Last summer my modem fried during a thunderstorm. At the time I figured, well, it was a stupid thing to do, I know better than to stay online when a storm comes up, but it's not really that big a deal to get new part and replace it.
Problem was, they sent me the wrong part. The problem was compounded by the fact there was a time delay. I couldn't get to work on the computer immediately due to a number of things going on, which shouldn't have any bearing on the fact the wrong part needed to be replaced with the right one.
The first two people I talked to on the phone agreed – yes, I'd been sent the wrong part, but they couldn't help me as it was not their department. After a few times getting handed off from department to department, I got a guy named Manuel who suggested I was probably making it all up, and the modem they sent me could be made to work. After over an hour screwing around, we determined to his satisfaction that the modem they sent would not work in my computer, but that was the last I heard from him.
He never returned my calls, so I tried e-mailing.
This was a new adventure. These e-mail correspondents couldn't get any farther than trying to blame me for ordering the wrong part. This is despite the fact I have documentation to prove the part I ordered was replaced by something else. There also seems to be a policy of not allowing a customer to communicate with the same person more than once, as I could never get the same person to reply to a subsequent e-mail or phone contact.
Keep in mind I have three "regular" jobs, as well as trying to launch a support group for victims of abuse, and somewhere in there I have a husband, a son and daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren who also need my attention. It's not like I could at any time have simply dropped everything to spend a couple days on the phone to deal with this.
Finally I got a lady on the phone who seemed to understand the problem. She ordered the correct part for me, and my account has been credited so I wasn't paying for the part twice. She said I'd have the right part on December 19.
I allowed some time for holiday delay, as this year none of our Xmas presents were getting here on time. By New Year's the part had still not arrived, so I e-mailed yet again, only to be told that for some obscure reason that couldn't be revealed, the order had been cancelled. Now I'm supposed to contact the sales department.
By now Dell has cost themselves many times the 20 dollars for the part, in terms of paying these people however much they pay them in order to put me off. If I was asking for the whole computer to be replaced, I could understand they'd be a little hesitant to go that route, but all I'm asking is that they correct their own mistake and send me the part I ordered.
I could have bought a replacement part anywhere, but it appeared to be easier simply to ring up Dell. Guess I won't be doing that again!
In the meantime, I'm going to give up trying to get through to anybody at Dell who understands that when a company sends a customer something other than what they ordered, they should at least make some effort to correct the problem. I'm done being insulted and put off.
The irony here is that I was planning on getting a new computer and maybe satellite or wireless internet service, because dialup is such a pain. I had that budgeted for sometime in February. I can make my dialup connection work sometimes, and because I work in a military library that provides internet access for the Marines, I can always go early and get some things done there.
I'll hobble along for another eight weeks or so, and for sure I'll be buying my new computer from somebody else.
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My experience with Gateway tech support is pretty good.
Build your own next time. You get better quality parts, it is easier to do now than it ever has been, it runs better because it doesn’t come with all of the manufacturer’s advertising garbage, and you don’t have to deal with incompetent representatives.
I would have sworn by Dell 7 years ago. Now, they trail only behind E-Machines in quality. HP has pretty horrible technical support too. I had to get to level 3 before some guy stopped reading a script in a foreign tounge and actually gave me something useful to do.
Customer service sucks these days. This is because… well that’s another rant for another topic.
Well, what is the first thing any company cuts to save costs on to stay cometitive with others…human beings. Most tech desk jobs today are considered entry level jobs, pay small wages, and those working at them are required to follow a script, and not think for themselves.
The consumer demands lower prices, we get them, but I always wonder what corners were cut to get me that low price. Tech support was first, as the computer becomes a disposable commodity.
I used to tell people to buy An HP, now even they have cut so many costs, that their computers are not what they used to be in quality.
My next computer will be a bare bones box, that I add what I want to, without all the dummy help programs that HP, Dell, Gateway, load their systems down with to try and prevent people from screwing the system software up. Which people still find ways to do it.
Customer service depends on the company, and the actual person one is dealing with. Customer service has been dropping for years. it sucks, and I work in the food industry, where customer service is very important, yet companies will not spend money on training, to provide great customer service. They are afraid they will price themselves out of the market.
I wouldn’t buy from Dell; they’re crap machines anyway. They work just fine but when they break, they tend to break bad. They also have chintzy power supplies that almost invariably burn out shortly after the warranty expires. They’re epic for that.
I suppose that as computers become cheaper and cheaper, like appliances, it shouldn’t be surprising that the tech support gets worse and worse.
I have a similar experience with Best Buy and their Geek Squad “repairing” my laptop, only to find upon its return that it still has the exact same problem. Over and over.
As a result, I’ve shifted all of my electronics buying to Circuit City, and in the past I’d gone up to an hour out of my way to find a Best Buy because I thought I’d be treated well. Best Buy delenda est!
Moral of the story for you: Buyer Beware!
Moral of the story for Dell: None, they are fully aware of the problems with current support models. Welcome to the age of computers as true commodity items!
It really isn’t a matter of “if Dell cares about support” or not, they and most other large computer manf. do care about support, but only as far as how it impacts their sales. It is in fact strongly tied to the margins they are able to make on their sales. They will offer to you what support they can while still making a profit. If they cut their support costs too low, and their sales dip because of it, they will sink more resources into support. Otherwise, it’s business as usual for them, there will always be some percentage of people unhappy with their level of service, and they can live with that, as long as it doesn’t hurt sales too much.
Whether you choose to give up or continue your efforts, it really has no effect on them whatsoever. They’ve already factored into their accounting the loss of some percentage of customers due to poor customer support experiences. Only if you happen to get lucky and get a fairly competent person will you have a chance at correct resolution the regular way. You’d probably have more luck disputing the charge with your CC company, and try to get it resolved from that angle.
Oddly, I’ve only had good experiences with Dell.
1. My Dell desktop is now five+ years old. I’ve had to replace the hard drive, and I voluntarily upgraded the RAM at one point, but otherwise … it keeps chugging, and it’s basically up 24-7.
2. My first dell laptop lasted for ~4 years. It had repeaed problems with the screen needing to be replaced, but I had the three-year warranty, and they just came and replaced it. I finally replaced the machine when the joints which hold the monitor broke.
3. My current dell laptop is 3.5 yrs old. When it arrived, the DVD/CD-ROM wasn’t seated properly, but I was able to reseat it. I’ve had to replace the *fan* twice, because it is prone to overheating.
…
You know, I think I’ve had friend tech support most of my life. When I was young, it was a friend of the family who worked on hardware and who would integrate our computers so well that we rarely had problems, and now I’m married to someone who has done tech— but more to the point, he’s worked the system long enough to get the tech people to help the right way the FIRST time.
Right now we have Apples— no surprise, since that’s where he works. And he’s gotten quick service whenever he can’t fix the problem. (They DO have problems; warranty service is a good idea as with any system, though for many PC products it’s better to get a “guaranteed replacement” service than an extended warranty.)
In terms of tech service for Apple computers, that works best when you have a store in your area with the Genius Bar. Phone tech support is American (in fact, in our town; Evil Rob works in another building.) I won’t swear to their efficacy, though, since we’ve never used them.
I’d say your best bet is to speak with someone who knows what you use a computer for and knows the industry. They can advise you how to get the most for your money.
B Durbin: i’m a professional programmer; just about the only time I’ve *ever* called tech support is to report something which was just broken and needed replacing. I walk through the script — I used to do it, I know the drill — and get transferred to tier 2. Every time. :)
That said, my favorite tech support story was the time I reported a bug in avalon hill’s civilization CD (it would crash when the computer went to build cities), reporting what the problem was (i’d debugged it, a bit, using assembler), and recommending a fix. :)
My experience with Dell has been excellent, but I’ve generally had third party repair service contracts (I think with BancTec).
I’ve had laptop parts replaced the same day I called — and on-site; they came to me. That was crucial on consulting jobs.
I guess it’s not surprising Dell itself is pretty clumsy at support; they’re a PC company not a service company. If they’re smart they’ll outsource the whole operation.
Oh, and as many problems as people have had with Dell, last time I checked (few years ago) they did actually have the best perceantage of working machines. I wonder if you just hear about their failures more often because there are more Dells out there than anything else.
My mothers office bought about 15 dell laptops at the same time…every single one of them had a hard drive failure of some sort in the first six months. And this was prior to the hitachi issue.
Trudy
Google is your friend – as are many of us who hang here with Dean.
I’ve built several of my own – and bought my own too, most recently from Dell. I like building my own. It kind of gives you that “cool” feeling one gets when rolling your own cigarettes. Of course, if you’ve never smoked you don’t get that analogy – but trust me, building your own can be fun.
IF anything, it gives you a feeling that you control your own destiny.
That said, right now you need a new modem, right? That’s it? Then check Ebay or the Internet for the part number and order it from a 3rd party.
If you need help, post another note here.
Wow!Lots of responses! Woulda gotten back quicker, but it was a busy day at work. 214 is in the midst of deploying, and we had all kinds of Marines in to check their e-mail and get their bills paid, etc., before heading overseas. By the time I got home I was a limp rag. ;>)
Yep, I have no doubt building my own machine would be best — but there’s no more time left in my day. Or month, for that matter.
As it happens, I discover on the eve of packing up the bad part and Fedexing it with a terse note to cancel my account and refund my money, that Dell has a blog. Ever the optimist, I left yet another note the there. We’ll see how that flies!
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