Just How Bad Has HP Support Become?

We opened up a trouble ticket on a DL380 G2 with a problem rebuilding a RAID
array, and I'm pretty depressed at just how poor HP's service level was.
We had no problems with the $39 out of warranty charge for the call but:

1) They charged $39 twice.

2) No one who dealt with us was fluent in English.

3) They didn't seem to understand the products they supported well.

4) They asked for some dumps, and as soon as we provided those all support
on the case stopped.

5) They arbitrarily closed the case without notification or permission.

6) A call back in to check status required them to create a new case.

7) After the new case was created there were no further attempts by them to
gather data or solve the problem.

8) When their operators call from India and leave voice mails, the quality
of their phone system is so poor that their voices become almost inaudible
at full volume, and the volume of the voice modulates from low to almost non
existent.

I have no doubt they are going to just arbitrarily close the case again.

After dealing with such massive incompetence, and such incredibly poor
anti-customer business processes, I have to sadly conclude that HP is now
treating customer service as just a checklist item. The facade of support
and a very flawed process that quickly closes cases that are in fact not
solved at all has replaced any kind of genuine support. I would much
rather pay twice the price per ticket and have competent technicians who
really attempt to solve a problem and leave a case open until we mutually
agree to close it than deal with phone operators who cannot solve anything
and who just arbitrarily close cases using some very flawed process.

--
Will

I work with HP support frequenty. Depending on the level of support you have
purchased makes a huge difference in the support group you get connected to.
Out of warranty support is the lowest level you can get, and with that comes
the lowest skill levels of the support people.

I insist that all my customers purchase 7x24x365 4Hr Response. I always get
connected with Houston after talking to the call routing person (which is
sometimes abroad).

- LC

"Will" wrote in message
...
We opened up a trouble ticket on a DL380 G2 with a problem rebuilding a
RAID
array, and I'm pretty depressed at just how poor HP's service level was.
We had no problems with the $39 out of warranty charge for the call but:

1) They charged $39 twice.

2) No one who dealt with us was fluent in English.

3) They didn't seem to understand the products they supported well.

4) They asked for some dumps, and as soon as we provided those all support
on the case stopped.

5) They arbitrarily closed the case without notification or permission.

6) A call back in to check status required them to create a new case.

7) After the new case was created there were no further attempts by them
to
gather data or solve the problem.

8) When their operators call from India and leave voice mails, the quality
of their phone system is so poor that their voices become almost inaudible
at full volume, and the volume of the voice modulates from low to almost
non
existent.

I have no doubt they are going to just arbitrarily close the case again.

After dealing with such massive incompetence, and such incredibly poor
anti-customer business processes, I have to sadly conclude that HP is now
treating customer service as just a checklist item. The facade of support
and a very flawed process that quickly closes cases that are in fact not
solved at all has replaced any kind of genuine support. I would much
rather pay twice the price per ticket and have competent technicians who
really attempt to solve a problem and leave a case open until we mutually
agree to close it than deal with phone operators who cannot solve anything
and who just arbitrarily close cases using some very flawed process.

--
Will

"Will" wrote
We opened up a trouble ticket on a DL380 G2 with a problem rebuilding a
RAID
array, and I'm pretty depressed at just how poor HP's service level was.
We had no problems with the $39 out of warranty charge for the call but:

Really!!!

1) They charged $39 twice.

In Europe (EMEA), you do NOT get charged for telephone support on a Proliant
server. Not twice, not once.

2) No one who dealt with us was fluent in English.

Ah! Probably Bangalore. You need to learn how to talk to them in a common
language. I've had communication issues with both India and the US, despite
the 'common' language. It's a culture thing more than a language thing. I
find Scandinavians are easiest to deal with (I'm British and live in Belgium
BTW), and Americans are the hardest. Your mileage will vary according to
your cultural and educational background.

3) They didn't seem to understand the products they supported well.

Bangalore (apparently) has a worse staff turnover problem than the old EMEA
support centre in Dublin.

4) They asked for some dumps, and as soon as we provided those all support
on the case stopped.

They should have asked for an ADU report

5) They arbitrarily closed the case without notification or permission.

Log a complaint case. They might be dealt with locally.

6) A call back in to check status required them to create a new case.

Eejits. That's why you got charged again.

7) After the new case was created there were no further attempts by them
to
gather data or solve the problem.

Pot luck as to who you get dealing with your case. It shouldn't be, but it
is.

8) When their operators call from India and leave voice mails, the quality
of their phone system is so poor that their voices become almost inaudible
at full volume, and the volume of the voice modulates from low to almost
non
existent.

You can request that they only contact you via email when you log a case.
Have you tried that?

I have no doubt they are going to just arbitrarily close the case again.

If they do, complain. I don't know what your local HP infrastructure is, but
I do know that if your server was in Belgium, you would not be getting such
arbitrary service, and regardless of who logged the case and where they
were, complaints are dealt with by the Customer Relations Team, and they
(EMEA at least) are based close to the customer.

I have to sadly conclude that HP is now
treating customer service as just a checklist item.

You would be wrong in concluding that. European customers would desert HP in
droves if that were the case.

The facade of support
and a very flawed process that quickly closes cases that are in fact not
solved at all has replaced any kind of genuine support.

Sounds like US management has underestimated the importance of having US
techies providing a US quality of service to US customers if you ask me.
Again, that's a cultural thing - without going into detail, I can usually
get what I want out of the Indians, but I have often failed miserably when
trying to get American techies to understand the problem(s) I'm facing.

I would much rather pay twice the price per ticket and have competent
technicians who
really attempt to solve a problem and leave a case open until we mutually
agree to close it

If they were competent, it would cost less time to provide you with a
response you are happy with than it would cost to invoice you for $39.

than deal with phone operators who cannot solve anything
and who just arbitrarily close cases using some very flawed process.

That's not the process that HP think they have in place. Tell them about it.

"Nut Cracker" wrote in message
t...
I insist that all my customers purchase 7x24x365 4Hr Response. I always
get
connected with Houston after talking to the call routing person (which is
sometimes abroad).

What is the lowest level of support you can buy after normal warranty
expires? I honestly would be happy getting *high quality* email only
support that is next day. That has value to me and I would pay for it.

--
Will

"Jez T" wrote in message
...

6) A call back in to check status required them to create a new case.

Eejits. That's why you got charged again.

No, the double charge was on the day we opened the first case.


8) When their operators call from India and leave voice mails, the
quality
of their phone system is so poor that their voices become almost
inaudible
at full volume, and the volume of the voice modulates from low to almost
non
existent.

You can request that they only contact you via email when you log a case.
Have you tried that?

I did make this request explicitly, and clearly, at least six times, and
they kept telling me they could not comply.


I have no doubt they are going to just arbitrarily close the case again.

If they do, complain. I don't know what your local HP infrastructure is,
but
I do know that if your server was in Belgium, you would not be getting
such
arbitrary service, and regardless of who logged the case and where they
were, complaints are dealt with by the Customer Relations Team, and they
(EMEA at least) are based close to the customer.

There are some battles worth fighting. In other cases you realize the
thing that is broken is too endemic, too huge, and you cannot fight the
broken machine.


The facade of support
and a very flawed process that quickly closes cases that are in fact not
solved at all has replaced any kind of genuine support.

Sounds like US management has underestimated the importance of having US
techies providing a US quality of service to US customers if you ask me.

The best support I have ever received was email only from Microsoft's China
group. I've had at least six tickets open with them, and every single one
of them is beyond awesome. They know the material inside and out, can
think on their feet, and really spend significant time solving your problem
instead of making excuses. The worst support I have received at Microsoft
has been Microsoft's India group. I'm definitely not Chinese, and I have
no racial or cultural bias. My point is I don't care where someone is
located. I care about competence, and I will pay something for it. What
I find intolerable is a defective business process that disrespects my time
and leaves me at the end as bad or worse as I was when I began.

--
Will