Can i get a replacment or will they attempt a repair first?

[Anonymous]

Hey Oldboy

Thanks for you great post mate, i know all too well about how good Amazon are with their customer services as i had a sony bluray left in my garden by the delivery firm with the slip through the door while i was away for weekend and surprise surprise it was not there when i came home, ! call to amazon 2 days later another sent by recorded delivery which i recieved last week quality service from amazon!!!!

as for my tv issue mate i have not yet arranged the tv to be looked at i have to call them to arrange it sony centre are too useless to even do that!! I think I will have to arrange a chat with the manager as I left their more frustrated than when I went in there yesterday! As for speaking loud so customers could hear I did not have that option as I was the only customer in the shop for the whole 20mins I was in their so I was having a conversation with 5 absolute fools. If my misses was not with me I would have lost it in there as i was quite fired up and was scoping the scene Jason Bourne style and planning my moves on these midget morons which would have not helped my case atall. They obviously did not believe that i had 4 previous sonys from richer sounds or infact that Richer sounds actually advise customers not to buy the sets due to the issues I have suffered!!!

I will have to read through the links before I talk to the manager so i get my facts straight but if they are taught by him i hold little hope!! All they do is say you have had it for 6 months so you have no other option than a repair I should have brought it back within 28 days then they could have helped me out What i cannot get across to them is that i have no confidence in this particular set and i am not seeking a like for like set and i am prepared to pay the extra 200 quid to go up to a 46 inch set of the ex range if i cannot do that then i will be pushing for a refund as i cannot risk it with the 40!!! As your further issues have proved mate!!!

My misses is now starting to feel my pain now too she was appalled by their customer service or complete lack of it she may even pop in there tuesday to put in her two cents!!! She stayed silent throughout my chat to the 5 gimps as she said i was doing such a great job and was not backing down but i could not break through their pre prepared speech that they probably play on tape while they sleep!!!

If i do get a refund i really thing i will be going for your new panny or the 46 inch version of it mate gonna try to have a look this week! I need to see if i can pick up the phospher trail thing! The more i think about it the more i wish i went the plasma route as I really see flaws in most LCD sets i see in shops or am i just being too critical. The 3 things that put me off plasma seem so trivial now!! which were screen reflections dust behind glass panel and double image which i think you have stated that all are not a problem.

I am watching golf on my tv now it looks fine at the moment but i just know that when it is a dim scene in a film i will get the smearing and of course If i turn the lights too low i get unwelcome bleed which even my wife is gettin annoyed by now!

BTW mate how long did you have the set from sony centre before you got your money back?

I just noticed that at the bottom of my rubbish centre receipt it says "Solus Electronics Ltd Trading As Sony Centre Basingstoke, Farehem, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton London road, Southampton East Street" (the last one being the offender) so i read that as Sony not owning these stores!!!! I thought these were Sonys shops or are we being deceived again?

Thanks again olboy for your great post

 

[Anonymous]

hey Oldboy

Forgot to ask a couple of questions on your set!!

Any sign of image retention or screen burn?

is there an option in menu to reduce these probs i remember samsung plasmas had some kind of option!

Can you save different settings per input?

have you spoken to panasonic to see why there are no numbers next to menu settings on the uk sets?

do you use the thx setting?

 

[Oldboy]

bigboss:Oldboy:

Hi Snakey,

I feared this would happen! As i said to you before, getting my money back was extremely difficult from the Sony Centre. I got fobbed off the first time much like yourself but rather than stand there arguing i went home and made sure i knew my rights, the best advice i got (and from a real person lol) was from Consumer Direct so here's the link mate: http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

Go to the contact us part of the site and the phone number is there, give them a ring and they will help you. I got the exact part of legislation i needed to fight my corner, it's part of the Sale of Goods act that states if the product is not fit for purpose....i can't remember now the exact wording but it's what i used as my argument and i stood there saying it as loudly as i dared so that the entire shop heard!! I also told them that i was in contact with Consumer Direct and that Trading Standards would be looking at my case if i wasn't refunded. When you contact consumer direct they may pass your details to trading standards because they work in partnership and all retailers want to avoid trading standards at all costs he he!

Unfortunatley it seems your local sony centre is just as bad as mine, i know exactly what you mean mate you are treated like a moron who knows nothing about modern tv's yet when you speak to one of the so called 'staff' you know more about it than they do and yes most of them are utterly useless at best. It seems across the entire sony business that when you say the word backlight clouding the instant response is: well i have one and i've never seen it OR we have sold thousands of these tv's and never had one come back, it's rubbish and just an attempt by sony to not admit there is a problem....there is a problem for sure and you have to look at it every time you switch the tv on!!

I would not be happy with the staff in the shop saying about pre-production models and would be putting that to the manager when you see him, the staff should get their facts right before they spurt out that load of absolute tripe! This is all an attempt by the shop to distance itself from the clouding issue, please don't give up! You have the right to demand a refund with the sale of goods act and if they refuse they are breaking the law and it would be at this point that trading standards would get involved and take the store to court and potentially shut them down (it won't go that far but knowing that it can is a powerful tool for you, yes?).

Also, have you accepted the offer of an engineer visit? I would not have entertained that option personally but i can understand that under the circumstances it seemed like the best you would get. I would speak to the manager with all your info in hand before you went down the route of an engineer calling round, can you cancel the engineer? I just don't think it's necessary until you have put your case to the manager first as you may well get a different outcome as i did, i'm really sorry they are messing you about mate and the best advice i could give you is keep going and don't give up as the law is on your side.

Another thing to consider is your method of payment, did you pay by card? If you paid by credit card or some debit cards then your issuer may be able to help, some banks cover this sort of thing when you pay by card and you can claim back the cost of the item i beleive but i never got that far...might be worth a bit of research but i can't say for sure if it's entirely true as i never looked at that option.

Instead of phoning the repair place on monday i would be phoning the store to arrange a face to face with the manager but i know that's difficult for you to arrange due to work, however it is much better than having that conversation by phone so could you arrange that for next weekend perhaps or an evening?? When i met the manager face to face and put my case to him it took the length of our conversation for him to accept that the tv was faulty and to issue a full refund BUT it took all that hassle with consumer direct and points in law for them to start changing their tune which is quite frankly ridiculous!!

For comparison here is how Amazon.co.uk dealt with the 2 faulty tv's i received from them. It took just 1 phone call to sort it out in each case and those calls were free, they apologised for the faulty tv i received and put me through to tech support who just ask you to do a factory reset to see if it cures the problem. In my cases it didn't so a replacement was ordered whilst i was on the phone and it arrived the next day with an email arriving from amazon that day with all the returns info and free returns label for DHL. When it came to my refund they apologised yet again and just asked for me to return the tv via the same process as before and once they received the tv back at the returns centre then the refund would be issued, i had the refund in my a/c within 5days and with absolutely no hassle what so ever!! That is how customer service should be done Sony so take some notes....!!!

Hope i've been of some help mate, as ever if you have any other worries post on here and will do my very best to help, beleive me i know your pain oh too well

Top post, oldboy!

Thank you very much for the kind comment! Just trying to help ease Snakeys pain....fingers crossed for a result

 

[Oldboy]

maxflinn:

yes , great post oldboy

...

it must be so frustrating dealing with the kind of c### customer service you and snakey have had to put up with ..

full marks to amazon

Many thanks max for the comment! The Sony Centre are that bad i would rather pick out my own eye balls with a cocktail stick than go back into one of those stores, i would like to recommend them for an award for being inept and useless if there is one lol.

 

[Oldboy]

Hello Snakey,

This post may go on a bit as i work through all your questions but bare with me i will answer them all.

Amazon are brilliant eh, i have never had a problem with them and can only praise them for having the best customer service i have experienced, top marks!

First off don't call for an engineer visit, instead i think you should contact the manager of the store first and see what he says to your concerns. Arm yourself with as much ammo as you can Mr Bourne (loved that comment about scoping the shop out Bourne style, cracked me up lol) with advice from consumer direct and that other handy link Big Boss provided (top man!).

This is important mate, whatever happens and no matter what the manager says it's vital that you keep your cool and stay calm as you won't get any help if you get angry! I know how tough that is when dealing with the morons in some of these stores but it must be done if you are to get a result and the pain is only temporary. It doesn't bode well for the store if you were the only one in there on a saturday, you would think they would be going out of their way to please one of the few customers they have, no? Let's just hope the store has more customers in it the next time you go....time to raise your voice a little then!

I had no idea Richer Sounds were advising customers to not buy these sets....that's as much proof as you need of there being a problem with these tv's! Don't listen to their pathetic excuses you know the tv is not fit for purpose so just let it go in one ear and straight out of the other, it's nonsense and they know it! What they are telling you with regard to having your tv for 6months is rubbish, it may well be company policy but the law is the deciding factor here not the store's policy. As you will find out, if the item is not fit for purpose then all this talk of 28days and 6months ownership is nonsense as the law states other wise in this circumstance and you are perfectly within your rights to demand a refund, i don't blame you for having no confidence in the tv after 4 previous models either and i can't see how anyone would.

Oh yes that's a great idea to get the misses involved, the more the merrier i say! There is nothing worse than feeling like you are all alone when fighting your corner....which was the case for me, long painful story there of heartbreak that really dosen't need to be aired in public. As for your options on replacement that really depends on you mate, do you want to spend some extra cash for a bigger screen in the Sony Centre or (which would be my advice) get your money back, take your time and go elsewhere with better customer service? After your experience i wouldn't want another tv from that Sony Centre because what happens if you are really unlucky and get another faulty tv? The question is how much confidence do you have in both Sony and your branch of the Sony Centre, the answer to that should tell you what direction to take with regard to your choice of replacement.

As for the merits of plasma it sounds to me like you have a very keen eye much like myself as i kept picking out picture flaws with the lcd's i had and no you wern't being picky as my G20 has eradicated all of them even on my Vbox which was easily the worst offender with it being scart connected. As for your other questions in your second post regarding plasma i can confirm i have seen absoluetly no examples of image retention or screen burn, i have had the tv for 3 weeks now and it's been well tested across all sources now as i'm still recovering at home from my sugery so you can guess how much use it has had! I've had extended gaming sessions on it now but only after a solid 2weeks almost constant run in, and even with constant HUD's on screen neither IR or screen burn has occured but there is no menu option like you mentioned to reduce these probs but it's not needed on the G20 i guess.

On the question of saving settings per input i only got my head around it over the weekend as it's dealt with differently to the sony tv's but the short answer is yes, but it's not straight forward and has some issues....you can only save your settings to an input when using the Professional1 or Professional2 picture settings so if you use for example the THX or Normal mode those settings remain the same no matter what input you select. I used the THX calibration disc on Star Wars to adjust the THX mode and now use it just for movies as it has the most accurate colour and greyscale calibration out of the box untill i decide if i'm going to get it calibrated by an ISF engineer or not. The bonus with the Panny setting it's inputs this way is that when using the Professional 1 or 2 modes more menus open up for calibration that you don't get on the other modes, you get white balance, colour management and gamma settings as one whole menu. I haven't used them though as it's a bit beyond me tbh and it seems more suited to proper calibration and instead i use Normal for tv, Game for the obvious and THX for movies but i have adjusted the normal and game modes as by default the game mode is way too bright and the normal mode too dull but i've found THX mode brilliant with movies...

I never did speak to panasonic regarding the lack of numbers on the uk menu's, it's my only gripe with the tv as it goes and it's even more annoying when the us and other eu models have the numbers, god only knows what the thinking behind that was.

oops forgot a few things about the Sony Centre. I had my tv for about 7-8weeks before i got my money back so i too was out of their supposed 28day policy and yes you are correct about the Sony Centres, i beleive they all operate independantly or as in your case many in the local area are run by one individual company and are not actually run by Sony themselves but others on this site would have more info on that as i'm not entirely sure how it works but you definatley didn't buy your tv from sony (as the retailer).

Hope that didn't waffle on too much and was of some help to you mate, here's hoping you get this resolved quickly now

 

[JoelSim]

Just demand a refund, you are entitled to one. You may also want to direct them to this thread, the site having over 1 million unique visitors every month. That'll speed them up I'm sure. I, for one, would be happy to visit their shop on a busy saturday afternoon and start creating a loud fuss if they hadn't sorted out a problem for me.

When will these companies realise that when they do this it has a very detrimental effect on confidence and sales!

 

[bigboss]

Oldboy: Oh yes that's a great idea to get the misses involved, the more the merrier i say!

In fact, why don't you take 4 of your mates you may have met at the gym to come with you

 

[Anonymous]

i have to say i think richer sounds are brilliant , anytime there is a thread on here (or other forums) where people are querying their customer service , the rs manager comes along , apologises , gives an email address , and asks that the unhappy person contacts him to try and get things resolved ...

i mean what more can you ask for ?? ive had no dealings with sony centres myself , but having been following this thread , im unlikely to be having any dealings with them in the future either ..

 

[Oldboy]

bigboss:

Oldboy: Oh yes that's a great idea to get the misses involved, the more the merrier i say!

In fact, why don't you take 4 of your mates you may have met at the gym to come with you

Now there's an idea.....

Sony Centre VS the consumer.....fight!

 

[Anonymous]

hey oldboy

Did not have a chance to call the repair place today as i am rebuilding some big compressors which is hard dirty work and i do not wanna lose my rag on the phone and as you say i should talk to the manager first which i may do tommorrow on the phone if i am not too stressed like i was today as i have a few days doing the same kind of work did 16hrs today:-(

i did however get a chance to look at your set on my lunch today of all places tesco had it on display but the idiots had no inputs on it just a screen saying no freesat channles connected please ensure the cable is connected plus there was no remote so i could not play with it. I did notice however that the hdmi1 screen was much darker maybe it was configured differently? How do you guage black levels by a black screen? bars at top and bottom of films? i think the screen on the ps3 when you go to shut her down is a good example!! do you have your ps3 set to full RGB or limited? does your panny accept full RGB the reason i ask is the black screen on the panny 42g20 i saw was not really dark!!! Probably set up all wrong!!! I like the fact they now use swivel stands!! I see a samsung plasma there that had something called screen burn protection pixel shift or something!!! Samsung plasmas do not do too well in reviews eh?

You do not go on too much by the way mate you are a very big help! How is the leg coming along mate?

 

[Anonymous]

love the pic by the way some of those guys look fierce hehehe

 

[Oldboy]

Hello Snakey,

Wise move that, not phoning when you are stressed, let me know how you get on if you get a chance to speak to the manager today. Long hours those mate so hope you get the chance at some point this week to speak to him/her, you have the ammo now so nothing to worry about.

One thing i forgot to say about my plasma is that 1 of the hdmi inputs (hdmi2) is ARC (audio return channel) compatible. This just means that sound can be sent via hdmi and may mean less cables if you have the right kit as one cable can now deal with the tv sound connection to the amp with no optical needed. As for the G20 in Tesco's i have no idea why hdmi 1 seemed darker as i have not got this issue on my tv (i checked this morning after reading your post), i would assume that the tv has not been calibrated and it may well be the case that the tv is set to the 'shop' settings which brightens the picture to compete with the lcd's on the shop floor. That doesn't explain the difference in black levels though but without an actual picture to look at it's almost impossible to gauge what's going on there! As for gauging black levels that's a good question and i've heard many different theories but for me it's not just the one uniform level of black you are looking for (like on the ps3 shut down screen) but the subtle differences in shade and depth that you get with a 'dark' film such as Dark Knight. That's where black levels really shine as with my plasma there are levels of detail and shade that i have never seen before in that movie despite watching it a fair few times before.

I normally use a favourite movie to judge the black levels, i use Star Wars as a dvd test (lots of nice space shots) and Dark Knight on bluray. Although you notice differences with things like the ps3 shut down screen they don't show the full spectrum of blacks the tv is or isn't capable of so i find it best to watch a few choice scenes as a comparison.

As for the ps3 setting i have it set to full rgb which gives lovely rich colours and i also have super white set to on. One reason you were seeing a not so black screen in tesco's is that light can really effect the levels of black on a plasma and when powered down you will notice that the screen appears a grey colour instead of the black you get on lcd's, if i get a sunny day i find i need to close the curtains as the blacks start to appear grey in colour. This is entirely normal for a plasma and just one of the few drawbacks of the tech but once i close the curtains a little the problem goes away but it is something to bear in mind, the picture is much more sensitive to light but never unwatchable and only ever effects black levels.

To be fair i wouldn't judge the tv by seeing it in Tesco's with no picture but it's a start...you might be lucky and they get a picture running through it soon so perhaps check back if you get the chance? As you suggest i doubt very much if much thought would go into the picture set up in tesco's anyway so don't judge too harshly untill you see it in action, and when you do it's hard to not be impressed.

As for the Samsung plasma's from what i have read they don't get rated very highly and suffer from IR and screen burn hence the feature to reduce the problem, i have no idea how the tech works but it certainly isn't a feature on my panny which inspires even more confidence in my tv! Good to hear i'm not going on too much and my knee is healing nicely now and getting movement back slowly, physio is next which won't be much fun but at least i'm on the road to recovery so many thanks for asking.

Hope you have a good day mate, speak soon

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Oldboy

No i did not get a chance to call the rubbish centre today as i had another full on day but I hope to do so tomorrow and I will try to hold my nerve hehehehe

I know that the G20 i saw was not set up right and i am sure it is a fantastic set i really like the look of it but i do not want to consider that option too much or i will then become obsessed with getting that baby hehehe I thought that was the case with the blacks looking not so black when there is a lot of external light! rather like CRT eh? It is better that way than it looking black during the day and at night the backlight being way too bright and that is ignoring the bleed!! Now you describe it I really wanna watch the dark night on the G20 i love that film so much Batman is my superhero of choice hehe that film is a cross between batman and james bond. I love all chris nolans films Momento(awesome) Insomnia(awesome and has al pacino in it) both the batman films and the new one inception is sooooo amazing mate you have to see it!!!

Take care of that knee mate off to give mine a bashing on my daily run

 

[Oldboy]

Hi Snakey,

All the best things come to those who wait...looking forward to hearing how it goes with the Fony Centre now mate! That's exactly how plasma is during the day, more like crtv but it never kills the picture with excessive light just the blacks and i'm sooo much happier knowing that when i turn the lights down in the evening there are no torches in the corner of the screen....it used to feel like a manhunt was going on behind the tv hehe!!

The Dark Knight was a true revelation on the G20 mate, i'm not just saying that because i have a nice new tv but because it's one of my favourite movies and i thought i'd seen all it had to offer.....wrong, very wrong! It changes the feel of the movie as more details are brought to the fore throughout the films many dark scenes, there is too much to list here but let's just say i found it very impressive. Momento was the film that got me into chris nolan as a director as i just loved the way he messed with the time line so nicely in that movie (have you seen the easter egg on the dvd? you get to watch the film in the correct order which is weird!) and it had such a strong cast with fabulous performances from Guy Pearce, Carrie Ann Moss and Joe Pantoliano, awesome film! I've become a fan much like yourself and Insomnia is one of Pacino's highlights of recent years and a fabulous film, i was so happy when he got the Batman gig, my favourite superhero gets my favourite director of this generation...how can that go wrong!? Those 2 batman films even showed Tim Burton how it should be done so enough said....tragic about Heath though, when you watch that movie you can't help but think what could've been, the man steals every scene he appears in imo!

How i wish i could sit in a cinema right now....i so want to see Inception but if i have to wait for the bluray then so be it but i'm very jealous you have seen it, i presume it's corking?

 

[Anonymous]

hey oldboy.

Still no further with the tv situation at the moment as work is manic right now (off to work in 5 mins and probably tomorrow too) called the fony centre(love that by the way) 3 times all of which manager was not there which sounds about right. Got personal probs with the family back home in london too and hols in 2 weeks and as i wanna be focused on this and get what I want i need to do it when i have the time but I will not let it go thats for sure!!!!

Played around with your set in comet the other day I think it is ace mate they also had the 42v20 there fair bit more money blacks looked better under bright lights though something extra added to tech spec maybe? I noticed a fair bit of issues with text in moving pics on the g20 say when you have subtitles on the letters break up when there is movement behind the text I found out this was the IFC system I also get this with my sony but not as much! this slao goes when motionflow is off! did have you noticed this?

Seen inception yet mate?

Off to work I go

 

[Oldboy]

Hi Snakey,

Sorry to hear you have some family probs at the mo, i hope it all sorts itself out soon. You are right to put it off untill you can focus on it properly but keep me up to date if you can as i'm looking forward to hearing how you get on, and have a great holiday it sounds as though it's well deserved! Where are you going mate?

Good to hear you had the chance to play around with a G20....i haven't seen the V20 yet myself out of fear that i would regret getting the G20 lol but i know it's pricey so perhaps i will have a look this week and just hope i don't come away disappointed he he. I have no issues with scrolling text on my tv, for example as i write this i have sky sports news on the tv and the constant scrolling text at the bottom of the screen is smooth with no break up. I will put a foreign language movie on later and report back with how the subtitles look but it's not an issue i have come across atall so far, even with weather forecasts which show alot of text on a moving picture i have absolutely no issues. That's strange and i have absoluetly no idea what is going on there i'm afraid, perhaps its to do with the quality of signal the tv was receiving in store??

What is the IFC system that you refer to?

Going to see Inception this week mate and i can't wait, hope you are ok mate and hope to speak soon (don't work too hard!)

 

[matthewpiano]

Having worked in a Sony Centre until a couple of months ago I am quite well placed to clear up the questions over ownership of the stores etc.

Sony Centres are all independently operated, aside from one or two which were taken over by Sony UK after their parent companies folded. There are some companies who own several Sony Centres - Sonex and the company that runs Superfi being good examples of this. Then there are some smaller groups who run a couple of stores in tighter geographical locations.

All Sony Centres are subject to store standards audits by Sony UK and a mystery shop programme, but they operate as independent companies and so return policies and levels of customer service can still vary dramatically according to who operates the store and the staff managing and working in the store.

My advice would be to seek out the head office address of the company that operates your Sony Centre. Write to the Managing Director and explain your situation. If this doesn't bring the right outcome I would also be inclined to contact Sony UK themselves - a letter sent by registered post is usually more effective than a phone call. My experience of people across the Sony Centre estate and at Sony UK was very positive and the vast majority of them are keen to ensure customers are looked after and satisfied. Of course, things can always fall apart if you come across a member of staff or store that isn't operating as well as it should be and I would say this can happen in any store/company/franchise.

I hope you manage to get things sorted out to your satisfaction.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey matthewpiano

Thanks for the input mate I will try the things you suggested but first I want to be able to get to talk to the store manager face to face as it is all too easy to get fobbed off over the phone!!!! But as I have said earlier in the post doing that at this time is a little hard due to the amount of overtime at work there is which I cannot say no to!!! If I get no joy with him I will do as you suggest!!!

Matthew I know you have now left the company and of course you can choose to ignore this question!! Did Sony tell all staff to completely deny all knowledge of the known backlight issue with many of their sets namely the w40's and make ludicrous statements like whathifi were sent pre production models! Or I have sold hundreds of em and you are the first with complaint! Or some of the other comments I have mentioned on this thread which I will not bore you with again

Overall I am just amazed by how little they know about tv's and customer service or in fact manners!!!

Cheers mate

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Oldboy

No I was not talking about scrolling text like on bbc news I mean lthat if you have subtitles on watching a movie and onscreen there is movement behind the text it causes the text to tear and rip like on some ps3 games or pc games!!! Or like the bbchd logo is where I noticed it too do you get what I mean?

I am sure when you see the v20 you will still be happy with your tv mate as the reviews I have read say that the blacks are only very slightly darker and that the set has something to improve blacks during the day!!

Yeah family life can be difficult as you get older.We all go through these things makes us put things into perspective though like how wound up I have been getting about this tv after all it is just a chunk of plastic but a chunk of plastic I want to be a nice chunk of plastic

I had to explain to my old man over the phone last night how to book a flight and hire car took him through the whole process wow that took ages parents and tech eh???

jamie.

 

[matthewpiano]

Snakey:
Hey matthewpiano

Thanks for the input mate I will try the things you suggested but first I want to be able to get to talk to the store manager face to face as it is all too easy to get fobbed off over the phone!!!! But as I have said earlier in the post doing that at this time is a little hard due to the amount of overtime at work there is which I cannot say no to!!! If I get no joy with him I will do as you suggest!!!

Matthew I know you have now left the company and of course you can choose to ignore this question!! Did Sony tell all staff to completely deny all knowledge of the known backlight issue with many of their sets namely the w40's and make ludicrous statements like whathifi were sent pre production models! Or I have sold hundreds of em and you are the first with complaint! Or some of the other comments I have mentioned on this thread which I will not bore you with again

Overall I am just amazed by how little they know about tv's and customer service or in fact manners!!!

Cheers mate

Hi Snakey.

The answer to your question is, categorically, no. I have nothing to lose or gain here but every contact I had with people from Sony UK (at many levels) gave me no reason to believe that there was anything wrong with their approach and attitude to customers.

 

[Anonymous]

hey matthewpiano

well that is encouraging I guess I have been unlucky then in the store I chose however the store in tottenham ct road London pretty much said the same thing!!!

well we live and learn eh

 

[matthewpiano]

Snakey

I think the problem here is an uneveness in the quality of Sony Centres, very much dependent on:

1) Who owns the store
2) Who the manager is
3) The staff in the store

Despite Sony's efforts I think that variability is always going to exist because, ultimately, these are independent businesses.

I'm not saying this is right, and I'm certainly not saying that you should accept the level of service you have so far received.

 

[Oldboy]

matthewpiano:Snakey I think the problem here is an uneveness in the quality of Sony Centres, very much dependent on: 1) Who owns the store 2) Who the manager is 3) The staff in the store Despite Sony's efforts I think that variability is always going to exist because, ultimately, these are independent businesses. I'm not saying this is right, and I'm certainly not saying that you should accept the level of service you have so far received.

Matt,

Great info there from an ex employee! I think you have hit the nail on the head as i have had varying levels of service depending on the Sony Centre i have visited. I made the same mistake as Snakey and bought my last 40ex503 from my local Sony Centre after receiving some excellent service at the Romford centre whilst visiting my parents, i wrongly assumed that the level of sevice and after sales care was the same across all stores (i was assured that if i had any problems i could return the tv for exchange or refund with no problems) but this is most definately not the case!

With all stores carrying the sony logo and being the first point of contact for most customers you would have thought that quality of service and more importantly consistancy of service would be a top priority, perhaps sony themselves should take a look at the retail side of their business because imo some stores are most definately letting the side down....my local sony centre is one (colchester) and i'm sure Snakey would say the same about his local sony centre!

The refund and returns policies should be the same across all stores also, this would stop the problems both myself and Snakey have had when seeking a refund/replacement....it seems like it's just left to the stores to decide what refund/replacement policy they follow, again it's down to consistancy! Right, rant over i promise LOL

Just out of interest Matt, do the sony centres have a returns/refund policy that applies to all stores or is it as i said earlier that they have free rein to decide on policy?

 

[Oldboy]

Snakey:

Hey Oldboy

No I was not talking about scrolling text like on bbc news I mean lthat if you have subtitles on watching a movie and onscreen there is movement behind the text it causes the text to tear and rip like on some ps3 games or pc games!!! Or like the bbchd logo is where I noticed it too do you get what I mean?

I am sure when you see the v20 you will still be happy with your tv mate as the reviews I have read say that the blacks are only very slightly darker and that the set has something to improve blacks during the day!!

Yeah family life can be difficult as you get older.We all go through these things makes us put things into perspective though like how wound up I have been getting about this tv after all it is just a chunk of plastic but a chunk of plastic I want to be a nice chunk of plastic

I had to explain to my old man over the phone last night how to book a flight and hire car took him through the whole process wow that took ages parents and tech eh???

jamie.

Hello mate!

Yep i know exactly what you mean now and yesterday i put the tv to the test! Across all sources (tv,bluray and dvd) i have not had one instance of the tearing effect and i know exactly what i'm looking for after many games ruined the immersion for me by introducing stupid ammounts of tearing! The subtitles remain rock solid no matter what is going on behind the text and i've thrown fast panning shots at it along with sport and action movies and nothing has slipped it up. I can assure you that if the problem was there then i would be the first person to report it here and the fact that i own the tv is not blinding my judgement...i do find it very strange that the G20 you viewed had the problem yet mine doesn't, i doubt that is down to the quality of signal the tv was receiving so i'm not sure what was going on there i'm afraid.

I looked at a V20 50" yesterday, i'm pleased to say i came away as happy as i was before i looked at it! Although the blacks are slightly darker and the tv has a premium feel i found nothing to make me feel gutted...infact for the money i stand by the G20 as it represents much better value for money with very nearly identical performance! I guess we will have to wait untill next year for those Kuro boys to do the business with the Panasonic plasma range then

I can totally relate to that sense of perspective that family life brings, won't go into it here but it's amazing just how pointless and stupid it can all seem...as you say, at the end of the day it's just a chunk of plastic but it should at least function correctly eh! And you are not the only one with problems with parents and tech, my dad bought a bluray player a few months back and had to wait untill i visited to set it up. It had been sitting in the box for almost 3 weeks as the manual was a bit much for my dad and he had no idea what a hdmi lead was! Parents eh!??

I have a confession before i go mate....at the weekend i bought a new receiver and finally replaced my ageing Sony amp! I bought a Denon AVR-2310 in the end after looking at the Denon 1910, 1911 and Onkyo 608, for the extra £50 or so it seemed a no brainer to get a £800 amp for £500 and i wasn't wrong! It may not be 3D ready but i have no intention of getting 3D in my home anytime soon and the pay off has been a huge leap forward for my system, i feel like i'm getting the most out of my system now and both music and movies have benefited from substantial gains in all areas. The surround sound is so much stronger and involving....i could go on but won't, let's just say i'm extremely happy with the new amp but it's got so many features and menu's i'm a little lost at the mo!!

 

[Anonymous]

Hey matthew

I appreciate everything you said and I do not doubt that it is true but the one thing thing I did not mentioned but is earlier in this thread and that is when I called sony tech last year regarding my then 40w5500 I had to get info on something they asked if I was happy with the set? I said well as this is set4 i said not really due to the backlight issue!!! He said what backlight issue???

hmmmmmmm