Samsung A.I.

A message to Samsung-Canada's online product support:

I ordered this TV from FutureShop and received it on 17.03.2012. The accompanying remote (AA59-00463A) did not work. Fortunately I have another Samsung TV and was able to use it to set up the TV and confirm that this was not a battery issue. I continued to play with the remote in the hopes that some minor jiggling or such would cause it to work, but it will not function.

I contacted FutureShop to see if they would replace the defective remote but they said I would have to ship back the entire TV and they would replace that. That struck me as the height of sillyness so, instead, I searched online for a replacement remote. I found one that looked like it at Amazon and purchased it.

It works fine, but it turns out that it is not identical to the one that came with the TV. The Amazon remote (BN59-01042A) has some different button designations and lacks the SLEEP button that I want.

How can I exchange my defective remote for one that works?

The reply:

Thank you for contacting Samsung Customer Care.

We understand that the remote control supplied with the TV is not working and the you have purchased another remote control that is not the exact unit for the TV model.

We are sorry to hear that.

We recommend you access the below link for some troubleshooting steps to isolate the issue when the remote control is not working.

http://bit.ly/IuXkVS

You will need to isolate if the issue is with the remote control or the IR sensor on the TV.

The TV will be exactly compatible with the remote control part number that is labeled under the battery in the battery compartment of the remote control. The compatible remote control is AA59-00463A as also listed by you.

To replace the remote control with the correct part number, you need to contact the store from you purchased it.

Thank you for contacting Samsung.
Kind regards,
Andy
Samsung Customer Care

The following day I received another email from Samsung titled ‘Thanks for signing up with Samsung’ and stating: “Thank you for your interest in Samsung. Now that you've joined us, you'll be in the know about everything Samsung...” I did not of course sign up — I asked for product support. There was a “click here to unsubscribe” notice near the end, so I did and, after confirming my wish to be removed from their mailing list, was greeted with “We're sorry to see you go. Please allow 7-10 business days for us to process your request.” Oh my!