My roughly four year old flatscreen TV (37LC2D) seems to be dying.
On switching it on I was greeted by the sound of automatic gunfire. After a few seconds it would revert to normal. A few days later whilst watching a programme, a faint rustling sound could be heard, and then yesterday the screen would turn blank and all sound would disappear.
Now, if you have tried finding a TV repair man recently you will know that there are very few around. When you do get to talk to one, they will blame the TV manufacturers for wanting to build and design TV's that collapse minutes after the warranty has expired, and make finding spare parts very difficult. Clearly manufacturers want consumers to buy more TV's. No shock there.
I was however hoping for a better response from my TV manufacturer, LG.
Let me just explain that part of my work involves gauging how tech brands sell their products instore. If you watched the Secret Shopper programme on Channel 4, you will recall that she went into stores wearing a hidden body worn camera to record the customer experience. Thats what we do.
So, when my TV started playing up, I thought here is an ideal opportunity to see how LG reacts to a real life customer (me) having a product of theirs which is kaput. I got myself noticed by them on a social networking site, and even responded to. They said customer services would contact me. Wrong! Complete silence.
So, now I am giving the opportunity to other manufacturers to sell me a TV. I will visit a number of high street stores to gauge the level of customer service, staff availability and product knowledge and buy a nice new flatscreen television.
I will consider the top Brands: Sony, Panasonic and Samsung.
Who will not only win my business, but also get to see what its actually like to be a customer and test their instore retail training?
info@astoncovert.com
