DIRECTV Review

Overall 3.38 of 5 view all 218 reviews

Unique
Stamford, CT

DirecTV - Either you like them or you don't!

expecting good, fair service, Tivo Loyalist, not rich, Hates problems & hassles, a person who enjoys quality, budget conscious, appreciative of good service, Entertainment Reviewer

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Pros

Tivo, Customer Retention Department, Price Comparable to Cable, Service Not Interrupted Often, NFL Ticket, NCAA Basketball Tournament Full Coverage

Cons

Inaccuracy of monthly bills, CS Reps need a check up from the neck up, Additional receiver fee

DEC

2007

I have been with DirecTV for over 6 years now. I heard the bad stories about the signal going out when it rains or snows, but I haven't had much of a problem with that. Mine will go out during a major thunderstorm, but not for just rain or snow.

At the time I started my service, they offered me their most expensive package for $44.99 a month for four months. I'm no fool, I took that deal. I had a standard definition receiver and round dish installed with no problems. Unfortunately, I was not able to receive local channels (and this lasted for approximately 2 years). After my initial four months were up, I downgraded my package to the $39.99 package with all premium channels. And even with all the premium channels, I still ended up paying $30 less than Cox Cable. Naturally, I stayed with DirecTV. When I was able to receive local channels, DirecTV replaced my round dish with an oval one free of charge. I was very pleased with DirecTV.

Three years ago, I upgraded to a Hughes 40-hour DVR with Tivo. I fell in love. The Season Pass is my best friend, forget On-Demand! But, after two and a 1/2 years, the hard drive failed so I had to contact DirecTV to get a replacement. Now, here is where I started to dislike DirecTV. Instead of letting me pay the $49.99 fee again and agree to another year of service, they wanted me to pay $100 for the DVR (which by the way they no longer sell, they sell their own branded version of a DVR which I hear is just awful), agree to an additional two years of service AND give them back the DVR should I decide to cancel my service. WHAT??? Let's not forget that if I cancel before the two years are up, I'd get charged a prorated early termination fee. Come again? Every receiver in my home is owned by me, why would I now rent them from you? I was not having that, so I went to weaknees.com and purchased a 250-hour hard drive, installed it myself and was back up and running in a few minutes.

Another thing that had me disappointed with DirecTV was the ridiculous long-winded customer service interactions. Each representative had a different reason for why I was being billed ridiculous fees when I hadn't changed my service. Every time they said it was fixed, the problem reoccurred the following month. Needless to say, I grew tired and angry. After voicing my opinion and asking to whom should I file a complaint, I was finally told about the customer retention department. I really appreciate the reps in this department, except for the one who hung up on me when I asked her a question. I spoke with her supervisor and had him review the tape recorded conversation and got HER in trouble. Anyway, the customer retention department has done everything they could to keep me as a customer, including offering me their most expensive package again with a $20 a month discount. They have also offered me other discounts as well.

When my oval dish broke, I had to again deal with DirecTV CS. Unfortunately, a CS rep decided she would cancel the day and time we had agreed upon (without my knowledge) and set up another time to have a tech come out to replace it. So, I sat around for hours waiting for a tech who never showed up and never had a work order to show up. That was supposed to be fixed until the second tech showed up on the wrong day. The third tech showed up (after I had to get a little nasty with DirecTV) and completed the job in less than ten minutes. Thankfully, customer retention gave me a $100 credit for all the problems. I haven't had any issues with DirecTV for a while now - now that I know how to get the help I need.

With DirecTV, it is either a hit or miss. There are a few "in betweens," but you either like them or you don't. With all that said, I will say that I do like and recommend DirecTV. Their packages are hard to beat and they offer many sports stations that are exclusive to DirecTV.

When all else fails, ask for "customer retention."

Last edited on Dec 13, 2007