Dell complaints

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Media knows what goes on inside Dell. Customers contact them, employees contact them, and they read this site. They are under editorial restraint not to print what one person or a few people say. That level of restraint is just as valid in media as it is in an engineering laboratory.

One instance of something is not a reportable event, but raises awareness. Several concurring instances is cause to look closer. When everybody reports the same thing, it is a strong trend.

Even though a collection of individual reports is not 'news' (because the number of people NOT reporting is not quantifiable), a body of evidence piques the effort of journalists to report in favor of the individuals who DO report.

So if you have personal observations about dealing with Dell, as a customer or an employee, posting them on this site definitely has an impact. Even though you might not see it in headlines, right away.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[Apathy]

Rocke,

People who are still inside the little slice of hell we like to call Dell can not post everything we know or heard about without putting our jobs at risk.

Needless to say do I know a lot of rumors and facts that have not gone public
That answer is Yes.

Can I post this information publicly without fear of retribution
That answer is NO
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Q: How do you know Dell Management is lying to you?

A: Until proven otherwise, Assume EVERYTHING coming from Dell Management is a lie.

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Understood. If Dell puts customers on retribution lists for having too many 'unresolvable' problems, they most assuredly do it to employees. Obviously, if an employee's only computer access is at work it will not be possible for them to participate, or even read, here.

Isn't there some mechanism by which employees can post here with genuine anonymity? Yes, I understand the person with access to the email address with which one registers is himself anonymous and therefore can't be trusted fully.

But there IS such thing as anonymous email, and it doesn't cost anything. Oh, your IPA? To get an individual's identity information from that requires a court order and substantial expense. Dell could deal with the expense part, but ISPs routinely countersue on the behalf of account holders to keep their identities confidential. Moreover, there are no issues posted here which would qualify for judicial intervention in the first place.

Gawd, if we're not a resource, we're just a blog.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[DOC_Is_Evil]

There are a lot of people on this site who no longer work for Dell, so even if Dell were to go through here, how could they fire those people? They might be able to sue, but from the interpretation I got, once you have quit or been fired for 6 months, you are allowed to share what went on while you were employed there. But I could be wrong...Or lied to.

[Starman97]

So how exactly does Dell go about resolving the owner of a Gmail account
that only posts/reads from public Wifi hotspots?

Tip: If you're really paranoid, setup VMware player With XP or Linux and post from within that session using an external Wireless card on a laptop. Only use the the VMware/Wifi card for posting here.

The NSA could still figure out who you are, but unless you stole all Mike's stock options, Dell wont spend the $$$ to find you.

[Jane Carnall]

Four months ago when I bought a heavy Inspiron laptop from Dell, I also bought a carry-case - a Targus backpack.

The backpack was extremely comfortable and made transporting the heavy laptop around very easy, but after four months use, the zip went. (It took several days to disintegrate, but today, as I was zipping it up to go to work, it finally went.)

This afternoon, I rang Dell.

After a long, long phone call with much "Push 1 for this" "Push 2 for that" during which I twice got put through to the Inspiron technical service department, I finally got through to a human being at a customer care desk. This human being listened to my explanation, and suggested I find a local repairshop that would sew in a new zip.

I said that Dell had sold me a backpack that was intended for the purpose of carrying heavy laptops only four months ago: it had proved unsuitable for that purpose, and what responsibility was Dell going to take?

Response from Amir Amir: None. "It could have been tampered with," he said. "It was not faulty when we delivered it to you. It could have been tampered with." He kept repeating that. Eventually I got fed up, read back a summary of the notes I'd been making during the call to him: (Dell says: if the backpack Dell sells for the purpose of carrying Inspiron Notebook is not suitable/proves faulty, Dell takes no responsibility") and asked him if he agreed that this was Dell's position. He said it was.

I wasn't ready to give in and follow Dell's suggestion of just paying to have a new zip stitched in. It was a brand new backpack, the sort - if I bought it from a camping shop - I'd expect to have a 10-year warranty at least.

When I googled on Targus, I rapidly found the manufacturer, discovered that the backpack has a lifetime warranty, found a helpline number, got through to a human being, confirmed that what I had was a Targus produce and I had a problem with it, was advised to send photos (Dell didn't provide the product code) and, shortly, was notified that the photos and my problem would be passed on to the warranty department. Of course, I could have done this *first* and saved myself the agony of a phone call with Dell, but I admit that didn't occur to me: I'd bought it from Dell, I assumed Dell would take responsibility for it.

Why couldn't someone at Dell advise me to contact the manufacturer? I mean, at minimum, that would have been helpful advice. If I had taken Dell's advice and sewn in a new zip, that would have voided the warranty on the backpack.

[FallenAngel]

For future reference Jane, unless it has a Dell badge/logo/spraypaint/urine on it somewhere, Dell will not support it past the first 21 days. Just because it was bought through Dell doesn't make it a Dell product, and thereby still serviced only through the vendor of the product itself and not the seller.

But by this time, you have contacted the vendor, and know better for next time

[Jane Carnall]

...why the HELL couldn't someone at Dell say that?

I told each human I spoke to when I'd bought the backpack. No one mentioned 21 days. No one said "You need to contact the original manufacturer". What I got was an hour-long runaround which could have been resolved 30 seconds after I first got through to a human being: ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS SAY "It's been more than three weeks, you need to contact Targus direct".

I obviously didn't manage to communicate what the problem was, so let me say it again:

The problem was not that Dell won't support something they didn't make if it was delivered more than three weeks ago.

The problem was that they spent an hour or so of my time not telling me anything useful, when apparently there is a standard Dell policy they could have told me in 30 seconds.

[nashdell]

Has any tech support person in Nashville (not management) been offered a job in sales by Dell?
I can't find any.
Anyone in Waco coming to work in Nashville?
Anyone in Waco been promised a Nashville job that is actually moving to Nashville?

This is what was Dell told the press and this is what was published by the news services.

[Jax]

A group of folks from Waco were touring the Nashville campus on Black Tuesday, right during the slaughter.

[j6318365]

I too have been put off by dell hoping that the 21 days will pass wiith no resolution.They have no customer service.I am not going to pay a monthly fee to speak with an american about a defective product which was purchased at dell.If you want to work for Dell then better move to India,there they will change your name and teach you how to dodge all questions and still be pleasant.Micheal Dell is a callous man who has no scruples.I have filed a complaint with the state of georgia and have retained an attorney.Good luck to us all.
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Their is absolutely no customer service for Dell,unless you want to pay a monthly fee.This is not acceptable.

[G8R8U2]

When people buy a product from an American company (and Dell still currently qualifies), they expect to be able to resolve issues with customer service reps with whom they can actually communicate. The Dell reps I've had the misfortune of dealing with were virtually impossible to understand because they can't speak English, nor understand it being spoken to them. I don't care how slowly or properly you enunciate, they just do not know the meaning or definitions of even some of the most common words in the language. How it's possible that they could be hired for this particular job, without being able to speak or understand the language that 75% of Dell's customers use, I have no clue.

I just had a quite lengthy and utterly useless interaction with this completely inept and incompetent facet of the Dell Corporation. I simply wanted to inquire about the feasibility of upgrading some of my hardware components. After struggling with the voice recognition system that doesn't recognize precisely worded and pronounced requests, and never getting an option that actually pertained to my issue, I was finally rewarded with the opportunity to get soundly insulted and abused. I first spoke with the absolute rudest human being (I'm using this term loosely here) on the planet. The woman was almost impossible to understand; and I normally have no trouble whatsoever understanding people from other cultures and countries who speak English as a second language. Dell's problem is that whoever they allow to do the hiring for those positions is doing a terrible job of screening applicants and determining their ability to communicate in English. In any event, this woman got so frustrated that I had to ask her to repeat herself so often that when I asked if I could speak to a supervisor, she outright refused and asked again how she could help me. (Here's an age-old, hard and fast rule that has obviously escaped the awareness of foreign companies looking to get in on the customer service biz for American companies). 1. As a customer service representative, you absolutely NEVER refuse a customer's request to speak with a supervisor... NEVER. The proper response to that request is, "Yes sir, I will connect you immediately, and I'm sorry I couldn't resolve your issue. Thank you for using _____". So, after refusing my request to speak with a supervisor (I made the mistake of thinking a supervisor might be better able to understand me, and vice versa), and her snidely asking how she might help me, I responded with, "You may help me by allowing me to speak with a supervisor.". She promptly hung up in my face. Of course, now I'm gripping the phone tightly enough to break it and the blood vessels in my hand.

Despite that, I know the next person I reach when I call back will not be the same woman, so I start all over with the pleasantries. This time I just want to go straight to the supervisor and inform him of the conduct of the previous rep. This is when I learn that the supervisors or managers are almost as incapable of communicating in English as their reps. I report my experience as best I can; he apologizes, promises to send the feedback along to the proper people, and wishes me a good day; and I respond in kind.

I then ask to be connected to someone who can help me with the upgrades I'm interested in. He assures me he's connecting me directly with tech support... instead he sends me right back to the initial voice recognition menu so I can start all over from the beginning. So far, over an hour has gone by, and my girlfriend is looking at me, shaking her head, and wondering which will happen first, stroke or heart attack.

I finally reach tech support; and, as last time, know I'm speaking to somebody else, so I mind my manners with the new guy. He also speaks and understands little English; either that or he's being a smart-a** and laughing with all his buddies in New Delhi. I ask him about 2 very specific upgrades (a hard drive and a processor) that I'd be interested in for a computer that I bought not too long ago, using the exact item and model numbers so there can be no confusion (I think I'm prepared). WRONG. He tells me to hold on, and he'll check on the prices of the upgrades... I hold for 15 minutes. When he comes back, he's got a price for an item that we didn't even discuss and that has no relation to the subject (hard drive) of the upgrade. I'm scared to repeat the request, and just move on to the second item, the processor... he was supposed to check on the price for both. He only inquired about the one; and it was the wrong item at that. I decide I'll give it one more shot, and repeat the request about the second item (processor); and he tells me to hold on while he checks the price for that item. When he comes back 20 minutes later, he gives me the price for yet another item that isn't the one I asked about. I explain this to him again, and he says, "Let me connect you to our parts specialist.". I say, "Okay, thank you.", and he puts me on hold again. 15 minutes later he comes back on the line and informs me that the parts specialist must not be in, and asks me to tell him again what the computer store told me about my repair when I took my computer in. Huh? I tell him, "My computer isn't broken, and I didn't take it into any store; I just called and spoke to you about upgrades, not repairs... there's nothing wrong with my computer.". He says, "Oh, okay, what did you want to do?". All I could utter was, "Never mind.", and hung up.

Total time on the phone: 2+ hours. Accomplishments: 0.

Calling these people customer "service" reps is most assuredly a misnomer; because there's nothing about their performance that benefits the customer, nothing that could be construed as service, and nothing that is representative of the company. If my experience IS representative of the company, Michael Dell should be ashamed of himself.