Samsung Service Nightmare
Written: Dec 22 '05 (Updated Dec 29 '05)
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Pros: Very nice monitor when not being replaced.
Cons: 1st monitor died, second slowly dying, will the third arrive?
The Bottom Line: I would never opt to go through this again. Certainly not when I'm staring at NEC monitors which have been running for years.
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| g_bell's Full Review: Samsung SyncMaster 213 T (Silver) 21.3" LCD Monito... |
The monitor is fine when it worked, and when the replacement worked, and (I hope) when the third works. Samsung Customer Service has an unbridgeable gap with the warehouse, and with any performance.
This is one of those "can't believe this gets worse but it does" review. I bought the monitor for my Dad (81) last year 12/04. He uses a PC casually. Getting the rebate was an exercise in frustration, but I finally did. Then the monitor just quit one day, 4/05. No associated event. Just went black. So instead of putting a $1k hold on my credit card, I opted to have them ship the replacement to the local UPS store, and I pick up the new one and drop off the old one. So I drive 200 miles to pick up the bad monitor and drop Dad off a temp. I wait and wait for the UPS store to call with the replacement, as they said they would. Weeks go by and I follow up with Samsung.
They say the screen was returned to the warehouse as undeliverable. What?! The people I can call have the right address... The folks at the warehouse see no problem with this being returned?? Phone people ship another one. I watch everything like a hawk. Undeliverable AGAIN! I call UPS and with great care they hold it for me to drive 40 miles to pick up at their office at the last second. Short story is the warehouse has the wrong address.
And no one can tell them.
I take the bad monitor to the UPS store to return, and the poor girl there can't get the system to take the RMA number and has to get on the phone for 45 minutes with Samsung to sort out. I put a SCATHING letter in the box for the warehouse employees.
I eventually get the Samsung Executive Service people, and the lady explains (or blames) the fact the the phone people are outsourced, and not Samsung. She makes several promises and follows up on precisely ZERO. Believe me, it's not the outsourced phone people's fault, Ma'am.
Now on 12/05, the monitor begins dying, pixelating, fading, solarizing, and comes back with a gentle tap. I call customer service again, and finally get someone who gives a care. So I opt for the $1000 hold on my credit card this time, and we'll see if I get one and can return the bad one.
This is unbelievable that the customer service people cannot email me.
It is unbelievable they cannot contact the warehouse (Far East Services), also probably not a Samsung company, who ironically shipped me a "Made In Mexico" monitor. Seriously!
I suppose the worst part is that I get a new one-year warranty every time this thing breaks. I suspect I'll be able to grow old returning these for new ones annually. I pray that the next one works 366 days, so I can kick it to the curb and switch brands when it breaks.
I truly believe in praise for a job/product well done, but this kind of perfomance reminds me of MCI right before they went under. Any company that prohibits communication between it's supporting branches is run by idiots.
So, if endlessly sending web-based complaint forms into the ethernet, and calling folks who can't actually help you sounds like a good time, all it will take is a single hiccup in the system to send you down the road I am traveling. Best of luck.
Update:
I was asked to make some comments on the monitor. I'm not a video guy so take these with a grain of salt. The monitor has deep colors. I like that. But, the monitor cannot paint very fine lines because of the larger pixels. And there is a significant quality difference between hooking up analog versus DVI, more than I expected. The analog connection is not good enough for me. All black and white delineations seems a little "soft" at the edges.
Here's the latest on the exchange:
I was using Samsung web self-tracking to watch when the replacement would ship. Several days go by with no activity. Also, the young man I was enthusiastic about speaking with had promised to call with any news, and make sure to get a tested monitor shipped. Nothing. I figure it's the holidays, so no big surprise. Then a monitor appears on my front porch. It's the replacement. I check the web again, and no shipping details at all. So no call, no web self-tracking.
This monitor is Made In Korea, and my last one was Made In Mexico, and I never thought to look at the first one. So maybe this will make a difference.
I pack the bad monitor in the box and take it to the UPS store. The young man said as soon as UPS receives it they'll release the $1000 hold on my credit card. We'll see.
I am still aggravated by this whole thing - mainly because every promise Samsung (or outsourced representatives) has made is essentially a lie. And when I add up my time talking to tech support, unpacking, moving things around and hooking up monitors to see if they work or not, I almost forget about the 4 hour drive time and $25 worth of gas each iteration of this consumes. And I have to keep a small store of shipping supplies for sending this stuff back to them. I'm as skilled as the factory at packaging.
If this one breaks, I'll resolve it through the Ohio Attorney General's Office, Better Business Bureau, various consumer organizations, State and Local consumer protection agencies, and any sundry trade agencies I can find.
I am bitter, but monolithic companies only respond to brute force and ultimatums. I hate doing it, because I have other things to do. And I abhor bad service, and I have done my best to accommodate during my long years in support and service, so I know the difference between good and bad.
PS - I got this off a forum where folks do use their monitors, and it was not reassuring.
"This is a well know problem with Samsung screens and others that they black out. Allot of times it just helps to unplugg the power cable and put it back after a couple of seconds. If this dosn't help it's gone. I can't tell you how many Samsung screens we have replaced."
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 900
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
g_bell
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Member: Greg Bell
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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