Why do so many IT companies get the basics of customer service wrong?<\/p>\n
I have been buying HP gear for a long time.\u00a0 I have always found it to be expensive (well not cheap) but reliable and robust.<\/p>\n
Recently an HP desktop PC refused to start up.\u00a0 I rang technical support as the machine was still under warranty.\u00a0 I had to pay for the privilege.<\/p>\n
They told me that the warranty had lapsed – even though I had bought the machine less than a year ago.\u00a0 They explained that they look at date of manufacture not date of purchase, but if I faxed them prove of purchase they would honour the warranty.<\/p>\n
You try finding a fax machine when you need one!<\/p>\n
They then accepted my warranty claim and sent me a series of troubleshooting things to try:<\/p>\n
\n– unplug the power cable<\/p>\n
– open the access panel<\/p>\n
– Clearing the CMOS (Remove the silver colored CMOS Battery for 10 seconds and reseat the battery or hold the yellow button next to the memory modules for 10 seconds)<\/p>\n
– Without connecting the power cable press and hold the power button for 10 seconds<\/p>\n
– Power on the system and check if it boots to bios by pressing F10 on startup<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Did all that and got no joy so rang them again.\u00a0 I received the following e-mail:<\/p>\n
Disconnect HDD and OPTICAL Drives<\/p>\n
Strip the system to PSU, System Board, Memory and Processor<\/p>\n
Remove the Memory and check for Beep Codes (Note the no. of beeps)<\/p>\n
Reseat \/ Swap Memory \/ Try 1 Memory Module at a time Reseat Processor<\/p>\n
Reseat Power Connector on the System Board<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Now excuse me – but I am a businessman who bought an HP PC to run a business (perhaps this was my first mistake?).\u00a0 I am not a PC engineer.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know how to do the things they have asked me to do.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t have time to do the things they have asked me to do.<\/p>\n
I just want to run my business.<\/p>\n
Am I being unreasonable in asking them to repair my machine?<\/p>\n
The thing that finally hacked me off was this:
\nIn case we dont hear from you in next two days, we will conclude that you are not having any further issues with that system, and will close the case.<\/p>\nUNBELIEVABLE!<\/p>\n
If they don\u2019t hear from me they will assume that all is well!<\/p>\n
Any suggestions about what I should do next?<\/p>\n