First Things First

This afternoon I decided to start this process by going back to the Best Buy store where the television was originally purchased. I wanted to see if they could fix or replace it themselves or give me some advice on how best to approach this entire process.

I ended up speaking with a nice guy in the Magnolia Home Theater department. I showed him the video of the television buzzing and talked a bit about the Samsung manufacturer’s warranty. After hearing my story, he was able to recommend a plan of action.

He said the best thing to do was call the Geek Squad and set up an appointment to diagnose the issue. He explained that I would be charged $100 for the visit, but that the Geek Squad guys could determine whether or not the problem is assembly or defect and covered by the Samsung manufacturer’s warranty. He also assured me that the Geek Squad were approved by Samsung to perform the services in question.

Should they find that the issue is, in fact, a result of assembly or defect then the Geek Squad would refund my $100 charge for the first visit and begin charging Samsung for that and all following visits to repair the television. He also told me that Best Buy would then start dealing directly with customer service at Samsung on my behalf until the issue is resolved.

After reading several accounts of lingering repair nightmares online, I made sure to ask the sales associate at Best Buy what I should do if the repairs go on and on without resolving the buzzing issue. He said that I should enquire about Samsung’s replacement policy should this occur. I also made sure to ask what should happen if the repairs drag on past the end of the warranty, even though the problem began eight months after purchase. I don’t want to pay for repairs or a replacement television due to an issue that occurred while under warranty. He thought that they would cover repairs in this situation and that it was normally in their best interest to do so.

In the end, he said I should call Samsung now and make them aware of the issue I’m having, as well as, my planned course of action with Best Buy and the Geek Squad. He also stressed that I should get a case number and carefully document the conversations. Tomorrow I plan to attempt to contact Samsung through their 1-800 telephone number.


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