There's Always Something On!
Written: Dec 05 '00
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Pros: So many channels, clear picture, low price
Cons: Local offices
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| agklocke's Full Review: RCA DS2122RD Single LNB DIRECTV System |
~ The Path That Led Us To DirecTV ~
Our bills were piling up and more were coming. These were all important medical bills that needed paid right away or else I would not be seen anymore. So some of our unnecessary bills had to go and that meant shutting our cable off. Since there seemed to never be anything on to add up to the $70+ we were paying a month, it only made sense. It was still hard on us for a few days, mostly the children who like their morning shows, but we survived.
My mother-n-law bought a DirecTV system from a friend and when we saw all that she was getting for one low price, we knew we would want this, too, rather than get our cable hooked up again. As luck would have it, we were in our local department store while they were having a great sale on the system and for only $75, we bought the last one.
~ Making the Call ~
As soon as we knew we could swing it, we called for installation. Again, luck was on our side as DirecTV was having a special - Free Installation with the choice of one of their premium packages. This was going too smooth. We were given an appointment for three days later and happily awaited the arrival of the technician. Let me point out that from the time we shut our cable off till the time the tech was supposed to come, three months had passed. I myself am not a big television viewer but I do like to have it for when I feel like catching a movie.
At any rate, the technician arrived around noon (we were given one of those between 8 AM and Noon appointments) and set to telling us how I needed to move the furniture, how he was going to have to drill through the roof, and then hit us with the big one.
"Own or rent?"
I didn't know which to answer so I went with the truth - rent. Big mistake. Turns out, if you rent, you must get permission from your landlord first. And, of course, my work-at-home landlord happened to not be home. With the promise that he would return later if we got our permission, the technician left, dashing our hopes. I tried all day to contact my landlord but to no avail.
~ You Cancelled Your Order ~
It was a long weekend but we finally secured the written permission form we needed and contacted our closest DirecTV office again on Monday. We were told that the same tech would try to get out the same day since he lived nearby but it could be the next day. We were fine with that. The next day came and almost went before I called the office. Repeatedly, I got no answer; not even a service. I was not thrilled.
On Wednesday, I finally reached the office and was asked why I cancelled my order. What? I hadn't in any way, shape or form implied that we no longer wanted service. Apparently, they had a new manager who cancelled us. We had to wait for a whole new appointment and it was almost another week before we were finally on our way to all our favorite shows again.
~ Success At Last - And It Was Worth It! ~
On our final appointment day, two different technicians arrived and quickly had us all hooked up. These gentlemen were not only apologetic for the office's mistake, but they did their job efficiently and left us in stitches when they were finished. There was no drilling through the roof, no moving furniture, etc ... All they could say when I told them what the other tech wanted to do was that he was new.
As soon as the two left, we were surfing the wide ban of channels we now had. At our fingertips were five different HBO channels, three Cinemax, all the great stations with the shows our children love and much more. We bought the HBO package at $49 and have three times as many channels as we had with the cable when we paid so much more.
One of our favorite features is the onscreen channel guide. Unlike other TV guides I have seen in the past, you are in complete control of the menu. Rather than have to wait for your channel to come scrolling back through, you can move up and down or directly to the station you are looking for. The guide gives you the option to see what is coming on any channel up to 48 hours later.
We get a very clear picture now; better than with regular cable. We have not once experienced an outage; another problem cable was famous for - going out at any time of the day, storm or not. The remote takes a bit getting used to before you know what you are doing but we picked it up rather quickly. Between movies, comedies, nightly shows, cartoons, and special events, the biggest problem we now face is deciding what to watch.
We would have never thought to get a satellite system before but I am so happy we did. We have more to watch whenever we feel like it, pay a lot less, and can even lock channels that we might fear the children could come across. DirecTV makes it all worth the money you pay. Despite the problems we had to begin with, we are more than happy with the outcome.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 75 for system, $49 a month
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Epinions.com ID:
agklocke
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Member: Angela Giles Klocke
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 195 members
About Me:
Writer, Photographer, Speaker, Woman
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