Dish Network/Echo Star no Customer Service

About 10 days ago my wife and I decided to upgrade our present Dish Network system to the Dish 500 system. We looked on the Dish Network Website and saw the promotion for current customers to upgrade free of charge.

I contacted customer service to see how I could get the equipment. They told me that they could set up an installation for me. I told the customer service agent that I just wanted to get the equipment and that I preferred to do the installation myself. He placed me on hold for a moment and talked with a supervisor.

I was told that I could go out to a local distributor and pick up the equipment and do the installation myself. This past Saturday, I visited several stores in the Bloomington/Normal area in an attempt to get the equipment.

I was told that I could get the buy the equipment for $99.00 by one distributor. Another company would not talk with me about upgrading; another company did not have anyone in the store that knew anything about Dish Network.

The final store I went to would not give the equipment without installing it even though they had the equipment on the floor right next to a self-install kit. I returned home and called customer service and let them know about the inconsistent messages I had heard. I asked the agent if there was any way to have them send me the upgrade kit and he said no. I asked for a supervisor and told her about all that I had been through trying to get the upgrade kit. She told me that there was no way to get it without having it installed professionally. I asked her if I was a new customer could I walk into a store and purchase the equipment and install it myself. She said yes. I asked her what the difference was. She told me that is the structure of the current promotion. She said that she understood my frustration and suggested that I call the corporate office on Monday morning.

At approximately 9:30 am this morning I called the corporate office and was connected to Carol (ID #77924). I told her what had transpired. She again told me that was the current promotion and that there was no way I was going to get the upgrade kit without having it professionally installed. I told her that a commercial I saw this morning on Dish Network said that Professional Installation Included it did not say required. I asked her if there was anything that could be done and she said no.

I asked Carol who was above her that I could talk to, she said that there was no one. I said to her, your name is not Charlie Ergen, so there must be someone I could talk to. She said that I have Charlies name and she would not give me the name of anyone else to talk to even though she admitted that Charlie Ergen would not take these types of calls.

I asked her again whom I could talk to next; she refused three separate times to give me the name of anyone else to talk to. I was frustrated enough that I was not receiving consistent answers from the people I was talking to, but for Carol to use the tone she did with me as well as refusing to give me the name of who I could talk to next was not appropriate.

Her comments alone made me wonder if the monthly Charlie Chats were nothing but hype. According to Carol, Charlie does not take calls like this. Dish Network advertises itself to be an alternative to the local cable distributors. At least with cable I know what customer service I may get. With Dish Network, I expected a little better. That is what they advertise.