Dell vs. the Blogosphere
Posted by Harry McCracken | Sunday, July 10, 2005 8:44 PM PT
Back on June 21st, high-profile blogger Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine started chronicling his truly crummy experiences with a new Dell laptop and Dell's service. (
Here's an archive of his posts, complete with multiple, rants, updates, and--should you care--a litle foul language.) Ever since, lots of bloggers (such as the Houston Chronicle's
Dwight Silverman and
all these folks) have been discussing Dell, its service, and, especially, whether the company should be scouring blogs and following up on complaints it finds in them.
Some have said that Dell should have lavished attention on Jarvis--not because he was an unhappy customer, but because he was an influential blogger. Others have responded--quite rightly--that Dell shouldn't treat him any differently than any other customer with a busted computer. (
Everybody should get good service, not just those who can complain about bad service in a very public way.)
But just about everyone seems to agree that if Dell thinks it can ignore what customers say about it in blogs, it's dead wrong. And they're right. (A Dell rep told Silverman that the company reads blogs but doesn't respond to complaints it finds in them.)
As a guy who writes about technology companies (for years in dead-tree form, and more recently via this blog), I've tried to bend over backwards to be treated as a mundane, everyday customer when it comes to technical support. Real-world customer service encounters are extremely important--they help me learn how companies really treat the people who buy their products. And they've given me countless leads on stories for PC World.
That's one reason why I tend to purchase products from an ever-changing array of vendors--I want a chance to live with them all and see what happens. And so I've bought products from Dell, Toshiba, Compaq, HP, Epson, Canon, Iomega, Apple, Sony, Nikon, Fujitsu, Panasonic, and countless other companies with my own money, and called them for support.
My experiences have ranged from delightful to hellacious, but as far as I know, I've gotten the same treatment as any other random customer, which is as it should be. (With one exception: A palmtop manufacuturer who shall remain nameless--okay, it was Psion--noticed when I sent my handheld back for repair and seemed surprised that I wanted to be treated like a normal buyer.)
Still, I never forget (and bloggers should remember) that anecdotal evidence is...well, anecdotal, whether it's good or bad. A single Dell horror story--or dozens of them--tells you that Dell gets things profoundly wrong some of the time. So does every other major computer manufacturer. But anecdotes don't give you real data on what your odds are with any specific company, or how it stacks up to the competition.
Which is why PC World has conducted an ongoing subscriber survey about reliability and service for many years. It's the single most costly, complex, time-consuming, stressful project we do. (We're deep into work on the next iteration right now, even though it won't see print for months.) It's also one of the most valuable things we'll ever do, because a statistically-significant survey of thousands of people can tell you things that anecdotal reports can't.
What does our survey say about Dell? There was a time (as
recently as 2000) when PC World readers rated it as the only PC company that delivered outstanding overall reliability and service. Today, the situation is murkier, and Dell is no longer a shining star. In our
most recent survey, which was conducted last year, subscribers told us that the company was above average in some areas (desktop reliability), average in others (overall notebook reliability and service), and below average in some (phone hold times and overall phone rating).
All in all, our results suggest that Dell's support isn't what it once was. But they don't say that Dell has fallen to the bottom of the barrel, either--numerous big-name computer merchants fared worse. (Some bloggers speak approvingly of the fact that HP has some corporate blogs, and Dell doesn't. But as of yet, there's no evidence that that's a good reason to buy an HP computer: The company fared far worse than Dell in our most recent survey.)
Anyhow, I'm digressing here. To me, the most provocative part of Jarvis's posts weren't his recounting of his Dell nightmare or his response (he bought a Mac), but his musings in reaction to Dell wanting to diagnose problems over the phone rather than send out a tech for a service call. Here's what he said:
When my car breaks, I drop it off and tell them what's wrong and leave. They fix it. They verify it's fixed. They don't make me get into the greasepit with them.
When my electricity goes fritz at home, I call in the electrician and tell him what's wrong and he fixes it and tests it and I pay him and thank him. I don't have to hang out with him and hand him wirestrippers.
But with computers, we are expected to suffer through the process; we aren't allowed to say, "Just fix it: The machine you made is broken so fix it and make sure it's fixed."
Why the hell do we tolerate this?
Glib answer: We tolerate this in part because the price of computers continues to plummet...unlike the cost of cars or electrical service. Brutal cost-cutting pressure is one reason why PC support and service has gotten chintzier over the years--and in some ways I miss the days when computers cost more but came with more robust warranties. (In fairness to Jarvis, he paid Dell extra for a premium on-site support package and still came away unhappy.)
Do
you think the way we get computers fixed is fundamentally broken?
I have bought a number of HP products including a HP Compaq nx9010 laptop and a Photosmart 935 (5.3MP) camera and HP Psc 1210 (all in one). The support for the laptop was good to crummy depending on the nature of the problem.
I had initial problems with the modem which was corrected via mail in support to my satisfaction. Then the keyboard started getting random sticky keys (ironically a month out of the one year warranty), I was forced to replace it at a cost of around $100. I was surprised when the customer care rep I called offered to sell me the same keyboard for about 2/3s the price (without warranty, in his words "a personal favor"), when I said I was not interested in buying from HP at that price and said I'd contact Reddington (HP supplier) for a better deal.
A month or two after this, the hard disk failed to boot up and I was not even able to enter the BIOS setup program. I tried switching it on over 80 times (over 30 days) and it successfully booted up twice (crashed both times after a few minutes). Remembering your advice on dying hard disks, I tried to write my documents on to a disc (crashed while it was being done).
I never bothered to call customer care, strangely the hard disk started working properly (with all files intact) a month after it "failed". I've been using it for the past four months without any problems (I couldn't find any bad sectors on it using disk scanning programs).
As for DELL, I'd expect them to provide good customer serivice considering that they charge significantly higher than HP for computers of similar configuration.
If you crash a car, no matter whose fault it is you need the garage to fix it. If you crash the computer, it is much more effective for the support team to talk you through fixing it so a) you probably won't do it again and b) if you do then you can probably fix it yourself. I used to work in a support centre where over 70% of the calls were fixable on the phone. Customers really are appreciative when you help them fix it themselves, it gives them a sense of achievement and they go away happier, not feeling an idiot and having to wait for a visit. Yes, it takes a little skill and practice to deal with them this way but it is well worth it. If the fault is not resolvable on the phone, they usually appreciate that you have tried.
After 25 years of portable and desktop computers, I have a fairly good idea of what happens when things break. My old 1983 Kaypro IV CP/m based computer ran forever without a problem - then I entered the hell of DOS, Windows, Toshiba, IBM and worst of all, DELL.
In February of 2002, this all changed when I switched both my business and home computers to Apple - running their new operating system OSx.
It has now been 3 years and 6 months with no data loss, no viruses, no hung computers, no blue death screens and no repairs.
Not even one re-boot. None.
Apple just works.
I am an IT pro so I have no problem dealing with Dell - I just check out what they ask. My wife is not an IT Pro and she has very bad experiences with Dell. She has no idea what they are talking about and usually asks me to deal with them. I have 3 year in house maintenance on two computers from Dell and have never actually seen a technician - they just send me new parts. I am back to buying more generic computers again. They are just as good.
I fought with Dell for months to get a FULL refund for TWO defective computers they sent me. I finally won, but I had to contact the local newspaper, consumer groups, BBB, and the Federal Trade Commision. Dell has become a horrible company. The quality of the product has declined, and the customer service is beyond horrible. I used to talk highly of Dell, now I recommend everyone stay FAR AWAY from Dell.
I gues I'm lucky. I never have those problems. My first Machine was a Commadore 64, I purchased it at "Toys are US". Then an Amiga 1000 and a 2000.
My first IBM compatible I built myself. Since then I'v build more machines than I can remember, surly over 1000.
Today, just about anyone can do it, auto detect HD, cant plug cables backwards anymore. etc.
Call Monarch or NewEgg and by a combo, they mount the CPU/HS and fan. They even know what slots to use for proper memory installation. They even configure the BIOS.All you have to do is mount it in the case.
You can even purchase a extended warrenty, only a few dollars.
Above all, they are nice folks to deal with.
Why suffer?
I just want to say that DELL is not worth my time. They use crappy parts in there computers, which in my opinion, cause them to be slow! I would much prefer buying from one of the vendors in my PCGAMER Magazine. They atleast use state of the art parts and non-generic ones at that! Or at the least, I woul build one my self. So in conclusion, DELL's lack of state of the art parts and generic part use is probably their greatest downfall.
Most computer problems (especially the ones we get most upset about) are not actually computer problems. I am an IT pro who used to work in a call center. About 80% of the calls could be resolved without sending a part or a tech. Viruses, spyware, Windows issues, incorrect usage, or just plain ignorance were the most common calls. A company like Dell shouldn't be held responsible for the general poor computing environment caused by malicious spyware companies and untrained end-users. Sending a technician to everyone who doesn't want to do any "dirty work" with the phone support rep would cost all computer manufacturers billions. Who do you think would end up paying for this? Those of us who know how to use our computers responsibly.
If you want someone to come clean up your computer or train you at your home, call a local tech and pay for it yourself. Dell will pay for a part and tech if you have a real problem.
I agree in part with Mike C, however if one purchases a pc with an extended warranty, the very minimum one should get is courteous service. I work in the IT department for Xerox, Oracle Development, and agree that most problems can be resolved without the need or expense of sending out a tech or parts. However my own experience with Dell is horrendous. For many years I have built my own systems, however I decided to purchase a Dell XPS gen 5. What a mistake! I?m, not going to bad mouth Dell to the point of proclaiming them the epitome of evil, but needless to say that after the issue I had (a defective 21 inch CRT) and being on hold for countless hours or speaking to uneducated personnel in 3 different counties ( Philippines, Ireland, and India), I will never purchase a Dell again. It took Dell 9 weeks and 4 monitors to finally get me the product I purchased with the system. I spent over $3500.00 on this system and received unspectacular service. To this day I have not received an apology, even after sending registered letters to Dell's corporate offices, with copies to the BBB, and Federal Trade Commission.
In My opinion in the ever search to cut down expenses, the service departments, of not just Dell, but many large corporations, have taken the back seat. Companies need to realize that it is service after the sale that builds loyalty, over and above a solid and valuable product.
It seems to me that a majority of these horrible experiences with PC manufacturers happen when normal people are edealing with companies that have expanded rapidly and become a sort of monoply type figures fin their industry. The main problem with dell is that it right now many people who aren't tech-savy think of dell as one of the only pc manufacturers and because of this people put up with dell's b.s. Personally I've had a dell in the past and the customer service back then was fine. Now when i am trying to fix up the old dells and give the tech support to help me it seems like every other sentence the guy goes "hold on let me ask my supervisor". I think the main problem with dell is that it has too many customers and not enough tech-savy people to work in customer service. Personally now I am trying to stay away from the big names in computers and go with lesser known companies. 1. you save money and 2. smaller companies care about customer satisfaction more. The main problem I think with dell is that they have such a hold on the industry that they don't concern themselves with customer satisfaction.
i have been dealing with dell for months now trying to get a account problem fixed but b/c there customer service and there finacial services are two different departments and never talk to each other, the finacial depar. never gets the updates and they keep calling me for money. Plus if you leave messages for any of the managers of the finanical department they dont return your calls. Like the other guy said, i once talk highly of Dell but now they can blow me i will never buy fom them again
The sad part about all of these computer manufacturers is that they have outsourced all of their support to people overseas who do not know how to speak proper English!
Corporate greed will be their demise as most consumers will have local PC dealers (or young educated techies) build them a machine that is just as reliable yet provide better support.
I just graduated from a high school who bought every computer from dell since dell came into the mainstream pc making business. The old dells work 75% more of the time then the ones they bought this year, no joke. Not a weak goes by when the media center dosnt have a down computer. We use 3 virus scaners, 2 spyware scanners and have a hardware and software firewall. At my school we have been taking computer classes since kindergarten, no joke. You either have to be pretty dumb to screw up a new computer with that much training or have crappy computers, since we still have government funding I'd say its the computers. do yourself a favor, buy an HP or Compaq computer, I've had mine for 4 years and the only problems were self-induced. (I like to goof around with alot of settings:))
Dell is the drive-through of the computer industry. They outsource their support overseas and cut costs at distribution. Would anyone expect the same quality of a dine-in restaurant at the local burger joint? Anyone who purchases Dell should knowingly be taking the price advantage only at the sacrifice of service, support, and yes, quality.
bought a dell laptop last year Inspiron 4150, after about 14months, start experiencing frequent frame rate drop at some fixed interval when playing games. before that doesn't have this problem. The situation is like when playing games cpu temperature get until a point it has to reduce clock rate... reliability issue...
last month, my laptop died struck by lightning through ethernet port connected to my modem. the repair cost as much as half of my laptop price when i first bought it...
so i just customized a clone pc, let my laptop lying there, dead...
they won't even help me retrieve the data inside my laptop hdd... damn outsource technician company.
My family has come to know me as the computer guy. I have repaired and upgraded numerous computers for both my family and several of their friends.
ALL of the problems I ecnountered while repairing the computers were simply the result of software issuses caused by lack of understanding by the computer user.
I'v made the mistake of calling a service rep for a compaq and the person I spoke too didn't know english that well. I had trouble just understaning what the person said. All I needed was a small bit of information, however being that the service rep knew nothing about computers, I had to wait fo him to read throught almost the entire script before getting to the info I needed.
Like it or not the service after the sale really determines how a customer feels towards a company. Although most problems the rep faces are software isuses created by the user, most can be corrected with a few mouse clicks. Being that the reps know less about computers then they do English, what should take a few minuets to correct can often be an all day event.
This lack of comitment to the customer is where even the biggest companies fail.
I have not had many problems with Dell, but my notebook was the worst (it was still usable, but just not perfect). With my most recent Dell (a desktop), it didn't include the OS and dirver installation CDs (I hope I won't need them), so I emailed Dell and they sent them. The only problem was that, attatched to the packing slip of the CDs, it said: IMPORTANT: PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS TO RETURN PRODUCT TO DELL TO AVOID BILLING COLLECTION. But there were no broken or defective parts. There was only a piece of cardbord that said if you need CDs, go to support.dell.com/pcrt . I was thinking of sending that to them, but I decided to just ignore it.
Overall my experience with Dell has been good.
I've purchased two Dell computers (notebook and desktop) in the past 3 years and have not had any major problems with either of them.
I do plan to go to an Apple/OSX system in the near future. Dell has stated that commoditization is the way to go, and I believe in the Apple way - good design.
The Apple iBook I looked at was light, sleek, has lots of power, has a fair price, and, quite honestly, I'm tired of the WinTel/Dell hell alliance of marginal computers that work but eventually slow down with o/s clutter and heavy laptop that would break someone's back if he carried it long enough.
I've purchased two Dell computers (notebook and desktop) in the past 3 years and have not had any major problems with either of them.
I do plan to go to an Apple/OSX system in the near future. Dell has stated that commoditization is the way to go, and I believe in the Apple way - good design.
The Apple iBook I looked at was light, sleek, has lots of power, has a fair price, and, quite honestly, I'm tired of the WinTel/Dell hell alliance of marginal computers that work but eventually slow down with o/s clutter and heavy laptop that would break someone's back if he carried it long enough.
There is NOTHING cutting edge about Dell products. The XPS G5 is a joke. For the price, I'd buy an Alienware.
A "IT PRO" that buys computers from dell??
Dell is the worst company I've ever had to deal with over the phone. I could not believe how aweful their support was in the environment of such an onslaught of advertising of how "good" Dell suport is rated.
I build computers and know a little about them, but I had experienced a problem with a neighbors computer that I could not explain.
After an hour or two of going over the computer with an service tech we found out that the power supply was holding too much power. That was the explanation I got after repeated asking of what was the problem? We had to hold the power button for 15s to clear this excess charge.
Wow, first time I've ever heard about this but who knows maybe it happens all the time to dell computers or other worthless junk.
Now, for the attention to go to the "service tech" because this is a SUPER GRIP of mine and many. This tech was the epitome of outsourcing far from the image that is shown on commercials that dell trolls on our tvs.
Up all night has a new meaning to me now. The service tech with her scripted monologue had to "go" in the middle of the call. Before I had said that was it. She could no stay anymore for some reason that she would not explain. She offered to call in a few hours if that was ok. I told her NO because it was 11:30 at night and I'm sure no one would appreciate a call from a tech at 2:00am.
Anyways, you gota love dell, the new aol for people that are clueless and easy to be taken advantage. Their use of outsourced workers that can hardly speak english and don't know anymore than a waitress in the US just sticks it to the US as a whole. Their endless use of commercials to falsly cast a good "American" image on their tech support is bordering on terrorism.
I bought a little bare-bones system from Aberdeen for a few hundred bucks a few years ago and with the exception of the motherboard blowing out about a year later, I have had no trouble with it. I run it a lot and have done some upgrades, but it has been humming strong for several years now and shows no signs of stopping. My mom has had two Compaqs and both have worked pretty well. My grandmother has a HP Pavillion, and ever since I downgraded from WinME *shutters* to Win98SE it's been a lot better. Never tried a Dell though.
When I buy a laptop for college, I'm leaning towards a Fujitsu or maybe I'll go over to Apple. My aunt has always used Apples and I've never heard anything but praise for them from her.
Oh geez, this guy is pissed because he has to fix the computer himself. Dell gives you a warranty and they fully tell you what the warranty does. To compare it to the other way that industries have decided to do things is nothing to complain over. My answer is get yourself a life, if you don't like the way a company does things buy from the ones that do!!. This is such a waste of time.
I ordered a Dell pc about two months ago,a Gen5 it never arrived the delivery company failed to deliver three times to an address they previously had found fine,ok this is not Dell themselves but their outsourcing is awful and getting a refund took 3 weeks all the time gaining me interest on a system i did not have,and they kept asking me to return it to them! how many times do you need to explain something to customer services? Dell are just plain atrocious,to big to care and after a fast buck it seems.
I haven't had the bad experiences with Dell so many others describe. I work at a large sign manufacturing company. Every one of our PCs are Dell models and we have very little trouble with any of them. Both of my home PCs are Dells (one is an aging Dell Dimension 4100 unit and the other is a new Dell Inspiron6000d notebook). I have had no problems with the notebook and only a minor issue (failed CD-RW drive) with the old machine. Overall my experience with Dell has been much more positive.
That doesn't negate bad things happening to others. I really despise the outsourcing trend. Dell has been stung pretty badly by it. They're building a huge new call center not far from downtown Oklahoma City. Hopefully that will help improve service quality a bit. At least more of the folks manning the phones with American names will have American accents to match.
Others have pointed it out, but I'll stress it also. Bad user habits and use of very poor quality software (lots of kiddie and budget-ie apps) bring down PCs more than any other cause. Every time I have to fix a friend's malfunctioning PC it always turns out to be clogged with too many applications, the hard drive is overloaded with junk and the machine has been badly misused. The equivalent in the "car analogy" is driving your vehicle 30,000 miles without changing the oil.
To the i4150 owner:
Respectfully, Dell didn't sell you lightning insurance. If a lightning surge hits and frys it, it is not Dell's reponsbility to fix it. If that is such a problem to you, buy a surge protector with a warranty on the electronics attatched to it.
Just wanted to chime in that I have been buying Dell computers for almost 10 years. Their support has gotten progresively worse. I recently bought a new laptop which performs terrible. I would never buy a Dell computer again.
Well, I have a lot of experience on computer and call centers and frankly I would have to say that the statistics not lie, Dell have been consistently providing an outstanding support and testing on their systems that is recognized on the industry therefore it is selected by large companies to deploy his system solutions. What happen is that when you have warranty on a computer is does not mean all the software let say spyware, virus and so forth will be cover. it only cover real hardware issues remember dell is a hardware company and you will have to do a little trobleshoot in order to give the tech a clear idea about what happening and if it is actually a real problem not just a unexperience client doing wrong things on the system. A last recommendation to all those unsatisfied clients is to figure out before they buy a system if they want a workshop service(usually take month to be resolve) or an onsite service (usually less than 4 days) because if you want a onsite service you gotta be prepare to explain exactly the problem and what the tech is gonna face when he be there, that?s why you?re ask to trobleshoot on the phone. Also the vast mayority of sofware computer problems can be resolved if you search online databases on how-to or if you just take the time to read the system guides and help wizards which noone use there are the answers to the 70% of the calls a call center handle.
I have read all your replies, they are very interesting. I have never brought a dell myself I know people who have. I am no tech, but through my experience with computers I have found the most common problem with computers is their software. I remember the days when computers were more reliable. I believe like many of you that the fault lies not only with the computer manufactures but, also the companies like Microsoft, Apple and the others that keep producing inferior platforms. Sure Windows XP looks nice; but we all know that is a fa?ade; it?s riddled with more bugs and is more vulnerable for hackers. Every new edition of their software it is progressively worst then it predecessor. Corporate greed has crippled the dream that was once the private computer. They have grown fat on their profits praying on the ignorance of computer buyers. I think its time for we as the consumer to take a stand.
I have read all your replies, they are very interesting. I have never brought a dell myself I know people who have. I am no tech, but through my experience with computers I have found the most common problem with computers is their software. I remember the days when computers were more reliable. I believe like many of you that the fault lies not only with the computer manufactures but, also the companies like Microsoft, Apple and the others that keep producing inferior platforms. Sure Windows XP looks nice; but we all know that is a fa?ade; it?s riddled with more bugs and is more vulnerable for hackers. Every new edition of their software is progressively worst then it predecessor. Corporate greed has crippled the dream that was once the private computer. They have grown fat on their profits praying on the ignorance of computer buyers. I think its time for we as the consumer to take a stand.
I just bought my second Dell desktop 3 months ago, replacing my first dell bought in 2000. I have been fortunate that my first Dell, and so far my new one, have been mostly problem free. The thing I HAVE noticed drastically changed from the year 2000/2001 to now, is the telephone support. It was second to none with my first comp, and I was shocked to find how far it had sunk when calling for some assistance on my new system. The worst thing is whatever country Dell has outsourced it's tech support, It's a travesty. What good is it to even listen to any suggestions that are probably not going to help if you can not understand what the tech person is saying? The accent with every one I have spoken to is so bad, it's impossible to understand them.
I have been a network administrator for 5 years and been in IT for 20. We have over 500 dell desktops and 25 dell servers at work. They are very dependable machines that rarely break. When they do - I will admit that knowing alot when contacting their support is a big plus.
I have always built my own pc's. I am also a hardcore gamer so my pc's are usually cutting edge and replaced at least once a year. This time I decided to just buy a dell for at home. I bought a very nicely equiped Dell XPS gen5 dual core, 2GB's, ati x850xt PE256mb, 500gb sata raid0, etc. I will tell you - I am impressed by this machine. I expected it to be OK, but this is a nice PC. It does everything I throw at it fast. I have played Joint Ops online while ripping a dvd with no issues whatsoever. I am sure that lots of unknowledgable people have had issues with Dell support, but for those of us who know enough to keep our pc's out of trouble to begin with (since operator error is the #1 cause of PC problems today - trust me - I know) they are well engineered, quiet, fast, reliable PC's and servers.
Adding to what Nick said earlier, I also had a Dell a while ago. Maybe 3-4 years ago. Their service was good then. When my machine did not start, they had someone come over within a day or two and replace my motherboard.
However, it does seem to me that they don't use high quality parts. A friend of mine bought a dell last year and asked me to take a look at it to see if i could upgrade it. There was really very little that could be done. The motherboard was built for the minimum. The CD drive and HD were on the same IDE channel b/c that's the only one there was.
I build computers for people, and I think they're better off paying me more money to build it than calling dell. Since I don't deal with many people, I have a good relationship with those that I build computers for and know exactly what has been done or what they want done with the computer.
Machines may work find, but DELL has adopted the Used Car model of customer service. They're your best friend until you seal the deal. Then watch your back.
I had a double billing problem. Nobody was interested. Nobody in India, anyway. As I spent 2 months trying to get a simple credit card issue resolved, I went from Happy Customer to UNHAPPY very quickly.
optiplex gxi 5200L setup
I haven't had a problem with dell. I have the at-home warranty, so when my DVD drive broke (I have no idea why), I emailed Dell and they said that they would send a new drive to a "local service center" and a technician would call when it arrived. He did and came a few days later and replaced the drive in 1 minute. Great service.
In response to the more general issue Jarvis ranted about, it depends on your perspective. Are computers a tool or an appliance to you? Most people treat their car more like an appliance: turn key, push gas, go. Tier 1 manufacturers could flex some muscle to make this happen, but they don't because the last major attempt at it was the stillborn internet appliance. As a PC user I have to say I think Macs are better at the appliance role, but not perfect. No matter the platform, a machine filling as complex and abstract a role as a computer is going to take some learning. The vast, vast majority of consumers are unwilling to learn basic computer functionality to the same degree they'd be willing to learn that you shouldn't trust your mechanic when he tells you that squealing when you break is a blown head gasket.
Also notice the clear distinction in the opinion of the responses to this article, and how they correlate to the way these people buy and use their computers. Companies that have small- and medium-sized market segments identified as such do so to get the job done. These same companies have home and home office segments to wave a great big rubbery one in the customer's face and extract a little more margin on each purchase from people who don't know what they want or need.
I think that Dell's new slogan should be "Greed is good" (quoting WallStreet). I was a pretty happy owner of three Dell Inspiron 8000s and a Dell Inspiron 9000. One year into my service contract - my batteries in all three 8000s were down to an hour per charge (dual batteries). I called Dell and they weren't covered in my expensive "bumper-to-bumper" warranty. A year later, one of the laptops starting failing fast - bad screen cable, stuck key, and the DVD reader was toast. I called for help only to be bounced 6 or 7 times so that they could verify I was the owner. After a couple hours of that game, I finally was connected to a "script-reader" that finally confirmed that I had the problems that I had diagnosed. They sent an AirBorne Express truck, they picked it up; Delivered it to depot maintenance; Brought it back. I opened the box plugged it in and had a screen problem, a DVD problem (but much to their credit - a new keyboard). I had to get back on the phone to India, talk to another script-reader, get another RMA, etc, etc, etc. Dell Dis-service at it's finest!
My new dell was broken from day one. I spent 4 hours talking to the dell support people. I had to open the box and dismantle stuff, reinstall software - everything. It's still broken and the dell tech people tell I need to keep trying until it's fixed. Apparently the client (me) is responsible for fixed dell's defective products.
Weekendblogger.com is the only real good blog out there anyways!
;)
I am going through my own personal hell with Dell. The company has refused to update the BIOS on its 4550 for the last three years. A recent update to Windows XP Pro has made some USB devices go haywire. According to Dell, I'm not replacing my computer fast enough for them. On my newer Dell (barely 9 months old) I am unable to tell if flashing the BIOS worked because the Dell supplied hard drive failed shortly thereafter. They have twice sent me replacement drives (both refurbished, both defective). I was eventually offered a refund, but when I called back no one would connect me to the person I was told would authorize it. Dell is refusing to furnish me with a working drive, and vaguely promising to give me a refurbished machine -- if I beg for it. Why? So every component in the system can fail as regularly and completely as their drives? As far as I can tell, Dell is in violation of UCC Title 15, Chapter 50, Sec 2304 which gives consumers the right to demand a refund after a reasonable number of failed repair attempts. Maybe a few lawsuits would help to come to its senses.
We got a Dell 4150 laptop a while ago. Suddenly it starts randomly shutting down. Turns out the motherboard has failed, likely due to a failed fan or something like that. Cost to repair? Up to $800, which is more than a new computer costs nowadays.
Look at the reviews at this link, EVERYBODY's having the same problem.
http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/notebooks/0,39023988,10001662,00.htm
Dell is selling lemons. I am never buying or recommending Dell ever again.
dell suck (8:59pm EST Thu Dec 22 2005)
i got my dell inspiron 6000? 2 days new. Keep asking me to fix system time and date after I left the system on and come back. Dell said it is a software relate and have to charge me $99 for software support. I was not aware of fee support for a BRAND NEW DELL. I would rather have that money to pay for the return shipping. NO MORE DELL? SUCK. -
even after calling dell i still cant find out how to get a copy of my operating systems cd they tell me to go to the site om my cardboard cdmmmmm
I have just spent two days trying to explain to people who don't speak English how to do their job. I ordered a $2500 XPS machine online and got an email the next day saying that there was a problem and giving me a number and extension to call. I called and after the LONG wait, spoke with someone who kept putting me on hold because I didn't have an order number yet. I explained numerous times that Dell does not give you an order number until they process the order and mine is waiting on this call (why do I know this and they don't). Eventually, she just disconnected the call forcing me to start all over again. This time I went through the whole process gain with someone named Arys who read me my order line for line like my 5 year old daughter would read Shakespeare. I explained to her that I understood I used too many ports in my configuration and to remove the modem from my order but she was so unknowledgeable that she kept confusing the network card and anything else with it. This woman was so overwhelmingly lost in this transaction that it was pitiful. Then she said she needed my social security number to help me any further. I asked her what that had to do with correcting my order and she said it was their policy. I explained that I was uncomfortable giving such information out over the phone and I asked for a supervisor. This resulted in her getting angry, telling me I was not being helpful (me???) and that my order was being cancelled. Then she hung up on me!!!! I spent hours trying to contact someone via phone, email and online chat but after waiting and waiting, the people I would eventually get to could never help. I have been a loyal Dell customer forever. This would be the 5th Dell pc in my house but Arys decided they did not need me and my family as customers anymore. Each of my kids has a Dell and has only seen Dells in the house, but will now get to see what a non-dell pc is like when I finally order my new one elsewhere. I even went as far as to leave a message at the corporate office and executive escalation but no one could be bothered to call me back. I don't ask for allot, and I am pretty computer savvy, but a company asking for $2500 of my hard earned money can at least treat me with some dignity. I am the consumer, the person who keeps them in business. It is economic 101, at least in the good old USA. They may be saving a few bucks by outsourcing EVERYTHING to these women in India who don't speak English or even know what a computer is, but that is why they are now selling $299 computers instead of the mid and upper tier pc?s. It is a crying shame that they care so little about the people who helped make them so big.
I phoned Dell with limited IT experience I asked for two desktops and a way to connect the two so two users could access some of the same information but not nec. at the same time. I was sold two desktops and a ?750 server I was told it would be fine for me to set up myself and everything I needed would be in my order. My order form was unreadable as it was in techno jargon so I asked the sales person to go over it with me. Delivered when the office was closed and left with complete strangers. The order came with no network cables and the server had only one network slot and no hub - so not way of connecting my desktops. IT friend said I do not even need the server just a ?50 router for my needs (2 members of staff running word, excel, email). I asked dell for refund as it has been miss-sold they refuse even though it is unused. It also has a combo drive I asked to be taken off my order- sales mans excuse "well you agreed to it!" Months down line no refund!