In a previous post, I mentioned a few gremlins we encountered after setting up at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego. One of the issues was reception on my DISH satellite receiver. Rather than give a blow-by-blow account of the past few days, I want to talk about customer service.

When I worked with the DISH technical support folks through online chat last Monday, after an hour of diagnostic work (most of which I had already performed before contacting DISH and was going through for a second or third time), the conclusion was that I needed a new receiver. I was told one would ship to me in a few days. I gave them shipping information – I told them I was in an RV park, not at my billing address.

Later I received an e-mail telling me the order was placed for a new receiver and it instructed me to confirm the shipping address – if there were any discrepancies, it gave a number for me to call. The shipping address was incomplete – it didn’t have my site number, just the park address. This doesn’t work here – or at most RV parks. They won’t accept a UPS or FedEx shipment for you unless it has your site number. I called DISH immediately at the number they provided. The customer service rep said she updated the info and all was set.

The e-mail also contained a link with instructions. It said that once I received the equipment, I needed to pack my old unit in the box the replacement came in and peel off the shipping label to reveal a return label underneath. Okay, so far so good.

On Saturday morning, while Donna was getting ready to take the Amtrak to Los Angeles with her sister for the 5k run at Universal Studios, I realized I didn’t get an e-mail with tracking information from DISH and I didn’t have my replacement receiver. I looked at the previous e-mail again – this time I read a line at the bottom that said the new unit would ship when they received the old equipment. What?! This contradicts the instructions from the link and I didn’t have a shipping label or address to ship the old one back! I called DISH customer service.

When I told the guy at customer service what had happened, he looked up my account information. He said the receiver was shipped but wasn’t able to be delivered due to an incomplete address! I told him I had called and updated the info as instructed in the e-mail. He gave me the tracking number and I looked it up, he was right – they tried to deliver on November 11th. He said that the previous customer service representative had updated the address in their system but that didn’t update UPS – the system is automated and once the order is placed, they can’t change the shipping information.

This didn’t make sense – why would they send me an e-mail instructing me to confirm the shipping address and provide a phone number to call if there were any discrepancies if they can’t update shipping info? I bit my tongue and just asked him what I needed to do to get the replacement. He said, “You need to contact UPS and find out where it is.” I told him I was on the UPS site but didn’t see a phone number. He was ready to hand the problem off – he immediately gave me the phone number for UPS customer service. I managed to persuade him to take one week’s worth of charges off of my bill since I wasn’t getting the programming I’m paying for.

I called UPS and things got really strange. I gave the lady at UPS customer service my tracking number and told her what was going on. I told her I was in an RV park and they needed the site number. She told me they tried to deliver last Wednesday but due to an incomplete address, the package was at the UPS Customer Center on Ronson Road (map). This is six or seven miles away from the RV park. I asked why I wasn’t contacted about the address problem. She told me the notes indicated that a postcard was sent. What? I was thinking okay, you have an incomplete address that you can’t deliver to, where are you sending the postcard? But I held my thoughts.

I asked her how I could get the package. She told me the Customer Center is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and on Saturday from 10am to 1pm. I said, “Great, so I can go to Kearny Mesa and pick it up.” She said, “I can’t guarantee they’ll give you the package on Saturday.” I said, “Maybe I should call them – do you have their number?” Then she told me, “We don’t give out phone numbers for Customer Centers, they aren’t staffed to take the volume of calls.” Hmmm…a customer center that won’t take calls from customers.

Then she asked me to hold for a moment. When she came back on the line, she said she had updated the address and I should have the package by Tuesday. What?! The package is six or seven miles away, today is Saturday and she is saying I won’t get it until Tuesday. I asked what I would need to do to pick up the package. She told me I would need to go to the Customer Center and give them the tracking number and a photo identification that showed the same name and address as the package. What? I told her again – I’m in an RV park visiting the area, my driver’s license is from another state and doesn’t match the shipping address. She said that was the policy.

I said, “Let me get this straight, you couldn’t deliver because of an incomplete address, you figure sending a postcard to this incomplete address solves the issue, your Customer Center is open on Saturday but you can’t guarantee they’ll give me my package, your Customer Center keeps their phone number secret because they can’t handle the calls, if I wait for delivery, I should have my package by Tuesday – is this right?” She said, “Yes.” I said, “Does this seem reasonable to you?” She said, “I’m just trying to help and explain the policy.” I said, “Thanks for trying to help. I feel like I’m trapped in a comedy skit here. I think I’ll go to the Customer Center and take my chances.”

I rode the scooter over to Kearny Mesa and found the UPS Customer Center. I brought the receipt for my site at Mission Bay RV Resort in case there was an issue with my ID not matching the shipping address. I figured the receipt might be enough documentation for a temporary address. I waited in a short line and then a young woman helped me. I gave her my tracking number – she was pleasant and said, “Just a moment and I’ll get your package.” She returned with the box and asked for my ID. When I gave her a South Dakota driver’s license, she asked if I had a California ID. I told her I was just visiting the area and she said, “Okay, I just need to take some information from your license and have you sign this form.” With that done, I was on my way. A lot of drama for something that was not a big deal.

Incomplete shipping address – label peels off to reveal return label underneath

When I returned home, I connected the new DISH receiver. I spent 40 minutes programming the unit and in the end, I had the same problem – it wasn’t giving me all of the channels I pay for. I went online to chat with DISH customer service again. They had me do all of the steps I just completed all over again. You might recall that I pointed out to the technical support guy last Monday that I was only seeing satellite 110. I pointed this out again and the tech told me I should see 110, 119 and 129 – that’s what I thought. He had me go through a few more attempts and when I still only had 110, he said they would send someone out to check my satellite dish antenna. This is what I suspected would be the culprit. We’ll find out this afternoon.

Having ranted about poor customer service, let me tell you the other side of the story. In our travels this year, we suffered damage to our windshield. The driver’s side windshield is cracked from top to bottom. The passenger side has some stone chips. Last Monday, I called our policy holder, Allied Insurance – part of the Nationwide insurance family – to file a claim. The customer service person was very polite and asked if we had a one-piece or two-piece windshield. I told her it was two-piece. She asked if I wanted one or both sides replaced. I wasn’t sure how to respond. I asked her what the deductible was for both versus one. She told me there was no deductible on the glass replacement and it was up to me if I wanted both replaced. Well yeah, I’ll take both. She then transferred my call to a glass specialist.

I gave them the information they needed and they told me to expect a call back within an hour. I got the call about 30 minutes later from a representative named Flavia who said she would coordinate the replacement. She asked me to read all of the numbers on the lower left side of the windshield. Once I did that, she said she had a match and would order the glass and contact an approved local mobile installer for me – unless I wished to find my own installer. Later she called me again and said the glass was ordered and should arrive in five to seven business days at the installer. After they inspect the glass and are satisfied it wasn’t damaged in shipment, they will make an appointment to come out and install the glass. She then sent me an e-mail with her direct phone number and e-mail in case I had questions or problems. Now that’s what I call customer service.

The weather guessers forecast rain late this afternoon. They almost had it right – I woke to the sound of rain drops falling on the roof this morning. The expected high temperature today is 66 degrees. Cool temperatures should remain until Wednesday when the forecast calls for temperatures in the 70s again.