Friday, January 23, 2009

ROAR .... I am so annoyed

Currently our cable is through Dish Network. I say currently, because I'm about thisclose to switching cable companies if things don't change. (Yeah I know ... that will really show them, won't it?)

** oops ... accidentally hit publish

Okay, so here is the deal. I am annoyed with Dish because I've been having problems for about the last 3 months. One afternoon I came home from work prepared to watch Regis and Kelly or something equally important and discovered that everything on my DVR had been deleted. EVERYTHING. DELETED. I was livid but I also knew that it was probably a random system malfunction and that nothing could really be done about it. I assumed it was a random occurrence and that it wouldn't happen again. Apparently that is where I went wrong.

After this incident things were normal for a few weeks. Then we started noticing that our bedroom TV would mysteriously change channels while we were watching. At first, this didn't happen often so we didn't really do anything about it. Once it became more frequent, it was obvious to us that someone else in our building was able to control our TV. Evidentley our remotes are on the same frequency or something. Pretty creepy, actually.

At first, I could usually outsmart this neighbor of mine. I figured out quickly that if I try to record something that I am watching, they cannot change the channel very easily. Still it is a pain in the ass because I have to watch with my finger always on the cancel button.

Side note: By now, I have totally profiled this person based on what they like to watch. There are actually two different viewers that I fight with ... I think a mother and her young son. When my channel starts changing, I can pretty quickly figure out whether it is Mom or Kid and try to think of a which channel I can change it to that will annoy them the most. I like to win.

At first this was just a nuisance, and I prided myself on always being able to outsmart them and watch whatever I wanted. Now, this just isn't the case ... they've wised up and I am not always victorious. (Actually, I can beat out Kid nine times out of 10 but Momma is obviously a little smarter)

So the latest? Well, on Tuesday afternoon I came home to find my WHOLE DVR DELETED. AGAIN. I was furious so I immediately called Dish. The lady claimed that my receiver must be faulty so they sent me a new one. She seems to think that will solve my remote control AND my DVR problems. Last night, the icing on the cake was when we got in bed and wanted to watch The Office. I tried to turn it on and Momma was watching something. We fought for a little bit and then it happened ....

SHE DELETED MY SHOW.

I'm supposed to be getting a new receiver from Dish and they claim this will fix things. (I'm doubtful). Until then ... It is on like Donkey Kong with Momma and Kid. After she deleted my Office recording, I punished her for a while by forcing her to watch Alton Brown. I'll show her! And Dish too, if they don't get this fixed ASAP!

8 comments:

Josh said...

Can you buy a munch of movies on her account?

Erin said...

You should write a very strongly worded yet professional letter to the most senior person in the customer service department you can find at the Dish Network about how you are going to change to Comcast (or something else). I did that when I was having major issues with Comcast, and it really made a difference. Plus it feels good to vent in writing.

Katie said...

Erin -- are you trying to insinuate that my blog is unprofessional? Which part do you think isn't so professional -- the cuss words, the casual language, or the sarcasm?

Kidding ... this is actually a really good idea. I think I may do so. I have nothing to lose. Except maybe all my DVR recordings.

Equis said...

My suggestion is to switch to TiVo. I constantly had problems with Comcast although I never took the time to write the letter I just got pissed and bailed. Both my mother and sister had the exact same problem with the deletion of recording through Dish Network. They were also told it was the receiver. They also eventually jumped ship. As great as technology is it can also suck just as much.

Josh said...

I suggest you read more and watch less TV.

Unknown said...

all cable companies will always suck. It's a law... Like gravity. they will probably charge you $479274 to fix your broken receiver.

Team Thompson said...

Hate to hear the bad news. Its really a shame too because Regis and Kelly had the entire cast of 90210 as guests.

ashley said...

strange and devastating. I nearly cried when I realized our DVR automatically deletes things unless otherwise specified. As a result, I missed Barbara Walters' interview with Patrick Swayze. :(