Printer Jam

[IT-TK]

I provide IT support for 30 public libraries. I’ve been in IT for 20 years and have always recommended HP printers. A library calls me up and I send them a quote through our 3rd party vendor on a model depending on their budget and need. AFTER TODAY I WILL NO LONGER RECOMMEND HP FOR ANYTHING! Looks like my upcoming server refresh will be Dell servers instead.  I will also be posting this on Reddit and filing this with BBB and my state’s DOJ office.

This particular library was quoted a printer through CDWG, they agreed, and the order was placed. With the backlog of COVID orders, months went by and they library was in need of a printer as their old HP printer had failed. I kept calling my sales rep and they told me that HP still hasn’t caught up with the production and shipping brought on by COVID. They use this printer as a service to their local patrons that come into the library that don’t have access to a printer at home or even a device to print from (we also provide public PCs).

The director found another HP printer model that was in stock from a vendor that she deals with on her other supplies for the library. It was an HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdw. I cancelled the order with CDWG and she ordered it through this vendor October 2022. She didn’t need the MFP part of the printer, but she was in a need for this printer as patrons come in and use this almost daily.

Last week she told me that she has been continuing to get an error message on the touchscreen “Jam in print paper path. Open tray 2 and rear door”. I sent her this article to look for a jam. https://support.hp.com/hr-en/document/c06448960

I was told they followed all the steps, and they are still receiving the error.  I told her I would plan a trip that’s a 2-hour drive to take a look. In my 20 years in IT, I’ve ripped apart a few HP printers in the past. I brought my tool kit with and compressed air.

When I got onsite I troubleshooted as much as I could without taking it apart. The reason I didn’t is because the device is still under warranty. After troubleshooting if for an hour and it having 8 months of warranty still left on it I decided to open a ticket.

With other vendors I work with (Dell), chat seems to be the quickest way to solve an issue that I’ve already completed all of the troubleshooting steps I know of. The chat bot tells me I need to create a ticket first, weird…. Isn’t that what your support agents do? Anyways, I go and create the ticket, then it launches a sign in window for Facebook Messenger? Really HP? You can’t afford to pay for your own chat platform.

Message at the top says “Typically replies within minutes”.  Message I post is at 10:46 AM, first response I get back is an hour later at 11:44 AM. I explain the steps I’ve taken on this issue.  No response, follow up again, nothing until 12:28 PM. They send me the same link to the article that I told them I already did.  Then nothing again.  Now I’m back on the road and headed to another library. We’ll come back to this chat….

Since I was being ignored on the chat, I called the HP support 800 number. I get a human, I explain again what steps I’ve done to troubleshoot. Again, given the same article stated above. Get placed on hold, comes back on and I’m told the troubleshooting process found take up to 30 mins. I said, “OK” let’s get started. Then he says it could take up to “45 to one hour”. I responded, “if it has to”. Get placed on hold again and he comes back on and says, “he doesn’t know anything about LaserJet as he’s only a Officejet support agent”. I get placed on the dead-end hold location.

Back to the chat, by this time it’s been a back-and-forth conversation via chat through out the day. At the end of the day they. They ask me our address to ship out the replacement, I provide it. Then they are asking for a credit card number over plain text in case the old not working printer is not returned.  I send them our standard credit card auth. form for them to fill out and the chat has gone cold.

If anyone can recommend another brand that they have had success with, please let me know.