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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
0.5 stars
"HP Product Reliability and Customer Support not worth the price of admission"
Pros: Makes a great door stop
Cons: Where do I start?
Summary: Where do I begin? We purchased 4 DV1000 laptops from HP, 2 online last year (call them A + B) and 2 from Costco 2 years ago (call them C + D).
A has been into HP service depot three times. Twice for hard drive replacement, once for motherboard replacement.
B has been into HP service depot three times. Once for hard drive replacement, once for motherboard replacement (which they didn't do, they replaced the lcd panel and a fan. It came back and failed again within 30 minutes of coming off the Fed Ex truck) So now it's going back today for a motherboard, power supply, battery and AC adpater replacement.
C + D have both had hard drive failures. We have a pool started at work for when the motherboards will go.
Now the Customer Support mechanism: It sucks so bad that someone could produce an Oscar winning movie about it.
1. English is apparently not a requirement for working for the US support line. I've been put through to India and Mexico. 95% of the people I speak with can't converse in intelligible English. I'm bilingual and grew up in S.F., so I've been exposed to many for whom English is a second language. Attempting to hear and understand the HP techs is like being parachuted into a foreign movie with no subtitles.
2. They don't listen when you tell them your issue. I can hear the pages rustling as they navigate themselves and you through a painfully obvious series of steps to diagnose the problem. No one seems to be a computer tech. The most common diagnostic tool they offer is to reload the Windows OS. You really have to push them to get them to acknowledge that there's a problem that needs a warranty repair.
3. Speaking of warranty repair, make sure if you do buy an HP product that you are fully aware of when the warranty expires. They no longer call, email or write you to let you know your warranty is about to expire, even if you register your product. I did get a letter for C & D to renew warranty, and wrongfully assumed that they would do the same for A & B. When A's motherboard when out this fall, it cost me $ 400 to fix it, plus $100 to get it back on a one year phone support and another $100 to get it back on HW warranty. Hardly worth it, but I can't afford a replacement yet, so sticking with it is one of my only options.
4. At no time does anyone at HP apologize or show any empathy for the fact that your computer is on the fritz and you may be without it for 3-7 business days.
5. There is no consumer advocate number at HP that I can find. I have tried escalating through the support number to get to a supervisor, but get shut down or get told to call a different 800 number that leads you nowhere. I finally did navigate through the HP website and found a place you can email the President of HP. I did get an email back a couple of days later, and was finally referred to an HP Quality Case Manager. They told me my problems did not qualify for any special consideration (like give me new laptops or a refund) or any sympathy. The one redeeming value was the tech I was assigned to is based north of Vancouver BC, so at least we could have a conversation. I got no empathy or apology from anyone at HP that I was having any unusual problems. Excuse me, but hard drives and motherboards going out multiple times on a computer qualifies as unusual in my book. That's like GM or Toyota telling you that an engine going out at 15 or 20,000 miles is something to expect from a car they sold you.
- 1 reply to this review
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I totally agree with you. My worst experience is they hung up on me, including the manager. They told me illegal Microsoft software installed in my computer is my problem. DON'T I JUST PURCHASE HP FOR A WHOLE PACKAGE (HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE) INSTALL?? So, who violate the law, HP or me?
