Dish Network

I started with Dish Network service in 2006.  I can't complain too much about their product over the last 8, almost 9 years, of service.  They've raised their prices, and been willing to work with you on some new prices.  All satellite services will have the issue with weather equaling 'no service' so that's not a complaint to get into.

During this time, I have only had two boxes.  The first was before the major HD revolution.  When I got a new 1080p TV, I wanted the box to match, this was 2008.  Since then, I have seen over-the-air updates of the box software as new features roll out and I appreciated that.  The days of static code in a set-top box are long, long gone and I'm thankful for that.  However, the technology got old, the menu wasn't in HD and was slow to respond.  Further, my former Dish Network box (VIP722) was above my PS3 and if you just happened to leave the PS3 on, it would overheat.

As far as HD, the quality was lower than I've seen on other systems including my new Uverse service.  My wife's parents have the Hopper/Joey system and it appears that my set-top box issues may have been better with that setup, but I really didn't want to pay more for what appeared to be the same channels.  The one thing I did like was that I had one box for two TVs.  I don't like the rent-a-box model, although I do now pay $8 for an additional Uverse box, but I do recall that the Hopper/Joey was more expensive than Uverse.

The final straw was this years issues with network contracts.  I abhorred the idea of losing CBS, even if for a minute.  Dish, you should not have an issue with losing a channel that folks can get for free!  I know other channels were lost for a bit and added back.  I do appreciate Dish fighting for the best prices, but somethings I just can't get past.

When I disconnected, I already had the Uverse setup all in place, the representative on the phone did everything he could to keep me as a customer.  He said that I qualified for a $45 a month bill discount for 10 months because I was a customer for so long.  My first thought was that I had to call to get that discount.  If I was such a valued customer, I think they should have reached out to me. Also, I suspect the discount had more to do with the fact that I was cancelling than my tenure as a customer.  Of course, he was mostly nice until he realized that he couldn't do anything more for me.  Then it was like 'bye' and I was like 'do I get money back?'  Here's the kicker.  He told me that when I returned the box through shipping, I would have to pay $17 for the shipping or get my own shipping.  So let me get this straight, you just offered me $450 in discounts to stay a customer, but now that I'm leaving for sure, I have to pay you $17.  Unreal and goodbye...