Compaq ups free support

Three-year warranty aimed at millennium

Compaq is offering three years? on-site support free of charge for customers buying Deskpro machines over the next two months, writes Sean Fleming.

The PC maker said last week that the offer would save users who wanted three years? on-sites support #500 per machine.

All PCs in the Compaq Deskpro range bought between 15 April and 1 July will be covered by the extended warranty. The standard Compaq warranty offers one year on-site support, followed by two years? back-to-base cover. IBM?s standard warranty on its desktop PCs offers no on-site support, just three years back-to-base cover. Dell and HP charge for any extension beyond one year?s on-site and two years? back-to-base cover.

David Petts, Compaq commercial business unit director, said Compaq wanted to offer free support to cover more customers up to ? and beyond ? 2000. The extended warranty promotion is intended to attract users who have traditionally bought lesser known brands, he added.

Phil Humphries, infrastructure manager at Surrey Police, hoped the scheme would enable him to reduce the charges levied by his maintenance provider. ?We outsource warranty management to a third party. This means I?ll be looking for a reduction in fees,? he said. He added that comparing levels of support from vendors is a key factor when buying kit.

Petts denied that the promotion was an attempt to eliminate overstocking, which was partly to blame for Compaq?s poor financial performance in the first quarter.

?This is an attempt to generate demand,? said Petts. ?But it is not directly linked to the problem of surplus stock in the channel.?