Sign Language, HP Products, and ZERO Help!

[SignLangInterp]

I have been a loyal HP customer for many years, and until 3 weeks ago, I had virtually no complaints.  This is where the sunny side of this post ends.  I am hoping that some other loyal (or otherwise) customer has figured out a way to actually resolve an issue with HP Customer "Service."  They seem to have forgotten the "SERVICE" part of the title though they have our money and have accepted the "customer" aspect. 

Just a few weeks ago, I purchased a new HP Netbook Mini 311 through Verizon (another great source of anguish these days).  My office already owns HP desktops, laptops, and printers, but we needed the portability of a netbook to visually communicate with our Deaf/hard-of-hearing customers in American Sign Language while we were hopping from one assignment to the next.  Luckily, we only purchased ONE to start.  Issue after issue had us in the local Verizon store on a regular basis.  The staff at Verizon finally threw up their collective hands and informed us that it was now a problem for HP.  This is where the fun begins.  I began calling HP on Thanksgiving Day...  sent from one department to the next until it was literally the next day!  One week later and COUNTLESS hours on the phone with HP, and I am no better off than shoving the POS under a bus!  I have spent a minimum of 1.5 hours on each call to HP and have had my complaint "escalated" to some department with a case manager whom I suppose is intended to smooth my ruffled feathers.  It might even work if there weren't such a language barrier and an undeviating script involved.  Today, they informed me that they will LOOK at the device and attempt to repair it, but I have to pay for shipping!  The thing isn't even a month old!!!  What kind of nonsense is this???  I realized that I was getting absolutely nowhere, so I accepted the shipment of a box via FedEx.  I should expect the box in a couple of days, and then it will take up to two WEEKS to get it back--issues resolved or not.  <sigh> 

In case this were not enough, as I'm printing our monthly invoices, our new color laser printer (CM1312) seized.  (Mind you, with new toner cartridges, the price of the new printer exceeded $800--no small expense.)  The error message on the display indicated there was a paper jam in the rear of the machine, and through pictures, it explained to open the rear door and remove the jammed paper.  There was no such paper.  I called HP after trying everything I know to do.  After several transfers, I reached a very nice man named Brian who did his best to help me clear the jam and/or diagnose the problem.  He, too, was at a loss after about an hour of trying.  He gave me two options:  either bring the device to a local HP service dealer, or allow HP to send me a new device.  I opted for the second.  I was given an order number and told that the new equipment would arrive in 2-3 days (today being the third day).  I should have known that this was too good to be true.  By 7:00pm when I know FedEx and UPS have made their final deliveries in my area, I was still empty-handed.  I called HP.  I spent 50 minutes on the phone with one rep who claimed there was no such order number, and that perhaps I had misunderstood.  Uhhh... no!  When the call letters are read to you as "alpha, bravo, tango..." there is no room for error.  He was also unable to find my device based on its serial number.  HUH???  At 7:50pm, the call disconnected, and though he had my complete information, the tech made zero attempt to return my call (this was the second time this had happened in 3 days).  I've grown fond of the music they play when they have you on interminable HOLD.  When I finally got back through to a human being, I was informed that I had been transferred to the wrong laserjet department and that the department I needed had closed at 8:00pm.  I was beside myself with rage and frustration!  The man had allowed the call to disconnect, knowing that I had no recourse for the remainder of the evening.

In my entire professional life, I have never dealt with any company so seriously lacking in communication and customer service.  If I ran my business this way, I would be OUT of business!  My company is entirely focused on communication, breaking down barriers, and opening doors for members of our population who might otherwise not be served.  I have gotten a full dose of what my clients must feel on a daily basis, not having access to what is rightfully theirs.  Shame on you, HP!

Does anyone out there have any good suggestions on what to do next?  If HP can't even find a record of my device's existence, what hope do I have of having it fixed/replaced?  What kind of recourse do I have?  Everything is under factory warranty, but if they don't acknowledge its existence...?  I sincerely hope that someone of consequence from HP actually reads these posts--not just one of those so-called "supervisors" or mythological case managers.   Please help!

[Gangles]

commenting only on the notebook side of things,

Certain HP notebook models including the mini series the end user will be responsible for shipping costs in the event that the notebook needs to be sent into a service center for repair and you are within the year factory warrenty. You can either pay hp the shipping cost at the point of service creation or pay the company assigned to ship the unit to hp. In this case it would be fedex. This is stated in the warrenty agreement that came with your product. It can be frusterating when you have an out of box experience when you invest in any new product but this is why HP gives you a free year warrenty on new notebooks you purchase.

What issue were having exactly?

[redhotmad]

Good luck - See my post  - customer care is a myth

I will prob never buy anything from them again and will warn everyone I know of there lack of care

[Gangles]

Just because a consumer is not satisfied with policy does not mean it is not valid.

Was it necessary to bump a 4 month old post?