I would never ask Facebook friends to like and share something, but please share this if you agree. I think customer service is important. Which is why Im not happy that Dish Network has not responded to the below letter I sent to them on December 17, or the follow up email I sent last week. #dishsatellite #dishnetwork #customerservice #dish Dear Dish Network Sales and Service Support Team, I hope this message finds you well. I recently moved to a new home and the previous owners subscribed to Dish Network. While I am sure your service is great and that the previous owners experienced several hours of television enjoyment, including but not limited to, movies, sporting events and episodic serials, I will be the first to admit, Im not much a TV watcher. With the exception of the occasional Law & Order SVU marathon, I barely have use for the cable I pay for now. While I am sure Dish Network provides equal or potentially better viewing options, I will never actually know, and I have learned to be just ok with this knowledge - or lack there of. This being said, you can imagine my surprise when I came home for the first time and the first thing I saw when pulling into my south-facing driveway was the Dish Network satellite dish perched proudly and obtrusively on the roof. I called your service center immediately and after being transferred back and forth a few times, I learned that I was now the proud owner of a Dish Network satellite dish and that as an owner, it was my responsibility to remove the dish from my roof! This, as you can imagine was a bit of a shock to me. Id never purchased a satellite dish before, subscribed to Dish Network before, nor had I ever considered myself a lucky person deserving of a free satellite dish. So to learn that I was now the owner of a Dish Network satellite dish, which I was now responsible for caring for, left me with a feeling of shock and surprise akin to what a young father must feel after the results of a heavily-disputed paternity test are revealed on the Maury Povich Show. Thankfully, your call center salesman informed me that, I could in-fact drop my cable service and switch to Dish Network. For this, a serviceman could come out and set me up. However, since the Dish Network satellite dish was now rightfully mine -- details that I am sure were covered in the service agreement contract I never signed – if I chose not to switch to Dish Network, then I would be the one responsible for climbing onto my roof and removing the dish, disconnecting the cables and repairing any damage done to the roof and shingles left by the satellite dish. So, knowing that this policy must be handed down from some corporate decision maker and not Todd or Eric or whomever I was finally talking to at the Arizona or Utah call center, I hung up and am reaching out here today. Im not writing to question your policies or to change the way Dish Network does things. From a sales standpoint, if a Dish Network satellite dish becomes a permanent structure on a home or office building, this increases the opportunity that Dish Network will gain a new customer when the building in question changes ownership. This makes sense. Kudos. My question today, as the apparent new owner of a Dish Network satellite dish, is: what policies are in place to respond to homeowners (or their lawyers) when people fall off their roofs trying to disconnect and remove Dish Network satellite dishes? Was there a proper Dish Network satellite dish removal guide included in the original service agreement that I (for example) never saw or signed? Or, does a Dish Network, trained and certified technician meet with home and business owners upon installation to go over the safe and effective removal of Dish Network satellite dishes? Was there a risk-analysis done to compare the benefits of the decision to not remove unwanted Dish Network satellite dishes, or was caution just thrown to the wind? As a new homeowner, I havent even had time to buy a ladder, let alone obtain Dish Network technician certification. So, before I figure out how to get onto my roof, and then physically climb up there in the middle of winter to remove your product, can you please share what policies, protocols or instruction are in place for novice technicians and recipients of Dish Network satellite dishes that put their safety first? Is the cost of getting a new customer by refusing to remove Dish Network satellite dishes from homes and businesses where customers choose not to subscribe to your services, greater or less than the cost of paying for the lawsuit and the medical bills that follow when the average-consumer who is faced with the responsibility of removing the dish himself falls off of his roof and breaks his leg? His arm? His back? What if this average-consumer accidentally electrocutes himself on one of the mysterious wires that must be (presumably) cut to remove the dish from the house? Or, if he electrocutes himself on the city power lines which he has now been forced to put himself unnecessarily and dangerously close to -- a scenario which could have otherwise been avoided had he not had to climb onto his roof in the first place to remove the Dish Network satellite dish that he did not want or pay for and that he could not get any help from a Dish Network certified technician to remove? And what about after he is electrocuted and his charred, lifeless body falls to the driveway below? Is the cost of a new customer greater or less that the cost of a widow? Of a very expensive life insurance policy -- the underwriters of which would surely investigate the means of death and culpability before paying? Or perhaps the neighborhood of Southwestern Hills and the City of Des Moines when they are without power for who know how long in the middle of winter? I’ve asked a lot of questions so I understand this request may have to move up the ladder to get the appropriate answers – which may take some time. Corporate responsibility is hard. But it’s always nice to know there is a plan in place. Please respond as soon as possible. It is supposed to nice out this weekend and I want to use this time as an opportunity to complete some necessary outside yard and housework before winter really sets in. Best, Kevin McCarthy
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 21:13:10 +0000