DIRECTV Falling Down in Customer Service
DIRECTV came out to upgrade my system to a HD system. After everything was in place and I walked out with the installer I noticed a cable sitting on the ground from the dish to the house. It was at that moment that the DIRECTV installer mentioned that for him to bury the cable from their DIRECTV dish to my house would cost extra.
I called and spoke to customer service at DIRECTV. The young lady that I spoke with (after waiting on hold for several minutes) just kept repeating that they do tell you there can be extra charges when its more than a standard installation.
Questions DIRECTV Did NOT Answer:
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1. Why can’t DIRECTV tell a customer of 12 years how much a free upgrade is really going to cost?
2. Why put down DIRECTV cable for someone to dig a trench around instead of telling them ahead of time (or at least before the cable is connected an run) that there is a need for a trench.
Maybe DIRECTV does not realize that cable runs to my house. Cable would not go out in the event of rain. Cable would not cost additional money for the other televisions in the house.
The only reason that we did not switch from DIRECTV to cable when we had cable installed is that I have always appreciated the programming on DIRECTV. The way customer service has been going downhill with DIRECTV makes me rethink my television service completely.
Does anyone else have any gripes or complaints about DIRECTV?
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Comments
I’d been a customer of Directv for over 8years. I had upgraded to a DVR on my own (bought at a retail store) and fulfilled their contract extension period (1yr) 3 years prior to the end.
The end was when my DVR went bad. I called them and they were willing to send me a ‘new’ DVR. What they sent me was a refurbished piece of junk. My original one had 2 tuners- the ability to record/switch between 2 channels and not loose your place on the other one.
When I called back and told them how dissatisfied with their replacement they told me that they no longer offered a DVR with those kind of options. I was only able to watch or record one program at a time.
So I switched to the other sattelite competition. Not more than a week after I canceled the Directv account, they called and called and called – each time I told them the situation and they said that they would guarantee I’d get the DVR replaced properly. I had already signed with the competition and have a year contract. Why couldn’t they have treated me properly in the 1st place? They are even willing to buy out my current contract.
It’s a matter of principle for me to fulfill the contract that I have now. It also teaches them a lesson – like they really care. I’m only 1 customer.
I really liked their programming package and may consider going back later.
Every one in a while they call to see if I want to come back – even though I’ve asked them to not call.
It would have been cheaper for them to treat me correctly and would have not put me thru all the hassle.
A customer that was continuing to give them money each month with no complaints – if they would have just treated me as if they were the customer – I’d still be handing them my money each month. I feel they decided it was worth the risk.
It all boils down to training and taking short cuts. Short cuts always cost more in the end so I’ve determined that short cuts are not worth it – ever.
Very well said! These companies (like DIRECTV) need to employ folks that understand the importance of the customer. They don’t exist without us. I long for those days when “the customer is always right” was the prevailing wisdom. Of course, those were the days when people didn’t sue because they spilled coffee in their lap and it turned out to be hot. 
I’d been a customer of Directv for over 8years. I had upgraded to a DVR on my own (bought at a retail store) and fulfilled their contract extension period (1yr) 3 years prior to the end.
The end was when my DVR went bad. I called them and they were willing to send me a ‘new’ DVR. What they sent me was a refurbished piece of junk. My original one had 2 tuners- the ability to record/switch between 2 channels and not loose your place on the other one.
When I called back and told them how dissatisfied with their replacement they told me that they no longer offered a DVR with those kind of options. I was only able to watch or record one program at a time.
So I switched to the other sattelite competition. Not more than a week after I canceled the Directv account, they called and called and called – each time I told them the situation and they said that they would guarantee I’d get the DVR replaced properly. I had already signed with the competition and have a year contract. Why couldn’t they have treated me properly in the 1st place? They are even willing to buy out my current contract.
It’s a matter of principle for me to fulfill the contract that I have now. It also teaches them a lesson – like they really care. I’m only 1 customer.
I really liked their programming package and may consider going back later.
Every one in a while they call to see if I want to come back – even though I’ve asked them to not call.
It would have been cheaper for them to treat me correctly and would have not put me thru all the hassle.
A customer that was continuing to give them money each month with no complaints – if they would have just treated me as if they were the customer – I’d still be handing them my money each month. I feel they decided it was worth the risk.
It all boils down to training and taking short cuts. Short cuts always cost more in the end so I’ve determined that short cuts are not worth it – ever.
You don’t want to hear the gripes we have against DirecTV. We have since changed to DishNetwork, got a much better price, including HD, and have all the channels we used to get – most of them ones we usually watch are in HD. Maybe it’s time to consider switching, too?