....and hello DirectTV. Been a DN customer since 1998. 12 years straight. I saw that DirectTV had a special; 250 channels (plus 3 mos of Showtime), 2 HD-DVRs, whole home HD/DVR for $49.99/mo. (for 12 months; then $64.99/mo). I was paying almost $95/mo. for DN, but only getting 200 channels (no movie channels). I went to the DN website and saw that they have practically the same deal, but for new customers only. I asked them to give me the same deal to stay with them, and they said flat out no. They wouldn't offer any monthly savings or extra channels. NADA. Zilch. Nothing. I told them I would sign a deal with DirectTV and they basically didn't care (yeah yeah yeah ..I am not surprised). I just can't believe a 12 year customer means nothing anymore. Now I am going to have to re-learn the channel #s for 250 channels all over again.
I hate the whole HD free for life thing for new customers. Glad to see locals are expanding and distant service is now a little easier to obtain for those without locals.
It's a shame that you couldn't swing a deal with them. You probably didn't get the right CSR- you gotta play the CSR game with these guys. However, you have a valid point with your term of service- that's a loooong freaking time to be with anyone. At any rate, I've had both and I like DTV much, much more. Their whole home networking, customer service, online interface...much better. Did you already call DTV? Send me an email at xerobull @ Gmail.com and I can give you my acct number- we'll both get $100 out of it.
Hehe, can i say it? I never have...but oh well i say it without the pic.. cool story brother! Now, I feel dirty
Dish did offer me that, which would save $10/mo. I told them there was still $20/mo and 50 channels (the main channel i wanted was Nat Geo) to make up for. I found their offer of $10/mo vs. $30/mo + 50 extra channels quite insulting.
I actually used their online chat interface, which was probably a mistake in retrospect. Saying "I'll walk away from this deal right now!" just doesn't come across on chat as well as it does in person or on the phone.. Already used another friend as a referral. Sorry.
No worries, thought I'd throw it out there. Lots of people aren't aware of it- I wasn't but was able to get the referral applied on a later call.
Glad to see you aren't in a flash flood. Didn't know where it is relative to you. I used to have DirecTv. Absolutely loved it until I downgraded my package. The next day I started having problems with my service. When I called they wanted to charge me for coming out(Had just cancelled the protection plan). This was after having my DVR receiver already crap out on me. Then I found out that my contract had been extended 2 years when I moved(Originally I had signed up for 12 months, and assumed I was just renewing for 12 more months when I moved.) Down to the last month of my contract and they started calling me every day offering to do whatever they could to keep me as a customer. I've been pretty happy with Cable.
You would think company's would learn, but they never do...I need to do the switch myself, but I have crapcast... Sad thing is, you could have the same conversation with any service provider, such as your cell phone, home phone, etc...they just don't offer the same stuff for existing customers...Eventhough data shows its cheaper to retain existing customers...crazy...
The cable\satellite industry is set up so you have to switch every few years to get the best deal. That gets so frustrating. Hello, I pay my bills on time and have been a customer for a number of years. Can I get the same deal that you're giving to unknown new customers? We finally said to hell with it a few months ago and dropped it cable all together. We watch a few shows over the internet and movies on the PS3. It's working so far, but we'll see how that holds up when the Rockets start playing again. We're in the same boat with our cell phone plan. I'm getting tired of AT&T and their higher rates and dropped calls. I can go to a different provider and get a cheaper plan, although that means no iPhone. If I was a new customer with AT&T, I'd get a better rate. Stupidity.
If you're on autopay DirecTV will waive the HD charge for two years. Give them a call to get the discount. This promotion is in response to Dish Network's free HD.
I've given that a lot of consideration. Right now I hardly watch anything but MLB Network. My wife stays at home, but she watches most of her shows on Hulu. My 3 year old would suffer losing Nick Jr. What really drives me crazy is we pay $5 extra for the only channels we really watch, but we pay $60 for a bunch of channels we barely do.
I am surprised cable/dish don't offer channels "a la carte" and let you just pick the channels you wan't and pay a per channel rate. Like anyone actually watches "Lifetime Classic" or ESPN 5.
