News release

HP Ranked Top U.S. Company for Online Customer Respect

HP (NYSE:HPQ) is ranked first among the top 100 U.S. companies in online customer respect and online customer experience, according to The Customer Respect Group, an independent global consulting and research firm that focuses on how corporations treat their customers online.

Outranking leaders of multiple industries, including its competitors Dell and IBM in the technology arena, HP earned the highest score among the top 100 U.S. companies by receiving a 9.7 out of a possible 10.

This is the second time in 2003 that the Customer Respect Group has recognized HP. In a separate survey in April, HP was ranked the No. 1 high-tech firm for online customer respect.

"HP is a customer-driven organization. With hp.com we're striving to create an online environment that is the most satisfying and rewarding for visitors, especially in the areas that mean the most to consumers -- online privacy, data collection policies, customer-focus and engagement, simplicity, and responsiveness," said Marius Haas, vice president, worldwide e-Business, HP. "One year after merging two of the technology industry's largest and most complex Web sites, we're providing customers with the best online experience available from any U.S. company."

The Bellevue, Wash.-based Customer Respect Group's 2003 Online Customer Respect study examined more than 1,000 Web sites in detail to determine 25 different Web site attributes that, combined, create the entire online customer experience. The resulting Customer Respect Index is a qualitative and quantitative in-depth analysis and independent measure of a customer's online experience when interacting with companies via the Internet.

"We congratulate HP on its first-place showing in our 2003 Customer Respect Group study," said Terri McNulty, chief executive officer, the Customer Respect Group. "HP displays a customer-centric attitude by responding quickly and thoroughly to online inquiries, and provides a sound privacy policy and an easy-to-navigate site. These core ingredients of online customer respect should help it maximize its Web investments."

HP.com hosts more than 1.2 million unique visitors a day, serving as a key point of entry to the company and its products and services. As a critical customer touch point for the company, hp.com helps HP provide customers with the maximum choice in how they do business with the company.

More information about the Customer Respect Group ranking is available at www.customerrespect.com.

About HP

HP delivers vital technology for business and life. The company's solutions span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing for consumers, enterprises and small and medium business. For the last four quarters, HP revenue totaled $70.4 billion. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.