dell woes - Page 2

Okay, after reading all of the above posts, here's what I think.
sublime, you were too impatient. You would expect them to throw a computer together when you custom-order it, but Dell is having some inventory problems that set them back a couple weeks. To most people, a couple weeks is a couple weeks, but to you, it's life-or-death. And did you ever directly ask Dell why they put a hold on the charge but didn't take it from your account? I doubt it. Either way, their reps are uneducated, so are everyone else's... Try calling an HP rep or a Lenovo rep, they will probably give you the same crap. And before you go saying that I don't know, I do. I ordered an E1705 a couple weeks ago, I was disappointed that the estimated shipping date was three weeks from my date of purchase, but I accepted it and hoped that their estimate is right. It says it will ship by next Tuesday; it just finished everything except boxing (and shipping) yesterday. Seems to me that Dell has a great estimate, at least the USA Dell site. Also you know there is an automated order status checker over the phone? That would have told you the TRUE order status, if the website was having glitches.

Okay, now for my opinions on laffingbilly. It's a little too harsh to yell at him for ranting and raving, instead you should have calmly explained to him the credit card situation and told him to simply be patient and drop his accusations of Dell. You have experienced great Dell service, I have experienced great Dell service, and sublime is experiencing a normal level of Dell service but not sure how to handle it because he does not know that everyone else has the same wait times and credit card "issues". Yelling back at him will only fuel his anger, and that is the last thing we or Dell need right now. However I agree with you in that sublime should have waited longer and/or consulted our forums, asking other people if they were experiencing the same things, before venting on Dell.

And as I already said, Dell reps are uneducated - but that doesn't mean other companies have better educated reps either. Don't trust their word; keep them on the line as you receive the email that they told you they'd send, or refuse their offer to call you and instead call THEM. You have to be assertive, not only are they uneducated but they are very busy. Always get proof that they have done the actions that they promise; a chat log is no better than a phone call log, really. I mean, sure you have the chat in a physical form that you can post over the internet, big deal. Now e-mails might be a different story, they are usually taken a bit more seriously, but chat logs and phone logs are no valid evidence whatsoever. And for issues like warranty or parts upgrades, have your order open in your browser, and refresh it until the change shows up, keeping the rep on the line. If it doesn't show up, inform them and make sure they double or triple check their changes - try your best to keep them on the line until you can actually see their changes made.

I hope this helps, I tried to be as unbiased as possible. We all just need to take a deep breath and have a little more patience, with Dell and with each other. Be more understanding; "take a walk in the other person's shoes".

Whats your credit line on that credit card?

I'm sure it has nothing to do with credit line, like we said above it is just a test to make sure you actually have the money, and it is against the law for a company to actually withdraw funds before shipping the product.

ah, seems dell's gone down the tubes, and caused more woe than ever.

Read "Dell Hell" for more... and i'm getting an atty to help me

you can take my notes however you will take them; however, my comments, after I re-read them seem to me very measured and provided some recommendations. The problem is that sublime is angry and focused on a tidbit of my post. That is alright. I don't have a rice bowl in the matter. I think I wrote it twice that it was essentially one day. Now we all get excited about that new computer, and it is understandable the angst one might endure having to wait on the telephone for a CSR. I wrote I've experienced the same thing on many occasions, and I've also offered what I've done about it. when we are passionate, we sort of lose focus on what we are really complaining about. If it was customer service, then that is what we should be focusing on.

I'm not defending dell one bit, I have no cause to defend dell given the crap I've gone through with them. what i will say is that if service is so horrendous or peole are so miserable, then you as a consumer can either continue to be frustrated, complain, or move on to some other company.

for sublime69:

the following ideas work for you if you don't have your laptop yet:

a) get a senior supervisor in by going to the unresolved issues page on dell's website
b) calling up (you can ask for your computer's service code / express service #) and making a stink to the XPS dept. about their service and problems
c) If all else fails, get an attorney and threaten to sue. Now with this one, it's not just enough to make the threat. Dell gets so many threats they aren't compelled to do anything. The real action comes when you have your attorney fax over the "intent of litigation" papers. Call Dell's bluff, and watch how fast things get rolling.


Your partner in arms (in terms of dell misery)

Jason