This is quite amazing just how a company can turn around their entire image in such a short amount of time. DirecTV has become one of the most customer friendly companies I've seen in quite a while. They are doing far more to both get and keep customers with cheaper prices upfront. They have been amazing with their retention program over the last two years with many customers getting free HD DVR boxes. They also have been making their entire future plans available to the public such as their HD local and HD national plans which is rare in business. Beyond that they also have delivered with a few delays but for such a feat as this HD rollout was they did an amazing job. They still have tons of room for improvement but with everything list above this new website along with public beta testing of new DVR features this company gets an A+ as a customer friendly company. I have a feeling its only a matter of time until all other companies follow this great example that DirecTV has made. This example is simple and I'll say it below. Don't be afraid of telling your customers what your plans are even if they are risky "as long as you have every intention of doing what you say". Use these customers to your advantage by giving them a solid reason for sticking with you because every customer must know the future of the company they are investing thousands of dollars with.

The only thing missing in account management is the ability to activate or de-activate a receiver. I know it doesn't happen often, but it seems like it would be a simple addition to the website.

Funny that someone writes that Direct TV is actually doing things for their customers. I remember when Direct was the Evil Empire and that Dish Network was the Teddy Bears of the TV world. I am one of the original Dish Network Subscribers, you know those who actually paid full price for their set up in 1996. Dush used to be a great company, quick to fix problems and swearing that they would never be anything like the Cable Industry. I just looked at my latest bill and wondered why I was paying 92.98 a month for their service. I blame myself not Dish Network for wasting my money for so long on a company that claims to offer 250 channels but only 112 are actually TV channels. The rest is shopping channels (24), Religious (5), Public Service (11) and Audio (116). Toss in my locals which I still have to pay extra for and they wonder why I am looking to leave. My question though is what are Direct TV's warts?

Now all they have to do is fix their installer company Ironwood Communications. I've been trying to move from Dish to Direct, but can't get an installer to come when scheduled or even return phone calls.