Slashdot Mirror
Do Manufacturers Adequately Support Their Products?
Chris Edwards asks: "I've been having quite a few problems with Dell support recently, and would like to ask the Slashdot community a question. To what extent should computer manufacturers support their product? I own a Dell Inspiron 7500
laptop, which has been plagued with problems since the day I purchased it.
The Inspiron 7k series were the first from Dell to take advantage of the new
15"/15.4" screens that had become available. They made one very tiny
mistake; they didn't change the hinges to support these gigantic LCDs. The
hinges on my laptop have broken four times since I purchased it two years ago. To put this into perspective: 8% of the time that I've owned my laptop, it's been in for repair. Should Dell just replace the laptop? Their support department doesn't think so; what do you think?" Dell isn't the only guilty party here. I'm sure you all have had your share of hardware support stories, the recent Ask Slashdot on IBM Deskstars is another example of this. Which manufacturers have a real bad track record of this kind of behavior?
Sun service is good yes, but they have a tendency to discontinue parts that are absolutely essential to use particular devices, and these parts just happen to be proprietary hardware manufactured by Sun only. Just ask anyone that owns javastation towers with fried power supplies.
That's like the very old joke:
Q: How many DEC repairmen does it take to fix a flat tire?
A: Five -- four to lift the car and one to swap tires until they find the one that's flat.
Q: How long does it take them to do it?
A: Depends on how many flats they brought with them.
-Tom Duff
The last Dell I owned was defective on arrival. They refused to ship a part out...I had to spend several hours on tech support before they would send a technician to my house. I told them to screw theirselves and I gutted the PC and built my own...that was the last "name brand" PC I ever bought. Now on the other hand, I was always happy with gateway. They would mail me a part overnight no questions asked assuming I returned the old part.
//m
This is kinda long, but I thought you might enjoy this little exchange
8 176_eng_man.html
8 176_eng_man.html
8 176_eng_man.html
between me and Hewlett-Packard customer support. It gets funner as you
get further down. The last line is almost too funny to be true.
I bought an HP Deskjet printer. It came with a hardcopy "Quick Reference"
guide, which made reference to a more complete "User's Guide", which was
nowhere to be found. It also came with an on-line "Quick Help" when the
software was installed. I went to HP's customer support web site to ask
about the "User's Guide". The following is from my entry in their web
submission form. The subsequent email conversation was edited for formatting
and to remove superfluous boilerplate.
CV> problem_description : Page 3 of Quick Ref Guide refers to page 6 for
CV> opening up the on-line User's Guide, but page 6 says to run the CD-ROM
CV> setup program and select "View User's Guide". But there is no "View
CV> User's Guide" on the main HP Deskjet install screen. So, the problem is
CV> that I can't find the full User's Guide. The only available on-line
CV> documentation is the "Quick Help". Where is the full User's Guide?
And HP's reply:
HP> Thank you for contacting HP's Customer Care e-mail support.
HP>
HP> I understand that you need user manual for your HP Deskjet 960Cse
HP> printer.
HP>
HP> The user manuals are provided on the HP web site. Please click on the
HP> link given below to download the user manual.
HP>
HP> http://www.hp.com/cposupport/manindex/hpdeskjet92
HP>
HP>
HP> Best regards,
HP> Alex
HP> HP Customer Solutions Team
CV> Hello-
CV> Thank you for providing me with the link to the documentation page at
CV> HP's web site. Unfortunately, I checked that page and the only documents
CV> available are:
CV> 1) Windows XP Update Guide
CV> 2) Quick Reference Guide (hardcopy of which came with the printer and
CV> referred me to the User's Guide)
CV> 3) Quick Help (which is installed locally from the CD-ROM included with
CV> the printer).
CV>
CV> The Quick Reference guide distinguishes the "User's Guide" from the
CV> "Quick Help" and the "Quick Reference Guide". So apparently there is a
CV> document called the "User's Guide" which I have yet to be able to
locate.
CV> It is not included in hardcopy format, it is not installed from the
CV> CD-ROM, and it is not on the Website. Have I missed anything?
CV>
CV> thanks,
CV> Chris Volpe
HP> Thank you for contacting HP's Customer Care e-mail support.
HP>
HP> I understand that you have an issue with the users guide for the
HP> printer.
HP>
HP> To download the manual, please go to the link below.
HP>
HP> http://www.hp.com/cposupport/manindex/hpdeskjet92
HP>
HP> On the web page, right click on "HP Deskjet 990C, 980C, and 960C
HP> Printers - (Multiple Languages) Quick Reference Guide" and select " save
HP> target as" option from the list to proceed with the downloading of the
HP> manual.
HP>
HP> Best regards,
HP> Alex
HP> HP Customer Solutions Team
CV> Alex-
CV>
CV> Thank you again for your reply. For the third time, I feel the need to
CV> point out that the information at that site is NOT WHAT I'M LOOKING
CV> FOR. As I already stated, I have the Quick Reference Guide. It came
CV> with the printer. It came in hardcopy form, and is identical to the
CV> Quick Reference Guide that you advised me to download from the web
CV> site. But the Quick Reference Guide is DIFFERENT FROM the User's
CV> Guide. The Quick Reference Guide, on page 3, draws a distinction
CV> between itself and the User's Guide. There's a table on page 3 that
CV> tells what documentation to consult in order to obtain certain
CV> kinds of information. The second row in that table refers to the
CV> "User's Guide". The third row in that table refers to the "Quick
CV> Reference Guide". And the fourth row in the table points to the
CV> "Windows Network Guide". I already have both the Quick Reference
CV> Guide and the Windows Network Guide. But the elusive User's Guide
CV> is nowhere to be found. It was not included with the printer, and
CV> it is not available for download from the web page you pointed me
CV> to. I would be most grateful if you would help me find the USER'S
CV> GUIDE. Not the Quick Reference Guide, which I already have, but the
CV> USER'S GUIDE. I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope that
CV> this time I have adequately and clearly explained the problem.
CV> Thank you very much in advance for your help.
CV>
CV> Sincerely,
CV>
CV> Christopher Volpe
HP> Hello Christopher,
HP>
HP> Thank you for contacting HP's Customer Care e-mail support.
HP>
HP> I understand that you have an issue with the users guide for the
HP> printer.
HP>
HP> To download the manual, please go to the link below.
HP>
HP> http://www.hp.com/cposupport/manindex/hpdeskjet92
HP>
HP> On the web page, right click on "HP Deskjet 990C, 980C, and 960C
HP> Printers - (Multiple Languages) Quick Reference Guide" and select " save
HP> target as" option from the list to proceed with the downloading of the
HP> manual
HP>
HP> In the U.S.
HP> -----------
HP> To order User's Guides, contact HP Parts Direct Ordering at
HP> 800-227-8164.
HP>
HP> Best regards,
HP> Alex
HP> HP Customer Solutions Team
CV> Alex-
CV> Could you please pass my support request on to someone else who is
CV> willing to read my message and understand, as I have stated three
CV> times already, that I do not need the Quick Reference Guide, which you
CV> persistently advise me to download? I'm sure there must be someone
CV> there who is willing to take the time to understand the issue and not
CV> keep sending me the same response. Thanks very much.
CV>
CV> -Chris
HP> Hello Christopher,
HP>
HP> Thank you for contacting HP's Customer Care e-mail support.
HP>
HP> I understand that you require the full User's Guide for your DJ 960Cse
HP> printer.
HP>
HP> I would like to inform you that the full version of the User's Guide for
HP> your printer is not available. The only manuals available for your
HP> printer are the Quick Help and the Quick Reference Guide. For further
HP> assistance or more information, I suggest you contact HP Phone Support.
HP>
HP> It is HP's goal to assist customers as quickly and as efficiently as
HP> possible. It sometimes is much easier to resolve the issue when
HP> talking live with a technician. The phone number in the US is
HP> 208-323-2551. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to
HP> 10:00 p.m. MT and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.MT.
HP>
HP> Other HP Customer Care phone numbers can be found in your User's Guide
When I read that last sentence, I nearly fell out of my chair.
-Chris
The service plan is something that's essentially pure profit for the retail chains. As you've read, the support they actually provide isn't at all worth it. Contrast this with the miniscule profit margins for the computer itself. The management of these stores would rather have the inventory on hand in case the next guy is a sucker than sell it to you without the service plan.
I spent three months working at Best Buy and this was essentially drilled into my brain. I can't tell you how many times a manager took me into a back room because I didn't push their silly service plan when I had to watch people get screwed over said plan at the customer support desk 5 minutes beforehand. I've also seen a laptop (one of the items they don't stock very much of) suddenly become "out of stock" when it became clear that the customer wasn't buying the service plan.
You're pretty much doing them a favor by walking out without buying the plan.
Game... blouses.