So, I got my "recertified" TV. Only, the side of the box had a big sticker that said "refurbished". Bunch of lying liars, Vizio.
Picture evidence: www.flickr.com/photos/8598750@N06/439758
At any rate, it's a working television. Is this how they operate? They beat you down with their stupidity until you just don't care anymore? It's working.
The mailing label was supposed to be in the box, but it wasn't. So I called and they said they'd email me a new one. Later that day, I called again and they said that the warehouse hadn't gotten to it yet. They "rushed" it and I got it that afternoon, around 5 o'clock. So, packing the old one up, I found the label that was supposed to be inside the box, only it was under the invoice on the outside. Sigh. So I used that one. Took the thing to UPS on Saturday and thought I was all good. On Sunday, I got an email with yet another UPS label that also said to "be sure to write your RMA number on both sides of the box.". Little late for that, dipshits. Do these people even talk to each other?
I swear, I will never even look in the direction of a Vizio again.
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
Man, what I wouldn't give to just be done with all of this and never have to deal with Vizio again.
I got a call from Vizio on Wednesday afternoon. The woman I spoke to was nice and said that they were going to replace my television. Yay, right? Well, maybe not so much. So she goes through this whole thing about how they'll send me a new TV and when I receive it, I need to package the old one in the same box and send it back. No worries, they'll pay for all the shipping. Oh, but just one little thing... they need a credit card so that they can put a hold on it, in case I don't return the broken TV. I was in a meeting at the time and needed to get back, so I said I'd call back the next day when I had access to my cards.
Thursday morning, I called back and spoke to another very nice woman. We went through the whole thing again and I grudgingly gave up my credit card information. She promised it would be released as soon as they received the old TV back... and the amount they were putting on hold was only what I'd originally paid for the TV. Seems reasonable, since they're sending me a new one, right? Oh, wait. Hold the phone. What I'm getting is a "recertified" television. She explained to me that they were just overstock that were sent back or whatnot, but that Vizio certifies them a second time when they come back. "Never been sold and it's not a refurbished TV." she promised. So, we're good to go.... I thought.
After getting off the phone, I decided to look up recertified. Know what? That whole "never been sold" thing is untrue! If someone bought a television and brought it back "undamaged and not in need of repair" within the 30-90 days that returns are allowed, then it's still considered "new". Um, no.
At this point, I'm a little upset. I called Vizio back and was told by a pretty condescending rep that "maybe I didn't understand the definition of recertified" and that they would escalate me to the next level up. Okay, sure. The next man I spoke with did confirm that the television I was getting wasn't necessarily one that had never been sold. You know, I'm really not okay with that... and that's what I told him. Why is it, that if I bought a NEW television and it didn't even make it to the end of the 1 year warranty, I was being sent a USED one? He explained that "anything after the 90 day return window was considered used". Since my TV is past that, it's considered used and they cannot replace a used TV with a new one. So, since they're sending me a used one, they're going to extend the warranty on that for a year, right? NO. The warranty from the original, crap-ass television stands. They were sure to point out that they'd be happy to sell me an extended warranty. I'll bet. When I asked if there was anything that could be done to get an actual, honest to God, NEW television, he said that I could PAY FOR AN UPGRADE. Yes, you read that right. I buy a television, seven months later it completely stops working and they'll replace it with a "recertified" model, OR I can pay them TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS and "upgrade" to a NEW television. Seriously? Why would I want to spend more money on something that probably won't work a freaking year from now when I already spent money on a brand new television that they weren't really standing behind? He (pretty snottily) told me that they were standing behind the product... they were replacing it, weren't they? Oh, for crying out loud. It's obvious that there's no way they're going to do anything else for me... and it's also obvious that they don't really care if I'm upset.
I've just decided to leave this alone. They don't care enough for the customer base to really try to work with me on this, so there's not anything I can do. I am going to draft a letter to Vizio about the whole situation and Consumer Reports as well as The Consumerist will be receiving copies.
Oh, and I'll never, EVER buy another of their products again. Nor will I be able to ever recommend them to others.
So, here's the question on my mind now. If they're sending me a "recertified" television, how is it okay for them to put a hold on my credit card for THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE PRICE OF MY TELEVI
FAIL, VISIO. FAIL AGAIN.
Continued from this morning: http://escap1974.livejournal.com/473680
Added 09Feb:
Got a phone call from HD Repair today about fixing my television. They called me to basically verify my address and then told me that they cannot work on my television because it's over the fireplace and they are "not allowed" by Vizio to work on anything over 5 feet. They "aren't allowed" to help me take it down, either. So, the bottom line is this: I can try to take my heavy ass television down from over the fireplace by myself, or I can not have it serviced. I hate this company so, so much.
Also? That phone call was for nothing. They informed me that "when the parts come in from Vizio, we'll call you to schedule an appointment." Why in the hell are you calling me now then? Argh!
NEVER, EVER, EVER WILL I BUY ANOTHER VIZIO PRODUCT. EVER.
Oh, and now Vizio is trying to be all "We document everything and we're super fast for an electronics corporation!" on Twitter. Whatever guys, you had your chance.
@escape1974 My information is the case file, we document every call. For the parts to be sent out a repair case had to have been set up.
@escape1974 3-5 business days from date of set up to the repair is rather quick for large electronics repair industry.
@escape1974 Im going by the information i have and implied nothing. If you want a discussion about your service its hard with 140 characters
@escape1974 with such limitations in responses its difficult to fully express oneself. Best to discuss this with customer service phone...
My television died last tuesday night. (I have a 37" 1080 HDTV) I was watching the end of Lost, when there was a loud popping noise and the damn thing went black. No sound, no picture, nothing.
Feb 3: I called to start a claim. I was given a case number. I explained what happened to the TV and was met by a lukewarm, "We need proof of purchase."
Feb 4: As soon as Vizio opened on the west coast, I faxed my receipt. I waited until that afternoon and called in to let them know to expect it. "When did you fax it?" I told them that morning. "Well, it should be in the system by now, BUT it can take from 24-48 hours." Okay, fine. I had to relate my entire "popping noise" story again, because the first guy had something else in the computer. "Maybe he was confused as to what you were explaining." Okay, sure.
Feb 5: I called that evening. I was told they couldn't find it, and advised me to fax again. I'd already done so twice. I was told to call back on Saturday. I was also told that it "sounded like a problem with the power source."
Feb 6: I called in again. Still no fax. While they were searching for it, the fire alarm went off in the building. The person on the phone SAID they would call me back when they could come back in the building. Okay.
Feb 6: I received no return call. I called again. I had to tell the story about how it died AGAIN. "Well, it sounds like the backlight is your problem." Okay, but why is the TV turning itself off after about 30 seconds? No answer for this. I was told to call Mon afternoon because the fax should be in the system by then. "That department doesn't work on weekends." Okay, fine. I was also told that after the receipt was in place, it would be a minimum of FIVE DAYS before someone would be at my home.
Feb 8th: I got a phone call from Vizio saying they finally had my receipt. Then the guy on the phone proceeded to tell me that my I probably "accidentally put my TV in RGB (computer moniter) mode" and that's why it's turning off... it can't find a computer. Explained that, no, the remote was nowhere near me when this happened and that I use my TiVo remote. Besides, I was watching in HDMI when it happened. He proceeds to talk to me like a freaking child and says they are going to send "parts" to the contracted repair firm and that they repair people would call me to set up an appointment AFTER the parts came in. That'll be in approximately 3-5 days. So now, I have to wait 3-5 days to make an appointment 5 days out from there? Oh, and not just days... business days.
The freaking thing that threw me over the edge? @Viziosupport on Twitter asked for my case number and proceeded to send me these messages:
VIZIOsupport @escape1974 First call was made on the 3rd, POP sent in on the 4th, posted POP to case on the 7th, called you next business day...
@escape1974 ...to set up the repair. I do not see where you would be given varying "answers" as it looks like most calls were about POP.
Oh, hell no. My replies were not exactly calm at the time.
@VIZIOsupport every call to support had me re-explaining what was wrong with my television. Every tech person had a new explanation.
@VIZIOsupport tech who called today was convinced I put my TV in RGB and that's why it won't turn on. That's what they said they'd send...
@VIZIOsupport... parts for. And no one will call me for 3-5 days to even set up a service call? My TV is 6 months old. No one seems to..
@VIZIOsupport... care much that it takes this long. I repeat: NO REPAIR HAS BEEN SET UP. I WAS TOLD TO WAIT 3-5 DAYS BEFORE THEY CALL.
@VIZIOsupport Your information is not right. So if you're going to get defensive and imply I'm lying, do it elsewhere, please.
I'm still SO mad about this whole thing. It's absolutely ridiculous that it has been a week since my television went out and I'm still sitting here watching my 19" in the living room. And you know, I wouldn't have a problem waiting if JUST ONE person was a little bit apologetic about the fact that 1) my television crapped out after 6-7 months or 2) that it's taking so long to get it fixed in the first place.
(By the way? My 19" HDTV is a three year old Magnavox that I got cheap at Target. Guess which brand I'd recommend right now?
I think the universe is conspiring against me and my yearly SDCC trip. The dates I'll be gone this year are Wednesday, July 21 - Monday, July 26. I went to the doctor last week and they scheduled my follow up for July 26 at 8:00. Now I have to change that. Yesterday, I got an email to save the date for my cousin's wedding. What day? Saturday, July 24. What was she thinking? Schedule a wedding during SDCC. Madness, people! I plan to tell everyone that I prepaid for SDCC and that I will lose a few thousand if I back out. Heh. Whatever, we're not that close anyway. My mom will probably be mad, but she'll get over it.
I made red bean, sausage, and rice soup this weekend. It came out really well. The rice was a bit softer than I like, so I'll cut the cooking time down next time I do it, but I was happy overall.
- Not long after I sent the email to ideeli yesterday, I got two emails and a phonecall from them. Score! The funny part is, they figured out why my account wouldn't let me return the sweater... they had never charged me for it. Heh. So, they are going to issue a return label and not bother with the charges. (Usually, you can only return for store credit, so I'm stoked about this.) All in all, the threats worked. Yay! Now, let's wait and see if I need to threaten anyone to actually get a return label sent to me.
- Additional "Overstock is Awesome!" stuff: Yesterday, after they had gone through the whole return and reship deal for Ansley's birthday present, I got a phone call from a CS Manager making sure I was happy and checking to see if there was anything else she could do.
- I got three new albums yesterday. Awesome, since I haven't gotten new music in what feels like forever. Vampire Weekend: Contra, OK Go: Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky, and The Bravery: Stir the Blood. I thought that the Vampire Weekend album would be my favorite, but I'm really loving OK Go. It's just so bouncy and fun!
- Work seems to be super slow this week. I still can't seem to get caught up on my training.
- I have absolutely no plans this weekend... and I'm kind of loving that. Last weekend, I didn't do much, but I was sick and sleeping most of the time. I think I'll do some shopping, I need to seriously clean my house and take a bunch of crap to Goodwill. There are other things on the list to-do, but they're kind of boring.
- WW is going better this week. I'm not starving to death like I was. I do need to hit the grocery store for some more WW friendly foods, but other than that, I'm doing all right. It's amazing how fast you get used to doing this again... the counting of points and reading of labels is really something I should have been doing before anyway. As a plus, I lost 2 pounds my first week. Yay!
Big time.
In December, I ordered a cute Michael Kors sweater from ideeli. It said that it wouldn't ship until the first week of January, but I was okay with that.
Cut to last week, when I got the sweater and it has a giant pull in one of the sleeves. To the point where the extra string from the pull is hanging out of the damned sleeve when I pull it out of the box.
It's okay, right? Because it's a returnable item. Says so right there on the website and on the packing slip. Great!
Not so easy. I went to my account, but it still shows the transaction as in process... not shipped. Well, if it never shipped (according to my account) then I can't return it, right? Right! Okay, so I email customer service. I emailed them Friday, Saturday, and Monday. No response. None. No canned "Thanks for your email! We'll get to it soon!" In a bout of frustration this morning, I sent this.
For the record? I also sent it to every ideeli email address I could get my hands on. Sales, support, customer service, and the blog. Yes, the blog. Content as follows:
Overstock was a completely different story, though. I ordered Ansley's CDs from them and two said they were delivered, but I never got them. Emailed Overstock and they immediately re-shipped the items. No hassles, no fuss at all.
I had other things I wanted to talk about, but now I'm all blank. Bleh.
- Frank did my taxes this weekend. Not only am I getting a refund, I'm getting a very healthy one. Hello, new bedroom furniture! Nice to see you!
- I got an email from asshole engineer guy this weekend that made my blood pressure skyrocket. Thankfully, I was so high on Vicodin that I couldn't coherently form an answering "FUCK YOU" email at the time. Otherwise, I would have probably lost my job.
- We took Ansley to the circus this weekend. Dude, the circus kinda sucks now. It's not nearly as cool or fun as when we were kids. There's nowhere near the animals and they don't have the number of people that perform, either. Plus, I paid ten dollars for a bag of spun sugar. Oh, yeah. You heard me. Ten dollars for cotton candy. When I bought it, it went like this:
Me: Two bags of cotton candy, please.
Guy: That'll be twenty dollars.
Me: What?
Guy: That'll be twenty dollars.
Me: Holy shit!
Him: Yeah, I get called Jesus alot, too.
- I've decided to reward myself. The amount of stress and pain I've managed to make it through in the last week is pretty darn amazing, if I do say so myself. I've been cutting Vicodin in half so that I can still function at work, but cut the pain down until I could get to the dentist. At any rate, I've been lusting over new sunglasses for a while, and my Gucci's are about to bite the dust, so I finally bought them. They should ship tomorrow. The splurge was for a pair of Tom Ford - Whitney glasses. So. Cute.
- I hope my new sunglasses get here soon. Especially since I have to go to Ft. Lauderdale for work on the week of the 23rd. Poor me. You guys should feel so sorry for me. (No, really. That's where asshole engineer is. If I make it a whole week without a body count, we'll be lucky.)
- Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, is my root canal. Followed by work. Followed by drinks / appetizers with the partners, who are in town. Fabulous day for that, huh? Wish me luck!
- Mood:
high
Tuesday May 27, 2008 following an 18 month battle with
cancer. She was born January 30 1973 in Billings
Montana. Following graduation from Senior High, she
attended BYU on a National Merit Scholarship, and then
taught junior high and high school in Nevada, first in
West Wendover, then in Reno. At the time of her death
she was a teacher at Hug High School in Reno. She
married Brent Nuttall in the Mesa AZ LDS temple on
March 16, 2001. She is survived by her parents, Carl
Larsen of Billings, Joan Whiteford of Renton,
Washington, her sister Anne Marie Garza of Billings,
niece Celestina, as well as many beloved relatives and
friends throughout the world.
Funeral services will be Saturday May 31 10AM PDT in
Reno at the LDS Chapel located at 8080 Lemmon Dr Reno,
NV 89506.
JULIA HAS REQUESTED EVERYONE WEAR THEIR FAVORITE SHOES
TO THE FUNERAL.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the
Hug High School Scholarship fund In Julia’s name.
Please contact Dee Parks 775-327-5607
- Mood:
giggly
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