July 15 - First Round of Customer Service

Trying to stay optimistic, I called HP's customer service number (800-474-6836) at 11:20am. I spoke with a woman named Aparna, whose accent was so thick I could barely understand her. We spoke in circles for a little bit, with me having to repeatedly give her my name, serial number, and product number. After a few minutes on hold, she told me her supervisor had authorized her to escalate my problem to a case manager. I gave her my phone number, and reluctantly hung up the phone - waiting for them to call me.

Success! At 8:30pm that evening, my phone rang. I spoke with a wonderful representative named Chris, who told me he was my case manager. He gave me my case number (7501025437) and his contact information. I reiterated my problem to him, and he told me that unfortunately, he was in no position to help me. While HP was issuing free repairs for this defect under a "limited service enhancement" (corporate-speak for "recall",) that service enhancement expired in January 2009 for my model. It's a little confusing, because this hp page(http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&docname=c01611512&printable=yes&encodeUrl=true) indicates that my notebook would have been covered through May 31, 2009. What a surprise that on July 15th it breaks.

I told Chris how upsetting this was - HP, by issuing the limited service enhancement, has admitted that they producted a faulty product. Yet, because mine broke in July and not in January, I was not owed any repair. I explained that my employer filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in May, and that my notebook (the only computer in my household) is my connection to my resume, references, cover letters, and online job searches (not to mention claiming my unemployment benefits!) He empathized with me, but apologized again - "Corporate has come down on us really hard not to issue any more discounted or free repairs." So, repairs for some, but not for the unlucky.

I asked him if there was absolutely ANYTHING he could do. He asked me to hold while he spoke to his Executive Case Manager, Elrick (or Elrich, or Ulrick - I didn't get the spelling.) After a few minutes on hold,he came back to apologize again - he couldn't help me. They simply hadn't been endowed with the authority to do it. I felt bad for this messenger of bad news, but was getting even more and more frustrated.

I asked Chris for the phone number for the corporate office, which he gave me (650-857-1501.) He told me they are open from 8:00am until 5:00pm CST. I thanked him, and immediately went online to do more research.