lostintx,
I believe you are in Dallas Tx and do satellite so I'll take a swing at this one. I'm in Dallas/Ft Worth as well and also do satellite (both Dish DNSC and a little DirecTV retail).
I am constantly running service calls on jobs that are not drip looped, booted or grounded: not to mention wall punches with no plates on the interior, "wall fishes" dropped through a hole in the celling, roof mounts with 4 bolts and no sealant, not to mention Dishes aimed through trees.
Like one of the others said, I fix anything that may cause a repeat on me. That means grounding, booting, drip loops if it will keep water out of the connector and relocate the occasional Dish. I'm not re-running some clowns "wall fish" or putting a plate on every outlet in the house.
I consider my self to be a professional. As such I have a considerable investment in tools and materials. I drive a late model cargo van. I have more than one ladder so I can get on to any house I pull up to and two of every tool so if one breaks or is lost I can continue to run my route. I have every connector, grounding device and accessory that I may ever possibly need so that when I arrive on the job I am prepared.
I will not go behind some knucklehead with a Little Giant folding ladder and a $10 squealer meter thrown into the back of his Mom's old mini-van and clean up his mess. I will try to get the customer back in service in a fashion that will not go out again.
As for the response that said he calls and has a "re-install code" added! That's a $20 code in DFW. In extreme cases I have persuaded Dish to modify a work order to a Dish Mover which does pay as an install but you have to ask for a win back rep and they may want to hear the customer say they are going to cancel if it's not done.
The long and the short of it is that we as a profession have to stand our ground. Rates a low because of "supply and demand". There are a "supply" of hacks out there and companies foolish enough to "demand" them. Until they are driven out of every shop in town they will continue to pollute our industry.
I personally have a team of 5+ guys who work for me and I don't hire anyone I can't check references and a few jobs on. It's a pain but it's my contribution to the industry and my team. So if you want rates and working conditions to improve drive out a hack today. There's probably one in your shop now!
Re: last man out
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