I just want some screws!

Just got my R3 a few days ago. Within 24 hours, I could tell there was a serious problem with the left speaker. Went through the usual nightmare of calling Dell for support, since my service tag wasn't in their system for any kind of online support, which includes just getting the phone number to call support. They ultimately arranged to have a tech come out.

I am definitely aware of the disasters that seem to follow these on-site techs. Hours before he arrived, I had already looked up the manual online and went through the process of tearing the system down to get to the speakers, so I knew exactly how everything was supposed to be situated.

Unfortunately, it was the usual nightmare people describe. The tech's competency was less than my own, severely. He had the same guide I did on his laptop, and was still stumbling through it. I admit to not literally hovering over him as he worked, as I had other things to do, but once he finally got everything back together, he ran the diagnostic. At some point, it was asking a yes/no question on screen, and we couldn't get the trackpad to work and the enter key didn't seem to do anything. He shut it down, tore it down again to the keyboard, messed around with it, and put it back together. No trackpad, no keyboard at all this time. Again, he tears it down, removing and reseating things that didn't need to be touched--simply connecting the ZIF connectors the correct way is all he had to do, but...I don't know how nice I can be about this, but the guy fumbled with everything because he had big, bloated hands. He was sick, and coughing on all the parts. I was mortified.

His final attempt saw everything working as it should again, and he was gone within moments of that verification. I tested a few more things, just to be sure I wouldn't get hit with a "gotcha" later down the road, and decided to open it up again, to make sure he didn't do anything particularly awful to the system.

Screws.

There are the first two screws that let you slide the back cover off. No problem there. Then there are 5 identical screws that hold down the front panel, only now I only had 4 screws, 2 long and 2 short. I only went as far as removing the keyboard again, so I could slip an extra RAM stick in there, so I'm pretty sure that some of the screws in the system are the wrong lengths for the holes and that at least one screw is completely missing.

My question is: What are the odds of getting Dell to simply send me a bag of screws so that I can set this straight? My last call to them took over an hour, and I really don't want to do that again if they aren't willing to comply with that.

What do you think? Will they send some screws for me to fix what the tech did, or will they try to do something else, like replace the laptop or (gasp) send a tech out again?

 

they'll probably send a tech out again. Best bet for you is ebay for them screws.

 

Yeah, but why should I have to pay for screws that THEIR tech lost? If they really want to send a tech out again...that just doesn't make any sense from a business perspective.

 

It's just me personally, but I wouldn't trust anyone other than myself to service my laptop (which I've done on several occasions). I have the dell warranty, but unless something outright needs to be replaced (and it's an expensive part) I'm not going to bother with it.

For cheap things like screws, I'd rather pay the few extra bucks, not deal with the Dell repair people who will probably break your laptop even more if they come out again, and service the thing yourself and have the job done correctly and carefully.

EDIT: if you do call dell, I would vehemently complain about the tech coughing on your laptop so much.
DOUBLE EDIT: And chances are if you tear down your laptop again, those screws will magically reappear lol.

 

Well you got two options here

Call dell tell them the issue and have them dispatch a tech and just have him watch you do the work.

Or

Pay 11 bucks get your screws and be done with it.

 

I will, unfortunately, likely just pay for the screws rather than deal with Dell customer service again. I've cleaned up the system as best I could with some rubbing alcohol in order to prevent spreading whatever sickness the tech might have had.

Seriously, these techs can't be making much money, not with the quality of work they seems to be notorious for.

 

I lost a screw in my r3 and they just send me a screw in a little ziplock bag so they will definitly send you new ones.