Cranky Customer

Regarding my previous post, I just got through talking to Dell Executive offices and I DID get an appropriate resolution. My fight is over and I now AM SATISFIED with the resolution! BTW,in addition, the Tech WILL be dealt with!

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Wow! That's encouraging. I wrote Nance back asking for more details on how he got satisfaction -- what exact steps he took to get them. He replied:

I guess that having kept good documentation over the time that I owned the computer probably helped, and standing my ground. I know it is easy to give up--and at one point I almost did. However, there was that turning point, where one more problem occurred and I stuck to my guns and wanted it working appropriately; when that didn't work, I wanted to be compensated for the troubles. I started taking pictures and movies of the errors to prove my case, and when I felt I wasn't getting what I deserved for my compensation I started asking a call back from the Executive Offices--when that didn't happen I demanded it.

Finally, it did get referred, actually even before my letters reached them. I also have a feeling that I posted the same information on ABC site, yours, and the BusinessWeek site. By the time I got a call this AM my complaint about harassment had already been escalated to the Legal department, --even before I had told them the full complaint. When I told her my story, during which I asked her how she would have felt if she were on the other side of the phone. She was appalled and, I believe, would have given me anything I wanted. I also advised her that I had worked in customer service and Tech support for over 20 years and told her that had anyone in our company treated a customer in this manner they would be fired on the spot! Even the Union couldn't save them.

How it was resolved... she asked what I wanted. After much research I was prepared with which system I felt would be a stable one, and had read many posts about the business systems being more stable and chose one of them. I chose the D830 because it seemed a reasonable request, I requested upgraded screen (closest to what I had, a slight upgrade), 1 gig additional memory, DVD burner-which I had on this, bluetooth (same as current), wireless (same as current), Vista ultimate edition (upgrade), Microsoft Office Business (upgrade), 3 year in home warranty (similar to what I had). As you can see, I wasn't out to break the bank, just get the value of my original purchase and some upgrades to compensate me, as my original purchase had similar upgrades. To her credit she offered me a lot more, but I don't want to go overboard.

Thanks for having your site. I think it might have helped, I also felt it appropriate to let people know that things can be resolved, if you are willing to deal with the time to build a case.

Sincerely, Nance

So there you go. Maybe Dell really is trying harder now. -rc

I bought a Dell about a year ago and I haven't had any problems with it so far. It was the absolute bottom of the line, cheapest laptop they sold. But it came with a $100 rebate. I filled in all the rebate info after I received my laptop, even making copies (the COPIES I kept, the ORIGINALS I sent to Dell) of all the documentation that DELL sent ME! Months later I received a letter that my application was invalid and I would not be receiving my rebate. I was told I could apply to have my application appealed and I did so. AGAIN, sending in copies of DELL'S documentation. It's almost two years now and I have never heard from them again about my $100 rebate. So I just have to tell everyone: If you buy a Dell, don't take the rebate into consideration, because you WON'T GET IT!!

I hope there is only one DellHell...Please tell me there is not RETURN TO DELL HELL.

On Jul 17th, I ordered my daughter a laptop (Pink, just like she wanted) for her to use when she started College in August. I figured a month would be long enough for them to get it to me. Yea, right!

The original ship date was Jul 30. As that date rolled around, I got an email saying it would delayed until Aug 5. Again, an email delaying it until Aug 16. A third delay notice pushed it off until Aug 30. By this time, may daughter was in school and NEEDED the equipment really bad.

If you've ever received one of Dell's delay notices, it states: "We must receive your consent to continue with this order with the revised estimated ship date above. If we do not receive your consent and your order has not already shipped, the FTC requires that we automatically cancel your order and issue a refund."

So, each time, I called and consented, and got assurances it would be the last delay. I even got $100 knocked off the price and priority shipping added for no extra cost.

I had to finally say "Enough!" when a FOURTH delay pushed the delivery date out to OCT 4....Come on--that's 78 days. They could send me the parts and I, who know nothing about building a computer, could have figured put how to put it together in less time then that.

Instead of calling, I EMAILED a pissy response and told them to cancel my order...that was on SEP 6. The next day, I got one of those generated emails saying they received it. I also went out that evening a bought a Sony (pink of course!) so she'd have a computer. It was either that, or she drop two of her classes and I'd lose even more money.

Imagine my surprise when I received an email on SEPT 10th saying my computer had been SHIPPED. Please Dell...you push the latest delivery date out a month, and suddenly you have one available 3 working days later???

Everyone I've told the story to thinks it's a rather odd coincidence.

So now I get to go through DELL RETURN HELL.....

I do feel for those who have to deal with Dell's bottom line customer support. Though since I have Dell XPS systems I seem to get better support than their other lines (XPS systems receive support based in the US, not India).

I had 5 issues with my system over the 3 years of my warranty. Each time they dealt with the issue quickly and painlessly. The first was a bad monitor, they authorized replacement after a 5 minute call. Though their system did repeat the order 3 times. I called tech support got a RMA number and sent the other two back. They even called FedEx to setup the return. My other major problem was with my wireless keyboard & mouse. They just didn't work well and Dell replaced it 3 times. Each time was just a short phone call and the replacement order was filed.

My last problem was thanks to a friend of mine who trashed the system. So no problem, go to safe mode and save the important documents and wipe the system. Well that is where the problems developed. XPS systems have a default in the BIOS, they default to a RAID setting. My system didn't have a RAID configuration...problem, the OS disk was saying I didn't have a hard drive since it could not find the RAID controller. Calling Tech Support was a breeze since it was American Support and the tech understood I knew what I was talking about. He told me about the XPS BIOS problem and problem solved. Though he was nice enough to stay on the line until the install was done, then remotes to my system and finishes all the driver installs for me (saved me the extra time searching for them off their site...).

It wasn't until I dialed a wrong support number that I found Dell Hell...I needed one disk that never came with my system. I spent 5 hours with Indian support trying to explain what I needed...not one bothered to understand my problem. It wasn't until I called XPS support again, that I was given the right number to call and solved my problem.

Sad to say, if you purchase a Dell...Best to purchase an XPS model. At least you will get better tech support and should get most of your problems solved in a timely manner.

Beware Gateway hell, too!

It took over a year and the California Consumer Affairs department's intervention before Gateway took back their malfunctioning computer.

Had to send back immediately for problems. Got back w/in a week, with new problems, especially floppy drive that sounded like a box of hyper-active castanettes. Many many many calls, getting diverted to wrong departments, being given all sorts of technological mumbo jumbo... being hung up on a few times because I INSISTED on resolution...

It escalated to an executive complaint person, who told me it was supposed to sound that way... me, who had worked on Commodores, Amigas, Apples, Xerox 6085's and 8010's, CompuPros, Laniers, Wangs, gobs and gobs of different PC's on various temp jobs, plus my own, etc. ...and worked in Silicon Valley for 20 years cheek-to-jowl with both hardware and software engineers... Gateway said it was only returnable after 15 days--10 of which they had in their possession to fix (another 4 of shipping)... 14 pages of letters, including documentation from my ISP technician that it was neither a software nor ISP problem that was causing a secondary problem... even one of their tech's had told me the floppy drive's noise was a defect... so, VISA credited the money... but, Gateway refused to take back the laptop for a full year... even turned it over to a collection agency...

After getting the State of California sicced on 'em they relented and took back the computer... the conversation w/ the guy who had told me I was wrong about the floppy drive's noise was funny... you could tell he was gritting his teeth by authorizing the return (they had to send a pre-paid box)... and I delighted in several "pokes" at him, like: "So, now you know you were wrong and I was right... obviously, I am not as stupid and powerless as you thought... you really though you could get away with it, didn't you; well, you didn't... and you won't say you're sorry for the hell you put me through, but I'll bet you're damned sorry you messed with me."

After I hung up, I imagined him slamming his phone receiver up and down for a while in utter frustration and humiliation. Boy that felt good!

My CD burner never quite worked properly when I got my dell dimension. It would only burn 7 songs before flaking out. I tried everything different CD's, new software etc. I was on the phone with a dell technician for 4 hours while he tried to fix the burner remotely. He could not and then suggested a factory reset. I refused because I spend a lot of time customing my computer. By now the burner didn't even recognize CDs anymore. My friend who is a programmer tested different softwares came to the conclusion, the burner was defective.

I called Dell telling them that the device is defective and they needed to replace it. The first technician spoke in a very low voice and even after reading my case insisted he check himself when I told him a technician had already looked it over for four hours and if they could please just replace the burner. When I asked to speak to his supervisor, he said hold on then hung up on me! I called back got another technician.I finally relented and allowed her to remotely look at my burner. After about 2 hours of her doing the EXACT same thing the first technician did, she came to the conclusion, it was defective. She said the part would be ordered, a technician would call sometime next week to install the new burner.

2 weeks later after no call from the technician (I was busy at the time so I didn't mind waiting), I get a frantic call from Dell, I had to call the technician or they were going to return the part.

The technician is supposed to come on Monday, we shall see.

I'm keeping my Dell for two more years, then I'm buying a MAC.

My name is Jacqueline. I am writing to express my frustration with Dell. My son, Beau, is a 22 year old who is a computer science major at the University of Maryland. Last year I bought him a brand new Dell laptop computer, without incident. At the start of the semester this year, a bunch of kids who he thought were "friends" stole his computer from his room. Of course, we filed a police report. My son was devastated that so called "friends" would steal from him, and secondly, his precious computer was gone! The night before I had been typing my resume on his laptop and he asked me to wash my hands prior to using it! He would wrap it up in its case after every use and respected his work instrument.

Naturally, I had to get him another Dell, as he refused any other brand, and as his major requires a top notch computer where he can perform his complex operations. To make a long story short, I paid for a Dell around the end of August, beginning of Sept, and it is now October 12, 2007, and my poor son has been receiving excuse after excuse for the loss of the computer at the shipment site, and now I don't even know what their excuse is. My son is a mild, quiet, gullible person who is not street savvy and accepts everything at face value. He is still patiently waiting for his precious Dell. I, on the other hand, have called Dell yesterday, outraged, and insisting that they should compensate me with a new and free computer. The customer service supervisor agreed that I deserved compensation but not a free computer. I told him that any judge would award me a free computer for having my $1,100+ dollars tied up in the Dell Corporation for over 1.5 months, not to mention my son's anguish while waiting, and having to perform his complex computer science operations on a lousy, old, slow, rickety computer borrowed from a friend. He is sleeping fewer hours because of the extra time he spends on his work...because he refuses to get anything less than "A's" in computer science. I'd like to know what Michael Dell thinks of this.

So here's my horror story, freshly minted (the end just happened less than three hours ago).

I've been using a dell for more than six years now - I got a Dimension desktop from my mother as a going-away present when I started college, and it's held up remarkably well. So when I decided it was time to get a new machine, I went back to the same company. I ended up buying from Dell Outlet - after configuring a new computer on their main site, I found almost the exact same setup, plus a far better video card, for much less money as a "previously ordered new" offer - that is, it had been configured for a previous customer who then either canceled the order or returned it unopened.

A few days later, the computer showed up at my home, and the first thing I noticed when I booted it up was a loud buzzing noise coming from the video card every time it rendered anything in three dimensions - and since the computer had Windows Vista loaded on it, it was rendering 3D almost all the time. This started as soon as the computer booted for the first time - before the first image appeared on the monitor, even. So much for the comprehensive testing of refurbished equipment.

After an hour on the phone with an overseas tech support rep, I managed to convince them that yes, a loud buzzing noise coming from the video card means there's something wrong with the video card, and got them to send me a replacement. But before I could even get the new card installed, the hard drive failed. I went through the same rigamarole to convince them that the computer's sudden failure to boot up, coupled with a loud clicking sound coming from the hard drive, meant there was something wrong with the disk.

At this point (two days after delivery, for those keeping score at home), I decided that I'd gotten a lemon, and took the tech guy up on his offer to have the entire computer replaced with a brand-new one. I got a case number and waited for news that the replacement was shipping out. And waited. And waited.

Two weeks later, the replacement appeared in my order history on the Dell website. Good news, right? Not so much.

Instead of being the same configuration as the computer I'd paid for - or even a rough equivalent - the "replacement" machine had half the memory of the one I ordered, a processor that was 25% slower, and had none of the optional features I'd paid for. Of course, there was no partial refund involved with this trade-down, nor did I get a chance to decline it - it was pure luck that I checked my account status and saw the specifications before it shipped. I contacted customer service about this, but by the time I got done with work for the day and had a chance to talk with someone, the computer had already shipped out, so I started asking how I could return this unwanted machine and get a the model that I ordered. It took a few days to get a straight answer out of anyone, but here's what came out.

When you order a warranty replacement for a complete computer, Dell will not send you another copy of the model you ordered. They'll send you something they consider "comparable," which in my case seemed to translate to "Whatever we have lying around at the moment." The specific features, components, etc., are based entirely on the luck of the draw, and they "would not commit" to a promise that the replacement machine would bear any resemblance to the one I ordered. They did give me the option to return the replacement and go through the lottery again. I didn't jump at the chance.

This is the first time I've ever had a company outright tell me that paying for a certain product is no guarantee that I'll get it. So be warned - if you have the bad luck to get a defective computer from Dell, they reserve the right to replace it with whatever they want, no matter what you actually paid for.

I consider myself lucky to have gotten out of this mini-nightmare with a full refund, and I'm done with Dell. I still like my old Dimension (hell, I'm using it to write this), but as far as getting a new computer goes, I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole.

Don't waste your money on a Dell service contract.

I purchased next day on site support service. The screen on my less than 3 month old dell laptop computer died. After 6 calls to the tech service folks and waiting around for two days for a call from the local support service provider, I was finally told the minimum time needed for a repair is 3 days. You call it in, if it is before noon they send your part out overnight that day. Then after the part is delivered to the local dell service provider, he has another 24 hours to call you to even make an appointment to do the repair. So best case scenario is that on the third business day the tech might show up to do the repair.

In my case, I called in the problem at 10:30 am on Thurs. Oct 25. Part was shipped out on the 25th and arrived in my area at 8:06 am on Friday, October 26th. Did not get a call from local Dell tech repair service on Friday. They of course offer no service on Sat or Sun.

I am still waiting to even hear from local Dell support tech to set up an appointment. I paid for next day service--not 72 hour or 5, 6 days later service. If you advertise next day service and make people pay hundreds of dollars for next day service--you should give next day service.

I have been a loyal Dell customer since the early 90's. I have bought Dell computers for the entire staff at 3 different companies where I have worked. Dell has let me down, cost me business, and wasted my time.

My husband is set to deploy soon, and our primary lifeline to him while he is away is through his laptop. His last Dell lasted him through the last deployment, so we figured we'd order a new one for him. MISTAKE!! He found the one he needed, went through the personalization, and sent his order in. A few days after its ''supposed arrival date'', the tracking window told us it was still in production. When we called our rep, he told us that it was ''built wrong' and would have never been shipped the way it was (but we would not have been informed). So we canceled the order and re-ordered (switching rep's in the process,because he apparently ''disapeared'').

We became suspicious after another week going by and the tracking telling us we were still ''in production'', so we contacted our second rep to ask what was going on. Surprise, but somehow we weren't getting any return phone calls, or emails. Turns out, she just ditched our case also, and ''disapeared''. At this point, two and a half weeks after our original order, we we're definitely becoming enraged. Our THIRD rep told us that she was going to ''handle and watch over'' our order to make sure nothing goes wrong. She gave us her word and told us another date to expect our order to be shipped. Low and behold, the day comes and goes, and we see our order is still in processing. We call our third rep, and conference call with her manager. We are informed that our laptop should be shipped the next day.

Two days later, we are sent an email telling us that the laptop has been ''illegally configurated''... When we call back that day, we went through 2 hour long conversations about why its not being shipped. The manager promises to personally take care of it, and offers us 250$ of free merchandise from dell. The next day we're finally informed that the computer we had ordered (that was on the website for almost 4 months) was a brand new computer, and had never been made!!!! WHAT!!!! They said we were going to be the first ones to get it!!! It was an unbelievably sad thing to be lied to so blatantly. We know of others who have this laptop, and customers writing about it online, so we know this has been in production for some time, but for some reason, Dell felt it needed to cover up its mistakes by lying to us. Finally, we were told that it would be here within the next few days.

It is now almost four weeks after our original order, 2 order cancellations, tons of phone calls and emails, and we still have yet to receive our order

After checking the email a few minutes ago, I learn we were lied to again, and it's going to take another 5 business days. Let's see if it ever comes.

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My advice: CANCEL the order, and get a computer from someone else. You're asking for trouble if there's this much difficulty in making a production computer for you. -rc