Dell complaints

jasonr · Regular Hater Joined: 11 Mar 2005 Posts: 10

I was given a Dell A940 printer. At first, I volunteered to pay the man for it. Seemed like a nice printer. After I got home, I discovered the following facts:
1. The ink cartridge (black) that was shipped with the unit is good for about 4 pages. The lady at Staple told me that was std. for Dell.

2. I may NOT replace this cartridge with any product available anywhere within a few hundred miles.

3. I MAY buy a very overpriced product specifically for my unit, but only from Dell. and they would rather you just gave them an open charge card, you ssno, and permission to do whatever we want.

4. When you finally wander through the somewhat left-field searches available at the Dell site, you'll eventually find your ink cartridge, along with lexmark products, kitchens sinks and the neighbors cat listed... but you will not be given any way to order it except on-line.

5. when you go dial the 1-877- DELL number to hell, you'll immediately be transported to a world where everyone speaks like some character from a movie... maybe they are all "standing besides themselves in amazement" ... or.. maybe their "pantz are blazingk for me." Or maybe they (like the cahracter) all "come from Bakersfield"... All I really know is... Arabic is NOT the language of the world, folks... please at least make an attempt at being understood by those whose language you are trying to imitate... however badly. We need to be ble to understand you.
At least get the grammer right.
(How's that quote go... " I did not gum to theez guntree to be like dees beeble... I only gum to ged an eddu katon.") I could only understand 20 percent of the operators vocalizations.

7. when asked for a method to mail in a payment, either by check or money order, and an address, the goofy-doo on the end of the phone can't get it through his head that I have the correct manufacturer part number, the correct dell part number, the correct printer numer, cartridge number, the cost, tax, S&H. All I need is the address to mail the reauest and money to. He keeps insisting I have to go online and complete an order form and apply for credit first. No matter how badly I wanted to say something about "sand monkey"... note that I didn't.
I just hung up.

8. Having been through this process, I've decided there are two things left to do....
(a) Give the damned POS printer away.
(b) actively let my personal friends know about my experiences BEFORE they buy dell. Remember the cost of all of this needs to be added to the cost of keeping their machine alive.

9. Having a full machine shop available, plus some lab grade equipment...
I think I will start making my own cartridges. And loaning them to people who need them. No Charge. No hassle. If they buy the ink... and the materials... I'll do the work just to get the idea out that it CAN be done and we do NOT need or appreciate crap like all this. And it will STILL be CHEAPER and EASIER and SMARTER than Dealing with DELL.

DDS · Hates with a Vengance Joined: 07 Feb 2005 Posts: 95

oh my god. You are an IDIOT! First off you said its hard to find INK at dell.com?? DUDE! <dell.com then click on the HOME STORE link. HIghlight printers at the top and click PRINTER CARTRIDGES!> Holy crap! What the hell do yo uwant them to do, hand it to you on a silver platter??

SECOND OFF, dell's ink runs from $25.00 to about $35.00 which is about 5-10 bucks cheaper then your standard HP or canon or even the exact equivalant Lexmark. (Dells printers are made by lexmark and NO lexmark cartridges will not work)

You know what im tired of? People complaing that they have to order ther ink online. "OH its so inconvieniant" ..... SHUTUP! its eaiser then getting off your fat ass to go to the store AND lets say 3 years from now when precious "office depot" doesnt carry your INK anymore then what will you do? But with the Dell preinter at least you will always know where your ink will be. I hate PEOPLE! they are so shortsighted! Lemme guess, your middleaged and male right? Ya, typical. Pompus morons who think the world revolves around them and that if they purchase anything from a company that the company should worship the ground you walk on. GET WITH TIMES MORON! This aint 1950 anymore! God im glad i was born during the age of computers. We are so much more informed and much more intune with reality.
Dont get me wrong, im not PRO-Dell here, im not on their side. But good god man, your completely inept and need to learn to do some research!

This is not even worth going back and spellchecking. Your embarassing.

paul_dellcc · Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:13 pm Post subject:

Indeed

_________________
I see DELL people!!

If we don't remember our past, we can't understand our present and we can put in danger our future...

Badger · Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:08 pm Post subject:

DDS: Shut the fuck up boy! Not everybody likes to order things online. Maybe it is the future, but this is the present. I don't have a credit card, ergo I cannot order things from Dell. I prefer to pay by debit or cash for security purposes anyways. I'd rather go to a store that's 15 minutes away, pick up a cartridge for a printer, and be home printing 45 minutes later instead of ordering online and waiting 2-3 DAYS. And don't give me no shit about having one on hand as a backup. I've gone through two or three cartridges in a single day.
So lay off the guy asshat. I'm tired of hearing reps like you flame people for coming here and doing what they're supposed to be doing! This is a forum to list your customer experience with Dell. The guy didn't like his experience, so he came here to complain. What the fuck is wrong with that? So you've heard it all before! I've heard reps rip customers before for posting things they've heard before. And now I'm probably repeating a rant towards reps about customers ranting and reps flaming them! It's what you're supposed to do here! So do us all a favour; pull your bottom lip over your head and keep swallowing until you taste shit.
_________________
I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight for your right to say it.

Midget Tossing funds Terrorism

DDS · Hates with a Vengance Joined: 07 Feb 2005 Posts: 95

"DDS: Shut the fuck up boy!"

no.
btw, why "boy"? Is that supposed to be some sort of condemning remark? nice one. Oh and better an open-minded boy than an ignorant man.

"Not everybody likes to order things online. Maybe it is the future, but this is the present"

NEWS FLASH captain obvious, ordering online IS the present.

"And don't give me no shit about having one on hand as a backup. I've gone through two or three cartridges in a single day. "

Sound likes you need a laser printer dipshit! (3000-15000 page yield) Then you would have to worry about it! You keep one on hand if you Dont use 2-3 a day. Do i have to explain everything here?

I'm tired of hearing reps like you flame people for coming here and doing what they're supposed to be doing!

....uh, this is what im talking about. IM NOT A REP DUDE, where did you pick that up?! Oh and there isnt an ihatedellcustomers.net yet, so this is where i am going to post, get over yourself and deal with it.

The guy didn't like his experience, so he came here to complain. What the fuck is wrong with that?

Ok, hold on here. Did i ever attack the fact that he posted here because of his experience? Hmm, ok gimme a sec, lemme think, i almost got it. No really its coming to me. NO I DIDNT!

I'm tired of hearing reps like you flame people for coming here and doing what they're supposed to be doing!

Hmm, sounds like you better find a forum where freedom of speech doesnt apply. Oh and by the way, arent you kind of calling the kettle black? I mean, arent your flaming me for coming here and ranting about this guy? Hmm, interesting.

So do us all a favour; pull your bottom lip over your head and keep swallowing until you taste shit.

uh huh..... Way to drive your point home there bud. lol.

Again here is another over-paranoid, unimformed middle-aged man not in-tune with the technology of today. And yes i have heard it all before, and by the sound of it im hearing it again, your the same as everyone else out there! I'm just tired of morons like yourself and Mr. Jason R. not having their facts straight and then ranting about crap they have little to no knowledge of. I really feel for the Customer Care reps out there who have to deal with rude, uncaring arrogent adults Think what you like buckwheat but people from your "era" really look like complete fools to us younger ones (20's). The ignorance and arrogance for that matter, of your generation is ASTOUNDING and again, i am embarassed to share the same planet with you!

Im not trying to start a flame war here i just really want the people of your generation to wake up is all.
Boy, i hope i covered everything.

Bought_dell_and_hate_it · Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:40 am Post subject: in tune with reality??

Do you really think that you are in tune with reality?

You sound like a piece of smelly shit to think that your generation is better than any other generation.

The ignorance and arrogance for that matter, of your generation is ASTOUNDING, I am embarassed to share the same planet with you!
_________________
to thine own self be true

DDS · Hates with a Vengance Joined: 07 Feb 2005 Posts: 95

To answer your question, yes i am in-tune with reality. Thanks for asking! Please enlighten me and show me an example of me not being so.

I SOUND like a SMELLY piece of shit? uh...ok. First off that doesnt even make sense, how could i SOUND like a smell? Please if your going to insult, do it correctly and with affectivness. Second, no wonder customer care wont help you clowns.

I never said mine was better, i just said mine was more informed and in-tune with reality. Does that mean better? Thats for you/the reader to decide. As for me it means that we have a better understanding of our world and how it works. However this does mean that we understand our world INCLUDING all the negatives and we are more informed of these thus more intune with reality and the goings on. Thats all.

Valient attempt at using my own line against me but really is just doesnt apply right now. Maybe next time.

Have a nice day all!

jasonr · Regular Hater Joined: 11 Mar 2005 Posts: 10

You're right! You can find ink, and lexmark printer ink, and dell printer ink, and supplies, and paper, and probably car parts all on one page with one searchat Dell. Even if you DID specifically enter the product ID you wanted, you will indeed get ALL KINDS of crap you never KKNEW you WANTED! What a push! And it IS INDEED wonderfully precise ! (look up the definition for that, it IS, by definition... becasue you will consistantly get EVERYTHING in the Dell inventory even remotely related to the search whether you want it or not - EVERY TIME! And it will always be the same WRONG stuff! Useless to the user, but technically correct!)

After having built and overclocked and rebuilt and etc. a few machines in my time... I can tell you Dell would be fine IF:

(a) You people didn't try to think FOR me. I do NOT need to be told what I am trying to buy, or need. Some people do... others get quite ANNOYED by your refusal to listen, or think, at all. The only phone conversation I've had with Dell has been like dealing with a pushy used car salesman.

(b)It is entirely possible to change out your piss-ant cartridge carrier.
That is what I have done. It took a few minutes. I use a different ink.. BTW- the HP, not the Lexmark, smartass.
A printer is a rather simple device to build. I do NOT have to use your machine, your ink, your procedure, your anything. I can build my own.

(c) Companies are generally evaluated by the way they represent themselves to the public. That would include telephone, e-communications, other useres... etc. After a weekend's worth of investigation into the general public opinion from the ground level... Dell is fine, except dealing with them is like dealiing with the Borg (from ST: TNG). Which means Dell is fine - for the mindless first time computer user. You can do ANYTHING for them, and probably do it well.... for a price. I, on the other hand, refuse to be held hostage for a f***g PRINTER CARTRIDGE!!! Can you under stand that ??!!??
Your product is NOT WORTH THAT MUCH TO ME !!

jasonr · Regular Hater Joined: 11 Mar 2005 Posts: 10

Fat ass??

I'll have you know... I just won ANOTHER PT Ribbon.
Do you even have a CLUE what that means to me...
as an MP?? Where is your FIRST one, kid?

I don't think you will have much luck convincing ANYONE I have a fat ANYTHING once we meet.

jasonr · Regular Hater Joined: 11 Mar 2005 Posts: 10

Q: When I searched for ink, why did Dell suggest I also needed to order paper?
A: Because the profit margin can be "adjusted".
A: Because somebody didn't bother to consider that I was quite capable of seeing the rest of the quoted prices on the response page from Dell, and compute for myself just HOW MUCH TOO MUCH is being charged for the paper (which I can buy cheaper at Sav-On Office Supply)
A: Because many users are so stupid they need to be reminded to buy paper, and Dell incorrectly assumed I must be one of them because I was indeed shopping at their site
A: Because Dell is indeed in business to make money and do good things for DELL - not for the user.

Here's your sign.

Q: Why does Dell not cut loose with some of the patents copyrights and such so other people can make replacement ink cartridges for this printer?

A: Because in the current litigious business world, Dell might not be able to absolutely guarantee someone else's cartridge would work in their printer... and is afraid someone somewhere might be able to create a "defective equipment or procedure" suit
A: Because selling printer ink is like selling Coca-Cola: The ink, like the Coke, is nearly valueless. The cost is nearly completly in the container, for which they charge immensely, ergo, the profit margin is huge.
A: Because Dell has a version of "planned obsolesence", and will soon try to force me to buy a new Dell printer, as they will "No Longer Support"
my current model

Here's your sign.

What most likely irritates the average person like me about this is that some of our "script kiddie" "phreak" "hackrz" and "warez" thinkers here suppose for some reason I can't get see how blantantly obvious is the Dell attitude regarding this whole thread...

C'mon Dell, get real. There ARE other choices, and other ways of doing things, and either you will "play well with others" or, in the long run, you will lose business. The only question about it is whether or not there is enough "young dumb" and "old dumb" people are out there to replace the attrition you suffer in your P1 base due to your Borg-like business practice... (much like Micro$oft eventually got sued into opening their code- you could find yourself facing a WHOLE LOT of irritated people all at once.)

Personally, I could care less. My printer may have a "Dell" button on it...but it now functions alot like some elses, and actually does what I want it to, with supplies I can get FOR FREE or for ONE HALF your listed prices.... mull that over.

Yeah, script kiddie... I just bought TEN black cartridges with the HP brand on them for SEVENTY dollars- try that with the 7Y743 !

And, nobody offered to sell me 6 of them for 80 dollars if I bought one little pack of paper with it...

jasonr · Regular Hater Joined: 11 Mar 2005 Posts: 10

Here is but one quote of several available on the web. Note that I did NOT write this; I kinda wish I had - but OTOH, I wonder if I could just swap lids with a lexmark... Smile

"According to the Dell website, this is how the cartridges for the Dell All-In-One Printer/Copier/Scanner is supposed to look (photos attached in posted article).
Black Cartridge P/N: 7Y743 with U-Shaped "lump" on the (black) lid.
Equivalent to Lexmark #82
Color Cartridge P/N: 7Y745 with square corner cutout "lump" on the (blue) lid
Equivalent to Lexmark #83

BUT - the black Dell cartridges have the identical corner cutout "lump" as their color cartridges branded Lexmark.
Both cartridges are made by Lexamrk, and rebranded for Dell. But Dell
made the black cartridge with the color lid, so customers are theoretically forced to buy the more expensive Dell cartridges.

Stupid, actually, because now the black and color cartridges will fit each other's slot.

Beat Dell at their own game, don't pay their rip-off prices!
When you open that Dell printer, lift the black lever that closes over the black cartridge. From there you will see a small "pin" sticking out. That corresponds with the corner cutout "lump" (as shown on the photos).
With wire cutters, remove that pin.

All of a sudden, the much cheaper Lexmark "82" cartridge fits in (and any other remanufatured cartridge in that configuration.)
Meaning more money in YOUR pocket.

PS: the color cartridge from either Dell or Lexmark or whomever fit normally, and are all the same."

Read it yourself at www.techspoot.com/v/b/topic18357.html

unless you're too busy staring at a 1x5 piece of equipment in your lap (double entendre intended) to understand there is a REAL world out here... having real people with real talents, able to physically move objects, and think beyond the "virtually real" world offered by the pundits of "dependant living". Stop blackberry-ing and PDA-ing and what not long enough to actually DO something.

Let me know when you understand what I just said. (You'll have to do something more than just "throw a ball real good" to accomplish that, BTW...)

paul_dellcc · Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2005 3:36 pm Post subject:

The URL you posted is no longer available...
_________________
I see DELL people!!

If we don't remember our past, we can't understand our present and we can put in danger our future...

jasonr · Regular Hater Joined: 11 Mar 2005 Posts: 10

Since I'm looking at the printout from it I have to wonder.... Did Dell go and hatchet something??
Or are you telling me you couldn't find it?
I did a Google search for it and it came right back up, so I guess there's been no hatchet yet....Let's see if I can "push" the address to this list... hang on... from Google:

search for "Dell Printer A940 Cartridge Scam"- or read below for the text translation:

Dell Printer A940 Cartridge scam! - TechSpot OpenBoards... Dell Printer A940 Cartridge scam! ...
www.techspot.com/vb/topic18357.html - 43k - Cached - Similar pages

Dell Printer A940 Cartridge scam!Dell Printer A940 Cartridge scam! TechSpot OpenBoards > Hardware & Tweaking > Other Hardware > Dell Printer A940 Cartridge scam! ...
www.techspot.com/vb/archive/index/t-18357.html - 8k - Cached - Similar pages
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realblackstuff 12-23-2004 06:45 AM

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Dell Printer A940 Cartridge scam!

2 Attachment(s)
According to the Dell website, this is how the cartridges for the Dell All-In-One Printer/Copier/Scanner Model AIO A940/A960 are supposed to look like. (see attachments)
Black cartridge P/N: 7Y743 with U-shaped "lump" on the (black) lid. (equivalent to Lexmark "82")
Color cartridge P/N: 7Y745 with square with corner cutout "lump" on the (blue) lid. (equivalent to Lexmark "83")

BUT, the black Dell cartridges have the identical corner cutout "lump" as their color cartridges. In other words, they have the lid from the color cartridge, but in black instead of blue.
Both cartridges are made by Lexmark and rebranded for Dell. But Dell made the black cartridge intentionally with a different "lump", so customers are forced to buy expensive Dell cartridges.

Stupid actually, because now the black and the color cartridges each fit in the other's slot!

Beat Dell at their own game, don't pay their rip-off prices!
When you open that Dell printer, lift the black lever that closes over the black cartridge. From the underside of that lever you will see a small "pin" sticking out, that corresponds with the corner cutout "lump" (as depicted on the color-cartridge). Cut that pin off with a sharp knife or a wire cutter.

All of a sudden, the cheaper Lexmark "82" black cartridges fit in (and any other remanufactured equivalent).
Money in your pocket!

PS: the color cartridges from either Dell or Lexmark or whomever fit normally, and are all the same with the same "lump".

craisin 01-02-2005 08:36 AM

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I don't think I've made the mistake. Try again. I've hit the page 3 times, today.

Perhaps I'm just not giving you enough to go by.
Being the stupid POS I am (after all, I was around when they discovered how to make static push ink around, back in "the day"....)

Sorry about all the "verbosity", but I doubt the moderators of this list would allow me to just HTML the page here.

JR

jasonr · Regular Hater Joined: 11 Mar 2005 Posts: 10

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Dell Personal All-In-One A940 Printer

By Alex Kidman, ZDNet Australia

02 December 2003 Add your opinion

Forward in Format for

What kind of AIO printer do you get for under AU$200? ZDNet Australia investigates Dell's low-cost printer offering.

It's been a while getting here, but Dell's first entry into the local printer market, the A940, is a solid but ultimately unsurprising all-in-one printer. Dell launched its own branded printers in the US back in March, but up until the local release, it sold Lexmark's range of printers. In a way, nothing's changed; the A940 is simply the Lexmark X5150 with a Dell badge and a Dell software package, albeit at a lower retail price of AU$199. Actually, that sub-AU$200 price is a tad misleading; you'll have to pony up an extra AU$20 for delivery, as you can't purchase the A940 anywhere but from Dell, and you'll also have to factor in purchasing a USB cable, as like far too many printer vendors, Dell's gone down the route of not supplying one. The one All-In-One feature that the A940 omits is a hardware faxing option, although presumably Dell is planning to primarily sell the printer to its PC customers, who would be getting fax modems within their systems, so this isn't a terrible omission.

The setup information for the A940 is comprehensive and easy to follow, especially if you happen to be installing on a Dell PC; the instruction manual notes that you'll probably already have the drivers in place if you do. Hardware installation is the usual business of removing bits of sticky tape that hold various parts in place, as well as installing colour and black cartridges. One unusual bit of design pops its head up here; unlike most AIO's that have a latch or locked position for holding up the scanner while cartridges are inserted, the A940 uses a plastic prop, in the manner of a car hood. It's of somewhat cheap design, and indeed the whole AIO unit doesn't have the greatest build quality, but these are the kinds of tradeoffs you've got to accept in this kind of extreme budget space.

The unit itself is easy enough to control from within any Windows PC or via the control panel on the right hand side of the A940, and you may be initially confused to see a fax button included amongst the selection options. This is something of a bolted-on function; the A940 has no included faxing hardware, and is instead reliant on the end-user having a fax modem in their PC for the actual sending portion of faxing. If your faxing needs are only moderate -- and you've got a suitable modem -- then it's not a bad option, but if you need to fax more frequently it's a bit of a kludge, and you'd be better served with an AIO with dedicated faxing hardware built in, or indeed a dedicated fax machine.

At its price point we weren't expecting miracles from the A940 when it came to print quality, but if you're after mostly text printing with the occasional bit of colour, it's perfectly serviceable. While it can handle photo prints, the resulting output was less than satisfactory, and at this price point we'd suggest you invest in an additional small photo printer to handle that kind of chore. Dell rates the A940 at being capable of up to 17ppm draft printing, but in our tests it managed just over 5ppm for a regular full-page text document, essentially identical to its Lexmark sibling. In our tests we also noticed that the speed of the 'quick print' setting also tended to result in the printer picking up additional pages that were spat out inbetween prints, which is a minor annoyance. As with most draft prints, quality was only middling on most paper types, and this became more pronounced with colour and especially any kind of photo print.

The kicker with buying any cheap printer is always in the replacement cartridge cost, and the A940 is no real exception. At AU$49 for black cartridges and AU$59 for colour, it sits around the industry norm for replacements, but at the same time you've only got to buy four replacment black cartridges to cover the cost of a complete replacement printer -- which itself comes with one black and one colour cartridge.

Ultimately you really do get what you pay for with the A940; it's not a truly spectacular printer, scanner or copier, but it's quite serviceable if your printing needs are essentially modest, and as long as you're not doing any photo work with it beyond its scanning capabilities.

Dell Personal All-In-One A940 Printer
Company: Dell Australia

Sparky · Dances with Hate Joined: 28 Aug 2004 Posts: 105

I picked up THREE P1500 Lasers off Ebay, brand new for $50 each...

When the first toner cartridge crapped out I totally freaked my wife
out....

I went over to the printer, "de-cabled" it, threw it in the garbage
and plugged one of the new ones in...

She totally bugged out!

Then I explained to her that the fucking replacement cartridge was $80...

At that point she burst out laughing and said..."Dell really is full of idiots!"