Westingouse: Victory
It only took seven months, a report to the BBB, 30 phone calls, a half dozen emails, and threats of reporting Westinghouse to the FTC and CA Attorney General, but they finally sent me back my monitor. It's the one on the right there (with the very slightly crappier picture quality).
I must say, 3840x1200 resolution is pretty much a dream come true. I can have Firefox and Vim/Emacs open and nice and big, and still have room for lots of terminals, and maybe even a file manager or two. Multiple that by eight virtual desktops.
As near I can tell, it appears to e a new unit, not refurbished. If it is refurbished, it's refurbished well enough that I can't tell one way or the other, which is fine. However I'm still expecting this one to die too. My first monitor died in such a way that it wouldn't power on at all. This one is running very very hot, which scares me. I give it 3 months tops.
It makes me sad every time another person posts to my blog that Westinghouse is giving them the same horrible treatment. But hang in there. Lessons learned:
- Don't buy a crappy brand just because it's cheap. I saved $75 or $100 on this monitor compared to a better brand, but it cost me over seven months of anguish (and $25 in shipping fees to send it back to the factory, and I had to buy a replacement!) Cheap things are cheap for a reason: The company isn't paying anyone to support their customers, or it's cutting corners in the quality of the merchandise, or something similar. Is it worth the gamble?
- Don't buy anything expensive online unless you have a very clear method of getting it replaced if it breaks. Manufacturer standard warranties are evil. Is the time savings of shopping online rather than going to the local big box electronics store really worth it, if you have to pack up and mail your stuff to Zimbabwe for seven months?
- UPS sucks. Hey UPS, how about if you don't drop off $500 pieces of electronics on a random person's front porch without a signature next time? I hope whoever ended up with my first monitor is enjoying it. (Actually I hope they die in a fire.)
Westinghouse sucks. Suffice it to say I won't buy this brand of anything ever again. And neither will my family or friends, who've heard me complain about this for seven months. And neither will many people reading my blog, I hope. Note to companies: Take care of your customers. A new monitor costs you a few dollars, but treating your customers like garbage costs you FAR MORE in the long run.
(Read the whole crappy story of Westinghouse's dishonesty and horrible customer service: The beginning, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, Update 5, Update 6, Update 7, Update 8, Update 9, VICTORY, aftermath.)
UPS will never change. I ordered $500 worth of crap from TigerDirect, and UPS delivered it on a day when there were 3 people home. No doorbell was rung (It is EXTREMELY loud downstairs, where I was.) I just went outside for a smoke and found it by the back doorstep where we put our garbage and cat shit, on an extremely cloudy day. It started pouring down rain less than 30 minutes later.
So UPS does this too. I'm extremely annoyed at how here in Holland if you're not home (or very recently, even if you are home) they'll just gladly give your package to anyone who lives on your street.
I just alked to them about my TV (They will have had it 3 monthes as of next Wednesday) Told them to just send me a check. They said if I want a refund then to go to the people I purchased it from asked how I was suppoes to return the TV to the place of purchase if they won't give it back to me? They did not have an answer. The worst part is it was only some dead pixels that I could have lived with if it happened outside of warrenty.
Heads up for everyone ever trying to deal with a Westinghouse RMA.
I “currently” work for the call center for Westinghouse. It is not our fault the service center will not ship you a tv, or even tell us why. Our database only lists information that has been typed in by other tech support reps, and occasionally things like a logged reciept, tracking number, or RMA number. And yes, it is true that we cannot transfer you to a manager, they do in fact have to call you back. Also, we literally do not have access to any contact information for the corporate office or the RMA center in any way, and even if we did, we are expressly forbidden from given it out. You'd have a much easier time searching for the contact on Google. We also have no way to change any of the Warranty policies, or give you free shipping labels for RMA. Those don't even come from a “manager” at the call center, that all is done through corporate.
Basically, 95% of all of the RMA issues arise from the fact that a)the Westinghouse corporate warranty policy does not allow us any deviation on our level and b)the RMA center is the slowest, shittiest facility I have ever dealt with. Last I heard, there were litterally 5 people working there. Also, the fact is, there are far more returned RMA tvs than there are available to ship back to customers, and that is causing most of the shipping problems. But please don't call us at the customer service and expect us to be able get you a tv faster. We are in NY and ME, and the service center is in TX, we cannot “walk downstairs” like some people would like to think.
If you do want to buy a Westinghouse tv for some reason, please PLEASE purchase it at Best Buy. We have an exclusive deal with Best Buy that if your tv breaks during the warranty period, you can call us to get a return authorization and bring it back to the store directly and get an exchange/store credit, even 11 months 3 weeks and 6 days after you bought the tv. Other than that, DO NOT buy one online, and I'm sorry to say it but, even at Woot, E-Cost, or any other online discount store. ESPECIALLY if it is a refurbished television.
And also, please, everyone, read the warranty policy on ANY expensive item you purchase, especially TVs. You'd be surprised what isn't covered under most electronics companies warranties. Almost every major TV manufacturer requires you to ship a defective tv back to them at your cost.
For all I know I can get fired for posted this online, but to be honest at this point, I could give a shit. Sorry everyone who has had to deal with a Westinghouse RMA, but please remember that if you have to call the tech support line, it really is not our fault, and there is almost nothing we can do.
I have worked in call centers my self, both in house and out sourced. You are right its not the call center fault westinghouse failed to ship my replacemnt. It is the call center fault that when tey became awhere of the issue they failed to do anything about it. You might not be able to “walk downstairs” but that thing on your desk that rings all the time is called a phone, it can make calls too. There is also something called the internet, you can use it to send something like mail only it travels much faster. I would suggest your Ops mangers need to be made aware of how to use these tools.
Telling a customer “what do you expect me to do, I am in a call center in Maine” is not the right answer, ever.
I will never buy a TV online again. I will never buy a Westinghouse TV again but I will also Never knowing deal with a company that out sources it call center to L-3 Microdyne again either. Yes, the system is broken, but no one at your end has tried to fix it either. Your co workers and supervisor proved that all L-3 Microdyne cares about is answer the call so they can be payed by Westinghouse.
Forgot to add the number that “a guy” mention is 562-236-9800. It is Westinghouse is corprate swtichboard in California. I first called that number on October 13 and should have a tracking number tomorrow. Still not the fastest but better then calling the regualer customer service line.
a guy: Thanks for the info. It's pretty much how I imagined. I posted a response here.
Jared: even once I got in touch with someone with some authority at corporate, I still had to threaten and beg for WEEKS to actually get them to keep their word. I suggest calling / emailing them back nonstop until you actually get the tracking number in your hands. Good luck.
Brian: I have been calling. On the plus side the did say they wre giong to send a bigger TV to make up for my diffculties.
Wow, they are truely skilled at coming up with exuses for not having shipped the TV.
Well they provided me a tracking Number today so it might be a Victory for me aswell althought possible a Pyrrhic victory.