Hanabatake

Hewlett-Packard: Help from Above

I sent another email to the CEO of HP via the webform explaining how their customer service rep left a garbled message and didn’t repeat herself and providing a ticket number for this very frustrating issue.

I got a call around 12:30 pm today from HP. This time I spoke with a very helpful gentleman named Milo who appologized for my sister’s HP experience. He then said that they would refund the cost of the restore disc to her.

OMG! Someone who could help stepped into the mess and fixed things!

He was super helpful and listened to my complaints and seemed very concerned since my sister had “converted” from Apple to HP that she should have been treated better.

He said he would look into the history of the case, but that they’d begin to refund that fee right away.

I spoke to Angeline today and she was so happy that they fixed that. Her computer is up and running again and hopefully everything else works out.

So, I guess that concludes my adventures in computer support. It just takes concise complaining. Over and over and over again.

I’m really thankful to Milo, though. He made my sister’s day.

Hewlett-Packard: Higher Authority Part II

Last Thursday, my sister finally got a hold of someone who realized her computer was not a Chile-only product, so she got a Hard Drive in the mail.

Unfortunately, she also needed a restore disc for her less than 2 month old computer.

After all the stuff she went through, they made her pay another $30 to get the disc to fix her computer.

It’s safe to say that her experience with @hp has been crap at best. I don’t think she’ll be going the PC route again.

As for contacting the CEO, I received a form mail on from customer relations:

Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with HP.
They have been forwarded to the appropriate people within Hewlett-Packard.

Regards,

CEO Customer Relations

Yesterday, I got a call on my voice mail that gave me a 800# and ticket number to refer to as well as a secret passcode to dial. The problem is that the passcode was garbled and the HP Support person did not repeat her information.

I tried to dial the number and push the numbers I did hear, but of course that didn’t work, so I haven’t been able to explain how not-fun this whole situation has been.

 I don’t know if they will call again. I hope they do, so I can discuss the issues we had with their customer service and why Apple will probably get my sister’s business for her next computer. Cuz honestly, paying another $30 was just the last thing she needed from HP.

Hewlett-Packard: Trying a Higher Authority?

My sister updated me. @hp gave her an email address to contact Chile with, but apparently it bounced back. *sigh*

It’s such a shame because her first PC owning experience is marred by the lack of customer support from HP.

I went to the HP site and found a link to email Mark Hurd, the CEO of HP. I’m not sure if this will help, but I thought I might as well try it.

Dear Mr. Hurd,

I finally convinced my sister to try buying a PC this year. She bought an HP Pavilion dv4-1227us, but less than 2 months later, the hard drive failed.

After calling and emailing HP support, she was told that even though the item was created for the US, it was MADE in Chile and she would have to make an INTERNATIONAL call to get her computer fixed.

I’ve been blogging about her issues here: http://hanabatake.com/category/tags/hewlett-packard

I have to say that this has been very frustrating. She just emailed me to let me know the contact email the HP Support gave her for Chile does not work.

Why a company make a user who bought a computer made for the US Territory jump through hoops to get it fixed?

I’m not sure how long this will take to get repaired, but I’m afraid that my family will be going back to Apple with out some intervention.

[...]

I’m not sure if Mark Hurd will be able to get back to us any time soon, though it does say that he will pass on the information to others.

My sister is emailing the support email again to try get a better way to contact Chile that doesn’t involve a long distance charge. Hell, if they even had a SKYPE account, that would be better!

So far, 3 days into her computer being down, she isn’t any closer to having her NEW(!) computer up and running.

UPDATE (08/13/2009)

Received A Form Mail Reply This Morning

Yes, it’s time for Part 3 in the Ongoing Saga of HP Customer Service.

In response to the question of WHO was responsible for repairs for her almost brand new computer, HP said that even though the computer is clearly marked as US, HP Chile made it and is responsible for repairs.

Now wait a minute…. I’ve bought several computers, including a Dell and a MacMini that were manufactured in other countries. But if I had support issues, I went to Dell and Apple directly.

Heck, my Playstation 3 was made in some far off elf-factory and Sony fixed me up tout de suite!

I received an excellent and super quick response from WD when my passport decided to go crazy. All I had to do was email these companies and they took care of it.

But HP… Oh, Hewlett-Packard…. How can a computer CLEARLY marked for the US market have to be serviced by having the customer make an INTERNATIONAL call? How long will it take to get her computer up and running again? Will she have to return a hardrive to ANOTHER COUNTRY? 

I just don’t think it makes any sense, but she’s called Hewlett-Packard AND emailed Hewlett-Packard and this is what they told her.

As I mentioned before, Angeline has always used Apple computers at home, but she can use a PC. She uses one at work! She didn’t abuse the computer or try to reprogram it. The (almost new) hard drive died and HP is making her jump through hoops to get it fixed. 

How can a customer even KNOW if an Hewlett-Packard computer can be fixed in the US. I bet those Microsoft commercials that expound on the affordability of PC laptops don’t consider the user having to call CHILE to get a defective hard drive fixed! And if I recall, all of those commercials that I’ve seen featured HP laptops.

Although my sister doesn’t blame me, I do blame myself. I suggested an HP since I was so happy with mine. Now I look at my HP Pavilion dv7 with some trepidation. If this one needs to get fixed, what if they send me off to call some far off land!

HP Customer Support: The Adventure Continues

After the issues my sister had yesterday, I thought I was clever. I gave my sister the web form to email HP. They did respond right away, but

[....] according to the information provided by you, I have check in our database that you have purchased your notebook from Chile.

Your email has reached the technical support division for North Americas, where we can provide technical assistance to the customers worldwide. However, we will not be able to carry out shipment or replacements outside the United States. If the unit requires a service, shipment, replacement or an escalation, you will have to contact your local Technical Phone Support. We regret your inconvenience. We hope that you understand.

Your notebook is in warranty and you will be getting the hard drive free of cost. However for that you need to contact HP support in Chile. 
[....]

Wait, so the comptuer has a -US suffix and was sold in the US, but it was puchased from CHILE?

The hard drive totally failed and they are asking my sister to make an international call to get it fixed.

The computer itself has all English instructions/support documents. Even IF it was made in Chile, so many other comptuers are made OUTSIDE of the US, but the manufacture SUPPORTS those computers since they were made for the US audience.

My sister replied very politely asking for a local number to call as she can’t make an international call like that. Since she CC’d me, I also replied to HP:

Thank you for your prompt response, but Angeline purchased this computer via AMAZON.com. It has the prefix of US and all of the documentation that came with the computer is in English. There is nothing on the computer that warns us that any support issues must go through a foreign country so that is can be resolved.

I don’t know if this will help. It’s beyond frustrating.

PC Problems – HP Pavilion dv4-1227us Boot Device not Found Error. No help from HP!

As I just tweeted,  the HP Pavilion dv4-1227us laptop my sister just got from Amazon was apparently from Chile so HP USA can’t/won’t help her with a MAJOR computer issue.

Last night, she called me asking me what to do if her computer suddenly cut off and said “Boot Device not Found.”

Today we tried a few things, but it looks like the comptuer totally died. She couldn’t even run a hard disc check.

She just got off the phone with HP USA and apparently they did not have the laptop in their system. They told her the computer she bought was from Chile and they couldn’t help her.

Keep in mind, this is a computer that she just purchased from Amazon.com. There wasn’t any sign that the comptuer was not covered by HP US or that she would have to go and call another country to get her laptop fixed.

Now, my sister has always had Apple computers. She’s had an iMac and an iBook. She thought that she would try an HP this time since I puchased one and looooove my laptop.

Unfortunately, it looks like this is going to be a very bad headache for her. This is a comptuer that is less than 90 days old!

I’m really upset on her part since the HP customer service in the US is pushing her off to another country, especially since I know all the documentation seemed to be geared to US customers AND she puchased it from Amazon.com.

Hopefully this will be straightened out and she’ll be able to use her computer again. If not, I think Amazon has something to answer for. Especially if she can’t get it serviced in the US.