I bought a bigish LCD TV about 10 months ago. Once I'd turned off all of 
the 'enhancements' and set it up properly I ended up with a pretty damn 
impressive picture.

However, when watching it at night I started to notice that when a film 
faded to black the screen wasn't actually a consistent black, rather 
there were a few areas of very dark grey. Over the months this has 
become more noticeable.

So, as I've paid through the nose for a comprehensive warranty I decided 
to call in the TV engineers to fix the problem.

Number One engineer turns up and can't see what I'm talking about. I put 
a DVD on and pause the image on a fade to black so that the screen's as 
dark as I can make it. He then sticks his face within inches of the 
screen, points at some pixelation and says the screen's knackered. I 
tried to explain about viewing a standard def image on a hi-def screen, 
DVD compression and transfer rates, which is why he could see that 
pixelation, and lost him completely.

I then tried to explain why he couldn't see the subtle variations in the 
black as the room was quite bright and our eyes can't see the problem as 
there's too much contrast in the room. He couldn't follow that at all. I 
tried to explain how it's the same if you take a picture of a scene with 
massive exposure differences with a camera. He looks at me like I'm 
speaking Latin.

I get a call from his boss a couple of hours later saying they're 
sending another engineer today - this time as late in the day as 
possible so it shouldn't be too bright. He also told me that if they 
still couldn't fix it they'd take the TV away and leave a CRT here.

Second engineer turns up at midday. Does he have a replacement TV so he 
can take this one away? No. Can he see the problem? Sort of, but as it's 
still quite a bright day it can only really be seen from an angle of 
about 45 degrees. According to this second genius, there's nothing wrong 
with the screen as he can't see a problem when viewed from directly in 
front of it. He then proceeds to tell me that LCD TVs must be viewed 
from directly in front and level with the viewer's eyeline - funny, 
because the TV specs say there's a 172 degree viewing angle for this 
particular model, but genius no.2 is adamant that LCD TVs can only be 
viewed from one specific angle.

I'm now trying to get the so-called customer support to find someone who 
actually knows what they're talking about. It's not going that well...

FFS!

So, if you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet, and if something goes 
wrong, don't expect someone who knows what they're doing to deal with it 
nor expect any remotely professional service when you contact them with 
a remotely technical query.

-- 
Veggie Dave
http://www.iq18films.co.uk

"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim
that Jesus was not born of a virgin." Cardinal Bellarmine

In article <R33u+fBaRi4IJwCT@adsl24.co.uk>,
Veggie Dave  <Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1> wrote:
>Number One engineer turns up and can't see what I'm talking about. I put 
>a DVD on and pause the image on a fade to black so that the screen's as 
>dark as I can make it. He then sticks his face within inches of the 
>screen, points at some pixelation and says the screen's knackered. I 
>tried to explain about viewing a standard def image on a hi-def screen, 
>DVD compression and transfer rates, which is why he could see that 
>pixelation, and lost him completely.

A mate who works for a company that make hi-def video compression
hardware for broadcasters says that when they do demos the customers
will always stick their faces right up to the TV and claim they can see
macroblocks or various other artifacts when that's clearly not within
the design parameters. So this kind of brain damage does indeed go right
to the top.

I reckon that anyone that sends out engineers on that type of call
without something that can generate a test pattern is just trying to fob
you off, though.

-- 
CB500 (blue + flies)

On Sep 30, 2:06 pm, Veggie Dave <Veggie~D...@127.0.0.1> wrote:
> I bought a bigish LCD TV about 10 months ago. Once I'd turned off all of
>
> FFS!
>
> So, if you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet, and if something goes
> wrong, don't expect someone who knows what they're doing to deal with it
> nor expect any remotely professional service when you contact them with
> a remotely technical query.
>

I hate to say it, but did you really expect anything different?
I do agree that it is very frustrating when you consult someone on
what is supposed to be their specialisation, and they turn out to be
too thick to even see the problem, let alone fix it.

--
Speedgazebo

Veggie Dave wrote:
> So, if you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet, and if something goes 
> wrong, don't expect someone who knows what they're doing to deal with it 
> nor expect any remotely professional service when you contact them with 
> a remotely technical query.

If you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet, buy it for the same price 
from John Lewis instead and get a better warranty thrown in for 
nothing.

-- 
ogden

GSXR750 K4
RGV250 VJ22

Veggie Dave wrote:
>  I get a call from his boss a couple of hours later saying they're 
>  sending another engineer today

"sorry sir, but you broke the last one"
-- 
dog
rsv1000rf sl1000 two#5 pwcram#3

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Veggie Dave <Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1>
saying something like:

>So, if you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet

There's your problem. Useless cunts will always try to fob you off.
-- 
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
 How much more suspenseful can you get?"
 - House

"Veggie Dave" <Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1> wrote in message 
news:R33u+fBaRi4IJwCT@adsl24.co.uk...

> I get a call from his boss a couple of hours later saying they're sending 
> another engineer today

you got his direct telephone number right?

 > So, if you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet, and if something goes
> wrong, don't expect someone who knows what they're doing to deal with it

and this is news?

-- 
Vass

Veggie Dave wrote:

> So, if you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet, and if something
> goes wrong, don't expect someone who knows what they're doing to deal
> with it nor expect any remotely professional service when you contact
> them with a remotely technical query.

So you bought a TV as cheaply as you could and then expect decent
service?

Doesn't work like that ... 

-- 
Paul - xxx

'96/'97 Landrover Discovery 300 Tdi 'Big and Butch'
Dyna Tech Cro-Mo comp "When I feel fit enough'
ebay stuff   http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/paul-xxx

"Paul - xxx"  wrote in message 
news:6kenplF7ggbaU1@mid.individual.net...
> Veggie Dave wrote:
>
>> So, if you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet, and if something
>> goes wrong, don't expect someone who knows what they're doing to deal
>> with it nor expect any remotely professional service when you contact
>> them with a remotely technical query.
>
> So you bought a TV as cheaply as you could and then expect decent
> service?
>
> Doesn't work like that ...

It can do, i have bought loads from cheap places & had good service.

Jim  wrote the following literary masterpiece:
>I reckon that anyone that sends out engineers on that type of call
>without something that can generate a test pattern is just trying to fob
>you off, though.

As these retards didn't understand the basics, the thought of one of 
them using a proper test card, or even basic colour bars, is painfully 
ludicrous, sadly.

Speedgazebo  wrote the following literary 
masterpiece:
>I hate to say it, but did you really expect anything different?

Well, I didn't expect the sort of service I'd get from someone like 
Panavision, but I expected something a little more professional than 
this.

-- 
Veggie Dave
http://www.iq18films.co.uk

"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim
that Jesus was not born of a virgin." Cardinal Bellarmine

Vass  wrote the following literary masterpiece:
>> I get a call from his boss a couple of hours later saying they're sending
>> another engineer today
>
>you got his direct telephone number right?

Nope, 1471 went to Comet's switchboard. Today's engineer refused to give 
me the direct number.

-- 
Veggie Dave
http://www.iq18films.co.uk

"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim
that Jesus was not born of a virgin." Cardinal Bellarmine

"Veggie Dave" <Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1> wrote in message 
news:IHooCMDlsi4IJwia@adsl24.co.uk...
> Vass  wrote the following literary masterpiece:
>>> I get a call from his boss a couple of hours later saying they're 
>>> sending
>>> another engineer today
>>
>>you got his direct telephone number right?
>
> Nope, 1471 went to Comet's switchboard. Today's engineer refused to 
> give me the direct number.

Shower of shit, you doubled checked you didn't leave any 'black' level 
enhancments on at all?

Some of them can be very shit indeed.

On 30 Sep, 14:35, Veggie Dave <Veggie~D...@127.0.0.1> wrote:
> Vass  wrote the following literary masterpiece:
>
> >> I get a call from his boss a couple of hours later saying they're sending
> >> another engineer today
>
> >you got his direct telephone number right?
>
> Nope, 1471 went to Comet's switchboard. Today's engineer refused to give
> me the direct number.
>
If you bought it on CC or interest-free credit (you did, didn't you?)
this is where you take it up with the CC company or the finance
provider.

Nige  wrote the following literary 
masterpiece:
>
>Shower of shit, you doubled checked you didn't leave any 'black' level
>enhancments on at all?

Nah, it's definitely the screen. They're now saying there's nothing 
wrong with it and I should piss off.

-- 
Veggie Dave
http://www.iq18films.co.uk

"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim
that Jesus was not born of a virgin." Cardinal Bellarmine

"Veggie Dave" <Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1> wrote in message 
news:g2ry+sEq8i4IJwkz@adsl24.co.uk...
> Nige  wrote the following literary 
> masterpiece:
>>
>>Shower of shit, you doubled checked you didn't leave any 'black' level
>>enhancments on at all?
>
> Nah, it's definitely the screen. They're now saying there's nothing 
> wrong with it and I should piss off.

Useless fuckers, s it like posterisation, where you get various levels 
of black or is it more on the colours?

Nige  wrote the following literary 
masterpiece:
>Useless fuckers, s it like posterisation, where you get various levels
>of black or is it more on the colours?

Purely the black only. Probably a slight problem with the back light. 
Samsung were very helpful, but the TV's just out of their warranty so I 
either pay them or get Comet to pull their finger out.

I'm going to the shop to talk to the manager...

-- 
Veggie Dave
http://www.iq18films.co.uk

"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim
that Jesus was not born of a virgin." Cardinal Bellarmine

"Veggie Dave" <Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1> wrote in message 
news:OHFpSTFRNj4IJwT+@adsl24.co.uk...
> Nige  wrote the following literary 
> masterpiece:
>>Useless fuckers, s it like posterisation, where you get various levels
>>of black or is it more on the colours?
>
> Purely the black only. Probably a slight problem with the back light. 
> Samsung were very helpful, but the TV's just out of their warranty so 
> I either pay them or get Comet to pull their finger out.
>
> I'm going to the shop to talk to the manager...

Technically the warranty thing is bollocks, really they have a duty for 
a reasonable time, roughly 4-6 years in the case of a TV.

Nige

Veggie Dave wrote:
> Nige  wrote the following literary 
> masterpiece:
>> Useless fuckers, s it like posterisation, where you get various levels
>> of black or is it more on the colours?
> 
> Purely the black only. Probably a slight problem with the back light. 
> Samsung were very helpful, but the TV's just out of their warranty so I 
> either pay them or get Comet to pull their finger out.
> 
> I'm going to the shop to talk to the manager...
> 

Let us know how you get on. I had an issue with a TV that I bought from 
Comet aaaaages ago in the early days of Pro-Logic. I connected a 
decoder/amp up to the scart and each time I changed channel it made a 
*whump* that was in danger of blowing the (very expensive) cones. Turned 
out the set was designed that way, with no mute on channel change.

I eventually got through to Comet customer services who invited me to 
take them to small claims. Had I known then how easy it was to do that, 
I may well have done. But I didn't. So I didn't.

-- 
/Simon

"Nige"  wrote in news:6keqsjF7kk95U1
@mid.individual.net:

> 
> "Veggie Dave" <Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1> wrote in message 
> news:OHFpSTFRNj4IJwT+@adsl24.co.uk...
>> Nige  wrote the following literary 
>> masterpiece:
>>>Useless fuckers, s it like posterisation, where you get various levels
>>>of black or is it more on the colours?
>>
>> Purely the black only. Probably a slight problem with the back light. 
>> Samsung were very helpful, but the TV's just out of their warranty so 
>> I either pay them or get Comet to pull their finger out.
>>
>> I'm going to the shop to talk to the manager...
> 
> Technically the warranty thing is bollocks, 

Not at all. It's additional to any rights under the SoGA and can make life 
a lot easier as you might get to talk to someone who knows, as Veggie says.

> really they have a duty for 
> a reasonable time, roughly 4-6 years in the case of a TV.
> 

Where *they* is the retailer. 

If Veggie bought the TV on credit - either HP or credit card - then that 
opens up another avenue for sorting the matter (as TOG says in his reply)



-- 
wessie at tesco dot net

BMW R1150GS

wessie  wrote the following literary 
masterpiece:
>If Veggie bought the TV on credit - either HP or credit card - then that
>opens up another avenue for sorting the matter (as TOG says in his reply)

Which, at the moment, looks like being my only option.

-- 
Veggie Dave
http://www.iq18films.co.uk

"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim
that Jesus was not born of a virgin." Cardinal Bellarmine

On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:34:15 +0100, Veggie Dave
<Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1> wrote:

>
>Well, I didn't expect the sort of service I'd get from someone like 
>Panavision,

<wanders off into the past>

They're the ones who squished the old Toyota. The lorry had a very
attractive young driver, so I'd got all geared up for shouting at a
Monz look a like and ended up going 'there, there it will be fine'
when she got all upset.
-- 
Lady Nina

On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:06:34 +0100, Veggie Dave
<Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1> blethered:

>I bought a bigish LCD TV about 10 months ago. Once I'd turned off all of 
>the 'enhancements' and set it up properly I ended up with a pretty damn 
>impressive picture.
>
>However, when watching it at night I started to notice that when a film 
>faded to black the screen wasn't actually a consistent black, rather 
>there were a few areas of very dark grey. Over the months this has 
>become more noticeable.
>
>So, as I've paid through the nose for a comprehensive warranty I decided 
>to call in the TV engineers to fix the problem.
[...]

Comet warranty you say? I didn't know they fixed appliances, I thought
they[1] faffed and bullshitted for a few hours then eventually
replaced the faulty telly or whatever and then sold/scrapped the dodgy
one overseas to a country where they still know how to fix these
things. 

[1] In the interests of fair and balanced cynicism I should point out
that by 'they' I mean all of the high street electrical retailers and
not only Comet.

Halla  wrote the following literary 
masterpiece:
>Comet warranty you say? I didn't know they fixed appliances, I thought
>they[1] faffed and bullshitted for a few hours then eventually
>replaced the faulty telly or whatever and then sold/scrapped the dodgy
>one overseas to a country where they still know how to fix these
>things.

The original 'engineer' wanted to replace the screen until I explained 
to him that what he was seeing was normal DVD pixelation and not a fault 
at all. From that point it went downhill...

-- 
Veggie Dave
http://www.iq18films.co.uk

"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim
that Jesus was not born of a virgin." Cardinal Bellarmine

Veggie Dave wrote:

> Nige  wrote the following literary
> masterpiece:
> > Useless fuckers, s it like posterisation, where you get various
> > levels of black or is it more on the colours?
> 
> Purely the black only. Probably a slight problem with the back light.
> Samsung were very helpful, but the TV's just out of their warranty so
> I either pay them or get Comet to pull their finger out.
> 


Well there's your problem: Samsung.
Useless bunch of tosspots I've ever had to deal with for a product
repair / replacement. No idea of customer service at all.

Never, ever again...

> I'm going to the shop to talk to the manager...

Sounds like a plan.  Currys finally resolved our issues with Samsung.



-- 
Dan L

Too much time to think, too little to do.

dan.yodanet@gmail.com
http://thebikeshed.spaces.live.com/

2002 Triumph Sprint RS 955i (It's big, and it's black)
1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr (Gone, but not forgotten)

BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005/6/7/8)
X-FOT#000
DIAABTCOD #26
BOMB#18 (slow)
OMF#11

On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:28:49 +0100, "Nige"
 wrote:

>
>"Paul - xxx"  wrote in message 
>news:6kenplF7ggbaU1@mid.individual.net...
>> Veggie Dave wrote:
>>
>>> So, if you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet, and if something
>>> goes wrong, don't expect someone who knows what they're doing to deal
>>> with it nor expect any remotely professional service when you contact
>>> them with a remotely technical query.
>>
>> So you bought a TV as cheaply as you could and then expect decent
>> service?
>>
>> Doesn't work like that ...
>
>It can do, i have bought loads from cheap places & had good service. 

Bought mine from John Lewis, through (bless that hobbit, wessie)
Quidco and used my acquired-for-the-purpose 0% JL credit card to pay
for it.  JL provided the equally cheapest price that I could find
anywahere, with an extra 12 months warranty thrown in - and then
Quidco bunged me back nearly 100 quid and JL sent me 20 quid in
vouchers for the CC usage.

Cheap as I could possibly get it, with no fears of problems with
service.

-- 
Pip

In article , Veggie Dave 
<Veggie~Dave@127.0.0.1> writes
>wessie  wrote the following literary 
>masterpiece:
>>If Veggie bought the TV on credit - either HP or credit card - then that
>>opens up another avenue for sorting the matter (as TOG says in his reply)
>
>Which, at the moment, looks like being my only option.
>
My ancient power saw died after 20 odd years and I needed one on a 
Saturday so I went to a local DIY 'super store' and bought their own 
brand best, (I know!), did the job no problem.

After *very* little use and 54 weeks later the switch mechanism crumbled 
and fell apart.

I took it back with the receipt and asked for a replacement. "No" said 
the guy on the desk "the guarantee is for a year".
I turned over the receipt and on the back it says 'Does not effect your 
statutory rights'. etc or something like that for the pedantic.

After politely explaining what it actually meant on the back of their 
receipt the guy called for the manager because he had a difficult 
customer.

He told me that after a year I would have to take it up with the 
manufacturer. I again politely explained the law in England to him but 
he wouldn't replace it. I left, with them congratulating themselves on 
dealing with a difficult customer.

I contacted the relevant government body / dept / out of the phone book, 
who I had a long chat with and they sent me a form. I filled it out and 
returned it.

They explained that it was this company's policy to ignore the 'sale of 
goods act' and instructed their managers to do so. The guy also said 
that their response in the past was to blame the manager for acting 
incorrectly of his own back, often sacking him. I said I thought this 
over the top etc.

I get a letter form said super store's head office, that offered my 
money back or a replacement if I went to the store with the letter.

When I went to the store, the young chatty lady on the desk gave me my 
money back plus added that their manager had been sacked by letter the 
day before. About the time I received my letter. "Third one that's been 
sacked since I've been here" she said.

Now on the other hand, my Panasonic PVR went duff outside of it's 
warranty. I phoned up Panasonic and they gave me a number to have it 
repaired locally at their expense. A very pleasant chat with the 
Panasonic customer service lady who apologised for any inconvenient as 
it should last for years etc.
-- 
Mick Whittingham
'and I will make it a felony to drink small beer.'
William Shakespeare, Henry VI part 2.

Veggie Dave wrote:

> So, if you're thinking of buying a TV from Comet, and if something goes
> wrong, don't expect someone who knows what they're doing to deal with
> it nor expect any remotely professional service when you contact them
> with a remotely technical query.

I recently bought a shit hot monster Sony CRT TV with the best picture
I've ever had.  The only worrying thing is the way all the lights in the
street dim when I turn it on.

For ?70 off ebay its pretty much a bargain.

-- 
Simon

Mick Whittingham wrote:

> When I went to the store, the young chatty lady on the desk gave me my
> money back plus added that their manager had been sacked by letter the
> day before. About the time I received my letter. "Third one that's been
> sacked since I've been here" she said.

If there's ever one area that needs organising it's retail.

The few people who join the railway that are ex retail tend to be the
most brainwashed and blinkered people I've ever met.  They don't seem to
last very long as drivers either.

-- 
Simon

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, sweller 
 typed
>Mick Whittingham wrote:
>
>> When I went to the store, the young chatty lady on the desk gave me my
>> money back plus added that their manager had been sacked by letter the
>> day before. About the time I received my letter. "Third one that's been
>> sacked since I've been here" she said.
>
>If there's ever one area that needs organising it's retail.

<nods>

It amazes me that it isn't. In Southern Ireland, by contrast, the unions 
have a high presence in the retail sector.

Not, it must be said, that those unions are all that clever. They do 
(according to Mrs WUN) tend to come in all guns blazing on some 
(basically un-winnable) cases whilst missing tricks left, right and 
centre on much stronger ones.


-- 
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

My position was (and, to be honest, largely remains) one of complete ambiguity.

sweller wrote:
> 
> I recently bought a shit hot monster Sony CRT TV with the best picture
> I've ever had.  The only worrying thing is the way all the lights in
> the street dim when I turn it on.

You haven't noticed the black holes?

On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:23:48 GMT, "platypus"
 wrote:

>sweller wrote:
>> 
>> I recently bought a shit hot monster Sony CRT TV with the best picture
>> I've ever had.  The only worrying thing is the way all the lights in
>> the street dim when I turn it on.
>
>You haven't noticed the black holes?
>
He'd be worried if the lights were going dim and I was working at
Shoreham power station.