HP backs off of imposed +15 minute wait times on calls to support line in Europe

[thewayne]

*blinks*

Apparently negative press works.

Imagine my surprise.

This still does not change my hearty recommendation to not buy any HP products ever, said recommendation having been in place for many years.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/02/misguided-hp-customer-support-approach-included-forced-15-minute-call-wait-times/

Comments

[armiphlage]

In 2001, HP tried charging my credit card for their services when I called their help line about my newly-purchased defective printer. I don't remember the wait for that "service", but it was probably at least 15 minutes.

[disneydream06]

I love calling places and being put on hold and listening to the recording telling me how important my call is, as I wait and wait and wait.
No, if my call was actually important, you would hire more people to answer your phones. Preferably somebody I can understand. :p
Hugs, Jon

[kaishin108]

That changed fast! Right, I don't think HP can be trusted.

[viridian5]

When I needed a new laptop in 2017, my first choice was an HP Pavilion 15-bs131nr, due to its price and features. It refused to stay connected to wifi. After many hours of phone support trying various things, HP told me it was probably just that one laptop, so they replaced it with another HP Pavilion 15-bs131nr laptop... that had exactly the same problem. I switched it for a Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB, which I still use today.

[devilc]

HP is a company of last resort for me and has been since 1998, when they tried to charge me $70 for an updated driver for a scanner I bought in 1997. The switch from W95 to W98 broke the driver. The new driver came only on a $70 CD which had some additional software, which I did not want or need.

Yeah, they wouldn't even support a 1 year old product that I had registered with them. I called them on the phone and asked if I could just get the driver, because didn't need the software it came bundled with. Nope. $70 or nothing. Fuckers.

HP got nothing.

A friend had a copy of Adobe Photoshop 4.0 which included a generic HP scanner driver compatble with W98 and he installed that on my computer and away I went.

[silveradept]

Perhaps this reversal comes with the evidence of people actually making good on their threats to get rid of all of their HP products and not ever touch the company again. (That's certainly a good goal. It would be excellent to drive that company into the ground and let someone else take their market, preferably with the idea of making good computers and having support for them.