dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
uniqs
24

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg to stardust3

Member

to stardust3

Re: Pole size question for Gen 4

Maybe there's some kind of misunderstanding here. Where does it say that a Sch40 pole and associated labor is included in a Gen4 standard installation? I always thought a polemount constituted a non-standard installation UNLESS there was absolutely no line of sight with the standard mount.

//greg//

anonanomanom
@verizon.net

anonanomanom

Anon

some time ago, hns changes rules around a bit. back when the recovery act jobs started i think. standard install includes pole. but its worded as such:

"If there is no line of sight to the satellite from an approved structure that can support a tri-mast roof / wall mount then the installer will, with the customer's permission, install a pole mount that meets HughesNet specifications no further than 25ft from the home. A pole mount will be used only when it's the only remaining option to provided high speed internet."

techs are not allowed to charge for pole mount installation. its been a complaint since day one. now hughes, did bump up the pay for a standard install (or distributors did, not sure who), but it hardly compensates for 2 poles a week, based on 3 installs a day, 5 days a week. so unfortunately, some techs have cut corners....thin wall pole. i personally have not.

in addition, per the actual order notes "pole will be used when its the only remaining option"....if a tech rolls up on a job and the customer demands a pole, they just plain dont want it on the house, and they have good los from an approved mounting surface (shingle roof/wood gable end wall), techs were told to escalate the issue. techs were then still told to just put in a pole so the job doesnt go down.....tech coughs up another pole.

so you can see the technicians complaint.

its a double edged sword, the fight has been going on ever since the rules changed. i dont see poles ever being a charge again though.
montana_sat
Premium Member
join:2005-12-05
Kalispell, MT

montana_sat

Premium Member

A bit off topic, but I have to jump in on this one as this is my pet peeve of this industry! First to be clear, I will not install a HughesNet system on thinwall pipe whether it works or not because I'm either going to do it to specs or not do it at all cause that's how my daddy taught me to be, HOWEVER that being said... we didn't cut corners, but we did change our policy and stopped doing fulfillment installs and service calls for HNS! For those that don't know what that means, it simply means that we now only do installs and service calls for our local customers that have ordered their equipment and service through us originally! At least that way we can use part of our sales commission to cover the additional costs of the pole mount, materials and installation. Why would anyone care... I'll explain later...

We can clear more $$ in a 15 minutes sale than we can clear in a 5 hour install and that's just wrong! But this is one reason why so many dealers have went to the "sales only" program and the consumers are left waiting several days or weeks for an installer or repair technician that has to knock out 2 - 3 calls a day to make any $$! This is where the cutting corners comes into play and the installation quality decreases! And the steps HNS has taken to improve installation quality have helped a bit I'm sure, but when you increase the responsibilities and expectations, you have to increase the pay, and while they added a whopping $25 per install, it doesn't come close to covering the number of pole mounts we were installing and doesn't make up for all of the additional time that their quality control procedures added to the installation either! So they've lost a lot of installers in the process and will lose more until they adjust the installation and service call pay to meet HughesNets' additional requirements and expectations. There are still some great installers out there with pride and self-esteem that care about quality, but they are getting harder to find because we all know you get what you pay for!

PCsongBird
join:2006-12-07
Hawthorne, FL

1 edit

PCsongBird

Member

Gentlemen, I thank you for your intelligent and thoughtful insights into the pole issue. I do see your issue w/ HN regarding the added cost of the pole mount required, vs doing it using a "cheap easy" solution, and feel this is something that HN needs to address for the benefit of everyone involved. Perhaps approaching them "in mass" as an issue that is a sticking point for the installers, would actually lead to a better solution for us all.

I for one would have no problem, when the options for mounting are explained, paying the relatively small extra amount for the job, that covered the right pole and concrete. It is actually an easier and safer install though than going up 35 feet to my very steeply pitched roof and trying to work. Take the cheap $10 pole and/or the $15/$20 tripod mount out of the equation, plus the safety of the roof climb, and I think most of us would have no problem with it. It's just not that much more money in the end, all things considered.

We are the ones that have to live with the system for years, and I really think most of us would rather have it done right the first time, than suffer through a bad install for years to come.

And this is coming from two "60 something" year old's, that already had to get out in the 100 degree hot, humid, July Florida weather, over six years ago, to learn and redo our first installation completely, due to a bad lazy installer. We can certainly sympathize with your position.