Dell Sent me the wrong laptop!

Hi

I just want to share something i'm going through right now. I ordered a dell e1505 laptop with Core 2 @2GHz, 1 Gig ram, 120 gig hard drive, ATI X1400 256 mb, Creative Soundblaster Audigy2, 15.4" WSXGA+ display, dvd writer, about 1 weeks ago.

After eager anticipation, i got the laptop today at 12. I opened the box, and immediately i noticed something wrong. there was a laptop bag there. I thought maybe dell is rewarding me or something and i was like that's good. then i turned on the laptop. after going through that windows initial setup thing, i noticed that the resolution was the same as in my other laptop. I checked and it was 1280X 1024. Confused, i checked the invoice on the box and the website. both mentioned WSXGA+ and a resolution of 1680X1050. Now i got confused. I started checking all parts. everything seemed to be in order until i reached the sound card. it showed SigmaTel. I may not know a hell lot, but i do know that Sigmatel <> Creative.

Now i was quite pissed off because i'd paid about $100 extra to get that WSXGA+ screen and about 30 bucks for the audigy. I called Dell. I was transferred from the Customer Service to Returns to Technical Service to "inspiron department" back to customer service (in india). After about 2 hours, most of it spent fighting with the dude from india who kept telling me that i was wrong, i just hung up. I again called the Technical and this time i was transferred to a guy called Matt. I told him that i could've received the wrong laptop. he said it was very unlikely, but i still asked him to check. He checked my laptop number and confirmed that i'd received someone elses's laptop. the whole thing was done in about 10 minutes.

Now i 'm getting a replacement in about a week, and until then i have this laptop to play with.

Moral of the story? many. but specially, if you end up with some dude in india, just hang up hehe.

(sorry for bothering you guys with this totally trivial matter)

 

Isnt the audigy upgrade software not hardware?

 

the audio you purchased was software so no matter what you are stuck with the sigmatel.

 

yea i thought so.

 

yeah, i think you're confused on the sound card issue

so, when you went to display properties, you couldn't set a resolution of 1680x1050?

what about the other specs? are they totally different or the same?

 

Hey how do you like the people from India that can't get it right because they can't understand you? I applaud the Indians for trying and want to hang up on Dell for not doing it the right way. How can I buy the software upgrade? Is that all it is is an add on software? Is it available for the E1705?

 

original poster, where did you gooooooooooooooooooo ?

 

i wonder if they forgot to install your video card driver which would cause the screen resolution problem.

As for the audigy, it is available for all of the Insprions and is located in the Sound section if you are buying your laptop online. If you want to purchase the SB Audigy after you have purchased your laptop, then go to Creative's website. They should have it on there - somewhere. Yes, SB Audigy is only software - not hardware.

 

I would have demanded a free gift card. I got a $100 gift card because my other $100 gift card was late in the mail by two days. So I got $200 total.

 

i know your pain dude

it was so gay, i ordered an 6400 and a day later the C2D came out so i wanted to upgrade it when it was availble on the website.

i had to aruge with the indian and he kept saying there was no such thing and i ended up getting so angry that i just hung up

they didn't even bother to try to understand what i was trying to say and were EXTREMELY rude.

and it's not just indians

once i called dell and it connected me to a person who spoke english

from my end i couldn't hear here say "hi, i'm blah blah blah from dell, how can i help you"

so i thought that i was still on hold when i heard in the back ground her mocking me and saying to her friends "wow cat got his tongue" etc...

shows that their "niceness" is just a routine

 

What is the deal I thought Dell was doing so well. I never had these problems with my XPS. I could get someone on the phone that was nice knowledgable and ready to help. Now oh well. It seems like a major shift in the leadership. And the new leaders suck!! If I could get close to what I paid for my inspiron it would be sold!!! But I digress I should be nice and hope things get more american.

 

I had a good experience, I didnt even request an additional gift card nor did I have an angry attitude.

However, I really would appreciate American technical support personal. I hate talking to people that are from India and have trouble speaking english. I understand its to save money but its so annoying.

 

i just recieved a downgraded replacement laptop from Dell chatting with a person now about it. hope they stop sending wrong laptops...

 

request a gift card, they messed up!!!! The worst thing they can say is no.

 

Well the problem I have is getting the right stuff or getting things at all. Mainly help. I have had ordering problems but those just take time they usually make it right. Bigger is when you have major problems with hardware and software and these people can't trouble shoot because they can't understand. The next question is always you can reinstall or format. My question is are you out of your mind? I have fixed several major problems on my own for this very reason. That took buying another computer from another company and 7 months. I finally fixed them and they did not require a format or reinstall. So I really hope they get better or something. They seem like HP when I quit using them. For the very same reason. I know several people this is happening to more and more. One even through my trouble was telling me they would fix it. But now he is having trouble also and he is not happy at all.

 

Hi

yeah the creative thing does seem to be software. don't know why i paid extra for that crap. Well I did get the wrong laptop, and this one is only capable of displaying upto 1280X800. (it's not a driver issue)

I think i should demand a gift card or something. but whom do i fight with? It's really ****ty to have to use somebody else's laptop.

Oh and i'm sorry if i sounded "racist" or intolerant of the Indian people at the call center. It's just that this dude was
a) technically incompetent
b) kept repeating the statement "Kind sir, you are wrong". The fact that he added the work "kind" doesn't help at all.

Hm so any ideas as to whom in dell i should threaten?

 

Dell Chat > Dell Phone support

I've never had a problem with the chat support thus far and some times accents are just a little hard to understand over the phone. Just go to chat support and you'll have things sorted out!

 

Just wanted to mention that Dell's support in India speaks english rather well. Esp when compared to other tech supports there!

 

1280x1024 isnt even a widescreen reolution, check your display properties, and see what the max is , I'm betting its 1680x1050, the wxga screen is a max of 1280x800, so if your screen can display x1024, you have the high res screen, it just wasnt set up properly, and it should be a snap to fix, the audigy is software, I personally like it, it gives a significant boost in volume and clarity through the standard speakers, and from experience, dell customer support has been top notch for me, much better than what I've been used to from other companies, just relax a bit, get to know your system and how it works, and enjoy it

 

#1 they confirmed his laptop was wrong, so no ifs or buts..

#2 theres no "wrong" driver for resolution, if he didnt have an ati driver loaded, it would be displaying an askewed 800x600 res, if he did, it would have jumped to 1680x1050 on the next boot unless the guys at the configuration lab manualy changed it for some reason. Either way, the resolution would still be selectable.

 

No india for me thank you. I do not dislike the people but they leave ALOT to be desired in communication skills. I have had 7 or 8 computers pocket pc's parts monitors etc... This is my last Dell unless they get RID of the Indian service department. Nothing against them but I would like help when I needed not several weeks in the future. I would like help not the next time I call. I would like the right stuff the first time not the third time. These have all happened to me with the new service and support. They have to be loosing money if not in loss of customers in shipping alone!!!! And I am with JeffMD they got it wrong sorry.

 

my main point is the wxga screen is not capeable of displaying a vertical res of 1024, if he had the wxga screen, the max vertical res is 800, as far as the other stuff, I'm just going to leave that alone

 

according to the poster, they confirmed it was "wrong", but i wouldn't be surprised if they finally just "admitted" that it was wrong just to get him off the phone.

since the original poster has not returned and answered my first set of questions, we'll never know.

just because someone said someone said something, doens't make it true and you don't know what the particular rep's motivation for saying it is; like i said, maybe he just finally "relented" to get the guy off the phone. that's why i'd like to know what the other specs on his notebook were, to see if they match up to the rest of his order or if they were totally different.

 

bingo. exactly.

submitter sounds confused.

 

that was the stuff I was going to leave alone, didnt feel like ruffling any feathers this morning

 

i think it's what we were all thinking after reading the submitter's (confusing) post and why i asked my first set of questions. no feather ruffling IMO.

EDIT: i'm not saying dell didn't send him the wrong notebook, i just want to get more facts. i'm sure it's happened before even though i personally haven't heard of it. so if it turns out to be true, i'll be an interesting story. anyways, since dell sends out 543809235708542 billion computers a day, i'm surprised we don't hear about it happening more often.

 

Yea but even if hes wrong he should still demand a gift card! lol

 

I'm sure dell has misdirected quite a few machines in their time, but in this case I strongly feel that this was a case of "the customer is always right" rule, wich often times is the easiest and least painful means to an end

 

Hi guys

sorry i've not been able to reply in a timely manner. I only get to use the internet during the morning and in the evening.

Anyway, i noticed some questions directed towards me i would like to answer them.

1. Regarding the resolution
Yes that was a typo on my part it's actually 1280X800 and not 1280X1024. Sorry for that. But yes the slider is maxed out at 1280X800 and the drivers seem to be intact. So my and the tech guy's conclusion was that this is not the WSXGA+ screen that i ordered.

2. Regarding Soundcard
yes that was my mistake. But even then, there's no creative software installed in this machine.

3. Regarding other specs.
Everything else is the same. It's Core 2 2 GHz, 1 gig ram, 120 gig hard drive, ATI 256 mb. BUT, and this is important, the laptop came with crap i didn't order:
a. Carrying bag
b. WinXP Media
c. Microsoft Works

I didn't order these but i still got it.

And i don't think dell relented in the end, but i think they realized their mistake. The Tech Guy checked my service number and said that my service number should have been something else. This was when he forwarded me to the customer service people who have decided to send me a laptop built to my specs.

And i HAVE sent an email asking for some sort of compensation. hehe.

 

glad you got it sorted out, dell is now giving ms works instead of corel wordperfect, and I think they were offering free carrying bags as a promotion not long ago, good luck with the new one

 

god d a m n it. and i thought i was "beating the system" by keeping the bags and the cds.

now i MUST demand for a gift certificate.


Oh and is there any way to know if the battery is 6 cell or 9 cell? that's the only thing i haven't checked. yet.

btw why is d a m n being censored?

 

I'd worry more about getting the order right than freebies for the time being, mistakes are made by everyone, and dell seems to very good at giving compenastion, a little too good actually as every fourth thread tends to be about how to get something for nothing from dell, or touting about what they got, wich in the end doesnt really just come out of dells pockets, it comes out of ours, through higher prices.

How much battery time does your meter show? the 9 cell should give you around 4 hours on the max battery setting, or you could remove the battery and if it says 85watt p/hour, its the 9 cell, 53
would be the 6.

Its censored because they like to keep these forums clean, they are meant for all ages as an information source, and we can figure out what your trying to say without you trying to "beat the system" in this instance.

 

Thank you all so much for your help. I've really learned a lot by lurking around this forum.

once my actual laptop comes, i will do all sorts of inspection. hehe. thanks guys.

 

Here's hoping that they send you the right machine this time

Fortunately or unfortunately, thats what helps Dell in keeping the service costs low, and just in case you are forgetting, the Service costs are bundled along with the original price you pay for the machine!

So a loaded laptop for $1500 that comes with tech support personnel with patchy communication skills

or that very laptop for $2000 with tech support that understands your accent...Your call

Here is my story, my support call for my recently acquired XPS1210 was routed from India local support (where I live) to Malaysia (As XPS 1210 support is handled out of there)
For a couple of minutes, I had a hard time because both of us had difficulties understanding each others' accents (needless to say , no such problem with India support as we both spoke in the same 'accent' if you will)

Anyway, I politely hung up, and got on the chat support (with a Malaysian support guy again ) after which it was smooth going.....

Just wondering out aloud though...Perhaps this feeling of 'patchy communications skills' is a mutual one? After all for the guy on the other end of the line, you are the one with an accent

 

I agree with your sentiments. It IS true that the "accent" thing goes both ways. It would be wrong to blame the tech guy alone just because he has an accent. For him, we have an accent.

I don't really mind repeating what i said if it helps clarify, but the attitude of this particular guy was very annoying. the conversation was almost always along the lines of:

Me: I think i got the wrong laptop because mine is supposed to be WSXGA+ but this one isn't.

Him: Kind sir, how do you know it's not?

Me: Checked the Display properties, Graphics maxed out at 1280X800, and all required drivers are installed. I'm pretty sure you've given me the wrong monitor.

Him: Kind sir, may i remind you that a laptop does not come with a monitor.

Me: I meant panel.

Him: And what is the other problem?

Me: the sound card doesn't have anything to do with Creative.

Him: And you checked this through Display Properties?


(i swear this actually happened).

This was better than what followed. Him telling me in the "politest" way possible that i was wrong. Something along the lines of:

But sir, dell doesn't ship the wrong laptops. Something may be incorrect in your method.



This from a guy who wants me to check my sound card thing through graphic properties.

 

hahaha

"laptop doesn't come with a monitor" " Check your sound card details in display properties"

Must say it does sound like a terrible experience...
To top it all, the "Kind Sir" bit seems straight out of a King Arthur Tale


Though on a side note, having spent most of my life in India, and a fair amount of time in other countries including the United States; My personal take is that Quality of service experiences everywhere are more of a luck of the draw thing than anything else....


And for this;

You would really need to do only two things:
1- Check the Device manager and make sure that all the customizable components you chose are indeed what you had asked for
2- RUn the Dell Diagnostics test wich can be chosen at the startup screen, and run the full battery of tests...Its a fairly extensive hardware test routine which will check pretty much all the components on your system for possible errors

 

another thing you should consider next time you need support is dell online chat, its quick, easy, and no conflicting accents to contend with