HDTV Forum

I heard the following through the grapevine, a direct and personal grapevine that will have to remain undocumented but...

Mitsubishi has been over this particular light engine, have made necessary modifications and is fully confident that beyond a normal failure rate, which is to be expected, the rebuilt ones should be fine. The only problem for them at this point is getting the product in and as noted many are arriving this month. As far as Mits is concerned this problem is behind them...

I also asked about other companies that claim they can rebuild this light engine or any other Mits light engine. That raised eyebrows because Mits doesn't sell any of these parts to anybody else; they are the only ones that they allow to rebuild the engine. Now this doesn't mean that another company might not have some connections overseas to acquire some of the parts nor the fact that a handful of parts in the engine could be obtained generically. It does mean NOBODY will be getting any help from Mits to do it. Extended warranty companies may suggest and even require a light engine be sent to a generic rebuilder but as Sheldon's debacle shows, it is not going to be in anybodies best interest, especially if things go wrong!

That parallels a point that comes up with car repairs whether due to insured collision or extended warranty and whether or not you are getting after market parts (so the insurance company can save money) or genuine manufacturer parts...

As for CSR's that speak terrible english yes that did happen to me one time and in the past was a common complaint for many who farmed out CSR. Some of those countries, like India, went out of their way with english language programs so they would not embarrass the manufacturer and retain those contracts.

Richard:
Thanks for the valuable insight.
When Warrantech authorized the light engine to be rebuilt, instead of replaced, my first questions were;
1) Once rebuilt, is the extended warranty still in place as though it was new (answer was yes).
2) Is the rebuild done by an authorized Mitsubishi company (answer was yes again)

We can only rely on what we're told and it's a huge benefit to have the kind of information that everyone shares here.

Richard wrote:Sheldon, all I said was

and no... Mits is in CA and GA, USA.

Clearly not a defense and you have corrected me, thanks. As for the rest you had to say about overseas CSR versus US based CSR that is not my experience. If it sucks it is because of the policies and procedures the manufacturer has created. When the person on the other end doesn't speak intelligible english that is truly frustrating and a huge slip by the manufacturer in not inspecting what they expect!

Richard - I wholly agree. While CSRs are seldom US based any longer, it makes no difference!

I've worked on software for CSR call centers and can tell you from experience that all those people do is go down a list of things to say along with another list of information to gather. They take notes on what the consumer says and have access to product manuals. They have no ability to do ANYTHING beyond that. Yelling at them is worthless - albeit stress-relieving (and possibly even enjoyable) - but useless nonetheless.

Getting upset that they are in a foreign land is infantile and ridiculous. As I said, they can do only what they do and no more - regardless of their nationality or native language (although when you get one that doesn't speak English well, it certainly can be annoying.)

When you have a problem, the BEST you can hope for with CS is to get a supervisor or someone else closer to the heartbeat of the actual company who may actually have some wiggle room to make a decision.

In the end, CSRs have no authority, power or ability to help beyond what's in front of them or in the same book you probably already have in your hand when you call. Like it or not, that's the reality.

I yelled at a Mitsu CSR today and felt a bit bad about it since I KNOW full well he can't help me. But, I did get my issue escalated to the next level (with some effort). So, in that respect, it worked. Surely, after I got off the phone, some other irate consumer was next in line to yell at him for something completely beyond his span of control. I feel for those people. I, for one, would not want to deal with ME! LOL

I'm fully aware of what the role is for all csr's. The big difference in dealing with a company that keeps their staff here is that an issue can usually be escalated relatively quickly, compared to the false promises that "someone will call you back today"...or "tomorrow".
Frustrating? You bet it is. "Foreign land" bashing? No. Company/product bashing? Hell yes!
Thanks for the "infantile and ridiculous" comment...I feel much better now.
Oh, wait.....infantile would be yelling and verbally abusing someone.
Although infantile and ridiculous is probably the best compliment I've had today.

I didn't discover this site until I had been informed that a light engine was ready to be installed. Had I been aware of the unbelieveable delays that you and others have been subjected, I would have been very discouraged. Nonetheless, I found all of your postings very informative.

Best wishes.

The big difference in dealing with a company that keeps their staff here is that an issue can usually be escalated relatively quickly, compared to the false promises that "someone will call you back today"...or "tomorrow".

My experience would not agree... c'mon... it's a new world with messages and discussions taking place anytime you want! I can call anybody I want or send email to anybody I want on this planet provided they are awake and connected to some form of electrons!

Nope, its the policies and procedures, nothing more... and we all agree they can really suck!

RTHVZB wrote: I repeatedly asked to speak with a supervisor until he finally said he'd escalate the matter and someone would call me back within 1 business day. So, now I await the call so I can bitch some more.

I waited the day for a supervisor to call me wayyyy back in October when I, and the Customer Service Rep from the store I purchased from, insisted that Mitsubishi pay for parts and labor to fix my year and a half old almost $7000 TV.

The Mitsu Super called the following day (as promised) and told me they would ONLY pay for the part (not the labor since I was past the year warranty). My store CSR was so mad and wanted me to fight it but Mitsu was adamant back then. I was just happy at that point to get something. I'm so glad they've reconsidered, especially after all the grief they've put me through these past months.

Have fun talking to the supervisor

Richard:
At least we agree on disagreeing! I can counter your points, but won't.
Thought you would enjoy the following though;

There is a columnist in the Los Angeles Times California Section by the name of Steve Harvey. His column deals with humorous issues such as advertisements, pictures sent in from readers..etc..etc. In todays issue, he printed an ad that was sent to him (as follows);

"Free 52" Mitsubishi TV
Model WD52525. Not working, other
wise in good condition"

His comment underneath it is:
"This TV might better serve as a coffee table"

LOL!!!!

I too have the DLP light engine problem as described. I have model # wd65732 purchased 11.06 from HH Gregg.
1st lesson....don't buy anything from HHGREGG!!! No customer service and don't care.
2nd lesson... buy locally from merchant who has defective product replacement policy.
3rd lesson.... don't buy MITSUBISHI!!! They don't care either.

Here is a link to see the picture....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIkmiLsW2eA

Started happening Thanksgiving weekend and the earliest a repair tech can even look at my TV is DEC 21!
Thats just great....a 2800.00 black boat anchor in my living room....PERFECT!
Reading these post, I don't hold out much hope of having it fixed in a timely manner.
I did write complaint letters to both HHGregg and Mitsubishi NA.
As of today, no response.
I'll wait for the tech on the 21st and if he can't fix it in a timely manner(that Day) I'll get my local TV consumer advocate to investigate this "DLP DISASTER"
Someone has to care.....

Hang in there....that's about all you can do for now. I never called the retailer that sold me my set because the problem happened about 18 months after I bought it. I don't think it's the retailers responsibility for parts that fail after a year or year and a half. Personally, I don't believe that I have ever seen a "no questions asked" return policy on electronics, but maybe they're out there. I had to wait 2 weeks for the 1st service call also, and I've had to wait anywhere from 5 - 10 days for each subsequent service call (4 in all so far).
Keep us posted about your progress. I feel your pain!!!!!!!!!