DirecTV is jacking up rates by 4% as of February 27 and is reminding newly disgruntled customers that DirecTV still ranks higher than cable according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Most customers can expect a $3-$5 increase, but don’t count on award-winning customer service.
Here are the new rates:
- PREMIER™ $104.99/mo.;
- LO MÁXIMO™ $104.99/mo.;
- PLUS HD DVR™ $72.99/mo.;
- PLUS DVR™ $62.99/mo.;
- CHOICE XTRA™ $57.99/mo.;
- FAMILIAR ULTRA™ $54.99/mo.;
- CHOICE™ $52.99/mo.;
- FAMILIAR™ $45.99/mo.;
- PREFERRED CHOICE™ $32.99/mo.;
- SELECT $45.99/mo.
Everyone with a package that isn’t still offered will pay an extra $3. Customers with a promotional rate won’t see an increase unless they switch packages.
DirecTV’s email to customers:
Effective February 27, 2008, the monthly price of some DIRECTV® programming packages will change.Please click here (PDF) for pricing information in English and Spanish.
[...]
For seven years running, DIRECTV has had higher customer satisfaction ratings than cable, thanks to loyal customers like you. Thank you for your business.
Sincerely,
DIRECTV, Inc.
According to the ACSI, DirecTV earned a D- in customer satisfaction, slightly beating out cable’s failing grade.
Q1 2007 and Historical ACSI Scores [American Customer Satisfaction Index]
(Photo: cmorran123)
I got Directv for the HD DVR. Now I find out that cable has local channels in High Def, Directv does not in our area. Cable also has this “on demand” thing – Directv does not. Directv says that they have more channels in HD than does cable. Who cares if the lizard channel comes in in HD on Directv. Cable has HD on local channels in our area – Directv does not. Also DTV has pitifully slow phone support, reminiscent of 70s-style cable telephone operators. I would get rid of the dish but am stuck with this 2-year commitment deal. A nightmare. Never again will I obligate myself to a long-term deal. I feel like a chump.
They have sent 3 technicians out here to repair and it still doesn’t work.I
have currently notified FCC, BBB, and Attorney General for the state of
Texas. I will continue to complain to everybody that has ears until the
issues with your service are resolved one way or the other. Also the last
technician that came to my house treated our property like a trash dump.
There are connectors in the yard under the switch box on side of house that
he cut off (great shrapnel for lawn mower to kill or harm children and
unsuspecting passers by) and trash on floor from stripping wire etc behind
living room TV. We have been promised a visit from a supervisor for over a
week now to settle the issues that have gone on since the poor installation
in November of ’07.
We (wife and myself) entered a two year contract (that we understood at
the time to be a one year contract)with Direct TV in late 2007. Big mistake!
I have had problems with the service from the beginning. It started with
shoddy installation that prohibited me from locking my home and protecting
my family and valuables from break in. We are plagued with downtime due to
faulty equipment that won’t even last through the contract period. When we
request service on their defective equipment, they tell us they are going to
charge us to fix their equipment. I had cablevision for 30 years prior to
getting screwed by Direct TV. This is the worst service coupled with the
worst product I have ever been stuck with in my entire life. The worst thing
that ever happened with cablevision was being down for 2-3 hours once every
year or two because of a down line. When I call Direct TV for service, they
tell me it will be a week to ten days before they can get to me. So I am
without television for that long but am still charged for it. I am also
expected to take four to eight hours out of my work day every time Direct TV
comes to my home. The last time I was told service would be performed
between eight o’clock in the morning and noon. The technician did not even
arrive onsite until 12:10 p.m. Service was not performed until after the
agreed upon time that it would be completed. That was just two week ago. Now
the service is broken again and we are told it will be another week before
they can come to fix it. How long will the FCC go on allowing Direct TV to
cheat and take advantage of customers? I would love to have the opportunity
to do a commercial for cable television. After being subjected to customer
service as poor as Direct TV, I know what the worst is. And to top it all
off, when my wife negotiated this contract with Direct TV she was told that
it was a one year agreement. Two weeks ago when we had trouble the last
time, we were informed that it was a two year and not a one year contract
that we originally agreed to. I suppose we can throw a little deceptive
trade
in for good measure… huh? This is the worst experience I have ever had
with any vendor in my 50 years and I will make sure I tell everybody that
has ears to hear
Purchasing DirecTV service is as pleasant as sliding down a razor blade into a bottle of alcohol. There service sucks worse than anything I have encountered in my 50 years. Once they get your comittment to a long term contract, you’re screwed! If it ever breaks, be prepared for a 7-10 day wait for a service call. And then be prepared for an outrageous service charge as their arrogant jerk of a technician comes to your house to tell you the problem exists because of something that you did that caused their cheap second hand equipment to break.
You people do realize that all DirecTV customer service is outsourced right? About 1000 of their people are with a company called Convergys and they are adding more. Almost a quarter to a half of the agents are now home based workers working from their house. Not a bad thing, except the phone connections are extremely bad and it was explained to me but a customer service person that it is all VOIP and connection quality is always a problem due to the network Convergys has in use but they blame it on their employees. So the service is about as well as 8 bucks an hour will buy from employees that don’t receive any other compensation for needing high end internet connections or forced overtime (everyone is scheduled for 30 hours but are mandated “overtime” during peak days with no additional compensation).