I have recently had a different outcome from my dealings with HP specifically. I purchased a new HP laptop for a little less than $500.00 last december for my wife to use for around the house or when she travels. I found a very nice machine at our local Wal-mart which worked perfectly and generally satisfied all of our needs.

The problem came in when a few of the keys popped off. The plastic they were made of was extremely brittle and it appears inevitable they would fail rather soon in the life of the product. So, I felt no problem I will call the service center and ask them to fix it under warranty. They responded very nicely and even sent a box to ship it back to them. I was impressed and even more content with my decision.

A couple weeks past by and I recieved a phone call from a customer service manager, finding out later all of the customer service people identify themselves as a "manager", stating the machine was ruined and it would cost $752.00 to repair it. My first thought was "why would I spend over $700.00 dollars to repair a laptop I paid $500 for?" I explained to the manager that I had just sent the laptop in to have some keys fixed and it was covered under the warranty. She told me they had there technician and engineer look at the machine and it had water condensation inside it which had damaged several parts. I am still attempting to get HP to repair my laptop to no avail.

My point being if you believe these companies are really getting higher satisfaction ratings I would check your source for recent changes in metrics. Although these companies have well instituted methods for dealing with customers I found there ability to actually discuss and deal with a customer extremely lacking in tact as well as professionalism.

Additionally, I found several products this year quietly changes what used to be a solid warranty to word smithed contracts for excluding parts they cost down. Washing machines with a 1 year limited warranty but 5 years on the motor, Lawnmowers with a 1 year manufacturers warranty that is not honored 1 week after purchase, and a Laptop warranty not worth the paper it is printed on.

After all a laptop is a mobile device it is meant to be used in multiple climates, shaked, rattled, and abused while traveling. Is it my responsiblity to control the climate it is used in or is this foreseeable by the manufacturer? HP will NOT sell another product to me or my department at work or at home as long as these tactics are in place!

Obviously the people surveyed for this data have not read the fine print in their warranty. The lesson is READ and understand the warranty before you buy.

Disappointed Customer