Don't buy a Dell
 

Unless you appreciate 3 hours worth of being put on hold, transferred, and dropped calls to make a purchase. By "making a purchase", I mean using gift cards bought ($50 card received for $300 purchased, so if I was gonna spend $600+, why not get $100 back towards something else, right?).

It went downhill from there and since the gift cards were purchased, I was already pot committed. Otherwise, I wouldn't be stuck with the computer I bought last night.

:sl:sl:sl

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Sorry to hear about this Duane, me and the mrs. are looking for a computer for xmas and I really want a Dell, I miss mine (it caught on fire.....long story) Hard to believe their CS has gone downhill, I have heard horror stories (like yours), but not from my own personal experience.

When I had my Dell I received EXCELLENT CS......maybe an ASUS is the way to go....sigh.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Go easy on them Duane, maybe they were having a rough day because a dog crapped on their lawn.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Wow, sounds horrible.

Build it yourself.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I say you go all steampunk and build one that runs on charcoal. ;)

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Generalizations are easy when you are in the midst of frustration but generalizations are not a good thing...

I have a Dell computer at home and at work. I have had to call tech support a few times (for my personal system at home) and while I had to go through the usual wait and hoop-jumping, they are no worse than:

- HP
- Apple (try calling about a issue after a software update or new product release)
- Microsoft
- Google

This is the customer service we have in an outsourced world.

BTW, I actually like my Dell system. Nice laptop at home and a great desktop at work.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I'd call back and complain until they give you another gift card. Use your strengths and wear them down.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Sorry to hear about your troubles with dell... Really the only reason why I like them is the killer warranty you can get... I paid about $3K (i think_ for my laptop when I started college about 4 years ago (originally went in for engineering) and about $500-600 of that was the "you break it we fix it 4 year warranty". During the warranty time I had the following replaced under warranty with 0 questions and next day shipping:
Motherboard
5 keyboards
6 power supplies
Probably some other stuff that I cant think of at the moment.. Worth every penny of that warranty

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Kind of a cheap shot that opens you up to certain liability unless you can document the problems. For the record, my wife and I have owned several Dells and HP's and they have performed up to the standards that were claimed. You need to discuss this with your dealer and document the problems since libel suits really suck and the customer normally loses. For the record, I am a retired psychologist and have no financial interest in Dell but accusations have to be carefully considered before being made. Try mediation with the vendor first. The reason that I say this is that I have seen very decent folks get screwed when bad accustions have been made against vendors. Good luck getting your machine working again as it should.:tu

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Cheap shot? I'd be more than happy to post my cell phone call history and online chat transcripts for the past 24 hours if you consider it libel. This is a purchase, not an existing PC.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I just got rid of a Dell desktop that I had for over 9 years and it ran without any problems until the last month. No complaints here. They make a quality product, they outsource their customer service just like most companies these days.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

We run Dell's in my office. Optiplex GX320s if I am not mistaken. I would say we have had to replace the Power supplies in about 60% of them.

Side note, I did order my wife a Dell 17" laoptop, and the first one came in defective, and they replaced it with an upgraded processor, and more ram. They also sent the new one out with a return label for me to mail the busted one back.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I just bought a Lenovo during the black friday sale, and its AWSOME!
Customer service was great!

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Been using Dell's for ten years with no problems. :tu

Looks like you need to just stop buying stuff as you seem to have problems with everything you buy. :sh

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

If I understand you correctly, you were attempting to make a purchase, and pay for it using gift cards you already had in your possession? What exactly was the problem? Were the employees not knowledgeable in how to handle the transaction? Was there a language barrier issue?

Your original assessment, however...that I have to disagree with rather strongly. The frustration is understandable, but you haven't told us exactly what happened. You may have had a bad experience with them, it's understandable, it happens to almost everyone with just about any company possible (including myself and Dell a few times). More factors than we can think of go into making a company operate smoothly, and just one random, seemingly insignificant factor can cause the whole system to come to a crashing grinding halt in mere moments.

Being the the tech field for over 12 years, I have absolutely nothing against Dell as a company other than the period where the call center was outsourced to Asia somewhere. I generally recommend Dell products to most people purely because of the superb warranty service. And I've ordered numerous computers via phone and web orders before from Dell with not a single problem on their side.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I have owned 3 Dells since the company started, and have been happy with their products and their customer service.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Yesterday at 3pm, I chatted with a Dell sales rep. He said I could use a promo gift card (card in possession) with regularly purchased gift cards. Dell has a special that for every $300 in gift cards you purchase, you get an additional gift card. Thus if I'm spending ~$750 for a computer, it's a no brainer to buy and purchase with gift cards. After all, it's like an additional $100 off, right?

I purchase 2 gift cards (wouldn't allow me to buy 1 card for $600). Immediate notice to call and verify. Within 15 minutes, first card arrives via email as she said both would be emailed. An hour later, still nothing. I call back and said never got the 2nd card. She said she resent it and would have it in 3-5 minutes (no, it's not in my spam folder). Never happened. I call again and then get them to email to an alternate address and shows up. By that time, the outlet sales is closed and not a live person to talk to and I'm passed back and forth between departments, put on hold waiting to speak to a "supervisor" (that never happened by the way). The problem is Dell's site doesn't allow you to use more than one gift card per purchase, although you can with a live person on the phone.

Just finished another 45 minutes of calls and from what I'm told, they're not even certain if my order was processed. I have a order acknowledgement from Dell stating the system, pricing, etc. They won't know until tonight if the order actually went through or not. My gift card still has the full balance on it.

So now, I'm between 4.5 to 5 hours on the phone with someone from Dell and there may not even be an order in yet. If the order is not confirmed tonight, I'm calling the gift card dept and demanding my money back. I'll get something else instead.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I have 2 Dell laptops and a Dell desktop. Never had a problem and the 2 laptops have received good attention for the issues they had 2 weeks ago. One still doesn't seem fully resolved, but they've tried with 3 trips out thus far. I give them props for that. This experience however has been more time and headache and hassle than when I bought my last house and that includes the entire process.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Since our company had a Dell contract for most of the time I've been here and I buy a lot of things from Dell, I've dealt with their customer service a lot. I agree, sometimes it is the BIGGEST pain in the ass the way they do things. Most of the time though their CS department gets it right and their prices are pretty fair.

Those few calls that don't go well though really do put a sour taste in your mouth though. Sorry to hear your frustrating story :(

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

;s:tpd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAYL5H46QnQ

Seems appropriate

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

:tpd:

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

MAC Baby!!!!! :tu

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I buy a LOT of stuff and more than satisfied most of the time. Some experiences are just awful and like they say-you tell a heck of a lot more people about bad than good.

I'm sure some think I overreacted about the Lowes deal, but I was stressed from exams, little sleep, and carved out enough time from my studying to do a quick trip to Lowes and be back to put my 4 yo son down for bed. Sometimes, those moments can really fulfilling laying down in his car bed and reading or whatever and was looking forward to it that evening. When he was already asleep when I got home, it was like I got punched in the gut because I missed out on that little break from reality. I'm sure nobody else has ever gone through something like that though.

If that still makes me an ahole then feel free to allow me to bring my dog over to leave a present in your yard. :r

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Is their customer service based in the US or something?

Had a MacBook about 2 years ago. Just didn't like it.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

All of the Dells I use work just fine. But outsource CS sucks, too bad everyone does it.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Not really sure...never had a problem with my Mac's.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I'm sorry to hear that Duane. I loved Dell but when my computer broke, I replaced it with a Mac after gathering opinions here.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I am a computer guy and at home and work, we use Dell's. I haven't had any major problems. I will continue to use them.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Does he need a gift card for that?

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Bunch of Dell fan boys on here. Build your own. Better computer for the money. Only reason to buy Dell is for a laptop. Go Mac if you want a laptop.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Huh? :confused:

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

In other words if your mad at Dell don't support them. Macs work great but a little pricey in my opinion but just as fanatic a fan base.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I'm on a Dell right now and had issues when I bought it, but they made up for it and I will continue to be a Dell customer depending on future needs because **** happens and all companies make mistakes.

I was pissed though because I bought a laptop on the Dell outlet site. A couple days later, I found out the extended battery physically stuck out on the bottom which I didn't want nor stated in description so I called customer service to see what the return policy was. I was told if I processed a return before I received it, I would not have any restock fees. I asked again and was told yes, I can cancel without fees/penalties so I did. I then immediately bought a different Dell without the extended battery.

When I received the 1st laptop and called CS to get a shipping label, I was charged 15% restock. They did not honor what I was previously told and after talking to multiple supervisors, they told me the original CS person had no authority to waive the fee. That is such BS because how should I know who has authority? I went by what they told me and then they did not honor it.

They did not back down and I was stuck with 2 laptops. I then googled a few Dell Executives in PR/Marketing/Sales and emailed them letters. 2 days later I got a phone call from customer service apologizing and waived the 15% fee.

I was happy the Executives actually listened and cared about a regular customer. For that, I will continue to use Dell.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Yea,that made a lot sense :rolleyes:

Duane,I think the world is out to get you. :tf

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

No, I just think it's absolutely ridiculous the process to buy a computer well under $1k has turned into more time invested than it took to buy my house a year and a half ago. That includes viewing, paperwork with realtor, closing, you name it.

I must be the only person here that would get peeved over investing 5 hours between chats/phone calls and ~ 36 hours after the "purchase" was made on their website, still not have an order that was processed. :rolleyes:

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Nice. I'm going to give them the opportunity to make it right, but we shall see what happens. I've tried getting an actual contact for Dell Outlet other than the handful of people from India.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I actually laughed out loud at this.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Ahh, now that I understand the problem I can see the angst that would arise from the situation. It's a problem when these kinds of things happen, and there's certainly no excuse for not having someone on staff at all times that can handle the situation. At the very least, they could have postponed the purchase until someone more experienced was around to make sure it was processed correctly.


Personally, it wouldn't turn me off from Dell, but I agree with the earlier comment. I would send out more than a few emails with some constructive criticism towards the situation. I only emphasize constructive, because in all of the times I've sent emails and letters, both scathing and constructive, I get a LOT more positive responses back from the constructive ones (Macy's gave me a $50 in-store voucher good for 24 hours because of a snafu over a ~$35 billing issue online last year).

Good luck with dealing with the problem. I hope Dell makes it right for you and you're satisfied with the eventual purchase! :)

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Maybe the present is a Dell computer.:)

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Sweet, I will head to Lowe's to pick it up!

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Unfortunately the Lowe's that carries Dell computers has been outsourced. Could I interest you in a car bed?

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

+1.

speak very loudly while doing this, it helps to get your point across:tu

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Is that like a banana hammock?

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I guess that depends on where you like to lay your head at night.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Much like me, the head doesn't care where it gets laid, as long as it gets laid.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Customer service in general has gone down the crapper as of late IMHO. I have been forced to deal with CS for a few issues recently with different products and services and all have been rather lackluster experiences. The only one who had CS that impressed me in some time was Springfield Armory. A lot of businesses could learn a lot from them when it comes to CS. Verizon Wireless has been the worst with them taking nearly two months to refund a $600 charge for a phone I returned where the tracking number even showed it was delivered to their facility 3 days after I received my new device but yet they could not find it.:rolleyes:
As far as computers I can't chime in on the Dells as I have no experience as I have been in the Apple cult for as long as I can remember.:D

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Should I buy the farmer in the Dell?

Hi-ho, the derry-o.

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

I think you should buy two!

Re: Don't buy a Dell
 

Only if the mouse takes some cheese.