Dell Support Sucks IV

There isn’t much new on the Dell horror story. The three boxes (one each laptop and one accessories) are on the way back to Dell. I assume they will hit me with all kinds of re-stocking fees but it will be worth it to be free of Dell’s support system.

That’s not to say I still don’t love the XPS M1330. For the short time I used it, it confirmed that, aside from the physical defect, it is the best light weight laptop there is. Period. Its combination of speed (CPU and drives), beautiful LED backlit screen, and general design cannot be beat (including the Apple Air). It’s not for nothing that it won PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice. Their review called the M1330 a “breakthrough improvement” and I agree with that 100 percent.

Still, all of that went down the tubes when my first laptop had an obvious warped frame/case. I mean, open the laptop and start typing and it would begin rocking back and forth. There is no excuse for shipping something like that. Add to that the problem of shipping a replacement laptop that was different from my first one and things just go down hill even faster than they were. Cap that with the offer of a $100 credit, only after I began the refund process and Dell heaped insult onto injury.

I assume the boxes should make it back to Dell sometime late this week. When I know how the refund process works out I’ll let you know. But for now, I’m now looking for something else that meets my criteria for a light weight business class laptop (i.e., 2.0GHz CPU, 13-inch LED backlit screen, at least 5,400RPM hard drive and preferably a 7,200, weighing around four pounds, and costing less than $2,000).

I realize that there may not be anything that meets this criteria, other than the XPS M1330. If so, I guess I’ll just wait until there is. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

Update

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Dell Support Sucks, But Not So Much, Maybe

I finally got a reply to my email to Dell from last week Friday. That would be the one where I indicated the system descriptions did not match between the defective laptop and the replacement. The response says that the screens do match, even though there is no evidence of that in the description (I did not open the box because I did not want to become responsible for any problems the replacement may have).

I don’t know if that is true, but if so, the other differences are still there and, and this point, they are literally a day late and more than a dollar short as I have already processed a refund request.

That said, if Dell support can screw something up, it appears they will so I am still waiting for the problems to begin regarding the refund.

Like what? Like the part of support that is still processing things as a replacement rather than a refund. I got an automated phone call yesterday morning from Dell reminding me to use the DHL shipping label to return my defective laptop. The problem is the refund request is set up to use UPS. Clearly, one part of Dell doesn’t know that a refund request is in process and not a replacement. The worst case scenarios is I will be charged for both laptops and get no refund even though both will have been shipped back to Dell.

At this point, the odds are better than even that is exactly what will happen. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

Update

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Dell Support Sucks II

I was on the phone to Dell Customer Support twice for a total of about 45 minutes. The first call I terminated after waiting on hold for six minutes (with no indication as to how much longer I would be on hold). The second call was on hold for just a few minutes and someone by the name of Ryan began the refund process. Unfortunately, I had to explain again the problems, then he had to do some research, and after doing so, he transferred my call to someone else. I asked him if all the emails going back and forth between Dell and I was in the case. He said it was. So it was unclear to me why I needed to explain anything as everything was already in writing.

Once transferred to the new person, I then had to explain again why I wanted to return everything and get a refund. The new person on the phone, Punit, had an Indian accent and was not all that easy to understand. However, once I finished explaining what I wanted, he said he would process another replacement. After waiting a moment and taking a deep breath so that I would not unleash a string of family unfriendly words, I explained again that I did not wish to get another replacement because it would probably be mis-configured or warped like the earlier two laptops. He insisted I could not assume that there would be problems and he would process another replacement. I insisted that he would not as I was the customer who paid for the system and he would instead process a return and full refund.

Instead, he offered a $100 store credit if I would take another replacement. I refused and told him, if they wanted my business, they should have offered something prior to my demanding a full refund. If earlier, they had offered, for example, an upgraded CPU, or more RAM, or something like that, I would have accepted the offer. However, at this point so late in the process I am offended by this attempt to buy me off with a store credit.

He finally agreed to do the refund. What Punit says will happen is that UPS will arrive within 24 hours to pick up the three boxes (one each for the two laptops and one for the accessories). Once the boxes are received by Dell and everything accounted for, I will receive a refund for all items returned within 31 days.

Excuse me if I am skeptical about this part of customer support working any better than any other part. I can envision spending more of my time trying to work out more errors on the part of Dell and expect delays to my refund.

As I may have said before in my earlier posts, I cannot imagine ever ordering anything else from Dell for myself or the Division that I manage. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

Update

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Dell Support Sucks

You can read my multiple posts here, here, here, here, and here for all the details. This post will give a quick summary then give you an update on where things are at the moment.

Having waited until the long anticipated announcement regarding the Apple Air turned out to be inadequate for use as a primary laptop (and way too expensive for as a secondary one), I chose the Dell XPS M1330.

At first, I was happy and optimistic in anticipation of getting what I thought would be a great Dell laptop. But then it began to go wrong.

First, when the laptop arrived, it appeared to either have a warped frame or case. When I reported the problem to Dell, they scheduled the replacement of the palm rest. Said replacement did nothing to solve the problem. Even the technician that did the replacement acknowledged the failure and, I believe, called Dell directly to tell them that.

I then emailed Dell to let them know that the laptop was not fixed. Dell responded by saying they would replace the laptop. In due course, I got an email saying a new one was in production. However, when I checked to confirm the replacement was identical to my original one I found substantial differences, the major one being the wrong type of screen. I immediately notified Dell of the differences and told them they needed to stop the production and correct the problem. But I never got a reply.

I emailed another Dell represenative and this time got a reply saying he would elevate the problem to the group resopnsible for resolving my situation. As of this writing, I have not gotten a reply from this group or anyone else.

Now for the update. At about noon today, the replacement arrived. Yes, it was the one with the wrong screen and other discrepancies. I immediately sent an email notifying Dell of the arrival and that I would be calling to cancel my original order, would return both laptops, and would expect a full refund. As of this writing, I have not gotten a reply.

After I finish posting this, I will call Dell to execute the above.

I cannot imagine how any company can stay in business with such shoddy quality control. It has been one error after another with no one seemingly able to carryout the simplest of tasks without making critical mistakes.

I cannot imagine approving the purchase of any Dell products for any of the employees in my Division.

As for a laptop, the Apple Air is massively inadequate, compromised, and expensive so I guess I’ll take a look at what Sony has. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here

Update

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