Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A New Television

Today I decided to get in contact with Samsung customer service via twitter. I asked them to look over my case and tell me what steps I should take next. Within an hour, a customer relations executive gave me a call and we began the process of replacing the television. I simply emailed her my original receipt for the television, as well as, the order notes from the Geek Squad. She said that I should be able to exchange the television for another one at Best Buy within 5-7 days. Samsung even has a handy feature that sends you SMS updates as your case progresses.

I was so impressed with the whole process that I nominated @Samsungservice for a Mashable Award in the Best Social Media Customer Service category. Thanks Jess.

Another Failed Power Supply?

My wife and I have been traveling for the last couple of weeks so we haven't had a chance to get anyone in to fix the rattling audio noise yet. However, last night the same buzzing noise as the other times came back as loud as ever. I suspect this may mean yet another power supply replacement. If that is the case, it will be at least the 4th power supply this television has seen in the last 2 months.

So, at the moment, we have a new buzzing noise coming from the power supply coils and a loud audio-related rattle that appeared after our last repair session.

Even though I am frustrated with the television, everyone I have dealt with so far has been really nice and helpful, but the problem just doesn't seem to go away.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Audio-Related Rattle

Over the past week or so the audio-related rattling noise has gotten a bit worse. I'm not totally sure why it is happening, but the back of the set has been taken off and on several times by repair people. That seems like the simplest explanation, but I am no expert. Maybe it could be a loose screw or something. I hope there is nothing wrong with the speaker.

I have an episode of 30 Rock recorded on DVR that rattles horribly. I'll call Geek Squad back again to take a look at it now that I can successfully recreate the problem.

Still Seeing How It Goes

Yesterday morning I got another phone call for an appointment that I wasn’t aware I had. This time it was one of the repair guys that had visited on the 22nd. He was asking about the new rattling noise I had mentioned to the repair guy over the phone on the 3rd. I told him that the new power supply seemed to be have fixed the initial 2 issues I was having with the set. The buzz related to the power supply was gone and the picture stopped randomly turning bright orange. He said that there was an issue with the second power supply they tried and that was causing the orange screen malfunctions.

I did tell him that this new audio-related rattling noise had arose after the last repair. He said it could be due to how thin the televisions are made. He also said it could have something to do with how speakers are made these days and that these televisions are really made to have surround sound systems attached to them. I agreed to see how it goes a little longer and to call him if the rattling gets worse or if I am able to recreate the sound to show them exactly what is happening. I would like to have this new rattling noise fixed if possible.

After our conversation, he closed the ticket for now and sent me a receipt for the latest round of service. He also included a recap of my initial interaction with them a month ago, as well as, the very latest round or repairs.



Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Slight Miscommunication / New Rattling Noise

I got a call this morning from yet another Geek Squad repair guy asking if I was available for an appointment today. I was completely unaware that an appointment had even been scheduled. The last I heard, the guys that were here on the 26th had left a ticket open and told me to just "see how it goes" with the parts they put in there.

It appears that they had gone ahead and ordered the replacement panel for my television and created an appointment for someone to come out and replace it. I made sure the latest repair guy was aware of the entire situation and told him that the new power board from last time seemed to be working OK so far.

The only issue I am having now is a brand new rattling noise. This one is clearly audio-based and sounds like a loose bolt or something in the speaker. It appears to only happen when certain frequencies come from the speakers. I had planned to call the last repair guy as soon as I could consistently recreate the noise to show him. I did tell the new repair guy that I would like someone to take a look at this new rattle, but was unable to leave work today on such short notice. He said he would email Brian (the last repair guy) and make sure he is aware of the situation.