OEM Tech Support: Is It Becoming a Joke?

Not long ago, we discussed software companies including - among other things - how well they support their customers. But what about the hardware vendors? I'm hearing more and more horror stories from people who've bought computers from the major computer vendors and are unhappy with the service they get when they call tech support. It doesn't seem to matter which company you buy from - I hear the same sorts of complaints about Dell, HP, Sony and others.

In thinking about this, I realized that it's an issue that I personally don't think much about, because I rarely ever call a vendor for support. If I get a computer home and there's something major wrong with it, I take or send it back to the retailer where I bought it. If something minor is wrong, I just fix it myself.

A case in point: when we ordered the HP d5100t a few months ago, to serve as our new main media center PC, it came with two TV tuners. For some stupid reason (probably cost) one was a Hauppauge that worked great. The other was a ViXS - that didn't. At all. Oh, Media Center recognized that the tuner was there but it didn't record; it didn't display live TV, it didn't do anything. After trying everything I could think of (installing/reinstalling the drivers, updating the drivers, physically uninstalling/reinstalling the card, changing configurations, etc.) I had to acknowledge that the thing simply didn't work.

I could have called HP, gone through minutes or hours of hassle with them telling me to try all the things I already had and (I hope) having them end up sending me a new tuner that would take a week or more to arrive - or I could run to Fry's and buy a new Hauppauge tuner and pop it in while I still had the case open and be recording on dual tuners a few hours later. I opted for the latter. My time and the aggravation was worth more to me than the hundred bucks or so that I would have saved, even though I did have to quell the "it's the principle of the thing - I paid for a system with two tuners" reaction. In case you didn't read the whole story back when I posted it, it's on my blog at
Media Center Saga Continues: HP Goes on the Cheap with Tuner - Windows Live

Most of the time, though, I find that when I think something is wrong with a new system, it's really just a configuration issue or something that I'm doing wrong, or something that can be corrected by installing a new driver or a similar no-cost solution. I troubleshoot and play around and get it working without calling the vendor.

The couple of times over the last ten years that we have had to call tech support, both systems were Dells and because we'd bought through their small business program with on-site support, someone came out the next day (or in one case, later the same day) and swapped out the offending piece of hardware. No muss, no fuss.

But from what I'm hearing, that is not typical of the experiences that my friends and readers are having with Dell today, at least not on the consumer end. One recently recounted an experience where she was just trying to find out how to replace the power supply on an out-of-warranty Dell desktop system. She was perfectly willing - heck, eager - to buy the new power supply from Dell, but they didn't seem to have them anymore. So next, she tried to find out what a suitable replacement might be and specifically, whether she could replace it with a larger capacity PS than the one it came with. She was transferred several times, to several different people, none of whom could answer that simple question.

The main complaint, and one I've heard from many folks, is that all the phone support personnel seem to be reading off a script and if the answer to your question or solution to your problem isn't in the script, you're out of luck. I can understand this (sort of) with first line or tier one support. But a question as simple as "will it hurt anything if I install a 500 watt power supply to replace the dead 400 watt power supply?" should be fairly easy to resolve.

Of course there are additional issues, such as connector types and different standards and those have to be addressed, but there are only a few different types (e.g., ATX 1.3 standard vs. ATX 2.0) and there are adapter cables available for compatibility. But as to the point of the question, the answer is that using a power supply with more capacity than is needed for the installed peripherals might be a waste of money and electricity, but it won't damage anything.

Part of the problem - in some cases a big part - is the language barrier. Most companies are putting their support call centers in countries where cost is low - outsourcing. The employees in those countries aren't necessarily less knowledgeable, but they may not be able to communicate their technical knowledge - or understand your questions - because English is not their native language.

But you don't have to be on opposite sides of the world to have communications problems. I've had trouble understanding what's being said on the phone by people right here in the states because of thick regional accents. And the languages that we grow up speaking are ostensibly the same, I often have a hard time understanding what's meant by some of my very dear British or Australian friends because of the unfamiliar word usage and slang (for example, the first time an Aussie told me that his child was about to chuck a wobbly, I had no idea what he was talking about).

I understand how frustrating it is when you're already in a bad mood because your computer isn't working, and then you have to deal with tech support folks whose words don't make sense - either because of language or because they just don't seem to know their stuff. I sympathize with the people on the other end of the call, too. Attempting to figure out what's wrong with a computer based only on a description over the phone is incredibly difficult. I'm asked to do that often, and it's very much a hit-or-miss proposition for a number of reasons.

Many people aren't very good at descriptions. I found that out back when I was a cop, when I'd ask witnesses to a crime or incident to describe what had happened or to describe a person or vehicle. And it's not just about memory; many folks can't even accurately describe something or someone sitting right in front of them. They talk in generalities. For example, they say "big guy" and you don't know if they mean tall, fat, muscular, or a combination thereof. Likewise, they say "got an error" and you don't know if it's a blue screen, a dialog box, a message within the application, etc. Or they say "the screen looks funny" rather than telling you that the icons are missing, the display is pixilated, the color is skewed toward green, the screen is flickering, or whatever.

One of the most common (and most vague) complaints I get is "my computer isn't working right" or the slight variation "my computer is acting funny." That's analogous to calling up your doctor and saying "I don't feel good" and expecting him/her to do a differential diagnosis from that.

Of course, if you're actually at the doctor's office and the doc can look at you, see that your face is flushed and your hands are shaking and your pupils are dilated, at least there's a little more to go on. And if the support person can see what's on your monitor, there's a better chance that he/she can figure out the problem. Technologies such as remote assistance, which is built into XP and Vista, can significantly increase tech support's helpfulness. Unfortunately, it's not used as often as it could be. Some users may not know how to enable it, or they may not want to allow a stranger access to their desktops for security reasons. Some support centers may not use it because of technical or potential liability reasons.

Tell us what you think about hardware vendors' tech support. Have you had a bad experience - or a good one? Which companies have you found to be the best and worst in terms of taking care of their customers? What's the one thing you would ask vendors to change about their tech support systems? Do you even bother with vendor support, or just take things into your own hands? Do you pay extra for the premium support packages offered by some of the hardware companies? If so, how has that worked for you? Let us know your opinions.