Tavie and Gina bought a Sylvania TV in March, which suddenly stopped working in July. "Good thing the TV has a one-year warranty," they said. Or it would be if the warranty department would answer their phones.
Tavie and Gina fired off this letter over a week ago, and have received no response:
Tetsuya Kawasaki, Funai Corporation
Senior Executive Director of ServiceDear Mr Kawasaki,
Re: Sylvania LC3321SS9
On March 3rd, I purchased a Sylvania 32-inch HDTV flatscreen television from BJ's price club in Jersey City, NJ. It cost $403. It's been treated very carefully and was working perfectly until two weeks ago, on July 22nd, when it suddenly just stopped. Wouldn't turn on, nothing. Dead as a doornail.
On Thursday, July 23rd, I called Sylvania Customer Service and they gave me a number and said I had to speak to the people in the warranty division. They told me that I would probably have to leave a message. I called the number all day on Thursday and kept getting a message that said "If you know your party's extension, press 1, or press 0 for more options." Every time I hit 0, it would repeat the message. I called customer service again after I got home and they told me that there had been problems with Warranty's phones and to try again Friday. On Friday, nothing. On Monday, nothing. I called Customer Service again and they told me that they really could do nothing and I had to keep trying that number, that it was fixed. I tried the number again yesterday and kept getting the message that the box was full. Called CS again today and once again told nothing they could do till I called that number and they were so sorry and could understand my anger and that I could talk to a supervisor but it would do me no good.
Sir, is there someone to whom we can escalate this problem? In today's economy it's very difficult to spend that much money on a product and not be able to use it. I am paying for cable that I can't see because the television set I purchased from your company does not work. I have taken time away from my working day in many attempts to contact someone at your company that can help me resolve this issue, to no avail.
To resolve the problem, I would appreciate a refund of my $403 or an exchange of my broken set for a new product that will not break after 5 months of use.
I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problem, and will wait until Monday, August 8th before seeking help from a consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau. Please contact me at any of the email addresses or phone numbers listed below.
I tried the number for Funai USA's headquarters in New Jersey, and it's true that that all calls end up in a switchboardless, phone tree-less void. "I suspect this will go on for the next 7 months until the warranty expires," Tavie mused in an e-mail to Consumerist. Let's hope not.
With no response from Funai, they've taken to Twitter, using our "tweet to power" method to get the story out and urge people to boycott Funai products. Funai is trying to expand their business in North America, but cultivating a reputation for unresponsive service and not standing behind products isn't a good way to go about that.
On the other hand, they won a "Supplier of the Year" award in their field from Walmart for last year, which may tell you something.
Boycott Funai [Twitter]
PREVIOUSLY:
2 Hrs, 25 Min On Hold Just To Get A Busted DTV Converter
I don't know why Funai contacted me for a refund. I don't really even care at this point. I'm just glad to have my nightmare with Funai over and done with. I will never buy another product from the company again, and I will remain ever vigilant when it comes to making sure other folks don't get suckered in like I did.
]]>I have no idea what to do. It's still in warranty by five months, but attempts to contact customer service have bore no fruit. I can't get these shysters to respond at all, much less set up some sort of repair or replacement.
I'm thinking that I'm going to join those folks in their crusade. I've also got several friends looking for new television sets, and I will make sure that they stay very far away from Funai unless they want to be ripped off. There's no reason why a TV that was used moderately and kept in good condition ought to refuse to turn on, and there's no reason why Funai should treat its customers like they don't exist when they try to get the company to make them whole on their purchase. Furthermore, given how widely documented this issue is, there's no reason why this particular model ought to be on store shelves at all. Funai ought to recall the thing and fucking do it right.
]]>Anyway, as the salesperson at the other store explained it to me, once Philips divested itself of Magnavox, Magnavox as a brand began aiming for the ground. Which explains why Wal-Mart sells so much of it. We forced Circuit City's hand (I know how to do this) on the extended warranty we bought and got our money back. We took the money to a different store and bought a new Sanyo. I wasn't sure about the Sanyo, but we haven't had a blip out of this one. BTW, my ca. 1996 Magnavox is still going strong. Bought that one before they started aiming downward.
]]>And it's been dropped a couple of times in ways that I wouldn't have expected any electronic device to survive, but it keeps on going.
It's become a running joke in our house -- "Yeah, we'll get a new TV for that room when the old one dies...". I won't be surprised the day I come home to find my wife's just given up and taken a hammer to it.
But I bet if I bought one now it would just make a "zzzzt..." sound and a little puff of smoke when I plugged it in.
]]>On a side note, the $20 GE clock radio (also a cheapie) that I bought in college still works and it so loud you can even hear it when you're outside of the house. Good for when I've stayed up too late reading The Consumerist the night before.
]]>The only BJs I ever saw was in Atlanta - East Point specifically, right next to where I lived for a short time (OUTKAST HOLLAAAAA). I think it's a southern thing.
]]>I also have a VIZIO LCD that I got used on eBay, but haven't had any problems yet, but I figure it was a stop-gap to getting another good brand when the prices come down.
I have a Samsung tiny microwave that's about 8 years old and used every single day!
]]>I was able to get Kenneth Lay's assistant at BofA to do a ton of work on a problem I had (still have), and think they might have spent more than $10K in corporate time; same with Staples (that wasn't easy).
My last electronics coup was getting BestBuy's Insignia brand to get me a replacement remote sent free for a TV I bought on Craigslist. It's not like I wanted to screw the company out of $12.95; I had tried 3 of my universal remotes and Insignia didn't have a code (including my TiVo's). So they had it coming!
]]>@bravo369: Secret Shoppers are hired by the company looking to improve customer service. I find it unlikely that any company that has such poor customer service would hire a Secret Shopper firm.
btw. I have worked as a Secret Shopper, and there are people who call up customer service lines, reservation lines and ever pizza delivers phone lines to determine customer service.
]]>I was unable to take a flight because of a medical emergency, but trying to reach the airline to ask to cancel my ticket and either refund it or tell me I was SOL (travel insurance would cover it then) was impossible. After a week of Emails and phone calls going unanswered, I called my credit card company and filed a chargeback. As of now, I have won the chargeback (this was in June) unless the airline files by tomorrow (8/14) that the charge was valid.
Of course, the CC company could say that because they have the TV, the merchant did deliver so YMMV
]]>Yeah call the Better Business Bureau, that'll work.
If they have paid their membership dues to the BBB, they will be rated "Satisfactory" even if the TV set climbed off the table and murdered your family in their sleep.
]]>@Cybrczch: bingo (you from CZ or something?), from the article: "On the other hand, they won a "Supplier of the Year" award in their field from Walmart for last year, which may tell you something."
]]>@chiieddy: Because of the gratuitous one line paragraph where Walmart award Funai a "Supplier of the Year" award. After all, you can't talk smack about a company without throwing Walmart's name into the fray.
]]>Send a followup letter to both Sylvania and Funai. Be sure to enclose a copy of your initial letter. Send it Certified Mail so you can prove they received your letter. After the predictable lack of response, initiate a small claims court action against Sylvania for three times the purchase price of the product. (It's Sylvania's product, never mind that Funai OEM'd it for them.)
That just may get their attention.
]]>The OP bought the TV from BJ's, a wholesale club based in the northeast and on the same vein as CostCo and Sam's. While Sam's Club is a Wal-mart company, BJ's is not.
]]>@admiral_stabbin: Hit up BJ's customer service on their website. My guess is they'll tell you to bring it back for an immediate refund and work it out for themselves with the distributor. Otherwise, they'll do your bidding with Sylvania/Funai and get you an immediate escalation to the right people.
I've used them twice before when I had issues, and both times I got almost immediate resolution--once with a full refund, once with an escalation I couldn't get on my own. The guy buying one TV may not mean much to Funai/Sylvania, but the guy buying thousands of them has some serious power.
We've belonged to both BJ's and Costco for over 15 years. Both of their customer service departments rock.
]]>Registrant:
Funai Electric Co., Ltd
3000 Scott Blvd., Suite 111
Santa Clara, CA 95054
US
Domain Name: FUNAIUSA.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
Devicenet USA, Inc. kusanagi@devicenet-usa.com
4125 BLACKFORD AVE STE 100
SAN JOSE, CA 95117-1704
US
408-557-0413 fax: 408-557-0414
Record expires on 15-Oct-2011.
Record created on 16-Oct-1996.
Database last updated on 13-Aug-2009 00:36:24 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.JWEBCITY.COM 216.98.109.133
SARU.MWLK.NET 216.98.102.163
Actually, Thomson SA, a French company still "owns" the RCA IP. However, they have currently licensed all aspects of the business to a Chinese company.
]]>Exec #1: (Pensively) Zannen desu ne?
Exec #2: (After a long pause) Soo desu nee...
The Suntory is then broken out along with a carton of Mild Sevens.
]]>This doesn't mean I'm not still going to call for warranty service if it breaks, but I just don't see the point of getting a "killer deal" on something that is just bound to break in warranty, and start racking up wasted time on my part. You know, time = money?
]]>I know most people don't want more bureaucratic intervention but I think this type of 'support' is prevalant in all industries. You are put on hold for hours or transferred multiple time before getting dropped. There's secret shoppers so why not secret callers and if calls aren't answers/fixed in a certain time frame or a percentage of calls aren't take care of then the company gets fined. Make them actually put some effort into customer service. it's like they have 50 people signing up new customers but only 2 guys that work only 3 hours a day to take complaints and file returns.
]]>I'd try taking it back to BJ's. IF that fails, I'd file a credit card dispute. If Funai can't answer the phone they'll still get a chargeback from BJ's or the CC company.
And Funai? Really? Please just shop more carefully for mid-tier and upper brands like Panasonic/Sharp/Hitachi. If you watch the sales and rebates you can get those for close to these gotcha brands when they change model years and you'll have none of the hassle and *surprise* actual support of something goes wrong.
]]>@ColoradoShark: So what remedy do we have if a company is unreachable? Is that a form of denying warranty resulting in legal liability (breach of contract)?
]]>Stay far far away from Funai products.
]]>@☠Grяrяrяrяrя sings the doom song now!:
Coby does make a very useful all region DVD player-for $30. The player costs less than the Australian Farscape Season 1 discs I play on it...
]]>I used to be a Sony guy until I found Samsung; they really are the bang for your buck leader. And don't peg for American brands because it's all made in China. "Designed in America/Distributed by an American Company"=pfft.
I still haven't figured out how Colgate-Palmolive AND Proctor & Gamble get's away with not having any country of origin/manufacture information on their products. Take a look at your Irish Spring, Colgate, or Crest folks! That's phony "Buy American" fraud plain and simple; and for items that can directly affect your health if tainted.
]]>Even getting support for a mid-level brand can be hell-on-earth though, as I can attest to when I tried to get my Samsung TV repaired under warranty. It's a long story, but it was awful.
]]>Take it back to the store!
]]>The down side is that the warranty actually sucks. I didn't bother with the phone number, I found a local "authorized service center," and the TV was taken there. Unfortunately, while the part (probably $30, the backlight's inverter) was covered, they charged for labor, a good bit over $100!
the final on this: will not buy again. I had purchased, maybe a year before, an OLEVIA TV from BJs, likewise $100+ less than the cheapest of the "major" brands, and besides having trouble finding universal remotes that work with it, and a general lack of features (PIP, extra inputs, etc.) I've had no problems at all.
]]>@bkdlays:
Yea Costco!
Disclosure: I work for them and am proud to do so
Text-
Locate a Funai Authorized Service Center
Enter your zip code below to find a nearby Funai Authorized Service Center.
Please consult your Owner's Manual, our FAQ section, or call one of our Customer Support Hotlines before taking or sending units (particularly VCR's) to a service center.
If a unit in need of service was purchased within the last 90 days and you have a receipt, an Authorized Service Center will repair it free of charge. If it has been more than 90 days but less than one year since the date of purchase, and you have a receipt or other proof of purchase, an Authorized Service Center will replace any defective parts free of charge, but you will be responsible for any labor charges.
Postal Code:
Please contact the Authorized Service Center to be sure they can repair your specific model, or if you require service on a television larger than 13".
Please note: If a product was purchased at Sears or if the model number begins with SR, please contact 1-800-469-4663 for service.
]]>On a related note, RCA is no longer a true brand, but a logo that is simply placed on mass marketed merchandise, not even manufactured by the same company. Some French company just licenses the name out to various companies to slap on their TV, DVD player, remote control.
RCA may have been a big player in 1955, but today I wouldn't even go near it.
]]>BTW, this worked well once when I was almost ready to sue the phone company. I got a real lawyer who somehow had the power to fix the problem within 24 hours (which was basically just stupidity in customer service).
]]>The last Magnavox DVD player I bought $30 lasted exactly 4 days. At least it was cheaper than a rental, but that's not the point: I have purchased cheaper, Chinese-branded DVD players in the past that lasted me years.
So even in the low-fi end of that business, Funai brands are best avoided. From my experience any no-name brand will probably serve you better. DOn't be fool by the logo on the box - these companies no longer exist!
]]>I paid a little bit more for my Samsung, but I can definitely say it was worth it.
]]>You get what you pay for. I have a Sony and I definitely paid.. but I love it.
]]>BART: Don't be a sap, Dad. These are just crappy knockoffs.
HOMER: Pfft. I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there's a Magnetbox and Sorny.
SALESMAN: Listen, I'm not going to lie to you. Those are all superior machines. But if you like to watch TV, and I mean really watch it, you want the Carnivale. It features a two-pronged wall plug, a pre-molded hand grip well, durable outer casing to prevent fall apart...
HOMER: Sold. You wrap it up, I'll start bringing in the pennies.
]]>"including a complimentary extended warranty of an extra year on electronic purchases"
[www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com]
Sam's Club return policy was (maybe still is?) epic. I had a TV fail after a year and a half (37" Vizio LCD). They note only took it back (sans packaging), they returned every single penny I originally paid for it. Further, they were nice while doing it.
Absolutely amazing.
]]>