Dumb BHN Installers

[teampozer]

Once again, these guys never cease to amaze me. I have a friend that has had a 60" HD monitor for about 10 months with just the ole basic cable coax running into it. I know.... very sad. I told him to call BH and request an upgrade to digital and the HD Pace box. So I go over there the other day and he says the picture is so much better. However, I quicky discover once again the installers brought out a SA non HD box and simply plugged the coax in AGAIN. I think it's pretty obvious the customer has a rather large HD widescreen don't that think? I explained how the setup SHOULD be and to call again and I'll come out and install the damn thing. My question is.... how many other customers think they have digital HD when really they don't? And, how many people think they have the best picture on their $2,000 set and they're still using the coax input? And don't even get me started on the audio setup with these guys....

[bdraw]

Once again, these guys never cease to amaze me. I have a friend that has had a 60" HD monitor for about 10 months with just the ole basic cable coax running into it. I know.... very sad. I told him to call BH and request an upgrade to digital and the HD Pace box. So I go over there the other day and he says the picture is so much better. However, I quicky discover once again the installers brought out a SA non HD box and simply plugged the coax in AGAIN. I think it's pretty obvious the customer has a rather large HD widescreen don't that think? I explained how the setup SHOULD be and to call again and I'll come out and install the damn thing. My question is.... how many other customers think they have digital HD when really they don't? And, how many people think they have the best picture on their $2,000 set and they're still using the coax input? And don't even get me started on the audio setup with these guys....

Yeah this is pretty much the case. I have yet to meet one that knowes what he is doing. I have a friend that works for BHN and he has called me a couple of times, while installing for a customer(he is not an installer) and asks me questions about setup. I am just glad that he cares enough to call and get it setup right. I have yet to hear one good story about a BHN installer who got it "all" right the first time.

[Max_Gator]

Well, there is a certain amount of education that someone who purchases an HDTV should obtain - whether it be through BHN or through any number of forums.

I agree that BHN should have done a better job of SELLING their services. For crying out loud, they should know they can sell the HD Box, the INHD tier, and the HD pay channels. Poor job on their part. I'm surprised they don't look at every new owner of an HDTV as a cash cow ready to be milked. But, if they don't care to sell their services why the hell should they care to educate the consumer?????

Now, if they told him they had installed HD - he's got a gripe.

But, still . . . he should have known he didn't have HD. You've got to do some self education when you make a purchase like that.

[CANDY76MAN]

I knew more about the pace box than the installer who came out to set it up for me...lol....he had no idea that the box had a/v pass through....you'de think BHN would have a little class for their installers when they get new equipment so they know what it can do but that costs money and i guess their hurting right now since they can't even afford all the local channels :roll:....maybe thats why my bill shot up 60 dollars a month when I added one DVR box?...so they can get NBC 8O

[Viremia]

My boss just got a Sony 51" RP HDTV and wanted to get the Pace box on my advice. I had gotten him some decent AR component cables and a digital coax cable to run to his surround system receiver (a Bose, but we won't go into that now).

The BHN installer came while I was out of town and proceeded to install the Pace box (they got that right at least). Unfortunately, it apparently took him a while to get it hooked up to the TV since it didn't have a coax out. He made a call and discovered he needed to use component or DVI. Instead of using the nice component cables, he used the crappy ones provided by BHN. He also didn't know what to do with the digital coax. In the end, he didn't hook up ANY sound from the Pace box to the TV or receiver.

They had to have another installer come out to FIX their Pace box because they weren't getting any sound. Needless to say, this guy at least knew what was wrong.

I've since corrected all the errors and their system was running great last I checked.

It sure would be nice if all their installers knew about the newer equipment, but I guess that's asking for miracles.

[Hop]

The last BHN tech that was out to my house told me that 720P was higher resolution than 1080I! He also said that Fox was broadcsting in HD.

What an idiot!

[strong]

Gotta jump in on this one... As a former installer for BHN (actually a subcontractor for Knight enterprises in Pinellas Cty)... there is just no financial incentive for an installer to spend anytime doing a decent install for an HDTV box. I really don't remember the actual pay (it was over 2 years ago that I was an installer) but I'm pretty sure it was about $2 or $3 for a simple box swap! Now how long would you be willing to spend on installing a box if you were being paid that pittance for the job?

I remember going to customer homes and they wouldn't even have the TV plugged in or the instructions open! Customers just do not understand how this and the satellite industry works. That "idiot" coming to your home is trying to make a living and feed his family on a rediculously low wage scale. His main focus is to get out of your home as quickly as possible to get to the next job so he can make a decent amount for a day.

[teampozer]

Here's an idea..... don't use subcontracters for HD installs. Train some BHN employees and send those guys to do the "complicated" work. OR... if you are a subcontracter, BHN should require you to go through some sort of training before you're authorized to do these HD installs. And BHN should be paying more on these service calls if indeed they are more difficult. I personally don't care. All I'm saying is BHN is blowing deals and hurting only themselves by not getting installs done correctly the first time.

[millerman101]

special HDTV TECH installs...give me a freaking break....BHN does have in house installers in Pinellas, but I cant see them just using them for HDTV installs. Not enough of them daily.

And not everyone that works for BHN is a HDTV enthusiast..

:!: :!: :!:

Next youll complaining about the color of the box

[teampozer]

I didn't mean that they'd ONLY do HD installs, just that only certain installers could. How'd ya guess.... I switched to DirecTV because of the color of the box. Listen... I don't care if you work for em or your a contracter. Bright House just plain sucks... and either ignorant, underpaid, or carefree installers are part of the reason. All I'm saying is that if Bright House would make sure installs were done correctly in the first place their customer service would probably be fielding 1/4 less calls and they wouldn't have to send guys out to an address twice. And they better GET a little more enthusiastic if it's true what you say. HDTV is the future and BHN is running a big TV and radio campaign supporting that. So apparently someone at Bright House IS an enthusiast.

[strong]

... All I'm saying is that if Bright House would make sure installs were done correctly in the first place their customer service would probably be fielding 1/4 less calls and they wouldn't have to send guys out to an address twice.

It would be nice if I hit the lottery, could sing like Marvin Gaye, and my wife looked like Halle Berry! But unfortunately we don't live in utopia.

The way big business works in the real world is that they try to minimize their expenses (by keeping salaries low) and maximize revenue (by getting more customers to buy higher priced goods and services). I assume they are intelligent business people. They have made the decision that a certain amount of lost business and service calls is adequate. If they percieve something as out of balance, they will adjust (by increasing salaries, more training, reducing advertising, etc). IMHO, customer service is pretty low on the totem pole for big companies these days. Its all about customer aquisition to meet the quarterly numbers.

Again, IMO I don't think that cable perceives satellite as being a serious competitor. They have probably 90% of the market, and the amount of converts is miniscule compared to their existing customer base.

Customers should realize that they get what they pay for. If they want a senior experienced home theater person they should put out bids to local high end AV stores and be prepared to pay for it. BHN and other utility companies have no incentive to hire and pay top end installers to do the tremendous volume that they do of mostly low end grunt work.

[gtodd01]

There are two sets of people out there buying HDTV's.
1. People that are loaded

2. People that are not loaded.

If you fall into the 2nd category, like myself, then you consider buying and HDTV as a big purchase. If I'm making a big purchase, whether its a house, car, or TV, I am responsible for doing my research on the item that I am purchasing. There is absolutely no excuse for someone buying a HDTV set and not knowing whether or not you are watching HDTV. A sensible consumer would do what many people on this site did. Go on search engines, put in "HDTV" and start finding out information on it.... go to different stores and ask different store reps about the product and what it has to offer. After enough research, you finally realize who is talking sense versus those that have no clue of what they are talking about.
With that said, when the BHN installer came to my house, I watched everything that he did, corrected him on some things... and all went well.
A co-worker of mine bought an HDTV set and a DirecTV HD receiver last April, but the sales rep did not tell her that she needed an OTA, so guess what???? she had the TV for 9 months, spent over $2,000, and had never wathced HD.... her thinking that she had been watching it on every channel.... if she did her research, that would've never happened..... let's take responsibility when we make big purchases.
Finally, who knows the most about HDTV's??? People on sites like this... people that eat, sleep and breathe HDTV!!! How many people on this site work for BHN, Best Buy, Sound Advice, or Circuit City???? Exactly... very few... so, educate others about it, so they won't get screwed like some people have.

[dprice]

$20-25/hour should cover the salary for a tech capable of high-end HDTV/home theater installations. Add some benefits and you are looking at $75K/year cost which would require $50-$75/hour service fees. Who will shell out $99 to hook up a cable box and all those gadgets?

My BHN tech did a good basic install. He plugged in the cable, plugged in the component cables, and plugged in the stereo. Once he proved it was up and running I told him to go and I would take care of the rest. No problem. I really didn't expect the guy to optimize my entire home theater setup. I think he was happy to see labled cables and a customer with a plan.

A two-teir install service would be helpful. Basic (free?) installs for simple systems and do-it-yourselfers and hourly rates for higher-end installs for the clueless or timeless.

Last but not least, you can bet the "poor and ignorant" BHN installers have some choice words for folks that spend $3k to $10k on home theater gear but don't know how to hook it up.

Don

[lawtyger]

Hi,

Wow, I was definitely not to pleased to hear that the BHN guys don't know the best way to utilize the equipment they provide based on the set you purchase.

BHN is scheduled to come out next week to set up my HD service so that gives me a week to know exactly how to set my equipment up myself. Here's the equipment I'll be working with:

- Mitsubishi 65-413
- Yamaha RX-V1400 Receiver
- Yamaha 6840 5 Disc DVD Player
- Mits (regular old - no S-Video) VCR
- and I requested they bring the Pace Box
- I've also purchased two 1 meter Bettercable component cables and two 1 meter digital coax cables.

If anyone has any suggestion on how the setup should go, please feel free to chime in :)


Without seeing the actually inputs and outputs on the Mits and the Pace box, I'm assuming that I run a component cable from the Pace Box to the Mits. Then I run the other component cable from the Mits to the DVD player. One digital coax goes from the Pace Box to the Yamaha receiver and the other digital coax goes from the DVD player to the Yamaha receiver. Then, I guess I just run a composite cable from the VCR to the T.V. with the audio (red/white) going to the Yamaha receiver.

I'd just like to have a game plan in place before the BHN guy arrives in case I get someone that isn't sure what the best way to run things is. I'm going to continue searching this forum for previous posts similar to this, but if anyone wants to take a stab at a general guideline for me to follow it would be greatly appreciated!

Chris

[millerman101]

learn to hook up the connections yourself and you wont have to worry about the bhn. They will come out and due a basic hookup. NOt surround sound hookup...

[lawtyger]

never thought of that. . . I'm so fortunate you replied.

[millerman101]

subject is just stale...

[Max_Gator]

As a point of reference, millerman is associated with BHN, hence his comments.

He is right that it is best to learn to hook things up yourself.

My hook ups are similar to yours in that I have all audio running to the amp and all video running to the TV. This, of course, requires either a macro programmable remote to make a source change in one step - or you have to take two steps and change the source at both.

I personally don't use the bypass feature on the pace box but that would allow you to hook up your dvd player - audio and video to the Pace box - when the box is off the feed from the dvd player will flow through the box to the amp. The result is that to use your dvd player, you will not need to change your feeds - you just turn off the pace box.

I personally find that having all of my inputs set up consistently makes it easier for me to remember what I need to do to switch to an input - and to tell my wife. So, I don't want to handle the DVD player one way, but the VCR, DVR and HD OTA box a different way.

[AnthonyB]

My installer told me that there is no such thing as a DVR for HD. Can someone PLEASE give me a good name of an installer in Hillsborough county (Town and country) in PM or however....

Thanks in advance

Anthony

[millerman101]

Anthony, there is a DVR for HD, but its not available for customers yet...hopefully in the next month it will..

[AnthonyB]

I'm glad I wasn't lied to.. But, what is a good install price and first month? I'm looking at $149 now.(monthly)

[Skikrazee]

It sure would be nice if all their installers knew about the newer equipment, but I guess that's asking for miracles.

Cable tv is a VIDEO service, BHN will hook up HD boxes to the HD TV set and some more knowledgeable installers will make the coonection to a home theater system.

It sure would be nice if the CONSUMER knew about THEIR equipment, but I guess that's asking for miracles 8O

After all the customer is the one going to be using it, not the installer. :wink:

[kevinsnewmatrix]

It sure would be nice if all their installers knew about the newer equipment, but I guess that's asking for miracles.

Cable tv is a VIDEO service, BHN will hook up HD boxes to the HD TV set and some more knowledgeable installers will make the coonection to a home theater system.

It sure would be nice if the CONSUMER knew about THEIR equipment, but I guess that's asking for miracles 8O

After all the customer is the one going to be using it, not the installer. :wink:
THANK YOU !!
Thats something I've wanted to say for soooo lloonngg...but never actually did it !!