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Tech department harrasing my father but not fixing issue
My fathers satellite stopped working correctly 13 days ago. 10 days ago he lost all service completely. They make appointments to fix it then don't show up and say they can't reach the roof without a 40 ft ladder. The roof is not even 40 ft off the ground. They made him miss work for 3 days and never showed or informed him the appointment was canceled. Then they gave my father's private information out to a subcontractors who tried to charge him $350 to replace a broken part. My father didn't want to pay a stranger so he stopped talking to that man. Then he tried to get any response from the supervisors he spoke to and they stopped responding, hung up on him, called him names, and refused to help. My father has been a loyal customer for 19 years. The last thing they told him was they were no longer obligated to fix the part because its on the roof. It doesn't make sense. Why is it so hard to get the tech people to actually do their jobs? Are they getting paid to do nothing and be rude to senior citizens? I don't understand what he is supposed to do now. Direct TV is still trying to bill him for service and he has been without it for almost half a month. This is a disgrace and I want to know what you AT&T are going to do to help him? These are your employees dropping the ball and mistreating senior citizens.
my thoughts
Employee
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3.4K Messages
5 years ago
"The roof is not even 40 ft off the ground"
A few years ago, for safety / liability reasons, techs are no longer allowed to leave the ladder to ascend on a roof. All work must now be performed from the ladder.
Thus a new dish mount and satellite will likely need to be installed on the roof eave not higher up. Reason for billable charge or a subcontractor willing to work on the roof shingles similar to a roofer.
OSHA ... The ladder needs to be long enough to extend beyond the roof / gutter by minimum of 3 feet, not more than 4 feet, and secured with a ladder lock. Standard tech ladder is 28 feet, rated for 300 lbs, techs are not to stand above the 4rd rail. Ladder angle should be at least 75 degree angle, incline not straight up.
xtension Ladder Chart
28 to 31 feet
Notice a 40 feet ladder with base placed 10 feet from house will reach about 30 feet.. the techs feet will be at least 4 feet below the top of the ladder using 12 inch spacing between rungs.
https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA3660.pdf
https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/ladders/extension.html
https://sunsetladder.com/blog/extension-ladder-chart/#:~:text=Extension%20ladders%20range%20in%20length,not%20more%20than%204%20feet.
I commend techs for working safely, if your dish is on the peak of the roof instead of eave... someone was not working safe. Broken bones and possible death can be the result of ladder accidents.
edit... to calculate ladder needed, estimate the distance from ground to edge of roof, add 3 feet for ladder overlap, add 3 feet for beyond roof edge then multiply be 1.25 to cover distance angle.
Example for single story house at 14 feet ground to roof edge is (14+3+3)x1.25=25 feet thus 28 feet extension ladder is good.
For 2 story home using 25 feet to roof edge (25+3+3)x1.25=38.75 feet result is need 40 ft ladder to safely work on 2 story home.
(edited)
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TexasBrit
ACE - Expert
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14.1K Messages
5 years ago
First, we are not ATT. This is a forum where customers try to help other customers.
But the problem here is that the techs are NOT ALLOWED to go onto the roof to fix anything. These OSHA rules did not exist when the dish was installed. The only solution is to install a new dish in a location which is accessible, or get an independent contractor who ignores the OSHA rules to fix the problem in its exisiting installation.
There is no excuse for mistreating customers, but on the other hand customers can't abuse the reps either, they are only following the rules.
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Juniper
ACE - Expert
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23.4K Messages
5 years ago
@sastriar
Techs only cover standard install. If there is additional or custom work beyond their order, the on-site tech can charge but this is discussed with customer before doing the work so still up to you if you accept or decline.
Per updates to OSHA regulations DirecTV no longer allows techs to go onto the roof. All work must be done from within reach of the ladder. If the dish is not reachable, then a new dish would need to be installed in currently serviceable location. Unfortunately those with a grandfathered install (away from roof edge, on chimney, etc.) do not get a free install to a acceptable location so is still on them to cover cost.
There is nothing about this situation that is specifically against senior citizens. Your father seems to have equipment not covered by standard install, plus the techs were horrible (name calling by employees is inappropriate regardless of customer's age). When your father next calls DirecTV (customer support, not the on-site techs), he can file a complaint on the appointment.
With a grandfathered dish location and a account about 2 decades old, I wonder if his equipment is legacy and needs to be replaced by their swap program (a little different from a normal upgrade). What are the models of each box that he has?
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