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Morticia

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We are getting satellite TV. They were here at 7 PM on Monday to do the installation. The guy couldn't see where the tree line was to even tell if the dish would clear the trees. They are back now.
They installed the boxes in the house in the daylight and then climbed on the 35' roof peak in the rain, in the dark.
They have tracked grime all over the carpets going from outside to inside. The guests have gone to dinner and were hoping the TV would work when they got back. Hmmm.
They said it is not a 'standard' installation and will cost us $150 more. We are doing this to save money. Hubs demurred. He said no. They have the boxes installed and are standing on 40' ladders arguing about the price of the install. (Not hubs, he's on the ground.) Then they said, 'If we don't finish the install, we don't get paid.' This is like blackmail. They reduced the price they are charging us. I still think it's crooked all the way around.
 
8 PM, they are still here. MY TV is the only one not working. I guess that's good. One installer does not speak English at all. They are both from Peru, kinda neat in a way. I have given them cookies and shown them where the bathroom is.
 
Haggle it down to $25 and you'll throw in a 10% coupon for a night's stay.
Seriously though, what they're doing with the surprise charge sounds really shady. I'd play hardball and go with another company if I had to.
 
8 PM, they are still here. MY TV is the only one not working. I guess that's good. One installer does not speak English at all. They are both from Peru, kinda neat in a way. I have given them cookies and shown them where the bathroom is..
So, Bree, you have to have receivers in each of the guest rooms, right?
Hmmm... right now we pay for cable tv in our four rooms, plus two in the common area. DW and I have satellite in our private quarters, but it seems like we should go with one or the other to cut the costs down.
The only problem with going all satellite in our geographic area is not being able to get local weather and news - we're not in the market where the local-into-local stations are.
 
Haggle it down to $25 and you'll throw in a 10% coupon for a night's stay.
Seriously though, what they're doing with the surprise charge sounds really shady. I'd play hardball and go with another company if I had to..
tle041 said:
Haggle it down to $25 and you'll throw in a 10% coupon for a night's stay.
Seriously though, what they're doing with the surprise charge sounds really shady. I'd play hardball and go with another company if I had to.
Ah, the joys of living in a small town in a small state...these are the only guys who actually said they COULD do the install. Everyone else looked at the house and said 'forget it' unless you want to 'cut down those trees'. They ALL said we would not be covered by a standard installation if they COULD do the installation at all.
 
8 PM, they are still here. MY TV is the only one not working. I guess that's good. One installer does not speak English at all. They are both from Peru, kinda neat in a way. I have given them cookies and shown them where the bathroom is..
So, Bree, you have to have receivers in each of the guest rooms, right?
Hmmm... right now we pay for cable tv in our four rooms, plus two in the common area. DW and I have satellite in our private quarters, but it seems like we should go with one or the other to cut the costs down.
The only problem with going all satellite in our geographic area is not being able to get local weather and news - we're not in the market where the local-into-local stations are.
.
Redbirds said:
So, Bree, you have to have receivers in each of the guest rooms, right?
Hmmm... right now we pay for cable tv in our four rooms, plus two in the common area. DW and I have satellite in our private quarters, but it seems like we should go with one or the other to cut the costs down.
The only problem with going all satellite in our geographic area is not being able to get local weather and news - we're not in the market where the local-into-local stations are.
No, we have one receiver in one guest room and one in the living room. (But, if we had TV's in all the rooms, then, yes, we would have to have the receivers in each room.) We do get the local channels, we checked. What's kind of nice is what my guests showed me...I can get Bose speakers and play music during breakfast by plugging the speakers into the receiver. Yippee!
Tomorrow we will block the movie channels from the living room. I don't want smut on the TV for kids and others to see when they are not expecting it. The TV in the guest room can stay as is. The movie channels go away in 3 months anyway.
 
Have you looked into digital cable? I find the content and cost identical to satellite minus the hassle of the dish itself.
 
Have you looked into digital cable? I find the content and cost identical to satellite minus the hassle of the dish itself..
I couldn't agree more about cable. I have Directv here in a couple rooms at my house. I am a die-hard Packers fan having grown-up near Green Bay. My dad and I used to watch them while I was growing up. He died the spring before they won the Superbowl back in 96 and I have hardly missed a game since.
Problem is the only way to get them out of Wisconsin is the dish - and I've had nothing but problems with them over the past few years. They've been to my house 4 times in the past two months alone, replaced a receiver again just a few days ago. Really a headache unfortunately.
 
we wanted satelite tv here but there were too many trees in the way. We have 5 tvs... 2 downstairs and 3 in the 5 guest rooms and have cable service. If we go beyond 5 then we'll have to pay commercial rates - don't want to do that.
 
We've had Directv for about 9 years now and have never had 1 problem. They even transferred our service for us to 3 houses and still no problems. The only downfall I have with them is the cost is for 1 tv, it's something like $10 plus tax each month per extra tv you want it hooked to
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we wanted satelite tv here but there were too many trees in the way. We have 5 tvs... 2 downstairs and 3 in the 5 guest rooms and have cable service. If we go beyond 5 then we'll have to pay commercial rates - don't want to do that..
greyswan said:
we wanted satelite tv here but there were too many trees in the way. We have 5 tvs... 2 downstairs and 3 in the 5 guest rooms and have cable service. If we go beyond 5 then we'll have to pay commercial rates - don't want to do that.
We already were paying commercial rates. With the Direct TV, they don't care as long as there are no more than 20 rooms in the 'hotel'. The guys who did the installation finally asked when they were leaving, 'What kind of place is this?' We told them it was a bed and breakfast, but that didn't register. I asked where they were staying and it was the holiday inn. I said, 'We're a very small hotel. We have rooms and we serve breakfast to the guests.'
If we didn't charge so much, I think they would have moved in right then!
 
we got satellite at the b&b
had one tv in our breakfast room / living room - my son paid the bill for the satellite because he wanted to watch sports. i hardly got a chance to watch and when i did it was the end of the today show and hgtv ... he loves hd. i don't care.
one tv in the guest library. we left the standard movie channels but blocked the ability to order movies because of the x and $ factor.
something that happened tho is if he tried to record a baseball game and the guests went in and watched the other tv, the recording on 'our' tv would stop.
also, we left and he is locked into a two year contract. he has to transfer it to his new apt.
 
We've had Directv for about 9 years now and have never had 1 problem. They even transferred our service for us to 3 houses and still no problems. The only downfall I have with them is the cost is for 1 tv, it's something like $10 plus tax each month per extra tv you want it hooked to
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I hope you increased your rates enough to cover that cost. You have to let the customer pay for the added amenities or your eating up your profits.
Lower Costs = Increased Profits
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Ahhh, the memories of haggling over dish installation....I've always installed my TV stuff myself - no surprise there... But, trying to explain to Dish and Direct TV (I've had both) to just drop off the equipment and I'll do it myself, takes a while to get the message through to them. They kept telling me that installation was free that they were required to do it. Finally, I painted this picture..."OK, suit yourself. The dish goes on a piling out in the ocean that is surrounded by water and only reachable by boat at low tide which comes every 12 hours. Does your service tech want to wait around for low tide and then climb out on a piling to mount the dish, or do you want to leave the equipment with me?" Yes, "out in the ocean" is a stretch of the truth (should have added "in shark infested waters" LOL since a Great White was reported here in the Dinnery Key channel last weekend), but that's the only way I've ever been able to convince them to just drop the stuff off and I'll take care of it.
 
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