I work as a trainer in the Automotive Industry. Dealers that are either under-performing or simply want to up their game utilize us for training. Whether training on basic sales process or coaching an entire management staff, we are known for "getting it done." I will share with you that 90% of what we teach revolves around customer service skills.

Which leads me to my latest adventure......Satellite TV in the RV.

Don used Direct TV. Not having utilized satellite before, and Don being gracious enough to include his dish in the sale, I just figured staying with them was a no brainer.

I went to their website and they had RV ads all over it. According to them, there really isn't anything they can't do if it involves a coach. So I called them to set it up. I am not one for doing things online. I prefer to talk to someone live. Just finding a number to call took about 3 minutes of clicking around the website. It would appear that these folks don't really want to talk to you. Michelle gets a chuckle when I talk to customer service centers that are automated. I particularly enjoy the ones that offer "Please say your answer or using the touch tone pad on your phone, key in the appropriate number." I usually simply start by just saying "operator" or "human" or "no". This must have worked for me at one time or another because I keep doing it. It hasn't worked in a long time. She really gets a laugh when I repeat one of those prompts, only a little louder each time. This experience was no different. After a few minutes of wrestling I did get an "operator" Not sure what country they were based out of but it certainly wasn't one where the native language was English. I have the utmost of respect for anyone that wants to better themselves and learning our language in order to become a customer service representative is not easy, I am sure. But why do a lot of these major corporations allow some one to interact with us that does not understand or speak our language on at least a 3 year old level is beyond me. I always give them a shot. I will try several times to say "please repeat yourself" or "Sorry, I cannot understand you, say again". Invariably I end up just asking for a supervisor or in rare events, hang up. I feel bad for these folks when I do this because it really isn't their fault, but I am left with no choice in the matter. I would love to wring the neck of the individual that is in charge of outsourcing these positions.

My second attempt was much more successful. I was instantly connected to someone that was obviously a native of the US. Probably New York or Philadelphia judging by the accent. This gentleman assured me in no uncertain terms that Direct TV does not "do" rv's. I was a little bit confused because of those ads that I saw, and when I brought it up, he did not change his mind. So I finished that call too. I figured the third time might be the charm so I dialed again. This time, success! Not only did the person reassure me, they were happy to run my credit report, tell me that I qualified for anything I wanted, and take my money. The installer would be coming out in a couple of days and there was nothing further that I needed to do.

Fast forward a couple of days and the installer did show up at my house. As he started to make his way in to our home I pointed to the coach and said "Actually, you are going to install it in the bus." He stopped in his tracks and said, "Oh, they didn't tell me that. We don't do that." "But I told them several times exactly what I was trying to do" I said. "Sorry, we don't do that. Somebody else does that". "Who" I asked. I don't know, but it isn't us." "Well, sorry you had to come out for nothing." I replies, a little weary in my voice, "No problem Sir, Call Customer Service, they will walk you through it," "Great, I will do that, they are always helpful". I finished my conversation with him feeling like I really had not gotten out of the gate yet.

I didn't call customer service, I went back to the web. It does seem like I at least feel more informed when I research this stuff on my own. This whole talking to a person live stuff just wasn't getting it done. After clicking around a little bit I found the link that you are supposed to push when you need to buy peripherals for an RV set up. The company was called Weingard and I quickly learned I would be spending several hundred dollars on extra stuff do make this happen, When Don sold me the coach, he gave me a satellite dish on a tripod and told me that all you need to do was get a regular "house" set up for the coach and then when you set up the coach at an RV park, simply put the tripod in an area that has an unencumbered look at the sky. Instant TV! I could not understand why I now needed to buy a bunch of electronics. Guess I had to call customer service again.

This time I got a very nice young lady. I explained my situation to her, everything that I had done or not done to this point, explained that the installer would not work on it, and that in the end I just needed a house set up. I also told her I would really rather not buy a bunch of stuff. She told me that she would simply call back the installer and tell them to do it and put me on hold. I protested that this was not going to "fly" but she put me on hold anyway, When she came back on the line about five minutes later, she began to explain to me that the installer does not handle this type of thing and that I would have to get a hold of a company called Weingard but that she would be happy to provide me with the number. I told her that she was not listening to me and that I would like to speak with a supervisor. She told me that a supervisor would not be able to do anything for me that she had not already done. I hung up.

I now have Dish Network. They were Awesome.... People that speak English, a local installer that felt my pain...I was up and running by the next day. I did have to buy a tethered antenna called a navigator, and it was about $350. It finds and locks in the satellite for you. I found out from them that if I did try to aim my own satellite, it would make me cry. I am very happy.......

follow Michelle and I as we adventure around the country starting October 25th.... you can find us on facebook at www.facebook.com/everywhereamerica....