Vizio Fails Again
*UPDATE March 16th, 2009
On March 9th, 2009, I spoke with Kara, badge #76176. I had to explain the WHOOOOOOOOLE story over to her. She told me they had not received the email of my receipt, which I absolutely do not believe. I went around with her before she told me she'd transfer me to someone higher up than she was. She transferred me to Chris, badge #76062. I had to explain the WHOOOOOOOOOOLE story over to HIM, and I was surprised when I found out that he was the SAME level SHE was, NOT higher, so HE transferred me to someone named John, who does NOT have a badge number, because he was at the corporate office, he said, and not the call center. This is when I learned that the whole time I've been dealing with an obviously incompetent call center. I explained my frustration to John AND, ONCE AGAIN, EXPLAINED THE WHOOOOOOOOLE STORY TO HIM. He did the research and saw where I had received the refurbished unit on January 14th, 2009, clearly falling in the 90 day warranty. After spending close to 45 minutes on the phone, he said he would send me a brand new unit which would take about TWO weeks. THIS is what I wanted from the very beginning.
Now, let's think about everything here. Luckily, I am an able bodied male who works on computers for a living and am very experienced when it comes to working with electronics and audio/video equipment.. What if I were not? What if I were disabled? What if I were someone like my sister or girlfriend who didn't know the first thing about mounting and wiring televisions, didn't have the strength to do so, or just simply didn't WANT to? How much would it cost to PAY someone to keep doing this? This unit is my primary computer monitor, and luckily I have a notebook so I can still get to the internet and remote in to my desktop, which works, but is a hassle. However, what if I did not have a notebook? What if I did not have a spare monitor? What if this were my only television set? All in all, I have been without a working unit for OVER A MONTH since I purchased the thing when you look into waiting around days dealing with this company to decided if they're going to honor their warranty, as well as waiting for shipping and receiving. All these factors above are factors for which I will never be compensated. If you can quantify the above mentioned labor for installation and lost time into a monetary value, I could could have spent the extra money initially on a more expensive set and possibly had a comparable unit that WOULD HAVE WORKED AND NOT FAILED PREMATURELY.
I'm very interested to see how this replacement unit works and if it lasts.
*UPDATE March 3rd, 2009
I know you'll NEVER believe this, but guess what???? The refurbished unit FAILED!!!! (big gasp) I HAVE SPENT HALF A YEAR TRYING TO GET THIS COMPANY TO REPLACE ITS FAULTY PRODUCT FOR WHICH I PAID GOOD MONEY!!! HALF A YEAR!!!!!!! While you are catching your breath from this big shocker, here are pictures of what it looks like when it fails. Keep in mind the distortions are fluid and jump around, so the image only shows part of the problem:
(Look at the bottom of the screen..... THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE TOP,
by the way)
(Lines and distortion increase as the complexity of the image being displayed
increases. The same thing happens in TV mode, malfunction not being
limited to PC display only)
So, I called Vizio about 9pm and got the tech who, of course, makes me "troubleshoot" and take pictures of the malfunction to email them since, as a paying customer (former customer, that is), my word is not good enough (I do want to insert here that the tech, James, was super cool and helpful, but he was limited to what he could do because of his company; I'm sure he will outgrow Vizio.). I told him that I wanted a new unit, since I was told last September that, when a product under warranty fails, they first attempt to repair it, then they send a refurbished unit, and then if (WHEN) it fails, they send you a brand new unit... However, NOW HE tells THEY SEND THREE REFURBISHED UNITS AND WHEN NUMBER THREE FAILS THEY SEND A NEW UNIT!!?? That is NOT what I was told before. I was also told that after sending those pictures, someone would call me back within 24-48 hours.... Letter to Vizio with attached pictures read as:
Dear Vizio,
I was told by James (badge # 76119) to send you these images of my third,
failing Vizio.
When this problem first started, I was told that if a repair failed, they would
send a refurb (the unit pictured). Once it failed, they would send me a brand
new unit. I'm sick and tired of dealing with this, and I'm sick and tired of
mounting, dismounting, and REmounting these TVs. My wall is scratched to hell
and back. I HOPE you can send me a unit that will just WORK for once and not
fail on me. I love the features and picture quality this little unit has, but if
it doesn't last more than a few weeks, it is of no use to me. Please acknowldege
your receipt of this, and please advise me of what I am to do next.
Sincerely,
Bolling H. Holt IV
FAST FORWARD to March 5th.....
Of course no one called me, so I called back this morning and spoke with badge # 76058. He told me that they needed a copy of my receipt, WHICH I ALREADY SENT THEM LAST SEPTEMBER. He created me ANOTHER CASE NUMBER (426350), I emailed the receipt, and he told me someone would get back with me, oh wait, no, he told ME to get back with THEM because THEY are not service-oriented enough to call their customers, within 24-72 hours.... (insert record needle scratch) 24-72 hours? Two days ago it was 24-48 hours. Vizio must change their rules everyday, like when they told me in September I'd get a brand new unit if the refurbished unit failed yet on March 3rd I was told they send THREE refurbished units.... My guess is that they make this process as lengthy and complicated as possible so the customer will just get frustrated and give up.... or else the company is run by complete idiots.... one of the two. Stay tuned for more updates.
*UPDATE November 2008
Surprise, surprise! Guess which electronic component in my house failed again? You got it! THE VIZIO! Had to take it off the wall, AGAIN... remove the mounting bracket... wait for a box to be sent to me.... pack it in the box.... DRAG the damn thing to work.... wait for the UPS guy to come get it... finally, in January, a refurbished (remember, I PURCHASED a brand new unit... NOT a refurbished unit...) was sent to me... I installed the mounting bracket and hung it AGAIN.
*UPDATE 10/08/08
Last week, a technician came out and replaced the power supply and the main board. SO FAR, it has been working, but I haven't run it for any real extended period of time. I hope, however, that the issue has been resolved.
September 22, 2008
On September 25, 2007, I purchased a 32" Vizio
LCD HDTV (model number VW32L HDTV10A). On September 10, 2008, the unit
began to malfunction just within the one year warranty period. I am in the
middle of trying to get them to honor their warranty, and as expected, the
script-reader at the other end of the line is giving me hassle. This is
the one of the same reasons I quit recommending other companies, such as Dell
and Gateway. I will be interested to see how they handle this situation.
As it stands now, I had to email them a copy of my receipt and contact
information. They are supposed to get back with me between now and 48
hours. We shall see. Here is my conversation (in a nutshell) I had
with them this morning:
Bo: The unit isn't totally dead... It works a while, then goes blurry, speakers
make static, and all controls cease to function. The remote control buttons as
well as the console buttons do absolutely nothing. I unplugged it, waited 3
minutes, plugged it back in, and then it worked for another few minutes before
messing up again.... (Repeat this at least 3 times)
Tech woman: I need you to unplug it in and plug it back in to power cycle it and
then cycle through the inputs to ensure it's not a signal issue.
Bo: IT IS NOT A SIGNAL ISSUE. THE UNIT IS DEFECTIVE. I CANNOT CYCLE THROUGH THE
INPUTS REMEMBER??? THE BUTTONS DON'T WORK! *IT IS DEFECTIVE!!!!!!!!!!*
Tech woman: Well sir, you have to do this with me on phone, even if you already
did it.
Bo: Okay, well pretend I am now, and I'm just going to lie to you because my
unit is at home, and I am at work, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference
anyway, AND AGAIN I ALREADY DID ALL THIS! I HAVE A DEGREE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AS WELL
AS SIXTEEN YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE!
Tech woman: Sir, I can't do that. I need you to unplug it, plug it back in, and
cycle through the inputs to make sure it is not a signal issue with me on the
phone.
Bo: I ALREADY DID! I AM A TECH! THE UNIT IS DEAD! I DID ALL THIS!!!
Tech woman: Sir, I still need you to do this on the phone before I can honor
your warranty.
(Bo hangs up in her face, waits five minutes, and calls back)
Bo: Yeah, my unit is totally dead... Malfunctioning? Umm... No, it was, but now
it won't do anything (still sitting at work, unit is still at the house). Okay,
I'll swap outlets now (pauses, takes sip of coffee). Power cords? (chuckles to
himself) Yeah, hang on, I'll swap those too.... (waits about a minute). No, that
didn't do anything either..... Ok, thanks. I'll send a copy of my receipt right
now.
