Wow, I wish i would have been the one to decide to start a business about defending internet rumors.

Far from this practise coming to an end any time soon, I'm wagering that Williams-Sonoma will soon be offering toaster calibrations for a bargain $79.99.

"Firedog technicians should only perform services that they are properly trained in completing."

Someone at CC HQ should tell all their stores then because I don't think many know this.

"Firedog technicians follow procedures ... When conducted properly, the test patterns improve television performance including contrast, brightness and power usage, among other aspects."

Considering that this is completely subjective, I can't actively dispute it, but I can say 99% of the CC installers and technicians I knew in my tenure there could barely tell an analog picture from a digital and a handful thought plasma TVs were "more expensive LCDs."

"If you receive this e-mail, please know that the information is completely false, as far as Circuit City is concerned."

Yes, the information contained in this posted e-mail is, in fact, completely false.

@BrandonOBrien: Yeah me too!

So the supposedly-not-yet-bankrupt Circuit City spends what little money it does earn on "a company that protects its clients from 'online attacks, rumors and misinformation'." Maybe that money would be better spent improving its services. Then it wouldn't have to defend itself. Classic.

As a professional broadcast tech for 11 years now, I have to ask how exactly does a test pattern improve my tv's power usage. While I agree that properly used the test signals can be used to adjust the picture to give you a better image that comes near to SMPTE standards, I call BS on the power usage claims. Plus you can do these youself with any dvd movie that comes with the THX optimizer feature.

Adjusting the power usage? I'd like to call BULLS**T on that!

So how can a consumer tell if a Firedog technician is "properly trained in completing" a service like an HDTV "calibration"? Do we just take the word of the tech who shows up? Do we take the word of the manager who may have told an untrained tech to pretend to do the calibration or he'll be fired? Do they have some pretty certificate they can show me to prove that they've been properly trained?

If I ever have the cash to wad up and throw out a window, I'm going to get this service done...but refuse to let the technition touch my television. he just has to tell me what to do and when.

Anyway to launch a counterattack on that site without resorting to doubling the data force?

@IphtashuFitz: The theory at play is that you can't be a tech until you complete the certification quizzes CC asks you to pass.

I knew 4 computer techs and 3 home install techs in my tenure. 5 of them got multiple attempts at the quiz (when you weren't supposed to have more than 2) and 1 never completed his and was still allowed to go to customers' homes, etc.

Now does the NOTYETBANKRUPT Circuit City have a deal with Sound & Vision magazine? If Sound & Vision is letting them use their name on a suspicious "calibration" system, I'd love to learn more.

Actually, it can affect power usage, but only on a CRT display.

You see, televisions ship from the factory with the brightness turned way too far up. This is so the picture still looks okay under those bright lights in the showroom.

This causes several problems on a CRT display. Firstly, the bright parts of an image expand outward, masking detail. Secondly, the too bright image burns the phosphors that make up the inside of the picture tube, shortening it's life and creating a burned in image and thirdly, more power is required to display an image when it's being displayed much more brightly than it's supposed to be.

Now, is that extra power usage going to break the bank? No. But it is a real effect.

The power usage trick is also true of rear projection tvs. Some have the option to turn down bulb brightness, which not only saves power, it prolongs bulb life.

@valarmorghulis: The thing that boggles my mind is how willing people are to let Firedog techs into their homes and not know what they're doing there. If this calibration was some shady thing they "did" in the warehouse, then that'd be one thing, but would anyone with half a brain let someone they don't know into THEIR house to touch THEIR television without at least trying to find out what they were doing?

@valarmorghulis:

Just get the Avia or the Digital Video Essentials DVD and do it yourself.

It's not exactly rocket science to complete.

@Rey: I don't know if they do, but I do recall Sound & Vision's name and logo being on the old Protection Plan kits that got passed out to every buyer of a protection plan (and thus allowed them to "calibrate" their own TV).

Still, this is a third party PR e-mail. I could post here on this site that I have the backing of Rolling Stone magazine to say that Phil Collins can drum circles around Lars Ulrich. That doesn't mean I actually have their backing.

I think all Flacky McFlackerson means is that Circuit City technicians use the standard Sound & Vision calibration disc, which is generally considered inferior to both the Digital Video Essentials and Avia versions, thus proving even further that Circuit City doesn't know it's shit.

@ Cheviot, good point I had assumed that this was being done for plasma and lcd displays only since no one is buying CRT's anymore.

I'd also like to add to my earlier comment that most people wouldn't see a huge improvement unless the image was extremly out of adjustment, and most people never adjust their tv's to begin with. The only people I ever met in my career that could see it were people who worked in film and image processing or colour timing.

@BrandonOBrien: Why would you want this guy's job? The entire world now knows that Mike Vallebuona is a liar.

I think that someone in Circuit City should be sacked for even having the idea of doing business with "New Media Strageties".

Seriously, it looks like a 10-year old kid formulated the idea behind that "rebuttal" (if you can even call it that). Bringing up unsubstantiated rumors in an e-mail where you don't even address the problem at hand? Bush league.

@cheviot:
Plasma works MUCH the same as a CRT in this regard. It use electricity to excite a gas. The gas emits UV photons that then cause phosphor to glow.

A CRT bombards the phosphor directly with electrons, but either way there is a direct correlation between brightness and power consumed.

Most larger LCD televisions have adjustable back lights, and that can affect power consumption. Once the backlight is set though, a black screen uses MORE power than a white screen.

"Bush League"

After GW Bush, that term seems so much more inferior.

Anyway.....CC and Firedog are proving themselves as bad a BB and Geek Squad. Hell, maybe CC hired all those Geeks that BB let go after their "interrogations"

Improved "contrast" and "brightness". Wow. Oh, wait... improved "power usage". I'd like to know more about that one. (The screen is less bright, so it uses less power?)

And "other aspects". What are these aspects? This is worthy of a followup in and of itself.

What, no gamma? No red push? No RGB gain or bias controls? Convergence? Linearity? Color temperature? What kind of a "calibration" is this?!!

Excessive used of "quotes" used for sarcastic purposes.

Hey, thanks for the shout out, Ben. :)

Listen, I work with Circuit City very closely, and I know firsthand that they would not want their technicians doing something they aren't trained to do. That just wouldn't make sense.

Of course, you are the Consumerist, there is a natural bias for consumers here, and a lot of what you post is spot on. That said, we all know that not every allegation about every company is true, however juicy they may be. I even tried to provide you with some specifics about the calibration process (I'm sorry was that drivel?) to back it up so it wasn't just flackery. You can believe it or choose not to, that's fine.

But bottom line, Circuit City really does care about their customers, they are definitely listening, and when they are wrong they try to be quick to fix it. And isn't that what engagement is all about.

This TV calibration bit reminds me of nothing more than car salesmen trying to get you to buy the 'enhanced rust protection coating.'

@nrich239: "Adjusting the power usage? I'd like to call BULLS**T on that!"

Actually, if you had any idea what you're talking about, you'd know that TVs typically come out of the box in "torch mode" with brightness and contrast settings cranked through the roof. Proper calibration generally decreases these levels, resulting in less power consumption on plasma and CRT sets.

Do research next time.

BTW, I'm not defending this BS calibration, I'm talking about REAL calibration.

@avenger339: "And by the way, that rumor you might have heard about the CEO of Circuit City keeping a secret harem of Romanian teenagers? Barely half-true."

@mycroft2000: it's only $59.95, and my toaster has never worked better. A nice even brown on either side, and it never burns.

However, rumor regarding the weird merger between Circuit City and Blockbuster is true.

[biz.yahoo.com]

"See, they install that TruCoat at the factory, there's nothin' we can do"

It's not fun to watch the CC death spiral. Years ago they had great service and I bought a LOT of electronics from them. Now they are just a bunch of jokers.

I won't be shocked when they go BK and liquidate.

Wow, have to love the internet. I HAVE AN OPINION AND I'M GOING TO TYPE IT OUT WITHOUT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THE SUBJECT!!!!

Proper calibration does reduce power consumption of a set. Also, to properly calibrate using the test patterns, the blue filter lens will only work if your colors are running at the proper temperature.

Calibration is real and legitimate. I can't believe people spend 2k-5k on a TV to cheap out on a $300-$500 service.

it's a scam all the way around. They are charging about 1/2 of what a certified ISF calibrator costs to do something ANYONE could do with a $14.99 Avia DVD.

@WingZero987: You forgot the quotation marks around "service."

Sound and Vision appproval = THX "approval" of certain crappy DVDs. Its a marketing game and means absolutely less than zero.

@WingZero987: That's the subject of an entirely different discussion, but the short answer is that most people who pay $2-5,000 for a TV don't actually care about the picture quality.

@FreeMarketGravy: I am not sure I follow your logic. When my plumbing needs fixing, I call a plumber. When my electricity went haywire, I called an electrician. When my TV was acting up I called a TV repairman. I let these people into my home and I don't know what they do either. Just like auto mechanics, these people could tell me anything and how would I know the difference?

If I knew enough to know that they were screwing me, I would know enough to fix the shit myself.

@qwijybo: By reducing the brightness level, on could argue that there is an energy savings. Minimal, but detectable...

@BrandonOBrien: Same here -- especially since it's damn near impossible to stop a rumor on the internet. I could collect fat paychecks for doing absolutely nothing all day long, and I'd probably get better results than the people who send these laughable emails.

@nick_r: Sure they do! Big is a quality, right?

@TheNewDecider: Props for the Fargo reference. You just have to love that Jerry Lundegaard.

@Lambasted: A Circuit City technician is not a repairman. There's a world of difference between a guy you call who you never meet before something breaks and a guy who is selling you the item to begin with and is selling you an additional service on top of it.

Some who charges a "basically" flat fee for repairs can be trusted to do their job far more than someone who's just tried to sell you gold-plated nickel oxide diode cables, a flat panel installation, a surround sound system, etc.

I'm sorry, but I cannot muster sympathy for those who get victimized by their lack of knowledge over televisions. They aren't like plumbing or electrical wiring. They don't run all over the house and aren't dependent on a plethora of varying factors. They are self-contained machines that come with 90% of what you need to know and the other 10% is available online or from friends. You wouldn't buy a $60,000 car unless you knew why you paying that much and what you were paying for. Why should a TV be different just because the instruction manual's so thick?

@rellog: It's more than contrast. It's color temperature in a plasma TV.

Of course, the original feature details how the person is not ISF certified and was asked to defraud customers. REAL calibration is completely legitimate and worth every penny if you're paying 2k+ for a TV.

I use to work as a Field Copier Repair Technician. I was given an order to go repair a copier. Upon arrival I was made aware that I was not trained nor did I have the experience to repair this model. I called my dispatch and told them the mix up. I was then ordered to try anyway. I actually tried and after wasting an hour I gave up. I explained to the customer the issue and told her to call a different company that specialized with that individual model. I did not charge her for the effort even though I was expected to. I just returned back to the office and made it known to my manager if they ever did that again I wouldn't charge the customer. I wasn't fired or reprimanded. That customer eventually upgrade their copier with our company and bought the service contract. Integrity is the key to customer service.

Please. Fireslog is a joke, and EVERYONE knows it. As is Circuit Shity

As a side question, is it cheaper to have crappy service and then hire a PR firm?

It's a serious question. I'm wondering if companies actually do this to save money.

@sohmc: I often see this line of thinking and I don't really get it. Are there a lot of people who think that the way a company spends/saves their cash and the service their staff provides are in any way directly correlated?

I'll agree that, at least in principle, happy workers are better workers and in that regard, money does buy happiness.

But that's all in theory. If a guy's getting paid $8/hour and is asked to take an online training course that no one checks to see that he completed, does that automatically mean a guy getting paid $20/hour and who is required to sit in on a live training meeting is going to be a font of knowledge about (product x)? No. You can lead a horse to water and all that.

The ideal way to fix the problem of poor customer service is to hire the best, make sure they are the best, pay them well and fire those who don't make the grade or who damage the reputation of the store.

Now find me a store that can survive on that business plan when none of their competitors adopt it or find me a plan that creates these conditions that stores like CC and BB will all agree to.

It's easier, cheaper and more profitable to hire teenagers and college students, pay them minimum wage or "competitive" wage, fire them when they really screw up and replace them with the human equivalent of an umbrella stand that can display a product. That's how retail stays profitable.

@FreeMarketGravy: I understand your point. I think the problem is two-fold: people who don't care to do the research themselves assume that the people in the store can help them make a fair decision and the employees who get paid very little to bring in money for the company.

I worked for CC for a few months to pay bills while I was looking for a real tech job. Everyone agreed I was incredibly over-qualified and underpaid. But at the same time, I was incredibly honest with the customers. If they didn't need the high-end, gold plated cables, I said so. I offered web sites where they could get things cheaper. Got in trouble a few times because of it.

I guess I just miss the days of the mom-and-pop shops who knew the trade and was there if you needed them.

@sohmc: While you should be honest with the customer, you are not paid to direct customer business elsewhere. I would've fired you on the spot and given you a kick in the rear for good measure.