Small Expectations
A few of you gave me a ribbing last week over my ecstatic, geekly post in anticipation of the laptop. I had anquished and fretted in front of you over this major purchase. I'd deliberated, compared, read the reviews, listened to your advice. And even when I decided, yes, I would have enough reason to order and use a laptop and yes, in spite of my misgivings, I would get the customized Dell, I knew: No matter how good it is, the new will wear off. There will be times I want to throw it across the room. There will be times I think of the other things I could have done with the money it took me two months of teaching to earn. I knew that so many times in this life, it is the journey, not the destination. Better to travel hopefully than to arrive.
And so I spoke of the new arrival as if it were an adopted baby coming into the nursery so carefully prepared for it. All I really wanted was for it to have all its little fingers and toes, knowing that sometimes in the gestation process, errors occur and things don't work. At the very least, I expected some colicky days from time to time. But really, remembering the dead Dimension XPS from July a year ago, what were the chances that two in a row would be still born? Should I let myself get excited? This was going to be one of very few significant things coming into my life. It would be another tool in my writing, in communications, with the photography. Why shouldn't I celebrate a little. It arrived in great jubilation on Friday. It lived less than twenty four hours.
I called Dell Exchange Department yesterday (and was misdirected three times--with long holds-- before I got there.) From start to finish, my laptop purchase and return experience was bracketed early and late by english speaking helpful folk. In between, I visited India, Sri Lanka and Burma. I spent an hour on the phone just in working out the exchange. In that frustrating hour I moved from thinking exchange to thinking return and good riddance. But I relented, even though Dell would do nothing to compensate a loyal but very dissatisfied customer. No upgrade on the hard drive, no free microphone, no token of good will. I'm expecting the replacement in a week or so, but forgive me if I do not have great expectations.
Comments
Have you seen this Web site? (Does misery really love company?)
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/dell_svc.html
Here's a typical complaint:
We bought a laptop computer which never worked right. Dealing with Dell has been unbelieveably difficult and frustrating. I can't count all the calls to Tech Support, but eventually we got to send it in for repair and the motherboard was replaced. Now, in less than a month (and being used once), the second motherboard has gone bad. Now we found out that they are putting used parts on a brand-new computer they charged us $3000 for!
I asked for a refund or replacement, and they said all they would do is to replace the motherboard again, and would likely use "used" parts again. They said we were not entitled to a refund or replacement because it had been more than 30 days (it's been 60), but I actually DID ask to send it back for a refund once before, but the "return specialist" talked me out of it. He didn't tell me that I would lose any rights.
Our main complaints are:
1. This particular machine is a lemon and will likely never be reliable. Two motherboards in two months seems like an unusually bad service record.
2. They are putting USED parts on our BRAND NEW computer. We paid the price for a new computer, not a used one. They do not tell you before you buy the darned thing that you will get used parts if it goes in for service. It's just buried in the fine print somewhere.
3. The 30 day limit is not reasonable when they keep giving you the run-around for longer than than that, and then say "too bad, it's more than 30 days".
4. The people on their phone lines are either incompetent or intentionally stall to eliminate the possibilities of refunds.
From another page on this Web site:
There's no debating that Dell generates a lot of complaints -- many more than any comparable computer maker, as a recent ConsumerAffairs.Com survey demonstrated. On the other hand, even though the very laptop on which the survey story was written crashed and burned just a day later, our own James R. Hood concedes ... that Dell tech support often gets it right.
In its own defense, Dell concedes that it may have some rough edges and doesn't deny that keeping up with double-digit growth isn't always easy. ... OK, but Dell's who-me? response doesn't answer all the questions about those disappearing rebates, questionable sales tactics, and its "surprise" loans.
Posted by: Lin B | April 26, 2005 9:22 AM
Unfortunately, even though statistically the odds of a succesful delivery were on your side, when failure occurs, the statistic becomes 100% against you. Sorry for the bad luck...
Posted by: Carl | April 26, 2005 9:29 AM
Sorry to hear this and sorry to tell you that my sister spent over $1000.00 on a Dell system to have everything fry inside within a month. She went through the same routine as you on the phone with Dell for 9, yes, 9 hours in 2 days just to get someone to come out and replace the parts.
Guess what happened six weeks after that?
Posted by: Sue | April 26, 2005 7:08 PM
gee.... where was all this lovely info when you were researching the purchase of the product? what terrible news...
Posted by: susannah eanes | April 27, 2005 11:01 AM
By the way, my sister had purchased an extended warranty. I am glad she did and you should consider it also. But with the info you now have, I think you should demand a refund and fight until you get it.
A little negative media press about these Dell practices would be a good thing! Call Raplh Nader! Call your local national news affiliate! Call 60 Minutes!
Call the Better Business Bureau and your state Attorney General's Office should have a Consumers Protection Unit of some kind.
Spread the word!
I wish you luck!
Posted by: Sue | April 27, 2005 3:13 PM
Wow- it is difficult to imagine the problems everyone seems to be having with Dell computers! I have had Macs for years and have never encountered the problems you all are having. I have never (knock on wood) had a Mac crash........I did take my iMac desktop in last year as it was running a little slow - the techs just cleaned it up for me as they said there was too much clutter........It only cost me about $40. as I have an extended warranty.......So far my iBook laptop (bought Jan. 04) is working beautifully - I take it with me when I travel & I use it to present slideshows.......One of my son's has had Dell's over the years & is always complaining about it......I keep telling him "Shoulda boughta Mac"!!!
Posted by: Dottie | April 27, 2005 9:01 PM