Update September 2006: If you’re having a problem with a Dell product and haven’t been able to get satisfactory service, Dell has established a special group to help you. See my follow-up post, Dell rolls out Cluefulness 2.0, for more details. Comments are closed here.
CNET News interviewed Dell CEO Kevin Rollins:
How’s Dell doing on customer service these days?
Customer service has been a challenge, but I think if you watch the scores now, we have hit the trough, and that’s now coming back up. The whole company is focused on the customer experience, first and foremost. So we think we’ve got that one now under control.
Memo to Kevin: No, your customer service problems are not under control. Not even close. Do you have anyone at your company reading blogs like this one? I didn’t think so.
Actually, Dell’s less-than-stellar attitude and less-than-quality gear caused them to get forbidden from our data centers (we’re a large school system). We used to be a “Dell shop” on both the server and the desktop. Now, Dell servers are VERBOTEN in any of our data centers and have been for the last three years. Here are just two of the multiple reasons:
1.) Poor service, even to us, a large customer.
2.) Faulty RAID subsystems.
The manager of all servers throughout the school district got sick of it and successfully lobbied the higher-ups to impose a “No Dell” policy, and I do not blame him one bit. Every Dell server was ripped out and replaced by HP/Compaq ProLiant gear. What’s even worse for Dell, if they even care, is that we’ve nearly tripled the number of servers that we have, in addition to replacing old units through the normal upgrade process. I’m talking about thousands of servers here. HP has gotten all of that business and is loving us.
Oh, BTW, the same thing applies to the desktop workstations, too. We no longer allow the purchase of Dell desktops, either; HP/Compaq now gets *that* business, too. We have tens of thousands of desktop boxes. HP is really, really loving us.
I’m a systems enginner and sysadmin, and as such friends and relatives often (TOO OFTEN) come to me for software and security questions, as well as HARDWARE purchases. I own 2 dell laptops (Inspiron 5150), 3 pc’s (GX***) and a couple of poweredge’s. I was Happy, happy… Until (you guessed it) my 5150’s faulty motherboard stopped powering. I did the customer service, manager runaround you all have. I just gave up on dell, by outsourcing their support (errrr, that is not support, believe me) customer care, they are no longer competitive. My loss? well, hardware depreciates in 2 years, so it’s just about ripe now. Customer loyalty? that one takes years to win. I’m (and whoever asks me) spending my money in companies that provide support in American for Americans and in English. Have you guys checked out the new ASUS laptops? I am so getting one.
How I wish I had read all of this prior to my purchase. I thought 12 hours of my life on the phone with 12 diff ppl was bad enough until I read everyone else’s story.
No one in that company communicates, I have never received such poor service in my life; and trust me, after dealing with the local cable company about internet service, that is really saying something. Isn’t there a journalist out there that can take these stories and run with it?
Kevin Rollins will be sent a letter, attached with copies of my phone minutes and all the useless online chtas with tech support, maybe it’s time for him to step down, he clearly has no control over his company or anyone in it.
Sincerely,
Kerrin A LaFrance
Esther Biddle
773 County Road 226
Cullman, Alabama 35057
June 14, 2006
Mr. Kevin Rollins
One Dell Way
Round Rock, TX 78682
United States
Dear Mr. Rollins:
At the recommendation of my brother, the owner of three Dell computers, I purchased a new Dell Dimension 5100 on 09/28/2005. Within a very short time, my computer crashed. The technical people could not talk me through the problem – the problems were not of the usual sort. Finally, I shipped the computer to my grandson, a computer programmer and analyst for JP Morgan to get with Dell and resurrect the computer. After a lengthy process and dialog with Dell, my grandson did get the computer operating.
My brother came from North Carolina to Alabama to set up my computer once again. Within two weeks, the computer crashed again. Though I have had the computer sinceSept 2005, 90% of the time it has not been operational. I am afraid my warranty will expire.
My brother, my grandson and I are convinced that the computer in a “lemon” – flaws that surely are uncommon for Dell. We hope you agree. I have had your support people tell me that I needed a replacement machine, but no follow through has occurred. I have had promised phone calls which have never come – though I remained home for days expecting the calls as promised.
These problems are very stressful to me. I have had two hip replacements and I can no longer try to go over the disconnecting and connecting instructions from the support people. For my sanity, the honor of your warranty and support, and the good name of your company, please expedite the replacement of my computer.
You can follow the support and technical case of my computer via: express service code
431-248-6945 etc. My service tag is 1ZBJK81.
Thank you for your help!
Sincerely,
Esther Biddle
My last 2 years experience with Dell’s customer service has been absolutely dismal. On top of usually not being able to understand half of what they say in rapid heavy indian-accented English, I’m very often being promised a follow up call which I almost never get.
Granted, they all are very polite, ask if it’s OK to call me by my first name, apologize profusely for their coworkers broken promises, try to help, mostly unsuccessfully, assign yet another case number and then give their phone extension to leave a message only never to be heard from again. It sure looks like they all are being trained to play the same obvious silly game.
My previous Dell computer quality, design and customer service were quite good, about 6 to 8 years ago. Nowdays my desktop computer quality is poor, tower enclosure design is stupid and customer support is ridiculous in its mediocrity and impotence. No more Dell products for me – that’s a promise to all empty heads in empty suits at its corporate hadquarters.
@ Phil:
I agree %150 with you. I still wonder why the Federal Gov’t is so interested in purchasing Dell Computer systems. They’d be much better off with a Gateway. Gateway was excellent at first, then turned into Dell, but now They’re RIGHT BACK AT EXCELLENT, as far as both quality AND customer service. Not to mention, they’re cheaper.
My only other complaint (I don’t own any dell computers, personally) is that Dell bought out Alienware, which has been a sad day coming. Big Brother Corperations buying out the honest competition. One thing’s for sure, There’s some FILTHY FILTHY rich cubans after the selloff of Alienware, and more power to them…
[Editor's note: A Dell spokesperson requests that customers with unresolved issues use the Customer_Advocate@dell.com alias to request support:"Jeff is one of our best agents and glad to help those in need, however he is not able to handle all the requests we get from customers who have phoned or emailed demanding to be assisted by him. It is definitely a compliment to him, but we would prefer to have those in need contact us through Customer_Advocate@Dell.com instead. This request is definitely not a criticism of Mr. Scully though. Jeff has specific skills and technological expertise as does each member of the team. By using the customer-advocate mailbox we can assign issues based on the best expertise we have to resolve them expeditiously versus specific team members being approached on matters that are not their expertise and then feeling obliged to follow through rather then passing customers off which is always an issue for us."]
While I tend to agree that Dell tech-support is HORRIBLE/A.K.A. Hell on earth, Jeffrey Scully, who works on unresolved issues, is, quite possibly, the most REACHABLE person at Dell I’ve ever encountered. He is, by far, the fairest person I’ve ever dealt with at the company, and he was more than happy to oblige me by listening to and resolving my complaint. I cannot say as much for the others in his department, because, before getting to Mr. Scully, I was assigned to someone with no customer service know-how. But, if Mr. Scully were to encounter someone who was due that which they were asking for or demanding, he would do everything he could to rectify the issue for the person. It certainly seems to me that the lady making complaints toward Mr. Scully is leaving out important information concerning her transaction and about the ‘problem’ in general.
Before I spoke to Jeffrey Scully, it is fair to say I HATED Dell and everyone who works for the company. After having ‘met’ Mr. Scully, I now have renewed faith in the company. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that, if you ever have to deal with the unresolved issues department, and you have a GENUINE issue that needs resolution, ask, no, BEG to be assigned to Jeffrey Scully. He WILL do everything he possibly can to make your Dell experience a pleasant one, and he will NOT write you off. Jeffrey Scully is customer-compassionate, and he genuinely cares about your satisfaction. I strongly hope all of you reading these replies will strike what the lady complaining about Jeffrey Scully has said, and take into consideration what I have to say about him.
Jeffrey Scully is Dell’s singular, redeeming employ in my opinion, and I genuinely endorse him. I very much appreciate all he has done for me and my faith in Dell.
Sincerely,
Elle Church
I had multiple problems with my dell laptop. First the hd went out about 4 months after getting it. Then I ended up with the fried mother boared due to the dc jack and overheating problems. I felt that I was treated like shit by the customer service department because I was a women. Even to the point of being told that the CSR wouldn’t talk to me and he wanted to talk to the man of the house. I lost it at that point. First off there is no man of the house, second I am perfectly capable of handling this on my own. So numerous phone calls and emails I was informed that it was about $200 for diagnosis and if the mother board would have to be replaced it would be $800. I sent it to another company that charged me nothing to figure out the problem except shipping, and was told that the dc jack caused it to overheat and fried the MB. Dell of course could give a shit less, and basically told me to fly a kite because it was 24 days out of warranty. Anyway if anyone is looking for a class action lawsuit. http://www.lieffcabraser.com/dell-inspiron-2.htm they are gathering information from customers and will hopefully get the ball rolling soon. IF anyone knows of any other ways of going about this please let me know. I’m a student living on student loans, and had to buy another computer for school so at the moment I am not making the payments on the Dell POS so it’s screwing up my credit.
ALP
I’m throwing in my 2 cents at the audacity of Dell to hire McDonald’s employees skils to be “technical consultants” who can’t understand what is being said, who have no technical knowledge, who don’t understand the language of the industry that they’re in and their general incompetence. Why should I waste my time teaching THEM about computers??
I got on chat today ONLY to request a diagnostic CD for my laptop, either downloaded bootable image or sent as my desktop’s floppy was on the fritz (I hadn’t used it in YEARS!)
Simple question, not a biggie. I wasn’t going to let them diagnose my problem; that would take YEARS!
More than an HOUR later, I had the answer. I attach the log. Read it and you’ll be throwing tomatoes at your screen also:
2:05:49 PM System Welcome Jeff Cushner …
2:05:49 PM System Connecting to server. Please wait…
2:05:49 PM System Thank you for using Dell Chat, a representative will be with you soon.
2:05:49 PM System http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/chat/en/techchat_backup_media?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
2:06:09 PM System http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/chat/en/techchat_doc?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
2:12:47 PM System You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
2:12:47 PM System Connected with Shalabh_01103005
2:12:54 PM Shalabh_01103005 Thank you for contacting Dell Technical Support. My name is Shalabh and rep id is 103005. May I have your telephone number, along with the area code?
2:12:58 PM You hi
2:13:07 PM You 6104357066
2:13:11 PM You whoops.. wrong
2:13:17 PM You 610-435-7055
2:13:19 PM You ok
2:13:44 PM Shalabh_01103005 Thank you for the information.
2:13:53 PM Shalabh_01103005 Meanwhile, I would like to inform you that you might get an invitation to participate in a survey at the end of this session. You will be asked to rate our interaction on a scale of 1 to 9 with 9 being very satisfied. In order to participate in the survey, you must close the chat by selecting the “Exit” button.
2:13:59 PM Shalabh_01103005 Please give me 2 to 3 minutes to pull up your account information. In the meantime, please let me know how may I assist you today ?
2:14:49 PM You I have an inspiron 3700 which suddenly stopped booting. It says that it can’t find system files. It won’t boot up in safe mode either.
2:15:10 PM You I tried reseating both the memory and the hard drive but it didn’t work
2:15:32 PM Shalabh_01103005 Please tell me the exact error message which you are getting
2:15:35 PM You I need to use the diagnostic disk but the one that I have is for my desktop, not the laptop.
2:16:26 PM You It’s a windows message on the boot saying one or another system file is corrupted or not there.
2:17:02 PM You What I need is a diagnostic disk download that burns to a cd.. as my floppy disk on my desktop seems not to be working either.
2:17:09 PM You I haven’t used it in years
2:17:20 PM Shalabh_01103005 Okay
2:17:21 PM You so it’s not formatting any disks that I try.
2:17:40 PM You I need a bootable diagnostic disk for the inspiron, not floppy
2:17:48 PM You cd
2:18:09 PM You I can burn them but I don’t know if the format has a bootable segment in your downloads
2:18:19 PM Shalabh_01103005 Okay, could you please allow me a minute
2:19:23 PM Shalabh_01103005 If I understand the issue correctly, you want to download the diagnostic utility on your system so that you can run it on the system. Is that correct?
2:20:25 PM You I want to download a BOOTABLE diagnostic utility for the Insprion so I can burn it to a CD so I can boot up the Inspiron with it.
2:21:06 PM Shalabh_01103005 Okay
2:23:18 PM Shalabh_01103005 Thanks for staying online with me.
2:23:33 PM Shalabh_01103005 Please check this link
2:23:42 PM System Shalabh_01103005 pushes page, http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?docid=13D26C9FCD5746FA916FDD395D30BE79&c=us&l=en&s=gen
2:23:52 PM You hold on
2:24:27 PM Shalabh_01103005 Sure
2:24:49 PM You It says “These download instructions are not necessary if you have the Dell Resource CD or the 5 diagnostic floppy disks.:”
2:25:10 PM Shalabh_01103005 Yes
2:25:18 PM You and it says To create this diskette set, you will need 5 blank, formatted disks… accent on the 5 blank, formatted!
2:25:46 PM You If you’ll remember me describing that I need a bootable CD that I can burn excludes this.
2:26:15 PM You also, you’ll remember me saying that my floppy disk on my desktop isn’t working
2:26:32 PM You excludes me formatting 5 floppies.
2:27:36 PM Shalabh_01103005 Please allow me a minute to recheck that
2:27:39 PM You I want the IMAGE of the diagnostic CD.. compact Disk
2:28:15 PM Shalabh_01103005 Okay
2:28:32 PM You If you can’t give me that, then I need the cd to be mailed to me
2:28:46 PM You It would be easier to download it.
2:29:00 PM You I understand that you, yourself don’t have these answers
2:30:12 PM Shalabh_01103005 I am searching for that, could you please allow me a minute
2:31:23 PM Shalabh_01103005 If I understand the issue correctly, you don’t want to download the utility on the floppy drive. Is that correct?
2:31:54 PM You You would be absolutely correct in your assumption.
2:32:19 PM Shalabh_01103005 Okay
2:32:38 PM You I am not physically able to write a floppy disk at this time.. I NEED TO BURN A CD
2:33:58 PM Shalabh_01103005 Its fine
2:34:32 PM Shalabh_01103005 Will it be fine if I send you the cd?
2:34:43 PM Shalabh_01103005 Cd which has the diagnostic utility?
2:34:52 PM You I would rather have the image
2:35:08 PM Shalabh_01103005 I am sorry, I did not get you
2:35:13 PM You I you (Dell) can not supply the image then I suppose I have no alternative.
2:35:33 PM You Image Definition:
2:35:48 PM Shalabh_01103005 I can send you the cd which will be having the diagnostic utility, you can run the utility from that cd
2:35:53 PM Shalabh_01103005 Will that be fine with you?>:
2:35:59 PM You A file that contains the exact format of a disk
2:36:39 PM You I assume that you do not have (or can get) a downloadable file that if burned to a CD would BE the CD. Am I correct?
2:38:37 PM Shalabh_01103005 Sure, you don’t have to worry at all for that
2:38:46 PM Shalabh_01103005 Please provide the information
2:38:50 PM Shalabh_01103005 1. Contact Name: (Registred user)
2. Address: (from your original order/ invoice)
3. Phone Number : (from your original order/ invoice)
4. Current Shipping Address Details: (Current user Name, Address, City, State, and Zip) NO PO BOXES PLEASE.
5. Daytime Phone Number:
6. Alternate Contact/ Phone:
2:39:31 PM You You should have all that already from my user stats.. but..
2:39:39 PM You Jeff Cushner
2:39:44 PM You 1413 N 21st St.
2:39:53 PM You Allentown, PA 18104-2503
2:39:59 PM You 610-435-7055
2:40:05 PM You 908-208-9174
2:40:07 PM Shalabh_01103005 I have that information however we need to verify the information to maintain the integrity of customers account information
2:41:28 PM Shalabh_01103005 I am sorry, that is not the address as on our records
2:41:40 PM You The address before I moved was:
2:41:44 PM You 540 Carmine Ave.
2:41:45 PM Shalabh_01103005 Please tell me the address where the system was initially shipped to
2:41:50 PM You South Plainfield, NJ 07080
2:41:59 PM You 908-769-8074
2:42:23 PM Shalabh_01103005 Okay, now please tell me the address where you want me to send you the cd
2:42:30 PM You but that was 4 years ago.
2:42:50 PM Shalabh_01103005 Okay
2:43:56 PM You I just checked my addresses on my account and they are ACCURATE
2:44:35 PM You So I don’t know what data you are seeing
2:45:08 PM Shalabh_01103005 Jeff, you might have updated the address however we check the data from the address where the system was initially shipped to
2:45:29 PM Shalabh_01103005 The verification is only done from the address where the system was initially shipped to
2:45:39 PM You I’m glad I didn’t move a lot since I bought the system then!
2:46:11 PM Shalabh_01103005 Should I send the cd at
1413 N 21st St. Allentown, PA 18104-2503 address?|
2:46:40 PM You That would be a correct assumption…
2:47:13 PM Shalabh_01103005 Thank you for the information. Could you please spare me a couple of minutes to create a dispatch and provide you the dispatch number
2:49:49 PM Shalabh_01103005 Thanks for staying online with me.
2:50:24 PM Shalabh_01103005 Jeff, I have tried to create the dispatch and send you the cd however, my tools are not allowing to do that.
2:50:51 PM Shalabh_01103005 In this case, we only have one option
2:51:16 PM You I have been on here for 45 min. to get a download or a disk.. and it leads to this?
2:52:02 PM Shalabh_01103005 I do understand your frustration however since my tools are not allowing my therefore I am not able to create the dispatch
2:52:24 PM Shalabh_01103005 The link which I gave you earlier had a file named D1066100.exe
2:52:27 PM You could you call someone and just get the job done without me?
2:52:48 PM Shalabh_01103005 I am sorry, I did not get you
2:53:42 PM You Call, like in use your phone, to a person in charge of sending things (like disks) and say.. Hey, I can’t get a dispatch. Can you send this disk to this guy.
2:54:06 PM You The link is to the file that calls to create floppy disks
2:54:30 PM You of which I can not do
2:54:32 PM Shalabh_01103005 Jeff, you can download the file on the system and then burn the same file on a cd
2:54:51 PM Shalabh_01103005 Then you can use that cd to run the diagnostic on your portable system
2:55:06 PM You It needs to be bootable since the system can not come up!
2:55:38 PM You If I could just run it….
2:55:45 PM You I would not be talking to you
2:56:13 PM You Do you understand the difference between a data disk and a system disk?
2:56:28 PM Shalabh_01103005 Jeff, please tell me, when you power on the system, what happens. Do you see the Dell logo?
2:56:56 PM Shalabh_01103005 Okay
2:57:51 PM You The diagnostic disk that I have boots but it is for my desktop system, not the Inspiron
2:58:41 PM Shalabh_01103005 Okay
2:59:35 PM Shalabh_01103005 Jeff, I really apologize that I am not able to send you the diagnostic disk since the system is out of warranty . I even tried to make an out of warranty dispatch however my tools are not allowing me to do so
3:00:13 PM You what? I can’t even run diagnostics??
3:01:17 PM Shalabh_01103005 Could you allow me a couple of minutes to consult this issue with my supervisor
3:01:21 PM You yes
3:04:02 PM Shalabh_01103005 Thanks for staying online with me.
3:04:47 PM Shalabh_01103005 Jeff, I have reconsulted my supervisor for this issue and we do not have any other option except using a floppy to make bootable diagnostic
3:05:30 PM You wonderful, we could have saved 1/24th of a day by knowing this in advance..
3:05:40 PM You Where’s that survey, please?
3:06:16 PM Shalabh_01103005 I do understand that you will be frustrated however, I really apologize if I wasted your time
3:06:31 PM Shalabh_01103005 I was actually trying to help you out so that your issue gets resolved
3:07:27 PM Shalabh_01103005 However after reconsulting my supervisor, I found that there is no way, we can make the bootable diagnostic cd
3:07:52 PM You Yes, you were hired to do a job and you were not told about the things that you would be asked in the active execution of it.
3:08:32 PM You So it is not your fault.. It is those a Dell who decided that this is a good way to handle technical support
3:09:09 PM Shalabh_01103005 Actually , I would have send you the cd to get your issue resolved however since my tools did not allowed my, I was not able to create the dispatch
3:09:52 PM You And like I said before you have no avenue to actually pick up a phone and make a request. You are tied to your computer only..
3:10:26 PM You OK.. thank you for your hard work
3:11:05 PM You Goodbye
3:11:13 PM You Where is that survey?
3:12:11 PM Shalabh_01103005 You will get the survey when you will close the chat by selecting the “Exit” button.
3:12:22 PM Shalabh_01103005 Is there any thing else in which I may assist you with?
3:12:32 PM You ok good bye
3:12:35 PM System The session has ended!
Amanda:
I reccomend this website if you TRULY have a problem.
https://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/en/outstanding_issues?c=us&l=en&s=gen
You can submit an unresolved issues form that will escalate you past the people in tech support that either: a. don’t speak a lick of English, b. are complete idiots, c. think you’re an idiot, or any combination of the afore mentioned. I am a student, too, so I can understand your anger with Dell. I went through similar problems (EVERYthing on my Inspiron went out and had to be replaced at LEAST twice except the keyboard). As I’m writing this, I’m writing on the replacement unit they sent me to make up for all the HORRIBLE things that went wrong with my original unit. Also, I think I saw that your unit is a about a month out of warranty? Mine was almost 5 months out of warranty, but, because the unit SHOULD have been replaced MANY repairs ago, they fixed the problem anyway. I will say, though, that the first person the unresolved issues dept. delegated me to… yeah, he was just as useless as the tech support people. HOWEVER, I was lucky enough to be re-assigned to Mr. Jeffrey Scully (you can see my entry concerning him above), who was MORE than happy to fix the problem.
Before you go join some class-action lawsuit, I encourage you to fill out the issue for first.
If you have any questions, please contact me at ellemc@gmail.com.
Good Luck!
Elle
well you cac add my name to the list nightmare of buying a dell since june and now its aug got runarounds cuser at lie too and told to tke my hare drive out i said no and refuse hugn they call back told them not to call again and been trying to send email to CEOkiven b rollins and call too no luckeither? on anything!lets had techs put in my dellxps limeware for music didnt have none!i loss 20 percent proghams my art work too half icons and programs and than my dell went down 4days nothy!call cumster service got runarounds still and want to leave Dell for good Ilost faith in dell complety for whats happen only them to say sorry but dontwant to want fix the laptop or for corparation to contact me when told they would yea SORRY right i brought dell and yes it was SORRY!!!!! but it was a DEll.
I have no idea what that was supposed to say.
Yea, I too have had my issues with Dell. Latest was a 4550 that a customer wanted restored back to original. In the process, I noticed that the bios was A000 or A001, so updated to the newest. It wiped the service tag.
Two calls to service later (three busy on 800) I was disconnected after spending the better part of two hours on chat/tel call with nothing resolved. I did figure out that a hanging device was the game port, but the support person was clueless.
The reason I wanted the service tag was the support application would not load, and, I assume that it was also the cause of the WP not having a valid serial #.
I used to recommend Dells to my customers, but this is the straw…. I’ve ordered or had customers order about 50-60 units in the previous six months, but that stops now.
Mikey, you lost my vote of confidence.
Hello, I’m Swiss and as you know, we speak German, French, Italian and Romantsch. In the School we all learn to type on a keyboard called “QWERTZ”. Those are the first top six letters for the left hands one the keyboard. In France the first six letters are “AZERTY” that means, instead of “Q” there’s an “A”. I didn’t know that. When I ordered my new Dell systems ($4′500.-), I was asking, if there is the often used French-letter “é” or “è” directly typable. The
Sales Representative (Mr. Matej Sestak) said, only on the French keyboard. Credulous as I am, I ordered a useless “AZERTY”-keyboard. Mr. Matej Sestak said after my exchange-question: ” Impossibly to exchange this keyboard, because I have confirmed this one”.
Dell, a company with good reputation world-wide, should not answer like that. In Switzerland we don’t have a Dell-Store. We can’t look with the eyes, what we buy. We only have to trust an unknown person on the phone. That’s OK, but if there is a misunderstanding, Dell should also show more co-operations.
I hope, these lines reach somebody, who can help me.
Four years ago, I purchased an Inspiron 4500, at no small price. It began having mouse problems and had to be mailed in for service. This problem kept happening every few months. In addition to that, I had to have my hard drive replaced at least 3 times. The keyboard was replaced several times. The service was O.K. at first, but as time progressed, my computer was at the service center for longer periods of time. My 4150 was definitely a lemon and they should have replaced it because of repeating problems. It was constantly in the shop. At the least, they should have extended my warranty for the length of time it was in their care. When the warranty was about to run out, the hinges broke and I sent it in for one last time. They kept it a couple of weeks and it finally arrived, tossed in an unpadded box, with a notice that it was not repairable. After contacting them, they told me they were going to send a replacement computer, which they did. It was a totally different model of laptop but I must say it’s still clicking along and I’ve had no problems with it. A few days after receiving the replacement computer, I received a phone call wanting to know where my original computer was. Luckily, I hadn’t thrown it out – I almost did. Now, why did they spend the money to mail it back to me, so I could return it to them? What a stupid, and expensive, way to do business!
In the meantime I had ordered an Inspiron 6000, knowing the original 4150 would be worthless after the warranty expired.
I love the computer but my hard drive went out a couple of weeks ago, right at the one year mark. After contacting tech support via e-mail, they told me they would send a new hard drive. That was on a Saturday. On Tuesday, it did not arrive and I e-mailed tech….no reply. On Wednesday, it did not arrive and I, once again, e-mailed tech. The silence was deafening. Three tries with e-mail and no response. I finally went to online chat, only to discover the hard drive was never dispatched. Wonderful service from a company that will NEVER get my business again. Over a week to get a new hard drive and a refusal by them to respond to my e-mails really burns me. I should have learned my lesson the first time – with the 4150!
Goodbye Dell – you are hopeless.
Oops – that was an Inspiron 4150!
Helen, sorry about the problems on the hard drive, deliveries and no responses to your emails. That should not have happened. Scott too and several others on this site. Ed, we are reading comments like this. In fact, we have a specialized team that reaches out to fix individual customer issues, and then goes back to look at where we made mistakes internally. We arent where we want to be yet, but we will get there. Just in last few quarters we have committed over $150 million to improving customer service, recognizing publicly that we had let issues like these get away from us. We have hired more staff, opened new support sites, retrained staff and are very focused on regaining our leadership by solving the custtomer issues the first time they call. Feel free to read additional information at our blog http://www.direct2dell.com. In the meantime, our team will try to reach out to several of you with recent issues.
I have experienced similar issues to the problems noted above so I will not bore you with my story, however I do have a question…
For the individuals on this board who were sent replacement systems, were the replacement systems NEW or REFURBISHED?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Hi Tanya, might weant to follow up by checking Ed’s Sept 11, 2006 blog entry here: http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1458
Hope we can sort things out
WOW! If I only knew before I bought my Dell. 10/9 I spent 2.5 hrs on the phone with someone who told me nothing that related to my problem. I requested a Supervisor only to get someone you can not understand. He told me he wanted to read the case#`s and he would call me back in 15min. to 30 min.; I gave up and went to eat after 45mins. I thought for sure a message on the phone, not even a phone call back.
I must say it`s to bad we can not let the public know how bad they truly are!