The following is a letter I sent to Circuit City and cc'ed the BBB. Names and claim #s have been removed:
I purchased a Samsung 50 HDTV from your Circuit City Lawrenceville, New Jersey store in May as well as an extended warranty agreement your company offers to its customers. Soon after purchasing the television I noticed problems with the power and contacted the appropriate people as per the extended warranty agreement. A technician came out, fixed the problem, and it was resolved.
Shortly after that I noticed while playing DVDs and watching television programs in high definition mode the sound and picture were not in synchronization. I tested several dvd players to determine if it was the television or the DVD player. The same problem happened with all of the DVD players tested and was able to determine the problem was with the television. Once again, I called your service center, they came out, ordered a part, came back later when the part arrived, and resolved the issue.
In January I moved from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and in February discovered that the sound and picture was once again out of synchronization. So I called your service center, they came out, ordered a part, came back later when the part arrived, and at the time resolved the issue.
Over time my wife and I noticed the picture and sound synchronization issue once again manifesting itself, so in late November I called your service center once again. This time I asked if the television could be replaced. I was then told to my surprise that there were no records of the television ever being fixed in 2004 while living in Pennsylvania! Several methods were attempted to retrieve the records, but to no avail. During this record searching, a department I was transferred to did not even have a record of me buying a tv!
On December 2, a technician came out and determined the problem was with the same part that was repaired in February and told me that the part had to be ordered. I talked to a customer representative, who attempted again to find the records, but to no avail. I was promised a gift card for my troubles, and received a follow up e-mail on December 7 confirming it (see below). We received a phone call when the part came in and an appointment was made for repair on December 21.
Each time a technician comes out, either my wife or I must take a vacation day or arrange our schedules to accommodate the technician. We were told by the dispatcher that we would receive a phone call by 9 AM on the 21st so we can be given a window as to when the technician would arrive. On the 21st at 9 AM we called the service center number and we were promised that the technician would call us back shortly. This repeated at 10 AM when a technician did not call. At 11 AM we still have not heard anything so I called back yet again hearing once again from your customer service representatives that a technician would call. During this 11 AM phone call I received a phone call from another representative and told me that the technician's van broke down and was unable to install the part. So in other words, I wasted a vacation day for nothing! If the technician called earlier in the day and let me, his client, know about the issue, I could have made the appropriate arrangements and not waste a vacation day. We talked and agreed that a technician would come out on December 26 sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 AM so that day would not be wasted like the 21st. I elevated the issue and we were again promised a gift card. I told the customer service representative that we never received the first gift card for our troubles, and we were told that no gift card was ever issued!
On December 26, I received a phone call from the technician around 8:15 AM stating that he is coming from Manhattan and would be over around noon because he had to go to the Woodbridge store to get the part. It was not the 8:30 - 9:30 that was promised to me, but I did not push the issue as the important thing was the television was going to be fixed. He called me around 12:30 asking for directions from the store to my house since his GPS was not working properly. I followed up with him again around 1:30 and he told me he would be at my house at 2:30. At 4:00 he showed, but with no part as the part was not at the store! The technician explained the reason he was late was because he and his co‑worker spent most of the time looking for the part and were unsuccessful. Yet another wasted day!
I followed up on December 27 and talked to a customer service representative. They told me that the television was not eligible for exchange despite the fact that the last two attempts to correct the television on the 21st and 26th failed and the first time a technician would be able to come out to my home would not be until January 5! I asked if it can be done earlier since we have been inconvenienced twice in the past 7 day period and was told that we could either schedule starting January 5 or to not schedule at all. They also stated that the gift card that was promised to me on the 21st was never sent out! We scheduled for January 6 and I asked what the recourse would be if I take another day off of work and a technician does not show or shows empty handed again and I was shocked to hear that there was no recourse and that most likely I would have to do this process yet again! I also found out from the conversation that the reason my 2004 repairs may not be appearing is because those repairs may have been outsourced to GE!
The customer service I received and this situation is no longer satisfactory. Broken promises. Broken appointments. Showing up empty handed. Lost records. My wife and I have spent 5 of our vacation/personal days for television repair this year, two of them wasted with technicians either not showing up as promised or showing up empty-handed in addition to countless hours talking to customer service representatives, hold times, and being bounced from department to department. All I am simply asking for is the same as I asked for at the beginning of the month, and that is a replacement television.
My wife and I are in the process of completely not shopping in your stores for larger priced items. An example is we returned a Canon Digital Rebel XT that we purchased from your Woodbridge store not because of the price, but due to the poor customer service we have received during this entire process.
I hope that we will be able to work together to get this problem resolved quickly and efficiently. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me during the day at...
*referenced e-mail*
mr. %,
Please let me know what the service center says regarding your exchange. I have sent you a gift card as a token of apology for your issues you have experienced with this repair/and lack/loss of records. Thanks again and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Customer Support Coordinator
Service Escalation Team
Circuit City Corporate
@Circuitcity.com
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