Dell complaints

[JohnHarold]

I have a Dell Inspiron 2650 laptop, about 4 years old. Motherboard needs to be replaced. I have not had good luck with local computer repair techs, and so decided, with some trepidation, to send it to Dell's out of warranty repair in Memphis, TN, for repair.

Cost $438.

They received the laptop on May 15, and on Tuesday, May 22 & Wed. May 23, I was promised the repairs would be completed, and the laptop overnighted to me on Thursday, May 24, so I would get it before the weekend.

So I called today (Thursday) to confirm that, and it turns out that the repairs have several days to go. Most upsetting.

Anyway, I was connected with a manager, who agreed to deduct $100 from the repair charge for the inconvenience. Upon my threatening to cancel the repair, he also agreed that the repair would be free if the computer did not ship by Thursday, May 31.

After considerable hesitation, I agreed to this deal.

Now, for the past 2 hours I have been reading horror stories online about incompetent Dell repair technicians... and customers having to send back machines repeatedly due to malfunctioning repairs. Although it seems like most of these stories are from 2006 and earlier... maybe things have turned around a bit quality-wise in 2007...?

Bottom-line, I am wondering, and would really appreciate some serious advice:

1) Should I cancel the repair & have the computer shipped back to me ASAP, at which time I will get it repaired by a local tech. Note: this option will cost $199.

or

2) Should I just hang tough and pray that a conscientious Dell tech in Memphis will do the repair right the first time?


What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. If I get past May 31 & the repair is not completed, what are the chances the manager will break his promise of a no-charge repair, since the promise is only verbal and not in writing?

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Welcome, John. But dude, you ask VERY hard questions.

Yes, Dell's depot service is marginally competent. We only hear about the bad ones, but that's bad enough. It is performed under contract by Solectron. I know two people who worked there and they told me it is a total hosebag company.

As to phone promises, I can almost guarantee they are worthless. Even when Dell emails transcripts, it doesn't obligate them in such a way you can count on.

Don't throw away $200. It may take you a month on the phone to get your value out of it, but once you've paid for repairs they will eventually fix it. Oh, unless they 'lose' it and blame the carrier. That happens too, and again you are on your own recognizance reaching a resolution. And again, they'll promise you stuff that won't happen, they won't tell you the action has been cancelled, or give you a reason when you finally discover it.

Welcome to the real Dell.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[ojchillinndc]

Dell probably does the same thing that the government does when they contract something out. Go for the cheapest bidder. In fact, I know they do. Ummm, Dell's customer support in India, ring a bell?

But like with everything else in the world, you got some great techs and you got some really crummy techs. Hopefully your computer will be fixed on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Monday, the techs are all hungover and angry 'cause they have to return from work and the last thing they want to see is your broke laptop. Friday, the techs are all looking forward to the weekend and how many girls they can score or how many hours of WOW they are going to play ('cause I bet the majority of their techs are young men) so the last thing they even care about is your broke laptop. Just really hope for the best.
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I'm burning in the depths of DELL!!!!

[JohnHarold]

Thanks guys.

Maybe with a little luck I will be able to keep a toehold in Dell purgatory, and avoid the collapsing staircase that leads straight to Dell hell.

One last thought/question -- would it be worth my while at this point to shoot a sort of preventive maintenance email to dick_hunter(at)Dell.com - the customer experience guy I've seen mentioned in other threads ?

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

I'd say, contact Hunter when the ultimate resolution is not to your satisfaction, i.e., they bill you and send it back still broken, or they lose it and blame the carrier and say there's nothing more they can do.

When writing, highlight the events leading to dissatisfaction, and specify what resolution you want. Include anything you have in writing from Dell, names/numbers of people you talked with, and case numbers.

I wouldn't say "I'll never do business with Dell again". Though it may be true, they're more inclined to help if they think they're 'restoring your faith in Dell'. Allow them the fantasy.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[JohnHarold]

Thanks, Rocke. I just got an email the laptop has shipped. Scheduled to receive on Tuesday.

Hopefully I wouldn't need to contact Hunter.

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Best luck mate.

I don't want to jinx it, but denial doesn't boot the box. Even if you get it back working and they don't charge you like they said, it's still a Dell and still a liability.

Well, to some extent, so is any possession eh?
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[hiwaystar]

Its JUNK
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I don't give a damn what it was desiged to do.
what can it do?

[JohnHarold]

The saga continues...

I got my computer back on Tuesday, fired it up, and it seemed to be working well. This was too good to last, of course. I don't ordinarily use the backslash key, but when I tried it, it didn't work. So I phoned up Dell, and they sent me a replacement keyboard. I installed the keyboard, and the backslash key still doesn't work. So the problem is probably with a defective motherboard, again -- do you think?

Anyway, I've arranged for Dell to pick up the computer and return it to their repair center.

Also, I checked on that $100 refund. I expected them to stonewall, and tell me they had no record of this, but somewhat surprisingly, they acknowledged it, and said it would appear in my account shortly. We shall see.

On a different note, is there a Windows-based brand of laptop computer you would recommend -- someone out there who makes a good, reliable product?

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Well if replacing the keyboard didn't fix it, kinda must be motherboard. Except for two things. One is, they may have a whole lot of bad keyboards and the backslash doesn't work on ANY of them. The other is, as the kybd/mb connection is encoded, it's much more typical for several keys to fail than just one (but you may not have discovered the other ones). Anyhow, it should come back with the keys working, hopefully not with anything else broken.

Some warranty repairs qualify for (purchased) warranty extension, ask about that if you're interested.

Toshiba laptops are generally the highest reliability, by a small margin. They're also one of the more expensive ones. I don't know anything about their support.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[JohnHarold]

Thanks, Rocke.

One other thing. When I sent it in the first time, I left an ethernet card plugged in -- I only remembered it later, after it had shipped. (I did remove the battery and hard drive, per Dell's instructions.)

It came back fine, but do you think it would it be advisable for me to remove that card before sending it in this time?

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Yes, remove anything removable. Dell's contracted repair depots have a history of 'losing' customer peripherals and denying it. Customers have no recourse, as is so often the case with Dell. No matter who you call, they politely say they can't help you. Or they say 'yes let me transfer you' and that's the last you hear.

Solectron is Dell's repair contractor. From two people who worked there who I knew personally, Solectron is a major hosebag company. That is, their employee relations are such that workers feel inclined to get even with the company. Given the means and the opportunity, they do. Which results in small things of value getting stolen just like they do in airline baggage handling. Human nature.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[JohnHarold]

Good to know. Thanks again, Rocke.

[ojchillinndc]

I can only assume that the keyboard you're talking about is a external one. I'm pretty sure you already tested the keyboard on the laptop to see if you get the same result. If you didn't, then you should be doing what my avatar is doing. But since you've been dealing with Dell, you're probably doing that anyway.

Contact a friend and see if you could use one of their keyboards just for giggle and grins to see if you get the same results. Also see if you have a friend with a USB keyboard to see if that works. Also, with the broken laptop (if you haven't), test every key. Hit NUM LOCK, CAP LOCK. Test the FUNCTIONS KEYS, and the "F" keys up top. That way you can dell that more than one key is busted. Does the "?" work? If so, you may want to tell them that. If you have another computer or a friendly neighbor with a computer, try the busted keyboard on their computer.

You heard from Rock that these guys are not the most reliable. Do you really want to send your laptop to these guys AGAIN for a busted "/"? I know you want your laptop to work the way you paid for but after all your troubleshooting you find the only thing wrong is the "/" key. Maybe you want to think it over. You may get it back and the CDROM drive door opens everytime you hit the ENTER key. Then you'll really be doing what my avatar is doing.

But, if you want a good keyboard, go with Microsoft or Logictech. I like there products. My six year old Dell desktop has a Microsoft keyboard that's older then it and treated it like crap and it's still going. Also, Logictech products take a beating and keep going as well. But it'll cost ya.
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I'm burning in the depths of DELL!!!!

[ojchillinndc]