HP faces channel ire......in Chandigarh

HP's policy with regard to incentive payments and after-sales support has
become a cause of concern for channel partners in Chandigarh. While a number of
partners in the region are unhappy due to the delay in incentive payments, the
company's policy of holding back some of the payments and further
misappropriation in the accounting of the same is adding channel woes. In
addition, the quality of after-sales support and the time involved in offering
the same is deteriorating day-by-day, posing problems for partners and their
customers.

In view of the increasing number of complaints, Chandigarh IT Association is
contemplating banning HP in the region. A senior member of the association
stated, “We held a meeting a few days ago and discussed various problems we have
been facing from HP's end. It was decided that if HP does not pay heed to our
queries we may stop all billings for the company until they are agree to resolve
matters amicably.”

When contacted, an HP dealer in Chandigarh, informed The DQ Week on the
condition of anonymity, “HP has been delaying a number of our incentive payments
and in some cases the delay has been for as long as two years. In between
several programs were annou­nced and we did receive incentive payments towards
them but there are several other programs for which incentives are yet to be
handed out by HP.”

Rajiv Grover, Director-Consumer Products, Personal Systems Group, HP stated,
“HP has a transparent incentive process for all partners wherein all
incen­tives, programs and achieve­ments are documented and payouts are made as
per the programs released. We also follow rigorous TAT targets on incentive
payouts and review process for pending payouts. HP has also invested in a large
sales team whose charter is to manage the final tier along with target and
incentive management.”

Giving clarification on the after-sales support issue, Grover reiterated, “At
HP, we have a well defined structured processes/tracking mechanism to ensure
that all cases are closed with defined timelines. Once the call is logged in our
systems it gets resolved within the timeline. To ensure customer convenience, we
update them through SMS as well on the status of their service request.”