Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

I now regard Direct TV as the lowest form of operator in the US.  Here is the rub… They want us to pay them $250 for a:

1. Contract they say we have signed but can’t produce or show
2. No ability to transfer the service when we move States
3. Service they can’t install or deliver. Their installers have arrived twice at our house, wandered about, and said they need more expertise to install. They refuse to provide that expertise though.

All this after we have been a happy, super premium customer for over five years.  Rather than recognize their issues and work with us, they just want the $250 dollars.

The irony of all this is that I really want their programming. But their business practices are so repulsive I’ll never use them again.  Moreover, I’ll make it my mission to ensure as few people as possible sign with DirectTV.

In my book, they are a model for how to turn a loyal and passionate customer into one that despises your very existence.  What company would forgo the potential of thousands of dollars of revenue for $250?  My only conclusion can be that they are desperate.  Time to sell your stock!

I don’t like posting on Apple… can’t be bothered with the niche who are blinded by good looks over substance – and who will wake up pretty soon on an entirely proprietary and closed platform… Dell doesn’t compete with Apple for anything other than mind share.

Frank Shaw mirrors my views on Apple’s announcements of the past week.  To which I would add…

1. Not hard to build a thinner notebook when you take everything out.
2. Batteries do matter
3. No docking station was a mega mistake
4. Apple TV was more interesting… but how are sales going? I have an Apple TV hooked up to a MiniMac on one of my systems.  What I’ve discovered is that my Dell XPS One running Raphsody, Pandora, Last FM etc… is a much better way to go… I am free to move my media about.  TV works better…

I fundamentally disagree with Steve Jobs that people are reading less. Connecting books to reading is like using running as a proxy for all exercise.  We are reading more than ever, just not necessarily on paper…

Our news on Dell joining RED is out… We couldn’t be more excited –as are others.  This will give both Dell and our customers an incredibly important opportunity to come together and save lives.

Sitting with Bono and Bobby Shriver this week one thing became clear – the underlying principles of RED are good for business.  It isn’t just based on giving – but rather on good business fundamentals which, have the the potential to make this something more lasting.

You’ll see much more from us on this in the coming months.  In the meantime,

BUY RED.  BUY DELL (PRODUCT) RED. SAVE LIVES!

My wife received a call from “the office of the president” for DirecTV shortly after I posted this.

Unfortunately, they do not seem to have a fine grasp of the value (financially or otherwise) of their customers. They would rather insist that we pay them $250 and no longer be a customer than find a way to retain a customer worth $125/ month or more than $1,500/year. In fact, DirecTV is standing by their assertion that we owe them an early termination fee despite the fact it was their contractors who were unable/unwilling to install DirecTV. All this – so we came to find out via the “customer service” representative today – because when the DirecTV receiver that we BOUGHT died in June 2006 and they replaced it with a leased receiver (note – you have no other choice these days but to lease a receiver) this included a 2 year commitment (huh?). I’m wondering if this isn’t something Attorney Generals shouldn’t be looking at…

They did graciously offer us the opportunity to pay another contractor to have DirecTV custom installed in our house – then we could just pay them $150/month again and everything would be great. . .yeah – right. Never mind that the inexperienced contractors they sent to our house (apparently they go through “extensive training” so it shouldn’t matter that it was the guy’s second day on his own in the field) so we really don’t even know that it would require a custom install.

Never mind that the customer service representative that took the call that resulted in us canceling the service neither mentioned the option of a custom installation or – more importantly – the fact that there would be an early cancellation fee. Never mind that our value as a customer must surely exceed $250 – we have spent $1500 on DirecTV in the last year alone and have had the service for close to 5 years. (To get the All Blacks we have to pay for premium service.) Never mind that the representative from the “office of the president” called armed with all of the answers and wasn’t interested in the customer’s view or reviewing the situation in any detail – clearly she just need to check the call off her list.

As my wife points out from her experience managing executive-level issues, this is where company should decide to live their customer commitment – “our commitment to customer service is unwavering” says DirecTV- or simply get practical – will this cost more than $250 in resources/negative exposure/etc. to resolve? I guess we’ll find out as the saga continues. I know Kris is looking forward to contacting her consumer reporter and legal buddies on this one… hell hath no fury…

As many of you know, my wife gave birth to our second child 7 days ago. She spent most of her free time this morning (for those of you with children you know how precious that is with a newborn and a toddler) composing the letter below to DirecTV.

While far more subtle, easy going and diplomatic than me, you do not want to cross her path on an average day let alone when she is sleep deprived and lactating. Having spent years resolving escalated customer service issues for the phone company and then a major electronics retailer, she knows ALL the tricks of the trade and has a clear plan for what she will do next if this is not handled.

The long and the short of it is this… after years of paying DirecTV as premium customers (we’re talking obscene amounts of money, driven mainly by my desire to watch Rugby), they want us to pay a cancellation fee on a 2 year contract we didn’t sign, they can’t produce and we didn’t want to cancel.  The only reason we canceled DirecTV was because they told us to after their installers decided they didn’t have the skills or will to install DirecTV at our house. They gave up on us.

Let’s hope someone at DirecTV is listening as it won’t be pretty. . .

January 11, 2008

RE: DirecTV Account #XXXXXX

Dear DirecTV Customer Service:

While I appreciate your response to my recent letter outlining my billing dispute, the form letter failed to address any of the points of contention clearly outlined in my letter.

To summarize, the two main points are as follows:

1. Our DirecTV service was canceled because your inexperienced contractors were unwilling/incapable of installing the service. When we moved from Los Gatos, CA to Austin, TX in early November, we signed up for the moving program. You sent two different contractors (with minimal experience) to our home to install the system. Neither had the experience or inclination to do so, despite the fact that the second technician sent was supposed to be a “supervisor” to ensure the job was done correctly. (By his own admission, it was his second day on the job.) The first stood in the drive, looked at the roof, said he didn’t have time to go up there and that we would need to reschedule. It is important to note that both technicians established that we had a clear view of the satellite and receive a clear signal. At this point, I contacted DirecTV. When no solution/alternative was offered – despite the fact that we have been long-time premium customers and fully intended to be so for a long time to come – the customer service person suggested that we cancel our account.
2. At no time during my conversations with DirecTV was an early termination fee discussed nor was an explanation for when and how I signed an agreement agreeing to one provided. The only additional requirement explained to me was the return of our HD-DVR, which we returned promptly after receiving the box to return it in. It is also worth noting that while I received a number of calls from your collections department in early December, I only received a bill for the early termination fee in late December (after I officially filed my billing dispute.)

As a loyal, long-time customer of DirecTV, I am extremely disappointed by how you treat your premium customers.  As I stated in my previous letter, we have thoroughly enjoyed your programming and your HD-DVR interface and were very upset to learn that you would not install the service.  Adding insult to injury is your contention that we would owe you money as a result of your contractors’ incompetence and then failing to produce any sort of supporting documentation or explanation as to how and when we agreed to such a fee.  I hope you will resolve this issue by waiving the “early cancellation fee,” thereby giving us the confidence to consider returning to DirecTV at some point in the future. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.