DirecTV review: poor service! 27

Sandra, you are correct that DIRECTV gets a bad rap out of this situation. It is , however, not Smart Circle who is the problem. DIRECTV has contracted with them for some time to market their service. Smart Circle does not deliver, install or activate any equiptment. Private outside contractors are scheduled to do it. The scheduling is done through DIRECTV corporate call centers and handled by DIRECTV Installation Hotline, not Smart Circle. Smart Circle could not reschedule a time for "THEM" to come to you because they are not involved at that point, the Installation Hotline number you were given is what you should have called. If you called DIRECTV to cancel they would have cancelled immediately, not tell you Smart Circle had to cancel it. If you called Smart Circle they would have told you the same thing. They have no involvement past signing up new customers and scheduling through the call center. All things past that are handled by the DIRECTV Customer Service and Tech Support as well as Installation Hotline, numbers you were given by the distributor who came to your door and were on your copies of the paperwork you signed. DIRECTV and Smart Circle are not at fault in this situation.

Go smart circle. Without you nobody would have anything to work on!

It is Smart Circle that should get the bad rap. The owner, Jeff gave us 2 options: cancel our order which was originally scheduled for a Tuesday or take what he was offering us: an install date of Thursday afternoon. That is HORRIBLE customer service! He just did not care that we had already taken off work Tuesday from 8-12 and noone showed or bothered to call nor did he care that we would have to take off another day to pay for an error that was theirs. Direct TV should be ashamed for continuing to use this company!Do not buy Direct TV at an authorized retailer such as Best Buy which is where we bought ours...

I agree "pajama"-- we had gotten information about Direct TV when we purchased a tv from Circuit City -- the "Direct TV" salesman at CC scheduled an installation and told us to call if we needed to cancel (we had service with Dish Network--and you know those pesky sneaky contract lengths that apparently automatically renew). We did NOT give him our credit card information.
We did have to cancel the installation--called all of the proper people-- yet still a 29.99 charge showed up on our credit card. 1st off--the number listed on the credit card statement is NOT for Smart Circle although that is the name that shows up next to the number. Thankfully, the woman answering that number was kind enough to give us the correct number. I have been calling that number for months and every time I am told that a refund is in the works and I should expect it at my credit card the next day. Refund never shows up. Direct TV knows nothing about the charge.
The charge is for "shipping"-- yet NOTHING was ever shipped to us.
FOUR months later and a few calls every other day and my refund is finally credited.
I will have a hard time considering using Direct TV because they used this Smart Circle company. I will never even attempt to get information from a salesperson again. Shame on both companies.

I agree "Dude"...I purchased my "Direct Tv" from Sams Club.You know those sales people there trying to get you in.Well I fell for it only because it sounded really good. Told me I'd get all kinds of discounts for so many months.That was on April 30th on June 21 I got charged for $29.95.I call my bank to see what that charged was Smart Circle..never heard of! I call Direct TV this guy doesn't know nothing and has me on hold forever.Great! Well I call the number on my statement this lady answers with a weird accient.Okay now what do I do.I was told my shipping charged was going to be $ 19.95 when I signed up.I will nver referr someone! Thanks your postings. I'd still be clueless on this Smart Circle!

This company is such a ripoff! They are not not directv no matter what anyone says. They will tell you they are directv and they are nothing but liars with very poor customer service! They take way too long to issue a refund when they do not come through with services. They kept me waiting all day long literally, finally by the afternoon after they had told me all kinds of lies, I told them either show up by a certain time or cancel. Their supervisor called back claiming she couldnt reach the tech and there was nothing more she could do. So I cancelled. It has now been a week and half and they still havent issued my refund! DO NOT GO through this company, they have NO customer service capabilities and as far as I could tell have no concern for their customers. I should have known Sams was not the place to purchase directv, they are not directv. If you want the service go through directv they are not perfect but at least they care to protect their name and provide you service, smart circle could careless and its directv and sams club name they are ruining.

I wish I read these comments before. I have taken DirecTV membership in Sams club through Smart Circle. There is supposed to be $10 discount on the monthly bill for 12 months in my 24 month contract. Its been more than 2 months and there is no sign of rebate on my bill. I have been on the call with sams club and Smart Circle for hundreds of minutes only to listen to their music. Please please please do not take DirecTV. The programming sucks too. I was told that I would get a specific set of channels but after installation, those dont even show up. That's not fixed either.

Sams club is wrong to let the lying crooks into there store and hold much of the responsibility! DirecTV lets them sign up unsuspecting customers, which makes them even more responsible! We were with Dish for over 10 years and never had the kind of lying problem that we now have with Direct, and we have only been with them a few months. One of the reasons for the change was we were going to get 4 recievers for free and discounts for a year, more programs and told direct owns the equipment and there responsible for it, YEA RIGHT! $49.95 for a one time service call on a new system...NOT RIGHT...It has been a hassle from the start... Its all about money and not accepting the blame which is why they let the others sign people up so they can act innocent. A good company doesnt let a saleman tell a flat lie to sign up new business... DISH is by far a better system with less problems and a better company to deal with, and just as many channels, which we were lied to about that to, I dont care what Direct ads say DISH IS BETTER, and I will switch back asap.

I disagree with most of you. DUDE, the owner told you that not because he didnt care that you had taken the day off but because Technicians can only do so many jobs in one day. BY LAW. So if the tech in your area was booked for the day there is literally nothing he can do. FLOURNOY, Smart Circle has nothing to do with your Sam's Club $10 Rebate. Thats all on Sams Club. If Smart Circle doesnt offer it then they have no control over it. ALL Smart Circle does is take orders for Sams and Best Buy and input them. Then schedule them to the appropriate installation company. Your frustrations are directed to the wrong place. Smart Circle isnt to blame for most of the complaints.

I had the unfortunate fortune to decide to go with the gal at the best buy when I bought the new HDTV ... it was a real pain experience .. her name is Amber and she is located at the Eden Prairie Best Buy store. They said the guy will come to install on thursday next between 1to 6... no one showed up or called till 4 .. so I started calling and realized that I am talking to dumb people ... the direct [protected] goes on infinite hold cycle for 10-15 mins and then asks you to leave a voice message ... what a pain ...

eventually I get hold of the Best Buy store manager and light the fire under the chair for the Smart Circle guys ... eventually they canceled my order and I placed a new one directly with Direct TV ...

! NEVER GO FOR THIS GUYS - THEY ARE REAL CROOKS ... BIG FRAUD ... YOU WILL REPENT BUYING A HDTV IF YOU DECIDE TO SELECT SMART CIRCLE TO SETUP YOUR DIRECT TV CONNECTION ... I HAVE BEEN THROUGH IT AND I DON'T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO SUFFER !

No one one this page has shown any cause for me to belive that they were ripe off.I got d.t.v through best buy when i bought my t.v.My rep in Lansing MI ( Pete i think) explained everything to me to a tee, after that i was put on the phone with a rep that said the same thing he did.My installer came out and in a hour and a half was done( including explaintion of my remote).Sorry if anyone else had a bad experince with this company but mine was great, i had half my family sign up with this guy.Maybe some of you should open your ears ask questions and read all the fine print not just hear what you want.Stop blaming everyone else and look in the mirrior

I just bought my Directv service through a Smart Circle rep (Drew) at Best Buy. I will start off by saying that Drew has been excellent throughout this whole ordeal. Now, I will warn people, that from the point of signing the contract in the Best Buy to the installation of the satellite, the Best Buy Smart Circle rep will be your middle-man point of contact with Directv for all issues. Need to change installation date/time? You must call the rep, who will then call installer scheduling (with Smart Circle), and then call you back. Want to make a slight change to programming before installation? Gotta call the rep. I tried calling Directv directly, but they did not have access to the installation schedule (the installers are contracted directly by Smart Circle) and if they changed my programming, the original contract for the Best Buy perks would then be null and void. This is the hassle factor you will have to deal with.

In my case, we signed up at the beginning of June. We went through weeks of installers cancelling and showing up at the wrong times. Each time, I had to call the Smart Circle rep at Best Buy (Drew), who would have to call someone else to sort things out. I also called once during this period to ask to add whole-home DVR to the installation. I don't fault Drew at all, but he initially didn't know anything about this service, and it took him a few days of back and forth phone calls to figure out they would have to send out a "special" installer, and thus another round of rescheduling. Drew was very apologetic and said he would get us extra Best Buy gift cards for all of the inconvenience.

Installation Day: The installer surveyed the roof and said there was only one place on the roof we could get a signal - right smack in the middle-front of the house, directly above the entrance. I asked him to please find another spot, but he said that was the only spot. Little did I know how large the HD slimline dishes are. He installed it while I was inside. Four hours later, after getting all of the inside equipment hooked up and working, he asked me to sign the work order saying work was complete. I wouldn't do it, as the on demand still wasn't working. He said he would have to run more cable for that, and that he was out of cable today (he may come back Monday). He went outside (I thought he was getting something), but next thing we knew he was driving off. My wife and I take a look at the satellite, and are mortified. I called Smart Circle immediately to voice my displeasure about the installation and the installer, and they pretty much ignored my complaint, and said that after installation it was out of their hands (even though they confirmed it was their contractor, not Directv's).

That night, we got 3 neighborhood complaints about the huge eyesore in the neighboorhood (we are in an HOA). Our next door neighbors are trying to sell their house, so you can imagine their reaction.

I called Smart Circle again two days later and asked them to send someone to either take down or find a better spot for our dish. They asked if I signed the work order, and I told them no. They told me they'd have a manager call me back within the hour. No call back. I tried calling them again with no success. I tried calling Directv, but they said I should be talking to Smart Circle, since it was them who did the install.

With the neighbors getting restless, about 6 days after the installation I called SatPro Atlanta to survey my roof. They found many other locations for the satellite! They couldn't believe the tech just installed it right by his ladder in front (probably just a lazy installer). They said it was one of the worst installations they had seen (as far as location goes). I had SatPro move the dish to the back of the house, out of site. Yes, there was the chance that Smart Circle may have eventually sent someone out to move my dish free of charge, but who knows if their tech would have given the same prognosis (or, worst case, they send the SAME tech out as before). I wasn't chancing it, and I didn't want to take any more time off of work.

It cost me $174 for the survey and moving the dish. Now I'm upset. I call Smart Circle a few more times. They say it is out of their hands and that I should call Directv. However, I know already where that gets me. And actually to their credit, Directv ended up giving me $10 off for 6 months on the premium stations to partially compensate me. But again, is takes only a small bite out of the $174, and this is Smart Circle's problem in my mind (though ultimately it is Directv's fault for contracting out to this crummy operation).

I had been calling Smart Circle without results. So now I've turned back to my Smart Circle Best Buy rep buddy, Drew. He has been nothing but helpful, but there is only so much he can do. He can't believe I've been treated the way I have, and he has filed a complaint on my behalf twice. I keep asking him, "What about the extra Best Buy gift cards you said you could get me"? He said it is up to the folks in the main office. I'm not very hopeful at this point.

Anyway, just wanted to tell my story so anyone considering this will know what to expect (and of course, your experience could go just as smoothly as justoneguy in the post above). I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, as it depends on your particular offer and how much hassle you are ready to deal with. The original offer gives me a $50 Best Buy gift card upon installation and another $300 gift card upon purchase of a TV. Was it worth it to me? No. Especially when you consider the TVs are a few hundred dollars cheaper at Brandsmart (here in Atlanta), thus offsetting the savings gained with the gift cards.

I will post again if Smart Circle actually respond to my complaint.

I contracted with a Smart Circle Rep in Best Buy 2 weeks ago. I scheduled installation between 2 and 6 on a weekday and had to close my office but still pay staff. The installer showed up at 630. He didn't have a ladder on his truck big enough to reach my roof so he told me that DirectTv doesn't allow roof installs anymore (a lie) and he would have to charge me an extra $100 "pole fee" (I forgot my ladder fee). Then when he realized that he couldn't use my coaxial cable all to himself because I was keeping Road Runner internet, instead of running a new coaxial access he tried to reschedule. I told him that I had already missed work and wasn't going to reschedule and that he could either install it then or I was going to cancel service. I canceled service and still haven't gotten refunded.

I spoke to the Best Buy Smart Circle sales rep who told me that the reason for me canceling was listed as "no signal" meaning that the poor installer struggled to get a satellite signal but couldn't get one. A total lie. When I told him this was all a lie, and told him about the "pole fee" etc, he called their Smart Circle office. Their solution to the late service, the lies, the unnecessary rescheduling etc was to offer another installation date. 'Sorry we wasted your afternoon, tried to cheat you out of $100 dollars, lied to you and rescheduled, what we can do for you is reschedule so you can give us a chance to screw you again. No thanks. Call Direct Tv directly and get an installer with Direct Tv on the side of his truck who you can hold accountable.

I would stay away from anything affiliated with Smart Circle.

August 11, 2010

I also got my Direct Tv from Sams Club.
The nightmare start dealing with Smart Circle. They keep telling me I have existing Direct Tv already. We cannot do installation to you.
I explained to the supervisor (Martha) she keeps telling me to call Direct Tv Corp off'c. which I have done 6 times back and fort with Direct Tv and Smart Circle.
Direct Tv tells me show NO existing svcs but pending for installations.

You guys are all right STAY AWAY FROM Smart Circle anything affiliated.

Smart Circle sales rep UNTRAINED GHETTO COMPANY it just show who THIS COMPNAY IS.

WOW... I was planning to go with the Sams Club Direct TV (smart circle) guy this weekend and place an order. Thank you everyone for your posts, I will absolutely avoid these guys after hearing your stories.

You people are all ridiculous. You can't blame Smart Circle or any of its subsidiaries for your problems. They are an in-store direct marketing firm and Directv is one of their clients. All they do is simply inform you of the current specials being offered by Directv and help you get signed up. They have nothing to do with installation or problems after signing you up. By the way, going through Smart Circle or (the in-store directv application at SAMs and Bestbuy) is the ONLY way to get the discounts associated with directv and they save you a good $300+ compared to signing up through Directv. This is because they are contracted out to sign people up easily and therefore Directv doesn't have to pay as their own people to sign you up and thus can save you money. Smart Circle and its subsidiaries are everywhere. You probably have either work for or happily purchased something from one of their companies and don't even realize it.

TRUTHNOTLIES, you obviously did not read my post above.

"All they do is simply inform you of the current specials being offered by Directv and help you get signed up." - This is not true. They are the middle-man until the install. Please read my post above.

" They have nothing to do with installation or problems after signing you up." - Not true. The installers are contracted by SmartCircle, not Directv. Please read my post above.

"You can't blame Smart Circle or any of its subsidiaries for your problems." - Yes I can. Though I also blame Directv for hiring 3rd party firms to sell there products/services (I don't believe Comcast does this).

For all you smart circle haters and all the people that hate bad customer service read on- I've noticed that this little man, Pierre Marcella (picture attached) owner of Break Point Marketing (www.breakpointmarketing.net/ [protected]) is still up to the same antics from NC now to MD- towson and bmore are. Each time there are several reports filed and complaints made about him and his scandalous operations, the man changes what he promotes of his sorry excuse for a company and moves to a different location. How pathetic this man is but the most pathetic thing is that he is still in business or any other of the sub-companies of smart circle. For those who are hearing about this for the first time and thinking about starting an "entry-level managing" postion, this is how they conduct business... Misleading Job Posts- The ad in the paper or online states that it is an entry level marketing management position with a starting salary between $38000-$42000 a year.. Big lie.. All these idiotic little [censor] will have you do is sell DTV setups at a SAMS club or BestBuy. They all work commission so they will say and do whatever it is to get you to sign up, then they most likely will leave the company because they see that it is all a scam. That is why you can't get ahold of the rep that signed you up!

Since these sub-companies operate as an independent distributor they don't care after you sign up. The average distributor makes $200 a week (if your good) after working about 60 hours so if you do the math, this is way below minimum wage and a complete waste of time. Anyone thinking about setting up DTV or buying a TV or home improvements, etc go straight to the source- more then likely they will have the same deals as these independent distributors. Why deal with talking to younger, un-experienced kids trying to make their beer money by signing you up? I would rather call the source directly - once you do this the source (DTV or whatever) is now responsible for your transactions not some middle company that doesn't or can't do anything about DTV being backed up for weeks or even months because they are signing to many people up...then people cancel. It's all about how high the number of people they can sign up in a week.

Unprofessionalism-The most unprofessional bunch i have ever worked with and Pierre Marcella is the main culprit considering that he encourages and promotes this bad behavior instead of standing aganst it. With his companies website stating "We are dedicated to 100% professionalism on any given day. You will find that our representatives are courteous, professional, and committed to customer satisfaction." The most common is the unecessary and ignorant deragatory remarks made towards peoples backgrounds and this distorts the employees comfort level. To be honest and simple...STAY AWAY FROM OR ANY COMPANY THAT he works with by Pierre Marcella or Smart Circle!

If you want a list of companies and their contact info let me know.

I worked for Smart Circle in Huntsville Al. They make you work crazy hours 6 days a week for a thug from Memphis Tn. They teach you to not take no for an answer, you pester every customer that comes in the store, some get pissed off if I came Sams to buy milk and cheese I would not want to be bothered buy a commission based sales person, I am worried about getting my Commission on Friday I have heard stories about people not getting their last check I will give back my Sams Club Card and my Family will also and I encourage you to also, this will not go on if Sams Club won't let them in their stores Smart Circle offers bonuses for ripping people off, you can get a better deal if you go online or call Direct Tv yourself if you can stand the wait time

After reading these threads plus my own experience, it is definite that Smart Circle is a scam and shame on Direct TV for letting them be a third party seller for them. I ordered Direct TV from Sams too. There is nothing provided on any documentation that tells you that you are dealing with a Smart Circle representative. They scheduled my installation 3 different dates and cancelled all three time at 9:00 p.m. the night before - the equipment didn't come in and the truck was broke down. When I finally called Direct TV, they cannot cancel the order Smart Circle made - you have to cancel through Smart Circle. They billed me $159.95 as upfront installation that never got installed. Once I get it cancelled through Smart Circle, I will order from Direct TV themselves. Right now I'm not sure I want too because the whole dealings with Direct TV and their sham subcontractors is very shady.

Practically No one on this forum has even realized that smart circle has nothing to do with the installers. smart circle is a third party SALES company. the install team is hired by DirectTV. NOT by smart circle. If you took a step back and realized that the only people that are writing on this page about their bad experience with getting installed are the ones who actually had a bad experience. smart circle signs up over 6, 000 customers weekly. that might become a burden on the installers but in NO WAY does this mean that it is smart circle's fault. Get your facts straight before you go blaming the wrong people. if you have enough time in our lame lives to complain about your tv service coming a week late them why don't you get off the couch and go play catch outside with your kids for a change.

Thats all.

We recently ran into the same situation with "Smart Circle" through the Best Buy store. We waited two weeks for the scheduled installation only to be stood up on the day of scheduling. No phone call, nothing. I was able to speak with a representative who assured me that the installation would take place between 8-12 and that the installer would call 30 min. prior to installation. No phone call, nothing. I called Direct TV and they gave me a phone number for Smart Circle. The number given was dis connected! I phoned back, Direct TV gave me another number and after waiting for over 18 min. the Smart Circle people said I had to phone Direct TV! This went on for over 3 1/2 hours. I even tried to cancel the whole thing and Direct TV said I had to cancel with Smart Circle! At the end of the day I finally spoke with a supervisor at Direct TV who finally cancelled the whole thing, and then asked me if I would like the Direct TV sales support to reschedule and deal with them instead of Smart Circle! Stay away from Big Box Stores that have the Direct TV "Smart Circle" people in them. Deal Directly with Direct TV if you want the service, me I'm staying with Comcast...

In addition, the posting before my last post says that "Smart Circle" doesn't have anything to to with installatin procedures. That's not true as they contract out their own installers, not Direct TV's. The installers are not hired by Direct TV otherwise why have your own installers. Besides that, if Smart Circle is such an upfront sales organization then trying to reach someone with credibility wouldn't have been so difficult. No one at the "sales office" for Smart Circle could/would give any information as to the installation and that's part of the sales process, to give great customer service. Furthermore, I was told by the "Smart Circle " people that I should call the Best Buy store which I also did. They said they didn't have anything to do with the Smart Circle people in their store as they were part of Direct TV and to deal with them! All in all a very lousy way to do business and I won't deal with any of them again and will let everyone I personally know our experience.

It is Smart Circle that is the problem. After they installed the Directv, I purchased a two-year warranty from them. Should have known better since they installation was a nightmare. I need a repair, and they have missed 4 appointments, and after countless phone calls, my service is not fixed. Their employees continue to make promises that no one keeps. When I had Directv come out a couple of months ago to install a DVR, they were very prompt. They came when they said they would. How come Smart Circle can't keep one of four appointments? Directv, Best Buy and anyone else should end their relationships with this joke of a company. Don't ever buy through them. Everyone I know who has Directv is very happy, but they didn't go through a third party retailer!

The Truth Is You Can Get A Great Deal With Directv. Directv Is The Number 1 Product On The Market. Directv Is Great Without Discounts Which Is Why All DTV NATION (Smart Circle Reps Close More Deals Than DTV itself.) You Can Get DTV Any Where You Want It's America You Can Not Get The Best Deals Out Side Of Smart Circle.

I work for Smart Circle now and I can assure you that "No" is taking for an answer! Not only that but we love No's b/c every "no" brings us closer to a yes. Not all reps are bad. The problem is that reps come in not knowing the business like they should and get their own store to control and end up telling customers a lot of trash that is wrong and misleading. I hate that this happens. I'm sorry to all of you that have problems with the rep and when you have a rep lie to you please tell the manager of the store they were in. They will be fired the next day if not that same day I assure you. We are the middle man for DirecTV, not only them but far more suppliers than them. Do not let them lie to you. Best Buy: if you sign with DirecTV...choice package and above along with purchasing anything in the store $399 and above you will get the $150 gift card after mailing it in with your 1st month bill and receipt. Sam's Club: you will get an extra $10 for the first yr with plus card and $10 for 6mos with any other card. Those that work for smart circle and hate their job are not meant to do this kind of work. It's simple to work a lot of hours and be willing to deal with a lot of knows without changing the truth and lying to get a yes. It's called Attitude and Work ethic... I apologize to all of you that have been lied to and I would be more than happy to help with any problems you may have. Feel free to call me at [protected]

I urge all people with complaints about Direct TV and their deceptive sales practices to sell their service to people to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. There is a page there for filing complaints against internet and TV providers.