HP channel demands better service

NEW DELHI: Service issues related to HP are once again coming up with many channel partners voicing their displeasure with the system HP has in place, particularly the attitude of the designated service providers.



The issue gained such serious proportions that time and again in association meetings and the IT Panchayats conducted regularly by The DQ Week, partners would complain about the vendors' new service partners. But partners claim that, this is as far that their complaints go and no further concrete steps are taken to resolve the issue.

Speaking about the situation in Delhi, Sunil Gupta of Nehru Place-based Alsun Systems said, “To have a simple toner replaced we are asked to send lots of supporting documents and a letter from the customer. The procedure is very tedious. We have to send our office boy with the papers to stand in queue and if there is a single mistake on the papers the service guys do not entertain changes on a call. So our office boy has to come back to office, get the change made and then rush back and stand in queue. There should be a facility whereby we can send the details via fax or e-mail. This system has made it next to impossible to get a replacement.”

Citing an example, Gupta shared that one of their customers had bought a printer which was dead on arrival (DoA), its toner was faulty. Gupta gave the customer a replacement and took the DoA piece. But when he went to the service center they refused to entertain him till he got a letter from the customer. “I am the customer in this case so a replacement should be made on my request.” Gupta added that the staff at RT Outsourcing was not at all cooperative and gave the feeling that they want to reject more and more cases. “If RT is not cooperating with us who do we escalate the matter to? It becomes an ego issues if we argue with them. Already the margins in this segment are so low. How do we survive with such issue?” questioned a dejected Gupta.

Agreeing that the replacement procedure was a nightmare for resellers of HP, was N Ramesh of Bengaluru-based Pentagon Info System. About 25-30 percent of Pentagon's business comes from HP. Sometime back the partner had faced issues with regard to replacement of an HP server during a project for Delhi Airport. Though the issue was finally sorted out Ramesh felt there was a lot of unnecessary hassle involved. He stated, “HP is good till it works. Getting hold of someone to service and certify a DoA is a difficult task. Unless you know people who can pull their weight it is difficult for a reseller. Though there is a procedure for addressing DoA cases, called on-site warranty, you really have to run around in circles.”

Ramesh pointed out that even though there were four-five service providers of HP in Bengaluru it was difficult to get any of them to work. “Basically the attitude of the service providers is wrong. I believe that the problem lies in the fact that HP has outsourced their post-sales service. It should ideally be owned by the principal who would for sure address these issues in a more effective manner,” opined Ramesh.

In Jammu partners are experiencing a similar situation. “We have con­veyed this problem to the local HP representatives but so far we have only got reassurances and no action has been taken. In East, RT Outsourcing and Redington are the service providers. We are facing issues especially with RT Outsourcing as they keep stalling replacements,” expressed Sanjay Langer of Jammu-based AGM Sales Corp. Langer shared that he is still awaiting replacement of a faulty notebook purchased two years back.

Abhishek Poddar of Bhubaneswar-based SA Infosys felt that these negative sentiments towards HP were being felt by partners at large across East. Currently 20 percent of Poddar's business comes from HP but after burning his fingers he has decided to reduce HP business. “We do everything for the vendor and get nothing in return. Working on margins as low as 0.5 percent we cannot afford to do business this way. I have brought our issues to the notice of the top management in HP but there has been no response to my mail,” lamented Poddar. He added that apart from service issues, HP was also holding back-end payments that were over a year old. “HP will only lose marketshare if it continues this way,” said Poddar.

Throwing light on the scene in Kolkata, Vinay Dugar of Supreme Technologies said, “The service has gone pathetic. They are trying to make the service chargeable to customers.”

In Jalandhar the situation seems to be no better. Just recently RT Outsourcing was appointed by HP to provide sales and support in the region, in place of Computer Touch. “We are getting numerous customers who are complaining about the service time. The basic time to log a call and get any product repaired is about 15-20 days which is too long. I don't understand the reason for this policy change,” said Rajiv Khanna of Computer Touch. He added that RT does not provide them with the status of the product and customers were really suffering. “I was a private franchisee and would always deliver because I would worry that if I didn't there would be a penalty from HP. But RT is enjoying a monopoly in Punjab. They know customers have no choice but to depend on them,” pointed out Khanna.

Naresh Lalwani of Cybernet IT, Pune chipped in saying that there was an issue with customers having to make several trips to the service center, and spare parts were also a problem at the center. According to Ashwani Kumar of Shimla-based Ace Infotech Systems the engineers of the designated service provider in the region were not competent to deal with the cases. “We have escalated the matter to HP, but to no avail. The services provided are just not up to the mark,” said Kumar.

When contacted, Ashu Batta, Director of Chandigarh-based H&H Technologies, HP's service provider in Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh lamented, “We provide post warranty on HP hardware. It is a challenge, not only in HP, but across the region. Spare parts are not readily available. But there are also payment issues from partners. We have advised partners numerous times to take annual maintenance contracts from their customers so that they can be clear on payment terms, but they are not heeding this advice.” Batta mentioned that in any case they were facing problems in the Himachal region. Recently two laptops that had come for servicing were stolen from their office. “We ended up having to pay for these stolen laptops. Now we are planning on installing CCTV cameras as the number of thefts in the region are going up,” shared Batta.

But according to Vinod Mulchandani of Mumbai-based Aar Vee Computers, the procedure to have products replaced is very simple and all the hue and cry about service issues was much ado about nothing. “We are a distributor of HP. We have told our resellers that if they find any faulty products they can get it replaced by us as we are empowered to replace products. We in turn will take it up with Ingram Micro and have it replaced,” noted Mulchandani. He stressed that no brand exists with zero service problems and that it was only because HP sold in such high volumes that the number of cases was more than other vendors.

“These issues of DoA and services had come up in our association (TAIT) meet as well with many members saying they were facing issues. I had then taken the initiative and told all the members to send their complaints and mark a copy to me and I will ensure the work gets done. However, at that point only two mails came,” he added.

Despite repeated attempts by The DQ Week at getting a statement from RT Outsourcing about the partner complaints, the service provider chose not to respond on the issue.

When approached, Sameer Mathur, Head-Solution Partners Organization HP India said, “We have been informed of the situation and are committed to resolve this on priority. As an industry leader HP adheres to the most stringent levels of quality checks for customer service. Customers are our top priority and we keep customer satisfaction at the core of all business transactions.”

“Having the largest channel partner network across the country, HP services its customers through a group of over 3,500 channel partners comprising premium business partners, business partners and registered resellers which are handled most effectively through well defined processes and policies,” added Mathur.