Giving Credit Where Credit is Due (Praising Dell Customer Service)

It's easy for us to complain when a machine goes bad and at last resort, we have to call customer support for help. We've all heard the horror stories; in fact most of us have lived through at least one. And hardly anyone in this business gets beat up more than Dell; that happens when you sell more machines than anyone else. So I share this brief account of my experience with a support call for a new XPS M1210 that I made last night.

Background

My father-in-law needed a small machine for travels with enough power to keep up with his daily computing demands. Integrated Verizon wireless was a requirement, so I recommended, and he purchased, a new Dell XPS M1210. Delivery time was fast, only two weeks, a week faster than promised at the time of ordering.

The Issue

My father-in-law already had a Verizon air card and needed to transfer the service to his new notebook. Many of us at TechnologyGuide.com carry these same cards, so I've often contemplated how this transfer takes place. In fact when these notebooks with integrated mobile data cards started rolling out, I asked just about every rep we talked to and none of them knew the answer.

PCMCIA based Verizon wireless EVDO air card

Now We Know

Inside the Dell package are a bunch of CD's. One of them contained the software and a setup guide for the Verizon service. Not knowing who to call first for this issue, I called the Dell number listed on the setup flyer. I spoke to a live person within 2 minutes. They were able to re-direct me to the proper person at Verizon.

A few minutes on hold with Verizon and we were in business. I simply had to supply them with the phone number for the Verizon air card, then the ID number for the M1210, which Dell had already informed me of how to retrieve. I gave this info to the Verizon rep as he made the update in their system. Within 90 seconds the computer found the Verizon service and was able to connect. In fact, I think the service is faster for some reason on the Dell card than the PCMCIA card from Verizon.

Bottom Line

I received great service from two companies during peak call times. There were no waits and the first person I talked to at each place was able to solve my problems. So if you're curious about how to transfer Verizon service to a new notebook, now you know. But let's also remember that there are good service stories too and from time to time, those need to be told.

Dell XPS M1210 Review

 

Good to hear when someone is served well. You are very right it is rare that credit is given when credit is due. Glad you were able to get your card up and working and I hope your father in law likes his machine.

 

That's pretty cool, and good to know. If asked to guess how this service call would go, I would laugh and say an hour with no resolution and a need to follow-up with some supervisor the next day with an end result of having to cancel the previous Verizon card and open another account.

But not so. Kudos to Dell and Verizon.

 

Indeed that was a very efficient service call !

I've had many good experiences with various companies as well, such as Best Buy, Staples, and HP.

 

must have been pure luck
i've called over 40 times (not for help, but returning, or exchanging due to their faulty products) and i've yet to talk to one that even knew even 1/10 of what i know (and this is about their own products)

 

A strange review in my opinion. Everyone has very different experiences with Dell I think, just look at syxbit. This review is a bit of commercial in my eyes, but I could be wrong.

Charlie

 

I have had excellent service from both Home and the Small business divisions and have been very satisfied with my purchases. The computers which I use daily at work are also Dell workstations. I have seen nothing but good things in both product quality and service.

 

Dell support for business and XPS is very very good.
The horror story people usually hear/read is from the inspiron support.

 

I think Dell has a dedicated group of personnel for customer service for their XPS line of products. So no surprise there.

I called Dell altogether 3 times to replace my harddrive for my i9300 just after 1 month of use. Waited more than 30 min each time, and i kid you not, they hung up on me all 3 times.

So i broke down and bought a Hitachi 7200rpm 100 gig hd from Newegg.

That ladies and gentlemen was my experience with Dell.

 

I promise you we've never accepted money from any manufacturer or guised any advertisement as an article. Definitely not an ad, that'd be unethical in this sites view.


Customer service is becoming a bigger deal these days. One that was in the news a lot yesterday was a guy trying to cancel an AOL account and he was basically given the run around and not allowed to cancel the account:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13447232

 

... Or the woman who couldn't cancel AOL service for her dead mother... I've also had good and bad experiences with customer service. Belkin did a good job helping with a Pre-N router but Dell has been useless in more serious issues.

~ Brett

 

Honestly, I've had great expirience with my Dell laptop, I've had it for over 3 years now and they have fixed every issue asap. First I needed some new ruber feet and they sent them to me, then I needed a new optical drive, I got it in like 2 days, and I then needed a new motherboard, and I got it replaced (by a technician) within like 4 days, so as much as people talk smak about dell, and yeah you do need to do a lot of BS with them (restart like 5 times, new BIOS, check drivers, etc, in the end the problem will get fixed.

 

You reminded me that I need a new rubber foot so I just called. After going through a robot for two minutes, I got a person (either in America or with a good American accent)! They sent me through the whole service tag and name drill, told me the feet were no longer covered by warranty (since I've got a nearly four year old laptop), told me they would be inexpensive then directed me to parts. At parts I went through the name and tag process again. After a few minutes the woman (Indian) finally asked what I needed help with. She told me she would go look for the part and put me on hold but before she did she said she was just wondering if my battery is still good. She said it usually dies after a year or a year 1/2 and I said its fine. She then asked if I travel. I said yes and she tried to convince me that I need a spare battery when traveling. I kindly declined and she fetched me the product info. She came back about a half-minute later and asked if I also need the large extra foot in the middle I said no and she asked if I was sure... no again. She then told me the price for five rubber feet would be $25 without shipping. I asked if she was sure and she said yes. I told her I'd hold off for now and she sounded amazed and asked what I would do about slipping on the table. I told her I had all of the others but the missing one and thanked her. She asked if there was anything else she could help with and I said no.

There's a lot of repetition in these calls and that's what really gets to me. You'd think by now they could relay your information off to another branch but I guess not. Also the shameless attempt to sell needless accesories is really bothersome but I guess that's where they make their profits so it's understandable. Oh, well I guess I'll have to live without one foot.

~ Brett

 

dell charges a premium for their xps line for a reason. that reason is the better build and of course...dedicated customer service.

 

better build ?
i think not
they're just rebadged Inspiron line (xps 14" was a inspiron 630m, and the 1710m is just an e1505)
definitely NOT better build quality

 

I just bought a new laptop (not a Dell) but I would agree that Dell in Malaysia have excellent sales and support. The services are prompt and fast. Dealing with Dell is a pleasant experience. My only regret was that I wasnt able to give them my business as they dont have a model that suited me currently.

 

I myself have never had anything but positive experiences with Dell. From speed, to service, and even build quality I've found to be better than any of the direct competition (HP/Compaq, Gateway/eMachines, Acer, AVERATEC, etc.)

The only time I've needed to call Dell was to get an XP recovery CD, and the representative was friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and get this...easy to understand. When I informed him that the MBR was overwritten by Linux and I couldn't get to the recovery partition, he actually understood what that meant (unlike the AVERATEC representative that I never did get a recovery CD out of) and handled the situation quickly and efficiently. I got the CDs in two days and still have them - and was never charged a thing.

Also, I have never had a single thing go wrong with my 9300, while every HP I've bought has had some defective hardware (usually optical/floppy drives, but the flippin' heatsink was bad on my v2000z) and both my Gateway and AVERATEC have had pieces of the case break far too easily (the notorious hinge cracking on my 7422GX and all of the rubber feet are gone from that AV3270, which also no longer holds a charge - the battery crapped out less than a week after the warranty expired.

And we all know you just can't beat Dell for competitive pricing. I still sometimes wish I had gone with my second choice of thin-and-light notebook, the XPS M140/Inspiron 640m, rather than this v2000z (but then I play NFS:MW at 800x600 w/high graphics details and realize the GMA900 could have never done that - although now I really wish I had a e1405 instead of this).

So yeah, I will definitely be looking to Dell when it comes time to replace my 9300 next year, and my v2000z when it inevitably catches fire.

 

Dell has always been great for me. I have had only a few issues where i needed to call them. Within 10 minutes of me making the call, the issue was resolved. Gettng things delivered are always faster than expected, when i get the device, it has no issues what so ever.

Im happy with Dell...

 

so far my dell small business experience has been much better than dell home experience

 

the XPS m140 was the 630m

 

If you gave me a Dell for free, or if you payed me to take it, I swear I'd refuse and consider you an enemy of mine.
Those jerks at Dell messed up my computer beyond the point of repair and deleted my hard drive after promising me ten times that my data would not be affected. I lost three years of productivity to a Dell snafu.
After that happend they refused to respond to my calls and deal with my problem further although they originally expressed regret and sorrow over their mistake.
I guarantee you that for every positive Tech support story from Dell here's a hundred negatives.
I'm not an angry man but Dell has a way of doing it to me because they are truly the pits!

Dell - Never!

 

From my experience, Dell support varies on a call by call basis, regardless of XPS, Inspiron, Latitude, Biz, Home. Get a seasoned tech (who's not disgruntled) and you're in luck, get a newbie and you'll pull your hair out, and get a disgruntled seasoned tech and your life will be hell (recently had one who was as snide as he was lazy). I've had 40-60 calls to Dell in the past 5 years and I can give you the spectrum of stories -- heaven to hell.

I really wish that they would allow IT folk who call in frequently to take some sort of competency test thought. I've had 6 computer motherboards fry this year, it's the same problem every time and every time I have to go through the same 30-minute script...sigh.

 

I agree with Brian, there are good customer services out there. My experience with Acer's CS has been very good all the time. I've called them during peak hours and the maximum that I had to wait is about 2 minutes (not including the approximate 30 second voice message). They have helped me out, and I even sent out my notebook for repairs. The only downside was the shipping time, but that is something you can't do anything about (I live in CA, and it was to be shipped to TX). I reported my errors online and I immediately got an email asking me if FedEx can pick up the package at such and such time. 2 hours before the reported time, FedEx called and confirmed if they could pick the package up, and it was shipped using 2 day shipping. It was fixed in a couple of days (the problem was nothing major, my speakers would squeal if I unmuted my mic, and I could hear a lot of static coming out of the speakers and the use of the touchpad increased the static). And sent back. There was a report on what they did to fix the system when it came back. It took about a week for the notebook to go and come back, even though the website said turnaround time is 7-10 days.

Sorry if it's slightly off topic (Acer instead of Dell).