When your TV conks out, there is that moment when you play the “When Did I Buy It?” game to try to figure out whether it is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. And when you realize it’s several months past the warranty date, that when you begin playing a different game: “Should I pay to fix it or just go to town on it with my old golf clubs?” Luckily for one Consumerist reader, he found a Samsung rep who understood his pain and decided to do something about it.

David says his Samsung 32″ LCD TV recently died the true death, 6 months after the warranty expired.

“After discussing the problem with Samsung live chat in which they expressed sympathy but there was nothing they could do, they provided a link to find an authorized repair shop,” he writes to Consumerist.

But all that came up for his zip code in Florida was a location in New Jersey. He called that number and realized it was Samsung’s customer service line.

“After explaining the problem with the TV all over again, they again expressed sympathy and gave me the location of the local authorized repair shop,” says David. “I finished the call to the rep by saying to her calmly, ‘I know it’s not your fault, but I am so disappointed that a Samsung product would let me down, failing so close after the warranty expired.'”

David says this was followed by a moment of silence on the other end before the CSR came back on and told him, “Give me a few moments on hold and let me see what I can do.”

When she returned the line, the CSR offered David a one-time warranty repair for the TV, even though it was no longer covered.

Obviously, this is not Samsung policy; deadlines exist for a reason. But it does demonstrate that sometimes you win the CSR phone lottery and get a rep who isn’t merely reading from a script when they say “I understand your problem,” and that dealing calmly with customer service reps is always a good idea (however difficult it can sometimes be).

While we have your attention, let’s take this opportunity to remind everyone that their credit card (but NOT their debit card) may have automatic extended warranty protection for purchases. So before you go all smashy-smashy on that laptop that just stares back at you with its dead, blank screen, it’s worth checking with your card provider.

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