I bought a new HP laptop in my last trip home (Taiwan) so I have the keyboard with ㄅㄆㄇ…to be able to write in Chinese to parents. I tried to connect the laptop with an existing Dell monitor to work with 2 screens but somehow, the monitor wasn’t detected. I googled HP customer service and found a ‘local’ provider. I called the number…
The guy who answered the phone had a foreign accent which may not be a surprise as America is a melting pot and many call center staffs spread around the globe. The guy asked me to share screen and said he needs a code from Amazon. ‘Amazon? Why?’ I asked. He said ‘HP sells through Amazon and he needs that code to be able to proceed’. He asked me to login my Amazon account then he was searching around for gift card option that can be delivered ASAP. ‘Why you need a gift card? Amazon has e-gift card which could be available immediately’ I asked again. He said it needs to be a physical card. He ordered a Best Buy gift card for $500 and a USB drive plus signed-up Prime membership to deliver the goods tomorrow. I protested that I didn’t want the membership, neither buy anything. He said it’d not cost me anything. He went to the order page, altered some code, and the price changed to $0. ‘See, $0’ he said…actually the order disappeared from the list. He then asked me to go to my email inbox and he quickly deleted one email from Amazon. I asked why. He said this would cancel the Prime membership. He asked me to call him tomorrow when I receive the package, gave him the code, then he’ll take care of the monitor display issue.
After I hang up, I thought of this again. It didn’t sound right. I went to my inbox and found that the email that guy deleted was an order confirmation (fortunately it’s still in my trash can). I searched for HP official website and called the customer service to ask/ explain what just happened. The lady on the other side didn’t think it’s HP service but she suggested me to check with another group. She said there might be a service charge but she doesn’t know the details as the warranty only covers hardware, not software. However, before proceeding, she needed to create a case so we went through the process of filling information and she asked me to wait…I felt nervous feeling I should call Amazon customer service ASAP before the order ships. She finally came back, said the case was setup, and transferred my call. I’m waiting again…then a man picked up the phone, I poured out the situation. Instead of trying to protect me or combat the phishing, the guy was more interested in selling me the service package. I was floored. HP has long been my dream company to work for and ‘The HP Way’ inspired me to study technology in college. I heard that it has changed. Well, it did…I told him I don’t need service now but call the Amazon customer service immediately. I hang up and called Amazon customer service. The staff was able to cancel the $500 gift card but said the USB was already shipped. When I receive it tomorrow, I can call them back to initiate the return process.
I called a friend explained the incident and asked his advice on security remedy. The good news was that I hadn’t provided any financial information yet to be safe, he suggested to change my computer, Amazon, and email passwords immediately. I did.
I decided to give HP another try, this time to Customer Service in Taiwan. A service engineer answered the call. She instructed me to check the setting, remove/ download a new driver, and wait for system update. Somehow the item didn’t show up as she expected. We tried again but same situation. She sent another version of driver, I went through the installation process again. This time the item showed up but the monitor is still not detectable. She asked me to take a picture of the cable and the outlet and texted her. Bingo! she found out why: the outlet is only for data transmission, not visual. I need to use another HDMI port and get a different cable. The case wasn’t completely resolved yet the customer experience was day and night between the two encounters. I’m not against the staffs of the former, perhaps they were just following the procedure. I don’t know if it’s culture difference or training, fortunately, HP has the latter or it’d lose a customer (or more) forever.
Lessons learned from this experience…
1. Check and verify a reliable source before taking action. If doubt, pause and think.
2. Revenue is important yet be mindful that near-term gain doesn’t overshadow the opportunities to build longer-term trust and turn customer into a fan.