Most of us have had unhappy service experiences at one time or another (I certainly have!)----and we often post them in forums like this. For a change, I'd like to describe tech support that went far beyond the merely adequate. My z3100 exhibited some very weird behavior, refusing to print and showing an intermittent 79:04 error code. I have an extended warranty on this now-aging machine. I called HP support and they sent a tech guy, Mr. Anthony Jannini, who, after much work, discovered that my printer had not one but two issues: it needed a new power supply, but also a new carriage and belt. During the diagnosis of the problems, he sought advice from HP support, who, among other things, advised him to try replacing all the print heads. I happened to have a spare set on hand. Replacing the print heads failed to solve the problem---and HP has sent me a new set to replace the ones used in the diagnosis. Mr. Jannini ordered the carriage and power supply, which arrived the next day, and he returned to install them. I mentioned to Mr. Jannini that I had occasional marks on glossy prints, and asked if he would send me the starwheel rail with actuator, and the tan rubber pinch roller kit, which he happily agreed to do.
A few days later, I got an email notification that the parts had been delivered. However, the parts failed to appear on my porch, as indicated on the UPS site. The parts were apparently misdelivered by UPS---the usual driver was on vacation that week, and a number of my neighbors also had experiences of lost or misdelivered parcels. I called HP to notify them of the problem, expecting that they would simply re-send the parts or have UPS locate the misplaced parcel. Instead, Mr. Jannini drove a new set of parts to my home, a trip that cost him perhaps two hours. During this process, I received repeated emails from folks at HP notifying me of their efforts to solve the problem. I was surprised at the degree of sustained attention HP gave to my problem.
Other than with Apple products and their legendary support, I have never experienced tech support as earnestly attentive as I did from HP and Mr. Jannini. And this is not the first time I've had especially good service from HP. I was a very early adopter of the z3100---I got mine the first week they were available. But the machine misbehaved from the beginning, and after two service visits in the first week of ownership, and with no prompting from me, HP showed up with a new printer, along with two complete sets of inks and a set of print heads in compensation for my inconvenience. In my book, HP service has been as good as it gets.
I realize that others have had different and sometimes less happy experiences, but I thought that, well, when a company and its employees do something good, they ought to get credit, just as they get the blame when things go awry.
David V. Ward, Ph. D.
www.dvward.comDavid V. Ward Fine Art Photography