IPAQ 2755 and Verizon - A Customer Dis-Service Story

This is a morning customer dis-service rant about HP and Verizon. I am going to get it over with and go on with my day, but crap like this shouldn't go unspoken. See, they count on the fact that most people will not sit down at their blog and tell the world what lousy customer service you get from these two companies.

A few months ago, I bought an HP IPAQ 2755 Pocket Computer and a wireless keyboard to go with it. The handheld is known around here, not particularly fondly, as the fucking IPAQ. I won't even tell you what I call the poorly designed HP Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard. A few days after I bought it, in August, I sent in the rebate info, which included a $50 rebate for the IPAQ.

First, in September, someone called to say they had sent me the check and it had been returned to them. They were checking my address, which has not changed since 2001. OK, they said, we'll re-send it. No check arrived,of course.

HP Makes a Typo, Customer Pays
Last week I got a letter saying that they couldn't send the check because I hadn't sent the serial number, which of course, I had, cutting it right off the box. I kept a copy, of course.

So this morning I called the 800 number and was told, get this: someone there has incorrectly typed in the serial number. Now that they have the right one (the one they had in August) they can send the check in three weeks.

So someone there makes a typo, and they spend a bare minimum of $100 sending me a letter, staffing the call center, keeping their computer system running, and wasting my time. How can HP be so inept and stay in business? Beats me.

A $400 Verizon Phone Needs a $2 Download to Ring
But nothing beats Verizon. Last night I bought a very expensive camera phone with speakers, an MP3 player I don't want, and stuff that does everything but make my coffee. (I use an old-fashioned press pot for that because it ALWAYS produces a great cup of coffee.)

After I spent an hour of my expensive time picking out and buying the phone, I discovered that it doesn't ring. It plays a variety of ridiculous songs. But it doesn't make a sound like a phone ringing. You spend $300+ on the phone, and then Verizon charges you $2 to download a ringtone that sounds like a freaking phone ringing.

This makes me want to cancel my two year contract, return the phone, and call Sprint. But of course I won't because I have work to do.

So there, I feel better. Have a nice day.

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Posted by: Bill Kelm at November 11, 2005 2:31 PM

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