millerx Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 I have been a loyal customer of DirecTv for 5 yrs now, making my payments on time, and such. I am no longer under contract and looking to upgrade to HDTV because of my new LCD. I call their retention team and the best they could give me was an HD DVR for $100 off (reg. $199) and 1 year free of HD access ($9.95 a month). What kind of deals have any of you gotten? Any tricks or tips to get them to toss the HD DVR in for free? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robash Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 dont they run deals for new subscribers to get one free as an uprade? surely they would let you have one to renew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 dont they run deals for new subscribers to get one free as an uprade? surely they would let you have one to renew. It could be like for cell phone plans. They give a bunch of goodies to try to get new customers, but once you're in you have to pay up for the same things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 you should hold out for the HD DVR or else threaten to leave... they are getting too comfortable with you being there for 5 years, you should go for the best deal...even if it's not available, doesn't mean you can't get it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Try signing up as a new customer & see if you can get it that way. Otherwise I would threaten them with going to Dish Network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Free is tough. I got one for $100. Try and threaten Dish and say they are offering them for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 when you call up and the automated system asks you to choose an option, just say, "cancel service." that will get you to retention. (sounds like that's what you were doing anyway, but just in case.) i got the HD-DVR for free last year (all i had to pay was shipping and handling). it really depends on the customer service rep you get. the best tact seems to be to tell them you don't think it's fair you have to pay for the HD DVR and threaten to switch to cable and see what they say. if they don't give you a deal you like, tell them you'll think about it and call back later. that's what i did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Do they make you sign a 1 yr contract when they give u free poopy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Agent Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 I got mine for free by going through retention. But I was promised the black receiver and I got the silver. I didn't complain since it was free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Do they make you sign a 1 yr contract when they give u free poopy? i believe i had to sign a 2-year agreement, but it wasn't an issue for me because i'm not switching to cable. (if you really hated it, you can suspend your account for up to nine months and still have it count toward your agreement.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Called Dish today (I am a 4-year customer) and asked about HD programming and an HD DVR - hooking me up for free. I was sure I'd have to switch to DirecTV to get the free DVR - glad I did not have to go through the hassle. Also looked into comcast - their prices and HD selection suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 (edited) Sweet! My wife and I finally got the deal we wanted from DirecTV!! FREE HD DVR, FREE 12 months HD service...and they tossed in 3 months of premium movie channels for FREE!! The only hassle was that it took three different calls to get it. We just had to it out of them. Oddly enough, the second call was by my wife (who is very good a getting what she wants) and what they offered her was less than what I originally received. She also said they were rude and hassled her. So tonight I called the third time. I stuck to saying virtually the same stuff I told them on my first call...and TADA!! No push back, no negotiate...just here you go and thank you for being a loyal customer! It IS irritating that it has to be such a hassle. Some people like to negotiate, I personally can't stand it. Why make us jump through hoops? But, in the end to me it was worth it. I really do like their service (I can't stand cable companies and their incompetence, at least here) and I hate knowing that others who do work the system, would have gotten a better deal than me if I wasn't willing to go through the process myself. Thanks to all those that posted their experience and advice. It really did help persuade me to hold out for what I wanted. Edited December 3, 2008 by millerx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I threatened to leave and they gave me a free HD DVR. 5 months later it broke down and they wanted to charge me the full price for a replacement. I threatened to leave again and they wouldn't budge. I left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpholmes Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Sweet! My wife and I finally got the deal we wanted from DirecTV!! FREE HD DVR, FREE 12 months HD service...and they tossed in 3 months of premium movie channels for FREE!! The only hassle was that it took three different calls to get it. We just had to it out of them. Oddly enough, the second call was by my wife (who is very good a getting what she wants) and what they offered her was less than what I originally received. She also said they were rude and hassled her. So tonight I called the third time. I stuck virtually to saying the same stuff I told them on my first call...and TADA!! No push back, no negotiate...just here you go and thank you for being a loyal customer! It IS irritating that it has to be such a hassle. Some people like to negotiate, I personally can't stand it. Why make us jump through hoops? But, in the end to me it was worth it. I really do like their service (I can't stand cable companies and their incompetence, at least here) and I hate knowing that others who do work the system, would have gotten a better deal than me if I was willing to go through the process myself. Thanks to all those that posted their experience and advice. It really did help persuade me to hold out for what I wanted. Sometimes multiple calls is all it takes to get what you want; it really does depend on who you're talking to and how nice they are (Check every Tailgate thread regarding Comcast). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 i believe i had to sign a 2-year agreement, but it wasn't an issue for me because i'm not switching to cable. (if you really hated it, you can suspend your account for up to nine months and still have it count toward your agreement.) Verizon FIOS will be available in my area soon that is why I do not want to sign a contract. Not sure if will switch but I like to keep my options open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I need to call them. My DTV basic receiver in the garage has broken. This is the 2nd receiver in a couple of months that has gone bad. Thankfully, this is one of the few times I bought the monthly warranty. Maybe I should try to get something free out of them for my hassle? Also, has anyone moved their dish? I got mine when I first moved into the house before the fence was up. Mine is in the middle of the backyard and I'd like to now move it behind the fence so it's not so ghetto. I was going to do it myself, but I doubt I'll be able to re-align it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 (edited) I need to call them. My DTV basic receiver in the garage has broken. This is the 2nd receiver in a couple of months that has gone bad. Thankfully, this is one of the few times I bought the monthly warranty. Maybe I should try to get something free out of them for my hassle? Also, has anyone moved their dish? I got mine when I first moved into the house before the fence was up. Mine is in the middle of the backyard and I'd like to now move it behind the fence so it's not so ghetto. I was going to do it myself, but I doubt I'll be able to re-align it again. I've installed many dishes and let me tell you, 100% of them were a pain in the ass. You can do it but never seems to work on the first try so be prepared to be tweaking alot. It makes the world of difference if you have a portable signal finder and/or if your TV is close by in visible range. If you are not prepared for the headache I would just go to a local installer and throw him a few bucks to do it. ETA: You can PM me any questions you have. I have installed over 20 dishes but the last dish I installed was over 2 yrs ago...but nothing has changed with that technology Edited December 3, 2008 by MrTed46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Yeah, the wind knocked mine out of alignment a few months back and the guy said the HD dishes are particulary sensitive to being perfectly aligned. Meh, maybe I'll call to get my receiver fixed, schedule a day, move the dish and tell the guy the dish is suddenly mis-aligned too. Think he'll notice the burroughing action to cover the cables further out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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