...people who do that sound like children...so you had to call in for help, so it took a little while for them to address the issue...when you asked for compensation, and were told you had not been getting charged for your additional receiver, you got what you deserved for asking such a stupid question....at least they were there to help you when you answered the phone.


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## waygrumpy (Jul 23, 2006)

untouchable said:


> Yes, time is money...but no one should expect a company to compensate them for time they have had to spend on hold or on the phone...people who do that sound like children...so you had to call in for help, so it took a little while for them to address the issue...when you asked for compensation, and were told you had not been getting charged for your additional receiver, you got what you deserved for asking such a stupid question....at least they were there to help you when you answered the phone.


I think you are missing the point. If they were their to answer the phone and do it professionally and correctly then you are correct, he would not have a leg to stand on. To expect some sort of remuneration for time and money wasted and frustration over poor customer support may be a bit excessive but not all together unwarranted.

I do not know about you but I work for a living . While dealing with direct tv to get some equipment installed I have had to take 2 days off work. Soon a third one to get the job done correctly. I have hours on the phone with tech support talking to untrained uneducated monkeys. To say "Atleast they were there to answer the phone." is silly. Isn't that part of what I am paying over a hundred dollars a month for? To , on the very rare instance that I have a problem, get some help. I am not happy for this, I simply demand it.

During the process of my install I have had my house turned upside down and my patience tested to the inth degree. I personally will not ask for anything for my time but just got out of bed to call and tell them exactly what I think of the deal they are offering and have this removed from my house.

I think we all forget that we are the customer. Expecting customer support is reasonable. Expecting professionalism is reasonable. Expecting a quality product for the money is reasonable.

In this day and age companies feel they can offer what they want in the manner they want once they have you as a customer often pulling out some thin contract to come to their aid.

As I said a bit ago I am not the type to ask for Cash back  but I agree that this companies support is well below par and we as the customer need to stand up.

Well that is my 2 cents worth.

Grumpy


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## Gluberall (May 30, 2006)

Hey, Waygrumpy :down: 

The standalone fact that your post make you sound like Gov. Wallace automaticly disqualifies you from calling anybody an "untrained under educated monkey", If this product is so simple then why are you spending hours on the phone with tech support? Who's the real monkey between you and DTV? 

Feel free to come up with a clever retort but you're the one who must realize that being you must suck if you need to attack people who are ::gasps:: trying to help you! For god's sake , you sound like a bit&*


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## SuperZippy (Feb 12, 2002)

definitely ran into some incompetence there, but i don't think it was horrible..

the people that work those jobs are usually the dimmest bulbs, your expectations should be set pretty low when you start dialing the phone...


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## Billy Bob Boy (Jul 25, 2004)

I really am surprised by the attitudes of people that dont consider their time worth anything! They are usually the same ones that will drive 2 hours to save a few cents and think that they are so smart. Even the ones that i work for who dont need to work consider time a valued asset. This conversation is moot any way because the major timewasters in our lives will never change. They will always have their dumbass phone trees designed to waste time. Ie: forcing you to enter an account # and when a Csr comes on they ask for it again. annoying tech reps reading a script making you do inane and wasted things, when there is a more obvious reason for the problem which would be found by a more educated CSR. Doctors who have to jam so many patients in a schedule that they are always 30-60 minutes behind.


To all those that responded to this thread that wanting compensation for lost time is childish or greedy, we will see your attitudes change when you wait all day for a installer or delivery or whatever and the wrong thing is done or the wrong item is delivered and you have to spend another day to get it right. I will bet your attitude would change. 

Btw if you answer this saying OH this happened to me and i am ok with it, I call you and say your are FOS. Anyone who goes through all of these hassles and thinks there is nothing wrong with it is 1 of 4 things. 1. A kid on summer vacation 
2. a rich kid that spends all his days doing nothing anyway 3. anyone else that doesnt work for a living. 4. has no kids


Ok the Op didnt spend tons of time with the problem but who is to decide where the line in the sand is drawn. everyones time is valuable whether its a few more minutes playing with your kids or a few more minutes to watch tv.

Everyones time is valuable to them in a different way. Remember that the next time you are on your lunch break and the waitress got your order wrong three times leaving you no time to eat lest you get docked pay or that installer you waited all day for doesnt show up and you have to lose another day to get it done. Or that csr kept you on the phone so long that you are late picking up your kids.(this one has happened to many friends and no it wasnt for D* but whats the difference)


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## Adv1sor (Oct 7, 2002)

SuperZippy said:


> the people that work those jobs are usually the dimmest bulbs, your expectations should be set pretty low when you start dialing the phone...


This seems to be the truth. I will try to remember this in the future. It will surely save me some frustration.


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## untouchable (Apr 13, 2005)

Billy Bob Boy said:


> I really am surprised by the attitudes of people that dont consider their time worth anything! They are usually the same ones that will drive 2 hours to save a few cents and think that they are so smart. Even the ones that i work for who dont need to work consider time a valued asset. This conversation is moot any way because the major timewasters in our lives will never change. They will always have their dumbass phone trees designed to waste time. Ie: forcing you to enter an account # and when a Csr comes on they ask for it again. annoying tech reps reading a script making you do inane and wasted things, when there is a more obvious reason for the problem which would be found by a more educated CSR. Doctors who have to jam so many patients in a schedule that they are always 30-60 minutes behind.
> 
> To all those that responded to this thread that wanting compensation for lost time is childish or greedy, we will see your attitudes change when you wait all day for a installer or delivery or whatever and the wrong thing is done or the wrong item is delivered and you have to spend another day to get it right. I will bet your attitude would change.
> 
> ...


I am not saying that my time, or anyone elses for that matter is not worth money. The thing that I am trying to say is that if I waste all that time on the phone, then it is obviously not their fault when I can end the conversation whenever I choose to do so. If someone is late getting their children, (due to addressing issues with television) then maybe things aren't prioritized the way they should be. Yes, I have waited all day for an installer to come to my home when I could have been doing other things, like working to get my family the things they want and need. But in the end I am the one who made the decision to waste that time waiting for a package or an installer to come and resolve my issue, which is necessary sometimes, but generally can be avoided by setting up a time that is going to work for you. I am not saying that no one here is irresponsible, I am just saying that if TV is more important than your kids or your job, then things may need to be rethought. So to me, it would be my fault for money or time lost when I am or was waiting for tech support to correct my problem, or an installer, or package to arrive when all I have to do is make them work around my schedule by having the installer come on a day that is convenient for me. I understand what everyone is saying, but I just think about things in a different way I guess.

And why do you call those "untrained, uneducated monkeys" ?? if they don't know anything about your issue, then you must know less about satellite than you do..
That is the end of this forum for me...everyone on here complains about everything...even after all of the things you are given by DTV.


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## Adv1sor (Oct 7, 2002)

untouchable said:


> ...everyone on here complains about everything...even after all of the things you are given by DTV.


_Given?_

I must have missed out on the giveaway. I pay DirecTV for all the things they _give_ me.

Am I wrong to expect curtious and accurate service when I call them? Or to be upset when I don't receive these things?


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

My, this thread has veered off-track a bit, and I think the OP's original issue has been lost or forgotten. 

The original issue was that bad customer service at DirecTV caused the OP to miss work and spend hours on the phone to get the problem resolved, all because the first CSR didn't do his or her job right, or overstepped the boundaries of his or her job. In this case, I agree that the OP is NOT being greedy requesting something, because if everyone at DirecTV had done what they were supposed to, the OP would have had his cards properly activated, would never have started this thread, and we'd never be having this debate about when it's proper to compensate someone for their time. 

Bottom line, if a company screws up, the company should pay-up. They made the mistake, they should apologize for it, and make an offer to keep their customer happy. We all know that DirecTV makes offers left and right as incentives, so if no offer is made, I see nothing wrong with the customer gently requesting something for the trouble they've been put through.


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## Billy Bob Boy (Jul 25, 2004)

Adv1sor said:


> _Given?_
> 
> I must have missed out on the giveaway. I pay DirecTV for all the things they _give_ me.
> 
> Am I wrong to expect curtious and accurate service when I call them? Or to be upset when I don't receive these things?


 But wait they gave me 3 months of showtime for free and all I had to give them was 3600 dollars over the last 5 years  I guess i should be happy to spend 3 hours on the phone after all they gave me something


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## jmallory (Jun 13, 2002)

> This is a self perpetuating issue. We get bad service so we feel we should not pay. They try to cut back to make it cheaper and we expect to pay less.


No, we get bad service is because we (as a whole) have told retailers we are willing to put up with substandard service tomorrow for a low price today.



> I cannot understand whatever happened to plain courteous customer service.


It disappeared when people stopped shopping at smaller speciality shops and full service department stores and started shopping at large big-box retailers.



> Anyhow backing up big business giving them excuses to treat their customers like garbage is plain silly. An expectation of quality product for the price and decent support for the product is little enough to ask for. If you believe otherwise good luck to you. Even WalMart (to use your example)will stand by what they sell or give you your money back.


Wal*Mart (or any large mass retailer) does not stand by what they sell. Go try to get support for anything sold there...they are going to direct you to the manufacturer. Giving you your money back if you are not satisified is done because it is actually cheaper than providing service for the product.

-- Jim


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

**


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## jmallory (Jun 13, 2002)

Sorry about that....fixed.


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

jmallory said:


> Sorry about that....fixed.


Thanks!


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

jmallory said:


> It disappeared when people stopped shopping at smaller speciality shops and full service department stores and started shopping at large big-box retailers.


I heartily agree with this.

There was a wonderful department store named Swezey's in my home town and it was probably 120 years old, located in the heart of Patchogue at the "Famous Four Corners". The store was a little pricier than the "big box" stores, but the service was unrivaled. Free gift wrapping every day of the year; unlimited free gift boxes; free alterations; even cashiers who smiled!

All of that changed when about 10 or 15 years ago more big-box retailers started cropping up just outside of Patchogue, and the formerly loyal Swezey's customers started driving out of their way just to save a buck or two. Sure, you'd have to wait on long lines and barely be acknowledged by a cashier who won't even make eye contact, but you could save a buck by not shopping at Swezey's.

Swezey's of course couldn't compete, and they shut down for good about three years ago. I haven't seen service like Swezey's since then.


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## jmallory (Jun 13, 2002)

drew2k said:


> I heartily agree with this.
> 
> There was a wonderful department store named Swezey's in my home town and it was probably 120 years old, located in the heart of Patchogue at the "Famous Four Corners". The store was a little pricier than the "big box" stores, but the service was unrivaled. Free gift wrapping every day of the year; unlimited free gift boxes; free alterations; even cashiers who smiled!


They exist, just not in America. I have been in the Far East (Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Shanghai, and Singapore) on business and the department stores just blow away anything found in the states. And these things are huge (usually no less than 10 floors) and they have everything from Food (in the basement or ground level usually) to full Electronics and Clothes. Excelllent customer service and the woman are usually dressed in their "Easter Sunday" best; complete with Hats and White Gloves. On the other end of the spectrum, the small Electronic dealers in Hong Kong were consistently staffed with knowledgable salespeople that met or surpassed those found only in High-end stores in the US. Contrast that to here, where I cringe over the things I have heard told customers in Micro Center, Best Buy, Circuit CIty, etc.

I figure it has something to do with the prevailing culture. We seem to have traded "much worse service" for "slightly less price."


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## itsmeitsmeitsme (Nov 13, 2003)

Its really pretty simple. If you don't like the experience you get from a business, then go to another business. Complaining only goes so far. If a business loses customers, then it loses $$$$$. And that is what it's all about...........the almighty $$$$$$$$$$$.


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## Billy Bob Boy (Jul 25, 2004)

itsmeitsmeitsme said:


> Its really pretty simple. If you don't like the experience you get from a business, then go to another business. Complaining only goes so far. If a business loses customers, then it loses $$$$$. And that is what it's all about...........the almighty $$$$$$$$$$$.


Unfortunately when the company you are dealing with is a technical monopoly you are screwed. D* Is a technical monopoly since there is nothing better. If we had dozens of sat and cable companies to chose from the situation would be better. When you are in a particular area you are locked into either one cable company and for now most suck or D* or Dish and Dish sucks. Until there is true competition in the Home tv entertainment market things will not change. :down: Imagine in say Washington state or Ny state there was only one cell phone provider How much emphasis would the lone provider have on CS (not much I bet)

You cant call D* a monopoly because of dish and other cable providers but technically they are a monopoly cause none are better and infact most others are worse (at least for now)(once we start having choices of providers that are better D* Better watch its butt)


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## itsmeitsmeitsme (Nov 13, 2003)

Billy Bob Boy said:


> Unfortunately when the company you are dealing with is a technical monopoly you are screwed. D* Is a technical monopoly since there is nothing better. If we had dozens of sat and cable companies to chose from the situation would be better. When you are in a particular area you are locked into either one cable company and for now most suck or D* or Dish and Dish sucks. Until there is true competition in the Home tv entertainment market things will not change. :down: Imagine in say Washington state or Ny state there was only one cell phone provider How much emphasis would the lone provider have on CS (not much I bet)
> 
> You cant call D* a monopoly because of dish and other cable providers but technically they are a monopoly cause none are better and infact most others are worse (at least for now)(once we start having choices of providers that are better D* Better watch its butt)


You can't call it a monopoly just because you don't like the other choices. The fact that you have choices, and choose DTV, tells me in your eyes that its the best choice. Nothing wrong with complaining, all I am saying is you have a choice to spend your $$$ elsewhere. If DTV lost a large number of customers, then they would have to look at why, and change the way they are doing things.


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