Saturday, October 11, 2014

The Great TV Caper!

No photos - to protect the innocent!  Just the facts, man.  Isn't that what Joe Friday used to say?

While in Texas, among other things, the TV in the guest house just died.  I mean, what else could happen?.
I've never had TV problems in fourteen years.  But it did, happen.

In order to expedite the matter and to keep the tenant happy, my son, after receiving a call from me, dashed
over, got the TV in my house and installed it in the guest house.......to keep the tenants happy.

When I came home, I had the dead 1998 Sony sitting on the table in the living room.  What to do?  I did look at flat screens in Texas.  I even saw several TVs, with good pictures for sale, at, of all places, the Goodwill for the snappy price of $39.95.  Now these were not slouchy TVs, just not the current rage ones.

I didn't do that either - no new flat screen or no new/old $39.95 one.

Instead, I asked my dear son if he had seen any TV repair places in his colonia and voila, he had.  He told me that on 20th of April street right past Orizaba, he daily saw men working on electronic devices, mostly
TVs.

This past Monday, late in the afternoon, after I had gotten Javier to load that beast in the back of the Pathfinder, I arrived at my destination.  Except, there was NO place to park.  So in true San Miguel style,
I just stopped in the middle of the street, put on my hazard lights like I see everyone else do, and waved
at the man in the doorway.

Obviously this wasn't the first time this had happened because he literally ran out to the back of the SUV, grabbed the TV, like it was a box of Kleenex, and ran back into the shop.

I thought, in my best Spanish, that I asked him to call me before repairing to tell me the cost.  I gave him my card with my phone number.  As I left I wasn't sure if he was calling me or if I was supposed to call him.
I surmised I was to wait for a call as I didn't know his name, his store name or his phone number.  Ha, I hadn't even gotten a receipt for the dead TV.  Who cares?

On Thursday morning I got a call. "The TV was ready.  It has a good picture."  Oh my, how much?
Seven hundred pesos - about $53 USD.

As I got to the door this time, after parking far down the street, they immediately knew who I was.  How?
I guess the red hair and blue eyes?  Heck I don't know.  But, the two men proudly showed me that the TV was like new.  I exclaimed and thanked them profusely.  The man then promptly threw the behemoth on his shoulder and down the street we went to load it in the back of the car.

Of course, even though it worked in the shop, it didn't work at my house.  My son and I tried everything.
We figured it had something to do with the satellite but neither of us knew what.

So the beloved satellite man arrived last evening and, as usual, within five minutes had it all working perfectly.

The lesson I learned yesterday is that the TV is programmed by the remote that goes with it.  When the TV was put in the guest house, the remote wasn't but we guess that they turned it on at the TV.  Anyway, after a quick remote shuffle, both TVs are working perfectly.  Good as new.

Things ALWAYS work out in Mexico, if you just have faith and trust in the people who do the work!
VIVA Mexico!

6 comments:

norm said...

Our Goodwill has a sign begging the public to please stop dropping off their old TV sets. They had a big sale of their TV stock a few weeks ago, where they were all $5.00 and still they have too many TV sets.

Calypso said...

No shortage of consumer adventures in Mexico - and usually there is a cheaper solution than found in the States (not always when it comes to electronics).

You did good!

Steve Cotton said...

Great story. In my stays at your casita, I never turned the television set on.

Babs said...

Wow, Norm. The ones I saw for $39.95 were all gone the next day, so I'm happy they are being "recycled".

Calypso, thanks. It just seemed silly to buy something new if the old could be restored. Glad it worked out.

Steve, I think you are the only one who never turned on the phone......

Retired Teacher said...

I remember when I was a kid, if the TV stopped working, we would call a repairman, he would come to the house, and usually replace some tube. Now here in the states, sadly, it's probably just cheaper to buy a new TV.

Babs said...

RT - Or go to the Good will and buy one for $5USD!

Steve - I meant turn on the TV, ha.