HP asks $298 for two keys

The Consumerist is a site I’ve been following for a very long time. Being a person working in marketing, I think it’s very important to see the everyday mistakes companies make, how they affect consumers and eventually how the shit will hit the fan and everything will be FUBAR. Good customer service is the only marketing that matters for companies, because if it doesn’t work – nothing you do will matter to you clients.

Randy tried to get new O and P keys for his HP laptop. The outsourced, English-is-not-his-first-language, customer service rep won’t sell or send him the keys and instead insists that Randy sit in for a $298 repair. Blithely indifferent to Randy’s increasing incredulity and rage, the customer service rep suggests that for that amount of money, Randy should just buy a new laptop for $400. That’s right, a new laptop because two of the keys are bad.

The Consumerist site has a full transcript from the conversation between the client and the HP representative. I think cases like this prove why Apple is doing better and HP with its compatriots are suffering a bit more – because Apple puts a lot of effort on customer service and maintaining customer loyalty.

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