I’ll summarize the adventures. If you want details, follow the jump.

We needed a new PC. We wanted a Dell, but it never got cheap enough, so we picked a Gateway. The local Best Buy didn’t have it on display and it took us a few days to get the nerve to buy the machine without a test-drive. We did get it and things have been fine, but with a few hiccups.

It’s obvious that we would be avoiding the multitude of available HP machines and I’ve never been a big fan of Asus, Acer or eMachine. We originally wanted this Dell and have been waiting for months for the price to drop. It hasn’t, so we looked for a comparable machine and decided this Gateway (SX2800-01) would be a perfect match. It’s got a big enough hard-drive (at 640GB), but more importantly has the Quad Core Q8200 and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. This new PC, even at nearly $400 less than the Dell was a tremendous upgrade for us. Since the HP notebook died several months ago, we’ve been using an old Toshiba Tablet PC (60Gb Hard-drive, 1.6Ghz Centrino processor, 1.5Gb RAM) connected to the television and external hard-drives. Performance-wise, it was nearly the same as the Dell, only missing out on the more-powerful graphics card. I can replace that myself and still keep below the $900 price-range. To top off the deal, the Gateway has a small-profile case which allows it to fit perfectly within the current television/sound system stand.

So. We got a decent PC with all the widgets and gadgets that we need and for a fair price. What frustrations could there have been? Let me count them…

Finding the PC:  While visiting the local Best Buy (the aforementioned store 805), we couldn’t find the machine on display, but there was a big ol’ stack of them on the storage shelf. I asked one of the sales people and was told that the Gateway we wanted to check out was not on display. He added, not as helpfully as he probably though, that we could still buy the computer. I was a little perturbed, so we headed out on a tour of all of Jacksonville’s electronics stores (limited now to a Staples, Office Max, Radio Shack and two Wal-Marts since Circuit City went under). None of the stores had the model, even though they carry Gateway products.

Purchasing the PC: Given no other real choice and a few days thought, we decided to get the computer at Best Buy, even without a test-ride. After about 10 minutes, we found an available sales-person and asked for help getting the PC. The guy moved the ginormous ladder, grabbed the box, handed it to me and sent us on our way to the register. No question of what we were looking for, what we were going to do with the PC, or any attempt at an up-sale of Geek Squad services or software. Just a simple “Here’s your box, registers are that way.” At the register, same thing: No offer of Geek Squad or product protection plan nor an explanation of return policies. I suppose all of that is moot, since Best Buy was going to get the sale of the PC and I wasn’t going to pay more…But, as a former Best Buy kinda-guy, it was really a crappy shopping experience. I suppose you can get away with crappy sales-experiences when you’re the only major electronics store in town…

Setting up the PC: I’ve been down this road several times and it seems that I always seem to make the same mistakes. I always forget to export the iTunes library and playlists. I always forget to export FireFox favorites. Fortunately, this time, all our files were already on an external hard-drive, so that wasn’t an issue. I installed FireFox only to discover that the Password Manager doesn’t prompt to save usernames or passwords. I went to install Panda Cloud antivirus only to discover that Panda Cloud doesn’t work on 64-bit systems, so I’ve gone to AVG’s free antivirus. I tried to use the HDMI connection from the PC to the HD teevee, but the colors were wacky and lines were…Not line-like. So I went back to the RGB and all is well. When trying to authorize iTunes to play purchased songs, I didn’t know that I needed to have the User Account Control turned off for it to stick (That was particularly frustrating).

The bottom line: We had to get a new PC. The tablet, at 4 years old, just wasn’t cutting it anymore and we were both concerned that it would die, leaving us without any computer. Since the internet is the central operating core of our entertainment, work and financial access, that’s not something that would be really allowable.

I’m still working on recreating playlists, FYI.

Read Stephanie Krieger’s rant at her blog.

My two cents, Stephanie: HP is on the crazy pills.

I noticed that a reader from Porter Novelli, Inc. was reading my recent HP-related posts for two hours and fifty minutes this afternoon, so I did a search and found out that Porter Novelli, Inc. is a public relations group. Guess who one of their clients is? Yeppers, it’s HP.

My guess is, though, I’m not a big enough blogger (like Ed Bott or Robert Scoble) to see any real results, but hey, it’s nice to know someone cares enough to look.

Hi guys! Thanks for visiting!

Not only has HP failed to repair and return my PC in a timely manner, but their online storage service has been offline for nearly a third of its lifetime (the service started 15 days ago and has been offline at least 5).

Read BetaNews for more.

I shipped the PC to HP‘s warranty repair (thankfully, the PC is still covered) on March 27th. There was delay because I ordered an SATA hard-drive enclosure to save my data.

I was informed that the repair and return would be complete by April 8th (two weeks from shipment). Then, on April 8th was told that, due to backlogs, my PC would not be repaired and returned until April 22nd (another two weeks, for a total of four). Today, I received a call that my PC will not be repaired and returned until May 6th (another two weeks, for a total of six weeks without my PC).

Am I the only one that finds this completely unsatisfactory (and I admit to having more personal stake in this than anyone else)? What sort of “backlog” could possibly delay the repair and return of my notebook for 6 weeks (4 more weeks than I really think is appropriate)?

So, in an effort to find out what’s going on with my PC, I call HP customer service. After speaking with a representative for a few moments, identifying myself, my PC, and the purpose of my call, I was unceremoniously put on hold and forwarded to another representative. The second representative took my name, my telephone number, and asked the purpose of my call. To which I replied “I sent my PC on March 27th and have been told twice that its return will be delayed for a second time for a total of six weeks.” After detailing my issues, I was, again, unceremoniously put on hold and forwarded to a third representative.

The third representative was polite, but not very helpful. She said that “there is a shortage of parts at the service center that is the cause of the delay.” She was so un-helpful, that when I said “I don’t understand why it’s taking 6 weeks to repair my PC” she responded with “there is a shortage of parts at the service center that is the cause of the delay.” Verbatim, word-for-frickin’ word exactly what she had just told me. Even the intonation was dead-on. (My guess is that “there is a shortage of parts at the service center that is the cause of the delay” is the standard party line at HP.) When I responded with “Can I expect to receive a call on May 6th notifying me that my PC will be repaired and shipped on May 20th?”, Anna (the “given” name of the service representative) replied that my PC will most definitely be shipped on May 6th. (Who wants to take a bet?)

I asked ”Anna” if it always takes HP 6 weeks to repair PCs. She said that it didn’t and (wait for it) ”there is a shortage of parts at the service center that is the cause of the delay” and my PC would be shipped on May 6th. She also mentioned she would note my concerns and forward them to the service center. (Probably, right along with a note that says “This guy is an ass, don’t fix his PC.”)

Not only am I extremely disappointed (and flat-out irritated) that it’s taking HP (at least) 6 weeks to make what is probably a simple repair (it’s probably an entirely shot motherboard), but their customer service (which has been farmed overseas) absolutely stinks. The first two service representatives weren’t rude, but they weren’t paragons of courteousness, either. The third was nice enough, she just had nothing worthwhile to say except what was available through the HP website.

I’ve owned several HP PCs and printers over the years, including two desktops, three notebooks, and three printers, and I’ve mostly been satisfied with them. I believe I’ve bought my last HP product, though. Their customer service stinks, their products seem to be questionable, and they seem to have failed to grasp of a cardinal rule of maintenance management (have the parts you need to fix your product at all times). 

I’m done with HP. I invite you to be done with them, too.