DIRECTV(I can't take it anymore!) - Page 2

**IA_Chiefs_fan** · 09-13-2006, 07:11 AM

I recently switched to DIRECTV so I could get the NFL Sunday Ticket. I even purchased the Superfan so I could get most of the games in HD.
I have one receiver that's completely flaky.
They won't send me the free portable DVD Player I was promised.
My Superfan HD channels are freezing up so I couldn't use them this past Sunday.
I've had billing errors on both of the first two bills I've received.
Now the real problem: Calling Customer Service is a horrible experience. They have a crappy IVR system that is not user friendly and when you get a Customer Service Rep they're all foreign. They are very polite and I have yet to hurt their feelings but they cannot help me! They can speak English well enough to read scripted responses (again they are very polite) but they are unable to converse in a way that can solve a problem. I even spoke to a supervisor that it was semi-difficult to communicate with. The Supervisor was supposed to call me back last week and, of course, never did. Of course there's no direct line to her.
What can I do? Any ideas how I could reach an AMERICAN employee? I'd give anything to speak to some rude, under-paid English-speaking American Customer Service Rep!!!!!!!!!

**TinyEvel** · 09-13-2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

I'll bet you are correct on those DVD players. I've never seen one but they give them away by the thousands. Probably a $15 toy piece of junk.

I got the DVD player. YOu are right. It's made by COBY (font same as SONY).

You have to mail a copy of your first bill along with the free gift redemption form. I cna't remember if the form came in my first bill, or with the install. I also got a redemption form for $100. Whcih I got a check in the mail within a few weeks.

unlurking · 09-13-2006, 08:34 AM

I've had problems with channel 501 flaking out for the last few weeks (since it was only 1 channel, I just assumed it was the sat or HBO screwed up). Then Sunday some of the Ticket channels were flaking out hard core. The Chiefs HD channel stuttered occasionally, but thankfully not often. Someone was out Monday evening about 7:30 and replaced the LNBs. It "almost" sucked ass, but I didn't miss the game and they came out pretty damn quick.

As far as the 1-800 number, I found that just jamming the "0" button constantly gets you to a single mini-menu to take you to tech support, billing, etc. Just keep jamming that button when the recording starts telling you about the website or troubleshooting. All of a sudden you here "You are an A-List customer, your call is being routed", or something like that.

Anyways, just check your HBO channels and that 30-second NFL channel replay in the 700s. If they aren't coming in, you may have the same problem I have. The tech said that that is usually a sign of a bad LNB.

As far as the billing problem, I had serious problems with billing for almost a year (being charged twice for Center Ice, and other shit). Got to the point that we had to call every month for about 6 months. They gave us a $25 credit every month we called though, to "apologize" for the problem. Make sure you complain if you end up calling regularly with billing problems and they'll take care of you.

unlurking · 09-13-2006, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I never had a foreign CS rep with DirecTV.

Of course, I never had a really nice one either.

Their customer service is the reason I finally decided to move on.

When I first got DTV, their customer service was the best I'd ever had for ANYTHING. About 2003 or so the customer service started to become absolute shit, and if it weren't for Sunday Ticket, I would have switched.

Over the last 3-6 months I have found it slowly improving. It's not nearly as good as it used to be, but I feel like they took good care of me with the last issue I had, and I don't feel like shooting anyone after getting off the phone with them anymore.

I just hope this trend continues.

**Skip Towne** · 09-13-2006, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I had them for about 8 years too. And now that you mention it, I never had a problem until I upgraded to the 3-LNB HD dish...

Didn't you install that yourself?

KUalum · 09-13-2006, 08:46 AM

Skip - I hope you can answer this question.
I want to switch to DTV with HD and cancel TW. The problem I have is that I do not have a landline and can not justify the expense of one just to plug into DTV. My cell plan is fantastic, my roommate works for Sprint and gets free cell and our wireless broadband is only $15/month unlimited. If I could only get a good deal on DTV with HD I would switch in a heartbeat, but I definately want local channels in HD and I don't want to face black outs in Sunday ticket or any other sports because I don't have a land line. Is there anyway around the landline issue.
Thanks

kcxiv · 09-13-2006, 08:48 AM

I have had Direct tv for 6 years now. Never had a problem with thier CS or thier Hardware. Also, never had any foreign phone service either. Always, been nice and friendly to me. I wont ever go back to regular cable.

dtebbe · 09-13-2006, 08:49 AM

Just so you know, the stuttering or freezing that was happening on 723 (HD chiefs/bengals feed) was on the network end, and eventually cleared up towards the end of the 3rd quarter. It did it for a while at the beginning of the game and then again after halftime, it looked like there was some sort of sync issue when the network switched from the studio to the remote (stadium) feed. When I switched around to other HD games they were fine (naturally).

I'm a DirecTv homer, been a happy customer since 96. It does piss me off to pay $99 for HD games and then have the one I want to watch stutter for a quarter of the game. If I called and bitched they would probably give me showtime free for six months.... maybe I will call, I hear Xfactor is guest starring in Queer as Folk this fall.

DT

**Skip Towne** · 09-13-2006, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KUalum

Skip - I hope you can answer this question.
I want to switch to DTV with HD and cancel TW. The problem I have is that I do not have a landline and can not justify the expense of one just to plug into DTV. My cell plan is fantastic, my roommate works for Sprint and gets free cell and our wireless broadband is only $15/month unlimited. If I could only get a good deal on DTV with HD I would switch in a heartbeat, but I definately want local channels in HD and I don't want to face black outs in Sunday ticket or any other sports because I don't have a land line. Is there anyway around the landline issue.
Thanks

You do not need a landline for D*. They used to try to enforce it but there are just too many folks with cell only phones. If you would PM me I'll get you in touch with a sales person.

unlurking · 09-13-2006, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtebbe

Just so you know, the stuttering or freezing that was happening on 723 (HD chiefs/bengals feed) was on the network end, and eventually cleared up towards the end of the 3rd quarter. It did it for a while at the beginning of the game and then again after halftime, it looked like there was some sort of sync issue when the network switched from the studio to the remote (stadium) feed. When I switched around to other HD games they were fine (naturally).

DT

Interesting to see someone else had the same problem on 723. Unfortunately, the non-HD version of the game was working about 10% of the time for me, as were most of the non-HD games by half time. Guess I was looking at a local and a system wide problem.

htismaqe · 09-13-2006, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

Didn't you install that yourself?

Nope.

It was installed, and RE-installed, by a technician of their choice. When I refused to PAY for a third installation, they told me to find another provider.

1adam1238 · 09-13-2006, 08:56 AM

I hate the so called customer service as well. I have had DTV for 6 years and only have it so I can watch the Chiefs. There services sucks donkey balls. When you finally can talk to someone, they don't know shit. I have had times when trying to order a pay-per-view game (college football) the technician didn't even know what channel it was on. What a freaking pain in the ass to call there service number.

**Skip Towne** · 09-13-2006, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Nope.

It was installed, and RE-installed, by a technician of their choice. When I refused to PAY for a third installation, they told me to find another provider.

WOW! Just WOW!

unlurking · 09-13-2006, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KUalum

Skip - I hope you can answer this question.
I want to switch to DTV with HD and cancel TW. The problem I have is that I do not have a landline and can not justify the expense of one just to plug into DTV. My cell plan is fantastic, my roommate works for Sprint and gets free cell and our wireless broadband is only $15/month unlimited. If I could only get a good deal on DTV with HD I would switch in a heartbeat, but I definately want local channels in HD and I don't want to face black outs in Sunday ticket or any other sports because I don't have a land line. Is there anyway around the landline issue.
Thanks

Don't know about not having a land line, but they obviously have some way to do it since they sell sevice to RVs and boats.

As far as local channels in HD, they've been launching new satellites for that, but I think the last article I read about it (last year maybe?) said the service really wouldn't be available until 2007.

dtebbe · 09-13-2006, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unlurking

Don't know about not having a land line, but they obviously have some way to do it since they sell sevice to RVs and boats.

As far as local channels in HD, they've been launching new satellites for that, but I think the last article I read about it (last year maybe?) said the service really wouldn't be available until 2007.

HD locals depends on the market. My neighbor gets the Atlanta HD locals drom DirecTv. He's got one of those new 5 LNB dishes and the MPEG 4 receivers.

I have a RV receiver, not connected to a landline. As far as I know it just can't order PPV. Otherwise it works fine without the landline. You can order PPV online at no charge, however, just not from the remote.

DT

unlurking · 09-13-2006, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtebbe

HD locals depends on the market. My neighbor gets the Atlanta HD locals drom DirecTv. He's got one of those new 5 LNB dishes and the MPEG 4 receivers.

I have a RV receiver, not connected to a landline. As far as I know it just can't order PPV. Otherwise it works fine without the landline. You can order PPV online at no charge, however, just not from the remote.

DT

I've got the 5 LNB and a brand new HD DVR (don't know about MPEG4, it's about a month old), but I cannot yet get local HD. Maybe there are doing a regional roll-out. I will have to call again and see when it might be available in my area. Thanks for the heads up.

09-13-2006, 07:11 AM
IA_Chiefs_fan Supporter Join Date: Jun 2002 Casino cash: $1899714	DIRECTV(I can't take it anymore!) I recently switched to DIRECTV so I could get the NFL Sunday Ticket. I even purchased the Superfan so I could get most of the games in HD. I have one receiver that's completely flaky. They won't send me the free portable DVD Player I was promised. My Superfan HD channels are freezing up so I couldn't use them this past Sunday. I've had billing errors on both of the first two bills I've received. Now the real problem: Calling Customer Service is a horrible experience. They have a crappy IVR system that is not user friendly and when you get a Customer Service Rep they're all foreign. They are very polite and I have yet to hurt their feelings but they cannot help me! They can speak English well enough to read scripted responses (again they are very polite) but they are unable to converse in a way that can solve a problem. I even spoke to a supervisor that it was semi-difficult to communicate with. The Supervisor was supposed to call me back last week and, of course, never did. Of course there's no direct line to her. What can I do? Any ideas how I could reach an AMERICAN employee? I'd give anything to speak to some rude, under-paid English-speaking American Customer Service Rep!!!!!!!!!
Posts: 2,043

09-13-2006, 08:34 AM	#17
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	I've had problems with channel 501 flaking out for the last few weeks (since it was only 1 channel, I just assumed it was the sat or HBO screwed up). Then Sunday some of the Ticket channels were flaking out hard core. The Chiefs HD channel stuttered occasionally, but thankfully not often. Someone was out Monday evening about 7:30 and replaced the LNBs. It "almost" sucked ass, but I didn't miss the game and they came out pretty damn quick. As far as the 1-800 number, I found that just jamming the "0" button constantly gets you to a single mini-menu to take you to tech support, billing, etc. Just keep jamming that button when the recording starts telling you about the website or troubleshooting. All of a sudden you here "You are an A-List customer, your call is being routed", or something like that. Anyways, just check your HBO channels and that 30-second NFL channel replay in the 700s. If they aren't coming in, you may have the same problem I have. The tech said that that is usually a sign of a bad LNB. As far as the billing problem, I had serious problems with billing for almost a year (being charged twice for Center Ice, and other shit). Got to the point that we had to call every month for about 6 months. They gave us a $25 credit every month we called though, to "apologize" for the problem. Make sure you complain if you end up calling regularly with billing problems and they'll take care of you. __________________
Posts: 10,620

09-13-2006, 08:46 AM	#20
KUalum Starter Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Shawnee Casino cash: $10004900	Skip - I hope you can answer this question. I want to switch to DTV with HD and cancel TW. The problem I have is that I do not have a landline and can not justify the expense of one just to plug into DTV. My cell plan is fantastic, my roommate works for Sprint and gets free cell and our wireless broadband is only $15/month unlimited. If I could only get a good deal on DTV with HD I would switch in a heartbeat, but I definately want local channels in HD and I don't want to face black outs in Sunday ticket or any other sports because I don't have a land line. Is there anyway around the landline issue. Thanks
Posts: 101

09-13-2006, 08:48 AM	#21
kcxiv In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Central Valley, Cali Casino cash: $8807996	I have had Direct tv for 6 years now. Never had a problem with thier CS or thier Hardware. Also, never had any foreign phone service either. Always, been nice and friendly to me. I wont ever go back to regular cable.
Posts: 29,110

09-13-2006, 08:49 AM	#22
dtebbe 3M TA3 Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: SoFlo Casino cash: $9993039	Just so you know, the stuttering or freezing that was happening on 723 (HD chiefs/bengals feed) was on the network end, and eventually cleared up towards the end of the 3rd quarter. It did it for a while at the beginning of the game and then again after halftime, it looked like there was some sort of sync issue when the network switched from the studio to the remote (stadium) feed. When I switched around to other HD games they were fine (naturally). I'm a DirecTv homer, been a happy customer since 96. It does piss me off to pay $99 for HD games and then have the one I want to watch stutter for a quarter of the game. If I called and bitched they would probably give me showtime free for six months.... maybe I will call, I hear Xfactor is guest starring in Queer as Folk this fall. DT Last edited by dtebbe; 09-13-2006 at 08:56 AM..
Posts: 4,305

09-13-2006, 08:56 AM	#26
1adam1238 Knob Noster Alum Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Dayton, Nevada Casino cash: $9048155	I hate the so called customer service as well. I have had DTV for 6 years and only have it so I can watch the Chiefs. There services sucks donkey balls. When you finally can talk to someone, they don't know shit. I have had times when trying to order a pay-per-view game (college football) the technician didn't even know what channel it was on. What a freaking pain in the ass to call there service number.
Posts: 633