Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV - Consumerist Comments

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

nosebleed — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:56:49 EDT

DirecTV... only because last night they cut my freakin' cable line (that I got installed for internet on Monday) while installing a satellite dish system I don't even want (roommate wanted it0 so now I have to get Time Warner out there to fix it, and hopefully don't get charged for it.

nosebleed

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

ARVash — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:33:27 EDT

I voted CompUsa, everything was overpriced and broken. Going in the store was not fun. The only time it was.. sorta fun was to see their going out of business sale, where items were 20% off.

The shelving was the only deal in the whole place, that and maybe the CompUsa sign.

ARVash

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

yikz — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:35:08 EDT

I have Directv... 7 years now. I just upgraded to their new MPEG4 HD DVR. What a piece of junk! I left their MPEG2 HD Tivo to get more HD. The problems started right away. Video would lock up. Channel changes wouldn't happen. If you brought up the onscreen menus, the menus started out extremely fast. Over time, they've slowed dramatically. Periodically, they just lock up. Today, I noticed I don't get audio on the menu PIP. I used to be able to bring up a menu and the active channel moves to a PIP. Well, the audio now goes away. Fantastic. That's pleasant. No more browsing the guide while watching basketball because the PIP is too small to see the action, and the audio is now gone.
Originally, they wanted $300 to upgrade me from MPEG2 to MPEG4. And then they extracted another $5 a month for 4 more HD channels, 2 of which used to be included in the $10 HD package.
DirecTV apparently forgot that, 2 years ago, they promised me a free upgrade when it was available if I spent $300 to upgrade to the latest MPEG2 HD Tivo. I felt like I was dealing with pawn shop owners.
DirecTV tech support is certainly no better. They want you to factory reset the box if there's a problem. MPEG2 Tivo, I never had a problem. Now, MPEG4 DVR, it's a non-stop issue. Factory reset means I lose all my content. I lose all of my programming requests. Just yesterday, I noticed I lose audio when changing channels, or when watching time-shifted video.
I call, and they want a factory reset. Broken record. I read on the satellite forums, and this is apparently a common problem. The box is half-baked. And it's not just this box. It's all of their MPEG4 DVR units. They're continually pushing out new updates, but it's a game of WHACK-A-MOLE. They fix one thing, but break two more. I wish they'd break down and go back back to Tivo. I have an HD Tivo. It's bulletproof. The interface is great. It's reliable. It just works. But they don't want to license the software. They want to make more money by writing their own DVR code and putting out a CRAPPY product. When I was attempting to get an upgrade late last year, I threatened to go to Dish Network. Directv actually had the nerve to say they have the "industry leading DVR!" Right. That's rich. I wish they would have been honest.

yikz

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

ExecutorElassus — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:33:10 EDT

PS- I love these apocalyptic matchup graphics. Will the finalists be juxtaposed against the Four Horsemen? A seven-headed beast bearing the Whore of Babylon?

ExecutorElassus

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

ExecutorElassus — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:25:15 EDT

Alas, the CompUSA in Buffalo (out in the creepy strip mall with Sears, an AmVets outlet, and TJMaxx) was actually not bad for modding parts a few years ago: I could get cable for pretty cheap, and they even had some case-cooling stuff. But then they decided to suck a phat, so I have to vote for them despite that my presence shorts out every DirecTV box I've ever encountered.

ExecutorElassus

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

CPC24 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:56:38 EDT

@doctor_cos: I have DirecTV, and with the new satellite and 80 new HD channels last year, the HD-Lite is gone. The new channels look amazing. BTW, Comcast is going HD-Lite to up their channel count, according to some forums.

CPC24

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Wubbytoes — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:10:36 EDT

DirecTV all the way.

Wubbytoes

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

faust1200 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:08:56 EDT

Cool. How did you get a picture of Sara Jessica Parker in a DTV van?

faust1200

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

17-A — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:14:24 EDT

I've still yet to resolve my own issues with DirecTV. I was one of those customers who got their contract extended without fair warning and got the line about how "it's company policy to inform customers about extensions to their contracts." Quoting that policy does nothing to prove that I was actually informed though, and since I planned on living at the address where I got DirecTV for less than a year, I never would have accepted a contract extension if I had been notified about it.

The account's currently on hold while I try to figure out the best way to get around the ridiculous contract termination fee they want to charge me. It's not like I can just go to the credit card company and claim an unauthorized charge; I'm going to have to try and deal with their customer (dis)service department and hope I get someone new and/or ethical.

17-A

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

verucalise — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:51:21 EDT

Tough call. But, if I'm forced to use common sense...
DirecTV is still in business. (no excuse for bad behavior)
CompUSA is not. (got what they deserved FOR bad behavior)

I think consumers nationwide settled this one a long time ago.

verucalise

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

doctor_cos — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:50:08 EDT

@jwarner132: That doesn't offset all the suckage when they were in business, but DirecTV (home of HDLite™) is more evil.

doctor_cos

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

jwarner132 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:18:11 EDT

I don't think it's fair to blame CompUSA for all the bad stuff that happened during its liquidation process. Didn't some third party company, not CompUSA corporate, manage the whole process and set the crappy "discount" prices?

jwarner132

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

spinachdip — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:12:56 EDT

@sgodun: Since you're asking, does it matter which business wins, active or otherwise? I mean, how seriously do you take online polls? Should we call in the UN election monitors?

spinachdip

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

CarMatchPro — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:04:54 EDT

@lawnmowerdeth:

Torture is about right. Well put.

CarMatchPro

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

mike1731 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:47:14 EDT

Count me in the minority, but my dealings (limited) with CompUSA were not all that bad. And, as others observed above, DirectTV still lives.

mike1731

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

lawnmowerdeth — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:42:09 EDT

Wow, I'm surprised DTV isn't winning this one. They were great with excellent customer service back in 2001, but that just went downhill. Calling them for anything now is pure torture.

lawnmowerdeth

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

sgodun — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:40:21 EDT

I have to vote for DirectTV, mainly because CompUSA is dead. What would it matter if a dead company was the worst?

sgodun

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:27:08 EDT

@forgottenpassword:

Exact same situation here.

Jaysyn was banned for: http://consumerist.com/5032912/the-subprime-meltdown-will-be-nothing-compared-to-the-prime-meltdown#c7042646

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

forgottenpassword — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:18:36 EDT

You know... I had directV for maybe 7 years with prettymuch no problems at all so I cant complain about the treatment I recieved.

I have not really frequented compusa, so I cant really comment.

SO..... being as I have had nothing but good experiences with one & prettymuch no experience with the other.... I shall be voting for compusa (mainly because of the stories posted about them on the consumerist).

forgottenpassword

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

AceKicker — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:14:41 EDT

@sleze69: I am surprised that so many people are voting for CompUSA. It sucked and suffered the consequences by going out of business. DirecTV still sucks.

For me it wasn't so much what led to their downfall than it was how they went about closing the business that I voted for them. And since they did still exist during almost the entire year of 2007, I don't see any reason to exclude them from the voting.

AceKicker

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Papa Midnight — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:09:50 EDT

DTV for now... CompUSA in the end as they still seem to overprice items just a tad bit even though they're owned by Systemmax. There's a problem when you can find something $20 cheaper before shipping at Best Buy.

Papa Midnight

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

AceKicker — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:07:48 EDT

Yes, DirecTV caught a lucky break with this matchup. Against a lot of other companies they could have easily made it to the second round.

Still, I went with CompUSA. I didn't like the fact that their sales were borderline fraudulent, but mostly because they canned thousands of employees like they only thought of them as a one night stand, without giving them any sort of proper warning. At least PRETEND to care. How would it hurt to say,

"Hey, we're probably not going to last another few weeks, so though it sucks you might want to start looking into other employment so that you can continue earning a paycheck. Sorry we suck so hard. We understand if you feel the urge to slack off these last few days, since you have nothing to lose. We're cool with that, we really got nothing to lose anymore either."

Ok, maybe not that last part, but at least give them warning.

AceKicker

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Michael Belisle — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:55:24 EDT

The ballot's fixed, but the vote counts are reset and I can't vote again. Are we being disenfranchised, Meg? Say it ain't so.

Michael Belisle

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

AaronZ — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:44:10 EDT

The closest contest so far, but it looks like DirecTV gets a free pass out of this competition. Too bad, they're a much better candidate than 800-Flowers and Target. Put direct TV up against 800-Flowers and see how it comes out. (or not, as the case may be.)

AaronZ

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Bladefist — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:43:54 EDT

compusa isnt out of business. tigerdirect bought them and a few stores will remain open.

Bladefist

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Assimilation — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:42:01 EDT

Oh by the way, after working for them, I would never purchase DirecTV service.

Assimilation

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Assimilation — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:41:05 EDT

DirecTV for the win - or the loss, depending on how you look at it. I'm a former CSR for the company (well, I was an employee of the company they contracted to do customer service work) and I hated, hated, hated not only the job but the oft-incompetent installers and salespeople, the ridiculous fees, and their policies. And the company I worked for did very little to display care or concern for the employees while holding them to seriously high performance standards. That was really the worst part, and not really DirecTV's fault, but they suck by association.

Assimilation

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

spryte — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:40:18 EDT

Interesting - first one of these in which I haven't voted for the frontrunner...

I've heard many awful stories from friends and relatives about DirecTV. Plus, since CompUSA is out of business, it just feels like kicking someone when they're down. Not that I wouldn't do that to Comcast or UHC....

spryte

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

formatc — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:34:56 EDT

CompUSA is an unfair choice because the name is currently owned by Systemax, who also owns Global Computer and TigerDirect, but bares little resemblence to the old guard. A vote for CompUSA is ambiguous to whether you are voting against the previous, defunct company, or the new Systemax entity.

formatc

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

sleze69 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:31:29 EDT

I am surprised that so many people are voting for CompUSA. It sucked and suffered the consequences by going out of business. DirecTV still sucks.

sleze69

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

whoareyou — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:29:21 EDT

CompUSA should not be included in the poll. They are no longer a business. Only someone in business should be allowed to compete. (I'm just sore that my nominee Nintendo did not make the poll.)

whoareyou

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

h0serdude — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:28:56 EDT

Sweet it let me vote for both. :)

h0serdude

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

homerjay — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:27:39 EDT

Wow, even in death CompUSA is still winning.

homerjay

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Michael Belisle — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:26:08 EDT

@Michael Belisle: s/"America's Leading ret.../is still "America's leading retailer of Computers" according to their website./

Michael Belisle

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

icntdrv — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:25:57 EDT

Uhm, theres a problem with the poll.

The poll options were supposed to be posted with radio buttons, not check boxes. I just voted for both! Or was that supposed to happen?

icntdrv

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

fryfrog — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:24:59 EDT

Are the vote boxes check boxes instead of a radio button for anyone else?

fryfrog

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Michael Belisle — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:23:47 EDT

@Coder4Life: CompUSA was nominated and is still "America's Leading ret..., but it deserves to lose.

No need to kick a company while it's down. What fun will it be to report for a year on the riveting news of which creditors are getting paid?

Michael Belisle

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

mabus — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:21:48 EDT

gotta go with directv... no point in even mentioning a company that doesn't exist to face the wrath and ire of teh internets and the fine, friendly folks from the consumerist.

mabus

Round 10: CompUSA Vs DirecTV

Coder4Life — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:20:31 EDT

why woudl you even count compusa a company out of business?

Coder4Life