Dell Support

[dennisj00]

Has anyone noticed that Dell's phone support has gone to (pick a word) . . .?

First, as an IT professional for 30+ years, I'm not a fan of offshore support or development. Yes, you can hire programmers for $10 an hour, but you won't get a program!!

But their phone support! I was on the phone for 45 minutes this morning to try to return a hard drive that their website suggested for a Latitude laptop - entered by service tag.

Turns out, the old drive is IDE, the new drive is SATA -- and no longer listed in the website for that machine.

I dialed the 800 number on the shipping document included in the box. I was transferred no less than 8 times, had to repeat the order number and my name 6 times, had to repeat the problem 5 times. And two people gave me two different 800 numbers to use in the future.

With every hold, there were messages that call volume was very high. . BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING TRANSFERRED CONSTANTLY!!

Finally the last person quickly stated to me that there was a 21 day 'window' to return items to Dell and send me on my way. . The window expired last week!

:mad::mad::mad:

[LarryFlowers]

The Dell phone tree is never good, but you can acheive a little better response by never purchasing a michine from the consumer side... buy from the small business division instead.. their support is domestic... make up a company name if you have to and use your own credit card.

[paulman182]

I've got two incorrect mobile broadband cards on my desk right now, and a third incorrect one on its way from Dell, that will all be returned.

The three cards were ordered after about an hour on the phone with Dell in each case.

Turns out Dell has no internal mobile broadband card for my Dell computer I bought in July, after three tries.

Of course, I've also got over $600 in charges that I hope get reversed soon, too.

[Marlin Guy]

Whenever possible, I use Dell's online chat support.
I open up notepad and type out the answers to their questions before they ask them. When they ask, I simply paste in the anticipated information and send it.
Quick, relatively painless, and best of all I don't have to try to understand Rami's Hindenglish.

[paulman182]

Whenever possible, I use Dell's online chat support.
I open up notepad and type out the answers to their questions before they ask them. When they ask, I simply paste in the anticipated information and send it.
Quick, relatively painless, and best of all I don't have to try to understand Rami's Hindenglish.

The Dell reps were heavily accented and used some strange phrasing, but I honesly don't feel that there was any miscommunication between myself and them.

The lack of knowledge was technical, not grammatical.:)

[FHSPSU67]

If it's any consolation, I had to return my new Gateway FX542X for a motherboard replacement. Support was incomprehensible and I'm talking email chat. I tried everything I could to be able to talk to a live tech - totally futile!
FX542X was fixed and returned promptly. One sidenote, I turned it on and NADA- no fan or anything. This time I was able to talk to a live, but utterly incompetent rep- I refuse to call him a tech. I explained that I thougt it was just the front switch connection to the motherboard that had become loose, and that if he would just show me where it was, I could plug it in. No dice - you MUST return the FX542X - this time at GW's cost. I said I would fix it myself and hung up.
It turned out that the fron switch behind the grill had worked it's way out of position - move it back and I have a nice PC again:)
I called the same # and let them know it was fixed.

[barryb]

I have to agree with Larry.

Standard consumer support has always been a pain with Dell, but on the business side its a much different story.

[dmspen]

I have a Dell Inpspiron laptop with 3 year at home (small business) warranty which I purchased through the small business unit. Last year the LCD panel died. I called Dell, got a non-accented rep, and had someone out in a few days to replace it. Several days later the new panel developed line problems. I called again, another non-accented rep and the same guy was out in 2 days with a new panel and graphics card. It's been fine ever since.

In fact, I think my warranty expires next week. Maybe I should break it.

[Lee L]

Quick, relatively painless, and best of all I don't have to try to understand Rami's Hindenglish.

Don't you mean John? ;)

[dennisj00]

I just wonder if Dell realizes they're getting ripped off by the support contractor. . . probably billing by the agent hour. . . somebody's driving a new Tata Land Rover!

[TJStaar]

If you want the lowdown on Dell and what's become of them, go to ihatedell.net. It'll open your eyes.

[itguy05]

Never, ever, ever buy Dell. Not only are their computers junk their support is junk as well. Been around IT forever and few I've met have good things to say about Dell. It's always been that way.

Dell = WalMart of the PC world (and that's not a good thing).

[wilbur_the_goose]

Dell is worse than Wal Mart. MUCH WORSE

[dennisj00]

Everyone has their opinion, but I'd much rather shop for Dell online or at a BB than put up with the crowd at a walmart. If I have to go to a walmart, I go early to avoid the people.

As far as machines, I still prefer Dell for servers, workstations or laptops. I just found their customer service totally inefficient.

[dpeters11]

Let me guess, you didn't tip the guy?

I somehow got Gold tech support on my laptop, and pretty cheap. I've had to call them twice. The first time I needed a new power brick. I call in, go though the tree, enter my service tag. Computer says "Please hold for" then "Thank you for calling Dell, this is Robert." At worst his accent was Texan. The next morning a power brick was at my door. He had even sent me an email with his hours and direct contact info (email also gave his Microsoft and A+ certifications.)

Money well spent.

[dennisj00]

You must have a different 800 number than the 3 I was given - - while I was being transferred between the 8 'agents'.

And I'm not sure how you tip them?

[dpeters11]

You must have a different 800 number than the 3 I was given - - while I was being transferred between the 8 'agents'.

And I'm not sure how you tip them?

Sorry a bit of a joke, tipping meaning paid for an upgrade in support. I call the same number, it's based on Express Service tag. I do wish they made it easier, I'm sure a lot of people would be willing to pay more for better support.

[Marlin Guy]

Dell = WalMart of the PC world (and that's not a good thing).

Like many other brands, Dell offers a myriad of machines at varying quality levels. You get waht you pay for. It's just that simple.
Buy a $299 desktop and that's what you have.

I've always had very good luck with them and recommend them to most clients.
CS is what you make of it.
On the phone, they stink. But I can get whatever I need from them via online support chat.

[paulman182]

So my third incorrect mobile broadband card came and I decided to go Dell's website for a return authorization instead of hanging on the phone for an hour this time. They even have that option under "Contact Us."

Two days later I get an email telling me to call them for a return authorization.

[Marlin Guy]

Missing, Wrong, Damaged Form (https://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/missing_wrong_damaged?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&redirect=1)

Initiate Live Chat (https://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/chat/hardware_chat?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&redirect=1)