Be sure to read the PS below. My experience turned from crap to gold as far as I'm concerned.
So - I just twittered this a little while ago, but I wanted to give a bit more context and frankly - the more I think about it the more pissed I get. I purchased a Vizio right before Christmas. I used to consider their products pretty poorly, but they seem to have come a long way while still being cheap. I needed a nice TV for the bedroom so I wasn't looking for anything top of the line anyway. I got the TV - hung it up (well, a friend did, I stood around and looked dumb) - and discovered that the remote didn't work. I also discovered that while the Vizio had a hardware button for the menu, it was only for the quick menu, a subset of their full menu. Basically, without a working remote, you can't fully setup the TV.
Ok - so fine. I hooked up my Google TV, set the volume to a good enough level, and we were able to watch Netflix. I called tech support and was told a new remote would be sent to me.
Yesterday I got the remote and immediately tried it. Still no go. I called Vizio back and they said that most likely the IR sensor was wonky. They made an appointment for Friday to have a tech come out and take a look at it.
Great. I can wait two days. So tonight I get a phone call from Vizio. I assumed it was just to finalize the appointment for tomorrow. Imagine my surprise though when they said that it was policy to wait 5 business days before sending out a tech.
"Ok, but you made the appointment for tomorrow anyway - can't the guy just come out?" I said. To which Vizio replied with:
"We already cancelled the appointment."
W.T.F. So I can understand they have a policy. But in this case their own support staff messed up. In this case I've been waiting nearly two weeks anyway. (To be fair, I can still use the TV.) But instead of just accepting their own mistake they decide to screw me over and push back my appointment till next Wednesday.
I'm kinda sad. With Vizio's recent CES announcements I was kind of excited about them. But if this is how their support is run I'll never be buying from them again.
p.s. Please read this comment. Great turnaround on this.