Vendors and responsibility (was: HP/Compaq Presario and Linux)

[Benjamin Scott]

  A reoccuring theme in this and many other forums is that the level of
support one gets with a computer really sucks.

  As I said before, more and more companies (Dell, HP/Compaq, and Gateway
for sure) are offering two product lines.  One is called the "consumer"  
product line.  They call it that because "cheap idiots"  would be considered
poor marketing.  While I might accept one of these if it were free, I would
never pay for one.

  The "business" line is what you buy if you want to be treated like a
person instead of a problem.  It's not one big thing, it's a lot of little
things.  Things like getting the CDs with the system by default, getting
tech support that at least has seen a clue before, getting a warranty that's
actually worth a damn, things like that.  The "business" line is more
expensive until you actually own one; then those "extras" pay for themselves
twice over.

  Additionally, more and more vendors are offering various levels of support
on top of that.  You can stick with the 90-day "we guarantee we ship a
working product" warranty, or you can pay extra for 3 years, on-site,
next-day service, and support with a clue.

  So while I hold vendors accountable for their lousy customer service, they
are not the only ones I blame.

  Consider this scenario: Two computers, side-by-side in a store, completely
identical in terms of hardware, specs, and software load.  The one on the
left has a one-year warranty which involves shipping the computer back to
the vendor.  The one on the right comes with a three-year warranty where the
vendor sends a tech to your site.  If you call for support for the one on
the left, you get a tech in Canada who at least has basic computer knowledge
and is interested in solving your problem.  The one on the right will get
you some guy in India who learned English three months ago and is reading
from a script.

  The one on the left costs $300 more then the one on the right.

  The vast majority of purchasing agents and consumers in this country will
buy the one on the right every single time.

  Vendors are just giving people what they want, and apparently, the vast
majority want cheap crap that doesn't work.

  You get what you pay for.

-- 
Ben Scott <bscott at ntisys.com>
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