Brian is dealing with a spell of terrible luck and/or incompetence in trying to get his HDTV fixed by Best Buy. He says a tech has caused him to take several days off of work, but has yet to repair his TV due to various bunglings.

He writes:

I have an LG 42 1080p LCD purchased from Best Buy in March of 2008. I also purchased the PSP to protect my investment for the next 4 years. The TV worked fine up until 12/26. After that point all of the HDMI ports started causing “digital noise”, flickering and audio static. I called Best Buy on Dec 28th to request service, and was scheduled an appointment for Jan 8th, between 12-4. They only offered M-F, 8-12 or 12-4 service windows, and I work M-F 8-5. I hade to take 1/2 vacation day on the 8th for the tech to come out. When the Tech called to confirm, he asked which port is having the issue, and I stated “all of them” He said he just needs to order a part, and there is no need for him to come over on the 8th. At this point I have had to take 4 hrs off of work.

The Tech called back the following week to schedule the appointment to install the board on Jan 18, so I had to take another 1/2 vacation day. Long story short, it was the wrong part. I understand, mistakes happen. At this point I have had to take 8 hrs off of work.

He ordered another part, and he came out on the 22nd to install…wrong part. At this point I have had to take 12 hrs off of work.

He ordered another part, and came to install on Jan 29th. It was the correct part, but defective. The tech stated that he would submit this as a lemon (3 repairs/attempts) to his supervisor for replacement. Also stated they would contact me in a day with details. At this point I have had to take 16 hrs off of work.

After a few days and follow up calls (29th, Feb 1st, Feb 2nd) to Best Buy, i was told I would need to wait until the end of the week to hear back. After I posted on the BB forum, they called today (2/3) and said another part was ordered and the tech will be there Friday morning. I now need to take another 4 hours off of work.

That’s where I am at now….still a defective TV, out 2 full days of vacation time (2/5 after Friday), and frustrated with Best Buy.

What’s the most vacation time a repairman has caused you to take?

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