HTC

Many moons ago I owned a Dell m70 workstation type of laptop computer.  The thing was very bulky and heavy but it was also one of few laptops that was capable of running CAD and rendering programs without freezing or overheating.  In 2006 some of my classmates started purchasing much sexier Apple computers and I was lusting after a MacBook myself until one day when several of us opened an email attachment from a classmate and found ourselves infected by an especially malevolent worm.  It became clear after visits with the school computer center that the only way to remove the worm was to re-install the entire operating system.  This is when I discovered that the Dell customer support was far superior to the others.  A gentleman from Dell support stayed up with me from 9pm to 4am, walking me through the complicated process.  Dell provided this service free of charge.  My classmates ended up paying a local company a substantial chunk of change to re-install their systems.  When it was finally time to replace my laptop  I was very disappointed that Dell had such a small presence in Hong Kong.  Even the Dell authorized store carried a limited selection.  I was so happy (practically delirious after the marathon re-installation) with Dell's service that I planned on being a lifer with their computers.

I broke my phone on Sunday.  I dug it out of my backpack after lacrosse to find the screen shattered- the LCD screen that is.  The plastic screen over the LCD display was fine.  In the past when a phone went on the fritz I would simply replace it but that made sense because my phones were practically obsolete by the time that they finally broke down.  This one is by far my favorite phone and only a year old so I looked up the HTC repair centre and made my way over.

If only all Hong Kong customer service centres operated like the HTC centre.  I was in and out in under thirty minutes.  No one tried to sell me anything extra or ask somewhat invasive personal questions (hint, hint HSBC).  The representatives were organized so I didn't have to repeatedly give out my ID number to everyone and their secretary and I wasn't passed around like a hot potato (hint, hint PCCW).  There were no bizarre requests to go somewhere else and fax in my request (hint, hint NowTV).  And most shocking of all, the customer service representatives were well trained, efficient and polite.  Polite!  No one died upon wishing me a pleasant day.

The screen replacement only costs 10% as much as what I payed for the phone so I left feeling not only satisfied with the service but with the pleasureful sensation of having snagged a great bargain.  I may be an HTC lifer after this.

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