Samsung's customer service has been awful. (I won't even get into the month-long saga to replace the remote control that broke days after I received the TV.) I am tired of the procrastination, misinformation, and general lack of care. My experience, even with Executive Support, has been exasperating. I will recap what has transpired since my last post.
1. On March 14th, Williston Park TV Service inspected my TV. The written report on the receipt is as follows: "Checked TV set. vertical lines has bow in center of line. try to get engine for optical issues. Red line out of convergence at top of screen." This was written by Jose, the repairman.
2. On March 17th, I received a phone call from Adrianna at Samsung Service Tracking, stating that the part is unavailable, and Samsung is offering me an exchange of the TV. (I have retained this phone message.)
3. The next day, I left a message for Adrianna to call me back. She hadn't called me back, so I called Samsung and spoke with Susan to accept the offer of an exchange. Susan said she would submit the ticket for the TV swap.
4. Later in the day, I received a follow-up message from Adrianna stating that the exchange was submitted, I should give it a week, and will be contacted via email. (I have retained this phone message as well.)
5. I did not receive an email from Samsung regarding the exchange, so I called up Service Tracking today to see what why the exchange was delayed. I was told the exchange was declined. I then spoke with Catherine in Executive Support who told me my light engine would be repaired. I told her this was unacceptable, since I already accepted the offer for an exchange. She said she would call me back, but did not.
6. I called up Executive Support and spoke with Daniel S. He offered me an LN52B550 as a replacement for my TV. I told him I needed to look at the specs before I accepted. He said that would be fine, and put me on hold he handled the paperwork. When he came back from hold, he told me he could not offer me the TV, because someone in "Tech" said my TV was within spec. This was the SECOND time Samsung reneged on an offer of exchange.
Whether my TV meets Samsung's internal tolerances is completely irrelevant to me. I was not warned of possible optical problems when I purchased the TV. These optical issues are not noted on the TV's specification sheet, nor on its advertising. (In fact, the specification sheet states "crystal clear picture without any possibility of convergence errors.") As a courtesy, I am giving Samsung until the close of business tomorrow (3/27/09) to arrange the exchange of my TV. If the exchange is not arranged tomorrow, I will absolutely pursue legal action without delay. My transaction number is 4003221681.
HDTech, what's the point of having a warranty if it's not honored?
Caveat Emptor.