Sears Cleaning and Calibration (1 Viewer)

[BrentG]

My Hitachi 57F500 has the Red Push that I have rear a bunch on about on this site which has been very helpful, now I have to fix it.

I bought it from Sears and part of the deal is you get one free cleaning and calibration in the first year. Question I have is if their "calibration" is worth a darn or not. I have visions of a refrig repair man coming and taking my TV apart and I probabley know more then they do about it.

Also any good step by step instructions on the web for calibrating a Hitachi TV ?

 

[Pete Walker]

Brent, I'd love to know the answer to this too. Do all TVs purchased through Sears have this protection? I just bought mine, and I figure before I tinker with the calibration, I'll just call them to do it.

 

[BrentG]

They come with a 1 year free service yes, you can buy an extended on top of that. It should have been explained to you when you bought it, they always try and push the 3-5 year extended warrenty.

 

[MichaelDDD]

Interesting question. I have been considering buying my new TV at Sears as they pricematch anyone. At least the Sears by me does.

I bought my Sony 32" Trini from them 7 years ago...got a good deal too.

 

[Pete Walker]

So the 1 year service includes the calibration and cleaning? I'd love to learn more about this.

Sears.com doesn't just price match anyone. They are better than Bestbuy, however, which requires a circular (does anyone use those anymore?). I just had to show the CSR the price at jandr.com and they matched it. Too bad the idiot in my local Sears didn't have a clue about anything, so I wasted a trip earlier. Sears.com states that the competitor has to have a local store, if you choose pickup, so that meant I couldn't price match someone in CA that was $60 cheaper. If you compare prices with shipping, Sears.com will do that too. However, for shipping they only charge $45, which is 1/3 what jandr.com charges, which is why I chose to price match the in-store pickup.

I just got off the phone with Sears, so let me give any potential buyers some advice. Do the pricematch on the phone with them. Do not accept it when they tell you to send an email afterwards. Two Sears.com CSRs told me they can do it on the phone. The Toshiba 46H83 comes down to $1279.99 and they offer a Sony DVP-NS425P for free, after MIR. I opted for the 1 year protection on it for $15, so I basically got the DVD player for the price of tax + 15 ($23.50 total).

It seems to be a pretty good DVD player, to boot.

What I think is weird is that they charge you tax on the whole amount, before the price match. I'm going to talk to their credit department afterwards, to get the ~$18 back, because they aren't collecting tax on that $220.

 

[Mike Boniferro]

Sears.com doesn't just price match anyone. They are better than Bestbuy, however, which requires a circular (does anyone use those anymore?). I just had to show the CSR the price at jandr.com and they matched it. Too bad the idiot in my local Sears didn't have a clue about anything, so I wasted a trip earlier. Sears.com states that the competitor has to have a local store,

So how is this better than Bestbuy? they will even price match internet retailers.

 

[Pete Walker]

No, Best Buy will not price match internet retailers, as I already mentioned. They require you to provide a circular that shows the competitors price. Please read what I wrote again.

 

[Mike Boniferro]

Peter,
I read what you wrote... the Canadian store will match online retailers and the US store requires any written proof (and if you go into the stores they will (almost) always make a phone call, check a competitors website etc before giving up a sale)

 

[Pete Walker]

Well, that's not how Best Buy here works. Not only two different guys in-store told me this, but I've called their corporate offices to confirm, and two different CSRs told me the same thing. It has to be an advertised price (from a circular) not just on a web page.

 

[CraigK]

I am a manager at Sears here in Saskatoon.

I purchased my tv through Sears with an extended warranty. The man who came for my first service was extremely knowledgable and clearly knew his stuff. He was also polite to boot.

I can't speak for Sears in the US, but here in Canada with an extended warranty you are pretty much covered very well. Plus, we at Sears also have a "satisfaction guaranteed or your money back"...good if you ask me.

If you have concerns regarding a US based Sears...check locally.

 

[Mike Boniferro]

you find a local competitor offering a lower price on an available product of the same brand and model, we'll refund the difference plus another 10% of the difference. Bring us verification of the lower price, plus your original Best Buy receipt to claim your refund.

that's there policy right from there website... just says any verification, I have had no problems with telling them (in the US too) to look up a competitor on the web.

 

[Pete Walker]

Says local, like I said. Sears has the same thing, where the place you compare it to has to be local. Won't work on the web, if the place is not local, sorry.

 

[Trevin Chow]

I got my sears to pricematch the new Sony 50" GWIII to circuit city price for a $440 price match, plus 10% off for a coupon plus another 10% off for sears card. Needless to say this is a killer deal.

I got the 5 year extended warranty for $399 which also covers bulb replacement within teh 5 years, which is about $250 in parts from what I've read. They are the only retailer that offers an extended warranty that covers the bulb in new LCD RPTVs.

In my books, Sears has gone above and beyond in terms of pricematching.

 

[Pete Walker]

They did a pricematch PLUS coupons?! Holy crap. I would have tried that, but I don't know of any coupons currently that Sears has going. Plus, using the Sears card didn't gain me 10% off either, only 12 months no interest.

 

[Jayson M]

Hello, I am a Sears assoc. in electronics. As far as the cleanings and calibrations go. They are included in the "master Protection Agreement" once a year. In lay-mens terms they clean the screen lenses and mirrors, adjust focus, greyscale, and check remote control programing to ensure it will operate vcr's dvd's and cable converters. They of course will take care of any concerns you have with your set. YOu get unlimited tech visits for any problems that may arise and a 1-800 number 24-7 for any tech problems or questions. We cover everything here. I have talked to my store manger about the wear and tear items in the "Samsung DLP" of example and he told me we would cover it here.

About the ten percent question. We run 10% "Sears card" sales from time to time the next one for us here is the 15th. You also can always price match any sales we have up to 30 days after you buy a product. Yes, we do have "Price Match Plus". Match any local competitor plus 10 percent of the difference.

Umm I cant think of anything else, and now that I am done sounding like a salesmen I will bid you all adios.

Later,
jay

 

[BrentG]

Thanks for the heads up on the service. I guess that would be the best place for me to start in getting the red push out of it. I was just hoping to wait untill the set was closer to a year old before I burt up my once a year free cleaning and calibration.

 

[Jayson M]

Well if you do have the "MPA" it is renewable. You can add up to 5 years on most cases when yours is about to run out. You will have to have your receipt and call 1-800-4-my-home to setup the maintenance check or renew.


later,
jay

 

[Pete Walker]

Wow, great info Jayson. Thanks a ton.

 

[BrentG]

I bought in to the 3 year plan with the option to cancel in the first year, so I do have the service yes, I will give them a call.

 

[Trevin Chow]

For the calibration that Sears offers, is it an ISF that comes?