Avoid HP

[Gnome]

For everyone who is considering HP as a business laptop, DON'T!

Our company bought a bunch of HP laptops with next day business support. Problem is, if they don't have the parts then boo hoo. 2 Weeks later they get the parts then the "technician" decides that he isn't coming out, he'll "maybe" do it tomorrow.

WTF.

Same thing happened with a laptop I sold recently, same story: No parts in SA, next week we'll have the parts. Next week comes and the guy promises to come out today. Guess what he changed his mind, but no, he doesn't let you know. Have to call the overseas call centre again to find that out.

Terrible company.

Contrast it with Dell. The come out within 24hrs. We paid R700 for next business day support (3 years) same as HP, except they guarantee they will have the parts (they call it enterprise support).

All I can say is HP must be doing something wrong if Dell can offer that kind of support and HP cannot.

 

[ponder]

That's shocking.

 

[ToxicBunny]

Dell have always offered that type of support and its always been good.....

HP have had their moments when its been decent, but on average I don't trust their support on laptops and stuff.. on servers thought its a different story.

 

[Gnome]

Yep lesson learned.

HP don't understand the concept of enterprise support. What kind of company can afford 2 weeks of down-time for any kind of skilled person?

 

[Rizzler]

You couldn't have bought directly from HP.
There must be a reseller involved.
Name and shame the reseller.

 

[StevenC]

I think the problem lies with LetMeRepair who are one of the only companies outsourced to work on HPs. The 2 weeks sounds about right for their level of service.

Add to that the exorbitant prices that retail stores are forced to charge due to the current cost price from suppliers and HP is not sitting in a good position in South Africa at the moment.

Dell do an excellent job as far as I am aware and the 3 year next business day on site warranty is worth the little extra you pay.

 

[nivek]

For everyone who is considering HP as a business laptop, DON'T!

Our company bought a bunch of HP laptops with next day business support. Problem is, if they don't have the parts then boo hoo. 2 Weeks later they get the parts then the "technician" decides that he isn't coming out, he'll "maybe" do it tomorrow.

WTF.

Same thing happened with a laptop I sold recently, same story: No parts in SA, next week we'll have the parts. Next week comes and the guy promises to come out today. Guess what he changed his mind, but no, he doesn't let you know. Have to call the overseas call centre again to find that out.

Terrible company.

Contrast it with Dell. The come out within 24hrs. We paid R700 for next business day support (3 years) same as HP, except they guarantee they will have the parts (they call it enterprise support).

All I can say is HP must be doing something wrong if Dell can offer that kind of support and HP cannot.

They come standard with 'next business day support' if you want next business day repair then you need to buy the appropriate carepack, which is more than R700

if you use hp notebooks then its worth familiarising yourself with:
http://h20345.www2.hp.com/NR/rdonly...9A-342033FCF339/0/all_service_description.pdf
which describes all the SLA's

 

[Gnome]

They come standard with 'next business day support' if you want next business day repair then you need to buy the appropriate carepack, which is more than R700

Are we talking about HP here?

Dell we paid R700 for next day business support for 3 years, that was it, they guarantee they repair within 24 hours. Our company is over 6 000 employees (just in Gauteng) and I assure you we haven't had a single day of trouble with Dell that I am aware of. Believe me I did the research in our company because I liked one particular laptop (HP Probook). Tried to get my boss to get a couple and they said NO, the company was burned before by HP.

Stupid me I got an HP for a friend (Probook 4730s) and HP the carepack was ~R750 for next day business support for 3 years, but if parts aren't available then forget about next week support. Try 2 weeks later support.

Moral of the story: The company made the decision that HP will no longer be bought, not for servers, not for laptops, nothing.

I should have listen but this is the last time I'll buy anything HP for business critical. They are a joke.

 

[nivek]

Are we talking about HP here?

Dell we paid R700, that was it, they guarantee they repair within 24 hours. Our company is over 6 000 employees (just in Pretoria) and I assure you we haven't had a single day of trouble with Dell that I am aware of.

HP the carepack was ~R750, but if parts are available then forget about next week support. Try 2 weeks later support.

Moral of the story: The company made the decision that HP will no longer be bought, not for servers, not for laptops, nothing.

I should have listen but I bought an HP laptop for a friend, now I got screwed over just like our company did.

I dont know what the nbd call to repair costs but had a look on the carepack site and its around 300 USD
they come standard with a 3 year nbd response, not sure what you paid R700 for

 

[Gnome]

I dont know what the nbd call to repair costs but had a look on the carepack site and its around
they come standard with a 3 year nbd response, not sure what you paid R700 for

Who knows. It said next day business support for 3 years.

As I said, Dell sells next day business support for enterprises to us @ around R700. So if HP needs to ask R2000 to be able to do that, then hey, good luck HP.

At that price we could rather buy a few extra laptops and just send them back to HP once they break down.

Buying laptops for just the developers in our division is more than R2m, no way can we add R2000 per laptop extra (which is already R12-15k) just to get an HP and hope they actually honour their warranty (which they haven't before).

 

[nivek]

Who knows. It said next day business support for 3 years.

As I said, Dell sells next day business support for enterprises to us @ around R700. So if HP needs to ask R2000 to be able to do that, then hey, good luck HP.

At that price we could rather buy a few extra laptops and just send them back to HP once they break down.

Buying laptops for just the developers in our division is more than R2m, no way can we add R2000 per laptop extra (which is already R12-15k) just to get an HP and hope they actually honour their warranty (which they haven't before).

yip agree with you on pricing,
but you cant fault them on SLA's if you dont purchase the right care pack

 

[Gnome]

yip agree with you on pricing,
but you cant fault them on SLA's if you dont purchase the right care pack

Well I did actually get the carepack number from the official HP call centre. Called them, asked which carepack and whom to buy it from.

Then confirmed again with the reseller (via email)

Then phoned after purchase to ask if it is indeed 3 year next day business support and active for that laptop (answer was yes).

I'll even call them up tomorrow and record the conversation for you, I guarantee they'll give me the same answer.

 

[nivek]

Well I did actually get the carepack number from the official HP call centre. Called them, asked which carepack and whom to buy it from.

Then confirmed again with the reseller (via email)

Then phoned after purchase to ask if it is indeed 3 year next day business support and active for that laptop (answer was yes).

but theres a big difference between next business day support and next business day call to repair

the latter means come hell or high water you'll have a working notebook within 24 hours, even if it means them giving you a new one

 

[bekdik]

Which disty are you using?

 

[Gnome]

but theres a big difference between next business day support and next business day call to repair

the latter means come hell or high water you'll have a working notebook within 24 hours, even if it means them giving you a new one

You know, considering they told me they don't have any of the parts in SA, I highly doubt they would have, unless I you cannot buy next business day repair for that very same laptop.

It annoys me that I constantly have to speak with someone from India and then from Holland. The PC crashes in the BIOS, Windows, bootup, anywhere and this idiot expects me to update drives. Had to ask for his manager before he was willing to move on from the fact that it couldn't be drivers.

I thought the Dell support was bad but it was sooo much better. They had me do a bunch of stuff also but at least he didn't expect me to do a complete restore, update BIOS, update drivers, etc. before I would be "allowed" to get my support (for which I paid).

Which disty are you using?

Laptop I got from Esquire. Tried getting the carepack from them but the sales guy told me that it is too much effort for him so I should get it somewhere else. Then got the carepack from Nivo.

 

[bdt]

After reading this tale of woe (and less than thrilled that I have (thankfully) only one HP out there in the wild on a 3 year NBD), can anyone comment on how well/badly Lenovo fare with this?

 

[Gnome]

After reading this tale of woe (and less than thrilled that I have (thankfully) only one HP out there in the wild on a 3 year NBD), can anyone comment on how well/badly Lenovo fare with this?

We happen to also buy them in spades, I'll ask around tomorrow.

 

[bekdik]

As an HP reseller, I haven't had that kind of problem. I've had spares couriered directly to me and I had 3 day repair turnaround via Letmerepair, so maybe your problem is with your retailer?

 

[Gnome]

As an HP reseller, I haven't had that kind of problem. I've had spares couriered directly to me and I had 3 day repair turnaround via Letmerepair, so maybe your problem is with your retailer?

I called the HP care centre directly?

They called me back right after the guy told me he is sending someone tomorrow. The person that called me was from Holland, telling me that SA has no motherboards in stock, but it *should* be there next week. That was two weeks ago. They were supposed to come Friday, then the guy didn't show up (no word from him). Call again, yes he'll come today. Doesn't show up, call again, seriously pissed off this time. Oh no it isn't his fault, the parts aren't in SA yet, he'll get them tomorrow.

They probably expected me to follow up if he would actually come around to repair.

**Pfft**

Even if it were 3 days, that is still a far cry from NEXT business day.

 

[nivek]

You know, considering they told me they don't have any of the parts in SA, I highly doubt they would have, unless I you cannot buy next business day repair for that very same laptop.

Na mate, if you have CTR then they hold spares for you, and if they do have people with that sort of SLA on your specific model they wouldnt be able to use those parts for you as it'd put those other clients whom they have a contract with at risk