Rant about GG's "repair" techs and question (1 Viewer)

[Gary.Blevins]

Greetings,
A week ago, my 1+ year old Tosh 50HDX82, suddenly developed a darker picture. I had previously used the VE DVD to calibrate the set, so it was very noticable. I had to turn up the brightness from around 40 to 85 to see any detail. Since I purchased the extended warranty from GG's, I called them for service. (Yeah, I know...I know...)
The "tech" showed up while I was at work, so I told him the issue over the phone, while my wife watched. After (1) breaking the lower grill while attempting to remove it, and (2) totally screwing up the picture, he was going to leave, until my wife forced him to come back. He tried to blame the picture on Comcast, and the possibility of wet cable connections! My wife called bullshit, and put in a VCR tape. He then said that the tape must be bad, so she plopped in a DVD. He finally decided to place a call to the "real expert", and they both returned an hour later.
After messing around awhile, the "expert" proclaimed that the set was perfectly calibrated, and even though my wife said it was terrible, they left. The first tech even had the stones to tell my wife not to tell me that I (me) must have broken the grill, but because it was "normal" wear and tear, he would order a replacement for free!!!
When I got home from work, (towed home, as my car broke down on the freeway! Great day, huh?) I looked at the picture and wanted to puke. While the picture was indeed brighter, the colors were all washed out, and the picture had a green tint. I proceeded to try and recalibrate with my VE DVD, when I noticed that the grayscale images were all tinted an olive green color. This was especially evident on the darker grays.
While I am surely going to be calling them back tomorrow, I would like to know if my obvservation seems plausible. Can a moron tech screw up the "color" of the grayscale? I read an article explaining the difference between grayscale and color decoding, and it seemed to state that this is indeed possible, if cuts and/or drives are used incorrectly.

Regards,

Gary

 

[Tim Jin]

Grayscale is pretty much the core of any picture. If the grayscale is totally off, you will get what you are seeing now. I don't know if GG can correct this problem because the tech is a moron.

There is something wrong with your tv still if its dark and washed out. Usually, when you have to call a service tech out to your house, it means hardware failure.

Your post bothers me that the tech did not replaced any parts, besides breaking the grill.

You need to call again and have them fix the problem or refer you to a shop that can.

 

[Gary.Blevins]

Hey Tim,
I figure that I will call again, and this time ask for another tech to come out. If this doesn't work, I will see about another repair service. I have a friend that used to work at GG's "back in the day", and he said they used to have a "three strikes" rule: Three attempts at repair, then they replaced the unit. Not sure if this is still the rule, but it would be nice!

Thanks!

Gary

 

[Tim Jin]

Gary,

Good luck!!! Keep us posted.

BTW, when you bought your Tosh. did GG come out and calibrated your set, or did you just did it on your own.

I'm asking because my aunt and uncle just bought a 65" Mits with a 5 year service plan. I was planning to calibrate their set with Avia, but my uncle told me that GG is going to come out and calibrate.

Any idea?

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

When stores say calibrate ... they usually mean doing it by eye and maybe twiddling with the convergence ...

I feel the pain ...

(Light output drop in an RPTV crt is normal over the course of the first 12 to 18 months ... somewhere in the order of 30% from where ever you last had it set.)

YOur case would dictate that something else is amiss ...

Regards

 

[Gary.Blevins]

I seem to recall that GG just adjusted the focus. I am not sure about the full calibration. The first thing I always do with a new TV is run VE. (Though I think I may switch to Avia) I think it couldn't hurt to run a color and grayscale adjustment just to be sure, after they come out.

As a note, I am on hold right now with GG customer service, trying to see if they will refer the repair job out to a more qualified technician/shop.

Regards,

Gary

 

[Gary.Blevins]

OMG!!!!

I just got off the phone with GG customer service, and they called the repair tech. Basically, he stated that the TV is "repaired to manufacturer's spcifications" and there isn't anything else they will do.!

I was left with "You are always free to call our corporate office"...

I guess I will have to call a quality repair service in the area, and have them look at it, then fight with GG to cover the cost.

Unbeleivable!!! I guess in the future, I will spend a little more $$ and buy from a "reputable" dealer.

Gary

 

[Mort Corey]

Ever since their merger with Comp USA the repair department/warranty service has taken a nose dive. (Or so I was told by the local GG store manager) You are not alone in suffering these clowns. I ended up going to the store manager with my problem and received complete satisfaction. Calls, e-mails and letters to the head office did not get any response.

Funny part was that after I got my problem resolved I received a phone call from the service center saying they'd have the tech come out again in ten or so days. This was after more than a month since my initial problem.....and that was just to get the problem diagnosed

The Bureau of Consumer Affairs will take your complaint on line. I went there as well at one time and although they aren't very fast, they did help until I called them off.

Good luck (you're gonna need it)

Mort

 

[Tim Jin]

I was con into getting their warranty plan on my Denon 2200 in March. I hope it doesn't break within the 5 years. After that, I will just upgrade to HD DVD.