Dish Hopper Deal?

[Disneymommy2006]

I currently have Dish network...we've had the same dish/receiver for probably over 5 years?? We are really interested in getting a DVR but called Dish and they won't upgrade us to that without charging. Now I see they have the "hopper"- what's the most economical thing for me to do? I don't want to pay a fortune for TV...thanks for any help.

 

[bpesch]

Call them back and ask again. And when they want to charge you, tell them you're exploring changing over to DirectTV. I've heard over and over again that they are very more likekly to give you a deal when you mention the competition. It can't hurt to try. And if it doesn't work the first time, wait a few days and try again. Just like dealing with reservations for Disney, a different person may mean the difference between getting something and getting the runaround.

 

[emjester1]

We've been Dish customers for years, and loyal customers at that. We have 2 boxes with a pretty deluxe package, and pay quite a lot for it. We've always been happy with their customer service.

My brother is a new Dish customer and got the Hopper for free as a new customer. I also asked about getting the hopper and was told there would be a $100 charge to upgrade. I'm pretty unhappy about that. I was told that they would probably have it as a free upgrade in the Fall after the novelty/newness of it wears off.

We are considering dropping Dish altogether and just doing Netflix. My parents had DirecTv for years and had horrible, horrible service and customer service. I've heard this from many others also.

 

[DenMig]

It is unfortunate they charge loyal customers an upgrade fee.I've had dish for 11 years and I decided to upgrade. I have 2 hoppers and 3 joey's and I had to pay $99 per hopper and agree to a 2 year contract.

The good news is that the Hopper is INCREDIBLE if you like network tv. At this point I don't know how I'd live without it.

 

[mrodgers]

I have 2 hoppers and 3 joey's and I had to pay $99 per hopper and agree to a 2 year contract.

I don't know what a hopper is, I'm assuming the DVR that you can watch a recording in any room. I definitely don't have a clue what a Joey is. Right there is the killer. You paid for it and you had to agree to a contract? I would never do that. I'd switch if they wanted me to do that.

DirecTV and Dish Network are no different than each other. I had Dish for something like 8 years. I paid for all my equipment in a store (Sears) I own it and it is actually still in the basement. As everything was upgrading and new satellites were being launched, I was receiving less and less of the programming I was paying a fortune for. All I wanted to do was get upgraded equipment so that I could receive the programming I paid for every month. I also wanted a DVR. They wouldn't do it. I had to pay $500 for the DVR and $99 for the 2nd receiver. That is when I switched to Direct and upon
cancelling Dish, they were bending over backwards to give me everything. It was too late, I already had Direct installed.

When our 27 inch tube TV finally goes out, I'll probably have to do the same thing. I'm not paying a couple hundred $$$ for new HD receivers and adding on another charge to take the bill up above $100. I'll probably switch to Dish Network again after 8 years with Direct.

 

[SamSam]

That is when I switched to Direct and upon
cancelling Dish, they were bending over backwards to give me everything. It was too late, I already had Direct installed.
.

This is what infuriates me, whether it's satelite TV or internet or cell phone service...they won't allow their current loyal customers to switch to the newest deals they advertise. BUT boy once you switch to a different company they start trying to get you back....as if they don't know that you are in a new contract. Infuriating!

 

[Phatoomch]

Businesses have to grow their customer base and the way to do that is offer freebies ... although they like to call it incentives

I have been a loyal Dish customer for 12 years always had great service. Whenever a newbie offer has been published, I have always called and asked if, as a loyal customer, I can be offered the same. They have always worked with me. Each receiver (we now have 3 dual DVRs that can feed through up to 6 tv's) has been upgraded, on average, every year. I have also received free wi-fi sticks and free channels for 3 months before I decide to subscribe.

Its how you ask

To the OP - its slightly more expensive (I think about $9 extra on your bill per month but I could be totally wrong). I want to wait until they've upgraded the model themselves because at the moment, it only has 4 'active tuners' which means you can stream it to 4 TVs, however if you want to record something, that uses one of the tuners, therefore you have 3 tuners left to stream to TV so it could become problematic if you have a larger family. Thats why I am opting out at the moment because this means, lets say, if I am watching something and want to record another channel at the same time, my hubby is watching something else in the bedroom and also decides to record something on the other side (this happens often in my house), all 4 active tuners are in use, so my daughter & my parents (who live with us) would not be able to watch their own TVs. Hope that made sense.

 

[dhardawa]

Tell them you'd like to cancel and get to the cancellation department. When you actually try to cancel, they'll ask why. Tell them and you'll be amazed what they'll offer to keep you as a customer. It's absurd that they treat loyal customers the way they do. Customer retention should be a priority.

 

[Planogirl]

I plan to cancel Dish next month and switch to Direct TV. We're firm on doing it due to the loss of certain channels but now I'm curious to see if they offer us anything. I do agree that it stinks that you usually have to threaten cancellation to get a good deal.

I'm surprised to read someone say that Direct TV has bad service. I've asked everyone I know who has it and they're all pleased. I hope that we have the same experience!

 

[tink2dw]

Directv just bought Tivo!! Tivo is my favorite recorder and it has the best remote!!

Directv has the best customer service!! and awards to prove it. They will fix you service while you are on the phone with them!!

Just DON'T bundle them into other services like your internet or cox because it ties Directv hands!!!

 

[vicki_c]

Directv just bought Tivo!! Tivo is my favorite recorder and it has the best remote!!

Directv has the best customer service!! and awards to prove it. They will fix you service while you are on the phone with them!!

Just DON'T bundle them into other services like your internet or cox because it ties Directv hands!!!

They did? I was so excited when they released the new DirecTV Tivos this year, but they don't have all the functionality of the Directv DVRs, so we didn't get one. Maybe they will change that now. I miss my TiVo, ours finally died a few years ago.

I also find Directv to have the best customer service and we've been customers for 11 years, through 3 houses and states!

 

[Phatoomch]

I plan to cancel Dish next month and switch to Direct TV. We're firm on doing it due to the loss of certain channels but now I'm curious to see if they offer us anything. I do agree that it stinks that you usually have to threaten cancellation to get a good deal.

I'm surprised to read someone say that Direct TV has bad service. I've asked everyone I know who has it and they're all pleased. I hope that we have the same experience!

DirectTV had just lost a bunch of channels (14 I believe) so check that none of those are on your must-have list.

Tbh, I think it can be a regional thing, where I am Dish come above Direct ... but Direct certainly comes above comcast

I did look at U-Verse also - its not advanced yet enough for me to change and it hasn't been going long enough to look at the pattern of price hikes etc. But I do know a couple of families that are very pleased with it

 

[kaytieeldr]

Directv just bought Tivo!!

Are you sure? Yes, DirecTV once again offers TiVo, but I can't find any source indicating either company owns the other

 

[dreams91]

This is what infuriates me, whether it's satelite TV or internet or cell phone service...they won't allow their current loyal customers to switch to the newest deals they advertise. BUT boy once you switch to a different company they start trying to get you back....as if they don't know that you are in a new contract. Infuriating!

This!! I switched because I was also a loyal dish customer. They wouldn't budge. Told them I would switch and they didn't care. So I went to direct. Couldn't be happier. My contract isn't even expired and they already are offering me deals they offer new customers without signing any new contract extensions! Plus the $10 off referral is a good program. Yep m happy with them. Dish is still trying to get me back....all I wanted was the equipment and they couldn't upgrade me. Their loss!

 

[mrodgers]

DirectTV had just lost a bunch of channels (14 I believe) so check that none of those are on your must-have list.

They are all back now.

 

[Phatoomch]

They are all back now.

Great! I haven't caught up (school going back and stuff) - pleased for all the Direct customers

Its funny, I'm reading about loyal Dish customers getting nothing and yet, I have never had a problem. I haven't paid anything other than my monthly sub since 2004 and yet, all receivers have been upgraded regularly, I've gotten everything new customers have gotten and many other freebies

 

[SamSam]

Great! I haven't caught up (school going back and stuff) - pleased for all the Direct customers

Its funny, I'm reading about loyal Dish customers getting nothing and yet, I have never had a problem. I haven't paid anything other than my monthly sub since 2004 and yet, all receivers have been upgraded regularly, I've gotten everything new customers have gotten and many other freebies

Do you call customer service and just ask to be upgraded? Our initial contract is up now and I would love to upgrade to the newer receiver's.

 

[savannie]

We've had dish for 3 or 4 years. The service beats DirecTV, hands down. But they do not care if you threaten to cancel. We tried to get upgraded to an HD receiver when we got our new TV. They wanted to charge us $200. They also said that the $200 paid for the equipment, the equipment was not a lease, but we would have to send it back if we cancelled the service (this still baffles me). I threatened to switch to DirecTV. They said they were confidant that I would hate DirecTV and want to switch back immediately. Went all the way through the cancellation department and the guy actually cancelled it before I even told him I was sure that's what I wanted to do. I had to tell him to cut it back on during the conversation. I tried again with the online chat and got the same results. They basically told me they were so much better than DirecTV that they didn't have to offer incentives to their current customers. One guy did say I might be eligible for special offers if I cancelled, waited several months, and then renewed the service, but I haven't tried that to see if it works or not. I was pretty mad, but I don't really care about HD service. I think my husband was the one who lost out on that conversation. He did try to call one more time, but got the same spiel, so we just gave up.

 

[bedogged]

I currently have Dish network...we've had the same dish/receiver for probably over 5 years?? We are really interested in getting a DVR but called Dish and they won't upgrade us to that without charging. Now I see they have the "hopper"- what's the most economical thing for me to do? I don't want to pay a fortune for TV...thanks for any help.

I started a thread about Dish that didn't get much interest. I don't know anything about the Hopper, but I do know from personal experience that if you call Dish and complain about the lost channels of AMC and WE that you will be offered a free Roku. They offered this to me as well as $10.00 off of my bill a month for a year in order for me to pay for programing. You might be able to haggle to get the Hopper. I will tell you that in our situation, we are paying a very large amount of money for programing. It could be that people who have a lesser plan might not be offered as much. I just don't know, but worth a try.

 

[Phatoomch]

Do you call customer service and just ask to be upgraded? Our initial contract is up now and I would love to upgrade to the newer receiver's.

Yep. I called the regular number. My approach is to nicely remind them that I am a long time customer and I keep get mailings/seeing commercials for new customers offering cool stuff so how about making an old loyal customer happy aswell because I would hate to have to switch providers after being with DISH for so long. They are always very helpful. Once, the guy couldn't help (I do think he was inexperienced though) in that instance, I asked to be transferred to a Supervisor, everything was easy from there

Pre-kids my background was in marketing specialising in New Customer Base & Customer Retention