Complaint Review: HP

I run and own a company where we have a couple hundred machines in a program with Hewlett Packard where we lease the machine for a time and then trade them in when the time is up and get new ones.  This has been something I have used for a couple cycles and have not given it much thought as over the years we have found the systems and stations that require a different configuration we use a local outfit to build a system to our specs. 

 The system I am talking about is not one of these, it is a personal one that I bought from just a local retailer.  The problem stems from a manufacturing problem that I had on the laptop that I bought.  It was still under warrant but just over one year when that LCD screen went out.  I called to get it replaced and was told that a tech would contact me in two days.  Well three days later someone called me to set an appointment.  I was given a couple options of times all with about a three hour span and was given quite a bit of push back that I wanted him to come to my office and not my house.  I was told that the tech was not supposed to come to my office as I was not a ‘Corporate Customer’.  I thought that was funny as I have about a 215 lease agreement with HP for some desktops.  But as I said this laptop was not part of this system.  Eventually the tech agreed and would meet me at my business.

Well the day arrived and I was anxious to get my laptop running again.  Well, first the tech was almost two hours late, but he finally got here and started working on my laptop.  I lead him into the conference room and told him he had the run of the room as nothing was taking place in there on that day.  I asked him how long it would take and his reply was it will take as long as it takes, but he hoped it would not be longer than two hours.

Two hours, well I thought that I had allowed enough time when I choose the time window of 11am to 2pm but then when he showed up at almost 4pm and we closed at five I though great I will not be leaving very soon.  I could not see how it could take him two hours as I had changes laptop screens in the past and while complicated did not take me two hours.  I let it go.

At about 5:30 pm I stopped in to check on him and found that he was moving along slowly, but he did have the screen unit out of the box and I started looking at it.  It was a mess.  It had scratched and discoloration spots and looked like it was five years old.  When I asked him why the part was so beat up he shrugged and said that was what he got.  When I asked him if he did not think that it might be a problem he said that there was nothing he could do about it and really did not pay much attention to the part.  When I asked if he could call HP and ask for another part he informed me that he did not work for HP that he was some independent contractor that HP uses for ‘Home Repairs’.  That is when I first heard the name Barrister Global Services.  A name that I have since found out is not a well run or thought of company in many circles. 

Well I believed that I did not have much choice so I thought that I would just have to cover it with a skin or something.  But my next realization came about an hour later, now two and a half hours into the repair, I stopped by and saw that the case was cracked and two keys had popped off the keyboard.  He was Goggling trying to find a way to get the keys back on.  When I asked about the case being cracked he said that it was that way when he started.  When I asked why it was taking so long I was told that this was the FIRST time he had ever changed out a laptop screen.

I went back to my office and called HP and was given another number to call and when I called that one (by now the time was after seven) there was no answer.  I walked back into the conference room and told him to forget about putting the laptop back together just clean up his mess and leave.

I do have to hand it to him as he was leaving he asked me to sign some paper because if I did not he would not get paid.  He told me that he worked for Barrister and was only making something pitiful like 45 dollars.  By this point I felt sorry for the guy and signed it just to get him out of there and because he looked like he needed the 45.

The next day I started looking into the whole scam and found that HP does do business with Barrister and shortly after that I called Dell to see if they would do the same for my business as I no longer wanted to work with HP.

Also I ended up buying a MS Surface Pro.  I took my HP parts to a local computer shop and they were able to move over my files and I have never been happier.  Dell has come through with a bid, albeit a little higher, but one that I can live with.  So when my companies systems start to end their lease I will be switching to Dell.

I hope that poor tech got paid and I hope that there are enough of these to get HP to switch to some other warranty provider because Barrister should not be in business.