Say NO to DISH Network

I am angry at DISH, and I have good reason to be that way.

About 6 months ago, I decided to upgrade to HDTV with Dish network. DISH offered 6 month free HDTV as a trial to new HD customers. I received this offer in the mail. I wanted to try HD, so I chose to take it.

The cost of a new set top box with PVR and HDTV for DISH was almost $650. But I figured that this receive would be good for a long time, and get me all their HD channels, so I went for it. Little did I know that this was not to be the case LESS than 1 year later.

Shortly after, I received my bill from Dish, and there was a charge for HDTV on it. I called to complain, and my call, routed to someone in India, simply told me over and over that I was not eligible for this offer, and instead they would give me half price for one year “as the same thing.” I continued to explain that they sent me the offer, and it was accepted when I called in to start HD, and half price was not acceptable for various reasons. After two, over 1 hour calls, I was finally switched to someone in the US who agreed to credit me the price of the ½ year immediately, but basically it cost me almost 2 hours total of my time. Not exactly a bargain. And why should I have to go through this when they made the offer.

Now, In late February or early March of this year, DISH announced that if you want their new HD channels and their better HD pricing, you would need to get a new receiver from them. The receiver I now owned could not receive many of their new HD channels they offered, and even some of the ones they did offer were switched away. Also, my receiver was not eligible for their new package pricing, a good 30+ percent lower in cost it appears than what I pay now.

The cost to switch set tops would be an ADDITIONAL $300, and I would have to send them the $650 receiver that I already owned in exchange. In addition, I would not own this new receiver, but would now be required to rent it at $10 a month. Basically, they tossed my $650 down the drain, my ownership of the box, and want even more money now. Oh, and I can buy the new receiver if I wish, that is $700!

When I called to complain in March, again my call was routed to India, and again was handled by someone who has no authority to make any changes for me. They did tell me that a rebate was in the works that would save me some money in April, and that they would have someone call me back to make the offer when available.

No one ever called. So today (end of April), I called DISH again. Again, I got someone in India who could not handle my call and had no authority to offer me more than the “package.” I was again finally switched to the group that has the job of keeping customers from leaving their service. But this time, I was basically told, “too bad, this is the deal, take it or leave it!” When I suggested that this $650 box, less then one year old is now obsolete, he answered, “No, it works fine, just like many of our older boxes.” Again, this is a lie. None of their older boxes he mentioned for standard resolution TV are restricted from receiving any of the standard TV channels, nor are they ineligible for better pricing packages. Both are the case with my HDTV set top box. It is not the same. Basically, this will continue to receive a limited set of HD channels at a higher price. That is obsolete to me!

What was really a surprise to me was the unwillingness to do anything about this. I spend almost $100 a month with DISH network, paid by credit card so I am never late, and have been a customer for at least 10 years, maybe longer. You would think they would want to keep a customer like me. Yet Daniel (operator number HH0) on today’s call basically said through his words that he did not really care if I stayed or not, he would do nothing. Basically, I was willing to sign a new 1-year contract for the services, send in my $650 set top box, and start renting a new box at $10 a month IF he would wave the $99 cost of the switch, and he said no! How is that for smart of great customer service?

To top it off, he told me lies. Since I use to work in this industry and was one of the pioneers in digital television, I know how this all works. It takes between 1 and 2 years to institute a change the order of magnitude they are talking here with this new switch to MPEG-4 technology. When I suggested that DISH obviously knew in August when I bought my receiver that a switch to a new technology was going to happen soon, and I should have been offered the chance to wait, he claimed that they did not know at that time. Well, I am sure Daniel did not know, but the company did. This is not a change that happens in a few short months and they have to plan long in advance, and as a courtesy to their customers, should have offered the option to wait, or suggested I not buy this receiver but rather rent it (which also was an option.) It was offered neither.

So now I have to decide what to do. I can switch to DirectTV and probably get a good deal on a new system with Tivo or their own PVR. I could also switch to Comcast and take their HD product as well, as I already have Comcast in my house for basic cable and high speed internet, and they offer a lot of things satellite could never offer, like VOD. DISH does offer the best HD lineup in the market with their acquisition of Voom, but then again, I am sure I could do without all those extra HDTV channels, since I seldom watch HD news or scary movies.

I am open to opinions here people. What do you have and what do you suggest? But the bottom line, if you are considering DISH network, I urge you to consider a different choice. Their customer service has become awful (despite a 2005 award) and obviously, they have forgotten why they came into business in the first place; to give customers a different choice from the awful cable companies, which they have now become themselves.