My DirecTV experience

(Warning: Rant in progress!)

Every year I start my vacation on a bad note with DirecTV. I have been a loyal customer since 2006¸ paying almost $140 per month for this service. Keep in mind, I enjoy DirecTV and the programming we get with it but it is a luxury and not a necessity. When I called DirecTV to put a vacation suspension on my service, they say I need to have a zero balance to put this hold on my service. I just paid my bill in full on 11/19 and do not feel that I should have to pay the full amount in advance on 12/3 just to put a hold on my service. I feel this is a terrible way to treat loyal customers! It is not like I’m trying to get out of paying my bill because I pay my bill in full every month.

The first girl told me that it was impossible to do and got me her supervisor, Vanessa when I asked for her. She also told me it was impossible to do without paying the whole amount so I asked for my service to be cancelled. So, Vanessa passes me on to Solomon. We go through the same song and dance and I still feel that I am treated pretty shabbily when all I want to do is put a vacation hold on my service. I finally ask for the company president’s address and an email to file a complaint. Solomon gave me an address and told me to address to the attention of the “Office of the President” but would not give me a name (which I found out by looking at their website is Michael White, Chairman, President & CEO).

When I asked for an email address, he told me that he couldn’t give me a specific email address but told me to go through the following steps: Go to “DirecTV.com”, click on “About Us,” Click on “Our Company,” click on “Executive Team,” click on Executive Customer Care Contact,” then click on “Ellen Filipiak, Sr. VP of Customer Care.” Why did he have to go spend all that time when he could have just given me that final person’s name and email? I believe they hoped that I would be fed up and give up without cancelling my service! You would think that a company that can turn my service on and off by the touch of a computer should be able to handle this quickly and efficiently.

After all that, when I asked Solomon if he cancelled my service, he acted surprised, like he didn’t know that I still wanted to cancel my service. Finally, twenty minutes after I began this ordeal, Solomon says that he will put a vacation hold on my service but this is a onetime deal only. Again, I feel this is a terrible way to treat a long term customer and should not be made to feel like I’m begging for something that isn’t due to me.

I have to go through this ordeal every year when I want to put a hold on my service. Why do I need to have this aggravation when I start a vacation? I should not have to threaten to cancel my service in order to get good service.

When we return home, we plan to look seriously at this situation to decide if we want to continue with DirecTV. If they don’t value long term, loyal customers, there may a company out there that does want our business. Please let me know if you have a company you have had a lot of trouble with so we don’t put it on our list to consider.

Now it’s time to put this horrible experience on the back burner and go enjoy my vacation!

crossposted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Day 15--Frustration'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58372737@N00/369649914 by: Brandy

Rental House Woes

(Warning – whining alert!)

Just when I thought things were looking up with the rental houses, the other shoe has dropped. I was so excited that we have a tenant in our last empty house. The heat pump has been installed and they are finishing up the wiring in the garage this week. All we have to do is turn in receipts to the insurance company and fight about getting reimbursed and then we would be done! Hooray!

Then today we get a call from the contractor. (Can you tell this is heading downhill?) He lets us know that they had to move the hot water heater from in front of the breaker box because years ago when it was installed, there were no building codes to follow. Now we have to have the electric inspected during the heat pump installation but it won’t pass code until we move the hot water heater. When they moved the hot water heater, apparently it was so old that it was rusted (can you see where this is going now?). You guessed it! It now leaks.

We now have to buy a new water heater. This is beginning to remind me of the movie The Money Pit.

We go to Lowes and price hot water heaters. I push the “help” button and wait for someone to arrive that will impart great wisdom about hot water heaters.

Instead this girl arrives talking on her cell phone. Unfortunately we were inconveniencing her and she tells the person on the phone that she has to get back to work. I really hated to interrupt her phone call at her place of business to ask her for help, which she is getting paid to do but I do.

But the actual thing that pushed me over the edge was when I asked her questions about tankless hot water heaters and her answer was to ask me a question. She asked me if I had done my research or gone online to figure out how tankless hot water heaters work because that is what I needed to do.

My husband said he saw my “claws” come out and he actually took a step back because he suddenly became afraid, very afraid!

But my manners took over and I calmly asked her to look up information on her computer and insisted on her doing her job. Even though I had no intention of buying anything from her or this store because she was useless! When I felt like I had wasted enough of her time and kept her from returning to her earlier phone call, I finally left her alone and left with a huge smile on my face.

Maybe I’m not cut out to be a landlord. Maybe I should be in charge of customer service at building supplies stores.

Original image: 'Strangling statues'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48266396@N00/254910627 by: David Sim