If you’ve read this site for the past year or two, you know I’m not a big fan of Dell. I’ve had too many bad experiences (documented here, here, here, and here, with follow-ups here, here, here, and here).
So I wasn’t surprised last month when I had major problems getting a broken Dell laptop repaired. The motherboard graphics had failed, and the warranty specified that it was eligible for next-day on-site service. I’ll spare you the gory details – let’s just say that it took 19 phone calls and 27 days for a repair person to arrive at my office.
Ho-hum. More of the same, right?
So imagine my surprise when I received a call last week from Dell headquarters. This executive had reviewed my file and was calling to (a) apologize profusely and (b) find out exactly what happened so they could fix the broken process.
We exchanged a few e-mails, and I sent along notes from some of my previous horrifying support experiences. A day or two later I received a note from this executive’s assistant, offering me a fairly substantial no-strings-attached coupon as a “gesture to make amends.”
Now, Dell didn’t track me down because I’ve posted my complaints on this site. In this case, the issue that led to the call was one I hadn’t written about at all, and this executive didn’t seem to know anything about me except that I was an unhappy Dell customer.
This is a first for me, and it’s enough to make me take a fresh look at Dell. I’m still cautious, and it will take years for the company to earn back the trust they’ve lost. But at least they’ve taken a first step.
I’d be very interested to hear from anyone else who has had an unexpectedly good experience with Dell lately.
Well, for the looks of things above, and some of the experiences that classmate has had at ITT, I do not believe I will be getting another Dell. The C610 I currently have will end up going to my niece, and I will be buying an MPC, Acer, or Alienware notebook as those seem to be better.
Here’s one for you. I went to Dell Outlet and ordered a Lattitude X1 for $1,059.00, also ordered a new printer for $74.00. When I put in the info for my credit card, I made a mistake and put in a wrong number in the 4 digit I.D. part. The card request was denied because of my mistake. I then descended into Dell Hell when I tried to correct my mistake and get everthing squared away. First to Austin (I guess)for a 30 minute hold, then off to India. After 2 days of trying I gave up and cancelled the order. I then went to Twinhead Corp. and ordered a notebook. I spoke to their customer service guy today to see when it would be shipped. It was great, he explained that the machine was being built and would probably ship towards the end of the week, and he also responded by email saying he would keep me informed as to what was happening. I am typing this story on a Dell Dimension PC, its an oldie but a goodie. I also own a Latitude laptop which will be going off to college with my daughter this fall. If things work out with Twinhead, I don’t think I’ll be going back to Dell anytime soon. BTW, I saved about $250.