Less than a year after buying it, my Samsung HP-S4253 started to develop these weird purple sparkles all across the screen. I did some investigating and found out this this was a widespread problem with this unit and involved faulty manufacturing.

I got ahold of Samsung's support number so I could arrange for a technician to come out and fix the problem. Samsung told me the nearest location for a technician was in Richmond, Virginia (I'm in Baltimore, about 150 miles away). I called the shop they suggested. No matter what time of day I called, no one answered the phone, so I left messages all three times.

After that, I wrote a letter to the head of North American operations for the company, Kun-Hee Lee. I didn't really expect him to read it, but sometimes writing an executive like that can get some action.

A week or so later, I got a call from Samsung. They wanted to know how my experience was with their support system. "Not so great, considering the technician you sent me to never even called me back. Your company won't admit that there are thousands of these faulty units out there that they refuse to take responsibility for. Not only that, but they won't even help me find a dealer so I can get my broken TV fixed at my own expense."

The kid on the line was flummoxed. "Dude, I don't even work for Samsung. They just outsource this stuff." (Yes, he called me dude).

I never heard anything back from my letter and I have since given up even trying to get this thing fixed. I guess I'm just out 2,000 bucks. I will never, ever under any circumstances buy another Samsung product again, and you shouldn't either.

Sorry to see your problems :( I am surprised you are not getting farther. Sometimes it helps to get your dealer involved as if they are good they will fight for you.

Well if you ever want something taken care of quickly call one of your local TV stations that has a consumer reporter & tell him/her your story & just one call from a tv station to find out what Samsung has to say & Samsung will be all over it to help you as quickly as possible because they don't need to see a bad report about them & their service on the 6:00 news.

Even if in your area there is not a consumer reporter just ask for the news department & ask if they can help you in anyway & believe it or not, tv stations just love doing things like that & believe me you will get it taken care of the fastest way possible even if you hired a lawyer & the tv station will do it for free!

Go give some TV Stations a call & good luck!

I had ongoing issues with a Nikon camera, and I got the same treatment in regard to trying to contact them for support. I took my concerns to the Better Business Bureau, and my $134 repair fee was waived. Nikon never took responsibility or apologized, but at least the issue was fixed. Perhaps Samsung would to the same.

www.bbb.org

Sigh, I've heard some horror stories about Samsung support as well (here in
Canada). Heck, it goes beyond TVs and such. Even recently, my mom's washer
died on her and we ended up having to buy a Frigidaire instead as the tech
Samsung suggested was basically useless. They ordered 2 sets of parts (one
a circuit board and the other a motor - both at my mom's expense) as they
couldn't figure out where the problem was. I eventually canceled the order
and bought a Frigidaire for a couple hundred more than what the parts alone
cost. My mom won't buy Samsung again either.

Yup, no Samsung for me either. I went through three LCD sets before I had enough. The customer service was the worst I've ever experienced. They are notorious for releasing products before they are ready. Even the new 650 series LCD turns off and on by itself, though it is reported to be fixed by the first of dozens of firmware updates. The point is how can they not notice during testing that the set is turning on and off? It is the same exact issue I had with my Samsung sets a year ago (among other things), and obviously they haven't cleared up their track record.

I would tend to agree with this just based on the Samsung LN-XX71 LCD thread.
Apparently they have acknowledged the stutter problem and admit they have no fix for it. Nor are they going to have one.

Sometimes is seems as if like others have said, the customer is the beta testers, and by the time the problems are acknowledged or admitted to, the next models are coming out, and the previous model owners are forgotten about.

I think that most "normal" customers don't even notice the glitches or problems that most on these forums see. So I doubt that Samsung and other companies get as many complaints as we may think they do.

Here is an email I recently sent...

Does the 550 series accept AND display TRUE 1080p/24fps at either 48, 72, or 96? If not, will the 750 series be able to?

and their reply...

Thank you for contacting us.

I do apoligize for responding to your email late but we are behind and we are in the process of catching up to help out our customers the best way we can. Samsung will continue to stride for excellence in customer support.

If there is anything else you would like assistance with, please feel free to write us any time. Additionally, if you would like live technical support, you can also contact us at 1-800-SAMSUNG (1-800-726-7864).

Is there ANYTHING ELSE I would like help with?? How about just starting with an answer to my FIRST question????

Then the email goes on to ask how I would rate their :rolleyes: "assistance" :rolleyes:, but there is NO WAY to send it back to them.

Good job Samsung. I guess if they don't see/hear complaints, then everything is just wonderful !?!?!?!

Honestly I have had and have friends that have had the same kinds of problems with most of the Japanese manufacturers the culture just doesn't know how to handle complaints or product problems. Personally I have had pathetic customer service from sony, pioneer, samsung, panasonic, Canon and Nikon at one point or another. It's not anything new to consumer electronics. If you want an advocate then use a local dealer who cares about it's customers because most big manufactures do not especially if you are out of warranty coverage.

Samsung has to outsource their work. The parent company is way too busy in South Korea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_hours

They are notorious for releasing products before they are ready.

+1

Although I've never owned a Samsung plasma, lcd or other tv...previous experiences with Samsung support (or lack thereof) causes me to agree with the thread title. This isn't based on one experience...or two..or three..or four....but FIVE different experiences with various CE products. My house is now certified Samsung-free.;)

I had an issue with a Samsung LCD 17in monitor and Samsung customer support was excellent in giving me a replacement model but reading this does kind of suck for anyone looking into a Samsung HDTV.

On CNET I read a couple of horror stories on Pioneer, which is my #1 HDTV on my wish list but #2 is Panasonic.

Companies today "do not get it". If a company would step up to the plate, honor their commitments and honor their warrantys, the would grow and yeild dividends like "hot cakes". This is especially true with the downturn in the economy. Very few companies today provide service levels of "D", much less "A". At least 50% are an "F"

During the late 80's and all of the 90's you could buy a Trinitron, and except it to last 10-20 years as the norm. We had two make it to 25 years! We have owned 9 HD sets in the last 3 years. All have failed except one (and I sold it will I could). Some of the most expensive sets only last 2 years if you are lucky.

It would be very easy, for "any" company to engineer in just a little bit of quality............if they did they would "own" the market. Instead we get only mass market cheaply made high priced junk that does not last.

My Samsung FP-T6374 has worked flawlessly since day one. I hope I don't experience service issues like yours.

any time i phoned samsung, no lie, someone was at my house the next day. maybe since i am in canada it different? no idea. i love my product and there service was fine.

Ya I feel for you buddy although I have never had a problem with samsung, my old dlp had the tunnel callops problem that everyone known about and they were very nice and said that a Tech would call me within 2 business days I thought to myself "ya right"

Well the next day I got a call and the tech was at my house that evening and problem fixed.

I now have a fp-t5884 and has been working great.

Wow!!!

delenda I am having the same kind of problem with my hp-s5053. I will get the sparkles allot on the screen and I am also haveing allot of static burn like images on the screen. A couple of weeks ago I started to notice the cooling fans running when the tv had been off for weeks.

I purchased mine at Best Buy and got the 4yr plan and they are coming out this weekend to look at it. I will keep you posted on what they say. I hope they can fix this tv and not break it like they did my last one.


Chuck

Although I highly respect the PQ quality of their TVs, I never liked any of Samsung's electronics due to their tacky design style/ergonomics and low-feeling build quality....

In all fairness this thread could be started about any manufacturer. It just all depends on how you deal with the issues. There is always a way to get help it is just allot of trouble sometimes.

In all fairness this thread could be started about any manufacturer. It just all depends on how you deal with the issues. There is always a way to get help it is just allot of trouble sometimes.

Agreed. Just today I had issues with Sprint activating another phone on another line. I did this over the phone and they completely hosed it up. To make a long story short, I waited at one of their service centers till my issues were resolved.
That's the nature of customer service today. OP, contact customer service again and go over your problems with them.

In all fairness this thread could be started about any manufacturer. It just all depends on how you deal with the issues. There is always a way to get help it is just allot of trouble sometimes.

Except with Samsung, I can say my Sammy cell phone was a piece of junk, as was my Sammy laser printer. Then there were the 2 or three Samy DVD players I had to return/exchange. I later discoverd a STACK of them at the "open box" table. Then my Samy DirecTV box went out after less than a year.

and for discopaul, Sprint customer service is just a joke. It was 50-60 minute wait before I ever got anyone... who could never get my account right. They're right up there with Sammy.

Honestly I have had and have friends that have had the same kinds of problems with most of the Japanese manufacturers the culture just doesn't know how to handle complaints or product problems.
Samsung is a South Korean company.

Except with Samsung, I can say my Sammy cell phone was a piece of junk, as was my Sammy laser printer. Then there were the 2 or three Samy DVD players I had to return/exchange. I later discoverd a STACK of them at the "open box" table. Then my Samy DirecTV box went out after less than a year.

and for discopaul, Sprint customer service is just a joke. It was 50-60 minute wait before I ever got anyone... who could never get my account right. They're right up there with Sammy.

I gave Samsung a chance with the 4254 Plasma, PQ was great, but there were so many problems with it (Judder (fix released 4 months after I returned it, almost 7 months after the TV came out), a chunk of plastic under the screen the size of four pixels, Terrible IR and true burn in after 1 week of minor use (could not get rid of it no matter what I did), and it ran incredibly hot, far hotter than it should have, I returned it after 3 weeks (had to fight to get Sears to take it back) and to top it off, the day before I returned it, my 360 RROD :mad: so when I returned the TV I decided to wait it out on the TV front and got a PS3 and played it on a 20 inch CRT. I now have a Panasonic 42px75 that had none of the problems that the Sammy had. Samsung really needs to get their quality control fixed because right now, it is awful.

Why I will never buy another Samsung product
My most recent attempt to procure an A/V product from Samsung was the BD-UP5000... and we all know how that worked out. ;)

Not to go a differen't way but I have to say that Panasonic was outstanding with regards to support and service. I took delivery of the the 58 PZ700U several weeks ago and had major problems with the picture, the panel was unwatchable from the get-go. I called Panasonic support on "Good Friday", I didn't even expect a person to answer, but they did and had a tech come out that same Monday. From there it took them less that a week to get a new HDMI board sent and they replaced the board and fixed the panel within the very next week. I'm not sure what others have experienced with Panny, but I honestly couldn't expect better service.

In all fairness this thread could be started about any manufacturer. It just all depends on how you deal with the issues. There is always a way to get help it is just allot of trouble sometimes.

Not true with Samsung's buggy Blu-ray players that they saddled early adopters with. By far the worst of any OEM in that regard: totally ignoring the customer.

I am a member of the "never buy anything Samsung ever again" club. No cell phone, no A/V stuff, no computer RAM. To heck with them.

During the late 80's and all of the 90's you could buy a Trinitron, and except it to last 10-20 years as the norm. We had two make it to 25 years!

Well my top of the line Trinitron(1990's) conked out after 3 years and it took 2 trips to the repair center since they couldn't fix it right the first time and it needed a new picture tube. Also had Sony tape player and CD player that needed repairs. Vowed never to buy another Sony product.

Less than a year after buying it, my Samsung HP-S4253
I guess I'm just out 2,000 bucks.

Whoa, wait.... what?

You spent 2,000 on a 4253? Seriously? Dude, you got ripped off.

I spent 1,900 on a 5084. Where did you find some place to buy a 4253 for 2,000? that seems pretty damn expensive for a 42"

Whoa, wait.... what?

You spent 2,000 on a 4253? Seriously? Dude, you got ripped off.

I spent 1,900 on a 5084. Where did you find some place to buy a 4253 for 2,000? that seems pretty damn expensive for a 42"

It is an older model, when he bought it it was probably normal for a 42inch plasma to be that price.

A week or so later, I got a call from Samsung. They wanted to know how my experience was with their support system. "Not so great, considering the technician you sent me to never even called me back. Your company won't admit that there are thousands of these faulty units out there that they refuse to take responsibility for. Not only that, but they won't even help me find a dealer so I can get my broken TV fixed at my own expense."Hey, Dude! Chill !!

That's how I would feel if I worked in Customer Service and this was my first encounter with some irate customer. Here's a guy (yes, an actual human being, like you) putatively trying to help you and, boom! He hears you go off, shoving "thousands of these faulty units" in his face, as if the entire inventory of Samsung problems points to him.

There may come a time when one has to squeak a bit to get some response in the service trades. But it's not a good idea to start off with a rant like that if you're looking for consideration and assistance. The fact that someone paid money for a purchase doesn't entitle them to be rude and inconsiderate. Besides, you want to get it fixed, don't you? Money only goes so far.

PrimeTime, I'm condensing a 10-minute conversation into a paragraph. I wasn't rude to the kid, but I offer that little piece of dialog as one more example of what a disaster Samsung is.

And he had no ability to get my set fixed. He was solely calling as a follow-up on my experience with customer service, a call that, as I first posted, pointed me to a technician 150 miles away who wouldn't call me back.

It is an older model, when he bought it it was probably normal for a 42inch plasma to be that price.

Well I know it's an older model, but he did say that he has had it for less than a year. I bought a 42" Panasonic last February for 1,200, so I don't see a point that a similarly spec'd Samsung should cost 2,000.

He musta bought it at Best Buy or something. I think it has been quite a long time since the standard for 42" plasmas was 2,000.

Even recently, my mom's washer
died on her and we ended up having to buy a Frigidaire instead

This statement right here is almost funny. I have nothing personally against Sammy and they make some good looking plasmas, IMO. BUT.... one thing I have NEVER read about in my Pioneer forums is "Something went wrong with my Pioneer washer or refrigerator and I had to buy a Whirlpool or something."

:D :)

well I found out some information on this sparkle problem. It seems that Samsung is well aware of this problem since there is a tech bulletin out for this repair but they are not doing anything about it. It has do to with voltage going into the control boards on the back of the tv.

I was told from the tech that adjusted mine that this adjustment will only last so long then the sparkles will come back and I will have to call for another repair untill the 4th time which is when they will replace it.....


UGh

Samsung is a South Korean company.

I was just trying to explain a point. Would you like it better if I said asian.