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Original poster

Humour me - getting Sky next week, what do I need to know.

40 replies

MrsSpoon · 30/11/2006 23:08

Supposed to be getting Sky next week (we'll see, in our last house they said we couldn't have it because the place where the dish would need to go was far to dangerous for a Sky man to venture).

Is there anything I need to know? Do they make a mess, holes in the wall, what about a phone cable? We don't have one near the TV, do they need one?

Ordered on-line so not got a clue except they are coming next week.

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twelvedaysofchristmas · 01/12/2006 15:18

Ah I see. I heard that there are lots of call centres in Scotland and Ireland for UK companies because people like to hear the accent and are less likely to be stroppy customers. It's friendlier. I am Irish and I'm sure lots of people would like to hear my dulcet tones over the phone whilst arranging a sky installation.

twelvedaysofchristmas · 01/12/2006 15:19

Oh, and I have worked in a call centre in Ireland... Unfortunately Irish people aren't as charmed by an Irish accent as people in the UK.

Original poster
MrsSpoon · 01/12/2006 16:52

Ah yes loads of call centres as they all want to hear our lovely celtic tones. Do you have a northern or southern irish accent?

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twelvedaysofchristmas · 01/12/2006 17:08

Dublin.

Glassofwine · 01/12/2006 17:13

Just another point, when mine was installed they used the absolute minimum amount of cable from the wall to the box itself, which means that if we want to change the furniture around in the room including the tv, we cant because the cable is only about 20cms from the wall. It's not anything like as long as the normal length that a cable to wall plug would be.

frenchmummytiger · 01/12/2006 18:06

We had them come out, they refused to put dish on chimney (small cottage so not at all high), can't get signal if dish on house wall (live in wooded dip). Ended up getting private local co to put up dish and also bought box and card from them. Cheaper than Sky themselves. Took a while to get refund from Sky though
Agree about the wiping of feet.... we still have a bit of muck I can't get rid of....

frenchmummytiger · 01/12/2006 18:07

Oh, and we have to hide our remote from our DD (20wks) as she loves to chew it and slobber on it....

Original poster
MrsSpoon · 01/12/2006 20:17

Need to try and make sure they leave a decent length of cable then, if they will even deem our home suitable for the installation in the first place, it makes you wonder if they want the business or not.

Twelvedays love the Dublin accent, could listen to it all day.

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Original poster
MrsSpoon · 04/12/2006 14:51

Arrrgh! OK they came today and I thought DH had decided that if they said they would need the heights team to put the dish on the chimney then we would go for one on the house at first storey level, especially seen as both of us has walked up and down our street and never even noticed the 22 dishes on our side of the road, most of them at 1st storey height. DH and I both took an instant dislike to the guy who came round (he was all huffy puffy and disgruntled about having to do another instal ). I was quite prepared to let him get on with it but the first words out of DH's mouth were "I want the dish on the chimney", to which the guy said, "You need the heights team", installation rebooked for next week.

Of course they only have two heights teams in the area, DH questioned the logic in this and also in sending someone out who couldn't go up higher than first floor and the guy said "It's just that Sky base their service on the marjority of houses" are the majority of houses in this country bungalows? No, so Sky base their service on the easiest option possible for them and hope that most people are happy to go with that.

From the paperwork looks like putting the dish on the chimney is going to cost an extra £40.

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Original poster
MrsSpoon · 04/12/2006 14:53

Oh and that's another episode of Lost we'll miss. Wish DH had listened to me and got Sky months ago.

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trixymalixy · 04/12/2006 22:20

Typical! Hope you have concrete roof tiles rather than slate or there'll be more huffing and puffing.

TwoIfBySea · 04/12/2006 22:21

Make sure you don't get a sub-contractor MrsSpoon. If he isn't in a proper Sky van he will be a sub-contractor.

Original poster
MrsSpoon · 05/12/2006 22:51

Arrrgh!!! We've got slate tiles, that'll be another problem.

TwoIfBySea, what's the story with the sub-contractors? Do they not do as good a job as the usual Sky men? I probably won't see the van as we have no parking at the front of our house so they will go down the side road. The man that came on Mon had a Sky sweatshirt on.

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Original poster
MrsSpoon · 13/12/2006 22:52

Heights team arrived today. Thought the weather would have been enough to make them cancel but they showed up.

The guy was only in the house five mins and he was trying to leave. According to him the phone socket has to be in the same room as the Sky box, our nearest phone socket is in the hallway just outside the room where the box is. Thankfully after much humming and haa-ing they decided they could bend the rules slightly.

Next problem was the cable. They wanted it in the front window, tacked to the skirting, over a wall press door frame, tacked on more skirting, tacked over the mantel piece of a period fireplace, tacked onto yet more skirting then into the box! DH asked can you not just put it straight through the wall so it comes in just behind the telly, he replied almost immediately, "yeah, no problem".

The two Sky guys then had a bit of a barney, cue one of them shouting his head off up the side of our house, then when he realised he couldn't be heard opening the front door and shouting directly at the guy who was inside the house.

Glad it's in now and the dish is really quite discrete, DH was right it should be on the chimney.

Thank you for all your advice and letting me ramble on here.

Sky + is fab, fab, fab!!!

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Original poster
MrsSpoon · 13/12/2006 22:53

Oh and DH has the phone cable unplugged already.

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