It’s hard to fit everything you need to do into an average day, but this ingenious DirecTV installer found a way to show up late to his appointments, take a break for lunch, and drop the kids off at the pool—all before 5pm! Now if only he’ll remember to bring a ladder with him the next time so he can actually complete the installation.
Elizabeth writes:
After having a horrible experience with Comcast when I moved to my new home, I decided that I would go ahead and give DirecTV a try. So I called up customer service to have someone come to set it up. I should have hung up from the first service person I talked to. I requested to have one HDTV receiver and two standard receivers installed in my home. Customer service kept telling me that I was a previous customer and still owned one of their boxes. (As it turns out, when I was in college, a roommate got us DirecTV and put me on the account – we returned the boxes three years ago, but apparently no one ever updated the system.) After explaining to three different people that I have not had a Directv receiver in my possession in three years, one man finally understood the situation and arranged to have someone come on Tuesday, June 17th at noon with two standard receivers and one HD receiver.
Tuesday arrived and that morning I received a call from the “professional installer” to let me know he anticipated he would be running behind schedule and would be there at 12:30. At 12:30, he calls to let me know that he needs lunch so he will be there at 1. One rolls around and he is not there, 1:30 rolls around and still not there. 2 PM he calls to let me know he is lost and needs directions. I provide him with directions to my townhome and he arrives – with only the standard def receivers. He then tells me that they were not ordered. Not ordered? How is that possible, I KNOW I requested an HDTV receiver for our brand new plasma tv? He claims DirecTV told him that we had one from three years ago. WHAT? I didn’t even know what HDTV was three years ago – I was a measly poor college student with a tv from 1994. I explain the situation and he says there is nothing he can do, but he would install the other two.
So here is where things go horribly wrong. He asks to use the bathroom. I hesitated, because I am very protective of my cleanly home – but thought I had to be gracious. After being in there for twenty minutes – he emerged with the most horrible stench of poo escaping throughout my home. In an attempt to disguise my disgust I started explaining all the locations of the televisions. He asked if I got an okay from my association (because I live in a townhome) and I explained that the association rules approves Comcast and DirecTV for cable. He then tells me that he had to leave because he didn’t have a ladder and wasn’t going to be able to install anything today. WHAT? A satellite installer doesn’t have a ladder?
So now I have taken a half day off work and have no cable.
Hope you can post my story so more people will stay away from this terrible customer service. And maybe you have some advice for how to file a meaningful complaint with DirecTV. Last I checked, professional installation didn’t mean your home turned into a rest stop for the installer to unload in.
Many thanks and thank you for your stellar web site.
We think DirecTV has misunderstood what “having a duty to your customers” means. Ha ha, get it?
Elizabeth, try contacting the CEO of DirecTV. Here’s an example of a success story from another customer who was having trouble with installation, and here’s the CEO’s contact information. If you need more tips on how to get your problem resolved, try our “Ultimate Consumerist Guide to Fighting Back.”
Update: Elizabeth wrote back to us:
I called DirecTV last night and complained and they told me that they were sorry but that all they could do was send someone else to my house. I am hesitant to let them come. What is the etiquette for letting service technicians use your restroom? Can you say no? You should also write something on that topic!
We don’t know if there’s an consistent etiquette for that sort of thing. Commenters, what do you think? Is it okay to just say “No”?
(Photo: iLoveButter)
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Evidently, the OP’s shit smells like roses. When you got to go, you got to go. Can you say “no”? certainly – but what kind of installation are you likely to get when the service tech is so busy squeezing the cheeks or doing the gotta-pee dance that they can’t concentrate on doing the job right. Unless you want them to relieve themselves in your yard?
I hope the OP never finds herself in a potty-emergency where *she* has to depend on the kindness of others.
Subbed out work, free installation, you get what you pay for. I had ex-con looking dudes show up at my grandma’s place when I went to supervise the install about 5 years ago.
I advise not getting premium TV and using broadcast + Internet instead (the less TV one watches the better). If you do want it, find someone who can run wires in walls and out to the dish loc properly (this will cost you a bit). Once again, you get what you pay for, do not expect much at all from their free install.
We’ve had nothing but problems with DirectTV ourselves. Major Problem: The technicians can barely speak English. Second problem we had was that we needed the dish installed and the technician would not go on the roof because he was AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. Yes, you read that correctly. Someone came to install a dish but wouldn’t get up on the roof. Unbelievable. My husband ended up having to go up there himself with the tech directing him. We have had numerous problems with our service but they have us over a barrel because we want to watch football.
First time installing; guy came, installed the wrong dish; I paid for my dish mind you, so I wasn’t happy. However the installer was courteous enough to run and get me the right dish. When I got a replacement dish, install came a bit late as usual, and installed the dish wrong; you know the main support and those 2 supports on the side that hold up the dish? Well they only installed one; I told them there should be two and he told me he was installer; a phone call to a CSR got it resolved with a veteran technician. He apologized and DirecTV gave some “compensation” for the trouble.
So far I haven’t had to call them, but I do mind DirecTV a bit on the expensive site. Right now I’m spending $400 for TV, Internet, and Phone service; that’s a lot if you ask me.
Why are you using DirecTV? Yes, compared to the worst cable company in thw world, DirecTV looks promising. But seriously? Next time, move to Dish Network. Good selection, and those guys don’t poop in your house.
Although DirecTV didn’t leave me a stink bomb, I did get stinky service:
I made an appointment to upgrade my current DirecTV subcription to HDTV, which means a new satellite and box. I took a 1/2 day on a Monday as DirecTV had said an installer would be at my place between noon and 4 PM. The installers showed up at noon on the dot — great, I thought. I live on the upper floor in a 2 story building with a flat roof. The installers said they need to install it on the roof (my current dish is on the side of the building) but can’t install the satellite on a flat roof without drilling holes in it. My landlord understandably didn’t want any of that. They said they could install it with cinderblocks and a bracket which they didn’t have. I rescheduled for the following day and took the day off.
Someone with a van with no DirecTV logo shows up within the time window. He takes a look at my roof and said, “You have a flat roof? I’m not going up there!”. I demanded to talk to a customer service rep. The rep apologized and I rescheduled for the following Saturday, between 8 and noon.
I had made plans to see a 1:45 matinee with some friends that Saturday, so I figured even if the installer was a bit late, I should have time. Silly me. At 12:10, no one shows up. I call customer service and was told that the installer was running late and would be there by 12:30. At 1 PM, no one shows up, and I’m steaming. I called DirecTV and canceled the installation and told them to inform the installer. I figured that would be it, but they told me to stay on the line, otherwise the credit wouldn’t go through. After 20 minutes, everything is done. I make the beginning of the previews before the movie.
I had put my phone on vibrate and it went off at about 2:30. After the movie, I returned the call and found out it was my landlord. A guy in a pickup showed up at 2:30 to install the dish and said he could install it on the side, but since I wasn’t home, my landlord sent him on his way. He did me a huge favor. I lost a day and a half of vacation time, unfortunately.
I’m in a quandary as whether it’s worth it to contact DirecTV, or if I should switch to Dish. I just got a flat-screen and want to experience the joys of HD. Fios is in my area, but for some reason Verizon can’t put it in my building. I refuse to do Comcast. Any suggestions?
Be careful if you refuse to let the tech use the bathroom. Especially if he/she suddenly needs to get to the basement or crawl space . . .
Ok, the woman on “You Are What You Eat” always harasses the people for having smelly poos, apparently due to all of the terrible food that they eat. She makes it sound as if you eat all organic veggies and very healthy portions, poo doesn’t smell anymore. So perhaps this non-nasty poo is a reality.
In other news, DirecTV is really annoying to use.
Wow, I had the very BEST service from Direct TV the whole time. Maybe this guy was not an employee at all, but just someone full of sh*t.
I hope DTV’s customer service line helps in every way possible. They were really great with me in the past.
@JB Segal: I was always taught that it is polite to offer a visitor to your home food or something to drink. Workmen and women qualify as visitors. Of course, when I was a child, our housekeeper was also called family so I guess I had a different upbringing than most.
I’m sorry, but if you say to a service tech “No, you can’t use my bathroom,” you look like a royal asshole. There’s no other way to take that answer other than “My bathroom is too good for you. Unlike mine, your shit is likely to stink. Only my beautiful and perfect poop may be deposited in my toilet.”
Sure some service people, just like some of any group of people, might have bad bathroom manners. I don’t think the OP’s installer was one of them. So sue him, your bathroom stunk for a few minutes after. Big whoop. I agree with the poster above who said that he was probably taking so long trying to fan it out, or wait it out. Bitching about that makes you stound pretty lame. “Damn him, when he took a dump it SMELLED BAD!!”
@atypicalxian: IMO you should probably go with Dish. I had them for about 18 months and I had no problems with the service. My installer was smart and did a good job.
This was in San Francisco.
The only glitch came after I cancelled (due to moving to a place I couldn’t have a dish). Protip: When you cancel your service send ‘em back their receiver+LNB, make sure you keep that tracking number! They charged 100 bucks to my CC, when I called to say WTF, they claimed they never got it back. With the tracking number I proved that it had in fact been signed for by so-and-so and eventually they gave me my $100 back.
Yes, allow them to use the toilet. Hopefully they’re professional enough to know that they should only ask to use your washroom in an emergency, it definitely shouldn’t be routine.
Yeh, poo stinks, but the OP writes that this was the “most horrible stench of poo escaping throughout my home.” If the smell is so strong that it can be detected from well outside the bathroom, I think it’s fair to complain.
Anyway, maybe this technician was just being passive-aggressive.
You can tell them no, but that only means they can reply with, “Well, I really need to take a crap. I’ll be back in five minutes.”
…Which usually is code for, “You’re going to have to call in and reschedule your order, because there’s no way in hell I’m coming back.”
Probably the best thing to do is call customer service, politely ask for a supervisor, then file a complaint and ask for compensation if you still want satellite. You’ll probably have to explain the reason you’re calling multiple times to multiple people, so it’s probably best to have a short story and a long story prepared.
I was so disgusted with paying for television that I “dumped” (no pun intended) cable and satellite completely about a year ago and set up an antenna in the attic. Now I get all my locals in better HD than the cable co could ever provide and with my MythTV box and HULU.com I can watch all my favorite trashy cable reality shows for free.
Sorry, but I have IBS, and if you’d have told me I couldn’t use your bathroom, I’d have left and not come back.
That being said, it shouldn’t have taken him 20 minutes, and he should know better than to eat a heavy meal in the middle of his workday!
Just get regular cable and a TiVo, and watch HD movies. Makes life easier. What do you need 3000 channels for? How could one who can afford DirecTV actually have time to watch the things it offers? Aren’t you busy working?
A Time Warner cable installer asked to use my bathroom years ago, and I, being the kind person I am, allowed him. After he left I went to the bathroom and discovered he’d peed in my bathroom sink! He even flushed the toilet to make it seem like he’d used it instead. Boy, was I pissed! I called TWC Columbus, Ohio, and the csr, after screaming about how disgusting he was, etc., started laughing. I had to laugh, too, because the situation was soooo bizzare. Hope the idiot lost his job.