« What if Everything you Know is Wrong? | Main | In Memoriam »

January 27, 2006

Ah Ha!

We are closing our old bank accounts, and cleaning up the last few things that draw from them. The last one was DirecTV. Now, we like our satellite TV service: the signal is fantastic, and since we put up the dual-LNB antenna has not once rain faded that I've noticed (better aligned than the last one, because we paid a professional to do it); the programming is quite good, and we get the services we want for a price we can pay, along with about another 200 channels that we don't care about; the DVR allows us to record two shows while watching one we've already recorded, and it's TiVo rather than some less-functional knock-off. But their customer service is execrable. That's not fair: their customer service personnel are fine, when you can reach them.

Well, after half an hour of digging through voice menus, and not being able to find an option to let me do what I want or to talk to a person, I finally figured out how to get a person. In the hopes of saving someone else the trouble, here's how to do it: lie.

When you dial DirecTV's customer service number, any option you pick will ask you to enter the service phone number. Enter a nonsense number (you need 10 digits; I entered the correct area code and switch, and a random last 4 digits). The service will ask if you are sure that's your phone number. Assure it that you are, and its inability to find your account is certainly the computer's own fault. It will then ask you for your account number. Be sure to tell it you have no clue what your account number is. At this point, the computer will metaphorically throw up its hands in frustration and transfer you to an actual person, who in my case resolved the actual issue I had within 5 minutes.

If the alternative was anything but Comcast, I'd likely switch providers if I ever have to call them again: it's easier.

Posted by jeff at January 27, 2006 11:43 AM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.caerdroia.org/MT/mt-tb.cgi/794

Comments

I have Dish Network and after punching in my real telephone number, I get transfered around, finally talk to a human being, who then asks me for my account number. Ah, what was the point of punching in my telephone number? I'll try your method next time.

Posted by: Jabba the Tutt [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 29, 2006 1:35 PM