HP technical support sucks!
So I spent hours talking with a bunch of Indian guys who can recite English but can’t begin to understand it. I had a Pavilion system and the video card was screwed but they kept wanting me to re-install the drivers when my gamma was so messed up brown was showing up as green! After them telling me that I would have to send in the desktop for several weeks before I would get it back, I mean how was I supposed to work? Long story short, Costco rules. They allowed me to return the system and then gave me a huge discount on a primo Compaq laptop on which I am typing. Bottom line, if they can’t speak english don’t let them try, its annoying!
Anyways I just wanted to update my blog and get something up as I have been so busy. Coming soon to post near you are my Ruby on Rails plugins; Animated CSS/JS Bar Graphs and acts_as_grabc (Authentication).
Sep 7th 2007
I so agree. I bought a Presario and the battery died within 3 months of purchase. I phoned in and got a buncha Indian guys and they spelled my name entirely wrong for the shipping address. A bunch of retards.
Nov 19th 2007
LOL !! Indian support…huh
Call HP when you have a 6 months old machine and ask them for a new one as replacement. Then speak to one of their case managers and bet me they are based in US. Let’s see how memorable experience that would be !!!
You ppl dont even have common sense, a Case Manager will tell you that a refurb unit is one that HP received back from the store so the replacement that you are getting is as good as new one and you will agree to that. ( What happens to the thousands of dead units that HP receives back from the customers !!! ever thought ??? )
Dec 5th 2007
I am all too familiar with Indian support! I live in Abu Dhabi where more than 50% of the population are Indian and we cannot get anything done properly due to their lack of education.
I have had a particular problem with a new HP printer, the local technical support sucks so I went to the HP website for technical support. It was passed on to a bunch of Indians and none of them have the slightest clue what my problem is. Its been 4 weeks of emails now and they have started repeating the advice given previously despite me clearly advising that it did not resolve the problem.
Dec 19th 2007
Don’t feel alone. Dealt with email support for a replacement keyboard. Bought my laptop dv2047 from Sam’s Dec 8,2006. Contacted support in Jan about the spacebar. The only way it would actuate was if you hit it dead center. A couple mm off and no joy. Asked to ship a replacement (billing software and client’s files a bit sensitive, and have some software that has limited number of keys. No way I could go without.
They sent me the instructions for replacing it, but wouldn’t send the keyboard (5 back-and-fourths later). By this time I’m using a bluetooth keyboard, so isn’t a pressing issue. (Did I mention that I was an electronics calibration and repair tech and ran two labs in the AF?)
Flash forward to Nov 07, less than a month left on warranty, and I don’t have the keys loaded, and figure that I can get along without the billings for a week. Contact them and state a preference for self-install. They came up with the same mantra (India–mantra—ah, what’s the use) and tossed in a new twist: They say that the laptop warranty expired in Aug.
So, I have to email a copy of the receipt, plus fill out forms–will supposedly hear from them immediately about the update warranty date. Nada. Nothing. No communication what so ever.
So, the warranty is out, I will have to pay about $80 for a keyboard, and I’m pissed.
Will I recommend HP or Compaq to customers (I do VAR medical systems and teach part-time)? Probably not. They can stop sending me business system catalogs.
I’ll probably still support their printers, since I can second-source the parts, and they are workhorses. But I’ve got three (two HPs and one Compaq) laptops in, and I’ve basically told the owners to replace them with Dells. Three more customers have been advised to go with Dell servers. All for a freaking keyboard. Original support #KMM14560722V43597L0KM.
(During the last segment of tech support conversation, I replaced a screen, partial case, and DVD drive in a Compaq r3000 for a client (her daughter’s friend sat on it)).
Jan 7th 2008
Hi Kevin,
I have been looking for an email address for you all over the site. Cant find it, and understandably so. Im sure everyone and their mother would be trying to get ahold of you with technical support.
So listen, I DLd your lightwindow and I really think its great. I went in and did all types of custom changes to it but Im not really a developer. I got it up and running on the mac side and in safari but other then that, it doesnt really look or act right anywhere else.
The reason im contacting you is to see if you could, and how much you would charge to get my site working across the board. Again, it works the way I would like in safari but not in other web browsers.
The url is http://www.fresh-collective.com/html . PLease take a look and let me know what you think.
Best~
Sean Kelley
Jan 9th 2008
indians , americans who cares!!! All retards a-holes motherfuckers.
Jan 18th 2008
Kevin, I can’t seem to find any place to actually contact you other than be leaving a comment, but are you available for hire?
Apr 6th 2008
Hey Kevin,
Got a business proposition for you. Got my accordion/lightbox page working great– thanks for the excellent product. Well, actually, I got it working just as I want it in Firefox, but it still sort of craps itself in IE– the first and second nested accordians work fine, but the 3rd and 4th just stay expanded and cannot be minimized. If you can take a look on the site and offer some suggestions, I’d be really happy to make a generous donation for your work.
Thanks a million,
dan
Jun 13th 2008
HP, Dell, Wipro, IBM, Sony, Motorrola, Almost every top US IT or hardware company has support in Center in India. So mind your words. You are at wrong end.
INDIAN SKILLS IN THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD.
Jul 15th 2008
Hey I am a white South African! And I agree with Amarjeet. Indians are more technically skilled than us all. Instead of complaining you guys should be thankful that there’s someone out there that has more brains than you dipshits!
Jul 15th 2008
We, Indians are selling the concepts of the IT companies from US.
Jul 15th 2008
I am also working in a CallCenter in Chennai. I love the kevin’s statement.
Aug 13th 2008
What do you know about the pc’s. They are techs. You do not know nothing.
Aug 13th 2008
You people don’t know nothing about the computers or any electronic devices.
For Ex : A tech said to close all the open windows except the one we are discussing the subject. Then, the EU went and closed all the opened windows of his/her house.
2. One US cust is thinking that the CD/DVD rom tray is to place the water jugs and glass while working. He came to support and saying that when I place the water jug on the computer water tray, it got broken. Need replacement…
This is your’s knowledge. CUT and HALF.
Aug 20th 2008
I work for an HP authorised service provider, and as of late HP ASP tech support has gotten so bad that I am considering recommending anything BUT HP when customers ask for advice. When HP first moved their tech support over seas, ASP support was still in the US, now, it too is over seas, they won’t talk to an ASP without a credit card and charging $25 if the unit is out of warranty. Instead of talking to someone that actually knows the printer I now talk to someone that knows les about the printers than the spare tire in my car does, I spend 20 to 40 minutes at a clip on hold while the “tech” support person tries to explain my situation, to the guy that I used to talk to directly.
I have HP certified for over 10 years, and have always promoted their product based on features to price, now I have to say buy Oki or Xerox, both companies have tech support that is second to none, they know their stuff, and are eager and pleasant, knowlegable and above all…UNDERSTANDABLE
Aug 22nd 2008
Hi,
I find LightWindow v2.0 very interesting.I think it ‘ll help me to achieve something more dynamic.What I want to do is to create dynamically via javascript, links with this feature and not set them statically in html code.How should I do this?
Thanks in advance,
Kostis.
Aug 24th 2008
“So I spent hours talking with a bunch of Indian guys who can recite English but can’t begin to understand it”(Kevin Miller). I totally agree what you are said.But as the samething, I am not speak that much. Though, I am not hired by big coorporation like those guys and bothering native speakers as well as those speak fluent. What I am surrprised is why such companies not be make sure those people not speak English. Sorry they speak but like animals not be able to understand. Here is my story in shortly. I really like hp’s products which are today’s best seller.As some of you know, the company is hired those guys from operater to tech support. And one day my pc was crash by virus and it was out of the manufactures-hp-warranty. But since I didn’t have choice, I called hp and the operator, one of those guys, picked the phone and told me that if I pay $99, they will fix it. I tried to be make sure that if they not be able to fix it, they will return my money. I was not sure she understand me because my acct. was not better either. But a tried to explain many times. You bleive or not I spent more than an hour to verify my address. Then, with the same guys-where they from, I spent three days more than 7 hours (with interruption) on each day. Finally, they said the last step was final wheather my pc is fix or not. So, for those who said they are better tech for US, tell me what is their betterness. Anyways I paid for nothing and I bought new hp as I said I like them-hp. Now,I am praying for not be crash and not be spent my money and time with those guys. I am feel sorry for you guys not fixing my pc and spending my time for nothing. Pleas, Please, HP have someone helpfull. Thank you for sharing my comment.
Sep 15th 2008
I just got off the phone with the HP technical department. I spoke with an Indian woman. She was not very helpful and actually rude. I told her that I needed the recovery disk for my computer because. She got really quiet. I said, “Hello?” is anyone there? She said yes ma’am. I explained again what I needed. She said hold on a minute. I hold about 3 minutes with no sound or response. I said again, ‘Hello is anybody there?” She said, “Ma’am I told you to hold on, I have to consult with my supervisor to see if we can provide your recovery disks”. She did not say that at first.At this point they only have my name and no other information about my computer. I hold for another 3-4 minutes and she says, “I am sorry ma’am but we cannot provide you with your recovery disks.” I ask why, “Because Ma’am, at this time we have an unusually high call volume and are not able to help you at this time..thank you for calling… I say but wait. Can I call at another time to ask for the disks? She said yes, you can call back in about 4 to 5 hours and someone will be able to speak with you at that time. I ask, “which number do I call because I went through a menuing system to get to you?”. She said, “yes mm’am you can call back later and someone will be able to help you. I say “wait, wait what number do I call? She says. ” Thank you for calling HP have a good day and hung up….HOW RUDE! And I have to wait 4 to 5 hours????? C’mon! HP!!! What is up with this?
Sep 15th 2008
What’s up with HP? They charge enough for their products and cannot even got god tech support. HEY HP !!!! ARE YOU LISTENING????
Oct 3rd 2008
Did you people know that the entire HP technical support is located in the Philippines, just call them up and ask them. I mean what the hell, they can’t afford to hire people in the states? I don’t care about globalization of economies, but the most important and the least each business can do is to ensure the same quality of service in every country, in this case, hire only the ones who can speak fluent English is not too much to ask. I don’t want to hear Philippine-English or Indian-English, each you speak fluent English or find a different job. When you have to spell out every god damn word in order for them to understand that is not technical support from their part, that is English education from us, and they should pay us.
Oct 7th 2008
I agree with all of you. I just spent an hour and eleven minutes to have someone overseas waste my #$%^&*# time. I just purchased a web cam last week and it doesn’t work. You would think that they would have you check some of the basics first. But instead I have to have the indian repeat himself 5 times so I can understand him just to get me to the HP Instant Care web page. Then I was hung up on. This problem is not just with HP. I think I talked to the same exact guy at the Dell support. Where I spent over six hours to have them help me get a new printer to work that they told me they didn’t know what to do. What is this world comming to that we can’t talk to someone in our own country. This has helped me to figure out who I am going to vote for president of the U.S.A. this election. Does anyone know of a computer company that I can make my next BIG purchases from where I can have an American help me if there is a problem? I think I know the answer.
Oct 9th 2008
I have spent over a week trying to get an HP laptop fixed. It’s under warranty, the external VGA adapter has quit working. My client uses it for presentations, so it is important that it work. I can’t get anybody from Hewlett Packard who can even come close to being able to speak English on the phone. It is pure misery to talk to anybody. I have to repeat everything 5 times. I was on the phone the first time with their tech support for almost 3 hours trying to diagnose what I already know is wrong. After 3 hours, the tech said they would send someone out and would call me back with the information. Unfortunately nobody ever called me back. I waited for a week and then called back, they had no record of my call. So I went through the process again. After 30 minutes of talking to the next person, she told me she would send me a new battery. I actually laughed and then asked if I could speak to someone else and she hung up on me. So I called back for a third time and didn’t make it 10 minutes. The next representative couldn’t come close to speaking English and the call went nowhere. I asked to speak to someone else once more and he hung up on me. This is past the point of frustrating. I have a broken laptop under warranty and can’t get it fixed because I can’t communicate with HP. I am so frustrated that I googled HP communication problems and this website came up. I am just venting right now but I think people should know that if you buy an HP and something goes wrong, the problems you are going to face.
Oct 14th 2008
As an (outsourced) HP tech support agent who works in North America, I want to apologize for the piss poor service I know you get. Front line agents have an astronomical turn over rate, are under constant surveillance, and are told simultaneously to create satisfied customers and save money for HP. The average agent is right out of high school, and has had 3 weeks of training which focused on how to sound nice on the phone and log notes properly. Technical training is primarily how to look up documents in a knowledge base which has an enormous amount of down time and a pathetic attempt at a search engine. We really do want to help our polite customers, but there are strict guidelines we have to follow about what needs to be tried before service, or we get written up. If we deviate from our script (yes, it’s taped to my monitor), we get written up. Don’t follow a written process, get written up. Use negative phrasing such as “known issue” or “my tools are down”, definite meeting with a manager.
And don’t bother asking for a supervisor, that’s just a guy who has been there for longer than a year and recieved training on sounding extra professional.
Oct 19th 2008
I’ve had a 2×2 box appear on my screen unexpectedly about once a month proclaiming HP UPdate “An update is available. Would you like to download and install this update now?” Well, yes I would BUT THERE IS NOWHERE TO CLICK ON THE #*@$& BOX. Nothing happens. Can’t get rid of the box without completely shutting down and doing a cold start. Called “tech support”- and I use that term advisedly - For 39.95 I could have a 14 minute tech solve this problem. I think that’s what he said, because I could barely understand him. HP - your tech support is terrible, awful, embarrassingly bad. No more HP produducts for me if this is the way you do business. How about helping the US economy and HIRING YOUR PEOPLE HERE IN THE USA!
Oct 19th 2008
I called technical support a few times to get a recovery cd that would be a backup for my operating system that I bought with my computer. They told me that the application was not working and to call back several hours later. It was not what I expected during my day off, to get more complication involving my os but because I need the disk in order to have a working computer I called back. I finally was told that the order could be placed and was informed that it would cost 15-30 dollars to ship it to me. I spoke with the supervisor who identified himself as brad. The supervisor brad sarcastically blamed me for the situation that I was in and I was basically an idiot for not making a recovery disk. The supervisor brad was belittling and arrogant and continued to be insulting. It was the worst customer service that I have ever seen. The supervisor brad informed me that I would need to purchase the cd and if I got one from the store it would cost me 300 dollars so I was actually getting a deal. The supervisor brad then accused me of trying to get something for free but wait didn’t I pay for the computer that includes the os. That’s what the documentation says that it includes the os. I tried to comprehend why I was being charged for something that I purchased already and asked for his manager. The supervisor brad said that his manager’s name was Shelly. The supervisor brad said that she is never available and doesn’t take calls. All I want is a back up disk that contains the os that I purchased with my computer. I have a warrantee why does it not cover the os. If the shipping price was realistic I wouldn’t have a problem even though I shouldn’t really have to pay for shipping but 15 bucks to ship through regular mail. That doesn’t make sense. I’m sure not going to give good reviews on every blog I see and every person I speak with and I’m in the technical field so that could be a lot of coverage when I comes to bringing awareness and caution to those that consider hp products and services.
Oct 24th 2008
Brad I just went through much the same ordeal trying to obtain recovery disks. They want to charge me for the disks although their crap software ruined several of my DVDs attempting to make them myself.
I have always owned HP Notebooks and based on this experience with tech support I will NEVER purchase another.
Nov 13th 2008
Try having a $260.00 camera that has a defective battery/storage door that won’t stay closed within a week of owning it. Then getting it replaced and 6 mos later the latch that holds the battery down breaks off. I email them through the website support , easier than the first time getting someone who doesn’t understand you on the phone. I like email at least the written word is more clear than calling HP support. They let me know the camer can be replaced under warranty. I call them back since I missed their return calls to process, luckily I get an agent who sounds native of Enlgish language so far so good, but informs me the camera was out of warranty five days ago! I informed her that the camera was in warranty when I contacted them. You can’t say oh well a few days after the reply it can not be done. She had to check the original camera purchase date because apparently the warranty of the new camera does not start all over from when they originally ereplaced it but your old warranty carries over. Not fair because you better hope if something goes wrong with the replacement it happens before the warranty expires from the first product. Luckily after researching they find I am still covered because even looking at my warranty online I have a year parts, and all and that means I have til March of 09 So they need to quit being cheap. One thing about replacement you should know is that you have two options. If you need the replacement right away they can send the new product but you have to give a credit /debit card for collateral in which they authorize for $1.00 and once you get the new one you have to mail in the old one within three days if the defective product is not received back within 15 days you are charged for the full retail value of the replacement product and you cannot return the old one. They will send you a return label so you don’t have to pay for return shipping. The first time I didn’t like the idea of this so I told them I would ship it to them and wait for the replacement. But this time I was informed clearer that I wouldn’t be charged the full amount unless the other was not received back, but if they tried to authorize it for the full amount and couldn’t get it to go through I would wait again, but I knew they would authorize it for $1.00 which that hold will fall off in a few days. Always keep copies of those receipts just in case or send them a copy because tou never know how crazy they will get when it comes to your warranty.
Nov 15th 2008
Hey people ! HELLO… Live a little go get yourself a Mac Pro 8 core and run your windows from a virtual PC
More seriously I drilled all over this site and like is there not an email contact for Kevin !?
I’ve got a project I want to implement lightbox on with a swf file and a form and would like to pay for some support on it to cut down on how many times I throw down with my battle axe…..
Nov 21st 2008
I’m a bit late to the party, but I’ll pile on the “HP Support Sucks” bandwagon. I’ve spent weeks talking to their support team in India trying to get my defective laser printer replaced. It’s an agonizing process and VERY, VERY SLOW.
Best of all, they replace my broken printer with….wait for it…..another broken printer. Different problem, but just as useless.
So now I need to get the replacement replaced, but I have to jump through their 12 hoops and wait 10 days before I can do that. It’s the required “processing time” for them to update their system to reflect that the old one has been returned and the new one is bad.
Grrrrrrrrr. I used to recommend HP printers to everyone. Not anymore.
Glad you managed to save a few bucks on your technical support, HP. Now you’re going to lose 10 fold in customers who get frustrated in how un-helpful it is.