The Incompetancy of DirecTv

I find it totally amazing the number of useless employees a large company like DirecTv can have in it’s employ!!! I share the miserable on-going experience I have been dealing with for about a month or more now:

11/26/08: My DVR (digital video recorder for the non-techies out there) was not working, so I called customer service regarding replacement. I spoke with a woman named Tiffany (sorry if I offend anyone, but when I hear that name, I immediately get a visual of a blonde bimbo who is chewing gum and twirling her hair with her finger), and explained the situation to her. I had only had this unit for 3 months at the most. She told me I can either have a house call scheduled or they could ship me a new unit. She told me the house clal costs $49.95. I told her ABSOLUTELY NOT, explaining that I refuse to pay for a house call on an item that was defective by no fault of my own. She then tells me they can ship me a new unti and I could send back the old one, at my cost of $19.95. I said “wrong again Tiffany!” Did you hear anything I just said to you??” Tiffany then transferred me to someone named Mike. He could get me no where either, so I asked for a manager. I then got disconnected. Called back, spoke to Henry this time – told him I needed a manager. Ten minutes later a man named Bruce answers. He was not a manager, but assured me that he would take care of waiving the shipping charges on the defective DVR and that I would see the credit of the shipping charges on my online account within the next 20 minutes or so (being that I was already charged the shipping costs as Tiffany jumped the gun and already charged me those costs!). Never saw this credit. I decucted the 19.95 + 1.00 tax from my November payment

12/31/08: my online account shows a past due amount of $20.95 + 5.00 late fee (due to my deduction of this shipping charge on the November bill.) I call up and get Kim – she put me on hold for the longest time to get authorization for her to waive this shipping charge, and the late fee. She finally returns to the line and says I should see the credit of $25.95 on my account within the next several hours

1/1/09: There is STILL no credit on my account as promised, so I make an online payment for December, once again deducting the $25.95 from my payment.

1/2/09: My online account still shows a past due amount of $25.95, along with a bold faced notice that my service is scheduled for interruption on January 14 unless I pay the past due amount of $25.95. I again call up and get a woman named Clover this time. She told me that the original arrangement to have the shipping charges waived was done by the shipping department, so she would have to transfer me to that department. I told her “absolutely not! I refuse to be passed along on this matter that has been unresolved for over 30 days now!!” I told her why doesn’t she get the authorization from them and then come back to me on the line. She simply said “I am not going to do that!” I then said I want to speak to a manager. TEN minutes later, a woman named Sonya picks up. I asked her if she was a manger, she said NO. (This is incredible – after I was on hold for 10 minutes waiting for a manager). She was then putting me on hold for a manger again when I got disconnected!!

So – I called back once again, this time to cancel my account. Amazing!!!! To keep me from canceling, this woman was truly trying to help me. She said the computers were having issues but that she would continue to attempt to credit my account. But Alas…I looked tonight and I am still being shown an outstanding amount due…so I don’t even know where to go at this point. This is sooooo frustrating!!!

Anyway – my entire reason for sharing this with you my friends is that if you are thinking of setting up TV service….unless you are already set up with DirecTv, do your self a favor and DON’T!!! You’ll be happier in the long run. Thanks for listening (or reading I should say, LOL)