We have an older Samsung plasma TV, and one day when we turned it on, it just kept cycling on and…read moreoff with hardly any time in between except for a quick clicking noise. I noticed this happened to someone else on a review, and it has happened to others who have posted online in forums. Short of opening the TV up, I tried everything I could from the forums and YouTube and with Samsung customer service, but I didn't have any luck fixing the TV myself. On Google Maps, Val's was pretty close to our place, so I called him up and asked about house calls and diagnostic fees. He quoted us a really great price for a diagnostic fee, especially for a home visit, and he was able to fit us in within a few days, so I figured it was worth paying (well under $50!) to find out whether the TV was worth fixing vs. buying a new one, especially without my having to carry a big, heavy plasma TV somewhere.
Val arrived on time, was super nice, and was extra kind to my daughter, who was a little interested in watching him work. Long story short, several things could've been wrong with it, so he took apart the TV and took out some of the circuit boards to take back to his shop to test. (Then he put the TV back together, of course, without the boards, before he left, so we wouldn't have a mess.) Within a few days, he was able to tell me those boards were fine, and he would stop by and replace them and get one last board to test. This was the most expensive board, and I think that's why he hadn't taken it, since I wasn't sure if I wanted to pay for a big repair for my old TV (though I like the plasma's picture better than most modern TVs, price would be a factor). Fortunately, after some research, he discovered he could buy just the piece on the board that was likely faulty instead of replacing the whole board. He quoted us a price, and altogether, including the earlier diagnostic fee, the price to fix it was under $200. When the part came in, he fixed our board and brought it back, and the TV was magically fixed. The price was exactly what he described every time... the diagnostic fee for the first visit, then the price for the part, and then the labor.
It's been several weeks, and our TV is still working great. We are very happy to have our TV back and to be able to keep our plasma model. Also, we were very lucky to have a conscientious repair person who was open and fair and did what he said he would do.
Troubleshooting is both an art and a science. Repairs may not always work out. But Val's prices were super reasonable, and we got spot-on estimates, great service, and a fixed TV from Val's TV Repair. Thanks so much! We're very happy customers!