Everything.  Well, everything is not on except Comedy Central.

Alright, truth be told I don’t watch much television.  I have a few shows I like (Game of Thrones, Shameless, and such) which I normally record on the DVR and watch when the mood strikes me.  It’s been about a week I guess (Jee Yeun’s kids have been watching Korean dramas on Netflix), and I wanted to see the latest episode of GoT.   When I turned on the DirectTV box, I got this message that the receiver was overheating and to wait.  So, I just unplugged it and waited.  When I turned it back on the only channel that worked was the aforementioned Comedy Central.

I’m pretty much a techno peasant, so I called DirectTV’s customer service department.  Geez, navigating the maze of recorded options was disconcerting.  Hell, that damn robotic voice and I got into a bit of an argument.  Me: I want to talk to a human being.  Her: I don’t understand what you are saying.  Me:  A service rep.  Her:  I still don’t understand.  Select an option on your keypad.  Me:  There is no option I want, other than to talk to someone who actually breathes.  Her:  I’m sorry, I don’t understand your request.  After awhile we both got frustrated and the robot woman transferred me to her human overseer.

The friendly and breathing woman in tech support began by thanking me for being a loyal customer of DirectTV since 2011.  Then she asked what was the problem?  I told her my satellite was not working.  So, she walked me through a diagnostic procedure on the receiver, at the end of which it advised that my receiver was not receiving a signal.  Yep, that much I knew.  The friendly human said the dish could be out of alignment or there could be something wrong with the receiver.   Alright then, what’s the fix?  She said they’d have to send a technician out to have a look.  For $29.95!

I told her let’s get this straight.  I’m paying you guys over a hundred bucks a month for 300 channels I rarely watch.  And when I want to watch one and can’t, you are going to charge me an additional 30 dollars to fix it?  She said it’s normally $49.95 for a service call, but because I’m such a loyal customer I was getting a discount.  Hmm.  It felt more like a good rogering.  So, I said I have a better idea, why don’t you transfer me to the department where I cancel my DirectTV service?  She obliged.

Shortly thereafter I was connected with Ron in customer service.  He began by thanking me for being a loyal customer since 2011 and asked how he could help.  I responded that I wanted to cease being a loyal customer effective immediately.  He sounded somewhat taken aback and asked why I wanted to do such a thing.  I explained that I was paying for TV I couldn’t watch and wasn’t willing to pay an additional fee to get what I was paying for already.  He then went into this long drawn out story about how leasing the DirectTV receiver was just like leasing a car.  He concluded by asking “now, you don’t expect the car dealer to provide free repairs and maintenance on the leased car do you?”

I was momentarily dumbfounded.  I wasn’t seeking to get a free oil change for my satellite receiver.  I’ve never leased a car, but when I buy one it comes with a warranty.  So, if the engine blows up after two years I expect it will be fixed for free.  Several pithy and unfriendly things to say to Ron crossed my mind, but he seemed like a nice enough fella so I just said “let’s just cancel the service.”  Ron wasn’t having any of that.  He suggested I buy a service plan that would cover problems like this for only five dollars a month.  Which means if I had another problem within six months, I’d be golden.  That didn’t strike me as a good value so I declined.  He reminded me that the service call had already been reduced from the normal $49.95 based on my loyalty, but I just wasn’t buying it.

“Here’s the thing, Ron” I told him “You guys aren’t the only game in town.  AT&T is always knocking at my door trying to get me on board with their TV service.  How about you just cancel my account and I’ll get some brand new equipment from them?”    Well, then Ron went on and on about how much better DirectTV was than AT&T–more channels, more HD, more everything!  I told him that other than HBO and Showtime I get just about everything I want to see on Netflix anyway.  “Netflix!” he almost shouted “Why do you have Nexflix? We’ve got everything Netflix has!”  Well, except for the Korean dramas.  Always the salesman, Ron said we have an international satellite service too.  Well, yeah.  But it requires putting another dish on the roof and an additional sixty bucks a month.  No thanks.

Admitting defeat, Ron finally said that he would waive the service call fee.  So, they’ll be out tomorrow to fix whatever is troubling my television reception.  Poor guy.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d be cancelling anyway prior to my return to Korea in August.  I had to respect his moxie.  I guess that’s why I’m such a good and loyal customer.