Tuesday, I posted an entry describing a 52-day ordeal that began when we tried to order a minor television repair through our Circuit City Advantage Protection Plan. Instead of the quick and easy repair our extended warranty promised, we found ourselves trapped in a never-ending maze of delays, misrepresentations, and broken promises.
Yesterday — less than 24 hours after writing about our situation here — a miracle occurred: I received not one but two calls from folks at Circuit City corporate … people who, unlike the call center reps I spoke with earlier, appear to be empowered to make things happen.
This is how, 53 days after my first call to Circuit City, our story played out.
Supervisors Really Do Exist
The first call came from Elizabeth Tetu, who introduced herself as the supervisor of the call center reps I’d been dealing with for almost two months. I was really impressed to hear from her. In the past, when I’d ask call center reps to speak with a supervisor, I was told, “We have supervisors, but they never get on the phones.”
And that’s a shame, because Elizabeth struck me as a model of call center professionalism. (I should know; I spent almost a decade training and evaluating customer service call center reps.) She began by explaining that she’d seen my post about our television woes, commiserating with me (“It’s a heart-breaking read!”), and apologizing for the problems we’d encountered (“I should have been alerted to this a month ago!”).
Elizabeth went on to say my record had been pulled and that I’d been granted, at long last, the Holy Grail of the City Advantage Protection Plan: an exchange and replacement code. Further, she offered to call the local store, give them the code herself, find out what they had in stock that would be an equivalent swap, and call me back with my options.
Frankly, after having been told by a dozen reps that no one at the company was empowered to expedite my request for an exchange code, receiving that call was like being offered a steak after forty days of fasting. I thanked Elizabeth … over and over. In retrospect, I probably sounded a bit delirious.
Looking down at my notepad, where the exchange code was scrawled in neat, block letters, I confess I got misty-eyed.
Corporate Really Does Exist
The next call came about fifteen minutes later, from Ruth Hooker, who has a very long and impressive title (it begins with something like “Manager of Service Delivery”) to go with her warm, professional phone demeanor.
Ruth actually thanked me for the details I’d posted online, indicating that, while her group was already working on some of the broken processes I’d encountered, they had, in the process of reading my account, pinpointed some new ones.
“It sounds so simple,” Ruth said. “A television is broken; we arrange to get it fixed. But coordinating repairs across the country is more complex than you’d think, and we aren’t always in a position to know, for example, that what looks to us like a legitimate repair shop is actually an operation out of someone’s living room.”
Like Elizabeth before her, Ruth went out of her way to let me know that Circuit City valued me as a customer. In the end, given the extent of the problems I’d had, Ruth offered me an unusually generous settlement, including replacement of our old television with a newer, much nicer model.
And, as before, it was such a breath of fresh air to speak with someone who was fully-informed about my situation … aware of the problems I’d encountered … and empowered to do something about it. Circuit City Corporate Officers take note: if you could empower all your call center reps to be as responsive, responsible, and professional as Supervisor Elizabeth and Manager Ruth, you’d have rabidly faithful customers begging you to let them spend more of their paychecks in your store.
Living with the Locals
With my Exchange Code in hand, I went right down to our local Circuit City. This was going to be easy. After all, Ruth and Elizabeth had even called ahead to tell the manager that I was coming.
On Wednesday afternoon, the store was pretty much deserted, and we began looking for a television that would fit the terms of my agreement with Ruth and Elizabeth. In the end, my experience had me feeling so warm and fuzzy, we decided to line Circuit City’s pockets further by pairing our settlement with a few hundred dollars more, choosing a larger set with even more features. What can I say? We were giddy.
When I approached the customer service counter, the rep on duty was very friendly … and, to my delighted surprise, she already had my details printed out. The only bump in the road came when she summoned the manager. “Some lady on the phone told me to tell you this, so I’m telling you this now. This guy’s coming in to swap a t.v. out.”
I love Ruth and Elizabeth so much, I confess I bristled a bit at hearing them called “some lady.”
The manager looked at the paper, scratched his head, and said, “Okay, we’ll figure out a comparable t.v. and swap it out for you.”
“Already done,” I said. “Ruth and Elizabeth — here are their numbers, by the way — told me I could put this much credit toward the purchase of a new t.v. of my choice. The new t.v. we’ve chosen is more expensive than that, so we’ve got the cash here to cover the difference.”
The manager shook his head. “That’s not how it’s done. We don’t do store credit for this.”
“Would you like to ask Ruth about it?”
The manager walked off with a wireless phone, disappeared for five minutes, and returned. “You can apply that toward a new t.v, but we can’t give you a gift card for that amount.”
I’m not sure where the idea of a gift card came from — not me! — but I assured the manager that all we wanted was a new t.v. “Oh — by the way — I live just five minutes from this store. On the phone, they mentioned that you guys had something called a ‘Firedog truck’ that might be able to deliver this to my house this afternoon. Is that true?”
“Firedog’s for installation, not delivery.”
I smiled. “It would mean a lot to me, personally, if you could go the extra mile and help me get this wrapped up, today.”
The manager shook his head. “It’s after four, they’re out, and they get off at five. It probably won’t happen today. I can’t promise you that.”
I’m a reasonable guy; I know what it’s like to want to get home at the end of a long day. “That’s cool. How about this: I’ll give you my number, and you can just give me a call and let me know whether or not the television will be delivered today.”
“Ah, sure.”
Do I need to tell you the call never came? 🙂
Lessons Learned
But … no big deal. I’m happy as a clam, and can’t wait to watch my new t.v.
How happy am I? Well, let’s just say this: Tuesday, I was saying, “I’ll never, ever, ever buy a protection plan again” and I’ll never, ever, ever go back to Circuit City again.” By Wednesday afternoon, I was in Circuit City, plunking down a few hundred bucks more than I’d planned to spend.
Heck, if the locals had offered me a Circuit City Advantage Protection Plan (they didn’t), I would have bought one on the spot.
Fifty-three days after starting this journey, here’s what I’ve learned:
– There really are folks at Circuit City Corporate who really do care about what’s going on. People like Ruth and Elizabeth are good at their jobs, and they really do want you to be satisfied.
– It’s still very hard to get to people who are empowered to make a difference. Circuit City call center reps sound very professional, but none of them seemed to be able (or inclined) to take meaningful action on behalf of a customer who, by their own admission, had been jerked around too long. That needs to change.
– Keep good records. Some Circuit City reps that really impressed me on the phone either deliberately deceived me or never followed through on the promises they made. That needs to change, too — but until it does, I recommend you keep meticulous notes (rep names, call dates and times, etc.) on every call you make. When you finally do get the attention of folks at corporate, that information will come in very handy.
– Expect the usual disconnects between corporate and local stores. I’ve never known of a single company capable of making sure their local reps have the same polish and professionalism as their corporate employees. The locals just won’t be as responsive or interested … and, frankly, that’s not much of a surprise. To insulate yourself from this effect as much as possible, carry your documentation, contact numbers, and any other information you have with you, each time you visit the store.
– Providing good customer service is really very simple. After fifty-three days of frustration, two phone calls from two empowered people who kept their promises made all the difference — and that fact showcases both the power and the simplicity of good customer service. If you promise to call a customer back, call a customer back. If you say you’re going to handle something for a customer, handle it. Instead of forcing customers to call back repeatedly to see if their issue has been resolved (a terrible system, by the way, since it forces customers to hear “no” several times before finally hearing a “yes”), be proactive and call the customer (or send an email) when resolution is achieved.
– Keep a cool head. I made a special effort not to come across as that rabid, crazy-dangerous caller who spouts threats and says things like, “I’ll have your job!” The folks on the other end of the line are human beings, after all. In the end, I think I garnered a bit more sympathy and earned a bit more generosity by being a human being, too.
Within a month or two, we’ll probably be in the market for an HD-DVD player. Will I shop for it at Circuit City?
Absolutely.
Mark. The disconnect with corporate seems to be the key. My PizzaExpress experience with salmonella poisoning pointed out that the manager on the ground is a dolt, why corporate is sweating the details. In the end, (and I will post about this on my blog this weekend) I feel comfortable going back to PizzaExpress (thank god as it is the nicest kid friendly restaurant in Harrogate) to eat.
I wonder if this disconnect is the result of:1. Poor line manager pay.2. Poor training.3. Poor management–staying too long in HQ and not enough time on the floor making sure things go right.4. Incorrect compensation programmes. (store credits usually kill local managers, but don’t effect district manager bonuses!)or….simply a disasterously complicated system for dealing with X issue at an over beaurocratised bloated organisation?
Just some thoughts…Todd
I’m glad someone is getting thur. I’ve been dealing with the corp. office since Nov. 25, 2006 it is now Feb. 19, 2007 and my T.V is still not fix after 2 other repairs. One rep at corp. told me I was not eligilbe for the exchange program because my 2nd repair did not count becuase it was related to the 1st repair. All 3 repairs are related, The repair center can not fix the T.V. I hold I have the same luck as you Todd.
Here’s my story.
I bought an open box Sony Grand Wega 60″ LCD TV in Sept of 2002. I spent $4269 and paid $450 for 4 years service. It died 7 months later. It actually showed a picture but it was so far ghosted or double or out of convergence as to be unwatchable. I had a nightmare to get them to help me even get it repaired. It took over a month and they have multiple local techs come out and not help. Finally it was fixed.
Then I had the EXACT same problem last year Mar 2006 (still within warranty). They came out and fixed it onsite this time.
Then they requested I renew my service last Sept, of which I did for another $379 for 2 years.
Then it happened again last month.
I called them and asked for a replacement as this definitely qualifies under the no-lemon guarantee.
They are not giving me a huge runaround. I have been given various excuses like, “when you renewed the number of service calls is reset since you are on a NEW service plan.” However I called local store managers, the online store, and their customer service line about this very situation and they all confirmed your previous incidents DO qualify for the no lemon.
Then today I got another answer that, “only if they repair a physical piece does it qualify and since the one last year did not involve repairing any hardware it doesn’t qualify”.
No where does it say anything like either of those in any of their documentation and not one sales manager or rep every told me any of that. Even their Warranty repair line doesn’t say either of that. I feel it’s just a general excuse to not have to live up to the warranty no lemon guarantee replacement.
So, here they are wanting to repair my device which has had the exact same problem three times and was probably why it was returned before I bought it in the first place.
There are so many more frustrating details and nuances to my story that I left out to keep it brief but boy this has not been a fun ride. I really thought a $4K TV with nearly $900 in service plans would save me some of this grief. 🙁
Thank you and I am sharing your pain.
Erin
This is so familure as today after 5 weeks of the same problems with Circuit City I’m still frustrated because they told me they can’t replace my TV. They said that the vendor that had ordered parts over 4 weeks ago was suppose to get them in and repair the TV. I don’t believe this because this has been the story since the begining. I have been talking with a REP. from WYFF cahnnel 7 and they are helping me now. I hope this don’t have to go on the news to get some results but $4000.00 dollars is alot to spend on a TV and $595.00 dollars is alot for a warrenty that don’t work.
This sounds like a bad rerun.We bought a Samsung model HLP 4663wx/xaa. This tv and a $500.00 cityadvantage plan. The tv went out within the first 6 months. Circut city/samsung (YOU CAN’T EVER GET A STRIGHT ANSWER FROM ANYONE EVER!!!)sent a tv repairman out to fix the tv. After his third trip out in as many weeks to fix the tv he finally said he had to take the set to his shop to replace the GUTS of the tv. This to me means he had to replace everything except the plastic housing. About a week later we got the tv back. The picture looked ok or so it seemed. About one year later DEC 2006 the tv picture went blank AGAIN. I called several times and got a guy named KYLE who gave me a IM number and said I qualified under the no lemon guarantee and my IM Manager would call me within 72 hours. 72 hours came and went by several days so I called with my IM number and was transfered to Veronica P my IM managern and suprize suprize I got her voice mail. I left a Message and asked for her to contact me. Several days and a few more messages and she finally called. She had no record of my tv being fixed a year ago. I needed to contact Samsung. Dealing with circutcity is worse than a bad car race, you just keep going around and around and you get nowhere. I called Samsung and was told that they purge their records so they would not have any record of my repairs. I called Veronica and explained this to her. I gave her the phone number of the tv repair place that had fixed my tv the first,2nd,3rd and fourth time within the first six months. He told her that he had indeed repaired my tv. When she finally got around to calling me back her answer was they considered his repairs as ONE repair. In Jan 2007 the tv went out again Circut city had another tv repair company come out and fix the tv again. The tv repair guy said he thought it was the lamp so he said we will try replaceing it first. It worked FOR ABOUT 6 WEEKS and then the tv screen looked like someone smeared the screen with paint and then it would start flipping big lines through the screen and then it would go blank but the lamp was still on.This was on March 14,2007 I called the advantage phone number AGAIN and was told I would be contacted within 72 hours. NOT !!! and after a couple more days I called and some how got throught to a real person who gave me my IM number and it showed on her computer that Candice M got my IM number on March 15th and was my IM manager and I got her phone and EXT number. Stupid me just a mere customer who has spent thousands at circut city over the years expecting to be helped by an employee of circut city. AGAIN I GOT a VOICE MAIL for Candice M. It took a few more phone calls on March 19,20,21 twice and finally on my last attempt on March 23 I was put on hold for 30 minutes and then the phone hung up on me.I called AGAIN, I found Candices voice mail to be FULL. Candice finally called me a couple of days later to tell me that she was sending out the same company to repair my tv. I asked about the NO LEMON Guarantee, Her explaination was that the second repair didn’t count as a repair. The tv repair guy came out on Saturday the 24. Looked at the tv and said that (THE BULB REPLACEMENT A FEW WEEKS PRIOR WAS NOT THE CURE BUT A QUICK FIX) He had to take the tv back to the shop and AGAIN replace the entire tv except the plastic frame. I”ve called Candice several times since Saturday starting on Monday the 26th but as is the practice for circutcity she hasn’t called back as of the 29th. My question is this: It was repaired in 2006, then the bulb was replaced in Jan 2007 but that was obviosly not the problem so the tv went out within two months and is again in the repair shop to fix the problem that should have been repaired in January. DOESN”T THIS COUNT AS AT LEAST THE THIRD TIME IT’S BEEN REPAIRED??THE CIRCUTCITY ADVANTAGE PLAN IS A WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME AND IF ANYONE ASKS THAT IS WHAT I’LL SAY AND I WILL NEVER SHOP AT CIRCUT CITY AGAIN. lETS SEE IF REPLACING MY TV WAS TOO MUCH MONEY. IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT THEY WILL LOOSE A LOT MORE $$ FOR ALL THE NON-SENCE I’VE BEEN PUT THROUGH.
circuit city has not kept it’s promise to repair my television. I have made more than three complains for the same problemtech came more than fifthteen time to fix my television. I am still without television in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA……
Mark-
Your story was very helpful to me to read, so that I know the confusion I have felt is not unusual for others with the CityAdvantage Plan. My TV (a 30″ HD CRT) was a great open box deal when I bought it 2 years ago. Almost immediately after I bought it, the infrared sensor inside the TV stopped working, so I called the Plan’s customer service and a tech came out to fix it (1). TV had been great since then until a month ago, when the picture started to bend in at the top left corner. Called the Plan up again, and took time off from work to meet the tech so that he could take my TV apart, and adjust the yoke and other settings to slightly improve the bent picture (2). Then two weeks ago the TV wouldn’t turn on at all. Not from the remote or the TV front. I figured this was the 3rd time, so I got the tv in the car, and took it to service to send in from there, expecting I wouldn’t be seeing it again. It took about 10 days to get to the repair center from the store (interesting considering they guarantee shipment of a new TV to your door in 1 day), and when I spoke to someone to get an update on my “case” today, they informed me that my first and second repairs were not in fact repairs because no parts had been replaced. This is the line in the contract that this policy comes from…
“15A: No Lemon Guarantee – A. Home and Car Electronics. During the Term of your contract, if your product is repaired twice and it fails a third time, as verified by our Administrator, we will replace it under our No Lemon Guarantee and as set forth in Section 9. Service events that do not result in a physical repair such as “customer education,” “no defect found”, or cleaning and preventative maintenance do not constitute a repair event.
I would contend that both of my “service calls” were in fact physical repairs, and certainly not preventative maintenance (since PMs are done BEFORE something breaks). Still unsure how this is going to play out, but I would advise anyone buying a plan to be aware that to CC, parts have to be replaced to constitute a repair. Imagine if you buy an big TV with recurring picture problems that a tech can adjust, but they keep coming back…none of your repairs would count as repairs, and the no lemon clause wouldn’t apply to you.
Their customer service has been, for the most part, great, though a little disjointed, but this interpretation of the contract may keep me from buying another TV from circuit city again, unless I plan to throw it out when it breaks.
Phillip J. ScoonoverPresident, CEO and Chief ExecutiveCircuit City Stores, Inc.
How can you possibly accept $17.1Mfor fiscal 2007 when yourcustomers are being treated like this?
On February 26, 2006 we purchased a 50 Inch Plasma TV, model no.(LG 50PX1D) for $3,299.99, ticket no. 316402608104, at store #3164 in Salisbury, Maryland. We also purchased a specific TV mount for $403.99 along with a five-year “Advantage” Service Protection Plan for $549.99 (on the advice of the salesmen, D. Abbott). We purchased this plan in good faith and expected “hassle-free” certified service.
This purchase was made after extensive research on purchasing a quality plasma TV with the correct dimensions. Our home had been recently remodeled and the family room fireplace and custom cabinetry had been made to fit the TV dimensions. The TV was professionally installed on March 6, 2006.
On Friday, May 12th, 2006 (two months later) the TV lost its picture quality and the screen showed large black spots. We were unable to watch the TV. We called Circuit City’s Service Department on Monday, May 15th at 1-800-787-0750 and were given a call reference no. 5925646, confirmation no. IHR605220412 and DUC no. 5927591. We were instructed to call Appliance Unlimited, (Circuit City’s Authorized Service Provider) at 1-800-448-3997 to set up a repair appointment. Jim, the technician (410-587-4945) called back a few days later to set up an appointment. We were given ID No. 6106800.
On June 6th, two weeks later, the technician arrived and quickly stated that he needed to order a digital board for the TV. He told us that it could take a short time for the part to come in or up to two weeks. Two weeks pass and we call the service technician. He informs us that the part is on national backorder and that it could take up to another two weeks. We wait another two weeks and call the service tech again. He does not return our calls. We call Appliance Unlimited and talk to the secretary and she acknowledges that the service technician is having a hard time finding the part.
We decide to call LG (the TV manufacturer) and they inform us that they have plenty of digital board parts. We then call Circuit City (Jesse, tv/salesmanager at the time) with the hope of having him help resolve this matter. It’s now been over two months that TV is unviewable. After a few more days of no answers, we call LG the TV manufacturer again and they inform us that Circuit City’s service provider “Appliance Unlimited” is UNAUTHORIZED to work on LG TV’s. They will not sell Circuit City’s service provider the parts. We call Jesse, the TV manager from Circuit City and explain the situation to him and he acts odd when we explain to him that LG stated the service company that was sent to our home is unauthorized to work on the TV. We ask to speak with the store manager. Lauren Palmer/CSA #1 who offers no solution. We contacted Circuit City Corp. and they put us on hold for two hours.
We felt deceived. Is this a scam or a tactic of Circuit City? We again contacted Circuit City Corporation and spoke with Marilyn Pando, and finally were given a contact ID Number 2205897. I never heard from Circuit City again. We contacted the Better Business Bureau. They were working on getting a replacement TV for us and checking into the unauthorized service provider issue. A few weeks later we speak with the store manager again, and she states that they are working on getting authorized service.
On July 14th, after several months of misleading information from Circuit City and their service provider, we returned the TV to the store. We were issued an exchange for our original TV on July 31, 2006 under ticket no. 14150118491 only after the Better Business intervened. However, we did not take the 50” LG exchange TV that was offered to us because of the unresolved service protection plan issue. In addition, by this time, our original model TV was no longer available and the exchange LG model was not similar in dimensions to our original TV. . We were told by store manager, Paul Renshaw/CSA #2 that we could wait a few weeks to see if any new models arrive while the service issue is being resolved.
February 2007, we still have no TV. I again call Circuit City and speak with new store manager, Tracy Sgon/CSA #3, and return to the store to consider a different brand TV. This brand was a Sony 46” LCD TV (Model No. KDL46XBR2), with similar dimensions as our original TV and was priced at $3,609.99. It was not a 50 Inch Plasma TV. We were however, willing to pay the difference between our $3,299.99 original purchase and this particular exchange TV, but when we arrived, Tracy informed us that we had only been authorized an exchange value of $2,800.00. We never agreed to this amount, especially when the original TV only worked for two months. She also informed us that she still had not been authorized to refund our service agreement fee, and stated that “the corporate office should not be selling those service contracts when they know that we’re not certified”. We did not take the exchange TV. I called Circuit City Corp. and spoke with Amos Forman, and waited on the phone for over two hours, and was finally told that there was nothing he could do for me.
On February 16th, 2007 we contacted the Maryland Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Affairs to help resolve the issue. As of March 3rd, the office had not heard from Circuit City or had returned their calls.
On April, 9th, 2007 John Rekinburg, Circuit City’s new TV Manager calls to say that he has a different “lower-end” 46” Sony LCD model priced at $2,249.99 and asked if we were interested. Since Circuit City had still not addressed the service protection plan issue, and the quality and value of their TV offer was continuing to go down, we informed him that we were not interested. We also told him that we sent our complaint to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office and were taking steps to file in Small Claims Court. A week or two later, other TV salesmen from Circuit City called to say that 46” TV we ordered was in. We informed him that we did not order a TV.
After a year of explaining our case over and over again to different store managers, TV sales managers, customer service reps, making numerous telephone calls to the corporate office, typing emails, and sending many letters without resolve, we feel victimized. The Circuit City “Advantage Protection Plan” states that it provides you with the best product coverage and customer service available. “Relax with a peace of mind” only seems like an “Advantage” to Circuit City. I have spoken with hundreds of people on the internet that seem to be going through the same problems with Circuit City. The consumer should be made aware of this.
We would like to add that Circuit City is misleading the average consumer, with the intent to deceive. This is an unfair and deceptive business practice. They sell a service contract knowing that they can send anyone (an unauthorized service tech) to your home and say that they “attempted to fix it”, or actually fix it and make matters worse, and then after weeks and months of the consumer trying to get this resolved, they begrudgingly offer you an exchange that “is similar” … a new item with far less value or even worse, a TV that someone else returned, and then offer you nothing for the service contract fee.
Circuit City sold us a fraudulent protection plan. It is unacceptable that they are now only offering ($2,659.96)? exchange value for a $3,299.95 TV that only worked two months. As a customer, we have done everything possible to resolve this issue in a patient, timely manner. Circuit City’s customer service policy prolonged this situation by not being honest and forthright from the start.
In the interest of consumerism, we now expect Circuit City to refund the full amount of our original TV purchase, in addition to the service protection plan refund. If this cannot be resolved we will have no choice but to file in small claims court for the total amount of the TV, the protection, plan, the custom mount, installation and repairs, and possible attorney fees.
HOW CAN ONE PAY FOR THE ADVANTAGE PROTECTION PLAN OTHER THAN VIA MAIL. CAN YOU PAY BY PHONE AND IF SO IS THERE A CHARGE. IF YOU CAN PAY BY A PHONE CALL WHAT IS THE TELEPHONE NUMBER.
THANKS.
MY LIFE IS ONE IN A WHEELCHAIR AND SO GETTING OUT IS A VERY HARD THING TO DO MY WIFE WAS NICE AND BOUGHT ME A 55IN ZONY BIG SREEN AFTER TAKING THE ADVISE OF THE WORKER IN CIRCUITCITY THIS TV WAS THE BEST FOR THE MONEY AND THE ADVANTAGE WOULD MAKE SURE I HAS SOMETHING TO WATCH ALL THE TIME SHE MADE SURE TELL THEM WHEN SHE IS GONE THAT IS ABOUT ALL I GET TO DO IS WATCH TV CAN NOT REMEMBER THING I READ AND IT TAKES ME DAYS TO WRITE LITTLE THING ON THE PC BECAUSE MY HANDS DO NOT DO WHAT I SAY TO THEM SHE SPENT 2,959.99 TV 499.99 ADVANTAGE ALL TGETHER IT WAS 4,927.71 SO I WOULD NOT BE LONESOME THE TV STARTED TO BREAK DOWN IN 06 IT WAS GONE 3 WEEKS THAT TIME IT BROKE DOWN AGAIN APRIL 10 AND WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN OUR TV FIXED YET AND FOR SOME REASON SHE HAS TALKED WITH MORE THEN 7 PEOPLE THE ONE I AM UPSET AT IS THE ONE THAT CAME OUT AGAIN SAID THE PART HE BROUGHT OUT IS NO GOOD HE WILL PUT A RUSH ON THE OTHER NOW PART WE NEED AND PROMISHED ME I WILL HAVE MY TV BACK IN ABOUT 5 DAYS THAT WAS 13 DAYS AGO AND THE OFFICE SAID THEY ARE TRYING TO FIX THE PART SO NO PART ORDERED YET CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP PLEASE THANK YOU GARY
WE HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH “CIRCUIT CITY ADVANTAGE PROTECTION PLAN”. OUR T.V. BROKE, THEY FIXED IT, IT BROKE AGAIN, COULDN’T FIX IT, THEY SAID THEY WOULD REPLACE IT, IN 14 DAYS AT THE LATEST!!!…WELL MONTHS LATER, AFTER ALMOST EVERY DAY, DEALING WITH THIS BULL,,, AFTER MAJOR STRESS AND HASSELS, ON THE PHONE. SPENT HOURS, UPON HOURS ON THE PHONE WITH THE GANG IN VIRGINIA. WROTE LETTERS, WENT TO THE STORE…NOTHING!!! FINALLY THEY CAME AND PICKED UP THE BODY OF OUR 3 MONTH DEAD T.V. AND HAD US, GO TO THE STORE AND PICK OUT ANOTHER ONE. SO FAR THEY HAVE KEPT THE $324.99 WE PAID FOR EXTENDED WARRENTY ON THE OLD ONE, (UNTIL 2009) THEY CANCELED OUR WARRENTY, AND NOT TRANSFERED THE WARRENTY TO THE NEW T.V. AS WE ASKED. THEY DID NOT SEND US A REFUND ON THE WARRENTY…. WE HAVE BOUGHT LOTS OF STUFF FROM CIRCUIT CITY, IN THE PAST, BUTNEVER AGAIN… I WANTED TO GIVE UP SO MANY TIMES, BUT I HAD INVESTED OVER $2200 ON THE OLD DEAD T.V. I WILL GO TO FRYS, SEARS, BEST, ON LINE, OR ANY WHERE ELSE BEFORE WE E V E R BUY ANYTHING FROM CIRCUIT CITY AGAIN.SIGNED,”JUST SO SICK AND TIRED OF THE MAJOR CORPORATE RIP OFFS”
MY FIRST ATEMPT TO GET MY PRINTER REPLACED. I TAKE MY PRINTER BACK TO THE STORE TO GET WARANTY WORK DONE. THEY TELL ME THEY CANT HELP ME THAT I HAVE TO CALL THIS ADVANTAGE COMPANY WITCH WAS NOT MY UNDERSTANDING TO BEGIN WITH BUT WHATEVER LETS JUST GET THIS DONE I CALL I TALK TO A REP THAT TAKES ALL OF MY INFO AND THEN A SUPERVISOR THAT VERAFIES MY INFO I SHOULD GET A BOX WITH A PREPAID MAIL TICKET WITHIN 3 DAYS IF NOT DISREGARD OLD PRINTER AND I WOULD HAVE A NEW ONE IN 7-10 BUSNESS DAYS THE SERVICE AGREEMENT SAYS 5-7 THATS THE LAST I HERD FROM THEM A FEW WEEKS GO BY THEN WHERE GOING ON A MONTH NOTHING SO I CALL THEM TO ASK WHERE MY PRINTER WAS THEY SAID THEY CANCELLED THE CLAIM I ASKED WHY AND WHY WAS I NOT CONTACTED OF THIS THEY DID NOT HAVE A ANSWER JUST THAT I SHOULD HAVE A NEW ONE IN 7-10 BUISNESS DAYS NOW WE ARE GOING ON TWO MONTHS WITHOUT A PRINTER I FINALEY GET MY PRINTER AFTER TWO MONTHS PACKAGE THE OTHER ONE BACK EVEN THOW THEY SAID TO GET RID OF AFTER THREE DAYS THE NEW ONE OR REFURBISHED ONE I GUESS IS WHAT THEY DECIDE TO GIVE YOU FOR YOUR REPLACEMENT THE NEW ONE (REFERBISHED)ON LEAKS INK ALL OVER MY DESK I CALL ADVANTAGE THEY WANT TO GIVE THIS OTHER COMPANY TO CALL THERE NOT RESPONSABLE FOR IT CIRCUT CITY SAYS THERE NOT RESPONSABLE SO I GUESS IM JUS OUT OF LUCK WITH MY $700 DOLLOR PRINTER I HAVE CONTACTED SEVERAL DIFFERENT SUPERVISORS AND GOING ON 2 AND 1/2 MONTHS AND NO PRINTER MY SUGESTION TO PEOPLE IS DONT BY FROM CIRCUT CITY THEY DONT STAND BEHIND THERE PRODUCTS THEY WANT TO SELL YOU A WARANTY MAKE MONEY THEN WASH THERE HANDS WITH YOU AND AS FOR ADVANTAGE PLAN THE ARE JUSY PAINFULL TO GET ANYTHING DONE HOW THEY ARE STILL IN BUISNESS IS BEOND ME A HOW CICUT CITY EVEN IS APART OF SOMTHING LIKE THAT BUT SO FAR HAVE SHOWN ME THEY ARE NO BETTER CONTACTING THE SERVICE PLAN ADVANTAGE THEY JUST WANT TO PASS THE BUCK TO ANOTHER COMPANY IS THERE NO DECENT PEOPLE IN CICUT CITY OR IN THIS ADVANTAGE COMPANY THAT CARES OR IS IT ALL ABOUT MONEY TO THEM
Sounds to me like Circuit City corporate wasn’t happy to find that a google search for ‘circuit city protection plan’ brings up your awful experience as the second result. You only got special treatment because you complained loud enough to affect their bottom line. And from the glowing praise you gave them at the end of this post it seems you fell for it.
Sorry to contradict everyone else’s post, but I just used my plan for the first time, and it worked like a champ. My Samsung DLP 50 inch TV starting shutting down and flashing an overheating lamp and failing fan message. TV was purchased new in Aug. 2005, and my plan had just expired in Aug. of this year 2007. I let the plan lapse, and of course the TV started to act up, however, I received a renewal offer in the mail for the protection plan, and I called and signed back up. Now it was time to call and see if I experienced the same horror you all have been through.
I called the 800#, spoke to a very polite and professional woman, who asked me to do some basic troubleshooting, and when I told her I had already unplugged and replugged the TV in, and restarted it about 50 times, she laughed and said, “no problem, we’ll get someone out to see you.”
It was around 6pm already, and she still offered to try and get someone there that evening, but I declined. She then told me that she could have someone at my house any day of the week that I preferred, and I selected Saturday. She offered a 2 hour window of 12:30 to 2:30pm on Saturday, and let me know that a tech would contact me to confirm, that he would have most of the parts needed in the van and he should be able to fix the problem on the first visit, but if parts needed to be ordered, the repair could take up to 15 days. I said I understood and thanked her. Total time on phone = 7 minutes.
I received not one but three confirmation calls in the two days leading up to Saturday, confirming the tech’s arrival between 12:30 and 2:30 on Sat. and to please notify them at the 800# if I needed to change.
Saturday at 12:30 my doorbell rang, and a professional looking tech wearing a Circuit City polo, driving a Circuit City van, stood outside and took time to put on booties because he had stepped in mud on his way to the door.
He came in, asked me what had been going on, which I did, asked me to demonstrate the issue, which I did, and he told me he knew exactly what was wrong. He explained that although the lcd was displaying a particular type of error, his experience was that the light engine and circuitry was failing and needed to be replaced. He apologized and told me that he did not have the part for my particular model, and would have to order it, and it would take about 7 to 10 days to get the part. He also told me that as soon as the part showed up, he would call and set up a new visit. Total time of visit = 15 min.
He left, and on Wednesday of the following week, I got a call letting me know the part was in, and he could set up a time for the upcoming Saturday. I chose the same time.
Again 12:30 doorbell rings, same tech, same shirt, same van. He has a box with the needed part, tells me he will need about 45 minutes, and he goes to work. 15 minutes later, my TV is on, working and he is packing up. Total time of visit = 20 min. Total time of repair from first contact to issue resolution = 10 days.
I had fair expectations set at every juncture of this process, that were exceeded every time. I had a professional experience with every representative that I interacted with, and they fixed my problem.
As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t get any better than this when it comes to customer service. Just like the original post, I work in customer service contact centers every day, and I wish we could handle all of our customer’s problems as effectively and efficiently as mine were handled.
It was worth every penny.
Hi Mark,My husband came home this evening and went right to the computer to bring up your story regarding Circuit City. Reason being, WE are currently going through the same situation. We bought a Samsung 50 in. DLP a couple of years ago along with the almighty protection plan. We paid 2700.00 for the t.v and another 500.00 for the protection plan.On Dec. 23 our t.v. suddenly and without warning began behaving as if it were possessed.First,a Loud pop,then the screen started fluttering and flashing and when I turned it off, it didn’t turn off. It finally wound down to a quiet and we unplugged it. We waited, then plugged it in and turned it on to find it fluttering and flashing and making the same noise so we turned it off and unplugged it. We contacted the number on our protection plan and were told that our local Circuit City contracts their repairs out to “qualified” repair businesses. We were told they would contact that contractor and they would be calling us to set up a time to come out and take a look. I contacted the contractor myself and on Dec.26 our t.v was picked up and taken in for “repairs”. I specifically asked this contractor to PLEASE call me as soon as he knew what the trouble was…..we got NOTHING. No call. After a few days of waiting I called and was told they were waiting for a part to arrive. At that time I asked this “contractor” to please make sure that our t.v. was taken care of. I was worried about the t.v. being damaged being it was going to be in a shop for so long.(We’ve had previous repair shops damage our electronics while in their care.) He smirked over the phone when I told him that we took very good care of it because it had cost so much and I told him we would be inspecting it once we got it back.We received a call on Tuesday Jan.8 and were told the part was arriving on Thursday and would be installed and barring complications it would be delivered to us on Friday Jan.11,08. We we’re happy to be getting it back in time for play-off games.We had our son wait for delivery and when we arrived home from work that evening, there sat our t.v. The first thing we noticed was the two gouges on it. One on the left side, one on the right side of the t.v. We turned it on only to discover a large brown spot about the size of a silver dollar that is apparently on the inside of the screen and….the picture is absolutely horrible. The dark colors all run together and the bright colors are almost impossible to look at. The picture on screen is distorted.I began immediately calling the contracted company only to get a message stating their hours of operation. On Monday morning I phoned them first thing. Immediately when I began the conversation regarding the damage he interupted me saying the t.v worked fine when he tested it and he stopped just short of calling me a liar and accusing us of damaging the t.v. ourselves beforehand. He claimed he had found it “odd” that I had mentioned I wanted them to be careful with the t.v. so he had checked it right after we spoke. He said it was perfect upon inspection. I responded by saying that if that were the case then he would have discovered the damage that he was insinuating was already there. He then called me picky and paranoid. I asked him to come to my home and look at the t.v. for himself and he refused saying he was too busy. He offered to have his men come pick it up. The conversation at that time was becoming heated and I said that he would need to talk with my husband. We ended the call. Upon speaking with my husband he apologized for his behavior and told him that he knew what the problem was and had contacted Circuit City requesting a part called a light engine. He said he’d been informed that this part was on back order and would take 4 months to come in. He said Samsung had produced 150 of these parts recently due to a problem with them but that all of them have been spoken for. He said he’d recommended our t.v. be replaced. In the meantime, I began trying to contact the Corp. Offices of Circuit City soon after my conversation with this contractor due to how he spoke to me as well as him insinuating that we damaged our own t.v. In addition I have no intention of waiting 4 months for it to be repaired.It took me many calls to even get the name of an Executive at the Corp. offices that I could speak with. I also tried to locate a manager at our local Circiut City to no avail. I was told by a dept. supervisor that their manager was in transition and a new one had not yet been placed in the store but would probably be arriving soon. When I asked for phone numbers to the Corp. Offices he claimed he had no idea where to find such numbers. The customer service folks at the 800# REFUSED to give me the number to Corp. Offices stating they were not allowed to do so.My husband has been in contact with three separate women, none of which are named Ruth or Beth sadly, and they are currently stating that it has been decided that we will be getting a “comparable” t.v to replace this one. Today I was finally in contact with a person who apparently works closely withMr. Schooner, the CEO of Circuit City. He listened patiently to my story and said simply, that he would check into our situation and call me, tomorrow. After reading your story, I honestly have little hope that we will be taking that blessed walk into our local Circuit City to get our replacement, anytime soon.One thing is for sure. Other than getting this t.v replaced, and dealing with Circuit City when the protection plan is possibly needed, I will spread the word of our ordeal to anyone who is willing to listen and I will NEVER, EVER, EVER, buy another product from this company. Because, this isn’t the first time for us. Just over a year ago we bought our son a laptop and it was defective. We went to return it and the store manager at that time who seemd all of 18 years old, told my husband that either he was a liar or he was ignorant when it came to computers. He stated that the computer was not acting as my husband had described. Just as he said this to us and began stating that we would be paying a 15% restocking fee for them to take it back, a tech walked up and informed him that the computer was in fact defective and doing exactly as described. He rudely refunded our money.I called the Corporate Offices on Monday morning and was put in touch with a person who claimed to be an assistant to the CEO. He told me point blank that Circuit City would not miss our business. At that time we had already purchased this t.v. We have not stepped into the store since that phone conversation and I do not relish in having to do so due to this situation.No one deserves to be treated in this manner and I am still shocked to know that a major corporation has taken to treating their customers in this manner.
WOW….i feel like i’m living your nightmare! we purchased a 42″ Samsung DLP TV on 12/23/06 and the ESP. 4 weeks ago the tv started shutting off after 5 – 10 seconds of use. I called Circuit City and they said it sounded like the bulb and they would send a new out to me. 6 Days later it arrived, we replaced it and the TV was still shutting off. Another call to Circuit City and they said they would send out a technician to look at it. Four days later the tech shows up and spends exactly 5 minutes looking at it and decides to put a new light engine in so that it would cover anything that “might” be wrong. I asked the technician when they may be back to put the part in and he said probably Tuesday or Wednesday of the next week (this was a Thursday). Ok another weekend without a TV. On Thursday of the following week I called Circuity City and it turns out the part hadn’t even been ordered yet!!! They were “researching” it. At this point I lost my cool and said I just wanted a replacement TV. Yeah right, nope gotta have the part put in. At this point the parts have totaled more than I paid for the TV!!! So on Wednesday the Technician calls me to tell me the part is in and they can repair the TV Thursday (this was yesterday) Great! He comes out, puts the new engine in and the TV works great! Works all afternoon and night, super we’re happy. This morning, the TV shuts off again, JUST like it was before. I’m flabbergasted! So I call Circuit City and tell them, I’m done I want a new TV. No can do. Gotta send the Technician out again cause the part could have been defective! Okay, so the part works for 10 hours and then decides to be defective? Whatever, the woman at circuit city is NOT a pleasure to work with, trust me. So I personally call the technician and he says wow they really should give you a new TV but basically they’re our boss and we can’t do anything. They even agreed that a defective part wouldn’t have worked from the beginning. So now they’ll be back on Tuesday to look at it AGAIN! I don’t know what they can replace if the part isn’t defective. I’m apalled that a company like circuit city would treat its customers like this. I know that I will NEVER purchase anything from them and have told all my family members not to either. We’ve purchased things from Best Buy and their warranty program and their customer service reps Hank Phillipi Ryan of channel 7 news in Boston and will be reporting circuit city to both the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney Generals Office.
I purchased the great protection plan on my 50 inch tv. 4 year protection in fact. What could go wrong? Well March 9, 2008 my TV went out, called the protection plan, filed a claim, received my claim number and it was assigned to a local tv repair company. Today is July 2, 2008 and not one person has scheduled a visit to my home, they are waiting on back ordered parts based upon an assumption of what is wrong. After about 10 e-mails and calls to curcuit cities call lines I am allegedly going to get a replacement or refund in the next couple weeks. I have read everyones comments on how that works it will be interesting to see how this works out. Never again will I buy this worthless so called protection plan. They did not follow up once with me I had to call numerous times and line. Horrible. Lesson learned
Michelle in PA
We purchased our Samsung DLp 42″ TV on Sept. 9, 06. We also purchased just the extra one-year warranty. We weren’t going to at first, however, the very young salesman,pointed out that nothing hardly ever goes wrong with these televisions except the bulb. He said that most of the time, the bulb will for sure go out between one and two years of service, depending on the amount of time the TV is actually on. He said we would be able to tell when that was happening, as the TV’s picture would start getting darker. A new bulb, he told us, costs about $300.00. The extra one- year advantage protection plan would only cost $229.00. He said just wait until the month before your plan expires, and call for a replacement bulb. That way you will get your bulb for a little bit less than if you had to actually buy it outright.
Well, today is August 14, 2008, my plan expires on Sept. 9, so I made the call. Also, the picture on our TV does seem to be getting a little bit darker lately.
I called the protection plan number 1-888-333-2333, and finally got through to a lady. I do not know her name, as I did not believe that I would have any problems at all with this. I told her what I needed, and she transferred my call.
I started all over with another lady, again, no name, since I believed (trusted) that I would get good service. I told her exactly what the salesman had told me about the bulb, I did say that we thought the TV picture was getting a little bit darker. She asked if the little red light had been flashing. I said I hadn’t seen such a thing. She then said I didn’t need a bulb. (Is she a technician?) Anyway, she suggested that she arrange for a service call. I told her that we live in a very remote area. I told her that we weren’t opposed to just receiving the new bulb, and replacing it ourselves. She insisted that it wasn’t the bulb, and that it was something else. She warned me though, that if she set up a service call, and the technician found nothing wrong with the set, I would be charged for the service call. At that point, I said a few unmentionable words to her. She said she would disconnect me if I said any more bad words to her. I then asked if she would just send a new bulb, and we would put it in ourselves. She said first, she needed an authorization code to do that, and then we would need to send in the old bulb, and when they tested it, if it was found to still be good, they would charge us for the new bulb, and also a restocking charge, and she named off a few other charges. I got very angry, and asked to speak with a manager or supervisor, she said that was not the way things were handled. So, I said a few more bad words, and she disconnected me.
It took a little while for me to find the folder of paperwork, original sales slip, etc. and when I did, I called the store where we bought the TV. I spoke with a nice sounding guy named Mark. Yes, I did get his name. I told him about my phone call to the Advantage Plan place. I told him everything I had told her. I even had the salesman’s name on our sales slip, and when I told him the name, he said that that guy was now a department manager, or something like that, but he was out to lunch at the moment. He told me to call back to the plan again, and ask for a manager right off.
I did what he said, and got another very nice sounding man. Again, no name. He said he was authorized to supervise. I told him of the first call, and also the call to the store. This took about 30 minutes or so, just to update him about my days events. He informed me that the salesman had told me false information about what the service agreement includes. Basically, he called the salesman a liar. However, I went on about just wanting a bulb, as promised.
Finally, much to my surprise, he put me on hold, and after a few minutes, he had a lady named Wendy in Customer Relations on a third line for a conference call. She insisted that I have a technician come for a service call. I have her 888 number now, and a case ID #, I also have a number of the local (35 miles away) technician, and the service order number.
I plan to contact the service guy tomorrow morning. I also plan to call the store and speak with the original, now manager, salesman.
After reading so many of the previous posts, I am actually scared to let the “technician” touch my TV. All I want is my new $300.00 bulb as promised. They can have my old bulb back if they want it. If that happens, and the tests show the bulb is good, and they try to charge me for the new one, then what. Hopefully, they will just let me have a new bulb.
I was very concerned when we got this protection plan, but the salesman sure was very convincing. I guess at this point, I feel a little bit relieved to know he still works at that store. But, until this issue is resolved, I am again very concerned.
What ever happens, I will not let the “technician” take my TV out of my house. I have been very happy with the TV so far. It has been almost two years now.
I encountered this site looking for a repairmen for my 62′ Mitsubishi DLP purchased from Tweeter and out of warranty. My concern has been finding somebody honest who knows what they are doing and not getting roped into spending money to fix it and then find its something else and it goes on and on. Your post posts have been very convincing. Like most of you I spent $3600. or perhaps more for a TV which now is $1500-$1700 and all we have is heartache. You always pay a premium to be in on new technology but I thought I would have this set for a long, long time. My first HD tv is a 40″ direct view sony that other than the size has a great pic and no issues after 5 years. I am thinking about trashing the 62″ literally rather than going through these scenarios at MY COST. and buying something new.CIRCUIT CITY: I do have a story however: after getting the DLP I wanted home theatre. I purchased speakers but needed someone to install.. Circuit had just started their new installation service FIRE DOG SERVICE. What a treat. Talk about deceit O.M.G, two guys showed up in a beat up unidentified truck. Announced what was included in what i had prepaid at the store and everything else had to be paid in cash. They then starting making suggestions. They were very smooth, knew what they were doing, Became agents for the commonwealth of pennsylvania when they were bargaining and said we won’t charge sales tax. Gee I did not know they had they authority. Their sales slip came from a dollar store and lets face, cash is king means they don’t report a dime in taxes and Circuit is sending them out. They do not care at all, they just want to sell a service a policy etc. The electronics is very competitive and they make more on the xtra’s than the sale itself. In this economy I would look for either merger between bestbuy and Circuit or one of them to bite the dust. The prices of the TV’s are dwindling and after this holiday season the prices of HDTV’s will all be like buying the traditional sets. They will no longer be abke to sell these service plans because the sets won’t cost that much or the price will be $149. Thanks for sharing your Info. I am not buying at Circuit, they really valued your business!
We are having problems contacting AON in regard to our Circuit City Protection Plan. We have faxed them at 312-395-9898 5 days in a row and have not received one response. We would like to get a refund as suggested by Circuit City of $379.99. When we call the 800-287-0470, we are unable to talk to a representative.
We need to have our TV repaired and looks like we will have to go to an outside source.
If you have any suggestions, we would appreciate hearing them!!!!!
I have been dealing with the same types of issues with them on a laptop and the accident insurance I purchased. First I was told it would be returned, or a new one sent, 10 days after I shipped it to them. When that time had well expired, I called and was told it was “just confirmed” that it could not be fixed, and they will find me a replacement, and they have 10 days to find my replacement. When that 10 days had well expired, I called again, for several days I couldn’t get a person, just left messages. I finally get a person, she tells me she’s been “trying to contact me”, because they can’t replace my computer with a new one, so I have a choice to except a used/refurbished one, or a check for $750. (Yes, this did upset me, but I thought $750 was better than nothing!). So, I requested the check, was told I would recieve it in 5 – 7 days…still no check.