Few companies have a better reputation for service than Hewlett-Packard, but that reputation is being placed in jeopardy as the company looks to compete in price-sensitive markets.

A dramatic rise in support complaints to The Gripe Line from HP computer customers began late last year and has continued into the new year. Even HP resellers say the company's recent "streamlining" program has hurt HP's and its resellers' ability to support customers.

The gripes about HP system support vary in the details, but they generally come down to either an inability or an unwillingness to help. A reader who found he couldn't reinstall applications that came bundled with his system using either HP's version or a retail version of Windows hit a brick wall. "When I asked why I couldn't load my applications with not just one bona fide paid-for copy of Windows on hand but two, HP's help desk was absolutely unable to provide me with any assistance," the reader wrote. "They gave me a mail (not e-mail) address to complain to. I've used HP products for 25 years and have always been impressed with their durability and technical excellence. Not so with this purchase -- HP should be embarrassed to [act] like this."

One common symptom of a troubled support operation readers report is the support techs whose only answer is to blame other vendors. "First we were told it was Microsoft's fault, and we should call them," wrote one reader with a Pavilion system that died shortly after arrival. "Then they started blaming every component in the system, like they aren't responsible if something goes wrong with any of them. What are we supposed to do, call Intel and say our computer doesn't work? One of the HP computer reps even gave us the phone number for CD-Writer support . . . So does that mean another part of HP knows more about fixing broken computers than they do?"

Readers also report running into rules and regulations that seem designed only to make them go away and leave HP alone. "One of the drives [on an HP system] failed, and it was still under warranty," another reader said. "I called to have the drive replaced, and HP informed me that I needed [to give them] a credit card [number], and I replied, 'For what?' They gave me some ridiculous excuse and said that they needed to cover [the replacement drive] in case the damaged drive never made it to them. To which I replied, 'Why don't I send you the failed drive first?' They replied that it wasn't their policy to do business that way. I asked them how much they were going to charge the card, and they said that they did not know. I gave this info to my supervisor who has now implemented a No HP Products policy."

In situations like this, it's usually hard to tell what is actually causing the sudden spike in the number of complaints I get about a company's support. But in this case, I had a lot of help in that I also heard from a surprising number of HP resellers. They reported that HP was making it difficult for them to provide good service by requiring them to ship systems back to HP for service rather than providing them the parts to fix the systems themselves.

"My company will no longer sell HP products (except for printers), because their customer service has become so horrible," one HP reseller wrote. "We were an HP Pavilion authorized service center, but now HP requires that all warranty Pavilions must be shipped back to them for repair. Out-of-warranty machines are just tough luck for the owners because we will not try to get parts anymore."

"We have seen some second-level complaints starting to come in due to supply-chain issues on our lower-end Pavilion products," says Chris Shea, general manager of HP's consumer support organization, in Palo Alto, Calif. In trying to "streamline" the support process for the low-end products, Shea says HP centralized a number of functions that had previously been handled by third parties, and problems in the transition resulted in a parts shortage. "That affected our repair operations as well as the dealer network. We've had a team working on it, and we're pretty comfortable that we've now rectified the problems."

The parts shortage may have eased, but it's uncertain whether Shea is correct to think HP is out of the woods. Dealers who fixed the low-end machines now must send them to HP's central facilities. This, he explains, saves money by allowing HP to carry fewer spare parts over a product's life cycle.

Of course, it may save HP money, but it's unlikely to save time for the customer anxious to get a computer repaired. Perhaps that's the only way to compete at the low end of today's computer market, but I think HP is risking a lot to do so. A brand name can survive a blemish or two, but too many black marks can permanently tarnish a reputation.

» posted by ITworld staff

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