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The Lies of DirecTv – Rant ahead

by Scott

Today is going to be a bit of a rant about customer service and how it can impact your business.  Creating procedures for a company to operate by is extremely important.  Understanding the impact of those procedures is vital to the long term health of your business.  The impact those decisions can have on negative press and future long term business is something we need to think about every time we deal with a customer, potential customer, or former customer.

I just experienced a very frustrating phone call with DirecTv customer support.  I will say they were very nice and very polite and very unhelpful.  I will try to summarize the situation so you can understand my viewpoint and understand the impact their decision will have on my actions.  You should also think about if you have procedures in place that could have the same impact on your business as well.

I have been a loyal customer with DirecTV for three years.  Because of changes in my work and other circumstances, it doesn't fit my current lifestyle.  I was calling to cancel my subscription until things change back to where it makes sense to rejoin.  I do like DirecTv, their product and their service.  I have enjoyed it over the last three years.  I had planned on rejoining but as of today I will not.

I had attempted to contact them about 3-4 weeks ago but a long hold time and other things to get done caused me to use their website's Email feature to contact them.  I didn't hear from them but didn't think anything about it.  Today when I checked my credit card statement there was another billing cycle on it.  I then called today to discuss having this removed and making sure my service was cancelled.  The lady was very polite and did her best to keep me as a customer.  They are very good at cross selling, down selling and other techniques.  Well worth anyone studying them from that standpoint.  

They finally agreed to cancel my service but the REAL issue came when I asked for a refund of the latest charge on my account.  I have to admit that I am still pretty hot about this though trying to maintain a rational and calm demeanor about it.  As a small business owner, I understand the issues involved.  I try to see things on both sides and understand it before reacting to it.  I was told that I would not be able to get a refund because they didn't have a record of my request from the previous email.  

I finally asked to speak to a supervisor.  She informed me that they did not have a record of my attempts to contact them and as such could not issue a refund.  That it made no business sense for them to give me money to spend somewhere else even though I was not using their service and had not for the entire month.  I again informed her of my desire to return to being a customer in the future but that this decision would definitely change that.  I wasn't being unreasonable and asking for several months, just the last month's charge.  

Would you trade $60 (which is what is amounts to) for negative publicity?  For changing someone from a loyal customer to a very upset one?  I realize I am not actively using their service today so by their definition I no longer fit into customer satisfaction.  I asked her several times if she understood that by making this decision she was taking a future customer and turning them into not only a non customer but an advocate against their customer service.  She apologized several times for the situation...but that did not change the fact of the matter.  

They had no record of communications with me in the recent weeks and would not be refunding my last months fees.  $60 in exchange for my future business as a customer accommodation.  That was the deal they made.  They also purchased this blog post and several others as well.  

To say I am disappointed is an understatement.  I have always had good interactions with DirecTv and have suggested it to others.  Today that relationship was soured beyond belief.  I guess they don't worry about customer's returning to them after they leave.  Do you treat your customer's that way?  That if they cancel or don't purchase from you this week they are no longer a customer?  Or do you take the longer view that doing what's right is always the right thing to do and will pay dividends in the future.

So if you are considering getting DirecTv, think about how they view you. Not as a customer but a revenue stream.  No room to be flexible in dealing with loyal customers who have stated up front they want to return.  Who are willing to trade your future business for one month's charge.  Three years of loyalty down the drain of corporate inflexibility.   

How do you treat your customers?  

 

Scott Lovingood Signature The Lies of DirecTv Rant ahead

PS  Think about how you want to be treated and set your guidelines up that way.  Give your people flexibility to make sure you don't damage your brand.  

 

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  • Patrick

    Scott,

    I agree completely. It's amazing when businesses turn away years of $60 a month payments to receive one $60 payment (and get bad PR). Customer satisfaction is key and they dropped the ball. I'd be curious to see if they reacted differently if you wrote them now and explained everything (maybe even a link to this blog). It would be a good test to see if the stupidity was an isolated event or general mentality.

  • http://www.AskTheWealthSquad.com TheWealthSquad

    Well I have found several sites that focus just on the poor customer service from DirecTv. I am not hopeful of anything changing but would love to see them address it. I will update it if anything happens.

  • http://www.AskTheWealthSquad.com TheWealthSquad

    Just had a message left by DirecTV… no number for me to call just that they would call back later. Will update when I hear more from them.

  • mikethompson

    I've run into exactly this situation over the years. A notable example concerns one of our long time (10+ years) distributors. They were the exclusive source for one manufacturer's particular gaming product and that company went belly-up not soon after I placed a large order. Instead of working with me on a return of this now nearly worthless product, they would hear none of it. Even after going to the supervisors and explaining the situation and the consequences, they wouldn't give. Because of that stubborness, they've lost to date approximately $145,000 in sales to me. All over about $5,000.

    The potential backlash against your business from this kind of stupidity reminds me of a book I'm reading that may be benefitial to your readers. It's “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000″ by Pete Blackshaw and includes some thoughtful points on dealing with an internet conscious consumer.

  • Daniel

    I totally agree with you on customer service. I thought about going back this week and called them to set up new service and they wouldn't give me the current promotion for new customers. They were going to charge me 300 dollars more than if I had never had their service in the first place. I would think that since I still have their dish on my house and all they would have to do is reconnect it and bring the boxes they would be more than willing to give me the same offer. I have a great payment record with them and they still couldn't treat me like a new customer, and they told me that I will never be considered a new customer.

  • http://www.AskTheWealthSquad.com TheWealthSquad

    Just had a message left by DirecTV… no number for me to call just that they would call back later. Will update when I hear more from them.

  • mikethompson

    I've run into exactly this situation over the years. A notable example concerns one of our long time (10+ years) distributors. They were the exclusive source for one manufacturer's particular gaming product and that company went belly-up not soon after I placed a large order. Instead of working with me on a return of this now nearly worthless product, they would hear none of it. Even after going to the supervisors and explaining the situation and the consequences, they wouldn't give. Because of that stubborness, they've lost to date approximately $145,000 in sales to me. All over about $5,000.

    The potential backlash against your business from this kind of stupidity reminds me of a book I'm reading that may be benefitial to your readers. It's “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000″ by Pete Blackshaw and includes some thoughtful points on dealing with an internet conscious consumer.

  • Daniel

    I totally agree with you on customer service. I thought about going back this week and called them to set up new service and they wouldn't give me the current promotion for new customers. They were going to charge me 300 dollars more than if I had never had their service in the first place. I would think that since I still have their dish on my house and all they would have to do is reconnect it and bring the boxes they would be more than willing to give me the same offer. I have a great payment record with them and they still couldn't treat me like a new customer, and they told me that I will never be considered a new customer.

  • http://www.methodicallife.com/affiliatemarketing.html Thesikkone

    Direct TV could care less about their customers. I moved not too long ago and, before moving, called their customer service number to inquire as to how much it would cost to terminate my contract. I was thinking about switching to Comcast for the Triple Play deal. They told me that I wouldn’t have to pay anything since I was a loyal customer. Imagine my surprise when they sent me a $300 bill a couple weeks later. Needless to say, I haven’t used Direct TV since then, even though I used to love Sunday ticket.

  • fmrdtvfan

    I’ve been a loyal DirecTV customer for over 8 years. I have always been a big fan and have recommended it to everyone I know. Over the past year, my signal has degraded due to trees in my neighbors yard growing and blocking the signal. I’ve already moved the dish once and in June a service tech came out, took a look, and said there was nothing more they could do. I have 5 TVs: 2 of them don’t get a signal at all anymore and the other 3 don’t get an HD signal anymore. So, begrudgingly, I switched to cable after waiting endlessly and unsuccessfully for U-verse to arrive. When I called today to cancel my DirecTV subscription, the rep told me there would be a cancellation fee because my contract was renewed in June when the service tech swapped out 2 high def boxes for 2 SD boxes. I explained the situation, they consulted with their “supervisor,” and came back to tell me that the 2 new boxes constituted a plan renewal and I would be required to pay a cancellation fee. I finally got the supervisor on the line, asked her to take a big step back, look at the situation, and tell me if it is reasonable to expect me to continue my service when only 60 % of my TVs work on only half of the channels. Thankfully, she applied common sense and allowed me to cancel without a fee. The only catch is they will bill me for the fee, then send me a check for the refund. Whatever….

    Unfortunately, my Comcast experience has already gotten off to a rocky start. The phone and internet work great but they’ll be making their second trip out to complete installation tomorrow. I wish there were more options….

  • http://www.AskTheWealthSquad.com TheWealthSquad

    Unfortunately most of the providers seem to have trouble delivering on their promises.

    The industry is in serious need of improvement. But we have also gotten used to the convenience they bring as well.

    Glad everything worked out for you and you got someone with common sense.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6FIH7XWWGG54MS5SMVEJQUVHF4 Michael S

    It’s not surprising to know that DirecTV has received an “F” rating from the BBB with over 40,000 complaints registered against them. Adding insult to injury, they just settled a lawsuit with all 50 states for “unfair sales practices,” including “hiding fees, planned rate changes and terms that call for automatic renewals.” Glad I’m a subscriber with DISH, and I suppose being an employee at DISH gives me a better all around insight of the industry.

  • CGV

    Yes Directv is very unscrupulous.  they just duplicate billed my credit card and I can’t get it out of their system.  I was doing this for my parents and they are just unethical and resort to underhanded methods to get money. I would not have their service even it was free.  Cv

     

  • DirecTV hater

    I had something similar occur. I moved and am not allowed to have a dish, so I had to cancel. I was told the early cancellation fee would be waived. I got a bill in the mail, called and was told it would be waived. My credit card was charged. I called and was told it would be credited. I called again when I did not receive the credit. NOW I am told that their notes only indicate that I was told I would have to pay the cancellation fee and would not be credited. So, even though I have notes of whom I spoke to, the date and what they said, I have no recourse because their notes don’t correspond to mine.

  • http://www.AskTheWealthSquad.com TheWealthSquad

    Unfortunately phone conversations don’t hold much legal weight. A good suggestion is to have a device that allows you to record the phone conversation (they record theirs so why not us record them as well).

    You can find them online or in a local Radio Shack. If they deny something like that use social media and publish the call and their letters. Usually bad PR makes a company respond pretty well.

    The amazing thing would be for a company to respond without havnig to resort to those measures.

    Scott

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