HP failed an unsatisfied customer

 HP unable to deliver what it professes

The true face of HP is ruthless. However, they cover it with ample useless and kind words like ‘you are our valued customer’, ‘we are at your service’, and many such redundant words that never get applied when they are required to be delivered, at least in my case, it had not been.

A full-time writer, I pushed myself into retirement; like most others belonging to my day and age, I take pleasure in communicating with the virtual world; I am connected to some international websites that encourage people to write and express their experiences and concerns on pressing social, political, and personal issues. Since I stay alone in Kolkata, my family in Hyderabad, I thought it would be great if I could buy a laptop so I could connect with my daughter and her mother on a regular basis. But unfortunately, I couldn’t’. I am not so much of a technical guy so I entirely missed that I wasn’t able to use any audio facilities on my machine. No Skype, no Hangout meet, no camera, no video, nothing. The only connection with them was through WhatsApp. Unfortunately, it took me one whole year to look at the ordinates of HP support pasted on my laptop. My mistake agreed.

HP hiding behind their words

When I approached them on their WhatsApp support number yesterday (Monday 8 February 2021) at, +1 786 482 6615 I got a prompt reply from their technical support specialist. I gave him all the details of the problems that I was facing. All he wanted to know was my HP device serial number. When I gave him the number, he said that my warranty had expired and directed me to a service center near my location. The nearest location was miles away from where I stay but that’s not the issue here; the issue here was money; that I have to pay for the things that were not delivered to me in the first place! Today, I chatted with Rishabh, then with Mandeep Singh; well, they all spoke the same language; polite and eager to close the case with a statement like this: ‘Thank you for contacting HP WhatsApp support. You are our valued customer, and for a seamless service, you may also reach us through Virtual Agent and ….” then in the end, “In order to provide you with an invaluable service, we are continuously upgrading our existing system and processes. Thank you.”

Creating an irate customer

In between, I connected to their service center in Kolkata through WhatsApp who asked me to call in between 9 am to 6 pm. He said I have to pay Rs. 1770 for their service engineer to visit my place, if it is within 40 km. I said it could hardly be 10 km to which he said the charge would be the same even if it were 2 or 4 km away. Moreover, if the engineer found out defects in any parts I would have to pay something extra. When I told him (Mr. Mukul Ghosh) if I could visit their center, he discouraged me saying that there would be a huge rush beyond 10.30!

Escalation

I told each one of them that I felt wronged and deceived and that I didn’t even know if the problem existed or was it because of some technical issues I wasn’t able to solve, and because of this I would escalate it. They didn’t address the issue at all, they were constantly highlighting where I was wrong, they were not in the least worried about my concern.

The disproportionate price structures

First of all, I don’t understand how they decide on the price? Who lets them decide that just to visit and look into the machine, they will charge something as exorbitant as Rs.1770? And do words mean anything to them? “Valued customer? Continuously upgrading our existing system and process.” They are penalizing me for the things they haven’t delivered in the first place, why? It is because I missed out on their ordinates within the stipulated time? They are looking at my mistake, their valued customer’s, but are overlooking the fact that they gave me a defective machine?

Is this how learning organizations such as HP operate?

The objective of sharing this is to let the management of HP know how their ideals that are put in words in the vision, and mission are applied in ways that question the integrity of the company. Sad.

It is also for several valued customers and prospect customers out there to know how valued you really are when it comes to delivering what the company claims.

Conclusion

Every day, ordinary mortals like us have to face issues and challenges, some get solved, some forgotten. My issue remains unaddressed. Don’t know if the HP management that had groomed their workforce into dealing with unsatisfied customers would speak any differently. Paying the price for something that was beyond my scope is certainly not acceptable.

On Netaji's birthday, a humble request

I have a humble request to make on the auspicious birthday of a forgotten leader, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. 

The songs in the link are those that were dear to Netaji and his numerous followers of Azad Hind Fauj, and to the majority of Indians. Netaji's India and the India that we have now are not the same. We have separated. Three countries. Three flags. Three national songs. It's perhaps never going to change. 

Still my humble request is this; please do not use these songs against each other, Netaji would have been extremely sad had he known that we had become each others' enemies. His dream was to free India, not to have it severed. 

If we could at least become the best of neighbours, Netaji would be really happy. 

Until then, please don't use the songs in the troubled borders that he never ever dreamed of. In the name of the Hind he fancied, Jai Hind. 

Smart world

When the major powers of the world will become buddies, when all the neighboring countries will become best of friends, when the divided worlds will celebrate their togetherness by unconditionally helping to heal each other's wounds, when soldiers of the world will fight only against the natural calamities, when my world would have finally acquired the know-how to survive without weapons and spies, when the news channels will not have any negative news to sell, then we would have built a real smart world. 

The stars are waiting in the sky, flowers in the garden, and several hearts waiting to sing, 'we [have] overcome'.

Holy shit

"More trouble over free speech in France. I sometimes feel their policy is defective -- why do the Charlie Hebdo cartoons have to be their only example of freedom of expression?"

I couldn't agree more with my cousin's thoughts!

There is racism in France which needs to be seriously addressed. When I was in Paris for a short translation project, I was alarmed in Montpellier where I was studying at the time, about 'racism' in Paris; lo and behold I bumped into a grocery shop whose owner said he had nothing for people like me. When I asked as to what he meant by 'people like me', he ignored me and asked his employee to show me the door. I was thrown out.

I am sure I am not the only one solitary example. Of course my love for France and everything French enabled me to royally overlook this, but this attitude of displacing anger (in most cases with valid reasons) on arbitrary people causes negative vibration and it does set a sad example about the country that gifted democracy to the world. In case, you are naive enough to misunderstand, I am not, in any way, advocating the scoundrels who take it on them as a messenger of their prophet and behead people for what they say to keep committing such crimes, I'm trying to throw some light by wearing a black hat.

Happy birthday, dear Gandhi.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has been studied throughout the world, as he is, even today. However, we have not applied him in our day to day lives. His followers, known as the Satyagrahis, had to take eleven vows and had to live by them in their thoughts, words, and actions. 

Eleven vows of the Satyagrahis: 

1. Non-violence
2. Truth
3. Non-stealing
4. Celibacy
5. Non-possession
6. Body-Labour
7. Control of the Palate
8. Fearlessness
9. Equal Respect for all Religions
10. Swadeshi (use of home manufactures)
11. Freedom from Untouchability.

These eleven principles should be observed as vows in a spirit of humility. The Mahatma, in his ashram in Wardha, ate chapatis, boiled beets, some raw vegetables, and oranges for lunch. On the side of his plate was a large lump, a paste, of very bitter neem leaves which he ate slowly, relishing it bit by bit.

Walk the talk

He is perhaps the last leader who has ever walked on the world living up to his words. The nonviolent voice of Gandhi appeals to man’s highest conscience. Nations of the world, two hundred thirty-three beautiful countries of the world, need to unite and concur on one common point, so they no longer align with death, murder in the name of patriotism, nationality, they align with life. Instead of indulging in destruction (a lose-lose approach), the countries need to focus on construction (a win-win approach); all the fluttering flags should sing an emphatic no as a global anthem and say that they're no longer with the Annihilator, they are with the Creator.

Forgiveness

Mahatma says, ‘One should forgive, under any injury. It hath been said that the continuation of species is due to man’s being forgiving. Forgiveness is holiness; by forgiveness, the universe is held together. Forgiveness is the might of the mighty; forgiveness is sacrifice; forgiveness is quiet of mind. Forgiveness and gentleness are the qualities of the self-possessed. They represent eternal virtue.’  

Non-violence

Non-violence is the manifestation of the law of forgiveness and love. Gandhi proclaims, ‘If loss of life becomes necessary in a righteous battle, one should be prepared, like Jesus, to shed his own, not others’, blood. Eventually, there will be less blood spilt in the world.’ That is why, leaders shouldn't send soldiers and warriors in the battle, they should go there themselves, if at all.

Through his conviction on non-violence, Gandhi won political concessions for his land than have ever been won by any leader of any country except through bullets.

Happy birthday dear Gandhi, give us the moral strength so we can apply you in our daily lives and make the world a better place to live. The world is obliged that you lived and walked on its soil. Rest in real power, always.

No to night shift

Organizations that make their employees work in night shifts should pause and think for a while.

Are they lacking in their role of fulfilling Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity here?

You must be wondering as to what #CSR activity has to do with night shifts? Where is the link? Is that what you are thinking? Yes, I think there is a link.

All learning organizations should focus on three things, viz. work, profit, and health. It is well-known fact as to how night shifts affect the health of a person. It is not only physical health but even mental health gets adversely affected by working in night shifts.

Why should we allow our children to suffer; why should we force them to work at a time when they should be on bed? How many people from the first world work in night shits? People who work in night shifts there are only those who work for essential services, and of those, you will see that most of them are immigrants working for the whites. 

If we let our children suffer because we cannot say ‘no’ to the white clients of the first world, then what kind of attitude are we showing for our own people? It cannot be expected from Foreign MNCs because they are least concerned about the health of our nations, had it been so they wouldn’t have used our land as their dumping grounds, but it can certainly expect that from our own MNCs!

I have seen employees of many good organizations working on the streets spreading awareness to people on the importance of wearing helmets, abiding by traffic rules, how smoking is injurious to health, and so on. It is heart-warming to see their genuine concern for the health of their nation. By that same logic, shouldn't such organizations show the same concern here as well?

If we are making significant contributions to the society where we perform, in terms of CSR activities, then the best place to perform, as they say, ‘charity begins at home’, will have to be in and from the organization itself; we can do so by taking care of the health of our employees, our children, the future of our nation, just by saying ‘no’ to #night-shift.

Please support the #health of the workforce.

#health is wealth

By saying yes to night-shift, are Indian MNCs lacking in CSR activity?

#healthandwellness #healthawareness #healthhacks #healthandwellbeing #healthcareforall #healthcareprofessionals #nightshift #mentalwellbeing #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthsupport

rambling on human rights and tolerance

Can someone tell me what’s going on,
where are we still going wrong?

You? You are talking about human rights? Are you serious, my friend? Okay, first tell me who is a human.... according to you, who fits the definition of a human? Someone who looks like you? Who talks, eats, behaves like you? If you looked back, you would see that your race had violated human rights the most. You called people names, niggers, chicken roasts, watermelons, and so on… tried to either baptize or civilize chunks of populations, and, in so doing, had destroyed, stolen histories, wealth, and stories of races who were different from you, those whom you thought were not even humans:

‘To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered fold and wild -- 
Your new-caught, sullen peoples, 
Half devil and half child.’

Did you include them too when you talk about human rights? Of all the races in the world, you were the most intolerant. You had offended the whole world. South America comprises Mexico, the Caribbean and most of Central and South America. In these places, residents speak mostly Spanish and Portuguese. These two languages are classified as Romance languages, which are derived from Latin, and that’s why you call South America Latin America? You have completely erased the indigenous languages, haven’t you? Then why don’t you call it continental euro-America?

Let’s not open the pandora’s box, but even today you have not changed. Not one bit. 

Why should we have to dress like you in our own lands? What do you mean by professional grooming and etiquette? It’s your own style of grooming that you regard as professional, don’t you? What do you mean by dining etiquette? It’s your style of dining, isn’t it? Why do we have to hold a fork and a knife to eat? Why do we have to talk like you, in your language, why should we neutralize our accent to project ourselves as an effective speaker? What do you mean by professionals? They are people who look like you, don’t they?

And why do our children have to do night shifts, why wouldn’t you allow them to sleep at night? And after all this, you are talking about human rights? I know that some of you also do night shifts for essential services in your part of the world, but even those who do night shifts, most of them are immigrants. In our part of the world, in every sector nightshift are creeping in like the insomniac virus that’s adversely affecting the health and hygiene levels here! Why do you compel our organizations to work in night shifts if you are so sensitive about human rights?

 From the way we dress, talk, eat, look, you are telling us that we are not okay, that we have to be like you to be civilized, to look like a professional, and you are talking about tolerance and human rights! Imagine this…in our own land, on days we wear our dresses, we call it ethnic wear day!

 You are still using our part of the world as your dumping ground. Why so! Why can’t you manage your own waste? Why don’t you allow us to cultivate crops in our own lands? The same rule still seems to be the ground rule, isn’t it? First learn to accept humans who look, talk, eat, dress differently, as humans; if you walk the talk well enough, you won’t need to talk much about human rights and tolerance.