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Just when I thought the whole thing was over I got a call from someone at Circuit City to schedule the technician to come out to install the power supply in my TV even though I called them yesterday to let them know that I didn't need it. ... that I never needed it. The rep updated her system and politely wished me happy holidays.
Then I get a call later in the day from a different rep to confirm my Friday 11 am appointment for the technician. Uh, No.
I have a feeling I havent heard the last from them.
The Part is In
November 20, 2008
Circuit City called Wednesday to let me know that the part for the TV arrived. They said they would come out Friday. One team has to come out between 9 and 11 to de-install, then the technician will come out between 12 and 2 to install the part, then the install team will come back out from 4 to 6 to re-install.
I took off work on Friday. The de-installers didn't come out as scheduled. The technician called me to ask if the TV had been de-installed and gave me his number to call him when it had. I spent a lot of time on the phone with FireDog and Circuit City's warranty department on Friday speaking to about 6 different people. Again they apologized all over themselves which ment nothing at this point. After being hung up on twice and laughed at by a CSR once, I finally reached Dan who acted like Winston Wolfe from Pulp Fiction in Circuit City customer service. At that point in the day Dan wasn't able to do anything else but reschedule the de-install, technician, and re-install for Saturday.
Saturday morning the de-installers came out on schedule and took the TV off the wall and set it on the floor in front of the fireplace. I called the technician to let him know it was time to work his magic. He said that he didn't know the de-installers came out, that he was now booked and might not be able to come out. Kelly & I came unglued and spent another portion of our lives we'll never get back on the phone with everyone at Circuit City.
Aparantly the technician, not having received word that the TV was de-installed, cancelled the appointment himself. No other technicans would come do the work because he had the power supply with him and he is the only technician servicing my zip code. Dan was on vacation that day.
If all that wasn't bad enough, now the story get's rediculously stupid. I decide what the hell, try plugging the TV in. I do. It works fine. WTF?! Are you kidding me? Is this some sort of cosmic retribution for materialism? After some research in manual I discover that the AC cord that they gave me with the tv is not the right cord. The one that comes with the TV has clips on the end that clip onto the TV so it won't shake loose but the one I got was just a regular AC cord.
There was nothing wrong with the power supply, it was becuase it was a open box item they had the wrong cord with it. That's why it worked for a week fine while it was on the floor, but shortly after it was mounted it stopped working because the cord came loose.
When the technician was there and he looked at the TV for all of 5 minutes before determining that it was the power supply I asked him to check the cables. He did and said they were fine. If I find that guy, I'm going to strangle him with a clip-less AC power cord.
Dan called back on Sunday to see how everything went. I explained to him everything that happened. He arranged for the correct cord to be available at the store for me to pick up. Sunday afternoon I picked up the cord.
While at the store, the stupidity of the average employee at the customer service counter puntuated the entire story. The average age of the customer service person at Circuit City appears to be 15 and the ratio of employees to customers is about 5:1. Its like a swarm of stupid bees in red t-shirts in there. I explain the story and I tell them I'm there to get the cable and that I spoke with Jennifer the manager. The guy behind the counter is not impressed by my story. Its as if this sort of absurdity is common. They ask me to wait while they find Jennifer. I wait, and wait, then another manager arrives and says that Jennifer has left for the day. I tell him my story and produces the cable from behind the counter.
Dan was able to schedule the installers for Tuesday from 2-4 to put the TV back on the wall. Again I leave work early to get home in time. When I get home there is a message from the installer saying they are running behind schedule and to call them. I called them and they said they were triple booked for the 2-4 time slot and would the 4 to 6 time slot be okay. I'm so close to the finish line I tell them to come whenever as long as they come that night. They get to the house at almost 8pm.
They install the TV, clean all the fingerprints off of it, sympathize with my situation, we have a few laughs and they leave and its done. So if anyone wants to come over and watch TV, we can.
The de-installers came out and took the TV off the wall as scheduled, but when I called the technician he said he was already booked and that no one had scheduled him to come out. I later found out from his superior that he was booked, but he canceled it because he thought the TV hadn't been de-installed first.
I just found out that Circuit City is possibly facing bankruptcy. Great.
TV Woes
November 11, 2008
When last the TV repair guys was here he said it would take seven to ten days for the part to come in for the TV. That was November 1st and this is November 11th and I haven't heard anything.
I called them this afternoon and it took fifteen minutes before I was able to speak to someone and they looked up the claim. They explained that the part was ordered November 7th and that it sometimes took a few weeks to arrive. I asked why the order was placed on the 7th and not the 1st. They explained that they have to get approval from the manufacturer and that took several days.
The representative, Alice, apologized all over herself but it looks like the part won't come in until November 20th. By the time the part gets here and a few more house calls are made I will have had this TV for over a month without being able to enjoy it yet. It's going to be really nice once its working but what an ordeal.
I called them this afternoon and it took fifteen minutes before I was able to speak to someone and they looked up the claim. They explained that the part was ordered November 7th and that it sometimes took a few weeks to arrive. I asked why the order was placed on the 7th and not the 1st. They explained that they have to get approval from the manufacturer and that took several days.
The representative, Alice, apologized all over herself but it looks like the part won't come in until November 20th. By the time the part gets here and a few more house calls are made I will have had this TV for over a month without being able to enjoy it yet. It's going to be really nice once its working but what an ordeal.
New TV
November 3, 2008
Saturday
We were walking around Katy Mills Mall a few Saturdays ago and stopped by Circuit City. We weren't there to look at anything in particular, just browsing. We were looking at their TVs and they have some pretty good prices. We've been wanting a flat panel TV to go over the fireplace in the living room for a while so we started talking to one of the sales guys. His name was TJ.
My only requirements were I wanted 1080p with a few HDMI inputs around 50 inches. He showed us some plasmas. I had always heard that plasmas don't last very long, are difficult to transport, and can easily get burn-in. He explained that when plasmas first came out that was true but they are a lot better now and the Panasonic was the best rated. Also, all plasmas run at 480hz as opposed to LCDs which run much lower.
So we found the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U. Its a 50" 1080p 480hz Panasonic with 4 HDMI inputs. They even had an open-box of the same one where they had taken off a few hundred dollars. Its has an MSRP of $2500 but it was going to be $1080. A deal that was too good to pass up.
So we started the purchase which is more complicated than buying a car. If you are going to buy a TV from here, please set aside a whole day. Its a lengthy process. In addition to the TV we got a swivel wall mount, a Monster power supply, 2 Monster HDMI cables, a PlayStation 3, and the extended warranties. TJ was real good about finding all the coupons and discounts for everything. So-and-so dicount for the mount if you buy a TV, so-and-so discount on the cables if you get the warranty, etc. etc.
When we were done the final damage was $3800. Swiped the debit card... declined. Swiped again... declined. The money was there but the card wasn't working which was weird since we had just used it elsewhere in the mall. TJ said they'd take a check so I had to walk to the other side of the mall to where the car was parked to get my checkbook. When they tried the check it was declined too. I suspected that there might have been a fraud protection activated on my account since earlier that week we'd purchased plane tickets to Las Vegas and some furniture. I tried to call the bank but there's no way to speak to a representative. TJ agreed to hold everything for us if we would come back Tuesday. After having spent all that time in the store trying to complete the purchase it was disappointing to leave empty-handed. When I got home there was a message on the answering machine from the bank saying that they had put a hold on the account for suspicious activity so I called and straightened it out with them. Nice feature, but a pain in the ass when you actually want to make a large purchase.
Tuesday
Tuesday morning we went back to the store and were there when it opened. I had stopped at the bank the day before and got cash in case there was a problem with the card again. We decided to save a little money and hold off on the PlayStation 3. We bought everything else and scheduled the delivery for Wednesday and the installation for Tuesday. Later that day I called Dish to schedule to have them come out to put a satellite drop in the living room and switch out a receiver we don't use upstairs with an HD receiver with DVR. The earliest they could come out was Monday.
Wednesday
The delivery guys came and dropped everything off. I had to be there when they got there so I worked from home that day. I didn't have Dish and it wasn't on the wall but I was able to play Xbox 360 on the floor.
Thursday
The installers come out and as soon as they got there they noticed I didn't have a power outlet above the fireplace. They aren't certified to install high-voltage lines, so they said I needed to call an electrician and have them install a power outlet and then call them and reschedule the installation. That was something they didn't tell ask me at the store. They also recommended against the swivel mount. They recommended I get the tilt mount since you can see the TV from anywhere in the room anyway and the swivel mount is really heavy, sticks out from the wall pretty far, and when you pull it off the wall and then put it back it wouldn't be straight unless you leveled it each time. that was fine with me since the tilt mount is $500 less than the swivel mount -- money I'd spend on the electrician. I called and scheduled an electrician to come out for a quote on Friday. I worked from home that day too.
Friday
I took the swivel mount to the Circuit City at West Oaks Mall which is closer to my house than Katy Mills Mall. I knew I'd made the right decision to exchange it when I saw the one they had on display. Unfortunatley they couldn't exchange it since their POS system is different from the Katy Mills store because the Katy Mills store was a newer store where they were piloting a new POS system. So I had to drive back out to Katy Mills to exchange it. I got the tilt mount and $500 back. I bitched at TJ for not telling me about the power outlet and I got 15% off the tilt mount. Later, the electrician came out he quoted $400, but he didn't have all the supplies he needed and someone would have to come out Saturday to do it.
Saturday
The other electrician comes and installs the power outlet. He only charged me $360 and I got him to fix my busted porch light too. I called Circuit City to reschedule the installation and the soonest they could come was Wednesday.
Monday
The Dish guy comes out and picks up the old receiver and sets up the new one.
Wednesday
The installers come and hang the TV on the wall. Finally I have everything all together. It looks awesome. The picture is amazing. It really changes the shape of the room. All the cabling is behind the wall so its very clean looking.
Monday
The TV quits working. It just turns off and doesn't turn back on. A few times it would come back on by itself and then later turn off. I checked the outlet, the surge protector and the power cable and every thing was good. It just wouldn't turn on. I called the extended warranty people and they scheduled to have a repairman come take a look at it on Saturday. Now I have $3000 worth of broke TV hanging above my fireplace. That's what I get for buying an open-box item. Good thing I got the extended warranty though.
Saturday
The repair guy comes out and checks out the TV and determines that its the power supply. He's going to have to order the part which will take about 7-10 days. When the part arrives I have to schedule the installers to come uninstall the TV, then schedule the repair guy to come replace the power supply, then reschedule the installers to re-install the TV. What a pain in the ass.
We were walking around Katy Mills Mall a few Saturdays ago and stopped by Circuit City. We weren't there to look at anything in particular, just browsing. We were looking at their TVs and they have some pretty good prices. We've been wanting a flat panel TV to go over the fireplace in the living room for a while so we started talking to one of the sales guys. His name was TJ.
My only requirements were I wanted 1080p with a few HDMI inputs around 50 inches. He showed us some plasmas. I had always heard that plasmas don't last very long, are difficult to transport, and can easily get burn-in. He explained that when plasmas first came out that was true but they are a lot better now and the Panasonic was the best rated. Also, all plasmas run at 480hz as opposed to LCDs which run much lower.
So we found the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U. Its a 50" 1080p 480hz Panasonic with 4 HDMI inputs. They even had an open-box of the same one where they had taken off a few hundred dollars. Its has an MSRP of $2500 but it was going to be $1080. A deal that was too good to pass up.So we started the purchase which is more complicated than buying a car. If you are going to buy a TV from here, please set aside a whole day. Its a lengthy process. In addition to the TV we got a swivel wall mount, a Monster power supply, 2 Monster HDMI cables, a PlayStation 3, and the extended warranties. TJ was real good about finding all the coupons and discounts for everything. So-and-so dicount for the mount if you buy a TV, so-and-so discount on the cables if you get the warranty, etc. etc.
When we were done the final damage was $3800. Swiped the debit card... declined. Swiped again... declined. The money was there but the card wasn't working which was weird since we had just used it elsewhere in the mall. TJ said they'd take a check so I had to walk to the other side of the mall to where the car was parked to get my checkbook. When they tried the check it was declined too. I suspected that there might have been a fraud protection activated on my account since earlier that week we'd purchased plane tickets to Las Vegas and some furniture. I tried to call the bank but there's no way to speak to a representative. TJ agreed to hold everything for us if we would come back Tuesday. After having spent all that time in the store trying to complete the purchase it was disappointing to leave empty-handed. When I got home there was a message on the answering machine from the bank saying that they had put a hold on the account for suspicious activity so I called and straightened it out with them. Nice feature, but a pain in the ass when you actually want to make a large purchase.
Tuesday
Tuesday morning we went back to the store and were there when it opened. I had stopped at the bank the day before and got cash in case there was a problem with the card again. We decided to save a little money and hold off on the PlayStation 3. We bought everything else and scheduled the delivery for Wednesday and the installation for Tuesday. Later that day I called Dish to schedule to have them come out to put a satellite drop in the living room and switch out a receiver we don't use upstairs with an HD receiver with DVR. The earliest they could come out was Monday.
Wednesday
The delivery guys came and dropped everything off. I had to be there when they got there so I worked from home that day. I didn't have Dish and it wasn't on the wall but I was able to play Xbox 360 on the floor.
Thursday
The installers come out and as soon as they got there they noticed I didn't have a power outlet above the fireplace. They aren't certified to install high-voltage lines, so they said I needed to call an electrician and have them install a power outlet and then call them and reschedule the installation. That was something they didn't tell ask me at the store. They also recommended against the swivel mount. They recommended I get the tilt mount since you can see the TV from anywhere in the room anyway and the swivel mount is really heavy, sticks out from the wall pretty far, and when you pull it off the wall and then put it back it wouldn't be straight unless you leveled it each time. that was fine with me since the tilt mount is $500 less than the swivel mount -- money I'd spend on the electrician. I called and scheduled an electrician to come out for a quote on Friday. I worked from home that day too.
Friday
I took the swivel mount to the Circuit City at West Oaks Mall which is closer to my house than Katy Mills Mall. I knew I'd made the right decision to exchange it when I saw the one they had on display. Unfortunatley they couldn't exchange it since their POS system is different from the Katy Mills store because the Katy Mills store was a newer store where they were piloting a new POS system. So I had to drive back out to Katy Mills to exchange it. I got the tilt mount and $500 back. I bitched at TJ for not telling me about the power outlet and I got 15% off the tilt mount. Later, the electrician came out he quoted $400, but he didn't have all the supplies he needed and someone would have to come out Saturday to do it.
Saturday
The other electrician comes and installs the power outlet. He only charged me $360 and I got him to fix my busted porch light too. I called Circuit City to reschedule the installation and the soonest they could come was Wednesday.
Monday
The Dish guy comes out and picks up the old receiver and sets up the new one.
Wednesday
The installers come and hang the TV on the wall. Finally I have everything all together. It looks awesome. The picture is amazing. It really changes the shape of the room. All the cabling is behind the wall so its very clean looking.
Monday
The TV quits working. It just turns off and doesn't turn back on. A few times it would come back on by itself and then later turn off. I checked the outlet, the surge protector and the power cable and every thing was good. It just wouldn't turn on. I called the extended warranty people and they scheduled to have a repairman come take a look at it on Saturday. Now I have $3000 worth of broke TV hanging above my fireplace. That's what I get for buying an open-box item. Good thing I got the extended warranty though.
Saturday
The repair guy comes out and checks out the TV and determines that its the power supply. He's going to have to order the part which will take about 7-10 days. When the part arrives I have to schedule the installers to come uninstall the TV, then schedule the repair guy to come replace the power supply, then reschedule the installers to re-install the TV. What a pain in the ass.