Sunday, October 11, 2009

Samsung and Comcast customer service not so good

So my previous post was praising the great customer service of Amazon. Now this one is about my dissatisfaction with Samsung and Comcast.

So I get the Samsung tv and I start putting it together. I'm screwing the parts together for the base stand and I find the screws will not go in very well. In fact I used all my strength and could not get them in all the way. I looked up the problem and it seems a few other people have had the same problem. So I contact Samsung about it. They reply telling me to buy new screws for it. Excuse me? You want me to buy new screws for a brand new tv that came with the wrong screws? I don't think so. I paid a lot for this new tv. The least I would expect is that the parts fit together properly. So I wrote them another email a couple days ago and haven't even heard back from them. Not good Samsung.

Next up Comcast. I call up their 800 number to ask about setting up new internet service. I'm on hold waiting for sales for about 10 minutes listening to the same 30 second melody loop over and over. Comcast, can you please get some better music for your customers on hold? The song doesn't even loop correctly. So finally I get a person on the line. I tell her what I need and she apparently didn't understand so she transfers me to technical support. Another 10 minutes on hold. I get on with tech support and explain what I need. They transfer me back to sales. Another 10 minutes on hold listening to the same annoying music loop. By this time my cell phone is low on batteries so I have to hang up and try again later.

I decide to try Comcast internet support. This time I get a person to help by chat. She is helpful but I find Comcasts prices are not as good as they seem. Pretty much all of them are limited time or must be bundled together to get the advertised rate. So not being satisfied with their prices, I hold off.

Finally I call a local comcast Representative and get some good answers. He tells me exactly how it is at Comcast and gives me the numbers straight so I can get the best deal. He also worked with me and helped me waive the installation costs. (Comcast online wanted to charge $100 for it). The local rep walked me through the steps, and came over to finish installation within the hour! So overall Comcast phone service, not good. Local Comcast representative good!

TV Update:
Ok so I decided to go to Menards to get some different screws for the TV stand. I want to take this opportunity to say Menards is my new favorite store. They have a huge selection of everything you need for your house and the prices are great too! I have found the store to be well run and the employees are generally friendly and helpful. Anyway, so I brought in the screws that didn't fit and asked to get smaller screws. The employees helped me find the ones I was looking for. So I get home, try out the new screws, and they fit perfectly! So yeah the TV is in good shape now.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Amazon customer service rocks!

So I recently ordered a tv from Amazon.com. When it arrived, the box and packaging was damaged. I was expecting this because the tracking information had noted this a few days prior. So as direct by a customer service email, I had them take it back and set up a replacement exchange. I was told it would take about 7 days for shipping which I was ok with. The next day I get a call from the management at my building saying there was a tv waiting for me. I was really confused because there was no way it could be there that fast. Then I thought, probably the delivery guys left it in the office and I had to return it myself. I also thought this was the case because I got an email from Amazon with a return shipping label. Just to make sure I logged into Amazon and checked the tracking of the new tv. And guess what? It said it was delivered already! I ordered it yesterday and it arrived today! Wow that was fast. Amazon is the best!