[widebody911]

We got waylaid yesterday at the Home & Garden show by a sales rep, and my wife was all gaga over it because the rep claimed that with the NFL package, none of the games would be blacked out (which in and of itself is a retarded practice). So, she wanted to sign up to have them replace our TV service (currently AT&T) and try it for a year. Besides the programming, they claim it will be a lot cheaper than AT&T.

Note: this is just to switch the TV programming & DVR - our internet and phone will remain with AT&T.

The first "interesting" thing I noted was the guy was magically able schedule an install on the spot without having any sort of means to check on actual tech availability. I asked about that, and the answer was "we have a lot of techs" but I think the medical term is "talking out his ass" Sure enough, bright and early we got a call to re-schedule for late in the week; the tech couldn't get his car started. So what about all of those other techs? And don't they have company vans? I know I've seen them parked at residences overnight here and there.

For S&G today, I did some google searches on them, and there are literally thousands of complaints about them. One of the most insidious practices complained about is how they parlay any sort of a service call into a contract extension by way of easter eggs buried in the fine print. After reading page after page of complaints, I want nothing to do with them.

My wife is all excited about getting this NFL package at some screaming deal for a limited time, which of course reverts automatically at the end of the promo period to something like $300 a year. The tech suggested we call them at that time and threaten to leave and they will extend the promo period.

I really want to pull the plug on this whole deal right now, but she wants to try it for a year, and she promises to keep track of when the promo periods expire so we don't take it anally with all of the automatic up-charges.

AT&T hasn't been without its issues; they've been slowly ratcheting up the price from the original promo of $60/month to a hair under $200, so I'm open to some sort of change. Personally I would just ditch the TV subscription altogether but that won't fly with the wife.

Thoughts? Experiences with DirectTV?