AT&T Home Entertainment sucks

(Note: Updates below.)

So after I'd committed to my brand new apartment, it was time to start setting up my utilities. The conversation with the leasing office went something like this:

"Your cable TV will be provided by AT&T Home Entertainment."

"That's it? No Comcast? DirecTV?"

"The apartment is pre-wired for AT&T, and you won't be able to use Comcast. But you might be able to do DirecTV or DISH on your balcony if you have a view to the satellite. Let's look at the map. Hmm, yeah, I don't think you have the right view to see their satellites. Sorry."

So I was a bit nervous about this. Having worked for AT&T, I know exactly how much money and attention the services that they simply rebrand and resell get. For those that don't know, ATTHE basically wires up commercial structures for DISH or DirecTV service, resells the service, and pads the bill. So I was a little optimistic since DISH isn't really that bad, and DISH supports HD, has an HD+DVR receiver, and does local channels in high definition. So I figured I was going to be set.

Of course, this story would be boring if that were actually the case. This is the actual conversation (basically) I had with one of the sales reps at ATTHE:

"Do you have an HD receiver with a DVR?"

"No, we only have the HD receiver, and the standard-definition DVR receiver. We don't have an HD+DVR receiver."

"But you're just re-selling DISH, right? DISH has an HD+DVR receiver."

"Yes, but we don't use DISH receivers."

"Umm, OK. Well since it's just DISH service, couldn't I just buy my own DISH HD+DVR receiver and use it with your service?"

At this suggestion, the sales lady became nearly hostile. "No, sir, it wouldn't work. We use different satellites than DISH." WTF? "Our satellites can't handle the signal that the DVR boxes need."

(Ignoring the ridiculous satellite comment) "But you have a standard-definition DVR?"

"Yes, but the satellites can't do both high definition and DVR at the same time."

I am not making this up. I told her this was a deal-breaker and went to look at my other options. I knew I had none at this point but I didn't want to give her my sale. A few days later, I figured I had no choice, so I called back and decided to order.

"So, just to confirm, I'll be able to get all of the local channels in high definition, right?"

"Yes sir, absolutely."

Nope. When the installer came, hooked me all up, and I started browsing my channels, I asked him why I wasn't seeing locals in HD. "Oh, all you'll get is those 5 HD channels. We don't support locals in HD here."

!!!!!!!!!!!

I let him go, and I called DirecTV. If there's any way at all they can work with the southeasterly view that I have, I want them to try. I am not going to give AT&T a penny more than I have to. They deliver a shitty, stripped-down version of DISH, and the version that they put in my apartment complex is even shitter and even more stripped down than that. AVOID IF POSSIBLE.

Update 2008-05-15

So, eight months later, here's the scoop:

I eventually got my locals in HD by telling it to use off-the-air channels,vwhich were fortunately being provided with my cable signal. I had to figure this out myself. Twice they attempted to send someone out to fix my cable box, because they believed it was a problem with the box. The first time, no one showed up. The second time, the person showed up 10 days late. Seriously. I got a hang tag on my door and an annoyed voice mail saying I wasn't there at the appointed time to let them in. They were supposed to be there a week and a half prior.

It also turned out that the number of channels I did have available was a fraction of the channels DISH provided to their own customers. DISH customers got something like 30 or 50 HD channels, and I only got five. I called a total of three times to try to understand what was happening here, and got wildly
different explanations. After researching this on my own, I learned that the boxes they use are out of date by years. They did not support MPEG2, which is what a large number of DISH channels are encoded with.

A month or so ago, one of my receivers stopped working intermittently (maybe ~50% of the time, it was reporting no signal). I explained this over the phone, and I was told that I could set up a service appointment, but when they came out, if it was working, I would be billed $45. It was suggested that I
wait until it's failing all of the time before having someone come out, to avoid this charge. Alternatively, I could schedule a visit anyway, and if it started working before he arrived, I could quickly call and cancel the visit so as to avoid the $45 charge. This discussion was surreal.

A week later I decided to risk it, and when the tech came out, he told me that they'd just upgraded my complex, and they were now offering MPEG2-capable receivers, which included an HD+DVR receiver! Unfortunately, they would have to charge me to schedule an independent visit to have someone come out and hook it up. They would not just send me the replacement receivers. And the new service was going to cost me more.

So while most of my programming concerns are now satisfied, I am still their customer not because I choose to be, but because I have no other option if I want cable TV. Their customer service reps have proven, time after time, to be incredibly incompetent ("We use different satellites."), to the point of infuriating. It's clear that AT&T does not value this business unit or its customers and I strongly urge you to avoid them unless you can't.

Oh, and they recently added "online ordering"! Wow, great, now I can make programming changes online without having to deal with a real person. How does it work? It's just a text box on a web form that says, "Tell us what you want to change. We'll follow up with you after you submit." State of the art!

Update 2009-03-19

So, three weeks ago, my local HD channels stopped working. Both of my DISH boxes were stuck in a crash loop. I called up, and was told that there's a "problem" in the Bay Area and that HD locals would be out until sometime in May. I've since determined that other DISH customers in the Bay Area are fine, so the problem is specific to AT&T HE. Fortunately, I recently moved to a new unit that has a southerly view, so my hands are no longer tied! I've dropped AT&T HE. Fuck them. I've never been so dissatisfied with a utility provider in my entire life. I am disgusted and appalled by the level of service I've received, the technical abilities of the staff, and the failure to plan. As I said before, this company does not value its customers (they have Uverse now, after all), and gets its money entirely through exclusive agreements with apartment complexes. Its customers are hostages. They have no incentive to provide good customer service or to provide anything other than the bare minimum they can get by with. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

If you're considering moving into an apartment complex that has one of these exclusive agreements, bitch and moan about it, and DO NOT get a unit that does not have a southerly view.