Rodent Regatta

Current Status: Still no laptop. Still no phone call. Today is Day #14 of this mess. The best way to catch up on what this is all about is to read the category archive.

When we left our last episode, we had called HP, gotten the warranty service call entered and submitted our proof-of-purchase. During that call, we were instructed by Brian to call back in ”a few hours or so” to make sure the fax was received and that a FedEx pickup request was scheduled. Because it was a Saturday, the pickup wouldn’t be done until Monday, but that gave me time to remove the hard drive, pack the machine and enclose the required paperwork.

That original call with Brian ended at 2:30 p.m. The fax I sent was time-stamped at 3:09 p.m. that same day. The cover sheet of the fax included the case number, the serial number, the customer service order number, my contact information – the works.

At 7:26 p.m. on 7-26-03 I called HP again to check on the status of the pickup request. I dialed the number, selected the menu options and waited on hold for 14 minutes. I spoke with Gary this time. Gary said the ”system hadn’t been updated.” He instructed me to wait several more hours and call back.

On 7-27-03 at 4:50 p.m. I called HP once more. This time I spoke with Sonya. Sonya spoke very broken English. Sonya said that if I’d send in my proof-of-purchase, my computer would be repaired in 24 hours and returned to me. She said that ”worst case,” HP would return it to me between 7-28-03 and 7-30-03. Trying to explain to Sonya that I had already sent the proof-of-purchase went nowhere at all. Explaining that HP didn’t even have my computer, yet, was also a futile effort. Sonya didn’t have a clue.

I tried to call identically the same number at HP two more times that evening and was cut off each time while holding.

Fuming, I went to sleep mad and vowed to fight HP another day. In my wildest dreams and imagination, I had no idea what was about to happen!