A few years back, we bid goodbye to our old TV, which served us for a decade, and bought a new LCD set. We had to because of a storm, which caused heavy voltage fluctuation. While watching a movie, there was a spark, and before I could switch off the TV, smoke came out and the screen went black. The next morning, I took my set to a repair shop only to find the technician surrounded by old TV sets, all of which were from a particular street, thanks to the voltage fluctuation of the previous day. He suggested that we buy a new set as it was uneconomical to repair. Thus began my search for the best brand of TV.
While buying the previous TV, my father had made comparative charts of features/benefits of the various brands and took a long time to decide but now, times have changed. My mother had said that on no account would she miss the pongal special Rajinikant blockbuster. We set out on a war-footing to buy the best brand. Friends and relatives were hell bent on me buying the brand they had bought, as they felt that was the best. Some were even dead against a particular brand and narrated cases of their friends who suffered immediately after buying a new set. I reasoned that life expectancy of an Indian was 65 but does everyone live till that age? Similarly, that particular piece/unit of that brand must have been defective. I also visited repair shops to check which brands come for repair. Armed with all the recommendations, we visited a showroom. I found that conventional CRT had given way to LCDs. Each executive tried to push his brand by claiming its superiority to earn his incentive. The bigger sets were too tempting.
I guess size does matter. We gathered all the pamphlets with prices and returned home. My mother felt a 26-inch screen was enough. But I argued why not 32 inches of some less expensive brand with freebies. But she wouldn’t compromise on quality. Next day, we visited another showroom that had a better ambience. The executive explained the features and the best price. Not happy with the price, I asked him to reduce `2000 more and also enquired about freebies. Would they give silver/gold coin/ pen drives? How many diaries, calendars and key chains would they give or was there any bumper prize? But, he kept harping on the same line, “Sir, I have quoted the best price.” I reasoned that since I couldn’t predict when another storm was likely, I would have to spend another `2000 for a stabilizer. Still, there was no discount, which I conveyed to my mother. She was insistent that I do not come home without a TV! I tried the traditional trick and told the salesman, “We will go home discuss and come back”, hoping that he would stop us and with some discount close the deal. But to my utter dismay he didn’t!
We came out and I informed my mother that we were planning to visit another showroom to get some discount. She blasted us — she was already worried whether the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had patched up in her favourite serial or whether the main character delivered her baby safely in another serial. I thought my mom’s blood pressure would have come down without watching the serials for a week. But it went up.
Ultimately, bowing to her orders, we went back to the showroom and pleaded for `100 discount and they agreed! Yes! We were proud owners of a brand new LCD TV. The same night it was installed just before my mom’s favourite prime time serial. It was a great relief for us to see her broad smile back when her favourite characters reappeared on screen. And yes, on the day our TV was delivered, the character in the serial also delivered a healthy baby!
tskarthik13@yahoo.com