Here is a letter I just wrote up detailing everything thus far. I will send it on Mon. and do what I said within the letter, if I dont get satisfactory results. Perhaps I am over reacting at this point?
TV Model # LC60C847OU
TV SS # ********
TV purchase date: 03-4-13
Purchased at BJ’s Wholesale Warehouse 777 Washington St. Auburn Ma. 01501
3 Year Extended Sharp Warranty purchased on: 03-06-13
Sharp Aquos Advantage Customer Service # 1-877-332-7867
Case # ******
• 03-04-13: Upon unpacking and turning on TV for the 1st time I noticed significant amounts of “Clouding” in the lower right, upper middle and to a lesser extent lower left screen areas. This “Clouding” issue on this specific model has been thoroughly detailed and highlighted on numerous forums, specifically AVSforum.com as seen in the below link to a 74 page discussion with over 2200 replies. I was hoping I wouldn’t be affected by this defect, unfortunately I was.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1397140/official-sharp-aquos-lc-60le847u-lc-70le847u-owners-thread
• 03-07-13: I called Sharp Aquos Advantage Customer Service (SAACS) and spoke with a Nicole about my brand new defective TV and the specific “Clouding” issues I was experiencing. I was quickly told to do a Factory Reset however I was not near the TV and thus couldn’t perform the Re-Set til the following day. Having gleaned a great deal of info. from the above mentioned web site and discussion I knew a Factory Re-set would not solve a “Clouding” issue. Also knowing that the next step would be for me to send pictures of the “Clouding” I asked Nicole to send me an E-mail detailing exactly how many and what type of pictures to take and where to send them. In a dis-interested and rude voice she quickly stated “No” and then remained silent? Not being sure I heard her correctly I repeated my request and got the same rude reply, “No” followed by silence? In disbelieve at this total unprofessionalism I hung up the phone realizing that trying to get this defective TV repaired/replaced was going to be hell.
• 03-07-13: I quickly called (SAACS) again due to the fact that “Nicole” failed to give me a Case#, I talked with another Customer Service Rep (CSR), explained the situation and asked him for a Email detailing exactly how many and what type of pictures to take and where to send them, much to my surprise he said “No Problem”, took down my Email address and quickly emailed me out the required information. The only reason I wanted this info. was that I knew a Factory Re-set was not going to fix my issues and thus I wanted to have all the pictures taken and an email ready to go after I obliged “Protocol” by trying the Factory Re-set the following day.
• 03-08-13: I called (SAACS) to try and perform the Factory Re-set as I was now near the TV, knowing that I had to follow “CSR Protocols”. I talked with (CSR) Steve, when I explained my case to him and stated that I was pretty sure a factory re-set would not solve a “Clouding” issue he stated there was a %30 chance that it may fix the issue. After numerous attempts at him walking me through the initial steps of trying to do a Factory Re-set I was un-successful at initiating the procedure, I’m pretty adept at following directions and know my way around A/V gear so the fact that I was unable to complete the 1st step of a Factory re-set was also concerning to me concerning in the fact that it probably indicates another issue besides the clouding. Steve instructed me to send in a detailed set of pictures to the Sharp Services and Support Group, luckily I had already taken the pictures and had the email ready to go. These pictures were sent and received by Jasa Harris on 03-08-13. I was told by Steve that it would take 1-3 Business Days for the engineers to evaluate my pictures and formulate a plan of action to correct the issues I was experiencing with my defective TV. I was told that if I didn’t hear from Sharp by 03-13-13 to call them back and inquire as to the findings.
• 03-11-13: I was contacted by a CSR stating that they needed a picture/scan of my Proof of Purchase (PoP) before they could proceed further with the evaluation of my defective new TV. This was an error on my part and I quickly sent out a picture of the PoP.
• 03-14-13: As it was past the 3 Business Days that I was instructed to wait on 03-08-13 to receive an update, I called (SAACS) again and spoke with (CSR) Craig. Craig stated to me that they were waiting for the (PoP) picture to be processed and that would take 1-2 business from the day they received it, thus no update so I terminated the call.
• 03-14-13: After thinking for a bit, and checking the times and dates of my emails sent to Sharp and there acknowledgments of receiving them I determined it had been 3 days since I emailed the (PoP) so I called back (SAACS) to ask for clarification as to the continued delays with processing all of the information/pictures that were requested, this time I spoke with (CSR) John. John seemed extremely confused trying to read my Case notes and sounded ill prepared to provide me with any meaningful or truthful information, I base this comment on the fact that I spent 5 minutes listening to him mumble to himself as he tried to read and understand the case notes. When I informed him that another (CSR) rep (Craig) told me that they were waiting the 1-2 business days to process the (PoP) yet I had sent and received conformation Sharp received the (PoP) 3 days ago he quickly put me on hold. When he came back he mentioned nothing about the (PoP) still needing to be processed, instead he told me that the Case is still being reviewed. I was initially told the review of the pictures would take 1-3 business days, and being that 03-14-13 (Today) was the 4th business day I enquired to John as to what was causing the delay? He could not answer this? I asked him exactly when I should call back. When should I expect a knowledgeable contact from Sharp regarding fixing/replacing my brand new defective TV? John stated that it was going to be another 1-2 days of review before a decision would be determined.
• I was initially told the review of my problem would take 1-3 business days, then I was told it was going to take another 1-2 business days as it was still being reviewed, factoring in weekends I am no closer or clearer on when Sharp will finally admit my TV is defective and not within “Spec”. Another 1-2 business days for review (03-18-13) will put me roughly at the 3 week mark with a defective, expensive TV.
• In closing I’d like to state that I have been a loyal Sharp TV and Electronics customer for many years (10+). I blog about the Sharp products that I own, I recommend them to friends and family (4~ 60” sets purchased by family and friends based on my recommendations) when they inquire about what to buy, and I am very active on Facebook and Internet A/V Forums, discussing A/V products and my general satisfaction with Sharp products, specifically Sharp TV’s having owned 3 of them which despite the age of those sets they are still working perfectly. However this current situation of unpacking an expensive, broken and flawed TV, coupled with a completely inept and frustrating Customer Service Dept. is seriously swaying my previous faith in Sharp products and will impact my willingness to be a continued repeat customer of Sharp Electronics.
As it stands right now I cannot in good faith recommend anyone purchasing a Sharp product, not until this current situation is resolved appropriately. Furthermore with the way (SAACS) and its lower level (CSR) Dept.’s have responded to me thus far, demonstrating some serious communication and coordination issues I have severe4 reservations that my issue will be satisfactorily resolved. Some might say that my issue with the TV is a very isolated incident, it is not as many others are currently facing the same very issues (See link provided in the beginning of this email) having to replace numerous sets before getting a set that is acceptable. In any advertisement that I have seen for Sharp Tv’s, on all the TV’s that I see on display at brick and mortar A/V stores, I have never seen any Clouding issues so I would say that my TV and it’s “Clouding” issue are not within spec, nor is it acceptable. Would Sharp really release a TV with a flaw or would they deem a flaw to be acceptable and within spec, even though it makes watching the set completely unbearable? And I am not being some elitist here either, but big greay/white blobs of light on numerous positions on the panel do not make for good movie nights or TV enjoyment.
Please respond to this email and situation as I am no closer to a resolution than I was a week ago, having to live with a very expensive, yet totally unwatchable TV for close to 3 weeks has me at my wits end. I look forward to working with you and your dept. on determining an appropriate course of action to rectify my horrible customer support experience but more importantly on rectifying and replacing my defective Tv, if this cannot be done in a timely fashion I see no reason NOT to post this entire letter on your Facebook site, as well as on every audio/visual forum on the Internet, as well as sharing my current experiences with friends and family. This is not a threat as threats are counter productive however it’s an available option to a severely dissatisfied customer.
