5 Month Delayed Shipping/Delivery Date and Misleading/Unprofessional Reps

[User_0329202116]

My son needed a new Windows PC since his Mac had compatibility issues with some of his educational software. We both had good impressions of HP computers from school and work. Therefore, I decided to place an order for a customized HP Business Elitedesk 805 G6 Mini on 3/13 since there was a chance it may need to serve as a backup for me while I WFH during the pandemic. When I was finishing the order process for it at online checkout, it was still showing a shipping/delivery date of April 29/May 5 which was an acceptable lead time. I understood there are currently semiconductor shortages, manufacturing and port delays, and massive demand for new computers. By the time I received the order confirmation email though, shipping/delivery date had slipped to August 27/September 2 which is more than 5 months out. It's a computer not a home or a car so that wasn't acceptable so I contacted HP sales support immediately to cancel my order. The sales rep told me that the dates were just temporary placeholders and the order shouldn't be delayed past Late May/Early June. And that HP will send me an updated date by email or will call back in a week. Ok fine, I took her word for it since it was still only a lead time of 2 months and before my kid started summer classes.

A week passes, no email and no call, I decide to give HP a little more time but I called on Tuesday. This sales support rep tells me he doesn't know what that other rep was talking about, but that I should've have cancelled the order then and right now I'm stuck with this 5 MONTHS out delivery date. He tells me he can try to pull the order off of assembly, but it's probably next to impossible. And my best bet was to wait for deliver 5 MONTHS OUT and if I wanted to I can return the computer and ask for a refund minus restocking fee then. I tell him online order status is still showing the order was just received and hasn't even gone to assembly, but apparently there's nothing he can really do.

Now I'm stuck with a product I won't receive anytime soon and will need to buy another computer (definitely not HP) for my son before summer classes. And to add insult to injury:
1) I find out from a HP supplier I work with that an updated Elitedesk w/ AMD Zen 3 processors will be released sometime between September and October 2021 meaning my Zen 2 based Elitedesk 805 will be outdated and most likely discounted for sale by the time I get it delivered.

2) A customized HP Prodesk 405 G6 Mini that has the same exact parts (case, chips, ssd etc.) as the Elitedesk that I ordered is showing a shipping/delivery date in April on HP.com so I doubt there's actually a shortage of parts for the Elitedesk. Although I admit there is a single difference, the Elitedesk system board has a secondary M2 connector. Even so the Prodesk uses the same system board and does retain the secondary M2 controller chip so all it's missing is a soldered on 50 cent connector which I'm sure there isn't a shortage of. This tells me HP either has absolutely dysfunctional supply chain management or has incompetent contract manufacturers/suppliers.

3) And HP has already charged the full amount to my credit card for a product that they won't be delivering in more than 5 months and with no updates on it. Maybe a holding/pending charge or a large deposit would make more sense, it's a commoditized computer, not a Ferrari.

Sorry for the rant, but word of advise for anyone wanting a HP computer, get a prebuilt one at an authorized retailer not HP.com, you can never tell when it will be delivered. I'm not the only one apparently, there are a lot of horror stories about HP delivery delays and they were happening before the pandemic. Better yet just don't buy HP, if their sales support is so poor, I hate to think how their tech support is. I for sure won't after this one whenever I get it that is.