Wow...Dell....

[Thue]

I bought a Dell laptop once. On delivery, the screen was obviously defect (horrible image quality), but you could still use it.

Having seen this, I decided that Dell probably did not take quality too serious, and decided to get a refund. Also contributing to this decision was the fact that the laptop seemed very plastic-cheep. The sales conditions said that I could cancel the purchase if the delivered computer was defect, but their customer service said they had the right to repair it first.

But their sales conditions also said you could return it if the Windows EULA was not acceptable. They were not happy about that, and I think they routed that one all the way up through their management, but had to relent because their terms were so clear . 0wn3d by their own dirty tricks (imposing extra conditions after the sale) .

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Jaguar
I think random luck can play a huge role in what companies people end up liking. When travelling on United Airlines, my plane has been cancelled, broken, delayed, or something of the sort for six consecutive trips. When travelling on American Airlines, I have never had a plane delayed.

I think American probably is a slightly superior airline, but not nearly to the extent that my personal experience would have me believe.

Whereas American is the only airline that's ever lost my luggage, and they've done so nearly every time I've flown them. They're the only airline I won't fly anymore.

Which just proves your point.

[Addled Platypus]

Dell XPS 600 here

called once, they were johnny on the spot

[Nikolai]

I've had a Dell stationary for over 4 years now. Except for the graphics card saying goodbye last year(which suited me fine, since I got a whooping brand new up-to-date card for nothing because it was covered by the guarantee!), I have had no problems at all with the machine.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Platypus Rex
Dell XPS 600 here

called once, they were johnny on the spot

The original computer was an XPS 600. The replacement they sent was an XPS 700, which is way larger, heavier, and uglier...

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Nikolai
I've had a Dell stationary for over 4 years now. Except for the graphics card saying goodbye last year(which suited me fine, since I got a whooping brand new up-to-date card for nothing because it was covered by the guarantee!), I have had no problems at all with the machine.

What're you doing here in OT???

[MRT144]

Originally posted by Asher

The original computer was an XPS 600. The replacement they sent was an XPS 700, which is way larger, heavier, and uglier...

so it was less gay

[Nikolai]

Originally posted by LordShiva


What're you doing here in OT???

Very good question really. I was visiting the history forum and went in here. And lo and behold, I found only one interesting topic!

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Lord Avalon
Dogbert customer service.

Customer: Hey my computer...

Dogbert: Shut up and reboot!

Customer: Hey it work...

Dogbert: Shut up and hang up!

[Blaupanzer]

Two different models going pop leads me to believe something else is afoot. Would have led Dell there too, if they weren't so busy covering their ass. Bad, bad customer service!

Sidenote, for me Dell laptops have been great.

[Fake Boris]

This reminds me of the ECS K7S5A mobo days... lots of people had problems with them, but of course a majority got a working one. Tech forums were filled by idiots of the latter category, calling noob anyone that experienced defects.

[Asher]

Followup to this situation.

My dad's still without a computer. Last week he wrote a letter to the editor of Fortune magazine who basically asked for Dell customer service experiences. He filled them in on the story, and I guess contacted Dell for comment because a Dell customer service executive contacted my dad and profusely apologized.

They're next-day shipping him a system (should get it tomorrow) that's considerably better than the one he ordered: 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo (up from a Pentium D 930), 4GB of RAM (up from 2GB), GeForce 7900 GTX (up from GeForce 6800 regular), and 400GB HD (up from 160GB).

[snoopy369]

That's some lousy customer service... and the sad thing is, it wouldn't have been hard for them to avoid. That's the main story in customer service that places that give "good service" get and places that give normally good service but end up with a bad rep because of instances like this, don't get.

1. Figure out what is wrong.
2. Figure out if you can fix it.
3a. If you can fix it, fix it. No matter what.
3b. If you can't fix it, find out what you can do to ameliorate the situation.
4. Give the customer a reason to come back, regardless of the resolution of 3.

Now, there's some complication; usually "what's wrong" is not the first thing out of the customer's mouth ["My computer is broken" isn't the problem in the above case, but the problem is the computer KEEPS breaking, for example].

Focussing on fixing the problem, rather than "why" there is a problem, is the way to "good" customer service - or even "excellent" service.

Dell, in your case, needs to either just re-replace the computer [preferably with a slghtly better model to compensate for the trouble] or figure out some way to get a tech out without the parts that are on backorder. They make tons of computers every day, they have plenty of them (and plenty of parts...) More than likely in your case the problem was the tech, not Dell - they probably subcontract the tech service, and that tech was out of parts.

Yet another reason subcontracting with techs is an iffy business - perhaps Dell is normally VERY good at dealing with things, but if they aren't REALLY careful with their subcontractors, they take the hit when it may not be their fault (in one sense). The customer service agent needs to a) realize the problem, and b) be empowered to fix it.

Empowerment is probably the bulk of the problem, anyway. The people that work under me know that they are empowered to fix most customer service issues; and many will on their own. In my opinion, any situation in which I have to be called over is already a failed situation. Dell needs to empower their CSA's, at some level at least, to fix problems with whatever means necessary. Anything less creates just this sort of problem.

[Cort Haus]

Why did I know that this was an Asher thread just by reading the thread title?

[Asher]

You know me, always bashing PC companies.