HP's PC and printer sales back from the depths In an unexpected reversal, Hewlett-Packard's core PC business has boosted the company to a 25 per cent increase of profits while its enormous service division went kinda limp. During its first fiscal quarter, which ended January 31, HP pulled in profits of $2.3bn, up from $1.9bn during the same period last year. The is was …
So much for HP's aggressive overseas outsourcing policy.
As a French customer paying 6-digit (in euros) maintenance and support bills to HP every year, we get to speak to people from the other side of the Mediterranean Sea all the way from the initial call to tech. qualification, spare parts delivery planning etc. "Speak" is too much a word though, as their control of French is less than adequate, and I'm not even talking of their technical skills. Recently one of them I called for reported ECC RAM errors on a Superdome partition asked me what version of Windows I was running on that (big) box.
The same people who pick up the phone for John Doe who's bought his Inkjet at Carrefour (or Tesco, pick up your favourite supermarket chain) and can't find the USB plug.
So sales finally recovers from a "don't bother coming to work today" position, to a "finally we've sold something" one. Don't forget that Services didn't really decline during the recession, so there was no ground to make up - its held fairly steady throughout due to the nature of long term services contracts.
I've started advising customers away from HP printers. AIO's in particular. The 'advanced' network services like Scan To etc don't work half the time and the driver software is bigger than a Windows install.
The Brother AIO's are much better.
They perform well with warranty replacements to their credit.
You're right. Their scanner software to make an All In One run, means you have to have the 'suite' (unless you just scan using Microsoft Paint), which slows my computer down excruciatingly. It really is the driver equivalent of that virus Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith upload to the alien spacecraft in 'Independence Day'. I have no doubt it would cripple the speediest of processors. Just astonishing.
Although all-in-ones and 'suite' aside, the plain driver for some of their printers, works well for me with XP, and their older models are easy to inject the cartridges using Asda ink bottles or whatever. And the old 'uns never die.
The reason why HP was "profitable" this past quarter is because of the number of people they laid off! They have been doing this for years! I should know... I have been a witness to this for 12 years. Internally, this company is in total chaos. They breakup working processes think that they know what they are doing. Instead, they are creating inefficiency and unneeded overhead. Company morale at an all time low and everyone is fearing for their job. Mark Hurd and his idiot crownies don't know tit-for-tat and are willing to sell their own mother to show profit. I have seen good people let go because of their stupid organizational model. The dumbass CIO Randy Mott is forcing implementation of the Walmart organizational model onto HP. He is too stupid to realize that it is NOT working and is causing resentment throuhout the entire company! And the executive staff is wondering why HP's numbers is not what where they should be. Mark Hurd and his staff should step down instead running this company into the ground. HP does not "Invent:. They aquire those who do and take credit for it.
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