The unpacking

My trusty old TV served me well for 12 years, but the screen was beginning to show its age recently. That and a combination of other circumstances prompted me to take the plunge and to get a new one. It was a frustrating experience.

It began well. I did my research online and narrowed things down to a 43" LG set which Power City had on offer a reduced price. I went to my local branch, saw the one I'd chosen, thought the picture looked rather dull, and ended up buying a different LG which looked better, cost €30 more and would be delivered the next day. So far so good.

When I got home I did a side-by-side comparison and only then spotted that the one I'd bought had feet at either end, spaced too far apart to fit on my TV unit. I checked the shop's opening hours and phoned to explain the situation and to ask for my original choice to be delivered instead and to be given a refund of the €30 difference. The phones weren't manned at that time of day, so I used an online form to submit my request. Imagine my surprise when my phone rang almost immediately, with a guy from Power City agreeing to both of my requests there and then and putting through an instant refund. Top marks to Power City for customer service.

The set arrived, my old set was taken away for recycling, and I got down to the exciting task of unpacking the new arrival and going through the setup procedure. Unfortunately, a serious problem quickly came to light: the sound and picture were out of sync between the TV and my Freesat set-top box, which is my only source for TV broadcast and recording.

Troubleshooting went on for a week without solving the problem, then it was Easter and my 14-day return option was all too near. I spoke directly to LG customer service first thing on Tuesday morning, tried the only solution they could think of without success and went back to the shop to talk about returning the LG and getting something different to replace it. Once again Power City came up trumps and gave me a credit note on the spot. I spent a while checking out other sets, being aware this time that I needed to avoid anything which had feet at either end. Nothing there ticked all the boxes, so my credit note and I went to another Power City branch and found a nice Sony, even if it meant handing over an extra €100 for the privilege.

I was promised delivery the next day, and it duly arrived this morning. More unpacking and setting up (much more difficult with the Sony than with the LG) and now (writing this the following day) I'm a happy camper, with sound and vision in sync and a stunningly wonderful picture.