Sorry, just a tad dissapointed. Yesterday the XPS2 was added to the Norwegian website like the rest of Europe. However it did not appear in the webshop config. So I call Dell and speak with a friendly salesrep, who has one sitting just down the corridor and speaks highly of it. (As if he would not.)
So it starts well, me bombarding him with more or less pertinent questions and he trying his best to answer:
1: If I buy a machine in Norway, will I get repairs in say the US (where I travel a lot) if something happens?
Answer: Yes, if you buy the appropriate 3-year sevice agreement. (Can I trust him on that?)
2: Can you tell me what brands and models displays are used for the European production of XPS2?
Answer: No. (He even called the factory to ask, I believe.)
3: Then can I specify my preference when I order?
Answer: No. There is now way to do that. If the display turns out not to be acceptable, you will have to complain.
4: I see there are 7200 rpm 80&100 gig disks available in the specs.
Answer: Yes, you can order those now. (But I never got to ask him whether that would delay the order.)
5: Is it correct that there will be an uprgrade path for GPU and CPU?
Answer: Yes you can buy an upgrade option with the machine that lasts 6 months, if a better GPU comes in the market. A Dell tech will install it. (Didn't quite understand that. Do I pay up front for a time limited option on something I don't know I will get? What if there is no new card within those 6 months? Also, he didn't say if this was true for the CPU too.)
Now I need to follow up on these and other issues, but that is not the problem. When I said let us look at the specs so you can make me an offer, he apologised and said he was not able to do that because the order system for the XPS2 was down (presumably they were still adding the options and prices.) "But I will call you back tomorrow, between 10 and 11AM." I said fine and thank you.
Now as the title already has revealed, he didn't call back. Guess he had more important things to do than follow up on a potential customer for their top of the line portable. And now Easter holiday has started here, and I won't be able to contact them again for almost a week.
Also, I kind of fear that the offer will be well on the expensive side. Part of me wants to buy in the US (I do business there) to take advantage of the rock bottom exchange rate and subtract all those coupon thingies that we don't get in Europe from an already lower list price. Also, the US offers som cool software offers (Macromedia Studio) that we do not get in Europe either.
But I am a bit worried about service and support. Will Dell Norway bother servicing a customer that bought his machine elsewhere. (Another question I didn't get around to ask.) And then there is the issue of getting a Norwegian keyboard. I don't like the idea of buying a 3000 dollar machine and putting label stickers on 1/3 of the keys...
Geir
So it starts well, me bombarding him with more or less pertinent questions and he trying his best to answer:
1: If I buy a machine in Norway, will I get repairs in say the US (where I travel a lot) if something happens?
Answer: Yes, if you buy the appropriate 3-year sevice agreement. (Can I trust him on that?)
2: Can you tell me what brands and models displays are used for the European production of XPS2?
Answer: No. (He even called the factory to ask, I believe.)
3: Then can I specify my preference when I order?
Answer: No. There is now way to do that. If the display turns out not to be acceptable, you will have to complain.
4: I see there are 7200 rpm 80&100 gig disks available in the specs.
Answer: Yes, you can order those now. (But I never got to ask him whether that would delay the order.)
5: Is it correct that there will be an uprgrade path for GPU and CPU?
Answer: Yes you can buy an upgrade option with the machine that lasts 6 months, if a better GPU comes in the market. A Dell tech will install it. (Didn't quite understand that. Do I pay up front for a time limited option on something I don't know I will get? What if there is no new card within those 6 months? Also, he didn't say if this was true for the CPU too.)
Now I need to follow up on these and other issues, but that is not the problem. When I said let us look at the specs so you can make me an offer, he apologised and said he was not able to do that because the order system for the XPS2 was down (presumably they were still adding the options and prices.) "But I will call you back tomorrow, between 10 and 11AM." I said fine and thank you.
Now as the title already has revealed, he didn't call back. Guess he had more important things to do than follow up on a potential customer for their top of the line portable. And now Easter holiday has started here, and I won't be able to contact them again for almost a week.
Also, I kind of fear that the offer will be well on the expensive side. Part of me wants to buy in the US (I do business there) to take advantage of the rock bottom exchange rate and subtract all those coupon thingies that we don't get in Europe from an already lower list price. Also, the US offers som cool software offers (Macromedia Studio) that we do not get in Europe either.
But I am a bit worried about service and support. Will Dell Norway bother servicing a customer that bought his machine elsewhere. (Another question I didn't get around to ask.) And then there is the issue of getting a Norwegian keyboard. I don't like the idea of buying a 3000 dollar machine and putting label stickers on 1/3 of the keys...
Geir
