Loading ...Launch day has been and gone, yet Freesat have clearly got the fundamentals wrong already, that being the supply of goods. You only have to look at some of the comments on here to get a good account of the problems at hand.
It seems that the most secretive of launches might have been for a reason, barely any stock and poor knowledge from the major retailers.
We accept that Freesat is in its infancy, but making such basic mistakes isn’t going to warm consumer feeling towards the new satellite service, not yet anyway.
We have contacted Freesat’s PR company for an official response, so will give them time to reply, but the points below should cover the general feeling at present:
- Lack of stock - It seems that the 4 assigned Freesat retailers haven’t been able to gain, or haven’t been given enough stock. Despite Freesat stating that you can buy online, only Comet have offered this so far, and that was for 1 hour on Tuesday, and 2 hours on Wednesday. Things haven’t been much better for those with time to visit one of the 4 retailers stores, with stock selling out almost immediately. It would be easy to blame this on demand, but its not the case, it would seem that most stores (from any of the retailers) have all got a handful of boxes at most, with no more expected until next week at the earliest. Who would launch a new service throughout the UK with a few hundred receivers.
- Lack of options - For reasons we are still unclear, receivers from Goodmans, Grundig and Alba have been unavailable to buy (other than a few that bought before launch day) , leaving Humax the only brand available (or not as the case may be!). We have had unofficial word that the issue is with the software, whereby echostar banners are still appearing across channels that should have been removed. Maybe this is the reason? But surely should have been tested and approved long before launch?
- Lack of knowledge - This of all is probably the most disappointing aspect of the new service, the poor level of training given to the retailers. We’ve had a wide range of responses from the salesreps on the shop floor, which include denying there being a new service; trying to sell freeview/sky instead; or worse of all, suggesting that installation is a requirement, no matter whether you have a dish already. This goes further, some have suggested that you have no warranty on the box if you don’t take installation, and some have stated that the alignment of the dish for Freesat is completely different than for Sky. Is this just an attempt to sell more, or poor expertise, either way its shocking.
- Lack of installation - We’d like views on this, but some of those that have purchased an installation package from either Comet or Argos have contacted us asking how they go about getting the installation carried out, as both Comet and Argos are not sure.
As said, we shall await an official response from Freesat, who we hope are aware of these issues anyway, but knowing that they read this blog, they soon will. If we can help them overcome these problems, we will, its in everyones interest to make this service a success.
Come on Freesat, get it sorted.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
went into john lewis nottingham
they said your sky dish will not work with freesat i asked him other things about freesat but was told a load of rubbish they have no idea bad training and want to sell you something that you do not need
May 8th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I purchased my Humax Foxsat at 1235 on Tuesday from Comet in Guildford including the dish installation package. The installers contacted me yesterday afternoon to inform me that the install will take place tomorrow, Friday, and that the engineer will be contacting me late this afternoon/evening today to arrange a time. The Comet salesman told me that installs go through their system to head office who arrange it. Footnote, I was the first to purchase a Freesat Box from the Guildford Comet.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Agree totally, I’ve tried every retailer in my area (glos) and all have not stock nor any clue when any will arrive
May 8th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
This mirrors my experience exactly. Particularly the comment that it`s a SKY run operation
May 8th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Absolutley spot on Admin. Comet (Chester) just looked at me as though I was talking another language. However, if the Freesat launch had been delayed by another 2 months or so, for retailers training, stock intake etc, we would have been moaning big time. Let’s just be thankfull it has launched and look forward to an improvement in service in all areas. The make or break time will be when the PVR launches.
May 8th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I managed to get one of only two Humax boxes in stock from Comet’s Partick branch in Glasgow,at 9am on Wed. morning,no other Glasgow branch had any stock at all.
Its utterly ridiculous that in a major city like Glasgow, only one Comet branch had stocked it.
Of course the sales assistant tried to convince me i had to buy the install package as well,and of course their famous breakdown cover,but i was having none of that.
The assistant also confirmed that they wouldn’t have any Grundig boxes for two weeks.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
john lewis have a freesat page, bit weak, but still it’s something
May 8th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
No Problem getting Foxsat from Comet St Hellens on the 7th. Just gave me the box. No Sales hipe!!
Warrington Branch (My area) had none in stock.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
more i read the more lm put off freesat
what should i do now
May 8th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
went into comet,merry hill west mids at 4pm on launch day.lots of empty boxes on display but no stock.on enquiry quoted one week delivery.went to currys next door.no display but on enquiry “yes sir we have some in the stock room just arrived 2 hours ago”.went away happy with humax box.no body seems to mention currys.by the way the humax pictures are brill on hdmi!
May 8th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
perhaps the launch should have been delayed whilst the problems were solved,having only 1 box to launch on day one was a disaster.also very little publicity and poor sales staff in the stores(do sky pay staff good comision for signing customers to the £75 offer)
May 8th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
hi technopig are you useing i sky dish
May 9th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Having Sky FTA at present, the only reason I wanted Freesat was for HD progs. However, as they seem a distant dream, there is no point in buying a new box until enough HD is available. This has been a PR mess!
May 9th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
As prophesied by me here before, this is A Great British Cockup. But let’s look on the bright side: at least *some* people have boxes, and (if there is any justice in the world) some PR idiots are not going to get their contracts renewed for this.
As an aside, has anyone ever encountered a well-run PR operation for something like this? Seems to me that people who work for PR agencies are technophobic munchkins more interested in having their photos taken with C-list celebs than running anything well.
May 10th, 2008 at 6:16 am
Well, I`ve managed to get my box from Comet and bought another from Currys. Yes, for all those asking -it DOES work with existing SKY dish (not the very old dishes i.e pre-digital SKY!!) BEWARE- In Currys, I had the Manager run up to me at checkout and pointed out I`d need to buy the installation package and showed me the line on the box “Pay for the box and installation here in the store”. I basically said “get lost” I`ll use my old SKY dish thanks and that I`d be reporting the matter to Freesat…he backed off quite rapidly!!! So , becarefl…I suspect sales staff won`t like selling these boxes since there`s little commission compared to SKY. I`m hoping this box (and the much awaited Humax PVR) will knock SKY and especially their rip off £10 a month for HD. I only managed to pick up BBC1 HD (spectacular on my Sony KDL V3000 1080p TV)…Hope for more channels to come….bring it on Freesat and Humax Humax…riddence SKY and tyrant Murdoch……….
May 10th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Found out about this on Wednesday, ordered from Argos (Home Delivery) on Thursday for delivery Saturday (today). Not too fussed about the lesser branded boxes being removed as the Humax was only a few pounds more and seems a far superior box. I do wish there was a PVR version available though as I have a feeling in a few months I’ll be buying another lol.
My own personal opinion is that the launch is low key because freesat feel the majority of their customers will come over to them once the terrestrial switch off takes hold, rather than simply having people take it in preference to their existing systems (freeview/sky etc). I personally want freesat mainly due to HD content (I know there’s barely any at present) and as I’ve just cancelled my Sky+ I thought I may asell jump in.
As for sales staff trying to sell the installs - well that’s retail for you. I worked in Currys/Dixons for years and if we sold anything of value without coverplan (warranty insurance) then we got in deep s***.
May 10th, 2008 at 8:05 am
lib - not sky.65 cm generic dish with cheap lnb from lidl.but i was recieving sky with it before.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Listen, we are looking at the same satellites and receiving the the same channels as Sky, there’s no difference. like pointing your antenna at Crystal Palace to get BBC1. Only difference is, it’s free! Same quality, same channels, identical. Same dish, same LNB, no problem.
So, if you don’t wanna pay Sky £16.00 (minimum) a month go Freesat and get the same, identical channels. Most are probably free on FreeView anyway. 12 x £16 = £192 . . . The choice is easy . . Why pay for something that’s free? Teach those robbers at Sky a lesson . . .
May 14th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Am I missing something here? If you have Sky already (& done your minimum 12 months contract), just cancel your subscription & your existing Sky box will give you all the Freesat channels at no monthly cost. Of course you wont get any HD channels, but seeing as there is only BBC HD & most of the time it only shows Preview Programs you might as well wait to get a HD box.
May 14th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Hi all,
Just cancelled SKY HD as it is all repeats.
Got the HUMAX box up and running superb picture on BBC HD.
Easy to set up,not frozen once unlike the sky box which had to be reset all the time and when it got hot it would slow down to a crawl worse than being in a traffic jam on bank hols.
Freesat Must be a winner EPG is great only annoying thing is when you press the guide button a pop up pops up asking what you want entertainment etc etc. but i believe Humax are sorting this out with a software download soon.
Brian
May 16th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Would the best option for a new customer who wants freesat in 2 rooms be, to get sky’s installation with no subscription for £75, then buy a new box for another room and get freesat on its, thru the satellite dish. This way i dont have to buy 2 freesat boxes and pay an for the 2 room installation charge thru freesat?
May 16th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Joe - Yes, and don’t forget that Dixon’s offer a further 10% off the £75 price by ordering online and using discount code SKY10 on checkout.
Also, remember that for a second room you’ll need additional cable and a quad LNB. As standard the £75 will include a single LNB and single cable, so if you don’t feel you can make the alterations yourself, then try slipping the installer a tenner to carry out the additional work.
June 12th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
why buy from a retail shed anyway, go to an independent installer that way you keep your local installer busy instead of greedy companies that want 500 installs a day!! yorkshire…
June 12th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
mike - unfortunatly at the moment there seems to be a lot of price fixing and distribution fixing going on. The major retailers are presently the only ones able to obtain stock in good numbers, plus are selling online cheaper than the independants will even get at trade price, giving them little chance unless a customer is happy to pay more for a better quality of service. Power to the independants