It could simply be that DirecTV is lame and totally inept, but there are a lot of reports from customers having great difficulty ordering and obtaining the new TiVO THR22 DVR from DirecTV.
DirecTV seems to be doing all they can to try NOT to sell you a TiVo and if you do finally order one, they are doign all they can to ensure you never actually receive a TiVo.
I know when I ordered mine, the website and the people on the phone really had a hard time entering the order into the system. Then, the installers were not able to get the TiVo boxes. It was a real mess that was only straightened out because the third-party installation folks really worked with us and helped us coerce DirecTV into doing what we wanted - which was nothing more than to give them money for a product they supposedly want to sell!
People are reporting that even when they finally get an order placed with DirecTV, they still have a hard time getting a TiVo, saying that DirectTV ships a normal DirecTV DVR instead of a TiVo.
Likewise, when you try to buy a TiVo, the agents try to steer you toward the DirecTV DVR instead, claiming that it is "the same thing" (using TiVo like "Kleenex" to simply mean a generic DVR). And they might waive the cost of the DirecTV DVR, but not the TiVo, even though they are listed as the same price on the website.
These are the hoops people have to jump through to get a TiVo from DirecTV and yet, the new TiVo is still selling out everywhere, by all reports, in spite of DirecTV.
Is DirecTV going out of their way to try to kill TiVo... again? Is there a contractual dispute on the way?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I read this a day or two after you posted it and after hearing of this, I ordered my HD DirecTiVo immediately. I was shocked to receive it the following day. My dish was just a hair off which left me receiving SD programs but not a majority of HD channels. But after a visit from a DTV technition, I was properly aligned. I've been using it just over 3 weeks now and am fairly happy. There are a few dumb things but overall it gives me what I want - a TiVo that's both HD and DirecTV ready. No Now Playing button on the remote is just plain stupid - but that's the only really unforgivable blunder.
I ordered a THR22 online at DirecTV. The installers showed up with a DirecTV unit. When I pointed out that they had the wrong item, they called their supervisor who told them that the THR22s wouldn't be in my area (Baltimore, MD) for over two months, even though my email from DirecTV said "now available nationwide."
Not wanting to be without DirecTV for two months (I was replacing an ancient DSR700 which had finally fried), I reluctantly had them install the DirecTV unit. But when they called to register it, DirecTV wouldn't allow it because my order had been for a THR22. The installer came back the next morning with a THR22 that came from Virginia. So two months turned into 18 hours.
So in this case it was DirecTV, and not the installers, that corrected the issue - not for customer service reasons, but because the paperwork didn't match. Although the installers were professional, they had no familiarity with these new Tivo units.
dishnetwork is abig rip off
I had no issues getting the new TiVo unit and have been loving it from only a few days after the initial nationwide announcement.
TiVo beats anything out there.