When did the “service” get taken out of customer service? If something was broken or needed to be replaced, go to the store and exchange it or simply return the broken item. Now a days, things are not that simple, first you have to call an automated line and if by some chance you get the right department on the phone, you end up not getting an answer from them. Or worse yet, they transfer you. Take for example, a Hitachi television. It has broken pixels and by repairman standards should be returned. Great. Or so I would think. Hitachi agrees with the repairman, that the television is bad and should be replaced, and the paperwork begins. After a few weeks of not hearing anything, calls were made and all I would get in response to my questions was, “the paperwork is in process.” What is that? Processing for months? Well not really. You see if that department would have transferred me to the department handling the paperwork we would have learned that it was finished weeks ago. The hold up was actually the retailer (Circuit City) where the television was purchased. Their customer service agents were the worst yet. The one kept closing the case and the other would not respond to Hitachi at all. Now, the television would not be costing Circuit City anything, so why not just do your job and get the new television paperwork processed. No, not that simple apparently. After making several complaints to Circuit City's Escalation Department, I was put in touch with a customer service manager that actually did his job. And within a 24 hour time period the new television was on my television stand. The woman that I dealt with at the Circuit City store was also helpful; perhaps she new of my new found hatred for the store. The moral of this story is that it shouldn't take two months to get something replaced, that the store where you get it from should be more than willing to help, which at first they were not. I should not have had to go through the manufacturer of the television. I wanted to tell these customer service people that if they don't like their job or don't want to do their jobs, then perhaps they should find some other line of work. Because frankly, the consumers need people that will be willing to help and not just give them the run around.