The debacle caused by cheap HP TouchPad sale continues. Employees at HP, instead of working, yesterday, spent most of the day trying to buy TouchPads to no avail due to a technical glitch. Today, they will try to buy the $99 and $149 9.7" tablets again, depleting stock.
An HP employee wrote us telling us that work productivity was way down yesterday at HP due to employees trying until 3:00pm to buy HP TouchPads (see his story at the end of this.)
HP employees received an email today asking them not to call the call center but to keep trying the special websale link and refreshing the cache. If employees get through to the order process but fail to get a confirmation page, they are requested not to hit the submit button again. The order was most likely received and can be verified on the order status page. The issues were technical.
Therefore HP employees will continue to use HP time to buy TouchPads while the bargain-hunting masses hope that there are some left for them. The email noted "at present the rate of TouchPad supply will not last for long."
We know that HP did make some more TouchPads, gave employees first choice, but don't know if any will be left for the general public. Apparently according to an HP employee's Twitter feed some HP TouchPads are showing up at retailers, still:
There ARE tweeters who tell me they found TP @ retailers still. Help each other using
#FoundTP if you have tips.
Comment from Wireless and Mobile News: FoundTP shouldn't that be a hash tag for public restroom seekers?
Meanwhile, there is hope for tablet cheapskates, the Amazon Kindle Fire, was fired off yesterday with presales and a delivery date of November 15, it is almost as good as the HP TouchPad but smaller and without Bluetooh (read our Dare2Compare HP TouchPad vs. iPad2).
When Meg Whitman was appointed CEO to HP some analysts suggested that she learn from the TouchPad, while others doubted if the HP TouchPad would ever come back.
Here's what our reader observed:
Yesterday's sale of the remaining stock of HP TouchPads to employees only probably cost HP 10?s of millions of dollars in lost productivity. As you know an email went out a few weeks ago to all HP employees and retirees letting them know that they will have an exclusive opportunity to buy the last of the TouchPads for $99 or $149. The sale would start at 8AM PST on the epp (employees)online storefront, 1 only per address and first come first severed until they were all gone.
For a company that is betting it’s reputation and future on serving and servicing Enterprise companies you would think someone would have made sure the storefront servers could handle the demand. Nope, the servers were overloaded and rejecting customers 15 minutes after 8AM, you would get an “we are experiencing a greater than normal demand, try back later screen.
Also everyone at most HP locations along with those at home including retirees and spouses were all trying to log in and get the 1 only Touchpad. So most workers and everyone else would hit the tablets button and get the hourglass of death for 5 to 8 minutes before you got to the “try back later screen” and your PC was locked up during that 5 to 8 minutes. That was happening in just about ever cubical in all the HP locations. Every 20 or 30 minutes word would spread that someone in your group or floor got one ordered, but I don’t know of more than 4 folks that got one at our location, 3,000 HP employees.
This craziness went on from 8AM until 3PM when word spread that all he touchpads were sold. Most thought it was a lie just to get everyone back to work, so we all keep trying to buy one.
What a cluster (you know what), this board and much of the new management added the last 18 months are as dumb as a bag of rocks. Thank God my retirement is in a 401K not our old retirement program ended in the 80?s, and just 1 more year and I can pull the pin and leave HP. Really sad though this was once the best company to work for in the entire world, now it’s almost embarrassing to say you have been with HP over 30 years.
Negativity abounds. HP offered the touchpad at the best buy prices. after enduring pay cuts, 401k contribution cuts and long grueling hours, i was afraid being remote would dis allow me the opportunity to cash in.
Yeah, there were web site issues. my email worked while i was waiting and i was able to work. If i lost a little productivity, it'll be made up. the work gets done. Kinda cool to be in the company and get a discount like this instead of hearing how it gets pounced on at Best Buy and resold on eBay for a profit.
Hey, it's cheap enough to buy now. So, let the naysayers say nay. HP cuts a deal for employees and employees whine. kind of makes you wonder? anyhow, whine away. I've been working for 42 years @ HP the past 4 due to being purchased. I've seen some hard times in contracting, twice every month my pay gets deposited. Funny how someone who has a job can whine about getting a deal on top of it.
It's especially frustrating to those of use who have Touchpads still in the system on backorder from the fire sale in August. It seems to me that HP should have seen to it that our orders were filled first, and then allowed their employees to order the tablet.
Everybody knows HP's board is the worst in history and they have really screwed up and ripped off this great company but HP will prevail.
20 years at HP and counting.
Another bad idea from HP, trying to compete with IPAD,another bad quality product from a corporation who doesn't know to make computers.
Im my lifetime I don't buy nothing else from HP.
I still believe in HP. As an HP employee, you should not act like this. You are even given a favor to purchase the HP Touchpad at unbelievably low price as an HP employee. You really have the nerve to tell crap about HP, who fed you for over 30 years! What are you?
The HP employee's statement in the article has some lies.
The EPP site did experiece issues and only sproadic number of orders were confirmed in the first 4 hours; however, after that the site was up, responsive, and fast. Everyone in my office that wanted one got one on the 28th and 29th. When the sale ended on EPP, there were still 32G TouchPad stock left over.
It appears that HP employees are dealing with many issues. HP has had a great reputation for a very long time.
We believe employees are entitled to a good deal. Consumers, however, have fallen in love the HP TouchPad and want them too.
As Bryna Corcoran continually says on Twitter., "We're the messenger that's all."
I ordered my Touchpad around noon on a short break for lunch from the HP EPP site. I was in and out in 5 minutes with accessories to boot. I had always thought that owning a tablet would be too expensive a prospect. It's nice to know that my employer thought of me (and you). They didn't have to do that.
So, no productivity lost here.
And by the way, among my other computers, IBM, Sony Vaio, Dell, etc. all have died a slow, painful death. The only one that's still going strong is my HP.
Do I think HP is a perfect company? No. But then neither were any of the other big name companies for whom I've worked. I have a job. I get a paycheck. I get rewarded if I go above and beyond.
HP is your employer for which they pay you a salary or rate. They owe you nothing else. It's business. Get over it.
To be fair, the sale was messy. And things were pretty chaotic when the sale launched at 9 am PST (not 8). And yes, senior management couldn't exhibited more wisdom by putting the sale in the evening versus smack dab during the day. But, in the end -- it was ok and I got a Touchpad. I think its a great device and I hope HP gives WebOS devices another shot (assuming they remember the lessons learned).
It's so clear that the epp is using HP machines.
It's so clear that HP machines cannot handle "high demand of request".
I'm a tech guy. I also have handful of good resolutions to the encountered issue. I don't know why HP can't think of any solutions. All because both HP professionals and machines are dumb.
No wonder HP these days are so bad.