Report: HP Customer Service Deliberately Hit Consumers with Mandatory 15‑Minute Waits

HP deliberately served consumers in many countries with mandatory 15‑minute wait times during the customer service process, The Register reports.

An automated voice message told all callers: “We are experiencing longer waiting times and we apologize for the inconvenience. The next available representative will be with you in about 15 minutes.”

The wait times were allegedly applied regardless of how busy the firm’s customer service team actually was and affected callers in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Italy. The decision, introduced on Tuesday, Feb. 18, was allegedly to help “influence customers to increase their adoption of digital self‑solve” as a faster way to solve their problems, according to an internal memo leaked by The Register. For example, nudging customers into checking HP’s support page or using their AI chatbot.

HP has now removed the mandatory wait times, according to an official statement shared with The Register, saying the decision to backtrack was based “on initial feedback,” adding that “we know the importance of speaking to live customer service agents in a timely fashion is paramount.”

The company itself has acknowledged the intense frustration that malfunctioning printers can bring. HP’s “Made To Be Less Hated” advertising campaign, which aired in several European countries, actually showed a woman throwing her HP printer out of the window in anger.

HP may not be the only company we see looking to divert callers away from call center employees towards AI chatbots. At the end of last year, Amazon rolled out a new set of AI features for its popular call center software Amazon Connect, which helps firms manage customer service teams. The update allowed users to create, edit, and manage conversational AI bots, potentially lowering the barrier to entry for companies that want to incorporate chatbots into their customer service strategies.

The controversy comes as HP is in the process of transitioning to a subscription‑based model, rather than selling printers and ink individually. HP All‑In Plan offers customers a new printer and supply of cartridges for a fixed monthly fee, which can range from as low as $0.99 to $60.99 for business packages. The new service, introduced in February 2024, offers “24/7 Pro Live support” as well as next‑day replacements for faulty printers.

But if the idea of a subscription printer doesn’t interest you, and if you’d like to try out new printers outside of HP’s portfolio, PCMag has put together a list with some good options.

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About Will McCurdy

Contributor

I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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