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Dish Among 'Most Hated' Companies in America
At Least According to Utterly Unscientific Report

Dish Network and T-Mobile get no love in a new ranking of the "most hated companies in America" by Wall Street 24/7, which considered company stock performance, customer satisfaction rankings, and employee happiness. The report notes that Dish traditionally takes a beating in both the ACSI and MSN Money/Zogby customer satisfaction poll (though then again, so do a lot of companies, including AT&T).

24/7 Wall Street also recently ranked Dish the worst company in America to work for based on online feedback from employees at glassdoor.com. The survey was hardly scientific, but appears borne out by a Bloomberg article this week noting that Dish boss Charlie Ergen is no joy to work for, thanks to a short temper and the tendency to make unilateral decisions without consulting the people that work for him:
quote:
Over time, Neuman says, he came to realize why former presidents such as John Reardon, who lasted less than a year, described Ergen as “pounding people into submission.” The hours were long, yes, but it was Ergen’s habit of unilaterally making decisions that most irked Neuman. Although Dish had more than 100 people employed in its marketing department and reams of customer data to analyze, when it came time to figure out how much it was going to charge for satellite service, Ergen went into his office and came up with the final number alone.
Though the acquisition is a long shot, Dish hopes to expand its presence in the wireless sector through an recently announced bid for Clearwire.
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mb6
join:2000-07-23
Washington, NJ
Netgear CM1150V
Netgear R7800

mb6

Member

He's the boss...

"when it came time to figure out how much it was going to charge for satellite service, Ergen went into his office and came up with the final number alone"

This I like! I save a few dollars a month for a similar package with Dish over my previous provider Direct...
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678

Member

Re: He's the boss...

at the cost of all of the NY RSN channels.

sleuth3
Premium Member
join:2001-08-30
West Des Moines, IA

sleuth3 to mb6

Premium Member

to mb6
said by mb6:

"when it came time to figure out how much it was going to charge for satellite service, Ergen went into his office and came up with the final number alone"

This I like! I save a few dollars a month for a similar package with Dish over my previous provider Direct...

While I agree Dish is cheaper, I moved from Dish to DirecTV a couple years ago. I'm 100% more satisfied. Dish still used line of site back then, better video quality, and overall satisfaction with the customer service.
ncted
join:2010-10-25
Durham, NC

ncted

Member

Re: He's the boss...

said by sleuth3:

While I agree Dish is cheaper, I moved from Dish to DirecTV a couple years ago. I'm 100% more satisfied. Dish still used line of site back then, better video quality, and overall satisfaction with the customer service.

Line of sight is required for Directv as well, so I don't understand your comment.

sleuth3
Premium Member
join:2001-08-30
West Des Moines, IA

sleuth3

Premium Member

Re: He's the boss...

said by ncted:

said by sleuth3:

While I agree Dish is cheaper, I moved from Dish to DirecTV a couple years ago. I'm 100% more satisfied. Dish still used line of site back then, better video quality, and overall satisfaction with the customer service.

Line of sight is required for Directv as well, so I don't understand your comment.

Not for the HD dishes. I've been told by two different installers this is no longer an issue. Don't have to worry about any obstructions anymore.
Hanko
join:2001-12-28
Eatonville, WA

Hanko

Member

Re: He's the boss...

All satellite TV signals are still "Line of Sight" given the power levels at the receiving end. If you have trouble believing this try offsetting your dish by just 5 degree's in any direction and see if you have reception. Or try standing in front of the dish and see what happens.

The installers were probably indicating they did not have to be as precise at aligning the dish since the satellites are now transmitting at a higher power. This allows a greater range of misalignment but it does not mean you can have a building in the way. You won't be able to point your dish at a distant building and hope the reflection of the signal off of it will be enough to get service. You will still need line of sight.
ncted
join:2010-10-25
Durham, NC

ncted to sleuth3

Member

to sleuth3
said by sleuth3:

said by ncted:

said by sleuth3:

While I agree Dish is cheaper, I moved from Dish to DirecTV a couple years ago. I'm 100% more satisfied. Dish still used line of site back then, better video quality, and overall satisfaction with the customer service.

Line of sight is required for Directv as well, so I don't understand your comment.

Not for the HD dishes. I've been told by two different installers this is no longer an issue. Don't have to worry about any obstructions anymore.

Don't believe everything you are told. Also, Directv suffers from rain fade more than Dish due to its use of Ka band signals, so dish pointing IS still important for Directv customers.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina to sleuth3

Member

to sleuth3
The wider HD dishes might be easier to align but obstructions are still a problem. While there are lots of factors as to why obstructions are still a problem, two seem to be on the short list:

1) The transmitters are ~25,000 miles above the equator. In free space (the vacuum of space), an RF signal degrades by 1/4 every time the distance doubles. Since the distance is significant, the signal is not very strong by the time it reaches a base station.
2) They use very high frequencies (above 10Ghz). In general, higher frequencies do not penetrate obstructions as easily as lower frequencies.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: He's the boss...

said by rradina:

The wider HD dishes might be easier to align but obstructions are still a problem.

The width of the dish has less to do with ease of alignment (or otherwise increasing signal strength). It's with allowing multiple satellites in different orbital locations to reflect their signal to one or more focal points close to each other in front of the dish. If it was about ease of alignment, then keeping the big ugly dishes of yesteryear would have made things even easier to align.
Big Dawg 23
join:2002-03-27
Northfield, MN

Big Dawg 23 to sleuth3

Member

to sleuth3
You were fed a line a BS. I have Directv, first its much better than Dish, but as for line of sight both require it. Obstruction like trees and leaves do in fact cause issues. I had Directv installed 4.5 years ago. Until my LNB just failed I had gone over year without an outage. The reason is a nice install in which they made sure no line of sight issues like swaying trees or roof peaks would cause issues.

Direct Fan
@108.238.204.x

Direct Fan to mb6

Anon

to mb6
You need to ask them about their hd channels.....720p or 1080p, most are 720 my friend. Also they only offer 120HD channels; direct tv offers 185 plus they have 3D channels too. Ask them how many channels you actually get in your package after they dublicate standard def, high def, and spanish channels....ie ABC, NBC, and CBS. They also add their music channels when they claim your package has so many stations. Do they have the Genie? Do they have NFL Sunday Ticket or any other of the sports packs direct tv offers. NFL channel and some extra ESPN's is not considered an extra sports pack by direct tv. Oh and HD for life for free......ha, its included in your package price. DVR only works on two tv's too! Lets you record two shows at a time. D tv's genie does five shows at a time works on all tv's. Should I say more, cause I can? When are you dish network people going to compare apples to apples, admit direct tv is better, and admit the only reason you have dish network is because you didnt return that direct tv box when you were in college or you just cant pass the credit check!
67845017 (banned)
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL

1 recommendation

67845017 (banned)

Member

Re: He's the boss...

What equipment are you comparing of Dish's with DTVs? You should really compare the latest in Dish's if you are going to bring up the Genie.

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Yes

Me too. I had a better installation, better reception, and a better package choice with Dish. What they could improve on is better response time to problems where rural Americans live. For this reason I am not likely to expand services.
slckusr
Premium Member
join:2003-03-17
Greenville, SC

slckusr

Premium Member

I like them

Never had an issue with Dish, none. ( about 4 years now)

Of course other peoples results vary due to their expectations.

A tip my installer shared was to call the local office instead of the 800 number if i had any issues because i will get better service.
cooperaaaron
join:2004-04-10
Joliet, IL

cooperaaaron

Member

T Mobile....

upgrades gives faster, more consistent speeds, and a $30 unlimited text-data, 100 min plan just plain works for me... I'm happy
ConstantineM
join:2011-09-02
San Jose, CA

ConstantineM

Member

Re: T Mobile....

+1! T-Mo online exclusive 30$ for 5GB@4G plan rocks!

ArgMeMatey
join:2001-08-09
Milwaukee, WI

ArgMeMatey to cooperaaaron

Member

to cooperaaaron
said by cooperaaaron:

upgrades gives faster, more consistent speeds, and a $30 unlimited text-data, 100 min plan just plain works for me... I'm happy

Same here. For less than 1/3 the cost, T-Mobile gives me about 75% of what AT&T is so generously willing to sell me.

There will always be people who want champagne on a beer budget.

Next!
meowmeow
join:2003-07-26
Helena, MT

meowmeow to cooperaaaron

Member

to cooperaaaron
That's great. I live over 100 miles from the closest T-Mobile cell site. It's AT&T, Verizon, or Cellular ONE (MTPCS) and of those, only AT&T has good coverage really, and only AT&T has high speed coverage other than the scattered dots in town of Verizon LTE.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

My experience with dish in 2005

My experience with dish was not a good one. Horrible customer service, billing problems, and cancellation issues all plagued my experience with them. They tried claiming I had a contract when the promotion I had said no commitment and their offshored customer service made me go back to Comcast. I did have DirecTV from 2006 to 2010 and they were good and I had no issues but they got expensive. It is cheaper for me to bundle my TV along with home phone and Internet (triple play) through Comcast.
ncted
join:2010-10-25
Durham, NC

ncted

Member

I like Dish

I've gone back and forth between Dish and DirecTV over the years, and I found the experience to similar with both. Currently, I have Dish, and I have had excellent customer service and the technology is impressive, especially when compared to cable offerings. I hate TimeWarnerCable way more than Dish or AT&T, but I am stuck with them for Internet.

Mior
@slic.com

Mior

Anon

Great service in 10+ years

We have had dish for over 10 years and they have moved with us and been with us thru a total loss house fire. They have been great almost every step of the way.

The pricing is hard to beat and they offer decent packages for the price. Their equipment is fantastic (other than the first vip722k we had the hard drive crash within a year) the replacement went well.

Only issue I have is the installers are typically rude, uneducated, or dirty. And everytime anyone has come to the house they are new and just walk thru the house without taking off their shoes or anything. Verizon will put booties on before walking thru the house.

I feel you get better service if you pay the extra 7$ for the protection plan it gives you premium tech support. Relatives have gotten directv and as soon as the contract ended they switched back. So from my personal experience, they have been wonderful and no one has better technology in their receivers.
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

elray

Member

Re: Great service in 10+ years

said by Mior :

We have had dish for over 10 years and they have moved with us and been with us thru a total loss house fire. They have been great almost every step of the way.

...

Only issue I have is the installers are typically rude, uneducated, or dirty. And everytime anyone has come to the house they are new and just walk thru the house without taking off their shoes or anything. Verizon will put booties on before walking thru the house.

I warn all of my contractors, repairmen and installers: if you don't bring booties, gloves, and decent cleaning supplies, you'll go home empty-handed, and won't be returning. For more destructive work, we have a site meeting ahead days ahead of the job, in which we review a checklist for what I call "preventing cleanup", as well as what constitutes proper aesthetics for the finished product.

Not surprisingly, 100% of them bring booties, and those unaccustomed to such instruction wake up real quick - the common remark from the younger guys is "I hadn't considered that"; the seasoned pros, married 20+ years, say something to the effect "... you must know my wife."

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

I'll agree with this...

I left Dish when I bought an HDTV and they didn't carry SciFi among other channels in HD at the time and they couldn't tell me when they would carry them. So when I dialed their number to cancel I was planning on returning one day. After the asshat that talked to told me that I was lying about why I was leaving I told him to "Fuck off" and I would never, ever, for any reason return to Dish..
axiomatic
join:2006-08-23
Tomball, TX

axiomatic

Member

Ergan is the prob...

I'm ok with Dish. Hell they now own the excellent Slingbox. Ergan I'm not that big a fan of though.
Fickey
Terrorists target your backbone
join:2004-05-31

Fickey

Member

Dish FTW

Any issue I've ever had with Dish in the 4-5 years I've been with them has been quickly & easily handled via online chat. Admittedly, I've not had to deal with any technical problems, big problems, or even many problems, but by FAR Dish has been the best customer experience I've ever had with a pay TV service.

Snakeoil
Ignore Button. The coward's feature.
Premium Member
join:2000-08-05
united state

Snakeoil

Premium Member

I like dish and T-mo

I'm a long time Dish subscriber and like them.
I was also a long time T-MO user, and thought their pre-paid service was the best out there.
Currently however, I'm on Verizon, thanks to the wife following co-workers advice and not mine.

But as she is paying the bill, I'll go with it.
BigVe
join:2005-07-15
Gulliver, MI

BigVe

Member

Also a long time Dish Subscriber

and i love it.No problems at all even great customer service.Called them up a few month ago and asked if a long time customer could get a cheaper rate...and i did not much questions asked so they work for me.Very happy with my HD free for life as well
te100
join:2013-01-16
Daleville, AL

te100

Member

Dish

I don't hate Dish just hate not having my LOCALS IN HD. Both Directv and Timewarner have them and for some time now. Why you no carry Dish?
te100

te100

Member

I like Dish

I Like Dish. I just hate the fact they don't have my locals in hd but both Directv and Timewarner do and have for the last year or two.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

newview

Premium Member

I hate DISH Network ...

... and I've never even subscribed to their service, ever.

They blanketed our town with direct mail, one arriving in the mailbox every couple of days, with huge bold-letter announcements that Local TV stations were NOW available on their service ... which turned out to be an out-and-out LIE. »goo.gl/Y3JEa (DBSTalk.com)
quote:
Despite DISH's claims to the contrary, there is NO agreement to carry WBOC, FOX 21 or WMDT (ABC) on DISH. In fact I've spent a great deal of time recently trying to thwart the misinformation.

I very much want DISH to carry our stations and was in negotiations with them to make that happen. Unfortunately DISH broke off negotiations two weeks ago and told me they would not be launching us in this market.

My hope is that DirecTV will do so in the near future.

Craig Jahelka
Vice President & General Manager
WBOC-TV / FOX 21 / Interactive
1729 North Salisbury Blvd.
Salisbury, MD 21801
410-749-1111
With absolutely NO fanfare, DirecTV did, in fact, offer Local TV stations very soon after that, at no charge.

Then, after the dust settled, which was quite some time afterwards in fact ... DISH Network third-party affiliates again blanketed our community with another direct mail LIE ... in the form of a misleading advertisement disguised as an "Installation Notice" »goo.gl/y1aTT (The Consumerist).

AFAIC ... This company are bottom-feeding, lying scumbags.

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster

Member

Re: I hate DISH Network ...

And how much money did you want for rebroadcast rights. There is two sides to this story.

I have been a happy customer of Dish Network for more then 20 years. With all of the choices I have, Discovery Channels, History channels, TLC, etc, etc and looking at the crap programing offered by CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX on the local channels, the exception being PBS, Even though I have had these local channels for years I have watch none of them in at least 20 years. and I have all of them excluded from my watch list.

•••

compuguybna
join:2009-06-17
Nashville, TN

compuguybna

Member

*Directv* more hated.....

I think DIRECTV is more hated than DISH.....

•••

Former Emp
@70.40.136.x

Former Emp

Anon

From the employee side..

I was a Dish employee in a significant role within the Marketing department for several years. I was also a customer. While the customer experience is about par for this type of service, working there is another story. In my entire career, I have never seen such a micromanaging, control freak as Ergen...and it rolls down hill and no one dares challenge him, since everyone lives in fear of their jobs. Everything in the Bloomberg article is true and then some. It isn't even the long hours...it is the demeaning manner in which employees are treated. I would sack groceries before ever working for Dish or their corporate sister, Echostar, again. For those fine people still suffering under that regime, there is a better life at other places. Dish isn't the only place to work.
meowmeow
join:2003-07-26
Helena, MT

meowmeow

Member

No way, Karl, even you can't compare AT&T to DISH.

Karl, even you can't seriously compare DISH and AT&T. DISH is just downright evil. They treat their customers like dirt, make it almost impossible to cancel, have crappy TV (last I checked they don't even have Disney Channel in HD), don't meet NEC in their installs (I have never seen a properly grounded DISH install in my area), utilize dealers who illegally market to sell phones and make fraudulent attempts to get conversions, etc.

Seriously, I don't know why anyone would dream of doing business with a company as atrociously awful as DISH.

On the other hand, AT&T has... network issues in some areas that are mostly resolved, but excellent coverage and customer service (though high prices). Seems reasonable enough if not amazing.
67845017 (banned)
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL

67845017 (banned)

Member

Re: No way, Karl, even you can't compare AT&T to DISH.

said by meowmeow:

Karl, even you can't seriously compare DISH and AT&T. DISH is just downright evil. They treat their customers like dirt, make it almost impossible to cancel, have crappy TV (last I checked they don't even have Disney Channel in HD), don't meet NEC in their installs (I have never seen a properly grounded DISH install in my area), utilize dealers who illegally market to sell phones and make fraudulent attempts to get conversions, etc.

Seriously, I don't know why anyone would dream of doing business with a company as atrociously awful as DISH.

On the other hand, AT&T has... network issues in some areas that are mostly resolved, but excellent coverage and customer service (though high prices). Seems reasonable enough if not amazing.

Dish doesn't have Disney HD because of a long standing dispute. It is what it is. And the NFL Ticket is coming up for renegotiation. Who knows how that will turn out. But to me, having Fox Soccer, Bein and Tennis channel in HD meets our households sporting needs.

Dish hasn't ever treated us like dirt. Not sure how a customer gets treated like dirt anyway. They also have great TV at a great price. You must be talking about a different era.