Frustration Level-CODE RED!

 Come back the form letter begged.  We have great service and great prices, we've missed you. Blah, Blah, Blah! Don't believe the tease. The offer was so enticing and came at just the right time. Just before it's arrival, I had seen an article that Direct-TV was suing Dish over dvr patent infringement and that Dish will cut service to all their dvrs if they lose.  I LOVE the dvr feature and that scared me a little.

I made the call.  I set the installation date. The technician arrived on the right day albeit two hours later than the four hour window they stated. Yes, he arrived but without the right equipment for our order.  He put the dish on our roof and left with a pledge to return the following day. That was three weeks and four missed installation appointments ago and an additional two times that he just called and said he would work us in.  I am beyond frustrated with these people.

After all that, I finally called to cancel the whole shebang.  Before the order could be terminated,  I had to speak with a "customer retention specialist".  The first question was "What can we do to keep you as a Direct customer?". My reply, "Ummmm, I don't know maybe your guy could have shown up any of the four times he officially was scheduled too".  

 On the first day, when the man was late for the appointment and then later when he said "You can trust me, I'll be back tomorrow to finish". I knew that I could not take him at his word and in fact had absolutely no real expectations that he would actually show. I have found people who feel a need to preface their statements with assurances of their honesty and trustworthiness are neither honest or trustworthy.

So what did I learn from this?  Direct TV= Evil.  No, not really.  My experience is limited to the one employee who was the face of Direct for me.  The impression he made was not only not favorable but in fact cost the company a two year contract. One customer lost, not a big deal but with this guy on board I'm sure we're not the first to cancel out. Sparta who is generally the kind of guy who never runs out of his give the guy a chance attitude and is always the kind of guy who is after the best deal got fed up. It takes a lot to frustrate Sparta and I should know because I can be very frustrating at times.

It has been said one negative comment has as much effect as ten positive ones and word of mouth is one of the most effective tools in advertising.  I have nothing positive to say about Direct now. The only face I can put with the company is this guy's (He told me he'd been with them for 10 years, I was going to cut him some slack if he'd been new.)

I found a verse from Proverbs that describes this employee's effect in the bigger picture:

Proverbs 26:10 "Lazy people are a pain to their employer. They are like smoke in the eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge."      (The Message)

Oh well,  Dish is scheduled to come out today.  There's a knock now!!