Dish Network
Refused to send out technician! Internet

When I was researching which company to go with for dish/cable TV, I encountered many negative reviews concerning Dish Network's customer service. I discounted them as both my father and sister are current subscribers and, while my sister had to have her dish adjusted, they are both currently pleased with their service. Also, for political reasons, it didn't feel right to give money to a company owned by Rupert Murdock nor AT&T, limiting my choices. However, recent events have been disillusioning. Today, my dish kept losing its connection (3 times for a few hours each) during what should be the last snowfall of the season in Fitchburg, Wisconsin (which melted immediately). As the weather has been quite nice this March, this was the first time I experienced inclement weather and it was very concerning that my dish immediately lost its signal. Further I believe my service could be better as:

1. My sister had similar problems with her dish. She lives in Minneapolis (which gets a lot more snow than me) and, after having a service tech out who moved/re-installed her dish (actually changed her from the east arc to the west arc), all of her problems were gone and she is now completely happy with her service.

2. My next door neighbors did not lose their signal and has their dish network satellite dish pointed at the same satellites (eastern arc).

However, when I called I was told this was impossible and that Dish Network will not send out service calls due to weather issues (even though I understood and was fine with paying 15 for the service fee). I understand that they have to wait for the weather to improve and I don't expect anyone to climb up on a wet, snowy, slippery roof; I was fine with scheduling a service call sometime in the next couple of weeks. The snow has already melted and the next week or two should be great weather-wise. The Dish network CSR reps adamantly refused to do this, even though I currently have the warranty service on my dish equipment that offers service calls (I had the dish installed on March 16th). The first time I asked to talk to a supervisor, I was hung up on. I called back and got a different CRS rep. I explained the situation and she told me that she was her home's dedicated "dish sweeper" and would go out in the winter and sweep off the snow the two times a year they had significant amounts of snow. I explained that I was in Wisconsin (she was in Ohio, near Cleveland), that this was a very minor snowfall, that we get a lot more snow than them (I was born in Cleveland and there is no comparison in the amount of snow between the two), and that it was not feasible nor safe for me to climb up on the roof every time it snowed. She still said there was nothing Dish Network could do. To this I replied "well then send someone to reinstall the dish on a fence post or on the side of my house so that I can actually reach it to do this" (there are few trees in my neighborhood and there should be LOS for this). They adamantly refused, again stating that they couldn't schedule service calls for incidents that occurred during bad weather. I asked to speak to a supervisor. This time I got through. However the man condescendingly told me that "the signals come from space" and that there "was nothing they could do." It honestly was the worst that I have ever been treated by any customer service representative, let alone a supposed supervisor (the previous lady was at least civil). I asked to be sent to retentions and was hung up on again. I had my wife call back for the 3rd time. This time she got a CSR rep located in Mexico. Finally someone actually listened and we were able to schedule someone to come out for Monday (4/4) to take a look and discuss our options which I see as follows:

1. Re-align the dish/change its location to improve signal strength.
2. Change which arc of satellites are used (as I understand it the local HD channels are only on broadcast through 61.5, however I have the OTA module for my 922 and, as such, would be perfectly fine using the western arc, 110/117/119, if the signal was better).
3. Add a second satellite dish to pick up different satellites to offset the ones with a weak signal.
4. Be reassured that everything is the best that it can be, in which case I will look at aftermarket options (dish heater, etc.).

This whole ordeal took several hours. Trust me Dish isn't worth your time.

Company: Dish Network
Country: USA
State: Nationwide
Site: dishnetwork.com

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