HP Printing Engineers Mobilize: Expert Day War Room

[ThatGarenGuy]

During November and December of 2009, HP has mobilized a specialized group of engineers to provide answers and responses to customer questions during our Expert Day events.  In both San Diego CA and Boise ID, there are conference rooms that transform into test centers with multiple PC's, Notebook PC's, and Printers/All-in-Ones.

At any point of time, there are at least six dedicated engineers watching the forums, testing solutions, and answering threads.  While everyone is logged into the forums, one PC is dedicated to project the forum on a large screen. There is also a PC dedicated to maintaining a virtual connection between the locations. Information sharing goes on via speaker-phone and use of virtual room technology.

Here is how one of our engineers describes it:

As customers enter new messages during Expert Days, the team reacts by doing a quick review of the entry.  An individual is assigned to respond by answering the question, or asking for more information.  If we need to work on a problem, it is best to personally experience it.  We use one of the test machines and get to work.  If customers notice that it is taking some time to get an answer, we'd like them to know that these engineers are working to duplicate the problem that the customers have described.

When a response is ready, the engineer proposes the response for confirmation with everyone else in the room, and also in our "virtual room" so as to get any feedback from others.  If everyone agrees, the answer is posted.

While responding to customer posts, we are also creating a running list of action items. We will often create or revise documentation, develop a new patch, or generate requirements for our next generation of products.  In other words, while we are doing our best to answer questions and provide our customers with a fix, we are also working hard to use the input for improving future products.

We are all part of the community.

From the engineers and management teams within the printer organizations, we welcome you to Expert Days and hope we can help.

Message Edited by GarenT on 11-19-2009 10:40 AM