An American in Jordan

Several weeks ago, my HP wireless printer broke.  It is less than a year old and still under warranty, so I took the receipt back to PC Zone to see what could be done.  PC Zone referred me to Emitac (Emirates Technology Co.) in Jordan, as they are the official HP/Acer service center.

So I boxed up the entire printer, complete with cords, manuals, hardware and software, and dragged it down to the Jordan Trade Center on Queen Rania Street.  Once I arrived and explained the situation, they pulled the printer out of the box and told me that they would have a technician look at it and call me in two days.  I asked whether they needed any other contents in the box, but they assured me that they didn’t.

Four days pass with no word.  I was getting ready to leave for Thailand the next day and had loads of work to do, but I took a break and called Emitac to determine the status of my printer.  When I finally connected with a customer care representative, she informed me that they needed the electrical cord for the printer before they could work on it.  I was a bit perturbed, because I had originally brought the cord in and was assured that it was not needed.  I didn’t question that assurance because 1) they should know what they are doing and 2) they are an official service center so they should have the extra parts needed for repair, etc., including electrical cords.  The customer care representative asked whether I could bring the cord in that day, but I couldn’t due to my schedule.

Eight days later, I return from Thailand and take the cord in to Emitac.  They assure me that they’ll call me in a couple days about the printer status.

I was busy with a conference for the next eleven days, but still no word from Emitac.  The conference ended on a Thursday evening and Emitac is closed on Friday, so I couldn’t check on the status immediately.

Fast forward a couple more days.  I’m behind in my work due to traveling and conferences, so I take a couple days to dig out from under my inbox.  I finally called Emitac today and the customer care representative informed me that the printer still hadn’t been looked at and would need another 2-4 weeks before it could be serviced.

That’s when I lost it.  I started arguing with the girl and telling her that this situation was ridiculous!  They’ve already had my printer for nearly four weeks and now they’re telling me it may be another four weeks before I get it back!  What kind of customer service is that?  Since when did it take two months to fix a printer?  I demanded that they either fix the printer immediately or provide me with a brand new one of the same make and model.

I just received a phone call from the girl at Emitac.  She had just spoken with her manager and informed me that I could come in and pick up my printer on Sunday.  It’s about time.