Sep 26
Dish Network Customer Neglect
I have a Satellite Comparison Guide I maintain at Direct-vs-Dish.com. I’ve allowed users to post comments. A recent comment really reflects not only my feelings concerning the company, but customer support in general.
Review of DISH Network by John Lo from San Jose,CA on 2005-09-20 12:45:32:
I have dish network for the past 3 years. Want to upgrade to HD but dish network treats their existing customers like [snip]
Even if I am willing to sign up a contract for 1 yr or so, they will not offer anything close to what they are offering for new customers. I think the CEO of dish network just cannot think. If you can’t satisfy your existing customers, and offer them upgrades for being loyal, you have a very serious problem. Made several calls to dish and I wasted my time and they just don’t care losing you. I even told them that I will disconnect my dish service, I was told that it’s ok. So they only care about new customers, and just don’t bother about existing customers.
I think the reason companies get away with this is because everyone else is doing it. I recently switched from Dish Network to DIRECTV. There are some features I like about DIRECTV, mainly TiVo functions, but all things considered, I think I prefered Dish Network.
Seriously though, why do you have to play games such as cancelling and signing up under you spouses name to get the “new customer” deal. Wouldn’t it make more business sense to keep your current customers happy rather than sending them away to your competition? How hard would it be to say, yeah, well, give you the new DVR and HD if you agree to another 1 year commitment. This has to make more business sense. They keep the customer for one, plus, the installation costs have to be much cheaper if they don’t need a new dish or additional cables, right? Why, why, why?
October 4th, 2005 at 11:04 am
the eternal question yet to be unanswered. Most of the business world hesitates to make such consumer friendly changes “at a cost”- they just dont realize that satisfied customers bring a lot more money in the future.
I think its large in part due to a lack of real business education. We have many companies started by successful entreprenuers or even larger corporations run by people who do not understand the ture value of a customer.
Such is life.