Don't Dish Me...

Working as a Technical Support Representative (TSR) for Dish Network is always a rewarding experience each day as I get to talk to different customers from different walks of life in the US. After several minutes of doing resets and checking equipment configuration, we often end up with either fixing the problem, setting up a replacement equipment, or lastly setting up a truck roll.

With my two (2) years stay as a TSR, I figure out the most common issues facing customers regardless of which equipment they have, be it High Definition (HD) or Standard Definition (SD).

Here's a list of the Top 10 Call Drivers:

1.) Signal Loss
2.) Remote Control Issue
3.) Audio/Video Issue
4.) Equipment Upgrade
5.) Programming Change
6.) Bill Inquiry
7.) Appointment Confirmation
8.) Pay-Per_View Orders
9.) Changes in Account Information
10.) Cancellation of Service

Signal Loss:

Given the nature of satellite broadcasting, signal is oftentimes affected by the ever-changing weather condition. At times, when subscribes move the equipment from one corner of the room to another, cable connection is somehow loosened, thereby giving an attention message like Attention 015, or Error 002, or Error 004.

Some causes of these error messages include:

• loose cable connection
• something's blocking the dish
• the dish might be a bit misaligned
• severe weather condition..

Remote Control Issues:

The good thing with Dish Network's equipment as opposed to any other service provider is the dual tuner receiver which is capable of hooking up to televisions. Each TV is assigned a remote control whidh is either Infra-red (IR) or Ultra-High_Frequency (UHF). Also, it's somehow universal in nature as it can be programmed to operate the television, video cassette recorders (VCR) or even DVD players and amplifiers.

However, a simple glitch on pressing a wrong button inadvertently would cause customer panic especially for not so tech-savvy customers prompting them to call for technical help.