This was such a stupid mistake

Please do not watch this video if you're easily offended by profanity.

So much of what one finds online is bogus or apocryphal, but let's just assume this one's absolutely 100% true: this U. S. soldier stationed in Iraq called HP tech support for help with his HP printer and was told he'd have to pay for the help.

He got rather annoyed. Understandably.

Total waste. What irks me about shabby customer service is that it's a wasted opportunity to create good will for both your products and your brand. And nothing is worse than nickel-and-diming your customers especially when they're appealing to you for help.

Now imagine what would've happened if HP tech support had actually been helpful — not only enthused to be helpful, but thanked this soldier for his loyalty as a customer, and gotten an address where he could receive packages. And then let's imagine that HP tech support pooled their resources — versus protecting that sacred cow, their bottom line — and sent an HP printer box filled with extra ink cartridges and cookies and movie DVDs and magazines for our boys overseas. I don't know: tell me if this is just too "out there"....

How much are we talking about here? An act of generosity that'd cost less than $300? What about enclosing a banner that also says, "HP thanks you for your service" that the troops can hang up in the mess hall? How much of a dent would that have put in HP's bottom line? Maybe $500? Heck, a few months ago HP's CEO got a raise from $1 million to $1.5 million. Could Meg Whitman be prevailed upon to spring for a boxload of cookies, magazines, and DVDs? Think how many loyal HP customers might've come out of it, especially if the troops then made a video thanking them for it. Among other things, how great to have a product that can withstand "combat duty" in Iraq!

OK, so HP didn't do any of that. (I can just see some dreary middle management guy droning, "Well, now, if we did that for him, we'd have customers expecting us to do it for everyone." Really? What a risk! How much of a pair do you need to have, to offer creature comforts to our soldiers in Iraq, especially knowing the disarray in the current VA, and the type of "support" these boys will be coming home to?) ...

Instead HP alienated a customer who's now made a video repudiating their product, their tech support, and their brand. No surprise, the video's been making the rounds on social media.

But if I worked for one of HP's competitors, I'd be sending this guy a new printer, plus baked goods. You better believe it. If HP can't value their customers, it's open season for someone who will.