... with HP.

To you this may be a long boring computer story, but it's been my obsession for three months or more.

It all started when my old laptop, a Dell Inspiron 5150 that I bought right before we left for Mali, developed a few problems.

First came a problem that I quickly learned is very common with this model. It develops after oh, a year or so ... usually when the standard warranty expires. The problem: if you touch it in the wrong place it suddenly turns off. The "wrong place" is often, conveniently, next to the touchpad. In my case this also happens if you move the lid or the laptop while it's on. This problem pretty much rendered my laptop un-portable.

I could have paid someone a couple hundred bucks to fix that problem, but then the CD/DVD drive conked out on me. The computer recognizes the drive, but doesn't recognize any disks in the drive.

I bet that a good cleaning might fix the CD drive, but let's face it: I used my computer every day for two years in sub-Saharan Africa. It was always dusty, and often over 90 degrees in the rooms where I worked. This thing is probably worn out, overheated, and full of dust. The fan runs almost constantly. I'm filling up its 40-GB hard drive with photos and music.

So I decided to buy a new laptop.

I checked out some different models (yes, including some Macs), and I got pretty excited about the HP dv1000t when I found it online. I had never used an HP before, but I did my compulsive CNET review-reading, and it got good marks. I agonized over the expense for a few weeks, then I bit the bullet and bought it.

It arrived today, much sooner than estimated. I took it out of its box and thrilled at its comparative lightness (5.5 pounds compared to my Dell's whopping 8.1, and the power brick is about half the size). I popped in the battery and opened the lid ... and was not-so-pleasantly surprised by how shiny the screen was.

Was it supposed to be that shiny? I started to get uneasy. I just spent a lot of money on this machine, which I will use for hours every day, and I don't know if I like the screen. It's true that the display is very sharp and colorful, but it's so ... shiny.

I reviewed my order. I had upgraded the display from a regular-old WXGA widescreen to a WXGA BrightView widescreen, which, HP promised, would "improve color contrast in your images and video." Was BrightView the culprit?

I decided to contact HP by email. Interestingly, their form only allowed me to choose a complaint, compliment, or order status inquiry. I chose "complaint" figuring it would get the fastest attention, then asked why my screen was so shiny and what my options were, now that I'd already turned it on and set up Windows.

Then I went and took a shower.

When I came back less than 30 minutes later, I had a response. A long, thoughtful response from Brian, who a) sympathized with me ("It takes some getting used to"), b) explained that I might come to like it in the long run (personally, he does), c) informed me that they have a hassle-free exchange for 21 days from date of delivery, which in my case is up until April 25, and d) encouraged me to try out the screen for a few days, comparing it to others if possible. If I'm not happy, I can call and exchange. As simple as that.

Is this really happening? I think I just landed in customer service heaven.

UPDATE: A Wired News article today about poor customer service mentions HP as an exception:

Hewlett-Packard tries to respond to every e-mail query within an hour, and usually answers within 10 minutes, according to Mark Notarainni, who runs HP's customer contact centers in the Americas. The firm monitors its e-mail centers on a minute-by-minute basis, so it can respond immediately if service slips.
- Wired: Customer Service Goes to Hell