News release

J.D. Power and Associates Recognizes HP for Outstanding Customer Service for Consumers

HP today announced it has become the first company to receive the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Technology Service and Support certification for providing an outstanding customer service experience.

The award is based on cross-industry customer satisfaction research and an extensive audit conducted by J.D. Power and Associates, one of the most credible third-party sources of market information.

To earn the certification, HP performed within the top 20 percent of technology support organizations on a variety of customer service criteria. J.D. Power and Associates found that HP has met or exceeded this new standard for customer satisfaction in supporting its North American customers.

“We know that 80 percent of customers consider service and support when buying a technology product,” said Bob Weis, vice president, Consumer Customer Operations – North America, HP. “Making this achievement visible to our customers will create another compelling reason to buy from HP. J.D. Power and Associates has always defined the standard for excellence, and this certification demonstrates our commitment to providing an outstanding support experience to our customers.”

Consumers will soon see the J.D. Power and Associates service mark on product boxes, websites and advertising for everything from HP PCs and all-in-one devices to HP cameras and fee-based services.

Jointly developed by the Service and Support Professionals Association and J.D. Power and Associates, the certification is unique in three ways:

• It evaluated 195 aspects in five key areas of HP’s service and support operation that directly impact the customer experience, including call centers, repair depots, online support, real-time chat, email support, operational processes and fee-based services;
• It only applies to technology companies; and
• It surveyed a large number of customers on their phone, online or product repair experience to assess their satisfaction.

The certification is valid for one year.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $85.2 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.