M6400 Covet malfunction replaced with weaksauce base M6500

LOL sneaky buggers, the thing has already been shipped! Arrives tomorrow. Haven't even had a chance to call them yet. Now what...

 

Did you not have to approve the specs before they sent it? That's what I did. I had to say that I agreed to it before they shipped it.

If that's the case, don't open the box, just call them and say it's not equivalent.

 

Well I managed to call before closing & looks like everything should be good to go now. Basically when it arrives tomorrow I sign for it, open it up, record the Service Tag# then ship it back in the box meant for the bad M6400. No RMA or anything.

I was on the phone for a while, the rep took control of my browser & we built up a fair system. So yeah, they're sending a Covet to replace my Covet.

I must say Chris @ workstation support was super helpful and diligent about matching up the replacement's details with the defective one I already paid for. It is a drag to now have to wait for a 2nd one to be built up, but what can you do. Hope it works.

And no, never discussed this silver/base M6500 replacement at all, he said they probably ran out of parts on the original M6400 Covet replacement, so Canceled it & grabbed a base M6500 off the shelf, which would explain it showing up online in My Account on Thurs & already being here Tues. He said it happens all the time, a recent customer had to send back several replacements til the factory actually did it right. Yikes.

 

Glad you finally got someone helpful enough to be able to sort it out. It's pretty rude of them to do that without consulting you though. Did they give you some upgrades on your new system?

 

Yes it did throw me for a major loop. I'm glad this forum is here to let me know what to expect/warranty rights etc. How many poor clueless folks have this happen to them and they just shrug and say, Oh well, guess thats the rules, and keep it.

The first one came today, I took a look at it but didn't turn it on or anything. Was thinking of using it until the real one gets here b/c mine is having so many problems but decided against it. Just taped it back up. I'm pretty sure I have 10 days to send it back, but would like to see the new system appear in the My Account section online before I do.

Not having an RMA# or anything to add to the box kind of weirded me out so I asked a tech support rep via chat about it & he said the label it came with means it is good to go, and it can take 2 days for the new order to show up online (he couldn't see it yet either).







The screen & keyboard looked new but the outer case had some scuffs on it, so it was less than perfect.

>>Did they give you some upgrades on your new system?<<

Yeah, I have a fairly maxed out M6400 so it's basically the same only in a more current M6500 version, i.e. Extreme CPU for same, Quadro 3800 for 3700 etc. Although I did go with a tray drive instead of slot this time; he was saying how the slot drives are permanently in there, but a tray one is modular & can be swapped out for a 3rd HD if I ever wanted to... and discs do not get stuck in there like a slot. But basically same machine, glad I got to keep my Covet edition. I just hope the thing is stable, he said the warranty has continued ticking during all this, and the whole issue over the last weeks has eaten up a lot of my work time

 

*UPDATE*

The plot thickens..

(BTW I know this is uninteresting to most, but I figured this thread could help anyone who experiences a similar situation.. what to expect, what to stay on top of etc.)

Having seen no sign of the new replacement system order since that Monday call, I phoned in today. A different rep initially had a problem finding my case but eventually discovered the order had been Cancelled. Something to do with transferring my old systems warranty onto the 1st replacement system, then having it marked as Returned to Dell before transferring it again to the newer 2nd system replacement (or something), had created some kind of snafu that led to the Cancellation.

He asked for the tracking number from the return label, but like a retard I never even wrote down the details.. and the photo I took was naturally too blurry to make out. He stated that once they see the 1st system in the FedEx tracking, he would resubmit the order, but without it he had to wait for it to appear, and to call back around Tuesday for a status update. So they wouldn't even begin to build it until the previous was accounted for. I guess I just assumed since it was already preprinted, prepaid, & insured that they already had the tracking info. D'oh.

So yeah at this point I am feeling uncomfortable, and the pessimist side of me is already figuring that silver m6500 will go missing, leaving Dell absolved of responsibility & me stuck with the broken m6400 LOL

After the call I actually went around the corner to the dropoff location & the package is still there awaiting pickup.. so took a photo of the label. Whew.

When I returned there was a missed voicemail from my man Chris @ Dell, explaining the situation & mentioning how he had actually already noticed the Cancellation this morning & forced the order through once again after correcting the minor issue that caused it. There was also an email from him, also explaining the whole thing & apologizing for the mixup. The "My Account" page online at dell.com now shows a new order # marked as In Production. He also gave me his direct email contact so as to not get random/fresh reps from the queue every time I call in.

Just want to say he is a great Rep & professional thru & thru, I'm glad I have him working on my case. It does confirm my original suspicion, that Dell is a very large company with less-than-perfect enterprise type backend processes, that allow minor issues to snowball into headaches that lead customers to think the entire company is a mess. I think there are very intelligent, professional & helpful people there, but stupid stuff is tripping us all up.

Take (clear) photos of those return labels people!

 

Glad to see that this is heading in the right direction. Polite persistence seems to be the way to resolve these issues.

John

 

I reckon. Tracking now shows the package arriving @ Dell on Wed. Hope this all doesn't take too much longer.

SO, it's basically a definite that it will be refurbished, is that right?

I am kind of hoping that it being a i7-940XM will mean it will also be USB 3.0... while holding onto the slim possibility that there may not be enough used 940s to go around, so perhaps there is a chance it could be new? But hey, long as it works & the screen is in great shape, am I right. /shrug

 

Hey, I have a bit of a morbid fascination towards stories like these, so please continue to keep us up to date. Having also dealt with a few clueless Dell reps I know it's not always easy to keep one's cool. Glad you're now with a rep you like, that makes all the difference in the world. Makes you wonder why Dell doesn't just hire good ones.

 

I'm glad it's working out. I think it can't be highlighted enough that in so many, many cases, being persistent but level headed and even nice to the rep's makes things go much more smoothly.

You've got a nice machine there. If it has a blemish or two on it, I myself wouldn't be horribly unhappy with that. In fact you should find the I7 gives you nice performance.

Enjoy