Don't buy a Dell

[forgop]

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.

[irratebass]

Originally Posted by forgop

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.

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.

[T.G]

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

[J0eybb]

Wow, sounds horrible.

Build it yourself.

[replicant_argent]

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

[CigarNut]

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.

[markem]

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

[CigarGuy88]

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

[taltos]

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.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by taltos

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.

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.

[maninblack]

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.

[J0eybb]

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.

[BeerAdvocate]

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

[bobarian]

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

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

[Silound]

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.

[icehog3]

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

[forgop]

Originally Posted by Silound

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.

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.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by icehog3

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

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.

[Brutus2600]

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

[VirtualSmitty]

Originally Posted by bobarian

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

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

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

Seems appropriate