Community Newsletter: Q&A forum: Computer manufacturers are fairly equal, but what about their customer service?

I'm a Support Engineer, too. In past years the major Unix vendor I worked for hired some Indian contractors. Some came to the US for training, and we ended up hiring them permanantly. I still keep in contact with them, after 10 years. Good, dedicated support engineers.

The real problem with our Mumbai office was that we never bothered to train them, nor give them hardware to train on. Made it much harder for them to actually be of much help. We eventually gave up on oursourcing, and brought it all back to the US....

I purchased an extended, three day turnaround warranty for a top of the line very expensive laptop from HP - when my computer failed, they denied that they even had such a contract and when provided with proof, they simply said "tough sh". The repair took thirteen weeks and when returned they had broken the power cord connection.

They told my attorney the same thing and the consumer investigator for the Attorney Generals Office the same thing. The AG Investigator told me that according to the AG in CA and the BBB in CA that they were swamped with complaints and claims about HP warranty service problems. Their attitude was too bad and if you don't like it, sue us. They claim their contract limits their liability to the cost of the service contract and you have to sue them in CA and of course, it would cost more to sue than you would recover. I have been contacted by an attorney considering a class action suit.

Do not buy HP if you are concerned with service!

My experience with class action is that the only ones who get the action are the lawyers and the first name in or at the top of the class. My recollection was that those suits were about heat issues, but thanks, I will look into it.

Computer manufacturer's are not equal, generally top brands will pay more attention during their design and manufacturing processes to reduce the number of bugs and also provide more frequent updates for their drivers. However this does not mean that they will totally eliminate all bugs.

When I considering getting a new computer, I typically do not go for the latest model as it typically has some kinks such as:
- Lack of drivers for some existing hardware (printers) with the latest OS (Windows, Linux, Mac etc.). The manufacturer of the hardware device haven't manage to release the drivers that are compatible with the latest OS.
- Potentially buggy software or drivers.
Issues such as these will require the use of customer support or tech support. It is generally better to get a unit that has been on the market for a few months where it is possible for you to check the reviews online whether that model has good reviews.

My past experience with customer service for computer companies in the US has been quite bad. Most companies consider the customer service division as a money loosing division and usually do not staff them with a lot of highly paid and qualified professionals. Most of the customer services personnel are just average users that just type your questions on an "expert system" (Interactive help/troubleshooting programs). This explains why most of the time they will insist that you try restart the computer or power cycle the computer even when you are trying to explain to them that you have already tried restarting the computer many times since yesterday or that the computer has been letting out lots of smoke.

If you are lucky, you might get to talk to a customer service rep that is knowledgeable at the first time but my past experience has been that I get bounced around multiple times until I get to someone knowledgeable. My experience with Dell's US customer support has not been pleasant in the past as I had bought a Dell laptop from a foreign country. Since they couldn't find my service tag number in the US system, the reps just bounced me around and even gave me a number for Dell Canada (not where I bought the laptop). I spend over 2 days with 3 calls of 2 hours each talking to at least 4 reps per call without getting much information on how to resolve the problem. In the end, I sent an e-mail to the Dell division from where the laptop came from and got a reply within 5 hours that took care of the problem. I have also some experiences with HP where it took close to 2 hours before I got a rep that was knowledgeable enough to help.

My recommendations would be that if you are not a very advanced user, is to get a computer from fairly reputable brand after the model has been on the market for a few months where there are an adequate number of reviews to help you make a informed decision. This will help reduce or eliminate the need for customer service or tech support.

...but that fact is, most computers today are remarkably reliable.

In general, the only thing that's likely to make a computer crash spontaneously is a hardware malfunction. Anything with moving parts or with components that heat up when in use can (and eventually will) fail. For most of us, we've replaced the computer for other reasons long before that point of failure. Still, I've had an audio board go bad and have had hard drives crash; Dell performed flawlessly. One of the cameras on my iPhone lost the ability to focus; Apple couldn't have been better about it.

I suspect that many if not most of the problems that lead to a call to tech support result from software problems. Unlike cases where a computer has a piece of defective hardware and a problem is inevitable (and which usually shows up rather early in the computer's life), many software-related difficulties can be avoided, or at least corrected, without having to call for outside help.


First of all, be mindful of every occasion on which you install new software on your machine. By this I mean make sure your work is all saved and backed up, and, for good measure, if you're working in Windows, create a "restore" point before you make a major installation. (The system does this automatically most times, but I'd rather do it myself and be sure.) That way, if something goes wrong, you can usually undo the latest installation, and at least get back to where you started. (Read the Windows help entries for Restore.)

In the Windows control panel section there's a Add or Remove programs utility, plus there's a terrific uninstall utility called "Revo," which I heard about from Cnet, and which is even more thorough than the application that's native to Windows.

Learn how to force a program that freezes to quit. Each operating system has it's own procedure. Learn yours.

Only install one program at a time. This way, if something causes a crash, you won't have to guess which it was. If you've isolated the problem to something on the software side, consider calling (or e-mailing) the software folks. I've found most of them to be pretty good, even when I'm using a "free" edition.

Before you send out an SOS, be sure to re-boot your computer. Amazingly, that seems to solve many software-related problems. I've noticed that sometimes I need to go through two re-boot cycles before everything settles down. Make at least a mental note of how your computer boots
up normally. How long does it take, what steps does it go through, how long does
each of these take, etc.This way you can see whether it's acting more or less normally.

Whether your problem is hardware or software related, if you're going to call for support, try to jot down an account of exactly what you did before the problem arose, and what indications you got that there was a problem. (Jot it down so you won't forget during the long wait for a real person to answer, or in case you have to repeat the story to a more senior or specialized tech.)

If you're fortunate enough to get a well-trained service rep (and I've had great luck with Dell and Apple), make sure you understand the questions you're being asked and the steps you're being told to follow. I know that when I try to help friends, sometimes I'll say "push the so-and-so button and tell me what happens," to which I get the reply "nothing happened." Sometimes nothing really happens, but sometime the screen goes blank, it changes color, the keyboard freezes, or whatever. Yes, the problem wasn't solved, but something happened, and every something can be a useful clue as to the underlying problem.

With e-mail responses, make sure the tech actually understood your problem. I think sometimes they just scan incoming help requests for key words and send back a pre-written script response based on that. If that helps, fine, but if it's clear that no one actually read your question, refrain from being nasty about it, and ask again. (It's amazing how something that seems so clear to you when you write it can be legitimately misinterpreted by someone else.)

In sum, the best way to deal with tech support is not to have to deal with them at all. If you do have to make the call (and save the fone number on a piece of paper somewhere; if it's only in the Contacts List on an inoperable computer it won't help you), try to use it as a lesson about some aspect of computer operations -- a lesson you might apply in the future to avoid having to make yet another call.

Carroll,

My husband got a Lenovo desktop computer in late 2010 and the customer service was very responsive and helpful when he had a problem coordinating software and hardware. My husband has an HP laptop and when I was in the market for a laptop, I considered HP, but we were so happy with the service that I bought a Lenovo Thinkpad last year and have been delighted with it. I have had to call tech support twice and both times they resolved the problems in short order and to my complete satisfaction. Last month we purchased a Lenovo 7" tablet and had a change we needed to make to the order. Again we called Lenovo and were able to effect the change easily and still got the order shipped in time. We have been very happy with the Lenovo products but continued to buy them over other brands because of the exceptional customer service.

We just junked a 4yr old Dell that was my ex-wifes, only used a couple times a week. Hard drive went out like everyone here says thier Dell done...They are junk!
My friend and my brother got around 3 yrs light use on thier HP's. I went to buy a top line HP desk top in 2006 because I'm on it alot. A whole lot since I'm disabled! The salesman told me to buy the cheapest desktop they had because it was better. He was commission too, just honest and knew his business.
The cheapest one I never heard of though. It was a company I never heard of called Lenovo. He said they were IBM's. That name I heard of for sure. I bought the cheapest Lenovo made. Im on it 12-16 hrs a day every day and its never had an issue. Not one issue..I'll buy these all day long! Who needs customer service when they work?
I've seen 2 high end dells and 2 HP's and 1 E-machine {for what its worth} all newer than my Lenovo bite it,I'll buy another Lenovo today if it goes,the cheapest one they have!
Just my 2 cents...

I have to be honest with you, you can have both good and bad experiences with pretty much every company's technical support system. Your satisfaction often has more to do with the individual person that you happen to get on the phone rather than the company in general. So, if you are having problems understanding or getting anywhere with one tech, simply hang up and call back.

I have been personally servicing computers for many years and have had to place calls to pretty much every company at one time or another. I don't want to bore you with details, but I have experienced every possible level of support ranging from complete horror to absolute satisfaction. But, if you had to pin me down, I would have to say that I probably have received the best and most consistent technical support from Apple and in 2nd place, Dell Business (not consumer).

Ultimately, in many cases, it can really boil down to the specific service plan that you purchase. I am most familiar with Dell so bear with me if you happen to not be a big Dell fan. I happen to prefer Dell systems, but that is just my personal opinion. I am sure many of the other companies have similar offerings. When you order a Dell computer online you have the choice to purchase a variety of service plans ranging from the Free basic 1 year warranty to a 3 year Premium support plan with Priority Phone support. If repairs are required, some basic plans require that you send the computer back for service and others send a technician to your house. So, if you want to get to someone fast on the phone and don't want the hassle of having to send your computer back for service then you will need to pay the price of the premium plan. If you really want the best service, then I would recommend purchasing your computer from the Business sales side of any company. Again, using Dell as an example, when you log onto their website you have a choice of either Consumer Sales or Business Sales. I prefer the business line of computers because they tend to be built better, don't come with a bunch of pre-installed trial and junk software and they also offer US Based Phone Support. So if you have trouble understanding support personnel based out of India, this may be for you. Keep in mind that some of these Premium support plans can cost you as much as half the price of the computer for a 3 year plan.

The other option and probably one of the best, is to purchase your computer from a small local computer shop where they handle everything for you , am not referring to a Staples or Best Buy. Select a small local shop that will come out to your home and set it up, be there to answer phone calls and email support questions as well as handle sending it back to the manufacturer if warranty repairs are necessary. In most cases, you can request to talk to the same person all the time instead of not knowing who you will get on the phone with larger retail outlets. You can talk to the guy who knows your system and better still, knows you. You might even opt to have them build a custom system just for you.

One thing to keep in mind is that for the most part the reliability of computer hardware is really very good now. If I were to look at the 1000 service calls that I personally perform each year, less than 20% of them are due to any kind of hardware failures and if I take Hard drive failures out of the equation then number is less than 4% and the large majority of those are after the 3 year warrantee time frame. So what you really want is good technical support for software issues and virus problems not the relatively rare hardware problem.

Dana
Wayland Computer

I am in agreement with Dana. Also from my own experience, particularly with laptops, I find that the Business Line hardware such as the Dell Vostro are very reliable compared with the Consumer grade machines even by the same manufacturer (most use the same source vendors). I frequently see where many Consumer level laptops start giving trouble after about a year - usually with the battery recharger/ ac adapter. This particular problem is often difficult or impossible (or very expensive) to resolve.

Support as stated is pretty much a hit and miss affair although i would also advise opting for US based support especially you are not technically proficient with computers.

from that class action law suit on their crappy Pavillion Elite computers! I shouldn't doubt at all. Not only have my experiences matched yours, but many of my clients. This is only on HP and Dell computers built after 2007.

be sure and burn that extra set of disks this time. It is usually a requirement of all new PC that have a recovery partition built into the hard drive. It doesn't hurt to back everything up too.

Customer Service?
H.P.! The best in the business! Have always had great Customer Service from H.P. Totally satisfying! Had purchased a re-furb P.C. with problems, they overly fixed it! In working with P.C. problems with other computer companies, H.P.'s customer support has all the others beat Hands down... On-Line order problems? They have fixed them, PLUS!!! Love H.P. would buy nothing other!!!

When I bought my current laptop (an HP, purchased at Walmart) I opted for a two-year extended warranty because my previous laptop developed a "black screen" after a cross-country flight not long after the factory warranty expired. I couldn't find anything about this problem on the manufacturer's website and didn't want to try replacing a damaged screen, so I wrote that computer off and bought the new one. Not quite two years later, the screen on this one went black too -- no back-lighting. This time I called the third-party warranty provider, and was told they would happily honor the warranty and replace the computer -- but would I try something first? Turned out they knew what sometimes causes this problem and talked me through a procedure that brought my back-lighting back to life. (Apparently a static charge had "locked" the circuit that turns on the back-light. Disconnecting power -- both AC and battery -- and then holding down the power-on switch for a minute or so discharged the static electricity and let the back-light turn on normally.) Being able to get my laptop working again immediately was MUCH better than sending it off for repair or replacement under warranty, and IMHO worth every cent I paid for the extended third-party warranty.

Sure, I probably could have gotten the same "fixit" information from a fellow user on a web forum, but I had no idea resetting the backlight's switching circuitry would fix the problem. And if that laptop had been my only computer, how would I have gotten to a web forum in the first place?

As for the earlier laptop I gave up on, it was several years old, much slower than the new one, and lacked built-in WiFi. So "upgrading" wasn't nearly as painful as it might have been.

Btw, my current laptop is my third from HP. I literally wore out the first one lugging it around for years, and the second worked flawlessly until the screen's backlighting "died". I've now had this one nearly four years, have upgraded from Vista to Win7, and it still works perfectly. (It's still adequate for travel, but I use a much more powerful, home-built, desktop when I'm home.) HP laptops are reliable, even if tech support (especially for out-of-warranty products) leaves something to be desired.

My first computer was an HP model. Friends said that it should not operate the fans at high speed all of the time. I knew nothing.
The computer locked up often and I did call HP support. HP did take the computer and install much new hardware just before the warranty was up.
The computer is still being used today by a family member with absolutely no problems since HP repaired it under warranty years ago.
Our second experience was with an HP Printer. Support shipped a replacement which is still operating fine years later.
I have dealt with support many times on the first computer and I learned that it is important to document the problem when it begins and let it be known to them, don't wait several months before letting them know.
Remind them that the product is under warranty and you expect they know this issue is beginning while in warranty and you expect them to resolve the issue under warranty.
My experience has been very favorable, so much so that we purchased two computers since the first based solely on support received. The second 2 have had no cause for support calls.

The other side of the coin is that the user may not be able to determine if the problems being experienced is indeed a problem with the hardware or instead a result of something the user has caused by installation of software,etc.
Because the vast majority of problems on a new computer are related to software or user input much of support time is often spent trying to rule out the most common. So always remember what was done before the problem started. It will help you and help the support team identify the problem.

It's pretty obvious that the same manufacturers support will keep one customer coming back while causing another to never come back.
I have experienced better or more freely given support when purchasing directly from the manufacturer.

I'm a freelance writer, often working offsite, with serious interests in photography, graphic design, movie-making and desktop publishing. I work with a range of private PCs (mainly a home-based desktop unit, but with a lightweight Lenovo laptop for commuting & travel & a low-rent IBM business PC at the corporate office) and I've had experience with Dell, IBM, NEC, Toshiba, Compaq, Asus, Lenovo & Velocity Micro on a personal (non-business, non-IT centric) basis. I'm not a geek -- but I generally know my way around. Amazingly (to hear Apple tell it), almost all of these PC's (starting in 1993) have gone south ONLY after their useful HD capacity, RAM limitations, or CPU speeds have maxed out as the technology moves ahead. The Dells have been least reliable -- but then, they have been in the hands of a youthful daughter & a mechanically declined wife. I can't really ascertain whether these were hardware/manufacturer or user issues. My personal faves, with limited or no actual service issues, are the IBM/Lenovos (tops in the portable realm) & Toshiba (as early workhorses). There's a Compaq laptop in there that I loved for design elements, as well.

The most interesting PC I've owned (and use today) is a Velocity Micro custom desktop. It had serious issues three months into ownership (it shut down, mid-stroke, with no consistency in terms of software, hardware ... it just shut down when it felt like it). I worked with VM's support & onsite service to diagnose & repair the issue -- to no avail. It was a struggle to convince VM that it really wasn't MY/or a software issue, but something else (a hardware issue, I thought). I sent the CPU back & they returned it in two weeks saying it was fixed ... but problem recurred within a month. I convinced them (again) that it really WAS an issue & sent the PC back a second time. I got a tech who apparently sat with the machine &,(while they never admitted this,) ran it for hours & hours & replaced each individual hardware element on a schedule until it STOPPED shutting down. Upon return, after more than two months in the shop, it was bombproof.

While it was a struggle, VM, as a boutique builder, stood by their product in the face of what I assume was an intermittent/ghost failure (a faulty connection issue, component bug in the middle of an otherwise consistent production run) & FIXED it -- despite that it couldn't but have hurt their bottom line to spend that kind of time/money fixing something that, to their mind, was perfect going out the door. I'm sympathetic to the issues that face a manufacturer: you're paying labor, paying for what you think are first class components, putting them together in the best way possible ... and then you pay for hours spent fixing the bug in the machine -- totally blowing out any profit you made on that machine. And you can't trust the user -- who may or may not know what they're talking about. But I'm also sympathetic to the user --me -- I pretty much knew it was a hardware issue from day one.

It's my main PC today, & after four bombproof years I have just begun to think of a new box ... because my DSLR has gone for 6 to 16 megapixels, using RAW file format, my movies are now in HD, and my music collection is ten times larger today than four years ago, and because, no fault of VMs, it's a single core processor..

I'd go back to VM in a flash. As my prime PC, I need more than the standard Best Buy PC & I know what I want. I'd trust VM to back their product if there were an issue. I don't think they are the only builders in the business that are good at this ... but they're the ones I've dealt with to overcome a major issue.

I also like supporting a small, US business -- even given that the parts are coming mostly from offshore. Price differentials, if available, for a high end custom build are minimal & I don't mind paying a bit more to support local labor/business -- particularly if they back the product!