Samsung - Problems in support services

22 Sept 2010 2301hrs IST

Today ultimately, the TV has been fixed. The LCD panel has been replaced. Interestingly, LCD cost is the major cost in the TV. Instead of all this cost cutting, if the TV would have been replaced on 3rd of 4th day, it would have saved lot of time in clearing the problem. Let us see now for how long this TV will work without developing any other fault. If LCD is gone just at the end of warranty (another six months to go), then I would'nt get it repaired. Instead, I will buy a new one - non Samsung, as that will be evident of faulty QC in the Samsung manufacturing unit. But there are lot of things for Samsung to learn from this. If they do'nt learn, they are progressing towards complecency and ultimately demise. Readers of this blogs have to make their own judgement as it might be a single isolated incident or there might many such happenning.

21 Sept 2010 2013hrs IST

At last I searched for friends of friends who are in Samsung who could give me the contact number of someone with whom I can talk. Could find MD of customer service (Mr.Zutshi) who listened and told me that he will ask his head of customer service for up east in Lucknow. I got a phone call from Suvitech after an hour. He told that that board has arrived. Amazing now board is there. After sometime, the head of customer service from Lucknow called and asked me if the customer service person from Kanpur has called. I confirmed.

After lot of insistence, the service engineer was sent and he came with the board in the evening. Can you imagine what he found, the board in the TV is not faulty. It is the display panel which has gone faulty. 15 days were wasted for a fault which was not there. Let us see when the panel will be replaced. Anyway I have decided to keep away from Samsung product till I am in Kanpur.

21 Sept 2010

Story further unfolds. 15 days are over, and no sign of any progress. I kept on calling on all the phones given on website, but you will always get a nice sweet voice and you problem is passed onto proper person, but nothing happens.

Four days back, I called up the shop Samsung Plaza, 80 ft. Road, Kanpur and he tells that his job was to sell the TV. If it is not working, I need to talk to customer service. He is no more in the picture. He gives me a mobile of Mr. Ashok Tripathi at Customer Service. I talked to him nothing happened. Again same usual - Sorry sir, we are passing the message to appropriate person. It seems THE APPROPRIATE PERSON has gone on leave.

I again called Suvitech, Kanpur (the authorised service center of Samsung in Kanpur) and someone named Sharad picked up this time, at. He told the part is not available and will be coming from Chennai.

Why the hell, Samsung cannot replace the TV itself instead of making the customer wait for 15 or more days. After all, the TV is in warranty. I have decided to leave this TV with shop from where I purchased it. I will buy a new one (obviously not a Samsung). I also hope none of my friends at IIT Kanpur will be willing to buy anything from Samsung after this incident.

11 September 2010

This time it is Samsung. A good example how big companies take their customers for a ride. I had purchased a LCD TV from Samsung in April 2010. Just after four months and few days, it is dead. No display. So made a complaint to Samsung service over website. The engineer does arrive next day and inspects the TV and says that the main electronics board is gone. The next what he says, is most strange and is not expected from Samsung. He said now wait for 15 days, they will get the replacement board and replace it. Why the hell the spares are not there in Kanpur kind of big city. It seems for Samsung it is just a small village not a city.

Now the problem started in my house. Everyone is habitual of watching serials, one thing or another on TV. Now TV is not working and everybody is shouting at me to get it fixed at the earliest. I thought let us write to Samsung again if they can replace the TV right away or get it repaired on urgent basis. But there is no response. Anyway for them it will be loss making proposition to replace the TV or focuss on repair in warranty.

Now my dilemma is if I should go and buy another TV. If I should it certainly should not be Samsung. When fault happens in warranty, you may have to wait for months before it is taken care of. Also, Samsung TV can go bad even when you keep it in AC environment (This is what the experience suggests). For normal temperature operations, they may not even be suited. My sympathies to Samsung buyers who does not have ACs. Samsung must have a scheme where their TVs are sold with their ACs.

After giving it a thought for few days, I decided that we should live with dead TV. Kids have adjusted and now spending more time on study. No advertisements, so no requests for buying new things. I am happy but the all big companies are at loss. Imagine, if 50% population buys Samsung TV and it conks off. The Samsung makes each one of them wait for 20 days (or for better 1 month), all the big companies who create market by advertising on TV will have reduced market. A good problem for some management guys - to find out how much is the loss incurred. What a loss to economy! But the viewers will be at peace.

But the learning - Big company does not mean a good service. (Naam Bade aur Darshan Chote)