Well, I’m seriously impressed… Not!
Recently, HP proudly announced that its (admittedly free) training site had enjoyed a re-vamp. Now, I’ve been a fairly dedicated user of HP’s training for over 10 years: I always found it good, if a little clunky sometimes, so I log in to the new site (after a couple of password-changes as it wouldn’t accept the old one, or the first re-issue: strange) and am less than overwhelmed. What is it with designers that they love dark, dismal themes?
Anyway, artistic considerations notwithstanding, I eventually arrive on the ‘My Classes’ page, ready to review which classes I’ve already done and which new ones look attractive and… You’ve guessed it: there are NO RECORDS of the courses I’d done in the last ten years!
‘Oh’, thinks I, ‘ Must be broken.’ So I email support. This morning, I get a message:
“Thank you for contacting the HP Learning Center. Due to the migration to the new system we were unable to retain the records of classes you previously completed. You can however take the course again (you can quickly go through the lessons) and your records will be updated. You will also be able to print out the certificate of completion at that time.”
Take the course again? Interesting approach. Over the last 10 years I have completed something like 180 courses from this web site, many of which are no longer available (so, one assumes, may be obsolescent) but even allowing for this, where would I find the time to re-do perhaps 100 courses? And that’s before I begin anything new.
Can I be bothered? You bet I can’t.
Oh, I’ll probably continue to use them, but I’m irritated enough to look elsewhere for courses so probably won’t be as prolific.
Do HP care? You bet they don’t…