Desktops: Problems with DELL
Canada vs US Dell
by fujo - 1/22/05 3:03 AM In reply to: Maybe There's A Reason. by UggI dunno maybe things are differnt with Dell Canada. I bought an Inspiron 5150. I have had a couple issues and called tech support. Both were English speaking (no foreign accent) and helped me very quickly. First my wireless network card came loose. The 2nd time my monitor stopped working. I have return to depot coverage, I shipped the comp back and had it returned the next day fixed. I was amazed. I also had to have my power adapter replaced because it blew, and again, it was her the next day. I know that not all computer companies are perfect, but I have had nothing but EXCELLENT experiences. The only downside that I have is that compononents are not expgradeable (ie graphics card) although this is common in notebooks anyway. We have to remember the good as well. Too often we only here the bad in a company, well I can say I would recommend Dell to anyone and love the product. Their online support and documentation and downloads are the easiest and most comprehensive I have seen. I have another Toshiba laptop and try to get updates etc from that site is like pulling teeth. Again have to say love Dell. Maybe its different here in Canada, I dunno
Thank you
by almitchell44 - 1/23/05 8:36 PM In reply to: Negative Comments by halejrThanks for the positive message. I fully agree with you.
Problems with Dell
by bwcronk - 1/14/05 6:46 AM In reply to: Problems with DELL by bigboreMy problems with Dell have been primarily on the financial side. After purchasing a workstation from them, I had to have the system drop shipped to a third party for propietary modifications. We are a government entity and entitled to sales tax abatement. Dell refused to abate the sales tax until after the computer was sent to us by the third party. After it was sent we tried to get the sales tax refunded and we were advised to much time had elapsed (6 weeks) and the sales tax could no longer be refunded. I fought with them over this issue for about 3 months and I finally decided the time I was putting into it was worth more than the $200 we were trying to get back. The solution... Dell has been removed as a company we will do business with. Their loss, not ours.
Dell Problems
by magjm - 1/14/05 6:53 AM In reply to: Problems with DELL by bigboreI bought Toshiba laptops for years. Seemed as if each had fatal problems just as the one year warranty expired. The last, I ordered a new power supply after the original over heated. 6 weeks later, with the new one, the motherboard fried. Sorry, our warranty is only 30 days, and no, althought I fought up the line, no "good customer" discount for a one year old machine that needed repair due to defective parts.
My nephew works for Intel, and following his advice, my next laptop was a Dell. I went with a 3 year warranty. Less than a year later the UBS hubs on the computer both broke. I wanted a new computer so ordered a new laptop, on-line. Suffered the delays, but very happy with the new one and it's 4 year warranty.
Sent the old one for repair. No trouble, when I finally got someone to understand the nature of the problem, complained about no response, etc. It took 2-3 months of e-mails to get authorized to return it. In a couple weeks it was fixed, free and no delivery charges of any kind, good as new. No further problems.
The new Dell, a 8600, has had problems from day one. At one year of age it has been reformatted twice, had the power supply replaced two times, the CD/DVD drive replaced, and the video card replaced. All, done at Dell cost and they even upgraded the BIOS when they had it.
So, the bad news? Tech Support. I know more than they do. The "cookbook" style aggravates the heck out of me. Yes, I had the first year in home repair, but this last time, it took weeks for them to understand it might be multiple problems and it needed to be returned for troubleshooting. Seems they determine the problem by the consumer description, send the repair person that part only. Doesn't work, start all over. I frankly got tired of telling them the list of troubleshooting tips would not work because I could not see anything on a non functioning screen, and no, I did not have an external monitor sitting around.
Conclusion. No one company seems better according to my own little survey of friends. Get a good extended warranty. Desk tops are easier to service than laptops. Dell is stingy with repair parts. Be persistent, aggressive, assertive, whatever, or you'll get lost. I'm hearing impaired with hearing aids and prefer to do it visually with e-mails. It's much slower that way to get a response. If you can understand the accents go for the phone and ask for a supervisor and work up the line. The situation will not change unless we all are heard. Oh, and right now, the repaired laptop works great.
Post note---In the corner of my livingroom sits a Mac SE with my resume. One trip for repair in 20 years.
Compensation for your troubles
by osaka75 - 1/14/05 6:59 AM In reply to: Problems with DELL by bigboreI recently purchased a $300 sony digital camera from Dell and ran into several problems in receiving the order. On my fourth call to Dell I explained that there should be no need for me to call four times to take care of a simple order of one item. I explained that the first three calls took a total of over 1.5 hours and that I felt I should receive some compensation for my time. I was given the option of a $50 credit to my credit card or a $100 Dell credit for a future purchase. I took the refund. Then I had a problem with the billing. I had to speak with a supervisor to take care of the problem and I mentioned compensation once again. I was offered a $50 Dell credit for future purchase but compromised with the supervisor on a $75 credit. So that's a total of $125 for their errors.
I think you should call back and say that you'll cancel the order unless you receive compensation. On an item that's gotta cost much more than the $300 camera I ordered, you should fare even better - unless I just was lucky enough to speak with the right people.
Good luck!
Dell
by NinjaKid - 1/14/05 7:00 AM In reply to: Problems with DELL by bigboreI call Dell the company from Hell, There support is not very good. I had and I repeat HAD a dell desktop and laptop and it was a nightmare. Getting the order was not a problem but getting problems fixed is a big problem. For an example, I had a 80 Gig hard drive only 6 gigs where used and I was getting a dell manager software error that my system is low on Hard drive space. I called dell and got there support department on the phone. First they tell me to goto start, Search and search for all files, I was what do you mean search for all files they said enter *.* ok I know this is stupid but Ok I do it and about a 1/2hr later it is done and they ask what is the biggest file you see and I said its a mp3 file that is 3 megs so they say delete it and when I asked why they say that is the problem. I said how is that the problem and they could not give an answer. At this point I asked to speak to a supervisor who when got on the phone had no idea how to troubleshoot a problem but they did transfer me to someone in America (They were located in India) The American tech had me download an update to the dell manager software that fixed the problem took him about 1 minute to get the problem fixed.
Had Dells for years
by jimrooks - 1/14/05 7:08 AM In reply to: Problems with DELL by bigboreProbably purchased 8 or 9 Dells over the years, various configurations. Never had an ordering problem.
My most recent system (earlier this year) had hard drive problems (twice) - when I requested a change of hard drive vendor, they were very accomodating and I've had no further problems.
Take a number
by Willy - 1/14/05 9:24 AM In reply to: Had Dells for years by jimrooksWell, once you get into the support far too many users have been bitten by it. Thought Dells size will cause a greater number of unhappy users all too often simple answers aren't easy to come by. Beleive me when these users post problems they're not making it up just to rant(maybe) as I've seen Dell support really nose dive. Its pretty hard to fix a problem when you can't understand the English used, I mean when a problem is as basic as that, what can the outcome be. Add time hanging,/waiting, scripted answers, tiered support, you name it, the longer someone is holding for an answer isn't going to help, the frustration factor is getting to be too much. But hey, good for me, I see more Dell users seeking my help to resolve problems. I also wlecome other vendors too, like HP, Gateway, etc., but Dell seems to head the list.
good luck 
-----Willy
Is that english???
by wizard_55 - 3/6/05 9:17 AM In reply to: Take a number by WillyHey Dell ain't the only one. I've called tech support many times on HP printers and wondered if I could understand better on the back of a camel! In fact on one occassion trying to get support on a HP printer I deliberately called the Canadian number since I wasn't getting anywhere using the US one.That person got me connected to someone actually in the states and I was finally able to get the problem resolved. Hopefully the author of a previous post was correct when they said Dell moved some if not most of their support back to the states.
You hit a cord with me
by Rahn_B - 1/14/05 7:20 AM In reply to: Problems with DELL by bigboreAbout 2 years ago, I needed to buy a desktop system for one of my daughters going away to school and a Dell system was recommended by the school. I've purchased Dell systems in the past and haven't been impressed with them but I figured it would make support for her easier to get since the college supported them. The Dell online ordering system said we would get $200 off and free shipping. We never received either. When we called Dell they told us that it was a mistake caused by their web site problems. We tried to get a manager to call us back but finally gave up when, after several calls, no one would call us back. I guess Dell figured one unhappy customer didn't matter that much.
Well, the thing is, I'm the IS guy here at work and I can tell you Dell has lost more than one sale over this problem. When you consider all my business purchases and all the people that have come to me for PC recommendations, it adds up to quite a bit. I know I'm just a drop in the bucket to Dell but if they do this to enough people...
I am continually amazed at how lousy customer service has gotten with many businesses. If Dell had done right by me they would have gotten a loyal customer sending other customers their way.
Does anyone remember the fantastic Customer Service that the original Wordperfect company use to have?
Ditto
by Timothy D Lynch - 1/14/05 9:05 AM In reply to: You hit a cord with me by Rahn_BAs an IP Admin myself, I do the same. We can send dozens of users to other vendors.
Usually this means referals for home users since businesses tend to have thier mind already made up.
I pleaded with a business client not to go with Dell and to let me build them white boxes myself. They interupted me and said we want to get the best PC's out there and were not interested in any arguments that didn't fit their belief system.
After 2 units out of 6 needing to be rebuilt on site and the rest not communicating well with the network, guess what? It is my fault for ordering the Dells without the right CPU and Ram. They were ordered with 3+Ghz chips and 512Mb of Ram. When I mention that, they decided to blame the Accounting Software because they couldn't except that a brand new PC could have problems.
Now they want me to order 12 new Dells for their other office with the same accounting software. I'm desolving my business and going back to work as an accountant before I make the order. Maybe they will believe their next Admin.
Dell is in India
by roxandjoh - 1/14/05 9:42 AM In reply to: Problems with DELL by bigboreMy laptop works great except that I have to use the maximum sceen resolution. I called dell for help with this, and after many frustrating attempts they actually told me to get some of those magnifying reading glasses that you can buy at every store. Then when we had a billing problem, it also was never resolved. I blame this on the fact that everytime I call, I get a person in India. So, unless you speak indian, you will never get decent support because their is still a language barrier. Which causes another concern. All of my financial info is in India. Everything that I have read, says that if anyone overseas steals my Identity info, then I have no recourse to stop it!!!
My experiences with Dell....
by JoAnneMac - 1/14/05 11:29 AM In reply to: Problems with DELL by bigboreAre somewhat consistent with those already posted. I buy computers for a variety of clients. Many of my experiences have been poor..... ranging from not getting what was ordered up through a client who (against my advice) purchased a Dell refurbished notebook and when it was sent in for tech support... the notebook was returned by Dell to the ORIGINAL OWNER!
However, when purchasing for myself last year, I did a bunch of research and purchased the Dell high end Dell XPS system. Cost quite a bit more, (2gb RAM, SATA hard drive, high end video) but the machine runs extremely well.... and all the tech support for this line (at least at the time of my purchase (jan 2004) is handled in the US. Happily, except for one out of the box issue, I have not had to call for any tech, nor do I spend alot of time on tweaking or maintenance.
Dell problems continue
by aglennon - 1/14/05 1:51 PM In reply to: My experiences with Dell.... by JoAnneMacWe received an entire Dell PC (3 large boxes) from UPS one day - a family member was even asked to SIGN for it. Our household is accustomed to accepting deliveries for computer parts regularly, since I build PC's for friends. UPS delivers here almost daily, usually same driver.
The point? We didn't order a PC from Dell! There was no similarity in name or address on the shipping labels either. So, being the honest person I am, I called Dell (on hold 20 mins.) about the mis-delivery. The support person was here in America. He didn't even act surprised, even when I told him that the driver had us sign for it (now what's the purpose of that if they don't match the signatures???). I asked the Dell tech if I might get some sort of reward for honestly reporting the mistake - the guy wouldn't answer me. I asked for any little thing, maybe a refurbished CD-ROM, a gift card, etc... He said "No." Out of shock & frustration with his attitude alone, I asked him if I had simply not reported the mis-delivery & just decided to keep it, what he thought about that? He laughed & said the UPS driver would've tracked us down with the signature & got the PC back. After all of this discussion nearly turning into an argument, the guy says he'd send me a free T-Shirt (with the Dell dude saying) WOW, I thought, but I said okay. He proceeded to ask for my name, address, phone #. At the end of the call, he didn't even say "Thank You." And guess what? NO T-SHIRT ever arrived! Customers never forget, especially when they're made a fool.
For other brands, Gateway support once told my 60-year-old friend that she was "computer illiterate" when she was trying to get help with a poorly-setup PC that was only 6 months old. (What do think would happen if we said this to one of OUR customers at work?) After she made numerous calls & even had a couple of techie in-home visits, the PC still wasn't working properly. I fixed it for her, by going online, looking up the model# on their site, downloading the latest drivers, installing them the right way & also found the audio cable not plugged into the CD-ROM while checking the inner connections. Now, if it was put together & all the software & correct drivers were installed right the first time, she wouldn't have had to call them at all (and be insulted with name-calling to boot). Suggestion to Gateway: Respect your customers.
HP - working on one is like trying to dissect a wrist watch. The cases are way too small & honestly, I don't know how the hardware keeps from overheating in such tiny spaces. Out of all the systems I've repaired for friends, HP is the most common, particularly with "combo cards" (sound/modem on one card) failing and drivers that suddenly, magically quit working about every six months. Suggestions: Build systems in bigger towers, use better quality parts, preferably only ONE function per card, use better-designed drivers, and avoid "integrated" parts.
UPS
by almitchell44 - 1/23/05 8:44 PM In reply to: Dell problems continue by aglennonSo why are you blaming Dell for a UPS delivery problem? Since you get daily UPS deliveries, just tell the UPS man about the mix-up in delivery the next day and have him take them to the correct party.
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
