When calling TCL's phone service, it's important to remember that this number is only meant to be used for mobile devices and headphones, as TCL uses different numbers for other departments. Support is also open for mobile devices at a different time than other products, as support is available 6 days a week with no Sunday support available. To make up for that, calls can be answered as late as 10 p.m. Eastern on Saturdays, compared to 6 p.m. for other departments that are open on Sunday.
However, the wait time when calling this number can be so interminable that it seems like it's not worth bothering to use it. When I dialed the number, I did so at 8 p.m. Eastern on a Saturday, well before the lines would close for the weekend and seemingly at a time when lines would be less busy with most people doing something else with their weekend.
Instead, I got nowhere. After dialing the number and requesting general support, I was asked to hold for the next available representative. Thirty minutes after that first message, I was still holding. There wasn't any kind of message giving me my estimated wait time, there wasn't an option to get a call back number and there was no information available in the automated menu. All I got was the same recurring message about holding on to my customer support number because of its importance.
I also didn't get any kind of message about visiting the website or anything to suggest a faster approach to solving my issue. The message simply repeated over and over again until I finally hung up after 35 minutes of waiting. When I called back a few minutes later to see if things had improved at all, I was given a message that the offices were closed and I would need to try my call again Monday, despite there still being an hour before the listed closing time.
Overall, I was not impressed with this call. It seems like TCL is providing a service by offering later service hours on Saturdays, but if it's not going to result in an ability to get assistance, it seems totally pointless. I wasn't able to come close to getting a question answered despite spending well over a half-hour on the phone waiting to speak to anyone. Even an automated system with information would have been more useful than the experience I actually got.
Obviously, TCL cannot help it if high call volume impacts the service it can provide, but offering some information and help in the form of a call-back option would really make this number much more useful. Instead, this number seems to be a hit-or-miss situation; you might be able to get quality assistance if you can reach someone, but if there's a long wait time, it's not worth trying to use this number for help.