Interesting approach to customer service you’ve got there, HP! Hot tipper Zack, who sent his still-under-warrantee HP laptop in to be serviced for a bad hinge, writes:
Well today I received a call from an HP Tech Support guy. I was informed
that liquid had been inside my keyboard and when they opened the computer to
diagnose it, the liquid spilled onto the motherboard causing damage. He also
informed me that in order to fix this I would have to pay $1,099.
Wow, that’s just — wow. Zack mentions there was no liquid inside his keyboard when he packed it off, as if he even needs to say that. Also, HP technician, even if this mysterious liquid managed to stay inside the keyboard for the entire shipping process, how exactly did you manage to spill it on the motherboard? Did you hear it sloshing around in that spacious, hermetically sealed keyboard and decide to investigate — directly over the mobo?
The guy then told Zack that he would receive his computer back, but it may “blow up.” I’m sure that for every experience like this, there are a thousand perfectly good interactions with HP’s customer service, but that doesn’t reduce the impact when you hear something as ridiculous (almost Comcastic) as this. Sounds like HP HR could use a little QA, IMHO.
UPDATE - From Zack:
Hey guys (and maybe girls), I just got a call from an HP Case Manager. After
I explained what happened to my notebook and how it wasn’t my fault, the
kind gentleman from HP told me my notebook would be fixed for FREE because I
did not cause the “liquid” damage to the notebook.I want to say thanks to you kind people at CrunchGear for posting my tragic
tale with HP Tech Support. You guys rock!
Crazy HP, During the shipping only the liquid would have Spilled on Keyboard or Evaporated.
http://free-and-useful.blogspot.com
Just like as in many cell phone, laptops contain markers that change color when exposed to water, so the water was long gone but there is probably non debatable proof water was spilled on the laptop at some point in time…
Not just Dell, HP Support it’s terrible! I have a HP 530, I buy it on March. But the notebook came with a non-working touchpad. So, big deal. This PC was bought in Uruguay, HP made me pass trough a call-center in Argentina to lather pass me to another in Mexico. They did me “la mexicana” because they didn’t believe me if that It was a Hardware problem and that the problem in reality was software. They don’t give you support if you don’t have Windows (this PC came with FreeDOS, I was so happy with the Idea of not paying the Microsoft Tax, but then, for the HP support sake I bought a Vista H.B. OEM… I feel horrible for this, Anyway now it lives inside Ubuntu whit VirtualBox). Well with Windows in place and the drivers installed… they still didn’t believe me! They trate you (the call-center) like you were stupid (not all Windows users are retard, less in the Busyness Class like this HP 530). Anyway, after a month they send the parts for the repair (repaired on SONDA Uruguay, above averege they quality on they work), two weeks later the machine was working! I installed Ubuntu and no other problem have occur.
So, I hate HP Service, but I still think that their hardware are top-notch and quality. I was in the ThinkPad crowd until Lenovo lowered the quality standards and put the WinKey on the keyborad.
¿anybody knows a good quality PC with good service and good design?
For now, I will bite the bullet and kept with HP.
Ann,
I never spilled liquid on the notebook. When the notebook left my possession it was working fine except the screen hinge had pulled out. I never had an issue with the screen or anything.
The HP Tech Support guy I spoke with told me water spilled from the keyboard onto the mobo causing the screen, mobo and other parts causing $1,099 worth of damage.
I called back last night hoping to speak with a higher up about the situation and explain how this isn’t my fault. After 20 minutes of run around I was told I would be contacted by a case manager within 48hrs.
So it’s a wait and see thing for now.
Zack
Apple wanted to charge my brother’s five month old MBP $1400. And that was spill damage, no water inside keyboard anymore.
Part cost $75. Hour and half of DIY work, no more problem. Makes HP look like…I’m looking for an example of good customer service, coming up blank. Fill in yourself.
They pulled the same crap with a friend of mine said liquid under keyboard and refused to honor a warranty NEVER buy from them again EVER. thieves.
HP support=terrible HP parts=terrible Never again will I buy HP
Years ago, right after the merger with Compaq, I bought an HP laptop because I had such great luck with HP products before that. Apparently the Compaq people, legendary for bad customer service, moved in with the HP folks.
There was a problem with the screen, and it had to go back. I called to get the required shipping approval number, and was stunned to learn that 1) it was going to cost me $690 despite it being a warranty problem; 2) I didn’t have a credit card then and they demanded that I get a certified check and GIVE THEM THE CHECK NUMBERS before I could even get the magic shipping number. So, I went without my computer for a few weeks until I could get back home to the bank (I was an over the road truck driver).
When I got home, I called HP back, got a different tech, and she told me this was ridiculous, it was clearly a warranty issue, and they’d have FedEx out in the morning to pick it up on their dime.
Don’t hesitate to call back when you get a moron like that again. Talk to someone who isn’t comatose and who doesn’t spill their morning coffee in your computer and expect you to pay for it.
Speaking of spills. I had a student driver with me once, and picked up my Chihuahua in Tucson for a trip to Phoenix and back home again. I also picked up my brand new Dell laptop that was waiting for me, and loaded all the software on the way up while the student drove. In Phoenix, he made a very wrong turn, and I started yelling at him to stop. This caused the Chihuahua, who was riding on “daddy’s” lap right next to the laptop, freaked because of the yelling, and threw up all over the keyboard, shorting everything out.
So there I am, frantically trying to keep the big truck out of trouble, as my student goes postal on me, screaming all I care about is my computer, the Chihuahua is having major sensitivity issues, and I’m shaking the darn computer out and shouting “Live!! Live!!!!!” at it hoping against hope.
When I called Dell, I said this has to be the stupidest thing they ever heard of. She said, no, that was the time a woman left her computer in the shower, and her husband came home turned on the water, stupidly not realizing there was a desktop computer lounging in there. She was right, that beat my Chihuahua-barf ridden story.
Another reason I’m glad I work for a computer store with in-house repair service. You can speak to a real person and be certain things will actually be fixed. If the issue can’t be repaired in store, we ship the unit to a company called Blue Raven that does excellent work for us.
The Same exact thing happened to me…twice with the same laptop!! The second time they sent me a replacement unit, 3 months after receiving mine for repair. The replacement was the exact same model…minus 80gb hard drive, & 512 memory.
When my HP laptop HDD died I removed it called HP and they sent me a new one for free. Done deal. They are not that hard to deal with. ALL tech support for major computer companies is similarly crappy. You just have to imagine all of the stupid problems that they get called with besides the genuine one that you might have.
Oh, by the way.. They’re not called “laptops”, they’re called “notebooks” because “you’re not supposed to put them in your lap.”
Or, at least, this is what I was told by an HP Case Manager when trying to tell them that my computer overheats and literally burns my legs while I’m using that. They decided to completely ignore the problem at hand and tell me the solution to my processor overheating is to simply.. not put it in my lap.
They did the same thing to me. it just stopped working one day (less than a month old.) They told me there was liquid inside it and that it was ruined, also that it wouldn’t be covered. Had to threaten to take them to court before they replaced it, Took about two months too. Needless to say I will never by HP again. The guy on the phone was a real jerk too.
I’ve dealt with HP customer service for my son’s notebook on 3 different occasions. The case managers were professional and did everything they could to take care of a problem under warranty. When the problem couldn’t be fixed after they tried twice, they replaced the notebook with a newer, and much more expensive model, almost double what I paid for the first one. The second one gave out on us when it was 8 months old, because of a back up in the repair service, and since they had already tried to fix it once, it was again replaced with an equivalent or better model with the added bonus of a 3 year warranty with the “no fault” coverage in case of spills, accidental drops, etc.
HP really did everything they could to make things easy on us. At all times, I was also pleasant and professional because they were doing their best to help us. It wasn’t the case manager’s fault that the repair work was delayed so I didn’t take my frustration out on them. The case manager also went out of their way to help me find a desktop at a great price, almost half off what I saw in any store locally and at 40% off their online HP store price. My next purchase will be an HP, too.
However, if you try to get something fixed and end up with the call center in India, you’re lucky if they understand you, let alone help you!! They sent us the wrong part 2x and charged my credit card which was given to them as security until they received the damaged part in return. It took no time at all to get the situation remedied once I took it to the right people. I have nothing against foreigners, but if they can’t understand the language I’m speaking, they can’t help me or at least it seems to turn out that way with the HP call center in certain areas.
It’s not always easy to deal with these problems when you need something fixed right away but the person at the other end of the line is almost always much more helpful when you treat them with respect and in a professional manner despite wanting to scream about the situation.
I just got off the phone with hp Case Manager.
Same issue here 755.59 dollar repair bill stating damaged by liquid in my notebook. Motherboard, ram, $$$ it’s all damaged they said.
The computer worked when it left my house.
It had an intermittent issue that the monitor would go blank and operating system would freeze up. This is the second time it has been back to the repair center for the same problem.
It was never fixed correctly. Now that my extended “no fault” coverage has expired they find liquid in the unit.
I am calling out legal deptartment to have them help me with a small claim.