If someone from ATT U-Verse comes to your door, before saying yes to their sales-pitch, please refer back to this thread. You might be glad you did. Money is tight for everyone in this economy. I am just like everyone else (well not quite but that is for another thread ) and find these times kind of trying and always am looking to save a few bucks. So when I answered the door and the U-Verse Salesman threw his pitch at me, I bit when I was informed I could save as much as $ 75 a month by switching to ATT U-Verse. As a DirecTV customer, it would have meant giving up NFL Sunday Ticket, and also MLB Extra Innings. I was promised a plethora of other extras that kind of took the sting off of my losses - 4 DVR's that each could hold 137 hours of HD Programming, or almost 300 hours of digital programming. That is a lot better than the DirecTV DVR's that only allow up to 45 hours of HD or 100 hours of digital. I was sold and was ready to give my DirecTV up after 7 years. Biggest mistake of my last 10 years ! (oh you'll see a lot more of our tantrum friend before the end of this missive ) Date for installation was set for December 29th. I waited until then specifically because it was the day after the NY Jets game (yes I really did !). It all got off to a very bad start as U-Verse was late for installation - They were supposed to be there between 8am and 12pm, and of course didn't arrive until almost 2pm. This was just the smallest of the many things that went wrong over this last month. Then started with what I feel are deceptions - the salesperson who insisted I would be given 4, yes FOUR DVR's. Nope, that doesn't happen. They give you one DVR that can have up to 4 satelite boxes. Those boxes cannot do any of the DVR functions except for watch pre-recorded TV. No stop-pause, no rewinds, no erase of the recorded programs. Then I learn that programming was not available, the salesman promised me that starting on Jan 1st, that they would have MLBTV the new baseball network. It didn't happen. Then I learn that MLB Extra Innings - not available (of course) even thought the salesperson assured me that it was. Starting on January 3rd the remote problems started. I had turned the TV off as usual when I went to bed. Then on the morning of the 3rd, I turn it back on, and the remote won't work. No matter what buttons I pushed -- nothing -- . So I call ATT and I try all of their suggestions with the remote - nothing works. Then they suggest changing the batteries (mind you the ones in there had only been used for less than a week). Of course that didn't work either. Well I starting playing around with the buttons again, and finally got it to work at least changing the channels (some of the other functions still didn't work). ATT then agreed that it must be the remote, and to send me a new one. It would take 5 to 7 business days. I wasn't happy but what could I do. Then the wait....January 10th, January 12th, January 14th, January 16th (11 business days later) still no replacement remote in my mail. Then we get to the Customer (Dis)Service of U-Verse. Calling their customer service was nothing short of frustrating. The reps don't know their own remotes, or DVR's or just about anything with their own system. Everytime I called it was a different excuse as to what was going on with the system. It was the remote, then it was the battteries, then it was swtich the remote from another room. By the time January 22nd came around I had had enough. The remote I had been promised on January 3rd, 3 weeks before, still had not arrived. The gal that helped me assured me that she would have a remote overnighted to my by FedEx, and I should get it Friday night. Of course, no remote on Friday, and FedEx doesn't deliver on the weekends. I called back on Friday night and asked why it wasn't here, and then asked for a tech to come by. They agreed that they would have some one there on Monday morning. I also asked for a tracking number for the remote, and they said they couldn't give me one. Then come Monday, no tech shows up. I call and they tell me that unfortunately they just couldn't get around to my call that day, and that they would try to get someone there by the end of the week. I asked them why they couldn't send someome out on Tuesday, and I was told that since I was scheduled for Monday, and even though it was their fault that no one showed up, that the next available appointment was for Friday. Are you freakin' kidding me ? They miss the appointment and then they put me behind others and I have to wait even longer ?????? Were they serious ????? I finally went ballistic on them I demanded that they send someone on Tuesday and if they didn't I was cancelling the service altogether. They sent me to a supervisor and he agreed to send someone the next morning. The next day was the culmination of my U-Verse disaster. The tech was supposed to be there between 8 and 12, and arrived at 1pm Then he shows immediate attitude. Doesn't believe a word I say about the remote and tells me I need to put new batteries in the remote. Even though I told him I had already done that 3 weeks before. Then as he starts working the remote he also is not getting it to work. He proclaims that "it must be your TV sending off a disruptive signal to the U-Verse box" Huh ??? I don't have some weird kind of TV but a Sharp Aquos HD monitor, of which thousands also have and I am sure more than a few U-Verse customers. If they knew of this they should warn their customers before putting in the U-Verse service into homes with Sharp Aquos TV's. But I don't believe that excuse for one minute anyways. It was laughable. Then the coup d'grace. The tech starts moving things off my table next to the TV without asking me or even letting me know what he was going to do. I say "wait a minute what are you doing ? I didn't give you permission to move my things", he then turns around and tells me, "you just need to sit down and be quiet I am trying to fix the box". That was it, U-Verse was going away, and it couldn't be fast enough. I called U-Verse and the tech then tells me, "you better not call or I will rip the whole thing out and I don't care what happens". By the time he got that out of his mouth, I had a rep on the line and he just picked up his stuff and shot out of the house. I had my DirecTV restored the next day, so at least I had that working right. I tried to call about getting Verizon or Comcast internet, but both of them wanted to charge me outrageous monthly rates so I had to reconnect my ATT DSL . But ATT even screwed that up, because I thought I had it worked out with them, that they would turn on the DSL service as of Tuesday, and then turn off the U-Verse internet on Thursday (yesterday), but of course they turned off the U-Verse on Wednesday at about 3am, and didn't get my DSL turned back on until Thursday at 4pm. By the way, all this time I can honestly say that I had ZERO problems with the U-Verse internet service. It was fast as lightning and everything that was promised. Its a shame that ATT hasn't perfected their TV service before unleashing it on the general public. You would think they would have beta tested this for months on some customers for free so they could work out all the bugs. So there, I ask, has anyone else gotten U-Verse and had any kind of an experience like this ?????
that suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. i dont have u-verse around me. i am blessed with directv and verizon fios. i pay over 200 a month for both, but its worth every damn penny.
They still have door-to-door salesmen, or are Jehovah's witnesses just trying to make a little extra cash on the side?
Wow man, that sucks....... Though I have to say it was funny to read, in a morbid kind of way. I have had my hassles with customer service as well and it boggles the mind at times.
Did you have to plan the tatrums out to make sure your images were under the 10 allowed per post? That really sucks PMZQ
That's a hell of an experience, I would have beaten the tech with his toolbox and rolled him to the curb.
Well this is our version of FIOS, but unlike your FIOS they require you to get it all (TV and internet) or you don't get it at all. No getting just the TV or just the internet, you HAVE to get both Just dumb ! Like I said in my missive, I have my DirecTV back and couldn't be happier.
Actually they did do this door-to-door .....all I can say is if they are in your neighborhood.....hide the women and children and hope they leave asap
I'm glad someone got some laughs out of it, but I am not laughing just yet, but I still have a smile on my face from having DirecTV back.
Trust me I wanted to, but then I would be typing this from jail right now (and noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo contrary to what some of you guys want to believe, I do NOT want to be someone's prision beyotch )
