Dell Horror Story...

I ordered a Inspiron 1520 in August and received it a few weeks later, although it shipped with the wrong sound card. I received a return authorization however they didn't send me a return label so I sent it back myself via UPS. I purchased the laptop with Dell Financial bacause they had the 0% interest deal.

Several weeks later I started receiving calls around the clock from Dell Financial in India (seriously at 6AM and 11PM) stating that I did not pay for the computer. After several days of e-mails and phone calls to Dell Customer Support they finally realized that the computer was sitting in their returns warehouse in Tennessee, although credit was never applied to my account.

After Dell Customer Support finally said the credit was applied I thought the issue had been resolved.....then the phone calls at all hours from Dell Financial started again. When I spoke to them they claimed I had a balance on the account even though I was told I would be credited 100% for the return. Dell Financial told me that I should call customer service for an explanation, and Customer Service told me that I should call Dell Financial for an explanation.

I have previously purchased 3 Dells in the last 11 years without incident, so the current situation has come as quite a shock. I was going to order another Dell, however I find myself reconsidering......

I believe the individual customer service reps at Dell genuinely want to help, however my perception is that Dell has grown too large and is just trying to churn out new sales without regard for customer satisfaction and quality control.

 

Lately dell is not making enough laptops to meat demand as for there overall customer service is bad(not the customer service reps themselves but the actual system).

 

Customer Service is bad because they outsource and cut costs.
The outsource and cut costs because they want to offer a cheaper laptop.
They want to offer a cheaper laptop to stay in business.
You want them to stay in business so you can buy a cheap laptop.

 

nicely said

 

this could be a bad situation if you care about your credit score!

 

check the bbb web site about dell's dpa and cit bank who they use to finance..there are HUNDREDS OF STORIES JUST like yours good luck judging from those stories i read you will need it this is why i always tell people to not finance through dpa or anything cit bank has their hands into

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lithus
Customer Service is bad because they outsource and cut costs.
The outsource and cut costs because they want to offer a cheaper laptop.
They want to offer a cheaper laptop to stay in business.
You want them to stay in business so you can buy a cheap laptop.

I would rather pay a little more to purchase a laptop with a quality build and good service and support. I use my laptop so much I'm not interested in buying a low-end product in order to save a few hundred bucks.

I'm concerned about the lack of coordination between the different divisions of Dell: Customer Service doesn't know about a return that's been received at the returns warehouse, and Dell Finance doesn't know about a credit that has been issued by Customer Service.

I'm also worried about this situation affecting my credit report when I returned the computer as instructed by Dell Customer Service.

I feel the Dell employees (US, overseas, etc) do their best in a bad situation. They respond quickly and are always polite and courteous. I believe there are problems with Dell's organization and attention to detail.

I previously purchased 3 computers from Dell, 2 of which went well. On the other occassion I purchased a 3+ GHz XPS laptop several years ago that they said had an auto/air adaptor. The sales and customer service staff didn't realize that there was no auto/air adaptor for that model, and I had to return the laptop.

It almost seems like you're playing Russian roulette with Dell: Sometimes it goes real well and you don't have to use Service and Support, and sometimes you run into a real s--t storm.

If you are buying a Dell I would recommend the following: Pay up front for the computer or use your own financing, and make sure you go over the configuration with the sales rep prior to completing the purchase.

 

I onced thought it was better to pay a little more and have a physical store where you can go when you have problem with your laptop.... then I learned that in-store service can be just as bad as Dell's service so my 2nd laptop is a Dell with minimal warranty and I buy my replacement parts on Ebay... Only thing I hadn't taken into consideration is the Inspiron 6400's crappy built quality... the thing is falling appart after 15 months.... My lesson... no more laptops....Only custom built desktops.... Good thing university is over and I no longer need a portable computer...

I'll always remember the Dell guy that kept telling repeating "total care! total care!" every 5 seconds when I tryed to explain my case's problem and then his disgusted expression when I was finally able to tell him that I didn't have total care..... "Oh!.....well....then we don't bother with esthetic problems like that..bye!"...WTF!

My In-Store experience was just as bad though.... Previously had an Asus A2500H and the hard drive was broken so it couldn't boot.... I knew what the problem was, I just wanted them to replace it in accordance with my extanded warranty... They kept it for 3½ weeks before giving it back unchanged saying it worked out fine.... I got home, turned it on and...nothing... It couldn't boot since the hard drive was broken... Bought the damn hdd online and waddayaknow.. it worked! ;p

 

sometimes it's not the company, the problem could also be the customer service/technical support person...