Dish-gusted Dish-honorable dish-charge!!!
Written: Apr 11 '01
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Pros: As an upgrade to local landline cable: lots of features and easy operation.
Cons: Deplorable Customer service, lies, misrepresentations, hold times on phone, read on!
The Bottom Line: Plan on frustration and hidden expense. Or: just read a good book. I'd rather call Jim Carrey from the movie "Cableguy".
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| The_Director's Full Review: Dish Network DishPlayer 500 Channel Satellite Syst... |
Dish Network has run a sign-up special in early 2001 and many, many people across the United States have taken advantage of the "deal" to "upgrade" to Dish programming from their local cable or from C-band satellite. The "deal": Free $199 value dishplayer 500 system, free $199 installation, and in-home service for a year. Sounds great, right? Stable, no "c-band sparkle" image. Crisp stereo on many digital audio channels. Weather, movies, Discovery specialty channel programs unavailable except digitally, equipment that is basically trouble free with no moving parts and simple to operate (compared to c-band setup and programming)... who could ask for more?
I could... and by the looks of Epinions, so could a lot of other reasonable people.
The equipment works well. The dish installs with very little struggle for any handyperson with minimal knowledge in electronics installation and powertools. The remote is vital to operation, so buy stock in duracell or energizer batteries, but it's easy to familiarize with and use. So where's the beef? Why would so many people like the product and hate the company the sells it? One word is all. One word that is critical to the operation of any respectable business that offers a good product at a fair and competitive price: TRUTH.
Or the lack of it.
Now, here's what you really get for your conversion to the FREE dish 500 system with FREE installation: Bad business ethics. Misrepresentation of actual details of your service agreement. Hidden monthly fees. Additional hidden monthly fees. More aggravation than you would wish on your mother-in-law with every subsequent call to customer service because every call will supply you with contradictions to the information you confirmed multiple times before with other customer service reps.
The Dish Network company simply has eight arms and legs and none of them know what any of the others are doing or saying to customers. I have received at least 3 answers/interpretations to every question I've asked... and from working in the broadcast television industry for over 20 years I have the knowledgebase to ask much more qualified questions and comprehend the answers better than probably most of the consumers jumping at this deal.
That is scary.
I'm also a business owner, so I'm able to sort out the particulars of an advertisement and contract for service including the tiny-print disclaimers (that I always read) and understand what I'm getting into with a deal. During the short term of ownership - literally one day - I uncovered deception after deception from the Dish company that only surfaced after installation. I was so impressed with the quality and ease of use that I called customer service to upgrade to more channels and a bigger package. Suddenly some of the answers I had gotten during several calls to several sales reps at Dish were changing... and not in my favor. Suddenly my costs per month were more than c-band fees and were growing like the Fib from Veggietales.
The facts of digital satellite programming services are simply: Yes, there are some additional channels that are only available with a digital receiver. Yes, a digital signal is clean... but not as crisp as the corresponding pure signal in analog c-band. Why? Because the digital signal is a retransmission of a c-band signal that Dish brought down from the analog satellite, converted to digital, combined with lots of other channels, and sent back up to their satellite for your little dish to receive.
They are simply middle-men.
That's why their services for the exact same programming will always be higher than simple c-band programming on the big movable dish. That's also why Dish will always have specials, promotions, and FREE equipment and installation deals to SUCK YOU UNSUSPECTING CONSUMERS IN to their services that cost more. Even an additional receiver in another room costs an additional $5 per month to activate. It's really hard to find THAT information in any of their printed literature. It usually just shows up on your first bill. Surprise! Even your local broadcast station that are or will be soon sending their free over-the-air signals to Dish to be included in your digital programming "package" will add another $5 a month to your bill. Surprise! Even getting the technician that installed your FREE system for FREE a day ago to come back out and pack it all up as their 30-day satisfaction guarantee allows will cost you an additional $79. Surprise!
I'll take the thing off of my own roof, thank you very much!
The final insult is learning that consumer protection agency J.D. Power and Associates has bestowed it's Customer Service Award of the Year to Dish Network for the second year in a row. I have to wonder how much that distinction cost Dish. How many J.D. Power executives have Dish Network services for free right now I wonder...
Bottom line: Eliminate the middleman. Buy a c-band dish and buy the cheapest programming available anywhere. Better: Eliminate the dish entirely and go with rabbit ears and the good old honestly free local programs. Best of all - turn off the TV and do something active with your kids outside in the fresh air before they're too old to want to anymore!!!
Something that involves a dish no larger than a frisbee.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 450
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Epinions.com ID:
The_Director
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Member: A. Clayton Vandiver, Jr.
Location: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
Director, Writer, Producer, Videographer, Editor, Voice and Camera Talent, 3D Animator and P.R. Consultant.
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