Are All TV techs friggin STUPID? -- rant

The ones who have no critical thinking pathways in their minds.
The ones who think the customer is a flaming idiot, and would if Einstein came through the door.
The ones who think they are God of Tech.
The ones lacking in curiosity and imagination.

What percentage of all do you think I covered? :D

You brought up many issues in your post, believe it or not. Philips is "in transition" right now. If you had reported the same problem about 9 months ago, the techs would have ordered the parts directly from Philips - and they would have had access to Level 2 tech support service. Around April of 2008 or so, Philips sold their TV division to Japanese-based Funai. Philips has recently ceased selling its own TV parts. The new parts supplier handles all manufacturers' parts, cannot provide detailed assistance in identifying the right parts, and doesn't have clear time tables for parts delivery. All of this was sprung upon existing TV techs with existing Philips contracts suddenly. The techs don't know when the parts will be in, Philips doesn't know when the parts will be in, and the new parts supplier doesn't have the level of expertise needed to answer any inquiries.

I do not know how an individual television service operates, but it sounds like they are disorganized, overwhelmed, and/or inattentive. Philips probably doesn't have a lot of "authorized service centers" left right now.

If you want some insight into the particular issue your TV is having, there is a guy who goes by the handle of Slinteriors at www.fixya.com - he won't be able to fix your TV remotely, but he can give you insight into the affected part(s), etc. For fun, you could offer his insight to the techs that are working on your TV and blow their mind - lol.

I feel your pain. Last year, service was better. Next year, svc might be better. But right now, they are in flux - and you, the customer, suffers. I wouldn't be surprised if the techs come back with the following scenarios: the repair will take 90 days, the repair isn't worth it (nvrmind that your TV is probably in-warranty - keep reminding them of that), etc.

Believe it or not, a lot of planning went into this stupidity. Lol

-Tha Mp3 Doctor

and should I be afraid? LOL

I tell you what, it sounded similar to a V rizon issue I had with a smart phone I had.

Them "what do you mean the screen is cracked"

Me "do you need the definition?"

Being somewhat dyslexic at times of my choosing I proceed to say "yes ma'am there is a screen in my crack"

onandonandon

send the phone in with the definition of crack from the dictionary attached to the phone.

Finally, as mentioned, the owner of the shop got involved in this last night. He verified the sound problem and got to the bottom of the tech issue. He informed me that the tech DID in fact replace the part, however, it was worse (defective part), so the tech re-replaced with the original part (defective) and put the TV on the shelf for 2 weeks to get back to it (what I suspected). However the tech failed to Re Order the part and when questioned he couldnt remember if he had even worked on the TV.
Furthermore, the tech had been researching replacing some Video parts (even though he couldnt find a video problem).

In any event, the owner called me a few minutes ago and said that he was personally calling both of his suppliers and putting a rush delivery on the needed part. He expects no later than next week to pick up the unit, but probably sooner.

Actually, there is an awesome tech, quite an old fellow, just down the road from me. I swear he must have been there since I was 10.
He'll look at a TV for free, and his diagnosis and repairs are quick, and he's dirt cheap.

Unfortunately, these types seem to be disappearing.

What a bunch of f**king morons, even the dumba$$ loser of an owner.
Now they are telling me that there is no ETA and they want to keep it for an unspecified amount of time.
They have alerady had it for about a month and a half!
I just told the stupid f**k on the phone, I would rather use it for target practice than to keep it there with a bunch of f**king incompetent losers, and that I was picking it up tomorrow.
Well, at least I can still return them both. still under 60 days.
however, I dont think I am going to replace them, too much f**king hassle and my CRT works just fine (and has for 9 years).

Thanks, Brings my spirit up.

I just drafted a letter for Philips and for Costco online. Whether they give a shlt or not is up to them.
Personally, I am never buying electronics from Costco online (or likely not even using Costco online for any purchases).
and I hope Philips at least removes this cr@ppy service shop from their list.

The funniest part though, on the phone with the tech tonight, he kept telling me everything was Philips fault. :^0
yes, the technicians incompetence was all on Philips :^0

That is ri-fscking-diculous.

Utter fail.

I have been thinking of just taking the tv to the mountains and using the shotgun until there is nothing left.
however, I should be able to still return it (and the other), and at least get my money back...

1 would be just semi satisfactory, the other would make me feel much better, and I got 500 rounds to make sure nothing larger than 1/4" would be left

http://writtenweird.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-twitter-kicks-ass.html

(Jay's fun-with-bureaucracy.)

the helpdesk hell at work. Call and get put on hold for an hour (min), constantly being told to find out yourself or submit a 'live chat' ticket through a website.
when you get someone, they tell you they cannot help EVEN THOUGH the live chat agent states that the issue can only be resolved from calling.

or -- documentation hell
I dont think I have seen any documentation that came out in the last 2 years that was actually helpful at work. they have plenty of links which dont tell you shlt, just to keep you in a roundabout through 8 different pages and no contact information. It's easier to spend a few hours looking in the global address book in Outlook and scrolling through names until you find someone with something like 'global security' or 'networks' or the like after their name. At least then you can be ignored directly

Edit:
My last attempt at the documentation was for equipment -- lol. This is good. So, we have to order equipment a specific way now -- nothing new really. Anyway, I put in a forecast, and a request and it got approved (after only 3 weeks). Mind you, this equipment request was coming from a VP directly under the board.
So, anyway, the next step is the assignment of said equipment. I have to fill out a form telling IT who gets what basically. Just an IT control thing.
Anyway, the instructions have a link to get the form called appropriately "Obtain Equipment Assignment Form".
This link takes me (and everyone else) to a website -- not a form. The form cannot even be found on the website.
Also, a second link in the instructions is "after filling out the form, mail to "Click Here". That link does open an email, to a group that sounds appropriate. However, they apparently either do not check the mail, or do not respond at all. So, we started tugging the management chain a bit. Also, we sent emails to the teams manager, and both people that wrote the instructions. And yet, not 1 response as of yet.
dysfunctional? ?:|
and I got in trouble (HR reprimand) for calling our support a "dysfunctional shlthole of support" (it was not courteous and an IT person took it offensively)

they'd better d@mn well take it offensively.

I love that kind of stuff (or not). Reminds me of University bureaucracy, or stories from an an old acquaintance who ran a Univac on a Navy supply ship. Or our mutual employment at a fulfillment company. (These people were still upgrading to realtime inventory management when I left in 2002.)

Perhaps, due to modern components the video and audio are in the same IC. Usually about a 40 pin IC. At least it was when I quit repairing TV's; it seems like centuries ago.

The video carrier is 1.25 mhz above the base frequency and the audio is 4.5 mhz above that. The same chip is used to separate the two signals and route them to their proper paths. This would explain the confusion.

As far as the shop relegating your TV to the seconds, this is common with warranty repairs. The authorized warranty station is a gimmick to get you to come in, the money is made from the non-warranty work; the manufacturer pays a pittance.

At least that is how it was when I owned a TV repair shop in Vegas in the 70's and 80's.