Dish or Direct Tv?

[golfgal]

I keep a pretty close eye on the industry (as a lot of folks here can attest to), and generally, everyone raises rates. And you're not losing channels, but rather, cable companies are adopting the satellite service's model of requiring a converter box for higher levels of service. Those channels are still there -- you just have to pay more and deal with a box to get them. But that's always been true of the satellite services. In essence, the satellite services, by engaging in this "more HD channels" war, have forced the cable companies to become just like the satellite services.

So if you'd like a change to satisfy personal frustrations, then surely switching to satellite is a good move. However, overall, and in the long run, there won't be a significant difference in your experience, on average. You'll just have someone else's systems and processes to learn.

That's not the say that specific individuals wouldn't be better off with one service versus another. Rather, just that overall, the services on average are comparable to each other, for the price each charges. So to determine whether satellite would be better for you, you need to solicit advice from people who are just like you. Otherwise, you're getting advice from people who may be better off with satellite, even though you wouldn't be.

I agree, the industry as a whole is horrible. The only time we had outstanding customer service and reasonable rates was when we lived in our old town and there were 2 cable companies in town-imagine that-competition can do wonderful things. Our switch was after 2 months of no internet and the cable company dragging their heals, not being able to find the cause of the issue=wanting to dig up our driveway to lay new cable lines when the problem (which I told them from the start was the modem, which they never tested) was the modem-simple, easy fix that turned into a 2 month battle. I even got a call from the President of the cable company asking how he could remedy the situation. I told him the only way I would stay with their company is if I got free cable and internet for life. He didn't give me that so we had Dish and DSL installed.

 

[bicker]

Generally, I haven't noted any significant impact from having one versus two versus (now) three cable companies, in addition to the two satellite services, in town. Competition has its impact on the general operating procedures of the various companies, even if you don't have five choices in your town, because practically all of us have three choices, and some of us four or five choices. When you call Arizona or Utah to deal with a billing problem, they don't give you better service because you live in Burlington, versus living somewhere else.

I have noted that we generally perceive that we're getting better quality service, when we know the company's processes. That's one reason why I caution people thinking of switching. When you switch, you lose all of the knowledge and insight into how things work, which you gained over the years of dealing with the company you'd be switching away from. In my case, I also lost contacts at regional and corporate customer support. I cannot tell you how much of an advantage it is to be able to call someone, even four years later, and starting off the discussion with, "Four years ago you," (or even "your predecessor"), "helped me resolve Problem X..."

I have also noted that we generally perceive that we're getting better quality service, when we know the company's service offerings. A lot of dissatisfaction comes from not really understanding what we're paying for. A lot of folks go into these things just based on expectations that have been set by marketing materials (remember: businesses advertise the strengths of their offerings -- they don't put the limitations in big type) or, worse, by family, friends, neighbors and others, who perhaps don't have a clear understanding about what you'd be purchasing.

 

[ntsammy5]

Yeah, what he said, The real deal breaker for me is the NFL Network. Many cable companies don't carry it.

 

[mrodgers]

1997, got married, moved out to the boonies thus leaving cable, got Dish Network. Paid $350-$400 for the equipment.

As service changed, I started loosing channels. The satellite and old equipment wasn't capable of picking up the changes. My receivers were beginning to become slow as molasses with age. I no longer had the channel guide or any programming info, it all just read "information not available." The remotes were Radio Frequency remotes and we had 4 of them quit working. Since they were RF, we could not buy a $5 universal remote in a store. We had to get a Dish Network replacement for $65.

I stood in line at the Dish Network place in the mall while the guy in front of me ordered 4 receivers for nothing on a new service. I walked up and had to pay $65 just for a new remote. I wasn't happy.

Meanwhile, my mother-in-law with DirectTV is telling my wife constantly about how she gets free concerts and movies on one of her channels as well as the constant weekend free movie channels (Stars, HBO, Showtime, at least once a month she was getting one of those packages on the weekends.) We were not even getting programming we were paying for because the $400 equipment we paid for was too old.

I called Dish Network to see about getting my receivers replaced. This is after about 8 years of being a customer. I would have had to pay $200 or something if I wanted to upgrade to a DVR and $99 for the basic bedroom receiver along with $75 to upgrade the dish itself to pick up the new satellites. I told them no, they were going to upgrade me for nothing. If new customers can get it for nothing and I am paying for programming that I don't get, they need to update my receivers. They wouldn't do it.

I hung up the phone and called DirectTV. They came out on Christmas Eve, delivered our new DVR and basic receiver and connected it all up. I called Dish Network about cancelling and they asked why. I told them about the 8 years of paying for programming that I didn't get and how I couldn't get updated equipment from them and that I switched to DirectTV. The manager or supervisor or whoever got on the phone and practically bent over backwards trying to get me anything I wanted to keep my service. I told him that they should have done that when I was trying to fix the service I was paying for and didn't get the first time, I already switched everything to DirectTV.

We've had DirectTV now for 8 years. We are constantly getting premium channel previews for movie packages and sports packages for free on many holidays and weekends. We just had free Showtime preview for, sheesh, it had to be 6 months. Never asked for any of it. Our DVR quit working the day after our 2 yr contract was up (Christmas day.) They sent out a new DVR with a return label for the broken one in about 3 days. We had to do it again since and again, they promptly sent out a replacement with a return shipping label for the broken one.

In contrast to the broken Direct DVR, we only had the Dish Network receiver break once during the first year we had Dish Network. We had to have Sears (where we bought the equipment) come out and test it. Sears was at my house for hours and hours and was on the phone for hours and hours with Dish Network about the broken receiver. It was replaced free for me, but instead of just replacing it when I called, they made Sears look at it and Sears charged them a $600 service charge. It would have been much cheaper for Dish Network to just replace it when I called rather than pay the Sears service charge. Not very smart.

We love the DirectTV. We don't pay extra for all the occasional free movie channels (never got those with Dish), we don't have to upgrade to a high package for my local sports channel (I have to have hockey, LETS GO PENS!), and we don't have to pay extra to have our local network channels. With Dish Network, we not only had to pay extra for the network channels, but we couldn't even get the local Pittsburgh. We paid extra to have "Local East" which was New York. Our equipment wasn't capable of getting the Pittsburgh channels.