News release

HP First Company to Win Two STAR Awards for Outstanding Customer Service and Technical Support

HP today announced it won two STAR Awards from the Service and Support Professionals Association (SSPA). The STAR Awards are the only service and support industry award from a professional association dedicated to serving industry professionals. HP is the first company to win two awards in a single year since the STAR Awards began in 1990.

The SSPA's WebSTAR and High Call Volume awards recognized HP for its commitment to delivering outstanding technical support and service through HP Total Care, HP's comprehensive portfolio of consumer service and support. Going beyond basic service plans and warranties, HP Total Care encompasses how HP talks to its customers, handles support calls, fixes products, delivers Web-based support and identifies new technology innovations.

The WebSTAR award recognized HP for exceptional customer service and technical support via the Web. The award honors companies that appreciate the impact the Internet has on technical support and have helped to set benchmarks against which other organizations can measure their level of online technical support. HP has refined its Web site to be easier to use and responds to e-mail in less than one hour.

The High Call Volume award recognized HP for the quality of customer support delivered through its call centers. Companies that receive this award handle more than 10,000 requests per month for a wide array of products while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. HP's investments ranging from additional agent training to dynamic call routing have helped to solve customer issues fast and effectively.

"Service and support is a high priority for HP. We recognize the impact quality support has on overall customer satisfaction and HP's brand image," said Jim Kemp, director, Consumer Support, Planning and Infrastructure - Americas, HP. "We are continually striving to improve service and support offerings and winning these STAR awards validates our ongoing efforts."

"We have a rigorous application process tied closely to customer satisfaction and judged by peers in the service industry with an average of 20 years' experience," said Bill Rose, founder and executive director, SSPA. "Our awards go to the best of the best, and HP was a clear winner despite the record number of applications we received."

HP Total Care incorporates all service and support functions into a single program, allowing HP to help millions of customers resolve issues easily and effectively. Through the program, HP strives to deliver quality support with one-hour e-mail response times, increased first-time resolution rates and reduced customer hold times. Support information is available at http://www.hp.com/support.

Founded in 1989, the Service and Support Professionals Association was formed to focus on the specific needs of service executives who are responsible for support centers and overall customer relations. Today, the SSPA represents more than 24,000 service professionals at 2,700 support centers worldwide. SSPA was created for professionals, managers and executives that make their living in the IT support services community.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2004, HP revenue totaled $78.4 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.