Dont do Dell...

SkyDvr

I had recently ordered a Dell and it came with a bad motherboard. They sent a tech to replace it and I got it back with more problems. They said they wanted to do it again and I said I wanted a new, work factory unit like I paid for.

They said I could only replace it with a refurb since it was 21 days past the order of the unit. Half of the 21 days was when they were making and shipping it! Then I get it, find out there’s a problem, wait to have them fix it, they give it to me worse off and now the 21 days is past and can now not get a new unit like I paid for.

After arguing with management, they sent me a supposedly new factory one. The hard drive is noisy and after installing windows all I get is an "Invalid or damaged bootable partition" screen on boot up.

I feel they are dishonest in their policy, won’t hold up to their end of the bargain, and are very inept in their quality of product. Such a shame, I use to like Dell but now I feel they are dishonest and incompetent. Now I have the huge problem in trying to get my money back, wish me luck with that…

Tipstaff

Sorry, Sky, but you don't need luck. You need God.

'Course, if you don't believe in God, then your screwed. That's when plan B comes into effect, in which you will need some huge ass guy with a really huge baseball bat (preferably aluminum.. with spikes) who goes by the name Tiny or Moe.

Although he might be busy with other 'clients', so you may want to book him in advanced.. just in case.

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IEMC

Hey, you live and you learn. Dell sucks, flat out.

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Mousey

lol i've never had to endure the pain and embarrasment of getting a dell so i spose i'm k
Custom built ftw, and if you don't know how to do a custom build,
there's Computer Building for Dummies on every e-tailer known to man ;p

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kris23

Dell laptops..... anything else desktop is not worth it....... ever

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Ferret_Style

Honestly the trick to dell is to call and not get off the phone until you are statisifed never let them call you back and keep arguing with them in a very nice maner. I did this with my laptop cause the game play was horible on vista with the drivers provided. They end up sending me a check to go buy xp (already had a legal copy) to install while they wait for their vista drivers to mature.

Honestly what you get out of support is what you demand. If you do not like the answer the guy gives you ask for their supervisor and explain you understand that his level of power of what he can do is limited. The key is to be nice keep to the point and have a valid issue. If you do you will almost never fail with dell. Infact i am on my 4th laptop from them (1 for wife 1 for 1 work and 2 person ones) over time and have always had good results. Just have to keep at it and not get personal otherwise, would you want to help someone being like you on the phone if you curse and yell? Just a trick as i almost never get a no from tech support when i request things due to the maner i use.

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"You might be Eaten by a Grue" MC Frontalot!

Tipstaff

Mind you, the M90 is, or rather was Dells highend business workstation laptop. What Dell isn't telling their clients is that the M90 has such a high failure rate, and that beause of this they brought out a new laptop, the M4300, which is the replacement for the M90.

A company that I do side jobs for recently had to upgrade all their M60s due to the lease being up on them (which I bought off them for.. <cough> $200 each!! WOOOT!!). Dell pushed, and pushed, and pushed them to buy the more expensive M90, but I pushed, and pushed, and pushed them not to. These guys have a sister company in the States, and everyone in their AV department got one of the M90s, including the boss, and every single one of them has complained about the units. Overheating, random lockups not related to overheating, bad hard drives (what I like to call the 'creeping bad sector syndrome), dead batteries... you name it. Instead of getting the M90 I pushed these guys to get the reworked M65 (which is essentially a faster version of the M60 (it's 1/2 the wieght, battery lasts longer, better screen, faster CPU, and so fourth). They've been running these laptops now for a good 6 months, and not one of them has failed.

Suffice it to say I got a nice $$ bonus for swaying them the other way (and the guys in the US replaces half of their M90s with the M65 ta boot).

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kris23

eh, designers arent perfect..... but they should give out free laptops to the public to test at the very least, or have employees use it in day to day tasks to see these thnigs.....

but i do love arguing with Dell when stuff goes bad, eventually i get what i want...... but that "eventually might not work for some..... but i got alot of free time so it works for me

dont you wish that you can build your own laptop? i do, i wish case manufacturers could come out with a design that has the battery, keyboard, touch pad and charger installed so we could go out and buy the LCD panel to install and motherboard and HDDs..... then have everythnig your way

sure it would take alot to coordinate the companies to do so but i dont think it would be too hard in the design process,

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Tipstaff

Intel tried to set it up, but it got really complicated. What they tried to do was standardize certain components. This would have lowered costs, as well as made parts more modular. Didn't quite work out, although parts of the plan still made it into production... sorta.

As for making your own lappy.. you can buy barebone laptops, where you add the CPU, ram, hard drive. Asus, as a matter of fact, has a unit like that. However, when it comes right down to it, it's cheaper to get a pre-built system with the same parts you are thinking of buying.... and maybe even less bulkier.

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Sandok

Honestly I don't see why everyone hates Dell so much...

I mean, I've owned a Dell in the past, have worked in a company where Dells are the norm (Optiplex and Latitudes everywhere) and apart from the rare HDD failure, these PCs are kickass.

Never had a problem and I'd buy a Dell hands down (laptops definately and even desktops like the H2C)

GutterPunk

Sandok did you deal with their Gold Service... Someone in 2 rings + from america. dell gold support <3

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Falstaff

Bought three Dell desktops, two laptops, absolutely no problems myself, but.....
as already mentioned, stay on the phone till you get the right answer. My father recieved his first right out of the hospital and he set it up witout any trouble, however he wanted to immediately upgrade it. They told him how over the phone and even sent him literature and instructions in large print.
However, of the three models the Department of Defense purchased in late 2005 and early 2006, a full third have failed for a variety of reasons to include bad power connectors to the motherboard, bad PSU's and unfortunately bad Hard drives, you have my sympathies, but Dell honored the maintenance agreements and all were repaired or replaced in due time. The DOD then threw serious money at HP for equivalent replacements and they have suffered as well for it. It appears that much of the en-masse purchases were fraught with issues that I just mentioned. I hope you didnt get a Dell that was made on a friday, or a Monday, or on a birthday..etc.
It seems like Dell is getting like General Motors or Harley Davidson now, or a box of choclates, you never know what your gonna get..LOL

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dipstick

Every time someone from Dell says they cant help you, you ask for their supervisor. If they tell you there is no one "higher" than them, ask to speak to the one that signs their pay checks.
I've had a few rough experiences with Dell but I have always gotten what I wanted by my relentless resolve to speak to someone with more pull. Do this and you will get what you want. Of course you must maintain your calm at all times and never let any of them get the best you. Become a polite stone wall that will not budge and you will win
Good luck

kris23

usually if you can securely stick a fault onto Dell with a particular product, just milk it and you already won!

P.S. the Dell online chat is so useful in getting past peoples accents and dialects in typing.... very easy

sometimes you just need to pin your failure on their faults and you automatically get your replacement just need to work it right and you got it!

ive always liked Dell gear over HP or eMachines (especially this one) laptops handhelds, some desktops, all are, for the most part, nice stable, simple machines

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Tipstaff

To be honest, you can get lemons from any of these guys. Reason being is that almost none of these guys make their own laptops. Dell doesn't make their laptops. Asus does, as does Acer. Hell, Asus is currently making laptops for Dell, as does Quanta, and Clevo. Clevo also makes Alienwares laptops, Voodoos, and Sagers too. Quanta also makes lappies for IBM/Lenovo, HP/Compaq, and even Sonys Viao notebooks are from Quanta (now you know why the Sony Viao seems to look very similar to Dells Latitude line). There's about another 1/2 dozen names I haven't even mentioned that make laptops for all these guys as well, like Compal, Kompak, and FIC to name but a few.

Case in point: The Dell Latitude M65. First time I saw this laptop it reminded me of one of Sonys Viao units... with good reason: it was the same chasis.

In any case, some lines companies sells are better than others. Dells Latitude line is better than their Inspiron line (most of the time, anyways). Toshibas Satellite series sucks, yet their Tecra line doesn't. Acers Aspire series is mixed, as is their Travelmate line (in fact, pretty much all the Intel based laptops from them are fine, but their AMD based ones are just... crap).

My point is, do your research. Don't buy a laptop solely based on the companies name. Sure, use that as your starting point, but research the laptop you are looking to get. Look at the history of that line (most times companies will use the same ODMs continuously for the same line... such as Quanta for the Latitude and Precision lines), as well as current complaints in that manufacturers forums, as well as the reviews. If you can, buy that manufactuers business line as they tend to be better built. DON'T buy on impulse. DON'T let sales guys push you into buying a laptop (that is a sure fire way to know that a) the laptop isn't selling well for a reason, either it's a bad product, or they have too many of them, or b) he doesn't care what he sells.. he just wants the sale).

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Sandok

I have used the Gold Service in Europe (got some guy in Germany if I recall well) but their normal service in Switzerland is great too imho (never waited more than ten minutes).

I dunno, I don't have anything really bad to say about them, always fixed my PCs instantly when under garentee, their screens rock and so do their laptops. What more could you want?

kris23

does anyone else think alienware gear is all hype besides me?

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GutterPunk

Did you just realize that?

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kris23

nope, but everyone i know from my family to classmates drool over alienware no matter what i say........ tell them to get Dell because they have much better warranty but they say alienware is better...... cant budge them

where does one get Clevo laptops?

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GutterPunk

gaylienware = dell
Dell bought them awhile back like last year. Compare the websites... www.alienware.com www.dell.com
hah

anyways alienware is hype, lame, and has crap support. They used be great... back in the late 90s early 00s.

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Rock On \m/ Thank you Mousey for the Sig!
---------------

Intel Core2Duo E6660 (3.4GHZ) ~ Tuniq Tower 120 ~ Enermax Galaxy 1000W ~ Corsair Dominator @ 1090MHZ 5-5-5-15 (OCZ XTC Modded Cooler)~ EVGA 8800GTX W/ HR-03 Plus 120MM ~ Asus DVD-RW LiteScribe ~ LG DVD-RW ~ Corsair Voyager 2GB ReadyBoost Drive ~ Vantec Nexus Fan Controller ~ ThermalTake Armor 25CM fan ~
Personal Finance Blog: Dent Your Debt

kris23

niiiice, but im guessing they dont have Dell's advanced exchange RMA service huh?

further research showed they were accuired in like march 06...my birthday lol... is that what became of dell's SLi 7950GTXs? alienware exclusive?

lol funny.... computer companies are becoming alot like car companies.... lots of different subdiaries.... Toyota-Scion-Lexus except i believe those were parts from the beginning..

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BlueMak

HA! Bad luck. But at least you got something from them.
Last Fall I was looking to buy a large screen monitor. Dell Greece had one model, 24" IIRC, at about double the USA price, which was about normal. Still, I wanted the monitor so much that I decided to buy it. Buying it online wouldn't work so I decided to call them. For 6 hours I kept calling them and they kept telling me that no one that could talk to me about a sale was available and I should try again in half an hour. After 6 hours I managed to talk to a guy who was in charge of sales or something like that. He told me that he was very busy and asked for my contact details and he would call me as soon as possible. Nine months later still hasn't called.
From what I hear other people trying to buy from Dell Greece have the same experience. The most worthless company I have ever seen. I don't know how they still manage to have a job/market segment here, however small it may be. If I was some big head of Dell I would fire all of the Greece department. And when I say fire I mean put them on fire. Worthless pos.
Now whenever someone asks me I always tell them a few things about Dell here... Asshats.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Chaos

Dell customer service leaves things to be desired I just posted a rant @ NGOHQ regarding their customer service

To DELL or not to DELL is the question

dipstick

I had to deal with them a couple of times this month and I have to say that at least the guys they have on chat support are awesome. Not only did they give me a refund for a monitor after I just said "i don't like it" but they refunded the shipping costs I paid ($65) and they emailed me return labels. They probably gave me a refund because I told them I would be a another model from them but that is still cool of them tbh. Their warranty service is also the best I've seen. They do advanced rma's and they send ups to pick up the old stuff. Simply awesome

Senor_Mota

I can't divulge much of what happened when I worked for Dell GTS (Privacy Policy), but I can tell you this - more often than not, I spent a large amount of my day on 40-100 HDD replacements at a time from schools, churches and corporations with OptiPlexes and Latitudes. It's simply the fact that the parts and components used to build these "quality" PC's are total CRAP. Ever wondered why you don't buy a Seagate 250GB internal for your custom system? Buy anything but an XPS from Dell, and you'll know why (have a fire extinguisher ready!!!!).

Also, a buddy of mine took a service call through CORE support (the basic level of tech support) and the HDD in the system was a Western Digital 120GB internal. The HDD was reportedly making "the sound of a Jet Engine taking off" and 5 minutes later in the call, one of the discs shot out of the system and through the wall behind the customer. I've never heard of that happening outside of pre-fab systems (such as Dell and e-Machines). I guess you get whatcha pay for...

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Sandok

I worked at Nestlé, a pretty large corporation and this particular building had over 1500 Dells and I never had to replace a HDD... Well not never but extremely rarely and these were Optiplex, Latitudes, etc...

Actually my Dell Dimension I bought a few years ago came with Western Digital HDDs, as do my XPS and Latitude lappies.

Billy Toaster

Sounds to me just like sour grapes for getting fired tbh. Not sure I would take this guys views of Dell seriously.

brutusmaximus

A rant on NGOHQ? thats a rarity Isn't this site pimping? thought that was against site rules on DH.

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technonerd

I had quite amount of people come in for repair with their new or Dell machine. Funny things, we had to deal with the Dell's service because customer don't want to deal with it and they're paying us to do it I wish I can double charge them.

Many of us Technician sometimes try to skip Dell machine because it's our worst fear.

The_Neon_Cowboy

Dell? all I have to say it drop the D and add an H. , always build your own nuff said.
laptops are not an exception... becouse of the build your own kits (aka bare bone)

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