Comments on: Growing pains hit Dell's customer service

The company continues to win market share and turn out record quarterly profits, but two recent surveys show that it's slipped when it comes to a more subjective measurement: customer service.

If you have Dell Complaints

I think it would be helpful to other customers if you can post your complaint/opinion at ydell.com

Thanks.

"Customer Care" is a joke

I purchased an entirely new system from Dell (XPS) with the intent to network with my other computer. I told the saleswomen I wanted a lot of "bells and whistles" so she sold me two routers, because one was labled as a LinkSys Speedbooster and she did not know that it was a separate router. I also wanted a DVD writer and she sold both Double Layer DVDs to go with my "CD" writer.

Since this was a new system and getting the Router and Network to work was difficult, it took me a little time to discover the errors in ordering. However, contacting Customer Care was terrible. The phone tree is cumbersome and I called about 15 times over 3 days each time the wait was at least 10 minutes and often more. When disconnected (twice) there was no callback, and when we tried to conference with technical services, customer care always dropped out and I was left to talk with technical when the problem was simply replacing the devices. Returning me with "Customer Care" of course was to put me through the tree instead of directly with a representative.

The issue with the router was resolved easily although I have yet to receive credit but they will not take back the CD burner since it was the original order. The instead sold me a DVD burner that would add to my system since there were three slots. However, when I tried to add this, it became apparent that the third slot was only for another hard drive and that to install the DVD burner, I'd have to take out the CD burner. Sales sold me a DVD burner which was the "best they had" but it won't burn or read the Double Layer discs that Dell sold me. The salesperson had given me a "discount" but it turns out that I need to take out the CD burner and replace it with the DVD burner. The amount advertised to upgrade from the CD burner to the product I was sold is $20 and my discounted price was $100. Bringing this to Customer Care, I was told all they were willing to do is buy yet another burner and that I will not be able to return the orginal CD burner although it was an obvious mistake by the salesperson.

The staff at "Customer Care" have obviously been trained to say that they will do everything to help resolve the issues, but the bottom line is that they do not know the products they sell, and do not know enough technical details to be able to assure that decisions and recommendations they make are appropriate for the system. After I became distrustful of what they offered I wanted to see for myself the products on-line. The products that they tried to sell me are not on their web-site, they cannot provide me with the maker or model of the products so I could do some research on my own.

Dell does not appear to stand by their products and the sales and customer care appear to be so separated from the technical aspects that they give bad recommendations and when they are wrong, they do the minimum to make things right. Obviously, they have done nothing illegal, but I would have hoped that when sales and support does not understand the different products that when mistakes occur the company makes minimal allowances to correct and satisfy the customer.

Dell is unresponsive

I just spent 3 hours in the "Dell Hell" that they call customer service. They will transfer you until you drop out of the queue. No one can resolve anything. First they got me with the bait and switch, I ended up purchasing a product much more expensive than I had entended. Then they convinced me to purchase a printer/fax/photocopier that would be relatively "free" with the rebate. That was a hoot... you have to go to the website to get your shipping receipt and print the rebate document after you receive your shipment. When I had time to do it, the rebate had expired (it was less than 1 month). DO NOT EVER consider a purchase from them... I used Gateway previously and had wonderful customer service. I was a fool for trying DELL!!!

Dell Computers Complaint

I have been through quite a saga over the last few days trying to take advantage of a DELL offer for 2 for 1 laptops. (I own a business that has purchased 30+ dell workstations). In short, the sales staff has been non responsive or provided excuses including being out of work ill as reasons for no response. One rep I did talk to said he couldn't help me because only the rep named on the e-mail offer could help me. I kept trying, but it is to no avail. The offer expired today! I'll take my business elsewhere.

[iclark2001]

Dell order fiasco

Well where does one start - placed order and received confirmation and shipment date - no pc turned up order tracking stuck on date 4 weeks ago - they then said they had problems processing payment (i contacted the bank to get an explanation and they said that there was not such problem) - had to resubmit order - still no order or order status despite money being taken! Was given a supervisors number after complaints that is never answered - 12 phone calls - 6 promises of phone calls back and still no further on but having 8 weeks expired without a PC - this is not the Dell of old - we normally recommend Dell to customers but that will not happen again !!!

[regjoe46]

Deceitful Marketing by Dell

I recently purchased my second PC from Dell. I see a promotion for 0% interest, I apply, I get approved for the purchase of a system with the idea that I will save money because there is 0% interest. THAT IS THE REASON I AM BUYING THE COMPUTER...BECAUSE IT IS A PROMOTION! Then I get a bill and low and behold, there is an interest charge of 18.74%. I call Dell Finance about the mistake and they say there is nothing that can be done. Dell Finance says that I don't meet their criteria for no interest and I have to pay 18.74% for the life of the loan. I was never given an option not to buy the PC, I was approved with no choices. I find this very deceitful and underhanded. I will go to every website that will take my complaint. You have lost a customer and I'm sure I will be able to convince other potential Dell customers that Dell is deceitful in their marketing practices.

I must pay interest on a computer loan that was marketed as 0% interest. I have excellent credit and credit history by the way.

I will not buy from Dell ever again.

[kms3]

Inspiron 700m

I have a complaint about the service I have been getting from Dell. Last Decemeber I went onto the Dell site to purchase a Dell Laptop computer. The arrival of the computer was scheduled three to four days after the date of purchase. This information was valuable to me because I was a student and my Senior thesis was due four days after the scheduled arrival. My old computer blanked out on me so I had no choice but to get another. But there was a problem. Banking. For whatever reason I had to make two separate payments. Delays delays! After that was squared away dell still said that the computer would arrive before the date of my thesis. Excellent! I said. As the week progressed, the computer did not arrive. I called Dell but suddenly their phones are way too busy to answer my little call. I keep calling, and calling and calling and finally I got someone. They said my computer would not arrive until 3 to 4 days. 3 to 4 days??? uh huh heard that one before. In 3 to 4 days I would be done with finals...thesis's and back home far far away from the place of delievery. Nice Dell! Real Nice! I call my apt manager to see if the computer arrived. No they said...it has not. The next week I call and still I get a NO. Then its Christmas...New Years...and Finally I get the computer. I return to my apt, and find the computer. YAY! I think. I open the box and low and behold it was not the computer I asked for. WHAT! yes it is true. And I only had a few days left to return it. Why only a few days and not a week? Its because Dell started the return date early..you know the day that I asked for it to be here. AGH! And getting to a postoffice in time was a drag cuz when ur a student living out of state you don't always have access to a car. So times up...i'm stuck with this computer. Great huh! Oh and when I was finally able to get a hold of Dell for the for the umpteenth time, they said that my system didn't come with a rebate. Suddenly Dell gets amnesia about rebates and computer orders. Thanks Dell.
Its been ten months since I've had the Inspiron 700m...A tiny little overly expensive plastic feeling thing. Its a top of the line you know..so top that its the first to breakdown. Yes. My computer has broken down. I got this blue error screen one day when I tried to turn it on. I contacted Dell via internet and after an hour of the shortest conversation ever, they decided to send me some recovery cd's...Oh I forgot to add...they suggested that I use the original recovery cd's but guess what?? those CD's were incompatible with the product key on my computer. Nice again guys! So they send me some that are compatible but the problem still isn't solved. Back the dell chat I go...they say to replace the hard drive with the one they were going to send me. How long will that take? 2 to 3 business days! hahaha yeah right...that's what they said but that's not what happened...try 4 to 5 biz days. The new hard drive doesn't work. I ask them...Can you guys just send me a computer that works. Geez! They say no they cannot...but they can send a technician. When will he come? 2 to 3 biz days. HAHA try five again! So he comes today with a brand new motherboard. Everybody say Ooooo! He takes the computer apart...installs the new motherboard with new hard drive and leaves. He says to install the recovery software and everything should work. I do this...and guess what now! My wireless is gone. GONE GONE GONE! The blasted thing is gone. Thanks again dell. So what do I have to do now? Wait 2 to 3 biz days aka 5 biz days for my wireless card that so easy to install wireless card. I doubt this will be the end of my problems. My warranty...the doc that supposed to cover everything...don't expire for two more years. YAY! So that means right after the expiration it will be time to get a new laptop. But not from Dell. Never again will I buy from Dell. Oh and Dell, why is it that I must return that which I bought. I have to now go call DHL and tell them to pick up a package to return back to you with all my supposed lost information. And I HAVE to do it within 5 to 10 business days or else I get penalized. What about u Mr Dell and sending my packages months and weeks after their expected arrival date? Why is it that u can violate ur contract agreement of delievery but I cannot? Huh? Bet you can't answer that can u?

[Dwight01]

Dell fails to deliver

When my laptop (inspiron 1150) malfunctioned, Dell diagnosed it online as needing a new motherboard and for $400 (out of warranty) offered to replace it in 7-10 days. I accepted. They sent me a shipping box which I received the next day! Good, I thought! I sent it back to them the same day. DHL tracking shows they received it on 12/31/05. Today, 1/10/06 (the 10-day mark) I called for status. Oh, sorry, they said, we're really backlogged. Try back in 4-5 days! I complained. She went to check with her manager - they'll "request expedite", she said, should be done in 4-5 days. Anybody want to take a bet on that?
Surely this abysmal service must catch up with Dell sooner or later.

[ds88]

Problems with shipping

A friend of mine just ordered a Dell computer and had problems with shipping. They said they'd deliver on such ans such a date, and they never did. After several calls back to Dell, she she hasn't received her PC. That was before the Holidays!

i don't recommend Dell because of the shipping. Why pay for something when they can't deliver?

[Tessie5555]

Never again

I placed a rush order for a computer only to be notified on the
day it was shipping that I had called and canceled the order.
When I called, the person insisted I had canceled it, even though
I had not. After several calls, I was told that there was an error
on the order, but no one could tell me what it was (or how to
avoid it in the future). I was also told that the order was
returned to the warehouse, so processing would begin again. I
canceled the order and returned a printer cartridge I had already
received. The mailman picked up the package Dell's UPS person
came. I never received a credit for it, and Dell insisted they were
unable to try to locate the package ... despite the fact that the
package was sent to the correct address (per their label) and had
the original packing slip enclosed.

I'm happily typing this on my Mac ... and will never deal with Dell
again.

[stichelke]

dell repair service

I have a problem with my Inspiron 6000 lapptop screen (1 year old), I asked for repiar, they proposed me to repair it voor ?700 (+/-$1000). this included the 'full' service getting the pc-repair + send back.
This is almost the price of a new system.
Than I request to supply me only the screen, I have ebnough knowledge to repair it myself.
In Europ a lapptop screen IS NOT AVAILABLE as a spair part.
The are doining unfair trade, I will sent them a letter and they are violating the belgium and European Trade-lawas. i will sue them and they will end up the same way as microsoft, paying huge fine because they are not fair.
I hope somone can help me finding this spare part (- 15.4 inch WUXGA Lcd-panel)

Dell support

We bought a brand new computer with large flat screen monitor. when we tried to use it, the spell check in email did not work. We thought we had a 2 yr warranty, but have discovered it only covers hardware. It is their software, yet they want another $99 to sign up for software support. Ridiculous.

[chafe99]

Before buying from Dell, read this...

Before you order your computer from Dell you may want to read this, because this could happen to you. I've highlighted what I went through when I ordered a simple computer from Dell's website.

When it was time to upgrade my home computer, my first thought was to consider Dell for my systems and software solutions. As a first time Dell customer I placed my order online on September 7.

?On September 7 2005 I placed an order for a DEMENSION XPS GEN 5 computer and flat panel monitor via Dell?s website.

?On September 8 I received an email from Dell confirming my order along with the 3-5 day delivery date.

?On September 15, I received an email indicating that my order was shipped on the 14th and that it would take 3-5 days for delivery. Since I was leaving for vacation on the 21st, I assumed that I would receive my order in time prior to my departure.

?On the morning of the 20th, I called the customer support number to obtain a tracking number and to find out the status of my shipment. The person I spoke with provided a tracking number and they indicated that my shipment should be delivered by noon time that day. They also confirmed my email address and indicated that they would send a survey to track the quality of the call; I never received such email.

By mid-afternoon I had not received my shipment and I was unable to obtain any status form Fedex with the tracking number provided to me. I called the customer support number again and the person I spoke with was also unable to locate my shipment with the tracking number. They indicated that the shipment most likely had not left the shipping department, although a tracking number was issued. The person indicated that they would look into the matter and that they would call me back. I never received a call from that person.

That evening I called the customer support number again and tried to explain my situation. Since I was leaving for vacation the next day and no one would be home to receive the shipment, I was trying to prevent a delivery while I was gone. Again, as I understood from my last conversation with the customer support department, my shipment had not left Dell shipping.

Regardless of all my efforts to explain my situation, the person I was speaking to could not understand or comprehend my concern and request regarding the unavailability of someone to receive the shipment at my address. They kept apologizing for the delay and insisted that shipment would be received in 3 to 5 days! Finally after half an hour of trying to explain why they should not send the shipment, I thought I had convinced the person to ship the order one week later than originally promised. Again at the end of our conversation, the person indicated that they would send a survey regarding the transaction and again I received no email from Dell customer service.

?On September 21, while at the airport, I called the customer support number one last time to confirm the arrangement I had made the night before. After explaining my situation, I was shocked when the person I spoke with assured me that the shipment would be received in 3 to 5 days. Frustrated I asked to speak with a manager; however the person kept insisting that they would try to resolve the issue. Respectfully I told the person I did want to speak with them and told them that I had very little time and that I needed to speak with a manager as soon as possible. Not sensing the gravity of the situation they told me that they would put me on hold until the manager was available. Fifteen minutes later, while still on hole I hung-up in anger and disgust.

?Sure enough upon my return home there were three delivery attempts by Fedex from Dell. I called customer support on October 4th and finally spoke with a case manager. After explain my situation ? yet again ? the manager was able to track the shipment as having been returned to Dell. After all the aggravation and frustration I had gone through, without hesitation the case manager refunded my purchase price and indicated that the full amount would be credited to my Visa account.

?On October 12th I called customer support ? reluctantly - to enquire about the processing time for my refund. This time the person I spoke with discovered that only a portion of the purchase price had been refunded, which I received the next day. He indicated that he would have to request another credit for the balance of the amount which would be made in two payments. As of today (October 26), I am still awaiting for the final balance to be credited to my account.

This is Dell Customer service.

[tfmurphyil]

Watch for the full refund...they may keep some

Initially, I thought someone had looked at my compaint letter to Dell. At the same time as your tribulations, I had almost the exact experience you did. The only difference was that it took UPS 18 days to return my monitor to Dell. Then 2 weeks for the refund. Only to find they did it wrong. Mind you, it was a very minor amount (< $1) but it became a "principle" thing for me. It took a full month, 6 phone calls/on-line chats/e-mails all promising to correct the error, get my creidt within 24-48 hours and then to finally find out that they do not refund any amount less than $1. Corporate theivery? Taken to an extreme, if they did a 67 cent error on every refund they'd add significantly to their coffers - and no one would bother to complain.

And, no surpirse, my FAX to the head of US Consumer Business (Michael George) was ignored.

They've lost a customer who has been buying Dell for over 19 years! And they don't seem to care.

PS - I went to Buy.com, bought a new monitor and had it delivered and installed in under 24 hours from the time of order! Look out Dell!

[wahoomurf]

An 8 day service call

Called DELL at 10:29AM,Thursday ,November 3,2005 with BLUESCREEN error,despite having bitdefender,Adaware,Microsoft's new protection as well as counterspy.I knew I'd be in for a rough go and would have to back up files.After speaking with 16 CSR's,it was finally decided on Sunday morning at 5:50 am that I would have to have the DVD drive replaced.A new drive arrived this mornig along with a technician.He told me that my Drive was fine.I simply had to format the DVD disks.To do that,I would need to install the DELL Sonic reinstallation disk that came with my PC.He tried to install it and told me I had a defective SONIC disk.Called DELL and was told the new SONIC disk would take 4 days to arrive !!!!! I pay for DELL service and now the wait goes on.Dell promised me a woman would call me at 1 PM Friday and walk me through the next steps.RIGHT.I'm not technically proficient but I do know when I'm getting screwed.Another thing......try find DELL's mailing address in Round Rock.I'd like to write Mike a letter but he's so insulated from the customer,that I'm sure any letter would be shredded before it reached his desk.The Empoer has no clothes on.....but his sycophants won't tell him.

[dabell]

24/7 "try "to fix it yourself tech support

I purchased a dell computer 3 months ago and it has never worked correctly. The audio is extremely gargled, screen saver does not always work, pulling up a program can sometimes take up to a minute to open up etc. etc. etc....After (12) calls to tech support who insisted that I do (3) reimages and a compilation of other tasks that used up approx. (40) hours of my time the last parting words from Jeff "tech support supervisor" was get more memory and good luck.

What has happened to customer service??? Best advice-NEVER BUY A DELL PRODUCT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

[cmatay]

Dell customer service 15 hours and counting... No solution

WARNING!! DO NOT BUY A DELL COMPUTER!! CHEAP CUSTOMER SERVICE!! NO HELP!! If I were to explain everything. I could easily write a book of complaints! I have never experience such bad customer service in my whole entire life. Not on anything anywhere on this planet! I was put on hold it seems like every 10 minutes. Transfer around and around and around! Each time you have to explain yourself to each rep. Until I got some senior tech on the phone that I could barely understand. after two hours of being on the phone. I spent five minutes on the phone before we got disconnected. I wonder how that happen! Did someone hang up on me! I call him back XXXXXXX two minutes later it went to voice mail. Call him back 10 minutes went to voice mail. Good luck trying to get a hold of these people if you call their extentions. Why did he not call me back. if he had my number. It sounds like these Dell outsourcing employees don't really care about us, the customer. I called back Customer service on hold for 20 minutes. Finally I get someone on the phone He said he read the notes that Dell would be sending me a chip in the mail. I should be receving it by Monday. Here it is Thursday I have received nothing!! If you want to go thru sales line the hold time is less then two minutes $$$$... When it's time to take care of the customer ?????????? run and hide!!! You know were the money going!

[emailman]

the worst and most arrogant customer service around

My phone has a timer on it: After over 6 hours on the phone with Dell's idiotic customer service reps, my PC and PDA are now in worse shape than when I started. One of the Dell reps told me I needed to delete one of my Microsoft apps and reload it with Dell's CD. Only after doing this did Dell tech support tell me it was wrong to delete the app and that their Cust Svc Rep gave me the wrong instructions -- however Dell refused to resupply the application to me and the app on the Dell CD doesn't work and Dell cannot fix it.
I have never seen such irresponsible customer service in my whole life. And waiting 6+ hours to talk to some idiot in India with no authority or computer knowledge just makes it worse.

Dell doesn't care about its customers. They just think you should buy their machine because they are large or it is cheap -they clearly don't care if you are a satisfied customer.

[dvkiss]

Dell Service

I have three computers that are Dell. The first two were great, any problems and I spoke to a person in North America who I could understand and a call would be made to have a person attend at my house to fix the problem - which I paid extra for.

The third computer died before one year was out. It was not a hardward problem but software. After a year of paying a lease for this computer and trying at different times of the day to get through to Dell I experienced the following:

1. Waiting on the phone from two to five hours to only be disconnected.

2. Waiting again for long periods of time, getting through to India and the person's accent so thick I couldn't understand a thing that was being said. When requested to be transferred to a person who understood better English I was either disconnected or transferred and waiting again and then disconnected or transferred and this person still had a thick accent and couldn't be understood.

3. Whenever I got a person I kept advising it was not a hardware problem but a software problem. I couldn't even reboot because the XP operating system would not accept the key of the software they sent me because I was forwarded the wrong software. They didn't respond to this, all I heard were pages turning and told to open up the CPU and pull this out and push it back it, etc. and then disconnecting me.

I only got action when I stopped paying the lease and it was amazing that these people were located in North America. They refused to listen to my problems and do anything about it. One of their own people set up a three way conference call and was told to in a roundabout way to "go to hell". Never heard from her again either.

I sincerely hope Dell takes me to court, I want to make this a real media event. I paid extra for next day service which I never did receive. I faithfully paid this lease for an entire year after it crashed trying to get through and get a service tech to my home with no luck. It took one missed payment to get a response or I should say, "no response".

I am in the legal field and I have already made it well known to all about the type of service they can expect from Dell. Two smaller law firms backed right off and I have also informed all my friends about this problem with Dell's service once they get your signature on the bottom line and they have lost there as well. I will never buy another Dell or recommend Dell.

[verogza]

Bad, bad experience.

Another bad story...

To make it short, I sent a laptop for repair, they send it to a wrong address, so they sent me a replacement.

But, the full story is:

It took a month, a few emails and maybe 20 hours in the phone (My technique: I just push the "speaker" button and forget about it until I hear a human voice) to them to figure it out . And I had to explain the problem to each representative I got in the phone!!, and they were a lot of them: from Tech service, to customer service, to warraty service... finally someone figure what the problem was (my invoice and shipping address are in different cities, they sent it to the correct address in the wrong city... even when they picked it up in the right place the first time). I was ok with the delay in the begging, you know, it were close to christmas, I new they had probably more work than usual and the laptop user had a backup PC to work in. I was ok with their accents, since english is not my first language (as you probably already noticed for my spell and grammar) I didn't mind to ask "can you repeat that again?" a few times. But today I finally received my laptop, So I removed the HD that came with the machine and plugged the old HD on it (which they ask you to keep when you send laptops for repair)....BLUE SCREEN; I will save you the tech details but, stupidly I called tech support again. I got a representative in less than 10 minutes, he told me I had to send back the new or the old HD (and I will but, why do they send it in the first place?, oh, I got it, because my old one will not work in the new equipment! why they are not compatibles? they just change a D600 for a D610!) and after working with him for another 10 or 15 minutes he put me on hold to talk with his supervisor, he came back to tell me that before he can help me I had to talk with customer support because the laptop was reported as lost, "oh, they are confused again", I thought, "its cool, no problem I will clarify with them", then the tech person reviewed my info.....they still had the wrong address in their system!. At this point I was really curious about what the customer service had to said, and I really wanted to tell a few words to them. So he transfer my call, which of course was never answered. The tech support representative had some problems to find the extension number, but finally he did... "you will hear two beeps, please wait", "don't worry" I said, "I am used to it".

[CalTex Artist]

Dell nightmare

After two hours on the phone, on hold and being sent from India to South America and back to India, I was told that I could not get a simple part for my Dell all in-one. It is probably a 25cent part,but apparently this two year old printer is now garbage.

I don't know if I am more upset over my "throw-away" printer or the two hours spent with non-English speakers who constantly interrupted me and spoke while I was speaking. It is amazing enough that Dell would hire people who did not understand nor speak English, but they were rude
as well!

Unfortunately, I am told that customer service is not any better with other companies, and I do like Dell products....except, of course, when one tiny missing part renders them worthless except for the landfill.

[jgleason4234]

Dell Computers customer service

We had a terrible experience with Dell. Our computer is under warranty, and we spent 8 hours on the phone doing "tests" only to prove that our hard drive had failed for the second time--this one was only 4 months old. At one point, a tech actually hung up on us and close our service ticket claiming he had solved the problem.

[kenlola]

Purchasing Dell is like dealing w/gangsters

I purchased a Dell server for my Business. It arived in a timely manner and I set an appointment to have a certified microsoft engineer install it. He set everything up and it seemed to work fine until the server shut itself down over and over again. I called my certified microsoft guy and he came and checked it out and said there is a licencing conflict. I called Dell tech support and after 45 minutes I was told that the microsoft small business server operating system that was recomended to me by Dell will only run on a domain server and my network is setup for workgroups. I would have to speak to my sales rep. He had been fired and my replacement rep was not in that day so I could leave a message. I asked to speak to a manager. I got disconected. I called back about 8 times in the next 3 days and got disconnected everytime after at least 30 minutes. I finaly got through to a manager after the weekend and was told that the operating system could not be returned because it was past the 21 day return policy. The 21 days starts not when you recieve it but the day it is shipped. I found an e-mail from dell from their tech dept that was within the 21 day period proving that I tried to return it within the 21 day return period and I was told to hold on a second. When she came back I was told that the return policy was really only 14 days and that everyone I had spoken to previously was mistaken so I was stuck with an operating system that doesn't work ($499.00). I tried to reason with them but they just said there is nothing we can do. I was given a 60 day same as cash loan and I said I'm not going to pay for something that wont work. They just said there is nothing we can do. By now I'm thinking these guys are like gangsters "we got your money so screw off pal." I called the finance company and told them I'm not going to pay for the operating system if it wont work. The finance company agreed with me. They contacted Dell and I'm waiting to hear if Dell will make an exception to their completely fair return policy. This has cost me about 15 hours on the phone of agravation. How can a company like Dell totally disregard customer satisfaction. Do they think that customers will be happy paying $499 for an operating system the is not compatable with my entire office network environment. Especially since they recomended it to me. Wake up Dell, your losing customers faster than you could ever know.

Ken Marion

[pdyus]

Dell Customer Disservice

I don't want to repeat what everyone who has called Dell Customer Service already knows, so instead I'll make a list for you to agree with or laugh at.
1. Hold times (as long as 8 hours!!!)
2. Transfers (as many as 8 in one 4 hour call)
3. Wrong product shipped
4. Defective product shipped
5. Orders lost or not shipped with no notification
6. Voice over IP (what did you say? that's if their English is good)
7. Next Day Business Service (a week later!)
8. Next Day Business Service (everyday for 3 days)
A different tech showed up each day to fix one thing.
9. 10 or more calls over a 2 week period for 1 single issue.
10. Customer Service refers you to the wrong department.
11. Technical support knows less than I do. (Although I am Microsoft Certified Network Engineer)
12. Refuse a shipped order and wait 35 days for the credit to go back onto your credit card.
As I compile this list I have been on the phone with Dell's various departments trying to find out about an order that was placed a week ago for 2nd day delivery that is still showing "Order Processing" when I log into the website.
I have been on hold listening to Dell's wonderful music for 1 hour and 5 minutes, I am going to hang-up again for the 4th time since I started my calls at 9am and it is now 1:30pm.

Go Dell Go!!!

The equipment is good but the company is terrible.

[EAPENJJ]

Switch Vendors

Suggest you buy Hp/Lennovo!

Reality - more expensive than Dell.

You choose!

[RodCC]

Be cautious when dealing with DELL

I have been dealing with a technical issue with DELL since
Novemeber. They have been running me in circles. Since I will be
taking my case through litigation, I am unable to go into details at
this time. Please, if anyone is considering a DELL product, consider
the list of complaints listed above.

[kennyrose]

Dell Services /Nightmare

We bought a XPS 400 Dell computer on 12/20/05.Two hours after being online the computer froze up.
Contacting Dell support we found that Dell support was in India.
Nothing against these good people but most are hard to understand and we spend hours on the phone but the tech's was unable to fix what ever was wrong with the computer.
From 12/25/05 to 1/28/06 we have a pile of e mails from tech support with no answers as to how to fix this "Lemon".
Phone calls to dell support have been awful after being on hold ten to fifteen mintues the call is droped and the tech dose not call back even thought he/she has the numbner to call us back.
I finally got in touch with the person that sold us the computer over the phone after telling him the problem with the computer he put me on hold I waited for him to return on the line but after fiftteen mintues the call was droped he never called me back.
It appears to me when Dell tech's don't want to deal with you this is how they handle your call put you on hold then the call is disconected after you wait a long while.
We have spent many hours on the phone with Dell support to no avail they can not fix the problems this computer even afte re floor matting the computer.
This will be for certain our last Dell product we bought in the U.S.A. and expect service in the U.S.A.
If your considering a Dell product it would be wise to read these comsumer complaints we wish we had done our home work first.
Now we have the mess of boxing this computer up and shipping it to Dell and so nice of Dell we pay for the return of the peice of junk they sold us.
I have mailed to our attorney genearl office a formal complaint against Dell Inc.

J.Stepp
Oregon

[kennyrose]

Ken You Are Sadly So Right

We bought a Dell XPS 400 got it 12/23/05 hooked it up two hours online it froze up.Called Dell support found support was in India and have gotten noting but a run around every since from Dell support.
Dell support did this test then that and another one did this then that and nothing was solved.
I told Dell support I was shipping it back they said hold on let's try this so we did.
This went on for the full 21 days the computer froze up over and over and I.E. crashed
Dell support has us do a re -floor mat still same old problem told Dell support I'm shipping it back to Dell.
Tech says "sorry" it is past the 21 day's to late to send it back.
I have all the e mails on our first complaint 3 days after it was made so don't belive Dell will get away with any of this.
I'm very disappointed in Dell and would never buy any Dell product again and I do spread the word far and wide "Dell Is A Nightmare".

J.Stepp

[JB89147]

Sadly Right

I am gald to hear that your spreading the word. I just also wrote a piece on Dell and I have forwarded a copy of the piece to 280 of my friends and business customers asking them to read it and foward it to there friends.

[kennyrose]

Right On Brother

Your complaint about Dell Inc is much my experican the long waits on the phone to Dell tech support in India is a persons worse nightmare..
Very hard to understand some of these people and while I'm trying to say something the tech butts in time again.
I have been on hold 10-15 mintues and the call is drop Dell dose not make any attemp to call me back.
I belive this is their way of avoiding you hopeing that you will just go away.
I worked with Dell support daily nothing they did corrected the problems with my new XPS 400 comuter
so it came to the point I knew this XPS 400 was simply a "Lemom" asking for directions on how to return it to Dell Inc I was told sorry but it is past your 21 days for a return.
I explained yes but for 3 weeks Dell support has been having us do this then that and I frist compained 3 days after I got the computer.
Dell support said sorry nothing I can do for you your out side the 21 day's allowed for a return.
Well come hell or high water Dell is going to eat this lemom.
I tell everyone far and wide about the shady business of DellInc warning them to beware if they buy a Dell product they have a nighmare on their hands if any thing goes wrong.
I would never buy any Dell product what so ever they have put me and my husband through hell the past 30 days.

J.Stepp

[kennyrose]

Beware Of Dell/Nightmare

Many complains that I have read are in many ways the same.
It is clear to me Dell Inc don't care about their customers.
My XPS 400 to me was not cheap at $1,000 it has not worked rght from day one.
Hours on the phone with tech support in India and many e mails to Dell support has fixed nothing.
It is a total nightmare beware if you think you want a Dell computer just know we have lived most all of these compalints so we know first hand these people are right beware of very "Shady" business by Dell Inc.

J.Stepp

[elhannah]

why do you like Dell?

I guess it's nice you like Dell, but I cannot think of many reasons to find them any more likeable than other vendors, unless you consider just being "huge" a good reason.

I've purchased computers from them in the past with no noticeably better product, (and sometimes not so great) than I've purchased elsewhere (and I'm not typing this note on what would probably be the 15th or so computer I've owned.

The computers I DID buy from Dell each had flaws with them, fortunately knowing computers very well, I just handled the problems on my own (one was an LED incorrectly connected, thus not showing disk activity, and the other was a totally messed up software mess because they'd installed a second drive, and somehow messed up references to c: and d:).

The times I HAVE called Dell have been un-memorable.

All this said, I can think of reasons to avoid Dell like the plague now (and Dell isn't the only company for similar reasons) -- their continued insistance to outsource jobs. As a 21-year career professional laid off from my tech job, it is more than an annoyance to hear of massive shifts of jobs to other countries.

I just read an article stating Dell is adding 5,000 MORE jobs in India, bringing the eventual total to 15,000. Consider that Dell has 30,000 employees, and 5,000 more added in India would bring Dell's balance to 15,000 employees in India out of 35,000 employees!! Not bad for an "American" company, huh?

Bother!

[EAPENJJ]

Switch Vendors

My advice to you.

Try and Hp or Lennovo. All the components come out of the same factories and suppliers based all over the world. So chances are you will get the same defect! So don't blame Dell. For some bizzare reasons customers who hate Dell seem to come back and buy more...I wonder why???

No one is forcing you to buy a Dell!

Outsorcing increases profitability for the parent company. So that means for $$ for the US economy. Why are people like you getting hit?

Thats business for you. All about profitability!

The result - pcs that are lower in price that more people can afford! If you ran a business and found a way of cutting costs, you'd consider it wouldn't you?

[EAPENJJ]

No one is perfect.

I've been reading all the threads related so far and have a few comments to make.

It is very easy to point fingers and blame Dell for everthing wrong that is in the world today. Is your own business blemish free? Blame India, Blame China. Why?

The truth - we have skilled labour who are willing to work hard. So what? Yes improvements can be made.

Let's face it you would be buying a Dell if sales and post support functions were based out of the US entirely. You wouldn't be able to afford one!Almost every product you see in the market is manufactured in China! Aren't Hp, IBM and the other Tier1 vendors doing the same to cut costs?? Dont' they also have not so great customer service?

Outsourcing is a global trend. Was the service picture perfect when operations were based out of the US? I dont' think so. Having studied and lived in the US, I know how things work in the States too.

Lets face it. No one is perfect. Everyone can improve. Take a look at your business first. Make a difference instead of pointing the finger!

[elhannah]

you're right, no one is perfect, but.

Hi John,

Thought I'd reply at least in context of my post...

You mention "Blame India?, blame China?...". I don't. And, I didn't in my comment. I do, however blame Dell. They present themselves as an "American as Apple Pie" kind of company, and after their latest additions to their India workforce, nearly HALF of their employees will be in India! (And that doesn't factor in the other countries.)

As for the truth -- you have skilled labor willing to work hard. That's nice, but so do we. I think after 21 years with a company, garnering technical achievement awards for my work... I'd shown willingness to work AND skill.

As for the added expense... of not outsourcing, I disagree with the argument that things would be unaffordable... it's simply not true. Things would be more expensive, they wouldn't be unaffordable! When it becomes about making every last penny one can squeeze out the marketplace and not about more holistic motives, I rail.

And yes, other companies are doing the same thing Dell is (as I indicated in my post). It becomes easily the "everyone else is doing it so we have to too" argument, pretty lame coming from "technical" companies. And you are correct, the quality of service from this move is horrendous (I could spend a day relating my experiences around some support calls I've been on... (and yes, I have them all documented)).

No one is perfect, exactly. But human behavior is a continuum. On one end is almost saintliness, the other evil. Some of the decision making and actions by companies today are a little closer to the evil end than they were before.

[afrector]

Stay away from Dell

In October I had to purchase a new printer from Dell after the one that came with my Dell PC broke a tiny part due to being made of cheap materials. So I purchased a 926. After three months of very little use it began to give me a message:"right cartridge is inserted incorrectly"! Well Dell was the place it was inserted and it hadn't been out so where was this coming from? The tech on-line told me to take out the cartridge and wipe it off and the message would go away. It didn't. He sent me a new cartridge for which I wasn't to be charged and that didn't work. And I was charged for the cartridge! Then I reported the failure again and they sent me a new printer. When I took this one OUT OF THE BOX! and HOOKED IT UP! it gave me the same message as the other one:"right cartridge...." and it hadn't been used. And it didn't come with new cartridges!!! What a scam. What a rip off. What a thievery. What JUNK! The next tech I talked to on-line told me that the second was was a rebuilt one. Heck, I purchased and new one, why was Dell sending a used one? This company is crap. Michael Dell is an arrogant thief. Don't go through these nightmares. Go to Best Buy or Office Depot or to everyone's enemy, WalMart, but don't buy from Dell. Let Michael go broke.