Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bassexpander]

Anyone else have problems with new items purchased that are made by so-called top brands?

We sure do. And when service people are called to "fix" the products, it is often an adventure. In the past, my coworker and I had problems fixing our LG televisions (the service guy seemed to be paid to come, look at it, and announce there was no problem when there obviously was). We went through about six service visits apiece to fix the same issue and finally get them to admit to the problem and replace the TV.

Recently, we purchased a Samsung/Hauzen oven and microwave combo unit and the plastic clock cover/face plate popped-off the first day. It's not a pressing issue as far as the function of the device, but as it was a new product, we decided to call service to come and replace the faceplate. Here's where it gets nutty....

My wife (she's Korean) explained on the phone that it's an oven/microwave combo. In every case, the Samsung people on the phone kept referring back to it as a microwave, and she had to correct them. My wife gave them the product name, number, etc., and later on in the conversation, they'd refer to it as a microwave. Concerned that they didn't understand what the product was, she kept correcting them.

She set a service time, and the guy came out today (Saturday). Before he came, he called. Once again, the guy was fuzzy on exactly what the product was. She had to correct him, give him model numbers, etc., and tell him it's not a microwave, it's an oven. He then came today, looked at the product and announced that he was from the microwave service division, was afraid he'd damage it if he opened it up, and that she should return it for a new one. The guy didn't want to fix it. It was obvious. He was making every excuse not to have to do anything about it.

My wife was livid and went off on the guy for not bringing the part, as was apparently agreed to beforehand. He agreed to come back on Monday with the part.

So my wife called Samsung service and really laid-into the person on the phone. She was really upset because the tone/attitude of the Samsung service guy was like, "Well, why don't you just return the product?" He either was unable or not interested in fixing the product -- he wanted her to go through the bother of returning it.

What exactly are service people for?

In another instance, we purchased a brand new Samsung/Hauzen air conditioning multi unit, only to find the bedroom aircon dumped water on the floor. The service guy this time was able to figure out the problem -- the Samsung installer had forgotten to open it up and remove the correct water plug so that the water would empty out of the tube.

Does anyone else have problems with the quality of "new" products, or the service of products here? We've found the service guys will come out in a matter of hours, but 50% of the time, they are untrained, and often times make excuses.

We've had good luck with Daewoo service. We also had good luck with service on some older Samsung products, where an old guy who obviously knew what he was doing came out and fixed our dishwasher and bidet. The young guys, however, are often worthless.

[Zantetsuken]

[Mr. Pink]

[Forward Observer]

Funny you mentioned this. Two weeks ago, we bought a brand new LG a/c for the bedroom. A week later it wasn't working. The service guy came today and fixed the problem. The gas leaked out because he had connect two lines together (basic line is 5 meters, we needed 6) - so yeah, I guess you could say that it was "faulty workmanship" instead of "faulty product".

[ryoga013]

I haven't bought any large appliances except for a microwave combo but haven't tested it that much yet. I did buy an some external hard drives and computer related products and the Samsung ones just seem to die much faster. I can't download or upload at high speeds using the hard drive or it crashes. The casing on another item fell apart and the wiring on another was crap. My LG phone had it's slider cable rip in half in a few months.

It seems the cheap stuff has worked better for me most of the time.

[Cheonmunka]

Man, you guys have had a run of bad luck.
Saying that, we got a new boiler in winter. It stopped working because the house is quite big that the pressure was weak and puttered out. The A/S guy on the thrid visit did the ultimate deed - took off the pressure regulator. Now the hot water is instant and the pressure - well, it's like a fire hose. Only thing is that ultimate action comes with a warning ...

We got a double frig a while back. One of my kids actually smashed the plastic on the joice holder. Guy came and replaced it without a question of how it got that way.

Sometimes service is good, sometimes not so. Pretty normal though.

Agree with above statement about, 'Who's going to fix this?' once all the oldies are gone.
A lot of these young princesses who spend their way nowadays will be the next generation of street cleaning ajumas.

[Chambertin]

May be way off topic, but this struck me.

Regardless of place, each theater of the world has a major war about every two to three generations.

Could it be that we all get so collectively pissed at the lazy people around us we go to war > ruin the prosperity > work hard in any job taking pride in it > get spoiled > go to war again?

Is the cycle of life completely dependant on the quality of maintenance workers?

[bassexpander]

One gets the feeling that there are different levels of service guys. I believe the phone operator at the service center determines exactly which guy to send out to you -- either level 1 or level 2.

Level 1 service guys drive around in little cars all day responding to service calls instantly. They are there to give the illusion that the company actually gives a rats ass about repairing your product, and provides super-fast service response. The extent of their knowledge is being able to check to see if you forgot to turn the product on or not. The training they receive seems to be more about convincing you there is no problem and coming up with excuses why.

In the event that there is an obvious problem which cannot be denied, then service man #2 -- the real, truly experienced service/repair guy, is sent out.

That has been my experience with products from some of the larger manufacturers here.

The next time something goes wrong, I think I'm going to tell a white lie, make up some major fake problem in addition to my main problem (if required) to make sure I am sent service person #2 who actually knows how to fix something. Then when this guy arrives, I'll explain that one of the problems miraculously fixed itself. He'll then be able to concentrate on the actual problem that I have.

[earthbound14]

I think this is a genuiene problem with living here. Repair men are just not that good a lot of the time.

They are not really trained, they do not come to a job site prepared and they rush. On top of that they probably get paid a paltry sum from a big corporation that is trying hard to cuts costs.

Old or new product, the techs in Korea are not very helpful.

I think a lot of repair men do not get paid by the hour either, they only get paid per part. Mechanics generally charge you more for the part but not work. For instance a 5,000 won bottle of oil costs 7,000 won to put in your car. Bad repair men are not interested in doing work that does not require expensive parts. One repair guy would not put air in my flat motorcycle tire claiming he was a Daelim shop and did not repair Hondas....I had to run my bike with a flat tire to the next shop.

I'm constantly getting mechanics and repair men who try to tell me everything is fine yet they haven't actually taken the time to look at anything.

[Whitey Otez]

Honestly and frankly, I see little difference between the service industry here versus at home in the Pacific Northwest of the USA.

For every inept service person I've met here, I've had some great ones, too.

*My Internet service with KTF has from time to time been bungled. The good service person tells me the problem is at their end, they put me on hold, flip a switch, come back to the phone and viola! The bad service person dispatches a repairman, who comes into my apartment, unplugs all the cords, blows on them, runs a check with some e-meter, messes up my firewall, tells me I have virus problems, calls the center who resets the switch, disconnects my Samsung router, and tells me I need A/S on the router and a virus scanner.

*My building maintenance men are about useless. My toilet broke, and two of them rush up, armed with a screwdriver and pliers. They turn off the water supply to the toilet, then they tell me to call a plumber. Then they ask for twenty thousand won for their trouble. The plumber shows up, switches the guts out of the tank in five minutes, and asks for fifteen thousand won. Thirty-five thousand won to fix a broken toilet is practically free compared to what it'd cost to have Roto-Rooter do it back home, but the building maintenance guys getting twenty thousand still hurts a little.

I could write a book on the good and the bad. Included topics:
*Phone services and why KTF sucks at them but LG does not.
*Buying goods off of G-market: 95% awesome, 5% TV explosions.
*Sending money home: how some bankers obviously wear diapers under their suits.
*Yes, I've lived here for years, I know how to turn on my washing machine/water heater.
*Pay as you go garbage service: yes, please!
*Pizza Hut: Why I can't order from them on the phone, or STOP TRYING TO UPSELL ME!
*Yes, I know my Playstation lens is dirty and cracked from playing copied games. But for the third time this year, I need it replaced. By you. For sixty thousand won, ajoshi.

[sendittheemail]

[VanIslander]

I have had nearly everything break down, from toasters to cd players to portable heaters.

But my Samsung air cleaner and LG big screen t.v. are working fine, the two biggest ticket items, so all in all a wash.

I have wished that Japanese rather than Chinese electronics were the alternatives sold in Korea.

[blackjack]

[phoneboothface]

Here he's saying 42in, the one he is selling is 47in. I still wouldn't buy from him. I'll leave it to someone else to call him on this in the other thread, *beep* taken to callin me spliff in there haha.

[GoldMember]

Easy Solution, just don't buy LG or Samsung products. There are heaps of alternatives. Sony, Toshiba, Westinghouse, Husqvana, Grundig, Panasonic etc.
What a minute, sorry people I forgot, all these alternatives are available in other countries.