Bad service for new customer

[markobbie]

I just had Hughes installed a couple of weeks ago. When I called to ask about the service, the salesman swore that snow doesn't interfere with the signal. He even claimed his parents live near me and never have a problem (we live in an area where it snows heavily for 4-5 months of the year). Today, after two days of heavy snow (during which I had service), I lost the signal. On the phone with customer service, they advised me to wait for it to melt. Or to suspend my service during the winter. Gee, thanks. That will make working from home just peachy. 

They turned me over to advanced tech support, which ran tests to reinstall and reregister my dish. Still no go. Told me to wait for it to melt or brush it off and then call back if it doesn't work. So I got on a ladder and used a long snow rake to gently brush off the snow. The modem now showed it was receiving, but all the web pages I tried to go to said they were private. The satellite had been taken offline by the reinstall they ran. I called and they refused to rerun those processes. They are sending a tech in three days and tried to charge me $30 -- even though I paid extra each month for better service. After the call, I ran the reinstall and reregistration processes myself, and it worked. I would have been offline for three days if I left it to these idiots.

Really, really unimpressed so far, Hughes. 

[maratsade]

When I called to ask about the service, the salesman swore that snow doesn't interfere with the signal.

That's definitely not entirely accurate.  I lose signal sometimes with snow (not always, but it does happen), and with ice. 

[C0RR0SIVE]

No point in running a reinstall process as the modem deregisters it self, and want's to talk to the NOC to re-register...  So zero signal means it won't be talking.

If you live in an area where snow can be heavy, I highly suggest a dish heater to help melt the snow.

[GabeU]

markobbie,

I live in an area that gets a considerable amount of snow (25 miles south of Buffalo, NY).  Snowing generally won't bother the signal, unless it is a very heavy snowfall.  Snow buildup, OTOH, can and will definitely affect the signal, especially the wet, heavy snow.  I've had times where I've had four inches of fluffy snow on the dish and it still worked just fine, and I've had times where there was just a minimal covering of wet, heavy snow and I would completely lose the signal, as I would with my DirecTV signal, too (different dish, of course).  

If it's fluffy snow, just a light tap on the dish should get it to all fall off,  but the frozen stuff is the worst, especially if it started coming down after it was raining, then got really cold.  Just be careful on that ladder!  

Supposedly Rain-X can help to keep some types of  snow from building up on the dish, but you have to put in on when it's above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  I've never used it, myself.  

[markobbie]

I'm in the same snow country (south of Rochester). Thanks for the tips. I never had a problem with my Dish satellite, which is why this was so surprising. 

[C0RR0SIVE]

One thing I want to point out, I have noticed with HT series equipment, it doesn't mind DRY snow much what so ever, but when you get wet heavy or slushy snow, it just goes downhill, fast.   Also, ice, it really screws with the signal...

[Liz]

Good morning Mark,

Welcome and thank you for posting. Glad to see our community chime in with tips on keeping your dish snow-free. I pulled up your account to credit you for the site visit you no longer need, but I see that we've already issued you that credit. 

Just a reminder, the monthly Express Repair charge ensures you only pay the ~$29 co-pay for a site visit, as opposed to the full $125 fee. 

If you have any other HughesNet concerns, feel free to drop by the community again.

Thanks,
Liz

[markobbie]

I didn't say I didn't need the site visit. They told me on the phone that they could tell the signal was very weak and that the satellite dish needed to be adjusted. The credit was a response to my complaints that you were charging me for a site visit when you admitted your installer apparently hadn't pointed it correctly. Please have someone let me know now if I am still getting a visit on Friday morning. 

[Liz]

Indeed you are, the system shows your site visit is still scheduled for Friday Nov 25, 2016 between 8:00 AND 11:00 am.

Please let us know how it goes.

Thanks,
Liz

[markobbie]

I'm glad you left the plan for a visit in place. I now see the policy of charging a "co-pay" -- yet another detail my fast-talking salesman neglected to mention when he touted the wonders of paying for an advanced level of service. I still am stunned at the cavalier treatment I received, when I told the rep on the phone that I had removed the snow but it wouldn't connect because of the reinstall process they ran. Luckily, I was able to fix that myself because I had saved the page where the tech had me clicking around while I was on the phone with him. 

When ordinary companies sell you an expensive service, and threaten a very expensive penalty if you cancel within a very long subscription term, they at least stand behind their product and don't charge customers to make the product work properly. 

I'm hoping that after this rocky start, and once I am in the habit of climbing onto a snowy roof and sweeping snow off the dish every time it snows (which, where I live, can be every day for months on end), that this will settle down and I can enjoy the service I paid for. Meantime, as I told the people on the phone yesterday, I hope you care enough about good customer relations that you hunt down my original sales rep and show him you disapprove of lying to make a sale.