A while back I wrote an article concerning this topic, which you can find here. I’m not going to repeat much of that article but I am going to tell you I did update to satellite and I want to share my experiences with you.

First some background: I have been a Cox Cable subscriber for years. I really enjoyed their programming and their customer service was good. Then they moved out of state and everything fell apart. Their prices seemed to double, their customer service went below the toilet, and their television side just fell into a state of miserable depression. And don’t even get me started about Contour. This being my opinion, which is based upon years of previous service. Your mileage may vary.

Cox internet. I am the first to admit you can’t beat it, so I still have it. It is the only service I have with them. The cost is fair compared to the amount of bandwidth I use, so I cannot complain. Moving forward…

I changed over to satellite in March of 2015. I disconnected Cox Cable TV in January same year. So for about three months I went without television. I didn’t miss it much but after about two months my better half mentioned that she was missing her music. Not the TV side, the music side. The only way you can get the music these days is via the TV side, which didn’t use to be that way as the music was separate from the TV, but not anymore.

So the question became which satellite company did I want to go with?

There are only two main satellite companies that need consideration. I know there are more but Dish and Directv are the top two entities. So, after a lot of research I went Directv for one reason and one reason only: I got a better price break for a year.

Technology wise the two companies are an even match so that really was not an issue which influenced my decision. Nope – strictly price. Both carry a two year commitment, and both give a price break for the first year. So when I compared prices Directv was slightly better.

Customer Service

When I did my research I read customer service horror stories. Discounting about 10% as BS both companies came out about the same. Customer service was, and is, a big issue for me but a decision had to be made and risk taken.

Surprised

After I decided on Directv I found myself dealing with Customer Service, as I knew I would. I expect ho-hum service but got a shock – for me, I can’t speak for others but I found the customer service to be damn good. Very good. In fact I have no complaints. I’m not saying I won’t have difficulties but as of this writing I’m very pleased with Directv customer service.

Now I can’t speak to Dish as I have no experience with their customer service. It could be great, it could be poor, I don’t know, nor do I offer any opinion on the subject. Sorry.

Changes

Things could change now that AT&T has ownership of Directv. I lost faith in AT&T a long time ago so I have to wait and see what happens. It won’t take long and if I discover AT&T screwed up Directv I will write about it. You can count on that.

Experiences

I’ve had Directv for several months now and I learned the pros and cons of the system. So I want to share some of them with you now.

Cons

When it rains hard you can lose your signal. That has happened to me once. It’s satellite, live with it, accept it. Move on with your life and throw a DVD on the turntable.
Wireless. Could never get mine to work but I ran a hard-line, no problem. Not a big issue for me.
Retrieving Data – I get this error sometimes. I don’t know what causes it but I turn the system off and then on again. Problem solved.
Written support and guidance. There are many videos and support topics on the website but written instructions are sadly lacking. The written documentation the company does provide is miserable at best. But this is just me as I like paper over electrons. There is something to be said for a written manual. It can answers questions no video ever could – if it is written properly. These days that is asking for a miracle so don’t hold your breath. Written documentation is expensive and time consuming when done correctly. Cheap and miserable when done wrong. A trade off could be, and is acceptable to be: Write an excellent user guide and save it as a downloadable PDF. Let the end user print out what he/she needs. This approach saves money and provides the information needed. As a tech writer I judge a company by it’s documentation. Thus in this department I have to give Directv a D minus. To bad as it lowers the overall grade from a A+ to a simple A.

Pros

My experience with customer service has been very positive. When I double-paid by accident they refunded me in a short time, a couple of days I think, maybe less.
Excellent picture quality. High def, no problems. Very pleased.
Program selection – you select and pay for your package. Can be basic or advanced, that choice is yours.
Phone support: What can I say I’ve had nothing but great experiences. Same with internet chat. All my questions answered in a very professional manner.

Neutral

Would not recommend internet or phone service. It is satellite, meaning it is slow and could have problems. However if you cannot get access to cable internet, it is the way to go. Never tried it, so I can’t really say anything about it. Phone service, your call. Me, I use my cell phone as I got rid of my hard-line a long time ago (AT&T).
Operator error. What can I say most of my problems have been because of me. Nobody to blame but me. But I can also say that written documentation would have come in handy during those times. What they need is a good tech writer. I do freelance and I’m available. Don’t hesitate to call, write, or email.

Overall I am please with my switch. Will I stay with Directv? At least until April of 2017 when my contract expires. After that depending upon what is, who knows.

I hope this article helps you if you find yourself seeking information. These are my experiences so I cannot speak for anyone else. My best advice: Do your homework and then decide what you need in the way of entertainment. That’s all I did.