Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update: 2012-12-09: We got the TV back. Rather we got A TV back. It isn't the model we had, it is the 'replacement' model, newer, and it is not compatible with the laptop we use for it. However. It is back, apparently they read the review ;-> I must say that the picture on the replacement is very crisp. No dead pixels out of the box, but we will see how long it lasts. I WILL update the review if we have further problems. My original review stands. Four months is too long to wait for service on a warranted consumer product. If they weren't going to fix the original it should have, at the very least, been replaced within the month. Ludicrous. Perhaps they noticed the flurry of one star reviews... Update: It is November 7, 2012: Our TV has been at the 'repair shop' (warehouse? Garbage dump?) now since the first of August 6, 2012. That makes it 3 months. In talking to my husband last night he said "I bet the reason these TV's are so inexpensive is they bought up all the discontinued parts sitting around in China, assembled the TV's and sold them dirt cheap." So what if they break? They are disposable! Trouble is they don't inform the customers that they are throw-aways. Instead they talk about their warranty! And their Customer Service!!!. The disposable TV theory makes sense to me particularly given the treatment we have gotten. I am putting this review on EVERY TCL TV even though we only bought the 42 inch version. In looking at other reviews (and not just on Amazon) TCL has this same ho-hum attitude about customer service for ALL of their TV's. I promise to eat crow if we ever see that TV again, but I don't think I'll be burping feathers any time soon. I would bet money we will never see that TV again. I'd appreciate any comments where people have had satisfactory customer service - it might restore my faith that I will see that TV on the front porch in the next couple of years. ---------------------------------- My original review written in October still stands: When we set it up, we were very happy with the picture quality, there were a few dead pixels, but that doesn't show up much and we weren't concerned. But the whole panel died after only 6 months. We aren't big TV watchers either. The thing was on less than 5 hours a week. So we contacted TCL (after several tries to get them on the phone), they gave us the number of the repair shop we were to send this TV to. After several tries, I got them on the phone. They agreed to send us a box to ship it in (a whole other fiasco, but that's not to do with the TV). We received the packing box (after a couple of weeks). We packed it and sent it to them Fed-Ex the same day. Now the Big Wait begins. After 3 weeks I called (again, several times, for several days before an answer). Oh, its here, it is in our shop and they are working on it. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks because we are So Busy!! OK. Fine. We wait some more. Three more weeks. I call (yes, again, several times over a period of days before I get an answer). NOW there is a problem getting the part. But it should be in 'any time now'. Hmmm. So I wait some more. Another 3 weeks. I call (here we go again! several times a day, for several days -FINALLY an answer). This time someone let the cat out of the bag and told me that the 'panel' that my TV needs is on 'back order'. They have a warehouse full of TCL TV's waiting for this part. She was honest enough to say that it could be 3 months or 3 years before it is received. They simply do not know. Of course it is not the repair shop's fault. I am mad at them for not being more forthcoming, but it is TCL's fault for not providing proper warranty service - TCL simply does not care about customer service. I will update this review as things change, but things probably won't change. This week I am due to call again. I am nothing if not persistent. So, you can go ahead and buy a TCL TV, and you might get lucky and get one that works for a while. But then you can send it to the repair shop so it can keep mine company - in the 'warehouse full of TCL TV's needing repair'. Fair Winds, Cap'n Jan