Nowadays, companies have several types of support for their products. Support is intended to make the customer feel good about what they bought, it is intended to let the customer know that the company is there for them. Computer companies have them, even cosmetic companies have them- like Cover Girl. The HP customer support is one that I am very familiar with because I tend to buy HP printers and just recently bought an HP computer.
Why do I buy HP computers? I don't know- because everyone else does?!?!? I haven't done any statistical analysis on which printers can print the most pages in a minute. All I know is that in my mind, a good printer is synonymous with HP.
But. let me tell you a true little story I had with HP and HP support:
It was a fine March day in 2006. I was sitting in my home, eating some candy and drinking a Slurpee, and printing some documents. Then all of a sudden my printer just stopped working. Out of nowhere. I don't have a degree in Technology, but my technological skills are quite advanced, so I looked at the printer, analyzed it and realized that absolutely nothing was wrong with it. Ok, I tried printing again. Nothing. How could this printer, which stood by me so faithfully in grad school, be betraying me now?!?!?! How baby, how (at that point, I had a bound with my HP printer). So I decided to go online and query the type of printer I had. Guess what world? When I queried my HP printer I found HUNDREDS of complaints concerning this printer. Not only that, but I saw an article from HP acknowledging that the printer was faulty and therefore HP was giving refunds during a certain time, like from December to February.
With this newfound knowledge, I went onto the handy dandy HP interactive Live Chat and got an HP'er:
Me: Hello my friend. I am having problems with my printer
HP: Ok, did you check the ink, is there ink? Did you check the paper, is there a jam?
Me: I have checked all of that. The problem has nothing to do with me, it's you.
HP: How, tell me the problem
Me: The printer stopped working. Your printer has a fault.
HP: I don't think so. Did you check the cords, maybe it is bent. Did you drop the printer, how long have you had it?
Me: 2 years
HP: It is kind of old. Maybe you dropped it while you were moving.
Me: But it was working PERFECTLY and then it just died.
HP: I am sorry about that. HP is here to help you.
Me: You need to send me a new printer.
HP: How? We have new ones that you
can buy for $120. Oh they are so wonderful!
Me: My computer not working is your fault, not mine. And I have proof!
HP: Proof , what proof?
Me: Go to this website, read it, do you see it ( I gave the HP guy a website I had found)
HP: (silence)
Me: Do you see the part where HP acknowledged that this printer was faulty
HP: Yeah, but unfortunately for you , the time period is over.
HP is not exchanging those printers anymore
Me: So what am I supposed to do with this faulty printer I bought from you?
HP: You can purchase the one I told you about. Oh, it works great, you'll love it.
Me: I don't think so. Someone in HP needs to send me a new printer.
HP: Miss, miss, are you there? HP is sorry for the inconvenience but we appreciate your business. Please check out our website and search the site for new products. Can I help you with anything else today?
Me: You haven't even helped me to begin with. I put all my trust in you. I trusted HP. I was faithful to you and this is how you're going to treat me?
HP: I am sorry you are unhappy.
Me: Unhappy? I feel betrayed! How could HP do this to me. I remain faithful and loyal to you, and this is how you treat me at the end? I have told all my friends to believe in you, and this is what you do to me?
HP: I am sorry.
Me: Sorry isn't enough, what are you going to do?
HP: There is nothing I can do. Do you need help with anything else?
Me: No.
HP: Thank you so much for calling HP. Have a great day.
Needless to say, I got no help with the "HPChat guy" who was supposed to support all of my needs. Unfortunately, what the HP Chat guy didn't know was that I love to write letters and I will write and write until I get what I need. So I went onto HP's actual website where they have a place where you can leave comments. They also have a place where you can choose who you want your email to go to . Well everyone, I chose to send my letter to the President of HP. Yes, I sure did. In my letter , I informed the President, Mr. Hurd, about my printer, how HP knew it was faulty, yet I was getting no help. Then I pressed "SEND."
The next day I got a call from India. You know how it is, everyone outsources nowadays. His name was "Roger", that was his Americanized name, his real name was probably Raj ( I have a lot of Indian friends, so I know). So he calls me from India meaning that it was like 1 am Indian Time. He called me and informed me that he was aware of my problems and was going to do everything in his power to help me. Really? According to him, he got an email and was instructed to help me. Hmm, interesting. He gave me an address in California and told me to send my old printer there. Once I did that, HP would send me my new printer. At first I was hesitant, what if HP forgets to send me my printer? Anyways, considering that the guy was calling me from India, I cut him some slack and did what he said. I think at the end of the day, they ended up sending me a brand new printer with a pre-paid postage envelope/box and I used that pre-paid box to send them my old printer because they absolutely wanted the dysfunctional printer back.
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