By now you've probably heard about the big "digital TV switch" that will take place next February. When News 4, and all other TV stations, will start broadcasting with a digital signal only. Older TV’s won't be able to take in that signal.
The News 4 Trouble Shooters have been investigating whether some electronics stores are using that as a way to sell new TV's, instead of telling you about more affordable options. Some retailers are sending out mixed signals.
Television as we know it is about to change. Television stations nationwide must switch from the old method of transmitting TV signals known as analog to digital television (DTV) on February 17, 2009. DTV is an innovative new type of broadcasting technology that delivers movie-quality pictures and sound, more channels, and even high definition television (HDTV) to consumers with HD television sets.
When this happens you will NOT need to replace your old TV with a new expensive one. You have two other options: subscribe to a cable or satellite service - or go the most affordable route and buy an inexpensive converter box and plug it into your TV. It's about 20 bucks with a coupon from the government. But when you walk into an electronics store, will they tell you the straight facts or just make things fuzzier?
The Trouble Shooters went undercover to seven San Antonio electronics and department stores which have agreed to sell the cheap converter boxes and give out accurate information to consumers who are still confused about the digital switch.
Can the retailers help clear up the confusion? To find out, we sent a secret shopper with a hidden camera into the stores to ask the sales people a simple question:
“I have an older TV, and I understand that when things go digital, it's not going to work anymore?” said our secret shopper.
“Correct,” replied a sales person at Circuit City (410 and San Pedro). “You would need a digital box - to go ahead and get it to work.”
The salesperson at Circuit City didn’t try to sell us a new TV. She immediately leads us over to the converter boxes and gave us the straight scoop. She even told us about the government coupon we can get by going online.
“It's a forty dollar credit so that you can purchase them,” she explained.
We also went to Best Buy in the 410 and San Pedro area, and here, too, the salesperson walked us straight over to the digital converter boxes. It was the same story at Target, Walmart and Bjorn's. At each of those stores the salespeople quickly told us about the converter boxes.
But when we visited the Conn's Electronics Store across from Northstar Mall the salesperson told our secret shopper that converters aren't available yet, and we should just buy a new TV.
“What do you suggest?” our secret shopper asked.
“I would go everything new,” said the Conn’s salesperson. “That's what I would say.”
We showed our undercover video to a Conn's spokesperson, who told us the sales assistant was new and hadn't been trained properly.
“We are taking aggressive steps to prevent this from ever happening again,” said Aaron Trahan from Conn's. “You are absolutely right. That's the last thing we want a customer to experience when they come into our store.”
Trahan says Conn's doesn't have the converter boxes for sale yet, so some staff members have yet to be trained. They will also be putting brochures out on the display floor.
“By putting as much literature and verbage and information on to the sales floor as possible, it's going to help those customers understand that, you know what? There [are] other options than having to buy a new television set,” explained Trahan.
We ran into some more misinformation when our secret shopper went to Sears. The sales person mentioned the converter box, but even though sears is one of the stores authorized to sell them, he told us we'll have to get a converter box from our cable company.
“It will still work. You will just need a box,” said the Sears salesperson.
“And what is a box?” asked our secret shopper.
“You'll get it from Time Warner or whoever your cable company is,” said the salesperson.
“And that's the only way to get it?” asked our secret shopper.
“Right,” answered the salesperson.
So again, we showed our tape to store management.
“No, that's not correct,” said the store manager Frank Flores.
Sears says it too has yet to put the converter boxes on sale, and that's why its employees don't know the facts about them.
“It seems like the retailers, like Sears, that are selling the box, really need to get the accurate information out there,” asked News 4’s Jaie Avila.
“Absolutely, which is where the training comes in, and as we go through our timelines with training our associates we'll definitely be sure to cover all that,” explained the manager. “That's the piece we are working on.”
Sears and Conn's both told us they'll have the converter boxes on sale and their workers trained by early May.
So, of the seven retailers we went to, two gave us bad information - which is actually an improvement. A few months ago, a consumer group reported that 78% of the stores it tested got the facts wrong.
