Slimline Fence Mount

[iwc5893]

Does the installation order have a comments section that D* can add information to? If it doesn't then I bet it could be added. I agree that you would have to have something so all customers don't just make an excuse and try to get it for free.

They do, but do you really trust them to get it right? They can't even get the basic order correct a lot of the times.

 

[JAG72]

They do, but do you really trust them to get it right? They can't even get the basic order correct a lot of the times.

Your right on this one. That is why anytime they told me something important, I had them note my account and then called back to verify the account note.

 

[dishcomm]

Because the Slimline is bigger then the regular 18" or even the 3 LNB dish, it requires braces like a tri-pod. Its heavier and needs the extra support. A monopole wont really work. It might but the base on your fence better be strong enough. Between the weight and size, any strong wind might move it around or worse, pull your fence down.

I mounted mine on the side on an existing monopole and was able to get away with one brace. Its really stable. I would have preferred the tri-pod but that too meant a roof mount and my roof is really high and steep. I never go up there and even installers are not keen to it.

Any pole mounting folks out there?

Pole mount..for sure...use lots of concrete..Those slimline dishes weigh about 40 lbs...I would not want one on my roof....As a tech I really frown on roof mounts for these dishes..They are bullky to handle especially on windy days..And if you're on a two story house,geez....Gotta be real careful..Gust of wind and loss of balance and that's it..Dirt nap.....

 

[dishcomm]

My wife absolutely refuses to have the new dish mounted on the roof. She says to mount it on a pole, or to the fence in the back yard.

I should be able to get line of sight, because my next door neighbor has a single LNB mounted to his fence.

It is a standard wood fence, and after thinking about it, it seems like the fence mount would be the easiest way to go.

Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

DO NOT mount to the fence..wooden fences swell and shrink with environmental changes...Also wood warps and cracks.....

 

[dishcomm]

They did it for me at zero cost. When you talk to them about the install, make sure they know you want a pole mount done. I have also heard that some charge extra for this type of installation.

most will charge for the additional materials and labor....I believe this to be fair to both parties..The tech is doing the extra work and the customer is geeting a desired service...

 

[dishcomm]

Any chance of posting what your wife's concerns are for mounting the dish in the best overall place, such as the roof or chimney (unless LoS is the concern)? I have a FTA and DBS dish above the roof line; one mounted on the roof and the other on the chimney; for more than 3 years on the FTA and 10+ on the DBS without any issue, including leaking.

you're talking about a wife...there is no way to figure out why...Just do what she says and avoid the headaches

 

[dishcomm]

Directv will dig a hole,and pour concrete for free??Just to mount a your dish? Thats unheard of around my area.I know 2 people who had a "custom Install" and it cost them $200 each .I would also suggest you mount the pole yourself, Then have Directv mount the Dish on it.

$200 is way too much..for a standard dish we charge $60..for a bigger dish it's $75...Plus that includes up to 50ft of burial...After 50FT it's $1.50 per foot...

 

[dishcomm]

I have to somewhat disagree with you. If D* tells you it is free and then the installer charges I would not be happy. If it is non-standard and they want to charge me then I would force D* to eat the cost.

I would have to say that $20 is a very reasonable price for the installation of the pole.

Here we go with this crap again...A CSR has NO BUSINESS telling a customer what a contractor can or cannot charge for their work...Think of it this way...If your boss came to you and asked you to work and extra hour or two but said he wasn't going to pay you, would you find that to be fair?
Pole mounts are NOT standard..The tech in most cases has to buy the poles and concrete..Pole mounts are additional labor above and beyond a standard install....We are getting squeezed by the rising cots of materials and dopey busy body CSR's telling customers that our extra labor is worth nothing....If I seem agitated, you're damn right.....I know you do not intend to make this personal..Neither do I..This business is getting out of control with both satellite companies touting this free free free crap..It's killing us because while our costs are going up , pay rates have stagnated and are even going down....:Let me sum it up this way...You get what you pay for..
This satellite installation business is a trade just like a carpenter, electrician or plumber...If an electrician come to your house to install a ceiling fan and he discovers there is extra wiring to be done, by God he is going to charge you for the extra labor and materials and you will pay or he takes a walk.......Why is tv treated differently?...

 

[dishcomm]

I don't think that the HSP should be punished for this either but D* should. If this is what the CSR promised, D* should pay the HSP direct for the custom installation. I just don't think that the customer should be impacted by these poor decisions.

The CSR has no right to say that in the first place...Why should the man doing the work have his income negatively impacted by the words of a person unauthorized to make that decision?...
Look, I'm going to write something here that may anger you..But dammit, we are in this business to make money just like anyone else is in theirs...If you or anyone else does not think the technician that comes to your home, works hard to do a good job, yet is not worthy of additinal compensation for non-standard work then please by all means don't call us to your home..There is no magic pot of money hidden somewhere that a company can grab a handful of cash from because someone is too cheap to pay up...The money has to come form somewhere....Since the satellite company is not going to pay for non standard work, the only other source is the customer..You know. The one actually having the sevice performed for them?...
Where this notion that we should perform extra work for free came from is one of the mysteries of our time...

 

[JAG72]

The CSR has no right to say that in the first place...Why should the man doing the work have his income negatively impacted by the words of a person unauthorized to make that decision?...
Look, I'm going to write something here that may anger you..But dammit, we are in this business to make money just like anyone else is in theirs...If you or anyone else does not think the technician that comes to your home, works hard to do a good job, yet is not worthy of additinal compensation for non-standard work then please by all means don't call us to your home..There is no magic pot of money hidden somewhere that a company can grab a handful of cash from because someone is too cheap to pay up...The money has to come form somewhere....Since the satellite company is not going to pay for non standard work, the only other source is the customer..You know. The one actually having the sevice performed for them?...
Where this notion that we should perform extra work for free came from is one of the mysteries of our time...

You didn't anger me in any way. Like I said in the post you quoted me on I also don't think that the tech should not have do any of this without payment of some sort. I would be OK if D* gave progamming discounts to cover their promises as well.

This satellite installation business is a trade just like a carpenter, electrician or plumber...If an electrician come to your house to install a ceiling fan and he discovers there is extra wiring to be done, by God he is going to charge you for the extra labor and materials and you will pay or he takes a walk.......Why is tv treated differently?...

The trades you mention are not quite the same. Do I call Hunter to schedule time for a electrician to come and install my fan? NO I don't. I call the electrician on my own if it is more than I can handle. Can I order D* and get them to ship the equipment to me for my own installation? No, they now force you to use an installer for their equipment.

 

[chadzx11]

Burial is considered custom labor, at a rate of $75.00/hour. The $20 is strictly for the pole & concrete. Most customers prefer to bury the cable themselves when they hear what the labor rate is for us to do it.

Burying the cable is part of the pole mount. If I come behind you and find wires on the ground, it will get photographed and go on my report, I do not give a sh*t what kind of deal you or the customer "worked out." Most customers never bury the cable. If you've been installing very long, you should know this. Plus, it kind of hacks me off when the customer bitches at me about having to pay $150 for a pole mount and then the wires are not burried.

Do your damned job right.

OTOH, if it wasn't for hacks, there'd be no need for me.

 

[dishcomm]

You didn't anger me in any way. Like I said in the post you quoted me on I also don't think that the tech should not have do any of this without payment of some sort. I would be OK if D* gave progamming discounts to cover their promises as well.



The trades you mention are not quite the same. Do I call Hunter to schedule time for a electrician to come and install my fan? NO I don't. I call the electrician on my own if it is more than I can handle. Can I order D* and get them to ship the equipment to me for my own installation? No, they now force you to use an installer for their equipment.

On the ceiling fan /trades issue....You are correct..But why should we as technicians be punished for a system that we had nothing to do with setting up?..The work still has to be done and someone has got to pay..BTW you CAN indeed buy your own EQ and install it. Look on here at the plethora of EQ companies that will be more than happy to sell you the EQ and you can self install.
There are always alternatives to the staus quo.
The bottom line is you asked us to come to your home to work. We did not ask you (collectively)..The work must be done. We are being forced to work at set rates if we want the work at all. But the satellite companies do draw the line so that there is free standard work and chargeable non standard work..The underlying issue here whether an $8 an hour clerk had the right to tell you the tech was going to work pro bono. That clerk was way out of bounds. That said, you nor anyone else would even bother to discuss this issue had that clerk not overstepped their authority.
As time passes many good people are leaving the contract end of this business and settng up shop on their own. When they do that, they can rightfully charge what the market will bear. I am workiong toward that goal myself. Left behind will be inexperinced ,uncaring, sloppy, schulbs who don't give sh*t about your home or their job..If you think I am being dramatic, ask around..Find out what type of people the satellite companies themsleves are hiring. The pay rates are so low, you have to scratch your head trying to figure out how they get these guys in the door..It's easy, they hire people as long as they have a pulse..
There are some very good company techs oput there and I in no intend to impune their work or character. But you can ask them, they too will tell you the above is not far from the truth..At the end of the day, you get what you pay for..If you want a discounted or free of charge job, that will be the quality of the work.

 

[iwc5893]

Burying the cable is part of the pole mount. If I come behind you and find wires on the ground, it will get photographed and go on my report, I do not give a sh*t what kind of deal you or the customer "worked out." Most customers never bury the cable. If you've been installing very long, you should know this. Plus, it kind of hacks me off when the customer bitches at me about having to pay $150 for a pole mount and then the wires are not burried.

Do your damned job right.

OTOH, if it wasn't for hacks, there'd be no need for me.

I do my job right, according to my company's policies. We don't all work for you, so get over it.

 

[JAG72]

On the ceiling fan /trades issue....You are correct..But why should we as technicians be punished for a system that we had nothing to do with setting up?..The work still has to be done and someone has got to pay..BTW you CAN indeed buy your own EQ and install it. Look on here at the plethora of EQ companies that will be more than happy to sell you the EQ and you can self install.
There are always alternatives to the staus quo.
The bottom line is you asked us to come to your home to work. We did not ask you (collectively)..The work must be done. We are being forced to work at set rates if we want the work at all. But the satellite companies do draw the line so that there is free standard work and chargeable non standard work..The underlying issue here whether an $8 an hour clerk had the right to tell you the tech was going to work pro bono. That clerk was way out of bounds. That said, you nor anyone else would even bother to discuss this issue had that clerk not overstepped their authority.
As time passes many good people are leaving the contract end of this business and settng up shop on their own. When they do that, they can rightfully charge what the market will bear. I am workiong toward that goal myself. Left behind will be inexperinced ,uncaring, sloppy, schulbs who don't give sh*t about your home or their job..If you think I am being dramatic, ask around..Find out what type of people the satellite companies themsleves are hiring. The pay rates are so low, you have to scratch your head trying to figure out how they get these guys in the door..It's easy, they hire people as long as they have a pulse..
There are some very good company techs oput there and I in no intend to impune their work or character. But you can ask them, they too will tell you the above is not far from the truth..At the end of the day, you get what you pay for..If you want a discounted or free of charge job, that will be the quality of the work.

Did you even read most of my other post. I said that I agree that the Tech should not be the one to take the hit on the cost of the installation. You keep going on and on to me about something that I agree with. My comment was that D* should pick up the cost not the installation company.

 

[dishcomm]

Burying the cable is part of the pole mount. If I come behind you and find wires on the ground, it will get photographed and go on my report, I do not give a sh*t what kind of deal you or the customer "worked out." Most customers never bury the cable. If you've been installing very long, you should know this. Plus, it kind of hacks me off when the customer bitches at me about having to pay $150 for a pole mount and then the wires are not burried.

Do your damned job right.

OTOH, if it wasn't for hacks, there'd be no need for me.

Om occasion the customer will request that they allowed to bury the cables. Many time this is to avoid charges for excess(Over 50ft) which if we bury DNS considers this to be a legitimate charge. To protect ourselves from the customer reneging on their end of the bargain and the terms THEY set, we document the conversation and have the customer sign off in their full name. To date we have never had an issue with a customer that"changed their mind or just didn't feel like doing the work..
I bury everything I can even if the customer says ythey will do it because it's as you say, pert of the job..But long trenches thru difficult soil conditions, through wooded areas or across gravel, asphalt or concrete drives are the customer's responsibilty. Unles they want to rent a boring machine or a backhoe for a hardpacked gravel drive..
I would say 95% of all installs are buried successfully. I realize there are lazy assed installers out there who make up some cock and bull story that they aren't supposed to bury cable or they try to charge for every foot of a burial.
What is your status? Are you a tech, retailer, DNS FSM, What?