NEVER BUY A COMPAQ!!!

[reversi]

Never buy a Compaq... terrible products... terrible support

http://www.geocities.com/piguy31415926/why_never_to_buy_a_compaq.html

Any idiot can take apart a computer... It's putting it back together that troubles them.

 

[dhlucke]

<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/piguy31415926/why_never_to_buy_a_compaq.html" target="_new">http://www.geocities.com/piguy31415926/why_never_to_buy_a_compaq.html</A>

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<A HREF="http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?dhlucke" target="_new">Forum Assassin</A></font color=red>

 

[Yahiko81]

Actually that's a false statement. Compaqs have excellent reliability. It just depends on which model you are buy. Are you buying the consumer model or the business model. For the past two years I've worked at 3 companies that use Compaq's as their primary machines and they have a very low failure rate. Their tech support is/was better than Hp (i know it's really gone down hill since hp aquired them) or Dell. They have a 48 hour turn around time. With the business models they have you agree that you understand they are going to format your machine and load a standard image on it. On Compaq servers they have same day service and can even guarantee(sp?) no longer than a 4hr downtime. So if you have a presario (dumbass) I'm sorry to hear that. I can't speak for the consumer models, but the business and server line have excellent quality. So to say that compaq sucks is an unjust statement.

If you're an ugly bastard click <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=faq&notfound=1&code=1" target="_new"> here</A> to feel better about yourself.

 

[reversi]

Yeah. Pretty much everything on the support site is for business computers. The one thing i can do on the site is upgrade my warranty (can't check teh status of it)
-ben

Any idiot can take apart a computer... It's putting it back together that troubles them.

 

[Yahiko81]

That bites. <A HREF="http://wwss1pro.compaq.com/support/warranty_upgrades/index.asp?pid=-1" target="_new">Not for presarios</A>

If you're an ugly bastard click <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=faq&notfound=1&code=1" target="_new"> here</A> to feel better about yourself.

 

[AndrewT]

"Actually that's a false statement. Compaqs have excellent reliability. It just depends on which model you are buy."

and then you go on how great the business models are
and then end it with

"So if you have a presario (dumbass) I'm sorry to hear that. I can't speak for the consumer models"

the guy complained about the consumer model and the support for it. so I see no reason for you to answer when you admit you have no clue about the consumer models. but you still managed to call him a dumbass, that's smart.

<b><font color=blue>Press 1 if you want to be on hold, 2 for disconnect, 3 for a representative who will put you on hold before disconnecting.</font color=blue></b>

 

[Zoron]

Unless you've 'upgraded' your warranty it is a period of one year from your date of purchase. Consumers are expected to know this info or have it on hand, corporate users have a little more leaway. (Don't ask me why, that's just the way it is). Basically, anytime you purchase ANYTHING major... make sure you keep your bill of sale. The proof of purchase is the single most important piece of paper you own in terms of determining if you have any warranty left.

I've seen quite a few Presario laptops in my time, but none that I know of ever had that type of problem. What model was it?

Also, I highly recommend that the ONLY reason you phone Compaq for tech support is to get a case #. Once you have the case #, take it into your local service center. They can often get things done more efficiently.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

 

[Rob423]

my dad bought a compaq... tried to talk him outta it..but it didn't work, within a yr, hard drive crashes, and from there it was downhill heaven!

This Community is like a Second Family!!

 

[folken]

If you have any computer knowlege, enough to make your own, then you would see all of the shortcomings of factory made computers. They are designed to fail so that the company that made them can collect more cash from you. A homemade computer is way better than any computer you can buy. It is a whole lot cheaper and there are warranties on single pieces and not the whole machine. If you want to do anything besides surfing the net, doing e-mail, and basic office stuff don't buy a compaq, they arn't designed for it. If you absoloutly want to have a factory machine buy a Dell, I'm not saying they are the best machines but they sure are better than compaq by far.

 

[CorpusBiscuit]

They're not all that bad ... until you try upgrading them, ... especially the PSU.


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by CorpusBiscuit on 01/18/03 04:10 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[BandWidth]

Oh come on people. I work for Compaq doing support, and I can assure you that I do NOT offer terrible support. Nor do most of my colleages. We're the ones who have to work on this godawful hardware day in and day out. It's not our fault that it sucks.

 

[JimStapleton]

Ive actually found the parts of compaq to be quite good (except this %$#@ keyboard on my notebook), but their tech support and organization suggests the average employee there has a negative IQ...


edit: here is a further explination.

Problem 1: Powersupply cable got messed up (This thing gets moved a lot, and anything would suffer).

1) Call tech support: tell them the problem. Person helps me out, after a while he tells me what part number I need. He then tells me it is still under warantee (It wasn't but I decided to no look a gift powersuply in the mouth). So he sent me to the warantee area. They said no, I wasn't under warantee, it expired a while ago (one said it expired in novermber, the other september, the september I knew was correct).

2) The keyboard hassle from h***.

My keyboard breaks, the right shift, and the enter key are broken.

I order a new one, after calling twice to get the right part number.

It comes in, I have it replace. The whole right hand column of keys on the new keyboard are broken [del, home, pgup, pgdn, end, right arrow]. The shift keys only work intermittantly. So I call tech support to get it fixed, the guy says I need to take it in to a autorized repair agent (pay one of them $65/hr, I can't afford that, and am quite competant, so no.) I then emailed tech support: They said I needed to phone someone on how to do the diagnostic, they were not equipped for the process. So I phone again, and the person had no clue. I email them again, and a few emails pass, finally I get a respones: boot to safe mode, uninstall the keyboard and reboot, if it's still broken, call for an RMA. I do this. and I call for an RMA.

I call the number he gave me, they say they cant handle the problem and give me another number. The next number does the same, and the next, and the next, through 9 numbers. The 9th sends me back to the first. I start over again, thinging I got an incompetant person on one of them, by the fifth I stop.

I search around some more, and find a number. It's the 4th number. I call it, and press the 'operator' option rather than compaq support. And an appologetic lady came on and helped me out, after an hour and a half of my time was wasted.

Moral of the story... DON'T GO TO COMPAQ, I DON'T CARE IF THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO SELL ATHLON NOTEBOOKS AT GOOD PRICES, AND ARE CUSTOMZIABLE, GO ANYWHERE ELSE, DON'T GET AN ATHLON, OR GO TO SONY. IT'S NOT WORTH IT.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by jimstapleton on 02/26/03 12:18 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[ZaNtHeR]

You guys just can't stop flamin' on Compaq...

<b><font color=blue>Perception is Reality!!!</b></font color=blue>

 

[JimStapleton]

I just started flaiming them. I'll stop when they fire their tech support an hire competant people.

Athlon XP 1600+, MSI K7T PRO2 RU (POS), 2x256 MB CRUCIAL PC2100 CL2.5 memory, Asus V6800 DDR Delux (GF 256) video card, 6.4GB+27GB WD HD, 40GB IBM HD (all 7200RPM). My computer is an acronym

 

[beherenow]

Aargh! Dealing with Compaq is an utter nightmare but it looks like I may have to get one anyway: for a notebook, the comparable Dell would cost $400 or $500 more. So I can bet the $500 that I won't have major problems; if I lose, I'll brace myself for the equivalent of $500 in headaches or out-of-pocket repairs, and this way I'd have Athlon which I'm told is better for my uses/software.

(Details: I've played around with the customization for days and came up with this: Compaq notebook, Athlon 1800+(not mobile), 256 MB, 15" SXGA+ screen (1400x1050) and 3-year warranty: $1200. Comparable Dell is over $1600 because SXGA+ is not available on any of their cheaper models. My uses are number crunching/statistics, no 3-D, no games, no video.)

...Just venting here about this dubious pact with the devil, but I think that's allowed in the forums...

 

[Zoron]

This has been explained before.

When you phone Compaq tech support, you're not always speaking with representitives from Compaq. A lot of companies outsource their tech support (especially for consumer models) to third parties. Most of these 'techs' are college students that need a job. They are given specific flowchart to follow, and if something doesn't go with the flowchart, they get confused as hell. If you aren't getting the answers you need, I would strongly suggest trying to get the call escalated to a higher tier of tech support. Talk to someone from Compaq. They are quite knowledgable... I've had to deal with them for Deskpro and Proliant support issues. The only time I really talked to someone at consumer support was to get part numbers (before you could look them up online).

So remember, when you dial 'Compaq Technical Support Hotline', you may not actually be speaking to someone from Compaq.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

 

[JimStapleton]

hmmm

try checking out various models at CDW, they usually have good prices on their stuff (slightly better than the manufacturer, but you cant customize, but they do have a lot of variants).

Additionally, I'm willing to suck it up, and get an intel, to not have to deal with Compaq for my next notebook...

check this one, it's not SXGA (I's required? For stats stuff I mean? I've only used SPSS so I'm not sure)

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=MxcRCKUfNb8RWJt7k4sbA-oRj26x6P76ZgI=?CatalogCategoryID=rdsKC0.N8n4AAADzUZ8zFriI&Dept=cpu&TemplateName=item/sy_item_b&ProductID=xhIKC0.NoVEAAADzuJUzFriM&ContentItemPage=false


Then again, sony has their issues took maybe CDW and get a non-compaq warantee...



Athlon XP 1600+, MSI K7T PRO2 RU (POS), 2x256 MB CRUCIAL PC2100 CL2.5 memory, Asus V6800 DDR Delux (GF 256) video card, 6.4GB+27GB WD HD, 40GB IBM HD (all 7200RPM). My computer is an acronym

 

[beherenow]

[replies to Zoron and jimstapleton...]

re: Zoron on Compaq's phone people: No way the people I've spoken to at Compaq are college students. They are frighteningly incompetent trailer trash women with bad perms, acid wash jeans, and names like Brandee and nothing will convince me otherwise. Though I *have* had one or two college student-types on the phone -- you can tell instantly; they are helpful within the limits Compaq has set and make honest attempts to get you the info you want. For brevity I won't include all my examples. NO-ONE in any tech support area is reachable for pre-purchase questions: you are required to punch in your serial number!

re: jimstapleton...

Oops - too late to try CDW!Took a chance on the Compaq at Best Buy. Found several staff with real, helpful answers - FAR more than by phone and e-mail with Compaq - and they convinced me that plenty of repairs are done on site. About Sony... irrational hunches make me uncomfortable buying a computer from a TV and Walkman company. Not a good reason, I know. Plus my friend just got back from a year in Brazilian rainforest and his Vaio had no problems there!

re: your keyboard hassles: I'm thinking maybe big box stores are finding it's more profitable to just do one big quick repair (such as a whole new keyboard) than pay expensive techs to do time-consuming diagnostics and small pinpoint repairs requiring specific minor parts, which seems to be how the computer manufacturers do it. Just a guess...

 

[Zoron]

Heh... ok, perhaps they aren't college students for the most part; but my point still stands. When you phone tech support, you're not always talking to someone that has worked on these computers before. Hell... you're not even talking to someone employed by Compaq. OEMs should beef up their in-house support teams.

Remember though... get that issue escalated if you're not getting the answers you need. Chances are you'll be actually talking to someone from Compaq that has worked on these machines before; rather than someone that doesn't even know what the machine looks like, let alone how to fix it.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

 

[JimStapleton]

Zoron: what do you mean by escalated?

edit: Also, three of the things that would help most- (1) synch the databases between the departments more, it's really bad when I have had a computer for over a year, and there are still different warantee dates. (2) they need to get the modles up on the website, I have a 1201z, and can't find it anywhere on the tech support area, as I am frequently rebuilding my comp for one reason or another, and I need to pull some random driver on occasion. (3) More info on the chips on the computer would have been helpful- no one could tell me what graphics chip, or sound chip was in my computer (they were saying a via graphics chip and a jbl pro sound chip- it's an ATi RAGE Mobility M1, and a via sound chip built into the mobo chipset).

beherenow: I just wanted compaq to tell me the part number for my keyboard that one time, and then get an RMA for the keyboard, not a part replacement. Also, I was speaking directly to compaq people in all cases, except when the compaq people referred me to the HP sales department (I don't want to get a new computer, I want an RMA for the bad computer they shipped me!)

So I'm not sure what you were saying about stores wanting to fix components instead of the parts of components... Don't think it realted to my prob...

Athlon XP 1600+, MSI K7T PRO2 RU (POS), 2x256 MB CRUCIAL PC2100 CL2.5 memory, Asus V6800 DDR Delux (GF 256) video card, 6.4GB+27GB WD HD, 40GB IBM HD (all 7200RPM). My computer is an acronym<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Jimstapleton on 03/04/03 08:35 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Zoron]

Most tech support has different levels or 'tiers'. When a consumer phones in for support on their consumer product, they usually start at the lowest tier of tech support. If your problem(s) is/are more complex than the lowest tier is able to handle... you issue is 'escalated' to a higher tier of support.

This can also be true of the 'squeaky wheels' out there. If you are being beligerent on the phone, it is sometimes a good way to get your issue escalated. Generally speaking, the higher the tier you can get to... the better support you'll receive.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

 

[knowan]

NO ONE at first level support is a Compaq/HP employee. For the most part these are high school grads with 2 weeks training (if they're lucky) following a flow chart. As an added bonus they are dinged/laid off if they stay on the phone for over 8 minutes with a customer. That's why the answer to everything seems to be "use the restore CD and call back in an hour or two when it is completed". It gets the customer off the phone fast and decreases your call time.

Almost no one at second level is a Compaq/HP employee. For the most part they are college grads who have put in their time at the first level support desk and they usually know their stuff. They USUALLY don't have a call time threshold like the first level, though there are exceptions.

Supervisors/Managers are sometines Compaq/HP employees. They usually work their way up from second level support and usually know their stuff as well, but there are exceptions. They're the ones who can get things done for the squeeky wheels.

HP/Compaq has now outsourced most of it's tech support to India. Apparently it's cheeper to pay the long distance charges and pay the Indian techs $2.50 an hour than it is to pay American techs $10.00 and hour.

And that's the bottom line. Companies don't care about providing good support to their customers, they only care about how much this support will cost them. This is true of Compaq/HP as well as virtually all large companies. Before working for Compaq I worked for a phone company and an ISP and their support lines worked exactly the same as Compaq's, and the phone company's was even worse.

They don't care about an individual customer, but they do care about businesses who can buy many hundred PC's at once and will continue to buy PC's every 2 or 3 years. That's why businesses get better support and more stable pc's than consumers. The Compaq Deskpro's are probably the most stable pc's out there. The Presarios/Pavilions are the worst thing on the market and I wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy/mother-inlaw.

For more info go to <A HREF="http://www.compaqsucks.com" target="_new">http://www.compaqsucks.com</A>. There's lots of horror stories from the compaq technicians there.

--------------
Knowan likes you. Knowan is your friend.

 

[johnnylange]

Building your own PC is the best way to go! That's my story and i'm sticking to it!

 

[mbaha]

I can't believe they still suck a$$

mbaha

“Build your own you will love it more”

 

[rubikian]

Yup, Agreed... Especially you can really customize everything you want if you build it yourself