HORRIBLE Repair Serice!!!!!!!!

Alright everyone, wish me luck. I just finished chatting with an HP tech and made a hard copy of all the things we talked about including her saying that I am under warranty until January 2009 in the transcript and me saying that I am using the notebook with the issue to chat with her. Therefore, they cannot claim that my notebook was damaged by water (which wasn't). Mine is only a few months old and looks new so I plan on taking lots of pictures and videos before sending it off.

Last time I sent an HP notebook, it also went there new but came back banged up and like someone from HP dragged through the parking lot!

I've been getting BSOD's non-stop for the last couple of weeks. Tried all nvidia 8400m gs drivers, even HP's.

 

The only other thing I would recommend is to make sure you describe the problem accurately on the form that goes in the Fedex box with your laptop. It seems somewhat common that the techs do not read all (or any) of the chat transcrips / support notes, etc., but just go off what you write on that form. So describe the problem in detail, and attach another page if necessary since they only give you a few lines. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

 

Thanks vertical2010, sorry I hijacked your thread. I'll keep you guys updated. Hopefully it doesn't turn to be a nightmare.

 

How old is your laptop?

 

No problem re Hijack. I invited others to post here about any HP repair problems, hopefully to consolidate many other threads. So keep us updated on your situation...good or bad. Thanks!

 

Thanks. Fedex actually just picked it up this afternoon. Now for the waiting game, hopefully them actually fixing my laptop without scratches. Videotaped it, tooks pictures, and videotaped it again turning on and off to prove to HP later just in case they say I damaged it with water! I'm a little scared they'll pull that on me when it's BS. I hope I can get it back soon. I'll post once I get it back...

 

My laptop is 11 months old. I think I only had a few weeks left before my standard warranty expired. I quickly decided upon getting my notebook that it would be a good idea to get an extended service plan. Considering that there's a pretty good probability that I got another defective nvidia chip in my "new" motherboard (ie refurbished), I'm pretty sure this thing is going to fail again within the next 2 years. I was able to negotiate a $50 discount on a 3 year pick up extended service plan (didn't wanna exceed $250, 25% of the value of my nb). For those of you who are getting your laptops serviced within the standard warranty timeframe, if you feel that you would like a warranty discount, its good to negotiate after your repair. Customer service at the HP Home Office Store will not grant you the warranty discount, but technical support will. I first made a phone call to tech support to negotiate and was told outright (somewhat rudely) that they don't issue discounts and the prices were non-negotiable. I tried again and also got a negative response (this was on the general inquiry line so I didn't provide any personal info). Then finally, I gave up on phone support and tried a chat session with tech support agent and they were very polite and granted me a discount. But don't make an offer too ridiculous (I couldn't since my repair went so smoothly). If your warranty service was horrendous, then by all means negotiate more of a discount than I did. Lesson to be learned here is that everybody can negotiate a discount on their warranty plans, some may get it free if your experience sucked enough. And never give up on the discount regardless of the number of techs you go through. Eventually, one of them will be cave and issue the discount.

 

HP is swapping my Compaq C762NR that is 1.5 months old for a dv5t. Not many questions asked. I was escalated to a Quality Case Manager after my first call of 30 minutes.

I explained everything to her. She has been wonderful, and though a bit standoffish at first, our second phone call after I showed her proof of my issues via Fax, went much more smoothly, to the point where she had already arranged a CTO dv5t when I spoke to her.

All total I've only spent maybe 2.5 hours on the phone. I have heard many nightmare stories, but for me, this time, they've been wonderful.

I wish the 450.00 "professional series" 9800D printer I bought from them was better than it is. I'm on my 3rd one, and am now out of warranty and they won't help...damn thing prints ****eyed on the page. Has roller/motor issues, just like the first 2 I had...Crap.

Funny enough I now work as a graphic designer at a company who makes the rubber belts that go inside HP printers...they're on of our biggest customers.

 

Hey, could you submit more details on this. Such as, exactly what was wrong with your laptop? And how many times has it been in for repair since you've owned it? Thanks.

 

Actually, physically, there was nothing wrong.

I felt like I got duped and had proof that I did.

I will preface this post by saying I've worked retail electronics for 10+ years so I'm familiar w/ the fact that manufacturers will make variations on a certain model and sell them at various different retailers.

I researched the laptop on HP's website before I bought it from best buy. Wrote the model # and part # down, and made a PDF of the specs page.

Went to Best Buy, model & part #'s matched, so I assumed specs would, having worked at Best Buy for 5 years, I know their fact tags are usually incomplete so I didn't bother to look (MY FAULT).

Didn't get to use the machine for a week due to being out of town (left same day I bought the thing) came back, and got down to puttin XP on it. Was so preoccupied with doing that in my spare time (I work 2 jobs), that I never noticed it didn't have a webcam, lightscribe, or 5-in-1 media reader as specified on the HP website.

So then i was over my return policy with BB. I called HP support. The man in India who i spoke to was clueless. He actually told me to "Look harder for the webcam and media reader and lightscribe logo on the side of the DVD-R" After speaking with him, and making it clear I wanted to elevate the case, he put my info through to a Quality Customer Manager.

That person called me 2 days later, as the man in India said they would. I explained the problem. I faxed them the PDF I made (my proof), so they could compare it with what was on the HP site. I explained my displeasure with them advertising one thing at the time I researched it, and my getting another even though I bought the SAME part and model # machine, and then saw weeks later that the website had been changed. I told them that was the most shady thing I've experienced from a computer company (which is pretty damn close to true)

She called me back the next day and told me that she was authorized to CTO me a machine. Since they didn't have that one any more I am getting a new dv5t machine. It's the base processor, which is Intel's Mystery p7350 chip, but I don't care, it's a free upgrade to a machine that is more than double the price, and a lot nicer looking.

They've been completely cooperative, and pleasant except for my first call with the QCM where she was a bit standoffish, but once I proved what I was saying it's been all cake.

I read your small claims court thing. Get a lawyer, make HP pay for that lawyer once you've won, and get a new laptop. Good luck.

 

Ok, Thanks for the explanation. That's another story entirely. I didn't think they would have replaced it just because it needed a repair.

It's a good warnig for others too. I guess model spec variation is another thing we have to watch out for. Also, HP now has so many different but similar model numbers with the same specs. My guess is they don't want too many defects/repairs showing up under the same model number, which might require a recall.

 

Expected delivery date, TODAY,
Known information about the whereabouts or orderstatus = 0, zip, silch, nada, inget jävla SKIT.
So, you get a replacement accepted, you ask about a tv tuner, they act faggotry, you ask if you can chip in money for an upgrade, they are still being faggotry.

Right now im pissed since i go on vacation tomorrow and i dont have my laptop. Which i need.

From being a calm and peaceful person, right now i am a shroom cloud laying mother focker. Mother focker...


//Icenova :GEEK:

 

Hope you get your laptop...I'm waiting on my replacement as well...Waiting for the Quality Customer Manager to let me know my tracking information. My Expected Arrival date is Aug 11.

Thats all I know so far.

Thats one of the greatest quotes ever from any movie by the way...

 

$100 to bet that the Quality Manager will simply log this as just another complaint in HP's large pool of complains and the actual build issue or product problem won't get to the product developers and production QA personnel. HP is just too big that it has become clueless about most things on the lower level.

 

I completely agree with you. They don't really care though because the laptop is now discontinued as far as I can tell.

Whatever though, if HP wants to give me a new machine (which IMO they should) then I'll take it.

 

Icenova: How did you make out? Ever get your laptop?

 

Yeah I am in same boat. just couple months out of warrenty the lid/monitor snapped off my laptop when my wife went to close it. and they want to charge bout the price i paid for the notebook new to repair it. yeah my 8year old ibm thinkpad has no issues opening and closing dont see how a little over year old laptop can break like that. what are they made to not open and close? i am pissed how they acted and talked to me. basicly slap in the face when he told me the price to fix their shotty craftsmanship.

 

Depending on your model number, HP announced that they would repair hinge related problems for free. All you have to do is contact an HP case manager.

Here is the information:

1 877 917 4380 Extension: 94

Let them know this is your first time calling in and that you are aware that HP will repair hinge related defects due to the recall announcement made.

 

Good luck with that..

Odds are that HP will have you send in your laptop and then claim that you damaged the hinges. Well, sorry about that, but accidental damage is not covered under your warranty.

 

Sorry for you guys, I had the opposite experience. My DV6375 was 1 year and 3 months old (out of warranty) and it would not power up. Dead. No power. I clicked on the contact the CEO link on HP's website and sent an email to Mark Hurd. A case manager called me within 24 hours. The box was received last Monday. The PC was returned repaired this Monday. They replaced the system board, the LCD panel (since it was grainy), and the top cover. Now if only the wife would give it up! I am in training in Ohio and she (and my PC) are in NY. She says 'you have your work PC.' Oh well...

 

Vertical you had a bad experience. I understand that completely, but you don't need to totally diminish their service. You had one bad run-in, doesn't mean everyone else will. You're making biased assumptions.

Out of all the years I have been a HP customer the only thing negative is that I hate foreign tech support.

 

happen to know which models?

 

The DV2000, DV6000, and DV9000.

Refer to http://www.notebookhingecrack.com/ for advice.

They list numerous success stories and state how to take advantage of the free repair service.

 

Yeah that foreign support requires some "patience" doesn't it?

But your other point above is well stated. Many more have good experiences than bad with most computer retailers. And bad is as relative as good. All a matter of perspective. Some might look at getting a full refund as a good experience - a kind of "whew" reaction. Or not at all.

 

I've pointed that out in many of my posts - that some have good experiences, and some don't. Both are free to comment here.

And I didn't have "one bad run-in" with HP support, but a series of terrible run-ins over the course of three months. Judging by many posts here, HP has accused others of damaging their laptops as well, (especially liquid damage) in an attempt to make them pay for repairs, and has told many their computer was out of warranty when it wasn't (they just tried that with me on a desktop I had a problem with). I found the entire corporate structure - including case managers, ECR, exec suite - to be incompetent, unresponsive, uncaring and deceptive.

So yes, comments I make here will reflect that, just as yours might reflect the opposite. It's not bias, it is experience. I am hopeful my negative comments will help others prepare for what they might encounter and might also play some small role in convincing HP to change its tune and provide proper support. I still own HP products that might someday require it.

 

Read some of the earlier postings on your link. For one thing, the site was started by a guy who's laptop hinges HP refused to repair. In January 2008 he recommends against a class action lawsuit, since the class members might not receive much after legal fees, but does recommend suing in small claims court to get HP to address the problem, since they'd been so unresponsive. Doesn't sound too positive to me. I believe it's very likely some recent success stories were do to the fact that many customers started doing just that - suing HP.

http://www.notebookhingecrack.com/2...n-lawsuits-regarding-hp-notebook-hinge-crack/

 

My apologies for the long post, but I wanted to share my poor customer service experience(s) as well. I think it is worth a read, especially if you have ever had a motherboard replaced. This may affect you and you don't even know it.

I own an HP dv2500 CTO model that was a replacement for a dv2050US model. I won't give you all the details, but for both units, I had been promised on several calls that a case manager would contact me. The first unit had the motherboard replaced three times. The third time, I got it back and the board had an nVidia graphics chipset instead of the Intel one it originally had. I was playing around and ran the Vista performance test and every time it access the GPU, it crashed. I reloaded it several times and tried and tried again. I even tried other tests. I was pretty sure the GPU was bad. This is what got me the replacement.

Nine months later, I started having issues. The unit has been in to HP three or four times now and they don't seem to know how to fix the problem. The sad part is (please don't hurt me) I know what it is because I worked at CompUSA for almost nine years and I know it needed a tattoo. You can check my blog for more details, but the tattoo "labels" the unit with it's model number and software code so it installs the right software.

Wanna find out what your tattoo does? Go to HP and do the "Detect my product" function. If it detects your model right, you're probably good.
Anyways, after the first motherboard replacement, my model was x123xx#aba or something generic. Trying calling HP Tech Support and getting that one through. They have no idea what a tattoo is, and no entry code for it, so it's nearly impossible to get fixed.

After I got it back from the second repair, I ran the restore to test the tattoo and the motherboard died again. Sent it back, replaced, etc. Now even though my model is a dv2500, it is detected as a dv2570es or some similar Spanish model. This means the refurbished motherboard they put in my unit was not tattooed. Sent it back again. They didn't fix it. I now have a case sitting in Limbo which was escalated from a very wonderful case manager named Michelle to someone who she does not know and she can't check the case anymore.

Anyways, I have provided the tattoo utility for anyone who needs it. If you ever had an issue where after a restore or a QuickPlay update, it only installs DVDPlay instead of QuickPlay, this may be your issue. If you want the program (use it at your own risk) or want to know more, please feel free to check out my blog. I have also filed a complaint with the BBB of San Diego, which, according to the complaint status, has been escalated to Ginger Borge but I have not heard anything yet from them. I plan to check to see what I can do within New York as soon as I can.

 

Why don't you just call Case Management and file for another replacement? They would be able to justify such a thing.

Here's the info:

1 877 917 4380 EXT. 94

 

Because they already replaced it once, it's hard to get them to do that again, however, I feel like I am fighting for other people in this case, as well as myself if I have to get the motherboard replaced again.

I feel their phone support people should be able to diagnose a tattoo problem. Do a google search for QuickPlay and DVDPlay and see how many people have a problem which may be tattoo related. How many other people may be affected and not even know it?

I also want their actual repair facilities to properly repair laptops. Again, not just for me, but for everyone else.

This being said, I still have an open case and am waiting for them to let me know what they want to do for me. The ball is their court now.

 

sflesh, please keep us up to date on your problem. Thanks.

 

I paid £270 for a repair of my zd7377EA (Pavilion's last generation before being replaced with dv9000 series.
and that problem was very common to most of us zd7000 owners. a line appeared on the screen.

 

wow tell me about it. HP customer care is the worst ever as most of the technical reps dont know what they are talking about half the time. this is probably because they are reading from a manual. this may work like 70% of the time but it doesnt account for dynamic situations where the problem is not in a manual. of course most of these reps aren't trained to deal with such situations which can be extremely infuriating and frustrating.

my experience has been lucky so far but not without frustrations. my laptop recently went on a fritz just 23 days to the end of the warranty (believe me that was a real good thing) and i called HP to get it repaired. the screen just had a lot of wierd colors all over and was unusable. i called to get it repaired and they sent me a box and all. i shipped it in and 3days later they sent me a fixed laptop and i was really happy.

3 days later while recovering my laptop from an image to the way it was before i sent it, i noticed that vista said the video card was intel 945GM and i was like what the ****, i sent the laptop in with a Nvidia 7200 graphics card, why am i been downgraded. looking at the repair slip i discovered that they replaced the mobo which is fine but why not with a mobo with the same chip. this got me livid and so i started to scrutinize the laptop and discovered that they also downgraded my battery from high capacity 6 cell to the regular 6 cell. so i called HP tech again and complained, the rep there told me that that is how it was supposed to be. i got furious and after an hour of talking to different reps and continously complaining, my case got escalated to a case manager.

after calming me down, she had the correct battery shipped to me and a box to return the laptop. i shipped out the laptop and on the reapir questionnaire i also mentioned that my dvd drive might be defective since it wasn't completing cd burns. the next day i received the correct battery and 5 days later i received a "repaired" laptop. i turned it on and the first thing i was greeted with was a BSOD, i was MAAADD . i recovered my hard drive to the original image and i rebooted. i noticed that the graphics card was still the intel 945M instead of the Nvidia 7200 and worse still on opening the dvd drive i noticed the lightscribe detecting lens wasn't there. in order to be sure i downloaded the software for lightscribe and it couldn't detect a lightscribe drive. so basically the tech who worked on it, replaced the mobo, replaced a lightscribe drive with a regular dvd burner and slapped a lightscribe bezel on it and then forgot to recover the computer (thats what caused the BSOD). at this point i was in a rage and i was ready to sue HP or do whatever to basically make them feel my pain. i called my case manager to cuss her out but luckily she was off that day and it was a friday so she wasn't going to be back till monday.

by monday i had cooled off and so i called her early about 10mins after they opened and i told her in calm voice all that had happened. what she said next caught me completely off guard, she said she was sorry for the inconvenience and that she was going to build me a brand new laptop. by the time we were done i had a much better laptop and a 2yr ADP to top it off. i was so happy that i forgot to ask for a blu-ray drive and a much better processor.

i went from:
- 2.0GHz core due to a 2.1GHz core 2 duo
-120GB to 250GB
-2GB RAM to 3GB
-regular imprint to verve special edition
-7200M to 8400M GS
-no HDMI to HDMI

i was really happy about the service even though it took so many tries. i got a new laptop, a new 2 year warranty which included accidents and a lot of upgrades without paying a dime. thinking back i wished i had asked for blu-ray since she asked me what i wanted in the computer but i was trying not to be greedy.

my advice here though is that if you ever send your LAPTOP IN FOR REPAIR, MAKE SURE YOU MAKE A NOTE OF ALL YOUR MAJOR COMPONENTSjust in case they switch things around. if i wasn't technically inclined, i would have ended up with a slower gaming computer and i wouldn't know why. it kinda makes me wonder how many people have been downgraded without knowing it.

 

So all in all you were fairly satisfied.

 

more than satisfied. i mean i have a brand new laptop and a 2 yr warranty which would otherwise have been over. i would have been golden if i got a blu-ray but hey who am i to complain.

i also saved money 'cos i was going to buy the plastics to modify the broken one to look like this one.

the one bad thing though is i can't get XP drivers for this laptop and i really really need XP.

 

What requires you to run XP?

 

well i am running matlab 7.0, nero 7.0 and some other older software that don't run properly on vista. believe me i have tried and sometimes they work and at other times they don't.

besides XP runs much more efficiently than vista and faster. i know vista will get there sometime but for now it is a little too annoying.

by the way i don't want to deviate from the topic of this post so reply to my post on this issue here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=286241

 

Thanks for that story kloves2fly. Infamous (who never sees anything wrong with HP service) seems to be implying that the service you received was good. It was in fact horrible. So horrible that even the case manager recognized (eventually) it was horrible, and did what was necessary to deal with the situation HP created. I don't think it was an accident they tried to downgrade numerous components (how could it be?), but fortunately you caught them (more than once) due to your technical expertise. I'm sure many people don't catch them. But after your post more will be checking.

So in my book HP gets few kudos for this one. They created the unacceptable situation by their unethical policies and incompetence and you forced them to correct it. Good job for keeping after them.

 

How does a SNAFU equate to being unethical? This isn't a question of ethics, it's merely incompetence and a failed QA policy. Unethical implies deliberate attempts to defraud. Not so here.

But I know, using terms like that fosters your case. So I can't come down too hard on ya. But still. It's like a screach in a chalk board.

HP's policy is repair or replace at their discretion. When you buy, you opt in to that policy as the warranty terms are available before purchase. Hp appears, though in a fumbling FUBAR manner, to have followed their policy. (Well, ya they did.) Therefore, using the alternate definition of ethics which you're pointing to, they were in keeping with the ethics which the buyer agreed to at purchase.

And once again, another story of someone coming out ahead. I admit, it's pretty uncanny. But I read a story a week across the web of an HP screwby which leads to customer satisfaction. Too bad HP can't get it right the first time around for everyone. Honestly, a customer shouldn't have to fight, ask for escalation, or call a dozen times. But it is what it is and at least we can share our experiences and hopefully come up with several methodologies that lead to satisfactory outcomes.

 

Hi 2.0 - I said "unethical" because kloves2fly alone had 3 separate items downgraded, and there are numerous posts of similar problems. I find that unlikely just a mistake, especially due to other unethical practices such as advising users their product is out of warranty when it isn't (many, many complaints about that posted here and it just happened to me last month with a desktop). Also because of my dealings with HP support - as you know, not just a one time event - involving many deceptions, obfuscations, etc., designed to make people give up and go away. That is unethical, even if HP eventually comes though for the few consumers who are persistent and technically knowledgeable enough to call their bluff.

It would not be unethical if HP made a good faith effort to properly honor the warranty contract at every step. It is unethical if they put up roadblocks, obstruct, deceive, take every shortcut and exploit their technical knowledge for their own advantage. I also consider it unethical when top management intentionally fails to devote adequate resources to support to enhance the quarterly bottom line, and does not take corrective action even when they realize the support infrastructure is failing miserably. I think that's been the case for some time at HP, but I do see recent evidence on these boards they might be trying to improve things.

 

There are those few people that experience problems. More people are happy than unhappy.

If they didn't have policies then the company could crumble. I'm sure there are a few bad apples in HP, but you can't blame HP as a whole.

Explain how you were deceived and obstructed.

 

That is one way of looking at it as far as Klove's ordeal. But I seriously doubt it's sinister intent. It's far more likely just gross incompetence, lack of quality control, organization, and communication protocols between departments. HP is such a huge and fragmented company bent on numbers. If it doesn't show up on a spreadsheet or some metric, they're probably oblivious.

What's ironic is that lots of people who stick out their ordeals with HP, play the game and navigate the maze come out better on the other side.

I've said it before, but I'm glad they share. It gives hope and provides strategy. Just look at some of the folks who came into this thread afraid they'd have problems seeing yours and others only to end up being satisfied in the end. You find this same thing on many blogs and forums. You find tips on how to escalate, how to respond, phone numbers to certain departments, time of day to call, etc. There are numerous customer success stories thanks to folks who share their experiences and methodologies.

It's just too bad that many times, one call isn't enough. Customer service and company organization isn't how it used to be. It's gone down hill industry wide.

Anyway, yeah, well, yeah. Hey, you know, you have to see it the way you do since you've already gone down a certain path. Plus you're in that "mode" right now. Guess I might be too if I were inclined to take such routes. So what I'm saying is, I don't blame ya.

 

A well thought out response 2.0, and I agree with much of it. Certainly many people expect to be screwed after coming here but end up OK, as long as they are able to "stick it out." At least they are warned and know what to look out for. Except "sticking it out" doesn't mean that "one phone call isn't enough," but more like "twenty phone calls are not enough."

As for HP's intent, I am not saying HP exces issued orders telling support to screw the customers. I think it's more a case of deliberate underfunding, followed by heavy pressure on support personnel to operate within that budget. Which means cutting corners and denying (or attempting to deny) legitimate support. We have simply seen too many examples here of the same tactics: Falsely claiming consumer damage (usually liquid), falsely stating a warranty is expired, downgrading components and putting up numerous process roadblocks. Top execs HAVE to be aware of it - after all, we know they read these forums, and there have to be telltale signs in the support structure (such as stressed out and quitting employees). I think it's simply the old method of cutting until it bleeds, and hoping you catch it before it becomes a gusher. Even if you do catch it in time, it can be difficult to turn things around once certain "practices" become ingrained within the company support culture.

 

Sflesh, I have dealt with Ginger Borge. If you haven't worked your problem out yet, e-mail me and I can give you more details.

 

I have an offer to buy back my laptop. Now I just have to find the receipt. I did give them the order number for my replacement laptop, so she said she would try to locate that. I don't know if they can work off of that price. The thing that kind of sucks is I also spent $300 on a CompUSA warranty, which I probably won't even need. If I buy a new laptop with the money they give me (I'm not even sure I will do that) it will have a 1 year warranty, so the CompUSA warranty will only be good for screen damage for one year.

The bigger issue of course in my case is that the same thing they could not repair four times for me (tattoo) is somewhat important, and likely 99% of their customer, support staff, and apparently repair staff have no idea about it and who knows if it will ever get fixed.

The lady who offered to buy back the laptop told me that only certain cases get looked at from there in order to see what HP has done wrong. I would have no way of knowing whether or not their process gets fixed, so in my book, I have to seriously consider buying an HP again. That's a huge weight on the scales, as I have yet to see any other brand that I really like.

As far as customer service, Compaq's support used to be based in the US. When HP bought Compaq, they eventually farmed it out and I can honestly say that at each step of the way, we received more complaints about them when I worked at CompUSA. The complaints were not in-line with their sales either, they way out-paced them.

Anyways, this is likely the end of the road for me, but I would appreciate it if you guys would spread the word about the availability of the tattoo on my site. I would love it if HP got wind of it (I know dream on) and tried to do something about it.

 

Thanks Sflesh - you've provided a lot of good info here. Good luck.

 

Well trained? 4 weeks of watered down tech support training followed by 1 week of case manager training. As for making someone go away, that's most easily done by fixing the problem.

 

First off, don't call the case manager line directly. We're not supposed to take cases from people who just call in. Second, the hinge issue was with one model. The DV9000 has a very large screen and at first HP was using hinges from a smaller screen model. Unless they own a DV9000 you just told them to call in, not following proper channels, and waste their time and the CM that has to deal with them.

 

It would be quicker to have them repair it, but it's probably more expensive than to tell them things like "Oh just Google QuickPlay. I just did myself and there is a website that has it that isn't on HP" (Sourceforge's game emulator) or "Tattoo? No no one in the entire company knows what a tattoo is, except the engineer who designed it and the guys who build them. Maybe you should run a restore"

Sorry to be cynical, but I really like my HP laptop (well before I sent it back for a refund) but if HP uses a tattoo and their phone support people, even their case managers and repair depot have no idea what it is, then they can just tell the user to run a recovery. The user's I have seen on the web that have this problem run a recovery and few call back. Those that do then get told to go download this or that. It's like HP setup the whole process (purposely or not) to wear down the callers.
In the end, that means, they paid somebody in India for 15 minutes a few times, which is a very small dollar amount, to avoid having to pay two overnight shipping charges and the minimum hourly rate they probably pay their techs. So, YES, it is cheaper to blow the customers off. At least in the short run.

It's yet another example of the customer service death spiral. We aren't making enough profit to pay our CEO his or her millions of dollars. Let's cut any high paid support and sales people, and start people at minimum wage. Who cares if they are stupid and not trained. It''l save us money long enough for our CEO to get a bonus.
The sales drop long enough down the road for their short-term memories to not realize it's because they fired all the people who know stuff, so they need to fire more people and farm it out to India. Oh look!! Another CEO bonus!


Ad infinitum?

 

Are you a case manager now? Or former? Can you confirm that case workers are supposed to initially obstruct and deceive to try to get customers to give up and go away? I have been told more than once that my product was out of warranty when it wasn't. After protesting, they eventually gave in. But seems to be a standard practice..

 

That has happened to be me, but usually from the foreign support. It could be a flaw in their system updates.