Yes, HP service in the Philippines suxxorzzz.

Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 7:35 pm (Instrument of Karma, Tech)
Tags: HP, HP accessories, service

I’ve been having trouble with my power supply for maybe a couple of weeks now. All of a sudden, the AC power would cut out and even though I didn’t touch anything, I’d see that the power icon in the system tray had changed to “battery” instead of AC power. The first couple of times, it completely freaked me out, because I didn’t realize what was happening — the laptop would simply DIE on me, and I thought something worse had happened. I finally figured out that the AC power was indeed cutting out without me noticing, and I’d kept working, all the while running on battery power until I’d completely drained it. I’d unplug and re-plug, and that worked for a while. Finally, three days ago I came home from work and the adapter just wasn’t working anymore. 😦

We have an instrumentation department at the University — all-around electronic technicians who repair everything from TVs to DVD players to laboratory equipment. People bring stuff to them for minor repairs all the time, so I did too, since my gear was way past warranty anyway. Unfortunately, they told me this morning that there was a component in the adapter that was broken, not just the wiring. 😦

I decided to call HP Service and Repair, although I had grave misgivings. A bunch of people have had negative experiences with HP’s local service center, and it spooked me. Still, I figured I might have better luck than other people, so I called. Ugh. The automated answering system drove me nuts, but I was able to navigate through the “press 1-2-3-4-5” instructions, and finally got to speak to a human being.

Of course, all she could tell me was “Please take the defective part to your local HP service center, in Makati City.” Argh. At least she was able to give me their phone number.

I rang off, then called the service center. I asked, “Is this the HP Service Center on Gil Puyat street in Makati City?” The woman who answered said, “Yes, ma’am.” Okay. Finally. I told her what the problem was, and she told me I had to bring the darned thing to the service center, surrender it to them for inspection or something, and then they’d issue me a quotation for repairs. I said, “No, I don’t want to bother with repair, because I can’t afford to wait weeks for it. I just want to buy a new one to replace the broken one.”

For some reason this perplexed her, and she kept telling me that the best I could do was take it to the center. Yeesh.

So then I asked, “But it IS possible to simply buy a new one?” “Yes,” she replied. “So do you have one in stock, and how much is it?”

“Um, I don’t know.”

Grrrrrr.

“Miss, this is the HP Service Center, right?”
“Yeeessss…”
“I’m supposed to take my broken power adapter there, right?”
“Yeeessss…”
“I’m coming from waaaay across town, and gas is horribly expensive. Are you telling me that you can’t even say if it’s going to be a waste of time and money to go there because you can’t check whether the part is in stock, despite the fact that you are AT the Service Center?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but the supervisor in charge of replacement parts isn’t answering instant messages.”

*sigh*

How in the world can you not be able to check your stock, particularly when you’re answering the customer service line for repair? Honestly.

I thanked her anyway, rang off, and stomped back to my desk, fuming. I could already see it: I’d go all the way across town, they’d take my adapter, insist that they’d check it first to see if it could be repaired, inform me in three weeks that they have to order the new component from Singapore or Japan, then wait another month or so before they tell me I can pick it up.

Arrrrgh. I. Just. Want. A. NEW. ADAPTERRRRR.

I sat there, racking my brains for another solution. I grabbed the Yellow Pages and searched for Computer Supplies, and found a store that said it distributed HP products. I called and asked them if they had a replacement adapter, and they said yes. They told me right away it wasn’t an HP-branded adapter but a compatible one, and I said that was alright.

So I left work at noon, because I’m sick as a dog anyway (so I could at least clock half a day’s work) and headed over there, got my new adapter, came home, and here I am.

I’m getting all light-headed and woozy. The doctor put me on antibiotics, and an anti-allergy pill for some reason. I have no idea what flu strain this is, I just know it’s kicking my posterior. *rolls eyes*