Should I Get My TV Repaired?
In the electronics repair business, technology changes rapidly. For example, in less than 10 years televisions have changed from tube or CRT sets to projection, LCD, Plasma, and now 3-D LED televisions. Regardless of the type of television you own there is one question that is always asked when these sets break – “Is it worth repairing?”
In reality, TV’s are no longer made only for home entertainment. They are widely used by businesses large and small, from taco stands to corporate boardrooms. Another fact is that the life span of the television is shrinking. I hear day after day “I just bought this TV less than a year ago and now it’s broken and my 10 year old TV in the garage is still working fine.”
If we ask the question “Is my TV worth repairing?” to Sears service, Conn’s, Geek Squad or any large consumer electronic retailer with a service department, the answer will mostly be NO. I am not bad mouthing anyone: I’m just speaking from experience. I worked for one of these companies for ten years, and know their policies.
The technicians need to have a certain number of televisions repaired per day. We needed to have 7 televisions fixed per day and a ‘Not Worth Repairing’ ticket was considered to be a fixed television on my daily report. I would still have a perfect record and look good at my yearly review. Heck, I might even get a full fifty cents per hour raise.
Some company technicians actually get paid a commission for ‘Not Worth Repairing’ since their pay structure is commission vs. hourly. The more not worth repairs, the less work they do and the more money for the technicians because they can visit more customers per day. I heard some technician get paid close to $ 8000.00 a month.
Questions you need to ask yourself to decide if the TV is worth repairing or not are:
1. How old is my TV? If your TV is HD ready, it is automatically worth repairing it.
2. How many hours does my TV run? If it’s like my household, I have two young children. The television is on from the time they wake up until they go to bed. A projection television is the way to go if it is going to be used extensively,
Fact: None of the televisions in the market today last like a projection TV.
3. Cost of TV repair VS replacing your TV.
Keep in mind that you must compare apples to apples, size to size, brand to brand. The reason I say this is because customers mostly think about the price and get excited about specials. For example, if we are repairing a 50 Inch TV, a customer will tell us “I can go to Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club and buy a 42 Inch TV for a few hundred dollars more rather than repairing the 50 Inch TV.” If we look closely the TV is a smaller size and it is not the same brand.
Wrong Comparison: If you have a Sony TV it must be priced against a Sony TV
and the size must be the same, not an off brand such as Vizio. If you do:
1. This is downgrading not upgrading
2. You are not saving money; you are spending more than the amount of the repair [you might even have to finance it.]
3. It is NOT the same brand. Because the brand EQUALS quality [At least name brand companies will back up their products.]
In the end, the decision is yours. If you have the money to spare to buy a new television and enjoy life, do not let price cheat you. Manufactures used to compete on quality, now they compete on price. I do not expect prices to go much lower than they are right now. In Canada all televisions have a 2 year manufactures warranty – in the U.S. only one year. I think Sears, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and other major retail stores care about their customers, but an extended warranty must be given away for free and their service department shouldn’t have any relationship with sales. Give customers the honest cost for repairs and allow them to make their own decision.
Bottom line: It is your money, your decision.
Tags: Should I get my TV Repaired, Television Repair, TV Repair
