The picture on my two year old plasma tv suddenly went black and will not return. A Google search of this reveals that this problem is really common. I was very pleased with my first call to customer service (though it took 45 minutes for me to get through). The representative told me that Samsung would repair the tv for me if the problem was the same mechanical issues as the others and not due to physical damage or otherwise a result of mistreatment. I assured him the product was pristine and waited for the promised call from the local service tech. Upon speaking with the service tech, I was informed that the diagnostic would cost me $125. I stated that this was not explained to me and was told I needed to call Samsung once more. When I did, I was told the company does not cover diagnostics and that Samsung is not bound by the representations of their service reps. I asked to speak to a superior and was provided contact information for the office of the president. Surprisingly, I was contacted the day after my initial email to the president's office. Unsurprisingly, the president's office is just another call center. Shockingly, the person I spoke with, Sean Finnerty, very rudely told me Samsung would not cover the diagnostic or the repair (even if it's shown to not be my fault). I asked for contact information for the superior and was denied. I explained that I was not impressed with the company's consumer inquiry workflow and would like to write a letter in an attempt to affect change (futile, I know). Sean told me the "goal of affecting change is not available to you."

Not only did the company not acknowledge that my issue was common (one representative even told me that plasma televisions do not have capacitors, which mine definitely does), they did so in the rudest way. Prior to this event I was an advocate of Samsung. I own multiple Samsung tvs and other products and have convinced many friends to purchase Samsung tvs. In part, my recommendations were out of a random affinity for South Korea and the wonderful people of that country and a misplaced confidence in any of its products. Following this surprisingly ugly ordeal, I will no longer purchase Samsung and intend on screaming from the mountain tops my customer service horror story.