Response fuzzy when plasma TV goes on the fritz
December 23, 2006
Ellen Roseman
If a flat-panel television is on your shopping list, you can expect to pay at least $2,000 for one big enough to serve as your main TV.
"It could well be your biggest electronics purchase – maybe your biggest household purchase – since buying your first home computer many moons and megabytes ago," Consumer Reports magazine says in its December issue.
Tillie and Earl Clapp paid $6,000 for a plasma TV in October 2003. Their LG set had a one-year warranty and started acting up within the second year.
"The images on the screen were in fluorescent colours and the screen would black out. The problem was sporadic and unpredictable," says Tillie Clapp.
"We never knew if we would see the end of the hockey game or movie or not – or whether the TV would work at all when we turned it on."
They went to a local LG authorized repair outlet. It had the set for almost four months and replaced six different parts.
When the problem came back eight months later, the service company said it wasn't responsible – since it offered only a 90-day repair warranty.
Tillie Clapp called LG Electronics Canada's head office in Mississauga, but couldn't get any help.
"I insisted we had a lemon and LG had a moral responsibility to address this issue," she says.
"I was told that our problems were an isolated incident and did not qualify for assistance. I asked to speak to someone at the top and was told a senior supervisor would be in touch within 48 hours.
"About a month later, I still have not received the promised call."
I asked LG's media contact, Frank Lee, to help this couple. For all the money they spent, they should get more than a brush-off when their TV didn't work.
"I feel badly about the inconvenience Tillie and Earl have gone through and I'm working toward a quick resolution," Lee said last week.
By Monday morning, the Clapps had the defective TV picked up and replaced with a new 42-inch plasma set. It came with a two-year warranty.
They also got an apologetic letter from LG's national service supervisor, who asked them to contact her directly if they had any more problems.
"We had it installed and hooked up last night and it is working well," Tillie Clapp said on Thursday. "Thanks for making our Christmas a special one."
Alan Coulson bought an LG LCD television for $2,100 in September from Best Buy Canada. Less than two months later, the TV stopped responding to the remote control.
He called LG, but found he had to deal with an authorized service contractor that had restricted hours – from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
"I took two hours off work, so I could be home by 4, losing two hours' pay," he told me. "Their technician couldn't fix the TV and took it away."
Two weeks later, he called the service contractor. It was waiting for a part and gave him the phone number for LG's customer service.
"What a joke," he says. "After eight minutes and 45 seconds listening to a recorded message saying `Thank you for your patience,' the line went dead.
"So I called Best Buy customer service, another joke. After 10 minutes on hold, I was told to get lost – very politely. They were not interested in helping resolve my concerns. Even a supervisor just repeated the same story."
The day after I sent his complaint to both LG and Best Buy, Coulson's TV set was repaired.
"Apparently, LG shipped the wrong part," he told me. "They had someone jump in a car and deliver the correct one to the service company yesterday. I picked up the TV and it seems fine now."
But the story didn't end there. The remote control stopped working over the weekend, so he went back to the service company on Monday morning.
"They confirmed the TV didn't work with the remote. So at least I know I'm not crazy," he says.
He was told he would receive a replacement TV by Thursday, but actually picked up the set yesterday.
"I did get a nice letter from LG apologizing for the inconvenience," he says.
"The fact remains I (had) been without my TV for almost three weeks and have only owned it for less than three months," he says. "This is appalling service."
A South Korean manufacturer formerly known as GoldStar, LG uses the slogan, "Life's Good."
But customers won't feel that way unless they get prompt attention when an expensive TV goes on the fritz.
It's time for LG to deliver on its promise.
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Toronto Star