DISH reviews

2.7

31% would recommend to a friend

(7,810 total reviews)
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Charlie Ergen

22% approve of CEO

25% positive business outlook

DISH has an employee rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars, based on 7,810 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The DISH employee rating is 24% below average for employers within the Telecomunicaciones industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

8K reviews
2.0
Aug 5, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Dish is proactive in its training and keeping its employees up to date... mostly. I'll get to that in a bit, however, they do have weekly (most of the time) mini-training sessions in their CSC (customer service center) which keep their employees informed of what’s going on in both the marketplace, and with what the company's current 'party line' is in reference to their customers. Effort IS made to keep their employees informed in regard to their 'duties'. The 'benefits' package is 'Ok' but not the best I've seen. The 401k is also 'Ok' - I've seen worse, but they DO have a nifty stock option plan where you can buy 'pieces' of stock out of every check until you get to a whole 'share'. Not many companies offer that. Dish also has one of the loosest 'attendance' policies I've seen (though it is a call center so some allowances have to be made to reduce 'churn') - basically a new hire gets 40 hours of paid time off, and when business is slow, the encouraged 'option' of 'unpaid' time off without consequences. You don't get paid sick days until after completion of two full calendar years from jan-dec (so if you were hired in June, you'd basically have to work 30 months to start accruing sick days). If you're absent for half a 'shift' you get 1/2 of an attendance point. (Assuming it wasn't some of the approved unpaid time off) if a full shift, you get a full point.... 3 points is a simple 'verbal' warning. well...after 90 days, your attendance points 'roll off' - this means you could technically take 1 full day off per month without real consequences (if you timed it right) every year with basically a slap on the wrist... pretty good eh? Oh you also get a great discount on your TV services. Top package with a single non-dvr receiver is essentially 'free', with discounts on some of the other content. For about 30 bucks a month you can be the envy of your friends who enjoy TV.

Cons

People aren't treated right on an emotional level by some of the call center management... basically its all about the numbers... If you don't like it... there's the door (essentially). Management is very disconnected from employees... hiding behind statements like "Its a business need... we simply have to get this done" with no consideration for morale, life scheduling, or transportation issues (unless of course the manager is worrying about themselves). Here's an example I'm aware of from some of the folks I know... earlier in the year they were 'demoted' from the companies retention/loyalty department. They were told that 'due to performance' they were being put back to regular 'customer service' positions... and taking a pay cut. If they didn't like it, they were 'welcome to find other alternatives....'. Shortly thereafter, they were pulled from the 'customer services' area entirely and placed on an Outbound Sales Solicitation campaign (for which they had NO experience). Their mission (whether they wanted to accept it or not... ) call existing dish customers and get them to 'buy in' to the companies DSL internet services. (Oh and by the way... if you don't want to do this you're welcome to explore your options elsewhere..... You didn't previously perform and you're lucky we're letting you keep your jobs....) Most of them stayed on - the market for finding jobs IS a scary place after all.... they did the work, quite successfully with a LOT of help.... and when the project was over... they were all tossed back to the front lines in customer service, low man on the totem pole. (Now to be fair.... for every new 'customer' they got to sign up during the sales project, they did get a pretty good commission in the form of a $50 gift card and a cash bonus....) We move forward in time a bit... the folks in question have re-integrated well with the customer services side of the job, dutifully taking phone calls, maintaining their metrics (for the most part) and even scoring a bonus here and there for having such GOOD performance. They're starting to work well as a valuable asset to the company... and (heaven forbid) even starting to get their morale back and feel like their job might have meaning. In other words... pulling their weight. Management approaches with "we have a new project we need to place you on, your hours are going to change, oh and by the way, you have to do this because we didn't get enough volunteers.... and if you don't like it... you can always seek out other opportunities elsewhere...." Smack-down. Morale gone.... back to square one.

1.0
Mar 15, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The other employees share your pain and are a great comfort. They the smartest, most driven and hard-working individuals I have ever met. Some of the lower-level managers are amazing, and perhaps a few at the director and VP level.

Cons

Let's break this down into categories for simplicity's sake. Also, the below may not apply to everyone, as every manager is different. That said, most of this applies to most people I know. CULTURE I can't say much about the Business side (especially since I know some very honest, wonderful managers over there), but generally the culture is horrendous. Badge in, badge out. Get in trouble for leaving early, get in trouble for getting in late, whether there is a tornado or blizzard outside or not. "Get a hotel close to work the night before" is their suggestion. There is a yearly Performance Appraisal in which you are not allowed to be rated above "meets expectations," or the universe will implode on itself. They insist on hiring driven, high-achieving employees, then only rate them as "meets expectations" in order to destroy their confidence and metaphorically beat them into submission. I hope this review meets their expectations. There is a high degree of secrecy at this company. Business initiatives and department goals are kept under lock and key, and certain managers will tell you that everything you do or work on is "confidential" and that you "cannot trust anyone" and are therefore not allowed to discuss it with other employees, which makes it very difficult to collaborate or move toward consistent goals. When you ask what your team or department goals are, certain managers will tell you they can't share that with you. When you ask why your 9th project idea cannot be presented to your director, certain managers will tell you "because of political reasons I cannot discuss with you at this time." Certain managers micromanage to the point that you cannot work with others; instead, certain managers will require you to send all your work to them first, so that they can review it and send it to the intended recipient, whether it is your project team or your own director (even if that director explicitly gave you instruction to work with them directly). Also, certain managers forbid you from speaking to your own director (or whomever is above your manager). There is a lot of project and idea theft in this company. This has by no means happened only to me, but to many employees I knew. If your project is too high-profile, expect your own manager to remove you from the project and take it for themselves. By the way, in most of the cases I've seen, the stolen projects ended up in complete chaos. The managers go through special "trust-based" training and get pretty badges on their intranet profiles for it, but are not themselves trustworthy nor do they encourage you to trust other employees. Quite the opposite. It is also impossible to get training for yourself or your own career path. When you ask for it, certain managers lie to you and make up a reason as to why you can't have it. You cannot work from home or make up hours. You must be in the office from 9am-4pm. If you have bronchitis and no sick days left, you have to come to the office and spread it around like wildfire. If your children get sick, you get in trouble for leaving early to tend to them. But... find solace in the fact that all your peers are suffering with you. WORK This is a tactical company focused on putting out fires and applying band-aids. They are not in the business of solving problems and eliminating the cause; instead, all their attention goes to addressing the symptoms. This is not a good place to work if you like to solve problems. There are bottlenecks at every level in this company, and the higher up you go, the worse the bottleneck is. Executive approval is required for everything... Well, except evaluating an employee's termination. Certain managers can trap their own employees by using information taken out of context and building their own story around it, conveniently enough. Certain managers and directors are too busy to look at what you as an employee are doing. They may even be too busy to give you work, but be careful; if you're in that situation and you try to solicit work, you will get in trouble and likely eventually be fired. PAY & BENEFITS Don't work here if you care about your title or your paycheck. Though certain managers might tell you for months that you will get promotions and raises, don't expect it. Certain managers will just get you a crumby raise and tell you how great it is compared with everyone else's raises. The only medical insurance plan has a $12k out-of-pocket with a $6k deductible. You also only get 5 sick days for the entire year. My advice: don't get sick. They acknowledge about 5 or 6 holidays for the year, NOT including Christmas Eve. On the positive side, there will be several days of the year where you have a GREAT drive into the office (because no one else in this blasted city had to work that day). The pay is laughable, and your previous work experience has absolutely no bearing on your title at DISH.

2.0
Dec 6, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Discount TV, 401(k) match, Great coworkers who can share your pain.

Cons

America’s Worst Employer in 2012 & 2013. Threepeat? If I were a betting man, I'd say yes. Despite what HR preaches, the badge report is still in full effect for the accounting department (don’t believe otherwise!) and managers constantly harass employees to work unnecessary OT hours to make their team appear “dedicated.” Accountability is non-existent; if mistakes or errors are made, managers are more focused on placing blame rather than taking proactive steps to ensure they don’t occur again in the future. Even though this is a Fortune 200 company, the benefits are an absolute joke (especially health; if you get hit by a bus, God help you). In addition to all of these issues, one of the worst parts of working at DISH is the fact that management is well aware of everything listed above (and more) yet does nothing to remedy employee concerns. Instead, they implement "quick fixes" and are quick to praise themselves for the "improvements" made.

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