Posted here because it’s too long to Tweet and I dislike serializing Tweets. I’ve been a DIRECTV subscriber for around twelve years. Through all that time I’ve almost always been pleased with both the actual TV service and their customer service people. There has been the occasional hiccup, as you’d expect, but overall it’s been [...]

Posted here because it’s too long to Tweet and I dislike serializing Tweets.

I’ve been a DIRECTV subscriber for around twelve years. Through all that time I’ve almost always been pleased with both the actual TV service and their customer service people. There has been the occasional hiccup, as you’d expect, but overall it’s been great and I wouldn’t hesitate to strongly recommend the service. (In fact, if you’re considering it, click the “Contact Me” link on this page for a $100 referral credit.)

DIRECTV recently, some would say “finally” introduced their whole-home DVR service- essentially the same as the local share ability built in to TiVo since the beginning- and since I have two of their HD DVRs (one upstairs, one downstairs) and an ever-growing list of subscribed series, I decided to order it. Unlike TiVo networking, which is free except for customer-provided equipment, the DIRECTV service costs $3 per month plus installation. I have a very strong wireless-N network but apparently HD signals require more bandwidth so they install a hardwire network for the DVRs.

I called last Friday and had one of the single best customer service experiences in my life. The rep was friendly, knowledgable and very helpful. She got the service ordered, gave me a break on the installation charge and took care of a few other unrelated issues on my account. We scheduled the service installation to take place a week later, today, between 4 and 8 pm. All would be well and I was quite pleased.

This morning, I received a call from someone who, almost completely unintelligably, claimed to be the DIRECTV installer and said he wouldn’t be coming today because he “has no equipment.” That’s a direct quote. He’s a DIRECTV installer and he can’t make it because he “has no equipment.”

I didn’t know what to say to that so I agreed to wait for his call next week when, presumably, he’d have some equipment. Then I got on the phone to DIRECTV customer service to find out what the hell was going on. The rep could only tell me that the appointment was still scheduled and she didn’t see anything to suggest that the installer wouldn’t be there as scheduled. She said she’d have “Dispatch” call me back shortly to confirm it.

Well, “Dispatch” never called and no installer ever showed. I blocked time for this today and it was wasted. I’m surprised and disappointed.

I’ll call back tomorrow, I guess, and try to reschedule. I will insist on a different installer because I will not allow the one I talked to this morning into my house.

Updates as events warrant.

Buried in AP article about DirecTV’s quarterly results is this nugget of information: [CEO Chase] Carey said DirecTV will roll out a ‘whole-home’ digital video recording service starting in the second quarter that will enable customers to record programs on a DVR in one room and watch them in other areas of the house on [...]

Buried in AP article about DirecTV’s quarterly results is this nugget of information:

[CEO Chase] Carey said DirecTV will roll out a ‘whole-home’ digital video recording service starting in the second quarter that will enable customers to record programs on a DVR in one room and watch them in other areas of the house on TVs hooked up to linked non-DVR set-top boxes.

Well, it’s about time. TiVo (not DirecTiVo, just regular old TiVo) had this ages ago. Finally I’ll be able to record on the upstairs DVR and watch it downstairs or vice-versa. This should help with scheduling conflicts–I hope there is some sort of auto-conflict manager included with the new service.

Updating this post from last year, here is the current network map done on Gliffy. Two changes at Jennifer’s desk: Moved the Linksys WAP54G inside to Jennifer’s desk area — better coverage throughout the house. Added a Linksys SD208 8-port switch at Jennifer’s desk — needed since there are only two hardwired ports at the [...]

Updating this post from last year, here is the current network map done on Gliffy.

Two changes at Jennifer’s desk:

• Moved the Linksys WAP54G inside to Jennifer’s desk area — better coverage throughout the house.
• Added a Linksys SD208 8-port switch at Jennifer’s desk — needed since there are only two hardwired ports at the desk, and there are now three devices (her computer, the print server and the WAP54G).

We did get the new TV and media stack downstairs as previously mentioned, and much of the equipment is networked or networkable:

• Added the DirecTV HR21-700 HD-DVR — two built-in Ethernet ports.
• Added a second Philips DSR704 DirecTiVo — running standalone, no satellite connection, just for MRV (TiVo Multi-Room Viewing) of recorded programs from upstairs.
• Added a Nintendo Wii game console — built-in WiFi.
• Added a Linksys WGA600N wireless-to-Ethernet bridge and a Linksys USB200M Ethernet-to-USB adapter.

I haven’t built the file server in the garage yet, but between the two DirecTiVos and Jennifer’s machine we now have 1.5TB of available media storage, and that doesn’t count the unexplored internals of the HR21-700 HD-DVR.

Note added 2008-08-08: An updated version of this post is here.

Following up on the DirecTV post from Sunday: ‘Absolutely,’ she says, ‘I’ll set up that free installation and the included HD dish for you right now.’ Yes! ‘I can schedule your installation for Tuesday afternoon between noon and 4, will that work?’ Yes! Done and done. The installer showed up at noon precisely, was extremely [...]

Following up on the DirecTV post from Sunday:

‘Absolutely,’ she says, ‘I’ll set up that free installation and the included HD dish for you right now.’ Yes! ‘I can schedule your installation for Tuesday afternoon between noon and 4, will that work?’ Yes! Done and done.

The installer showed up at noon precisely, was extremely competent and professional, not only installed the new HD dish and HD-DVR but stuck around a few minutes to give me the basics on using the new unit, and petted Watson. D* ftw!

Today’s Unbelievably Bad and Triumphantly Excellent Customer Service posts are combined because they are both from the same company and occured within minutes of each other. A little background: I’ve been a very happy DirecTV subscriber for ten years. We currently have a Philips DSR704 DirecTV-TiVo receiver in the upstairs guest room, and we’re buying [...]

Today’s Unbelievably Bad and Triumphantly Excellent Customer Service posts are combined because they are both from the same company and occured within minutes of each other.

A little background: I’ve been a very happy DirecTV subscriber for ten years. We currently have a Philips DSR704 DirecTV-TiVo receiver in the upstairs guest room, and we’re buying a new TV for the living room. Tonight, I bought a new DirecTV Plus HD-DVR at Best Buy and called DirecTV –right from the Best Buy parking lot–to schedule installation, because I want it done before Thursday (Thanksgiving) so we can watch the National Dog Show in glorious HD.

First, the Unbelievably Bad: I say “schedule installation” to the phone-bot and am connected to Chase or possibly Jason–I can’t tell because he mumbled. We establish who I am and my account details and then I tell him why I’m calling: to schedule installation of the HD-DVR I just picked up. He pauses and then goes off into several minutes of telling my why my purchase was a bad idea–buying it at Best Buy instead of ordering directly from him–because now I’ll have to pay for installation plus pay for the special HD dish; if I’d ordered from him, he says, installation and the dish would be free. I ask him if this is standard for everyone who buys DirecTV equipment from Best Buy and he says no, it’s because I’m an existing DirecTV subscriber. Most people who buy receivers or DVRs are new subscribers and installation is free for new subscribers. I take a minute to process this and then remind him (politely) that I’ve been a loyal customer for ten years including two moves, and can he waive the installation fee for me? Absolutely not, he says, citing some contractual obligation between DirecTV and Best Buy that I don’t care about. Around now he also tells me there’s no chance of installation for at least two weeks. I tell him I’ll consider what he’s told me and call them back, and hang up.

I sat and thought for a few minutes. I was sure Chase/Jason was wrong about having to pay for installation. After all, DirecTV isn’t even selling their boxes anymore; the boxes are now on semi-permanent “lease”, subject to recall/replacement at any time, and remain DirecTV’s property. This means that I’m now paying for a service, like cable TV or DSL, which always have free installation. I was also doubtful about the installation date estimate. So, I tried a little Call Center Roulette, and that’s where the Triumphantly Excellent experience happened.

This time I am connected to Brigitte–cheerful and clear-spoken–and we go through the same information about what I bought and that I need to have it installed. “Absolutely,” she says, “I’ll set up that free installation and the included HD dish for you right now.” Yes! “I can schedule your installation for Tuesday afternoon between noon and 4, will that work?” Yes! Done and done. “Anything else I can help you with?” I tell her I’d like to talk to her supervisor to pass on what a great experience this call was. Back when I was doing software tech support over the phone, this happened once in a while, where happy customers wanted to compliment me to my boss. Most times, the only time the supervisor is called in is to hear complaints, so this time I am careful to let her (Shannon) know what a terrific CSR she has in Brigitte and that everything worked out perfectly. I don’t mention Chase/Jason because at this point it would only depress me. Shannon says it’s a pleasure to hear a compliment once in a while and I tell her it was a pleasure for me to be able to give it.

I think the lesson to be learned here is the importance of Call Center Roulette–if you don’t like what the CSR is telling you, and especially if it seems unreasonable or illogical, thank them politely, hang up, and call again hoping for a different CSR. The way the call-forwarding systems work, the person you just talked to should get another call right away, so if you wait a minute or two you should be assured of getting someone else. This time, it worked.