Yeah, the title of this post says it all. DISH Network is the devil (or, as Kathy Bates would say to Adam Sandler in The Waterboy, The Debil). Why are they the devil? Well, I'm glad you asked (and you know you did).
Last weekend my wife's debit card was compromised, so she had to get a new one issued from our bank. While she was waiting on her new card to arrive, she realized that we pay our DISH Network bill via auto-pay (we did this so we could get free HD service), and if she didn't call them to let them know that her card number changed we would have an issue with our payment not going through this month.
One would think that calling them ahead of time to let them know of this situation would be a good idea. One would be wrong to think this, because DISH Network doesn't work that way. They don't do things the common sense way. They have to make things as difficult as they can for their customers, because apparently they enjoy putting people through absolute hell just to get a simple task completed.
When my wife called customer service, she was told that in order to change the credit card on file she would have to pay the current charges on our account (our bill is automatically drafted out on the 18th of every month). When she asked why she would have to do something so foolish just to change information in our customer profile, she was told "that's just the way we do things". She asked to speak to a manager, and was transferred to someone who apparently was less qualified than the entry level phone operator she originally spoke to when she called.
The manager told her that if we wanted to change our credit card information on our account that we would have to pay the current balance. My wife told the manager that we weren't going to pay our full balance because it was foolish to pay it two weeks before it's due just to change the credit card number so future bills are actually paid (you would think they would want this to happen since you know - they wouldn't be able to collect their money otherwise).
My wife exchanged a few unpleasantries with the manager, who eventually told her that if we wanted to we could cancel our auto-pay option and re-enable it at a later date to avoid paying the balance to change our card number. The manager said that as long as we re-enabled the auto-pay option within 17 days we wouldn't be charged for the free HD that we have, and if we waited until the 18th (17 days from now) we could change the credit card number, pay the bill, and re-enable the auto-pay option for future billing cycles.
My wife asked the manager if we could just re-enable the auto-pay option tomorrow since it was within 17 days. The manager said no. My wife, perplexed, asked why this wasn't possible. The manager said that we would still have to pay the balance in full if we wanted to change the credit card number, but we could only do the disable auto-pay then re-enable it if we waited the 17 days and called back on the 18th to pay the bill and sign back up for auto-pay.
My wife and I were confused. We didn't understand why the manager told her that we could disable auto-pay, change the credit card number, and then re-enable auto-pay as long as we did it within 17 days, but then turned around and said we couldn't disable auto-pay today, change the card number, and then re-enable auto-pay tomorrow so the bill would be paid on the 18th.
When she pointed this out to the manger, she said "that's just the way we do things". My wife asked "So why did you just tell me two minutes ago that we could do that, and then tell me we couldn't do it?!" Apparently the manager said something that made my wife out to be a liar, because I heard her voice raise as she said "Well, you just told me that we could do that!"
After a few more minutes of back and forth with the manager, my wife agreed to disable the auto-pay feature and threatened them with cancelling our service if they screwed our account up and charged us for our HD programming after the manager told us they wouldn't, and she told the manager that we would call back on the 18th to re-enable the auto-pay feature and pay the balance on our account.
So basically, we wasted a half-hour of our day that we can never get back and got nothing out of it from DISH Network. Thanks, DISH!
Now, my question is this: Why in the hell is it necessary to go through all this rigamarole just to change the credit card number on our account? Is it really that hard to type in a new number in the credit card slot on our account? Do they treat all their customers this way, or are we the lucky ones?
As expected, we got an email from DISH Network about an hour later acknowledging that we disabled the auto-pay feature on our account, and...wait for it...if we didn't re-enable our autopay within 17 days we would be charged for any promotions that we received from signing up for auto-pay (i.e. - we would have to pay for our HD programming).
So, we wasted our time jumping through hoops on the phone with a customer service rep who told us that we wouldn't have to pay for our HD programming, and then received an email from DISH saying that if we didn't re-enable the auto-pay feature we would have to pay for our HD programming. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.
Needless to say, my wife isn't very happy about the way we were treated by DISH Network, and we've both decided that if they try to charge us for our HD programming from this month that we are simply going to take our business elsewhere because we feel that our continued loyalty for almost six years should be enough for them to treat us with a small modicum of respect, and if they can't do that then they don't deserve our money every month when there are other companies out there who will give us what we want (tv access) for comparable prices with much better customer service.
The moral of the story is this: if you're thinking about switching to satellite tv, don't switch to DISH Network because they're the devil, and the devil is bad.
At least that's what momma always says...
Showing posts with label Rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rant. Show all posts
02 November 2012
20 April 2010
The PC world strikes again
I'm sure by now that everyone is aware of the story of the teenager from Long Island who killed an Ecuadorian immigrant back in 2008 and was recently on trial for the murder. (If not, take a few minutes and read this.)
Well, it appears that the kid has been convicted of murder, which he should have been, based on the information I've seen about the case. But there is a part of this story that really bothers me, and that is the fact that he has also been convicted of committing a hate crime because the victim was a minority.
Those of you who know me know that I don't often delve into the political realm, but I just can't pass this one up without giving some commentary on it.
First of all, why does a crime against a minority have to be classified as a hate crime? Aren't all crimes "hate crimes"? Just because it was a white person killing a hispanic person doesn't mean that it should be treated differently than if a white person killed another white person. The same problem remains: a person is dead, a family is devastated, and a life is ruined. What does race have to do with anything?
All crimes are crimes of hate. It's the very nature of crime. If you love someone, you're not going to steal from them, abuse them, or kill them. So how can a crime be classified into sub-groups dependent upon outside factors? And, I'm not even talking about race here. I'm talking about everything: race, gender, sexual orientation -- it's all the same. A person is a person, regardless of race, gender, or creed -- so why should we label any crime against humanity a hate crime when there's no such thing as a love crime?
We've become too politically correct in America. We've come to the point where no one can say anything for fear of someone being offended. "Oh, little Johnny sucks at baseball? Well, we better put him on the team anyway and tell him how much of a winner he is, because we don't want his feelings to get hurt just in case he comes to school tomorrow and shoots 5 people before killing himself." ... "What, you mean Jimmy finished last in the race? Well, don't worry Mr. and Mrs. Whinybitch -- we have a 10th place ribbon just for little Jimmy, because we're all winners here at East Thundercunt Jr. High."
It's downright disgusting that we're no longer preparing our kids for those times in the real world when we actually lose. (Because you know -- there are times when we do lose -- it happens to all of us.) And we wonder why we have so many delinquents and criminals today, because a lot of people who have done nothing but win and have had everything handed to them don't know how to handle the reality that sinks in the first time they lose, or don't get their way.
The majority of kids in our society these days are seriously messed up in the head. I just saw on the internet a few minutes ago a video of a teenager who was recovering from burns over 60% of his body because some of his classmates got pissed at him and set him on fire. Yes, that's right -- they set him on fire. And do you know why they set him on fire? Because of a video game dispute.
Whatever happened to the old school way of handling problems: going to his house, asking him to come outside, and just kicking his ass on the sidewalk? That was how we handled our business when I was growing up, why can't that still be the method of solving problems amongst teens today?
But don't worry parents: I'm sure the government will come up with a way to paint this picture in a pretty way so we don't feel like our kids are going down the wrong path. I'm sure they will also tell us that it's because we let our kids eat too many cheeseburgers or watch too many cartoons, because you know that when we were kids and did those things that we turned out to be real social deviants.
And now that I'm starting to ramble, I'm going to end this rant before it starts to make no sense at all (not that it ever made any sense in the first place).
Well, it appears that the kid has been convicted of murder, which he should have been, based on the information I've seen about the case. But there is a part of this story that really bothers me, and that is the fact that he has also been convicted of committing a hate crime because the victim was a minority.
Those of you who know me know that I don't often delve into the political realm, but I just can't pass this one up without giving some commentary on it.
First of all, why does a crime against a minority have to be classified as a hate crime? Aren't all crimes "hate crimes"? Just because it was a white person killing a hispanic person doesn't mean that it should be treated differently than if a white person killed another white person. The same problem remains: a person is dead, a family is devastated, and a life is ruined. What does race have to do with anything?
All crimes are crimes of hate. It's the very nature of crime. If you love someone, you're not going to steal from them, abuse them, or kill them. So how can a crime be classified into sub-groups dependent upon outside factors? And, I'm not even talking about race here. I'm talking about everything: race, gender, sexual orientation -- it's all the same. A person is a person, regardless of race, gender, or creed -- so why should we label any crime against humanity a hate crime when there's no such thing as a love crime?
We've become too politically correct in America. We've come to the point where no one can say anything for fear of someone being offended. "Oh, little Johnny sucks at baseball? Well, we better put him on the team anyway and tell him how much of a winner he is, because we don't want his feelings to get hurt just in case he comes to school tomorrow and shoots 5 people before killing himself." ... "What, you mean Jimmy finished last in the race? Well, don't worry Mr. and Mrs. Whinybitch -- we have a 10th place ribbon just for little Jimmy, because we're all winners here at East Thundercunt Jr. High."
It's downright disgusting that we're no longer preparing our kids for those times in the real world when we actually lose. (Because you know -- there are times when we do lose -- it happens to all of us.) And we wonder why we have so many delinquents and criminals today, because a lot of people who have done nothing but win and have had everything handed to them don't know how to handle the reality that sinks in the first time they lose, or don't get their way.
The majority of kids in our society these days are seriously messed up in the head. I just saw on the internet a few minutes ago a video of a teenager who was recovering from burns over 60% of his body because some of his classmates got pissed at him and set him on fire. Yes, that's right -- they set him on fire. And do you know why they set him on fire? Because of a video game dispute.
Whatever happened to the old school way of handling problems: going to his house, asking him to come outside, and just kicking his ass on the sidewalk? That was how we handled our business when I was growing up, why can't that still be the method of solving problems amongst teens today?
But don't worry parents: I'm sure the government will come up with a way to paint this picture in a pretty way so we don't feel like our kids are going down the wrong path. I'm sure they will also tell us that it's because we let our kids eat too many cheeseburgers or watch too many cartoons, because you know that when we were kids and did those things that we turned out to be real social deviants.
And now that I'm starting to ramble, I'm going to end this rant before it starts to make no sense at all (not that it ever made any sense in the first place).
02 February 2010
Free Floating Hostility, Vol. 1
For those of you who are new to following my writing, you may not be aware of a post that I wrote last year (exactly one year ago today, coincidentally) that broached the subject of my burning rage for random people who are annoying and should be taken out of our society.
After some thought, I have decided that it would be a good idea to bring the rage to my new digs, so this will be the first entry of a series titled Free Floating Hostility. The title is taken from one of my favorite comedians of all time, George Carlin (RIP) who did a comedy routine several years ago where he spouted off random people and/or things that annoyed him.
Anyway, on with the hostility.
People who let their kids roam freely in public
As a father of two young children (5 year old boy and 1 year old girl), I know how important it is to keep an eye on my kids at all times, especially when in a public setting. Kids have the ability to disappear within seconds without anyone noticing them (and as a parent this scares the crap out of me), and I get especially annoyed when I see other people's rug rats roaming around with no adult supervision.
It bothers me for several reasons, some of those reasons being that I fear for the kids' safety (there are a lot of nut jobs out there who like to steal kids), but the main reason it bothers me is the kids who roam around with no supervision always seem to do so while being loud and obnoxious, and they always seem to be in my way while they're being loud and obnoxious, and it makes me want to beat the parents with a crowbar to thank them for my inconvenience (this should be legal in all states, by the way).
If you have kids, please do the world a favor and pay attention to them when you're out in public. If you don't have the mental capacity to keep up with your kids while you're in the store then please do one of two things: a) get a babysitter, or b) get a leash. I really don't care which one you do, but keep your loud and annoying kids out of my way - I have two kids of my own, I don't need to deal with yours too.
The self-checkout counters at Wal-Mart
This one really irks me. I go to Wal-Mart to shop. I don't go to Wal-Mart to shop AND to ring up and bag my items. That's why there are cashiers. They're not just there to look pretty (even though most of them FAIL at that as well), but they're supposed to ring up customers and put the purchased items in a bag and say "have a nice day and thank you for shopping with us" - they're supposed to get paid to do that all day. They're not supposed to get paid to stand at a desk and ensure that I ring up my items correctly.
And to make matters worse, the self-checkout counters never work properly (at least for me they don't, I don't think it's a coincidence - they're just out to get me for some reason). There's always a glitch, or the scale doesn't work properly, or the sensors that recognize the items being placed in the bags don't work (that one really pisses me off - I have been stared at by fellow shoppers in Wal-Mart on several occasions because of yelling "I PUT IT IN THE FREAKING BAG ALREADY!" at the computer screen).
I understand that in this economy retailers have to cut as many costs as they possibly can, but is it really necessary to take away the cashier? It seems to me that the satisfaction the customers get out of not having to ring up and bag their own shit is worth the minimum wage salary the cashiers have to be paid, because eventually people will get tired of being their own cashier and bagger and will find another place to purchase their goods.
(Oh wait, that's right - Wal-Mart has taken over the market and put all the other stores out of business with their super low prices. My bad.)
Automated messaging systems in Customer Service departments
How many times have you called to get your cable fixed or dispute erroneous charges to your phone bill only to discover that you are talking to a robotic voice that wants you to press '1' for English and say a command to better serve your needs? Why can't there just be a person on the other end of the conversation?
It's so much easier to talk to a person than it is trying to explain to a computer what you want, especially when you have to repeat yourself 5 times to get the computer to understand you (or is that just me?) - by the time you get the computer to understand what you want, you have forgotten why you called in the first place, and you end up sounding like a total dumb-ass to the technical assistant when you can't even explain that your cable is out or even remember your account number, phone number, social security number, or mother's maiden name. (Why is that the end-all security question, anyway? It's not like that information can't be easily found.)
It all goes back to the robot answering the phone. If companies would just hire people to answer the phone, a lot of problems would be avoided (imagine that). Oh, and don't hire the people in India or Bumfukistan to answer the phone. How about getting people who can speak English with proper pronunciation and diction instead of people who sound like they have a big spoon of mashed potatoes in their mouth and only know at most ten words in English? I know they're cheaper, but come on...
Also, I don't want to press '1' for English - I want English to be the only choice. If you want to live here, then learn English. If I want to move to Italy, I have to learn Italian, so shouldn't America have the same policy?
But that's a different topic for a different day.
I could sit here and rant all day, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to set my limit to three for now. Are there any specific groups of people or things that bring out the rage in you? If so, feel free to discuss them in the comments section below.
After some thought, I have decided that it would be a good idea to bring the rage to my new digs, so this will be the first entry of a series titled Free Floating Hostility. The title is taken from one of my favorite comedians of all time, George Carlin (RIP) who did a comedy routine several years ago where he spouted off random people and/or things that annoyed him.
Anyway, on with the hostility.
People who let their kids roam freely in public
As a father of two young children (5 year old boy and 1 year old girl), I know how important it is to keep an eye on my kids at all times, especially when in a public setting. Kids have the ability to disappear within seconds without anyone noticing them (and as a parent this scares the crap out of me), and I get especially annoyed when I see other people's rug rats roaming around with no adult supervision.
It bothers me for several reasons, some of those reasons being that I fear for the kids' safety (there are a lot of nut jobs out there who like to steal kids), but the main reason it bothers me is the kids who roam around with no supervision always seem to do so while being loud and obnoxious, and they always seem to be in my way while they're being loud and obnoxious, and it makes me want to beat the parents with a crowbar to thank them for my inconvenience (this should be legal in all states, by the way).
If you have kids, please do the world a favor and pay attention to them when you're out in public. If you don't have the mental capacity to keep up with your kids while you're in the store then please do one of two things: a) get a babysitter, or b) get a leash. I really don't care which one you do, but keep your loud and annoying kids out of my way - I have two kids of my own, I don't need to deal with yours too.
The self-checkout counters at Wal-Mart
This one really irks me. I go to Wal-Mart to shop. I don't go to Wal-Mart to shop AND to ring up and bag my items. That's why there are cashiers. They're not just there to look pretty (even though most of them FAIL at that as well), but they're supposed to ring up customers and put the purchased items in a bag and say "have a nice day and thank you for shopping with us" - they're supposed to get paid to do that all day. They're not supposed to get paid to stand at a desk and ensure that I ring up my items correctly.
And to make matters worse, the self-checkout counters never work properly (at least for me they don't, I don't think it's a coincidence - they're just out to get me for some reason). There's always a glitch, or the scale doesn't work properly, or the sensors that recognize the items being placed in the bags don't work (that one really pisses me off - I have been stared at by fellow shoppers in Wal-Mart on several occasions because of yelling "I PUT IT IN THE FREAKING BAG ALREADY!" at the computer screen).
I understand that in this economy retailers have to cut as many costs as they possibly can, but is it really necessary to take away the cashier? It seems to me that the satisfaction the customers get out of not having to ring up and bag their own shit is worth the minimum wage salary the cashiers have to be paid, because eventually people will get tired of being their own cashier and bagger and will find another place to purchase their goods.
(Oh wait, that's right - Wal-Mart has taken over the market and put all the other stores out of business with their super low prices. My bad.)
Automated messaging systems in Customer Service departments
How many times have you called to get your cable fixed or dispute erroneous charges to your phone bill only to discover that you are talking to a robotic voice that wants you to press '1' for English and say a command to better serve your needs? Why can't there just be a person on the other end of the conversation?
It's so much easier to talk to a person than it is trying to explain to a computer what you want, especially when you have to repeat yourself 5 times to get the computer to understand you (or is that just me?) - by the time you get the computer to understand what you want, you have forgotten why you called in the first place, and you end up sounding like a total dumb-ass to the technical assistant when you can't even explain that your cable is out or even remember your account number, phone number, social security number, or mother's maiden name. (Why is that the end-all security question, anyway? It's not like that information can't be easily found.)
It all goes back to the robot answering the phone. If companies would just hire people to answer the phone, a lot of problems would be avoided (imagine that). Oh, and don't hire the people in India or Bumfukistan to answer the phone. How about getting people who can speak English with proper pronunciation and diction instead of people who sound like they have a big spoon of mashed potatoes in their mouth and only know at most ten words in English? I know they're cheaper, but come on...
Also, I don't want to press '1' for English - I want English to be the only choice. If you want to live here, then learn English. If I want to move to Italy, I have to learn Italian, so shouldn't America have the same policy?
But that's a different topic for a different day.
I could sit here and rant all day, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to set my limit to three for now. Are there any specific groups of people or things that bring out the rage in you? If so, feel free to discuss them in the comments section below.
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