I purchased an LG 42" Plasma TV on 02/28/07. I had purchased the Best Buy extended warranty, and was told that I could call 24hours/day, and get repairs without a problem.in fact, they recommended that I keep an eye out for "burn-in" and that if I noticed ANYTHING odd with how the display looked, just call it in, and they will fix or replace it.
The TV worked perfectly, until 05/25/07. It took me a few days to find where I "filed" the receipt, but once I did, we called the 888-BestBuy number to arrange for service. Had I known that dealing with this so-called service department was going to be a circus, I would have just taken the TV to the store for an exchange.
The service dept. Scheduled a technician to come out within a week. We had the typical "we'll call between 7 & 9 the day of the appointment to tell you how long you must wait at the house". Annoying, because I can't notify work ahead of time, I have to take the whole day. Whatever. The tech, arrived when he scheduled. He walked into our house and listened to the background on our issue:
We were watching tv one day for several hours, and decided to take a break. We shut the tv off, and two hours later came back. When powering the TV, the green LED on the front would show up, the backlight on the TV would come on, but no picture showed on the screen. We tried different inputs, power cycled the TV, fully unplugged for 15-30 mins, and none of them worked. We tried hitting the menu, and nothing showed on the screen.
The tech powered the TV, and confirmed it was as we described. He stated "I'll have to order some parts" - Typical, annoying, but we worked with him. He said he'd need to order the "main board" and that it would take about a week. We rescheduled the appointment, and took yet another day from our schedule to get it fixed.
He rang the bell about 15 mins after the appointed time, and sheepishly admits that he'd been searching his truck for the part for 15 minutes, and he didn't have it. "So sorry, I'll order it again and be out next week". I am pretty upset, but calmly ask if we can't just have him go back and pick up the item. If it was given to another tech, that person must know by now - Short answer, nope he has to reorder and he'll ask around, but he won't be back out until the following week.
The following week arrives - this is his 3rd visit. He arrives with not one, but TWO parts. He found the missing item from the previous week! He spends about an hour on the TV and ultimately let's us know that he ordered the wrong part. It doesn't fit the TV. And yes, he checked both of them that he brought. I am absolutely ticked at this point. We're three solid weeks without the TV, and it is purely because the tech hasn't been able to do his job. He's *very* nice, and very courteous, but he is an older gentleman that reminded my wife & I of Mr. Magoo. (sorry, no other way to describe the man, he's sweet, but sort of a bumbler).
He placed an order for the *correct* main board, and decides to "play it safe" and orders a power supply as well "just in case". At this point, I let him know we're not happy. I ask him to escalate the ticket, and to expedite the shipment of parts. He says that he can't, and that I would need to call the 888 bestbuy number to have them work on that.
I called the number, and expressed my extreme displeasure with the amount of time this was taking, and that the tech, while nice, was not very "with it". I demanded expediting on the parts, and that the tech be replaced with someone else, as I believed ALL of the delays at this point were his mistake. I was told that there was nobody else in the area qualified to work on this TV. They would not be able to expedite the parts, as even if they had them quicker, the tech is booked.
I relented, and waited the week for him to show up. He did, and brought two new parts that he believed would fix the issue. It didn't. At this point, he's trying to get the Manufacturer's tech support on the line, and they give him the run around - 15 minutes of hold, only to be told he'd have to call back, etc. He talks to his boss, and to the "Lemon department" to see what he can do about replacement / exchange. He knew we were upset, and this would make it worse. The lemon department refused to do anything, because the manufacturer's warranty was still in effect. The tech could not figure out what to do next. He told us that he had no idea what the issue was at this point, except that it *could* be the screen itself. He couldn't just try to fix/replace that portion, because he needed the manufacturer to determine whether to repair or replace the TV. (Different manufacturers handle it differently I was told. Reasonable.)
At this point, he has no other choice but to wait on the return call, and get pointer (s) as to what to do next. As he's leaving, I decide I've had more than enough of this. I am out my TV for 4 full weeks now, and no ETA on repair. The TV is still "current" and is stocked by the store. I am sure that there are policies, but I knew that the store should be able to help. I called the store that sold the TV & warranty. I explained the issue to the manager. He told me that he wasn't sure what he could do at the store level, as the TV is now 120 days past the point of sale, instead of 90. I explain that, yes, it is, but it WOULDN'T have been had their warranty not been upheld.
He hands me off to one of the store Tech's, so that someone can fully understand everything involved. I provided the in-store tech with a brief description, and the Best Buy Service Ticket#. He looked it up, and promised to call me back shortly while he did some research on what he could do.
He looked into swapping it out, but due to policy he "could not". He verified the method of return that is "easiest" for defective products at Best Buy (devo) was not an option. He was stumped, and ultimately decided to call the 888 best buy folks, and put a red flag on the case, and expedite it. Which apparently CAN be done, contrary to what I was told before.
I pressed to just bring the faulty TV down, and swap it for a stock TV - as they had the exact model in store, and available. I just wanted a working TV. I did not ask for a refund, or an upgrade, or anything more than an operating version of what I had. They "can't" do it at the store level. I needed to let the escalation get processed.
Within a few days, we get a call, asking us for a time to schedule the tech to visit yet again. The person on the phone specifically states: "We have an opening this Friday or Saturday". Since my wife was out of town, and I work, I opted for Saturday. That day came, and I didn't receive a call between 7am and 9am like I had all of the previous times.
Finding it odd, I called the 888 number at 9:05 am. When I spoke to the person, she was adamant that I call back after 9:15am, "to give the tech a chance to call and schedule". I was quite upset, and asked why the statement is 7am to 9am, if I had to wait until 9:15 am. I hang up the phone, wait 10 minutes and call back.
The person was pleasant, and went looking into what was going on. After reading through everything, she noted to me that there were 2 parts pending install (first I knew they had parts to install), and that the tech was scheduled for the 27th (in two weeks). I explained that it was not at all acceptable, and that they needed to get him out there on the date I had scheduled. The lady was apologetic (they are all pretty sorry at Best Buy, as I get about 4-5 apologies every time I deal with them). She offered to reschedule for the following Saturday (21st), the soonest he could do it. I demanded to speak to a supervisor.
The supervisor came on and immediately tried to schedule for the following week (I'm sorry you scheduled the appointment two weeks out by mistake. Blah blah). I was pretty mad at that point, and explained that I had done NO SUCH THING. I immediately requested that the supervisor open my case history, and read *every* line.
After 5 minutes, he came back and admitted that the case has had some issues. I explained that after all of that, I was very VERY careful about notes, and scheduling. I know when it was supposed to be, and that they had made a mistake. I demanded that tech be dispatched that day, and if it was not possible that we needed to immediately authorize the in-store exchange. He was again "very sorry" but there was no way the tech could be there that day. He also couldn't authorize an exchange, or a refund. But another dept could. Up to that point, I was just trying to get it working.
The supervisor basically came back with zero options, and zero help. The only thing he could do was schedule Mr. Magoo back out at least a week later. I asked if they had definitive answers as to the source of the issue, and if the parts he was bringing would 100% resolve the issue. They couldn't say. It was "up to the tech to determine that". I asked if they could guarantee that the tech would show up this time..."He will be there on the day you scheduled him for"... Very snide comment, insinuating that I had screwed up in the first place. The comment puts me over the top. I immediately demand a full, 100% refund of the TV, and the warranty. I had been through enough.
The guy was immediately pleasant and happy, and stated that "Sure, I'd be happy to submit that paperwork for you, sir! It will take 3-5 business days before you get a phone call with the response! But, I have to mention that I can almost guarantee that you'll be denied". What? He's telling me that it's a waste of time, and that I'll be denied outright? I get the explanation that the reason is they currently have two parts waiting on install, and that department would deny it until those parts were installed.
I asked for the number to reach those people, and he explained that there was no outside connection - I'd have to talk to him & his people. I asked who supervised this refund department, and he "supposed it was corporate or someone like that". I asked for THEIR number. He provided me with a number that I jotted down. Once that was complete, we ended the call.
It wasn't until I looked closer a few minutes after the call that I realized he just gave me the same number I had called, but instead of using letters (888BestBuy) he gave me the numeric digits. It didn't dawn on me, as I dialed by letter, not number.
At this point I am livid, but I decide to let it cool, and wait for the "verdict" yet another week.
Friday, July 20th was the 5th business day. I have heard NOTHING from Best Buy. And my TV still doesn't work.
At this point, I am considering litigation. My dad and brother-in-law both recommended just taking the TV to the store and creating a ruckus.
Either way, I have two full pages of notes including names, times, and outcomes of every interaction. I have the ticket number for the case, and the extended service plan #. I have the original receipt, the faulty TV, a remote and a power cord. I have no packaging, and no idea what the problem with the TV is.
0 comments