kevinw@portia.Stanford.EDU (Kevin Rudd) (08/15/90)
HP is not alone in being "unloyal" to its customers. Every major organization (and probably minor too) is more concerned on the whole with sales, not support. Some companies make a major effort, but... Consider the complaints amongst loyal Apple users when no upgrade path is provided for Plus owners. I doubt that many Plus owners have not (or will not) upgrade because of this. For Apple, it would not have been "wise" to spend extra money to save a minor fraction of its sales. Is this right? NO. But the stockholders would not wan't to "lose" money because the management did the "right" thing instead of the profitable thing. HP's loyal customers (of which I am certainly one), despite a nearly 10 year period of poorly designed and manufactured products have still purchased HP calculators. Despite the quality of their recent products, I have replaced all of my failed calculators with HP despite their attrition (due to HP design problems) BECAUSE THEY ARE STILL BETTER THAN WHAT IS ELSEWHERE IN THE MARKETPLACE). So, the current "problem" is that HP has poorly treated those of us (me too) who couldn't wait by giving us buggy ROMs (but they DID tell us what the bugs were -- most companies don't even do that) and then by giving those individuals who waited for better ROMs and prices to fall a free game+ equation card. And they do not offer any benefits (such as ROM upgrades or cards) to their "loyal" customers. But, the question is, is giving away free (or for no profit) gifts to those who already have purchased the product the "right" thing to do? Considering the bugs, they should definitely replace at least all A ROMs free as they seem to have the most bugs (plus being the ROM in my 48SX) but they should at least allow NO PROFIT upgrades for everyone. Period. It would surely be nice to have a free equation card, but the Promo is for pre-school sales and thus would have probably occurred even if the calculator had come out at the beginning of the year and not the middle. Plus, for me I can't quite see any real application for it (and I have too many computer games already to get a portable one). Now, the question of loyalty is put on the table. Should a company be loyal to its customers? DEFINITELY. Even if it costs them. This is just the "right" way to do "business". It is not, however, the right way to do "profits". For a company with such emphasized loyalty to its employees (they have started laying off periodically, haven't they?) to ignore its customers seems to violate its basic covenents. So, IMuHO, loyalty is missing in the marketplace. Companies and consumers alike. I'll wager that even those of you who vehemently state that you will never buy another HP calculator will still do so in the future as well, not out of loyalty, but because then will probably still be the only maker of that kind of device of any merit. BECAUEE THEY WILL STILL (PROBABLY) BE BETTER THAN THE REST. When the competition catches up (either in support or in product line) HP will lose their customers because they can't offer them something they can't get better elsewhere. Sad, but true. And HP knows that it has a captive audience. Hopefully someone in HP (and the other companies who forget those from whom they have already reaped their profits) will see this thread of messages and change their ways, but I'm not terribly hopeful. Every company that I have seen directly has been more concerned with the short term dollar than the long term market. Even if the long term suffers. The dollar is just too big for the present. But if this type of business practice continues, I can't see the companies who practice it surviving in the long term. 'Nuff said. After all, this IS a calculator forum, not a philosophy of business seminar. -- Kevin
farber@grad2.cis.upenn.edu (David Farber) (08/15/90)
I would recommend a letter writing to John Young president HP 3000 Hanover St Palo Alto CA 94304 for those who feel that loyality to HP has ended up with them unfairly treated. Dave
richard@hpfcdc.HP.COM (Richard Artz) (08/17/90)
Hi Mark, (and other upset 48sx people) >This product, while arguably the greatest >handheld to hit the market, will most likely be the LAST HP product I own >unless they respond to this line of postings with a reasonable explanation and ........^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ---------- While I do work for HP I don't have a thing to do with the calculators. So, while I can't respond for the company I can sure say (for myself) that this is a strange statement. For example, if you bought a car, and were upset, you would post a note? When I'm upset, I always write a letter. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I always feel better. Please, I know that there are a lot of very nice people in HP. They (and I) listen to customers. If you are upset, write a letter. Send it to Corvallis. If you are really upset, write a second letter to to the CEO of the company. A letter sitting on a manager's desk gets attention (if the company is worth anything). You will be the judge. I know we are heading towards an "electronic society" but paper is very tangible. It doesn't go away with a keystroke. If enough people write letters, things change. Writing a letter shows you took time out of your busy life to express your displeasure. Managers can use a letter as ammunition to change things. A note just doesn't carry the same weight. (at least, not yet :-) -- THANKS for listening. Oh, BTW, I already bought my 48sx and Eq. Lib. (sigh) Richard Artz / OSSD Learning Products / 303-229-2036 / richard@hpfcww.fc.hp.com Hewlett-Packard / MS11 / 3404 E. Harmony Road / Fort Collins, CO 80525-9599 This response does not represent the official position of, or statement by, the Hewlett-Packard Company. The above data is provided for informational purposes only. It is supplied without warranty of any kind.