Samsung forum: Unreliable repairs by Samsung for 32" LCD TV

I'm sure you've seen this video -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKUDTPbDhnA

It will be a few days till the Samsung helpful folk show up unless they pop in over the weekend so please REPLY TO YOUR OWN TOP POST (not this post) with the following details so they have what they need to help.

Add the TRANSACTION numbers or what you have.

And yes, CRT back then lasted a long time but when the technology was new, (1960s to 80s?) you would see a service person about the frequency of what you see today.

-> There's a lesson that was forgotten along the way.
Bob

Thanks for the response.

The transaction # for the first repair should be 4115360402. However I am having a little bit of difficulty reading some of my own chicken scratch so it is possible that the first "0" might be a "6" so that would make it #4115366402.

The second repair is transaction #: 4116195945.

Also for the first repair Samsung originally was going to have me send it to a service center out of town. That had a transaction #: 2113729987 but that should have been cancelled.

The Samsung authorized service center I took the TV set to for both repairs is only about 8 miles away from my home. So I very carefully pack the set in the original Samsung packaging: foam like sleeve to protect it from scratches, the foam inserts to keep it protected from shocks, and the original box. I then drive it in my car very carefully (going slow and avoiding bumps) to the service center where they help me unbox it. When I pick it up I do the same thing. I don't know how I can be anymore careful. Of course, the replacement display gets shipped to the service center via some carrier. When I worked for a test and measurement equipment manufacturer a few years ago we used to ship products with shock detectors to identify when packages were mishandled by the carrier. I don't know if Samsung does the same.

I called the service center last Thursday to tell them about the problem and they told me to bring it in and they will contact Samsung. After two failed repair attempts I would really prefer not to send the set back to the same place. Do the Samsung reps respond fairly quickly to posts here? I would prefer to get feedback from them first but I don't know for sure what type a deadline I am running up against.

Bob, thanks again for the response.

So after a long delay in my sending in my 32" LCD TV to Samsung for a third repair (due to the fact that it took me a while to find adequate packaging that met UPS guidelines and guidelines also sent to me from Samsung to prevent the sort of damage indicated by R. Proffitt above on 10/20/12), I received my "repaired" Samsung two weeks ago in the same packaging I sent it in except for the majority of the styrofoam packing I included missing. I had gone down to the local UPS service center to ask them how to adequately package the TV so that it arrived safely at Samsung's repair center. I had all the original retail boxing and styrofoam inserts. However the local UPS representative told me that if I sent the TV back in only that packaging it would more than likely be damaged by all the mechanical sorters it would go through. They recommended that I double box it with a few inches of styrofoam between the retail box and larger shipping box. Which I did. I could not find a box large enough off the shelf so I fabricated a strong double sided cardboard box myself and filled the void between the two boxes with about 12 cubic feet of antistatic styrofoam peanuts. Or at least a great majority of the void was filled with the peanuts. A small amount was filled with a few odd pieces of styrofoam that I used for the base and a little extra fill. The service center sent the repaired TV back to me in the same boxing but with almost none of the styrofoam padding included to fill the void. They threw back in a few of the odd pieces I had originally included but decided not to include none of the peanuts. So basically my TV set, which I took great lengths to avoid incurring vibrational shipping damage, was in the retail box which itself was in a mostly empty much larger box flopping around. I could not believe that they would ship it back to me in that way. So I made a complaint. I was told to send the TV back for test and inspection by an Executive Customer Relations Social Media Specialist at Samsung Electronics America named Amanda C.. I took pictures of how poorly it was packed that she should have seen. Yet she seems to believe that it was properly packaged despite it not following strongly recommended shipping instructions Samsung had sent to me apparently given to them by UPS. She has instructed me to return the TV again for inspection and test and if there is a problem that she will make an "accommodation" which I assume would be another repair or if they find nothing they will just send it back (presumably without suitable padding). She does not seem to understand that having to send a TV in for a fourth inspection, test and/or repair becomes such an inconvenience it becomes a waste of time, effort and money beyond the value of the TV set. I couldn't even understand why they would have bothered to have fixed it for a third time. I would have much preferred a 50% discount coupon towards a similarly priced Samsung TV. Also I don't want to keep a TV that has been beat up in shipping because Samsung did not feel it worth the effort to properly pad (with the styrofoam I provided). Even if no damage is immediately noticeable, there is a good chance that the rough treatment will result in more problems showing up in the future. So now instead of just having to be concerned whether the repair resolved the issue I have to be concerned about other problems showing up. Besides I have no confidence in Samsung's ability to properly repair (or ship) their LCD TVs. This is easily the most burdensome consumer experience I have ever dealt with. I should have never had taken in the TV for the first repair. I exchanged a minor problem for a much bigger one. I have really come to the point where it is much better to take the loss on the TV and buy a new one.