Dell complaints

EDM-DOC · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 3:22 am Post subject: DOC in Edmonton

I work at the Edmonton DOC, which took it's first call in Aug. 2005 as the software Helpdesk. We're a Dell-badged site, and they're having a hard time hiring (and keeping) employees, so they've started recruiting through recuitment places like ManPower.

EDM-DOC · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 3:33 am Post subject: Number of incidents.

Previously, a one-, two-, or three- (yes there were a few of those) year contract was supposed to be unlimited, and anyone who purchased before Nov. 15, 2005 is supposed to be supported in that fashion.

New one-year contracts (no more two or three year) are in practicality unlimited. Technically, a newly purchased one-year contract is supposed to be five incidents; one for the initial per-incident and four for the one-year upgrade. However, we don't really have a good way of tracking incidents used, because depending upon which sales code is entered, there isn't usually an incidents-used counter.

So they have us DOC techs using lame Total/Adjustment/Remaining (TAR) notation. E.g T=5, A=1, R=4 means 5 incidents at the start of the call, one incident resolved, and 4 incidents remaining.

The problem with this is that sometimes software problems, once "resolved," are not deemed closed by the customer, or cause unintentional side effects. Also, an incident can be spread out over several cases and the contract could be applied to several different PCs in the house, so TAR is not always accurate.

JodyAnn · Dances with Hate Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 107

Dell Hell has a "Help" desk. Question

naw....

The Better Business Bureau is our friend

Steveo · Dances with Hate Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Posts: 109

I thought the HELLdesk was unlimted in the first 30 days, then 5 incidents in the next year.

FallenAngel · Super Hater Joined: 21 Feb 2006 Posts: 1490

If you purchase the "30 day Getting Started" plan, then yes it's unlimited for the 30 days.

This is where you'd have to choose to upgrade to a 1 year plan, or wait it out til you need it and purchase a Per Incident plan.

Per Incident is "soft lined" for 72 hours for ONE ISSUE. Example would be, getting a blue screen error and you can't get into Windows. DOC helps you to get in. Then you notice other issues, not what you paid for - you paid to get around the blue screen. So queue another Per Incident.

Or pay for 1 year. That was supposed to be 5 issues or 1 calendar year, whichever came first. However, in true incompetant fashion, the contracts are still sold as unlimited "orders", not fixed term "contracts". I think since the new format came out, I've seen 8 that actually allow genuine ability to decrement a la T= A= R=.

Until the contracts change over I won't waste ink to use that because I'll be perpetuating fraud. You paid for a 1 year contract that was possibly mentioned as 5 incidents or 1 year...BUT, what you actually received is unlimited. There's NO WAY I'll decrement something that can't be decremented. I'm not being paid to perpetuate fraud. I'm not being paid for the old bait-and-switch either.

Ain't the customer's fault that your sales staff can't sell a contract from an order. Ain't my fault either. Fix it or there'll be a lot more people aware that they still have unlimited contracts.