The HP Any-Color-But-Red LaserJet
When Corporate Policy Undermines A Brand Promise
The Hewlett Packard website describes the LaserJet series as "Fast, high-quality, high-volume laser printing (color or black)." Unfortunately for users of the 2605 series, the "color" option doesn't include red. At least, not if you use the printer for a few months. After that, the printer stops printing red because the engineers designed the red and yellow laser imaging assemblies to face upwards. Dust quickly collects on the mirrors and lenses, blocking the laser light. No laser light means no more printing of these colors or any combination thereof.
I emailed HP and a tech confirmed this was a design flaw. "The information you have provided is correct. We have com accross [sic] such issues with this model printer."
My problems started six months into the one-year warranty and I immediately sought support through the HP website. There I found out I could disassemble the printer, clean the laser unit, and get it working again for a time. I did so, and this was my mistake.
When the dust problem returned I got on the phone with HP support. After hours bouncing around between "the wrong people," HP challenged me to prove I had contacted them before the warranty expired. I couldn't, and HP company policy provided no wiggle room. I eventually even wrote a letter to the VP of Imaging and Printing. The best offer I got was to pay near full price for a rebuilt printer of the same flawed model. The VP's office actually offered to send me a bonus toner cartridge. I certainly didn't need a spare toner cartridge for a printer that didn't work.
Now yes, my printer was now out of warranty, but wait--this was a design flaw with this model of printer. So every single unit in this series would eventually fail. (You can read examples on the HP forums of people who've gone through as many as 3 of these printers.) Wouldn't HP provide some sort of partial refund for people who bought a color printer and expected it would print color for a reasonable period of time?
Wrong again. It didn't matter to HP that the printer was fundamentally flawed. Company policy was company policy: no refunds for defective printers, even during the warranty period. HP was happy to have made the sale and didn't want to lose any income by providing compensation after-the-fact for a defective product.
The problem with this reasoning is that HP's policy undermines their brand equity. Sure they save a few bucks by denying replacements for defective LaserJet printers. But this myopic policy misses the fact that they lose real dollars when they alienate customers. Past purchasers who get burned spread the word that the HP LaserJet brand is not reliable.
When a brand breaks a promise, the brand can actually become a liability. Instead of a willingness to pay more for a particular brand, customers will actually pay more for a competing brand. Instead of seeking out the original brand, they will go out of their way to avoid it.
I bought this HP LaserJet printer because I thought the brand represented the premier line of laser printers. My actual experience with the LaserJet brand taught me it is actually the least reliable brand of all printers I've owned.
I have a new Brother brand laser printer now. And yes, even months later it still prints red.
posted by David Board at
7:12 PM
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