Dish

I have never been a fan of those ugly satellite dish receivers, but after researching the options, it simply became impossible not to have one installed. Making the change saved us about $100 a month. Now that we are up and running, I’m considerably pleased with my decision. We not only saved money, but the HD picture is crisper and clearer than I can ever remember. Once I figured out how to navigate the new on-screen environment, I can honestly say I believe it’s the better product. I don’t even mind the dish. In fact, it’s quite discrete. 

I am certain that competition for providing television and Internet services is brutal, yet it doesn’t stop the exorbitant price hike that happens once the promotion period ends. This was my main motivation for changing service in the first place. I knew that canceling my recent service would not be enjoyable, but I had no idea to what extent. The whole process took over three days. It began with a lengthy wait on hold and an equally lengthy phone conversation, which was recorded and monitored for customer service reasons. In the end, I was instructed to package up all of my old equipment (4 television receivers, all the power supplies, and remotes), and provide my account number to the local UPS store where they had a “house” account. I was also informed that if anything was damaged when it arrived, I could be charged up to $150 per unit. This aspect motivated me to do an excellent job packing up the items for shipping.

When I arrived at the UPS store with my fairly large and securely packaged stuff, I was prepared with notes in hand. The man behind the counter knew exactly why I was there when I told him what I was shipping. He encouraged me to set the box on the counter. He assured me that he had experience in this matter, and he grabbed my notes for shipping the items from my hand. As I had suspected, he was not able to decipher my notes. He handed them back to me, asking for the shipping confirmation number, which I recited obediently. He wrote the number down on a shipping form and told me to write out my name, address, and so on.

Once my form was completed, he took a razor blade knife to my package (the one that took me about 30 minutes to pack), and took everything out of the box. He said that I didn’t need to package it at all, and that I would have to dispose of all of the waste. I’m certain my jaw dropped, but I managed to calmly request the shipping receipt, and vowing to never return, I walked out, disgusted. As I drove away, I couldn’t help but wonder why I was treated this way, and why I felt violated over something so trivial. 

Several hours later, I realized there were two ideas that were at the core of my dismay. First, I believe that UPS man must have been the owner, and I had been witness to the ugly face of greed. Second, I had made a conscious effort to minimize waste by reusing packaging materials, and in the end, I had actually made more waste than intended. How disappointing! I guess it’s true when people say that breaking up is hard to do.