DirectTV: A Tale of Error 775

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I missed a hot date tonight.

My partner and I have managed to keep nightly dates despite 913 miles between us, but even our love was no match for Error 775.

I should explain.  Given the distance, we’ve taken to staying close through shared viewing experiences.  Like any good couple, our days are spent in anticipation of nights together, but in our case, at least for now, that means tuning into NBC Nightly News as the kickoff to an evening of texted “lol”s and “wow”s in response to everything from Everybody Loves Raymond to Dateline ID to the latest episode of Survivor.

Tonight, it all fell apart.

Not the relationship.  But certainly the date night.  All because of Error 775.

You see, this morning, the power company had to replace a pole outside my house. This resulted in them shutting off my power for about a half hour.

This is incredibly relevant, as mankind has been so busy sending people into space and figuring out how to provide 100+ story buildings with fully functional pluming that we’ve forgotten to devise DirectTV equipment capable of withstanding a temporary loss of power.   (Yes, this equipment is plugged into a grounded outlet with an active circuit breaker, and none of the other equipment in the house was negatively affected by the brief outage.)

After turning on the TV and being faced, not with the much-anticipated face of Brian Williams, but rather with “Error 775,” I called DirectTV.  The representative referred me to a mysterious “Swim box,” something that looks like a laptop’s power adapter.  I hadn’t realized I had such a thing, but there it was, behind my television.  He directed me to unplug this box, wait 15 to 30 seconds and then to plug it back in and look for the green indicator light. Apparently this process resets something; it is to Swim what yoga is for the soul.  The Swim, unfortunately, was not in the mood to be refreshed.  No green light.  The representative offered an official diagnosis:  “That’s a problem.”

The representative went on to informed me, with some self-consciousness, that this “problem” would necessitate a service call at a cost of $49.  Still, he quickly assured, “DirectTV would be responsible for anything done on that call.”  In other words, I should feel good about the $49, because much like any good trip to Cozumel, a visit from DirectTV is “all inclusive.”

I declined his offer for a service call, acutely aware of technology’s capacity to randomly and inexplicably resolve issues through repeated attempts of unplugging and replugging.  Alas, no amount of unplugging for 15 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute, or longer, and replugging into the same socket, a different socket, or directly into wall outlets successfully revived my Swim’s inner green light.

I called DirectTV again, asking for assistance but stating I was not willing to pay the fee for a service call.  This time, I was extended a favor: They would waive the fee if I signed up for a $5.99/month warranty plan, because I guess $5.99 x 24 months = $143.76 is better than being charged $49. (Oops, maybe DirectTV doesn’t think its customers “do” math.)  This only succeeded in arousing my curiosity as to why I would insure DirectTV’s ability to provide me with the service for which I am paying them.

This representative asked if I had received a service call in the past 90 days, because in that case the service call would be covered. Realizing I barely had the service for 90 days, they looked up my installation date, which was precisely (true story) 93 days prior.  The representative stated she could not waive the fee, despite being only three days past warranty.  (I guess grace periods have gone the way of John Edwards’ political career.)

I asked to be connected with a manager, and she politely obliged. When the connection went through, though, the phone service worked as well as my DirectTV connection.  I heard the manager introduce himself, but his next statement was breaking up, and he was unable to hear anything I said. (Yes, I did check, and no, my phone was not accidentally on mute, and my reception was fine. Thanks for the faith.)  He disconnected the call.

I called back, and to DirectTV’s credit, they have a practice of detailed notetaking that allows each representative to see a clear record of the content of prior calls. I was forwarded to a second manager, who checked her options.  (On this call, the background noise made it sound like she was sitting midcourt at a Knicks game, during a big play.)  She stated that she could not waive the fee, although she helpfully offered that I could sign up for the warranty plan (*cough*).  The remainder conversation went like this:

Me: “So you’re saying you don’t have the authority to waive the fee?”

Manager: “No.”

Me:  “Is there anyone you can forward me to?”

Manager: “No.”

Me: “So you’re saying there is nobody at all in the organization with the authority to waive this fee?”

Manager: “Well if you want to go to anybody above me, you would need to direct your request in writing to the Office of the President.”

If this scenario took on the form of a Choose Your Own Adventure, none of the paths are very complimentary to DirectTV.  Either this manager was directly (DirectTVly?) lying to me, or DirectTV genuinely does not provide its managers with the authority to waive a $49 service fee to address a defunct piece of equipment that was unable to withstand the stress of sitting dormant in a living room for a full 93 days.

In regard to this “Office of the President,” there are two possibilities. Either my complaint literally goes to a direct representative of the president of DirectTV–because that’s an efficient business model–or, as with the Great and Powerful Oz, it’s simply a layer of customer service given a “great and powerful” name to either convey a sense of importance to the customer, or maybe try to intimidate customers who would dare escalate to this level.

What bothers me most is not that DirectTV has so little respect for its managers that it disables them from being able to waive a service fee when a piece of equipment fails three days past warranty.  Nor is it the lack of respect shown in “offering” the customer a $143.76 expense to save them $49, and framing it as a favor.  What bothers me is that there are people making minimum wage who sign up for DirectTV in an effort to give their kids morning cartoons, or to stay current on the news, and who would need to work a full seven hours (not counting income taxes) to pay for a service call for a piece of equipment that didn’t survive three days past warranty.  What bothers me is that there are people on fixed incomes, hooked up to oxygen machines and bed-ridden, who carefully study their budget and decide to sign up for DirectTV so they have some way of passing their final hours, only to be hit with a loss of service that can’t be resolved without paying money they can’t afford. What bothers me is that somewhere out there are DirectTV customers who are hanging onto every new development in the Boston Marathon investigation, or the Texas fertilizer explosion, because they or their loved ones have been personally impacted, not realizing they are vulnerable to days-long losses of television access for equipment that can’t manage to crawl to the 94 day mark.  (Even if I were willing to pay, the service technician couldn’t come out for five days.)

I understand that DirectTV can’t have “perfect” equipment, and they have to turn a profit. What I am arguing:  Any company that relies on the revenue from service calls for failed equipment to support their company has a very, very flawed business model.  If the accountants “up top” genuinely feel they can’t afford to allow managers to waive a $49 service fee in the name of customer service, regardless of the circumstances, they either need to invest in more robust equipment–I’ve had friends suffer from fast-failing DirectTV remotes and receivers, and there are other stories of Swim failures online–or they need to charge more up front, so that they can back up their services with genuine customer service and support.  This experience has spoken volumes about DirectTV’s guiding principles.  And, if their business model doesn’t rely on income from service calls for failed equipment–well, then there’s no excuse to deny a waiver of the fee.

I recognize there are people facing much more serious issues than this, but I sure did miss my date tonight.

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About Post Author

Greenlight

Greenlight is a writer and educator who believes in the best of humanity, but dedicates much time to studying people at their worst.
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Marc Glasser
2 years ago

Thanks for telling your tale of woe; it was a comfort to me, since something very similar happened to me this past weekend–only since AT&T took over DirecTV, the fee for a service call is now $99, and the alternative service contract is now $8.99/month. I succumbed to the latter offer, but need to check the fine print for whether and how soon I can terminate the contract.

What I found even more interesting is that the error 775 showed up on Friday morning and persisted throughout the weekend (despite several rebootings of the satellite box) while I awaited the arrival of the service tech. Then, Monday morning, an hour before the tech showed up, the 775 spontaneously disappeared and service was miraculously back to “normal.” The tech was unable to explain how, if the problem had been caused by a “bad splitter” as he claimed, the bad splitter had suddenly returned to the side of the good after 72 hours.

It will take a lot to convince me that occurrences like this are not controlled by a big red button over at DirecTV, or now AT&T, headquarters, as a way of increasing revenue.

Oh, while we were without DirecTV, I investigated the only alternative, Dish, and learned that you can’t get HBO on Dish now, for love or money.It seems that AT&T took over HBO around the same time it took over DirecTV, and the next time Dish’s contract with HBO came up for renewal, HBO’s price offer took a sudden stratospheric leap. This seems like a matter for an anti-trust investigation.

Barry
5 years ago

Got the error last night, 775. Help Desk wasn’t worth a dime. Tried to sell us a 100.00 visit from tech. We said NO. Tried to sell us a plan for 7.99 a month. We said NO. We said we would just cancel our account. About an hour later, 775 was gone everything working fine. Just coincidence?

greenlight
10 years ago

It’s b~a-a~a-c~k!

Reply to  greenlight
10 years ago

LOL LOL! Dish TV is looking better all the time!

10 years ago

And this is why I don’t have Direct TV. As far as Date Night…I might be just a tad jealous 🙂

Greenlight
Reply to  Carol Maietta views
10 years ago

If there were a way of doing “date night” without DirectTV, it would be the best of all worlds. 🙂

Jess
10 years ago

Ah, young love missing their date nights. To be young again with the mysteries of life awaiting 😉

greenlight
10 years ago

“…acutely aware of technology’s capacity to randomly and inexplicably resolve issues through repeated attempts of unplugging and replugging…”

I unplugged the offending device overnight, and it’s now magically revived.

I guess it’s true what they say–there’s nothing like a good night of sleep to wake up feeling refreshed.

Date’s on for tonight. <3

Reply to  greenlight
10 years ago

Rule 15 in my list of Universal Truths is:

“Few things in life succeed as well as a power-off reset.”

Thanks for demonstrating the truth of this rule. 😀

greenlight
Reply to  James Smith
10 years ago

It is true James. The representative said 15-30 seconds, and there wasn’t a reset I attempted that was less than 30 seconds to a minute, but clearly “more is better” in this case. I unplugged for the night on a hunch. Technology’s so goofy. 🙂

Reply to  greenlight
10 years ago

I suspect that, being off that long before showing a presence again caused something remote with your service to automatically reset. That doesn’t mean your hunch was not a great one. After all, it worked and you saved almost $50. How bad was that? (yes, you may send a commission) 😀

Reply to  greenlight
10 years ago

Yay! Date night!!

greenlight
Reply to  Professor Mike
10 years ago

lol! <3 <3 <3

Bill Formby
10 years ago

Interestingly enough, the President of Direct TV was recently on “Undercover Boss” and proved, beyond any doubt that he did not have a clue as to how his company was run. Their service people read from a script which he even had trouble using so I doubt that he would be of much help.

greenlight
Reply to  Bill Formby
10 years ago

I wish I had seen that, Bill! For now the issue seems to be resolved, although I may still write to the “Office of the President” to share my two cents on their business model. The representatives were all friendly and again their note-taking system was pretty awesome, but the policies/practices seem to leave something to be desired. I’m less concerned about the fee in my case, more concerned about the many circumstances in which I can envision it posing more serious hardship for other customers. Sometimes I get “irked” on principle alone. 🙂

Reply to  Bill Formby
10 years ago

I used to watch that show but stopped when I realized how formulaic it was. I do wish I had seen that episode however. I’m a big fan of DTV.

10 years ago

BY now, I would have a new service provider. I tolerate no such BS from anyone when I am paying them. Be it ISP, an appliance manufacturer or anyone that I am paying for a service. You either deliver as you say you will or you’re gone.

I realize my attitude is unreasonable. Expecting a vendor to do what they say they will, when they say they will. But that’s just me.

Reply to  James Smith
10 years ago

Unfortunately the alternatives are even less attractive.

Reply to  Professor Mike
10 years ago

Sometimes they are. Not always, but we can keep changing until we find one that is at least less bad.

Most companies such as cell phone providers, banks, ISPs, any anyone in a service industry that depends upon a volume customer base watches for what the cell phone companies have termed “churn”. That’s where a customer is unhappy with the service and is about to switch to a different provider. I once wrote a set of manuals for a company that provided software that would predict churn for those companies.

The software looked at data such as number of complaints, declining usage, and other factors to predict which customers were likely to churn. The company could then decide if the customer could be “stroked” and saved. Or, if a low-revenue, late-paying client, was not worth the effort.

It does sometimes work to complain or, as a last resort, vote with a “churn.”

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