Hello,
called Sony, they told me it's a flat $86 travel/diagnosis
fee to come to the house and look at my 1992 TV, whether I
decide to actually fix it or not. Also the case that the
TV may need a part but they can no longer obtain because
of the age.

Called up one of the Sony service centers in my area,
and their price is $45 for same.

The guy from the service center asked me whether the tube was
still good, in response to my query as to whether repairing
the set made sense.

One things about this Sony 27inch XBR. It runs very cool.
Even after being on for hours, there is almost no heat
at the grill on the back. Perhaps that's why the tube has
lasted.

Dave

This fee is reasonable, especially for the authorized factory service rep.
You must consider the tech's time, traveling expenses, cost of the tools and
equipment, his education to do this type of work, the cost of operation, and
etc. Some of the independent service shops may charge a little less for a
service call. His fee to do a service call also may be depended on his
distance to your location from his.

Many of the independent service shops may not be able to service every type
of fault in the set, without contracting it back out to the factory service
rep. When they do this, they add their cost on to the service to you.

Since your set is a 1992 model, most of the dedicated parts will no longer
be available. Also considering the age of the set, it is very possible that
the CRT (tube) is defective. Nothing should be ruled out. The temperature
out the back of the TV set is not relative to the lifespan of a CRT. Any
electronic component can stop working at any time without notice. Having the
set run cooler would be better overall for any of the components inside the
set.


--

Jerry G.
==========================


"davexnet02" wrote in message
...
Hello,
called Sony, they told me it's a flat $86 travel/diagnosis
fee to come to the house and look at my 1992 TV, whether I
decide to actually fix it or not. Also the case that the
TV may need a part but they can no longer obtain because
of the age.

Called up one of the Sony service centers in my area,
and their price is $45 for same.

The guy from the service center asked me whether the tube was
still good, in response to my query as to whether repairing
the set made sense.

One things about this Sony 27inch XBR. It runs very cool.
Even after being on for hours, there is almost no heat
at the grill on the back. Perhaps that's why the tube has
lasted.

Dave

Corporately our service drive-up charge is $99.00 if the call is next door
or 100 miles away. This includes showing up at a reasonable time of day,
diagnosing the set, and giving the customer a written estimate.
This does not cover actual labour or parts cost, nor other expenses such as
toll roads, ferry crossing charges, or bridge fees. This service fee is not
negotiable and does not apply to the service labour costs that actually is
needed to repair the equipment.
Regarding labour charges: it is corporate dictated on a per job, trouble
level basis. Depending on the size of the product being serviced and the
complexity of the repairs.
Corporately we do sell service contracts that are quite inclusive even
covering crt burns [one time only], lightning damage, etc. the only thing
the S/C does not cover is obvious physical damage or fluid spillage damages.
Personally IMHO, the fees quoted to you are quite reasonable, it is your
decision if your $$$ are well spent on a 14 year set or should be applied to
newer technologies. Cheers
"Jerry G." wrote in message
...
This fee is reasonable, especially for the authorized factory service rep.
You must consider the tech's time, traveling expenses, cost of the tools
and
equipment, his education to do this type of work, the cost of operation,
and
etc. Some of the independent service shops may charge a little less for a
service call. His fee to do a service call also may be depended on his
distance to your location from his.

Many of the independent service shops may not be able to service every
type
of fault in the set, without contracting it back out to the factory
service
rep. When they do this, they add their cost on to the service to you.

Since your set is a 1992 model, most of the dedicated parts will no longer
be available. Also considering the age of the set, it is very possible
that
the CRT (tube) is defective. Nothing should be ruled out. The temperature
out the back of the TV set is not relative to the lifespan of a CRT. Any
electronic component can stop working at any time without notice. Having
the
set run cooler would be better overall for any of the components inside
the
set.


--

Jerry G.
==========================


"davexnet02" wrote in message
...
Hello,
called Sony, they told me it's a flat $86 travel/diagnosis
fee to come to the house and look at my 1992 TV, whether I
decide to actually fix it or not. Also the case that the
TV may need a part but they can no longer obtain because
of the age.

Called up one of the Sony service centers in my area,
and their price is $45 for same.

The guy from the service center asked me whether the tube was
still good, in response to my query as to whether repairing
the set made sense.

One things about this Sony 27inch XBR. It runs very cool.
Even after being on for hours, there is almost no heat
at the grill on the back. Perhaps that's why the tube has
lasted.

Dave

Gentlemen,
thanks for your considered responses.
I didn't mean to imply the quote's were exorbitant;
I was more surprised at the spread and the difference
it made in how the service was arranged.


Sony quoted me $86 if they arranged the service and
got one of the authorized dealers in my area to come to me.
(They gave me the names and phone numbers)

However, they admitted that if I called them myself,
I might get a different rate - and of course they
were right, that's how I got the $45 quote.

Although the TV is quite old, it still has (had?) excellent
picture and sound, which is why I'm considering
the repair.

When I purchased it, way back when, it came with a
pair of cordless headphones. I hadn't seen them for about
10 years when I stumbled upon them about a month ago.
I tested them out with fresh batteries, and although they
worked, the volume they put out was barely audible.
In hindsight perhaps this is the root of the problem.
That TV circuit probably hadn't been exercised in all those
years, now it seems related to the fault, because I noticed
that if I press the headphone button on the RC, the Tv
turns itself off immediately.
Cheers,
Dave

"Art" wrote in message ...
Corporately our service drive-up charge is $99.00 if the call is next door
or 100 miles away. This includes showing up at a reasonable time of day,
diagnosing the set, and giving the customer a written estimate.


How much if the customer drops it off and picks it up?
Diagnosis and estimate only.

$45.00
"mo" wrote in message
om...
"Art" wrote in message
...
Corporately our service drive-up charge is $99.00 if the call is next
door
or 100 miles away. This includes showing up at a reasonable time of day,
diagnosing the set, and giving the customer a written estimate.


How much if the customer drops it off and picks it up?
Diagnosis and estimate only.

Sony has tried to implement a new system where THEY schedule the service
call for their independent servicers. Most have laughed at them for trying
such a ridiculous idea and many have likely upped their rates to cover the
hassle of having to be committed to service calls scheduled by another
company.

As a self servicing dealer, we simply ignored the program, since for
warranty work we only service what we sell for Sony anyway and our customers
are instructed to call us, not the manufacturer.

There are wide variations in service call rates. We charge $50 for a
service trip then P & L are additional. Sears, I am told, charges $96 in
our market. Another local servicer charges $39.95. Another charges $75/hr
for travel time.

Leonard

"davexnet02" wrote in message
...
Gentlemen,
thanks for your considered responses.
I didn't mean to imply the quote's were exorbitant;
I was more surprised at the spread and the difference
it made in how the service was arranged.


Sony quoted me $86 if they arranged the service and
got one of the authorized dealers in my area to come to me.
(They gave me the names and phone numbers)

However, they admitted that if I called them myself,
I might get a different rate - and of course they
were right, that's how I got the $45 quote.

Although the TV is quite old, it still has (had?) excellent
picture and sound, which is why I'm considering
the repair.

When I purchased it, way back when, it came with a
pair of cordless headphones. I hadn't seen them for about
10 years when I stumbled upon them about a month ago.
I tested them out with fresh batteries, and although they
worked, the volume they put out was barely audible.
In hindsight perhaps this is the root of the problem.
That TV circuit probably hadn't been exercised in all those
years, now it seems related to the fault, because I noticed
that if I press the headphone button on the RC, the Tv
turns itself off immediately.
Cheers,
Dave

What corp?

Leonard

"Art" wrote in message
news
Corporately our service drive-up charge is $99.00 if the call is next door
or 100 miles away. This includes showing up at a reasonable time of day,
diagnosing the set, and giving the customer a written estimate.
This does not cover actual labour or parts cost, nor other expenses such
as
toll roads, ferry crossing charges, or bridge fees. This service fee is
not
negotiable and does not apply to the service labour costs that actually is
needed to repair the equipment.
Regarding labour charges: it is corporate dictated on a per job, trouble
level basis. Depending on the size of the product being serviced and the
complexity of the repairs.
Corporately we do sell service contracts that are quite inclusive even
covering crt burns [one time only], lightning damage, etc. the only thing
the S/C does not cover is obvious physical damage or fluid spillage
damages.
Personally IMHO, the fees quoted to you are quite reasonable, it is your
decision if your $$$ are well spent on a 14 year set or should be applied
to
newer technologies. Cheers
"Jerry G." wrote in message
...
This fee is reasonable, especially for the authorized factory service
rep.
You must consider the tech's time, traveling expenses, cost of the tools
and
equipment, his education to do this type of work, the cost of operation,
and
etc. Some of the independent service shops may charge a little less for
a
service call. His fee to do a service call also may be depended on his
distance to your location from his.

Many of the independent service shops may not be able to service every
type
of fault in the set, without contracting it back out to the factory
service
rep. When they do this, they add their cost on to the service to you.

Since your set is a 1992 model, most of the dedicated parts will no
longer
be available. Also considering the age of the set, it is very possible
that
the CRT (tube) is defective. Nothing should be ruled out. The
temperature
out the back of the TV set is not relative to the lifespan of a CRT. Any
electronic component can stop working at any time without notice. Having
the
set run cooler would be better overall for any of the components inside
the
set.


--

Jerry G.
==========================


"davexnet02" wrote in message
...
Hello,
called Sony, they told me it's a flat $86 travel/diagnosis
fee to come to the house and look at my 1992 TV, whether I
decide to actually fix it or not. Also the case that the
TV may need a part but they can no longer obtain because
of the age.

Called up one of the Sony service centers in my area,
and their price is $45 for same.

The guy from the service center asked me whether the tube was
still good, in response to my query as to whether repairing
the set made sense.

One things about this Sony 27inch XBR. It runs very cool.
Even after being on for hours, there is almost no heat
at the grill on the back. Perhaps that's why the tube has
lasted.

Dave