Well Dunn, indeed, Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard’s in hot water for using dicey tactics to investigate leaks to the news media. There’s been a boardroom shakeup, and a federal probe has begun. Memo to the U.S. district attorney’s office for Northern California: While you’re looking into the spying allegations, can you find out what happened to my rebate? About 15 months back, I bought a Macintosh iBook G4 (like I’d even consider an HP Pavilion) at the Apple Store in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The Mac Genius (that’s what they call themselves; great name for a post-modern Bond villain) said if I forked over an extra $100 for an HP printer, I’d get the money back in the form of a rebate. Well, I followed the instructions and I still haven’t seen my rebate. Maybe they were a bit too preoccupied to cut me a check? Maybe company chair/spymaster Patricia Dunn (as a Bond villain, she’d be Patricia Well-Dunn) found some “special” uses for my hundred clams. Second note to U.S. district attorney’s office: If you subpoena information and HP sends over Apple laptops, head for the hills—everyone knows those batteries are faulty and the things are exploding all over the place. Foiled again, Mac Genius! As for HP ... their positive public image, for the time being at least, is ... well, done.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

September 13, 2006 | Permalink