DALLAS, Apr 28, 2004/ FW/ --- It started fairly simple, the hard drive of my 6-month old Compaq laptop started failing and I called up Compaq Customer Service. Little did I know that I would go through one of my worst nightmares in technology because of poor customer service and technical support from Hewlett Packard/Compaq.

First, I have to say that I am not your average computer user. Before I became a fashion editor, I was a software engineer here in Dallas and I used to work for a company in Silicone Valley.

I have used almost all types of desktop computers and laptops. In fact, I used to be in tech-support myself; and to those in the IT business, they will understand when I say I used to be in the “Remedy Call List.”

So, a hard drive failure is nothing new to me at all. And I did what I could to save all my data. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough. The hard drive totally failed before I finished. And then it was a fashion emergency for me.

All the data from the Fall 2004 season, from menswear to womenswear were locked in my dead hard drive. To the fashion flock, that means 3 months of hard work.

So, I called up the toll free number for Hewlett Packard/Compaq tech support. And lo and behold, I was talking to someone in New Delhi, India.

I should have not been surprised at all. News items had been circulating for sometime that a lot of IT jobs are being shipped to India. I have been very neutral about it simply because I cover the fashion beat.

My position has been, let the IT journalists cover that piece. And because it is also an election year, the White House correspondents have been covering it in depth. I can only tell you my very bad experience with exported customer service, a nightmare that I did not have to go through if Hewlett Packard/Compaq honor their commitments to their customers.

Talking to the customer service agent was easy enough. The hard part was making him understand what was wrong with my computer. All he kept on saying was I should back up my data and send the laptop to them.

After about 30 minutes of explaining that my hard drive had failed, that my laptop was NO LONGER bootable, and the customer service agent still did not understand what was wrong with my laptop and why I cannot back up my data, I gave up.

To end the exhausting conversation, I agreed to send my laptop to them, with strict instructions that I want my old hard drive back if they need to replace it. [more]

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