DirecTVSunday Ticket Customers

[ReignOnU]

Whew, just had it reinstalled last week. I've got a deal worked out with a friend that we rotate every 2 years. I think we're going into year 7? Basically 1 guy cancels his contract / negotiates the reup of the 2yr deal every other year. Then we just watch it at the other guys house in alternating years.

Got a pretty solid setup this time around, I think...

$87.99 for the first year got me...
3 Mos movie channels ($45 value)
Sunday Ticket
Sunday Ticket to Go
2nd Tier channel package that I usually get
2 HD DVRs
1 HD Receiver
Cinema on both DVRs
Whole-Home DVR setup
Got the 2nd HD DVR... I had to pay $200 for it up front and they issued me a $200 "win back" credit to my account, which I'll use to get ESPN Gameplan with. (NCAA football package)

Pretty happy with this deal... the whole home dvr is awesome.

[Cnasty]

the whole home dvr is awesome.

This is so money for football season.

She can go watch all her Jersey Shore, Design Stars, or whatever other reality crap and I can throw stuff at my $2k TV at how bad Miami sucks and I hate college football season.

Win!!

[ReignOnU]

Exactly!

But that's also why I went with the double DVR too. I setup all of her 'housewives shows' and other reality stuff on a tv in another room. So if she happens to be on my tv where my PS3 is hooked up, I just kick her off and tell her to go watch it somewhere else. She can choose 1 of the other 2 tvs and start watching right where she left off.

On top of that, since I setup her shows in our least used room, that means I'll never run into an issue with 2 of her shows recording when sports are on live and having to knock one of them off. We can record both of her shows on that alternate dvr, record 1 other show on the main dvr and STILL be watching live. Love this crap!

She was grinning ear to ear last night when she got home and I showed her how it worked... little did she know that I'm the real winner in the deal!

[Cnasty]

She was grinning ear to ear last night when she got home and I showed her how it worked... little did she know that I'm the real winner in the deal!

This is always the best part. We make it seem we did all of this to accommodate her watching and making sure she was always happy with her shows getting recorded. Little do they know the greatness of the sports and 3D awesomeness that comes a long with it.

Take notes Dave.

[ReignOnU]

Absolutely!

[brwnbear]

the whole home dvr is awesome.

This is so money for football season.

She can go watch all her Jersey Shore, Design Stars, or whatever other reality crap and I can throw stuff at my $2k TV at how bad Miami sucks and I hate college football season.

Win!!

I see we have progressed...

Shock
Denial
Anger <<<<
Bargening
Guilt
Depression
Acceptance

[brwnbear]

quick question about how this all place dvr is set up. Do you have to run wires from the main DVR to the other tvs?

[Cnasty]

I believe there is a hub somewhere they install in your attic or another place.

Then if you have existing cable, they run the DirecTV through that line. I think they would have to run all new wire if you dont have existing cable in those rooms.

Mine was easy as I had cable on both boxes they were set up so they used those lines and outlets and fired right up.

The placement of the satellite was tricky though as I have trees near my house but he picked a good spot and now I need to yell at my neighbors to cut their damn tree as its blocking my satellite.

[brwnbear]

I believe there is a hub somewhere they install in your attic or another place.

Then if you have existing cable, they run the DirecTV through that line. I think they would have to run all new wire if you dont have existing cable in those rooms.

Mine was easy as I had cable on both boxes they were set up so they used those lines and outlets and fired right up.

The placement of the satellite was tricky though as I have trees near my house but he picked a good spot and now I need to yell at my neighbors to cut their damn tree as its blocking my satellite.

Thanks,

Follow-up question. My old HD-DVR needed 2 cables. Does your current DVR have one cable connecting back to the satellite or 2?

[Cnasty]

Well there is only one I believe but the other things going through it such as the Cinema Connection kit and of course the HDMI.

Only one actual satellite cable though..I believe.

I think this is it:

[The_Niddler]

Exactly!

But that's also why I went with the double DVR too. I setup all of her 'housewives shows' and other reality stuff on a tv in another room. So if she happens to be on my tv where my PS3 is hooked up, I just kick her off and tell her to go watch it somewhere else. She can choose 1 of the other 2 tvs and start watching right where she left off.

On top of that, since I setup her shows in our least used room, that means I'll never run into an issue with 2 of her shows recording when sports are on live and having to knock one of them off. We can record both of her shows on that alternate dvr, record 1 other show on the main dvr and STILL be watching live. Love this crap!

She was grinning ear to ear last night when she got home and I showed her how it worked... little did she know that I'm the real winner in the deal!

Ditto here. I bought a second HD/DVR off Ebay that was owned so it did not extend my 2 year contract. But that way I can watch sports in my Gaming room while her stuff is recording in our living room.
But I spun it to make it so that I would not be in her way wanting to be in the living room on Sundays while she tries to watch her stuff.

[The_Niddler]

I believe there is a hub somewhere they install in your attic or another place.

Then if you have existing cable, they run the DirecTV through that line. I think they would have to run all new wire if you dont have existing cable in those rooms.

Mine was easy as I had cable on both boxes they were set up so they used those lines and outlets and fired right up.

The placement of the satellite was tricky though as I have trees near my house but he picked a good spot and now I need to yell at my neighbors to cut their damn tree as its blocking my satellite.

Thanks,

Follow-up question. My old HD-DVR needed 2 cables. Does your current DVR have one cable connecting back to the satellite or 2?

brwnbear, The old one that I bought off of Ebay, I still had to have a second cable running to it for the two tuners to work.
Then for the whole-home DVR to work with this box, DirecTV had to send me something called a Deca box.
It is for the older HD DVR's that are not setup for their new system. It was free from them though including shipping.
I called them once I received it and they walked me through hooking it up.

[ReignOnU]

Whole home DVR is synced through the outside box, as I understand it. Nothing special required.

New boxes only have 1 cable, except 1 outlet needs to have a special box attached to it to sync to the satellite.

[Hoos]

Love the whole home DVR.

[OracleHCR]

Directv is definitely the way to go. I'm just pissed I waited so long to make the switch. I love the way you can make changes to your premium channels or add-on channels yourself on the website and it takes effect immediately. Also the ability to set your dvr to record from your phone or any other box in the house is a definite plus.

[BsktbllJk]

Well I just called and asked why new customers get FREE NFL ticket and loyal customers must pay full price?

She said it's the special promotion running, I wanted to say "no shit" but I tried to be nice. I then used the whole rough times on the economy and I didn't want to lose it and just thought it was unfair to reward new customers but not your loyal ones. She said well let me check your account...comes back and says I will offer you $5 off..I laughed at her and said that's it? She said what about $10...afraid I wasn't gonna get a better offer bc it took her a while to offer discount I said ok...but now I wonder what if I would have kept going? Hmm o well I gues it's better than nothing.

[BlackRain]

call and ask for a discounted rate. the normal rate is $300. if you call and say "cancel sunday ticket" at the prompt, they should send you to a representative. you can go at them two ways: my friends got a deal for $179 or you can do the hardball "i want to cancel" routine. i did choice one and got no grief. everything is included this year as far as superfan and hd goes. you might play hardball and get the nfl-to-go stuff for free for watching on your phone and computer.

i called this number: 800-353-4388

someone told me it was a preferred customer number with less wait time. who knows? i got through really quickly, though. they said the system is down right now for about another hour, but they noted my account for when i call back later.

redzone channel and 30 minute replays FTW!

just saw this..

getting the discounted rate.. on the go free... and 3 free months of HD.

really appreciate this heads up.

Just called and did the first option of attempting to get a discounted rate. I used my friend got a great discount on his NFL Sunday Ticket, and the guy said, "since you been a loyal customer since 2000, we will give you $20.00 off per month for six months." Meaning, he took off $120.00 for the NFL Sunday Ticket, with the early bird renewal at $53.99 per month for returning customers. It is $33.99 per month for me this upcoming season...it is the best I could do. I have been doing it for the past two seasons, and for some reason it still works. So I pay $209.00 instead of $329.00, is what is comes out to. Better than nothing for returning customers, and if I cancel, who knows if it will work for trying to get it back for free.

I posted on Facebook regarding my discount, and to see if anyone is a current subscriber received a better one. One of my buddies received it for free after canceling it two weeks prior, and then turning it back on. So yesterday, I called them and explained to them that I am having a hard time dealing with the NFL Sunday Ticket early renewal at $33.99 per month. Note, I already received $20.00 off per month for the next six months, but hearing my other friends getting it for free, and are not new customers pisses me off. I explained that since I just received a new DVR HD receiver in May, that I committed to a contract for one or two years, I cannot remember how long. I stated, "how much would it cost me to cancel Directv because of the new contract I committed to in May?" The reps explained it would cost me $423.00 to cancel everything due to the cancellation of the contract - fees are outrageous. I was like, when is that due, he says twenty days from the cutoff of service, meaning immediately.

So, he offers me $10.00 off HD monthly, another $20.00 off the NFL Sunday Ticket subscription, $5.00 off HBO for six months. With the previous discount of $20.00 off the Choice Monthly subscription for six months on the previous call, and the new discounts, it comes out to $55.00 per month discounted for the next six months. He discounted the account immediately, note, this is added already to the $20.00 I am receiving off each month for the next six months already. Therefore, I am getting the NFL Sunday Ticket for free, when it is all said and done. They have to make the adjustments to other parts of your service, for reasons I cannot explain, and cannot adjust the NFL Sunday Ticket for free on your bill. All savings results in $330.00 off for the next six months. Basically, the NFL Sunday Ticket with a renewal price of $53.99 for returning customers comes out to $324.00, so the discount of $330.00 makes the package free. You guys need to call asap to try to work things out with Directv, because it is possible for returning customers to receive the package for free without canceling it. Just wanted to let you guys know, that there are options and Directv can work with you. Below, I had Showtime for free for three months, so I already received the credit, and it was never charged to my account. I canceled it before the three months was up, so that charge below does not count.

08/27/2011 XXXXXXXX5421 HBO - HBOfor6MosSave ($5.00) $0.00
08/27/2011 XXXXXXXX5421 NFL SUNDAY TICKET 2011 - $20/6mosNFLSave ($20.00) $0.00
08/27/2011 XXXXXXXX5421 HD Access - 6mosFree HDExist ($10.00) $0.00
08/27/2011 XXXXXXXX7844 HBO and SHOWTIME - Disconnect Adj ($26.10) $0.00
08/27/2011 XXXXXXXX7844 HBO - Charge $15.46 $0.00
08/27/2011 XXXXXXXX7844 NFL SUNDAY TICKET - Charge $0.00 $0.00

[Cnasty]

This is way to much work. Ill enjoy my free year and then be on my way most likely.

[BlackRain]

This is way to much work. Ill enjoy my free year and then be on my way most likely.

Yeah, a lot of work, but in the end...the result is free NFL Sunday Ticket for a long time subscriber. Next year, for you guys who just signed on to Directv, you will be automatically renewed at $53.99 per month for six months. Then you will call Directv to see if you can get any further discounts. Imagine paying $59.99 per month for six months for new subscribers without the free promotion...a lot of my buddies paid that price last year...$360.00 total.

[ReignOnU]

They made an error on my account, they only processed a $100 credit instead of the $200 the initial guy told me. So I ended up getting a massive run around, but in the process, I learned a lot about their setup and I also figured out how to really get to them.

Some things to know:
- They have different divisions and each division is very restricted in what they can do.
*** Win Back (Reconnect) - They are in charge of former customers, can do a good amount to help with discounts.
*** Customer service (1st level) - A joke, get by them ASAP
*** Customer service (2nd level) - Basically their managers, they have slightly more leeway, but not a lot.
*** CRG (Customer Retention Group) - This is the jackpot. They'll bend over backwards to make sure you get want you need/want. When it doubt, ask CS to speak directly to someone in "CRG" or the Customer Retention Group.

Now something really interesting, I talked to 12 different people over the course of a week or so and was hung up on 2x (maybe by accident each time) by lvl 1 CS. So, I channeled my inner-Trendon and decided that someone needed to hear this story. After a bit of research, I found the direct email address for the Sr. VP of Customer Service, Ellen Filipiak. (eafilipiak@directv.com) I didn't expect any response, but figured why not. With in 2 hours I received a phone call back from one of her direct reports, addressing the situation that I had. If nothing else,I was mildly impressed that she was willing to reach out to a customer.