[Rant]
Is that they think everyone is completely computer illiterate! Let me explain a little. A while ago my desktop PC suffered a big hardware failure. The RAM and motherboard decided to die which corrupted the BIOS and no longer booted anything. So we spend 3 hours on the phone with HP who seems to be convinced it was a virus. I wasn't even using Windows when this happened. I barely use Windows anymore at all. So after reinstalling Windows about 3 times (wiping out my Feisty install)making us unplug this and unplug that, reboot, reboot, and reboot some more, basically wasting my time because I already knew what the problem was, they are finally convinced it's something more.

So we send it in and get it back fixed a week later, or so we think. Something happened to the hard drive either when they were fixing it or during shipping. Now it's making clicking noises. So back on the phone for another 3 hours wasting my time unplugging this and that, rebooting a million times. They think you know absolutely nothing about computers. Even if I didn't know anything, loud clicking noises coming from a hard drive cannot be good. I know it's the hard drive because I know what a HD's reading head sounds like scraping against a platter. So basically this thing could crash at any moment.

So they want us to send it in again! Why can't they just give me a new hard drive? I knew the hard drive was going to get ruined when they insisted on us sending it in the first time.

[/Rant]

Actually, I think the problem is that the help desk personnel are just barely computer literate. If they really knew what they were doing, you could explain the situation to them, but since they are only reading from the help desk manual, it's hopeless. It's all about the company saving money: they hire people that don't know what they're doing for much less than qualified people would cost; they try to get away without replacing things (like in your situation). It's more important to them to shave cost than to provide decent customer care. Which drives some people to pay a little more with someone like System 76. It is rather annoying, isn't it? It seems to me that the masses will always go with the cheap guy, but I hear about more and more people who are saving up just a little longer and going with somebody they trust more.

This only occurs with home users really. Generally when I call up HP or Fujitsu with a computer fault at work, I can explain the things I have tested and tell them what is broken and they will quickly check their knowledgebase and send out a part.

The problem with home users is that most do not know what they are doing, and it is cheaper to waste 3 hours of a competent person's time than it is to waste the time of their techies with a huge increase in returned computers.

I use newegg to put together my machines. I have no one to call, because i can fix it myself. I am my own tech support.

Very true. All these people are doing is reading from a manual. I bet they don't even know what they're reading, they just read it. Not to mention I had already tried everything they told me to do which was very frustrating having them make me do everything over and knowing that it wasn't going to work. And they end up connecting you to someone in Asia or somewhere who you usually can't understand.

I'm about to say forget it and just go buy a new hard drive, but why should I spend the money on it when it's something they did and the computer is still under warranty.

And yeah, this most likely only happens with home users. The tech support for business is probably much better.

Yeah, that's probably easier. That way, when your hard drive breaks, you just call the manufacturer and get a new one.

And the bonus is that the crapware that Dell/Acer/Benq/HP/Compaq would install wouldn't be there too.

They like to load it up