Am I right or wrong to ask for another model rather than the one Dell is offering?

Hey guys, I'll try to make a long story short. Basically I purchased refurbished a Dell Adamo XPS off eBay for about $900. It came with a standard 1 year Dell warranty.

About two weeks after receiving it and using it normally, I wasn't able to open the lid of the laptop one day. The way the Adamo XPS is designed, you have to swipe your finger over a touch sensitive strip on the front of the laptop in order to open it up. It would glow light blue when your finger swiped it. Mine simply wouldn't glow blue and open, with or without battery or charger. Dell sent an in home technician who replaced the AC adapter. Still didn't work. It looked like he was going to open the bottom of the laptop to replace the motherboard or something but didn't seem to have the right set of screw drivers. He instead used a screw driver to force open the laptop like an otter breaking into a clam, which left some scratch marks. Wasn't too happy about that but since he was able to open it, we could power the laptop on. No problems and the touch sensitive strip worked again.

A few days later, stopped working. This time Dell had me sent it to them. They sent it back with a larger battery. Laptop worked fine for a few days and problem happened again. The Dell technician on the phone assured me it will be fixed this time for sure. No response for about two weeks. I called to inquire, they told me the part has been back-ordered and they will go ahead and try to approve me for a replacement, which might be a Dell XPS 15z. I said OK but when i checked Dell's website, they really didn't have a laptop that came close to the Adamo XPS (13.4 inch screen, 0.4 inch thickness, approx. 3lbs). The XPS 15z is a 15.6 inch notebook with a slightly less than an inch thickness and weight of 5.5 lbs. I figured it's not close but its way closer than anything in their current lineup. I received a call back and the lady told me it would be an XPS 15, no the 15z. I asked her if it was possible to get the 15z instead. She kept saying no but eventually said I'll get a call back from someone authorized to make these changes.

My question is, am I wrong or being demanding to ask for the XPS 15z instead of the XPS 15? I am just tired of being without the laptop that I bought many months ago and now I'll be getting something back that isn't the sleek, sexy, light weight, unique and thin design of the Adamo XPS. I feel like I am paying $900 for something I don't want. I've spent countless hours with Dell on the phone, quite tiring. Also if anyone else has dealt with replacements, is there even another option I can take? I would love to get my money back but seeing as how I didn't buy it directly from them, I don't think it's an option at all.

Thanks in advance!

 

Seems to me like they owe you a refund if they can't replace it with Adomo XPS...

Unless you agree to a 15z, they can't force you to take a machine you didn't buy.

 

I think the XPS 15>15z because of the following:
Much better B+RGLED screen, much better JBL speakers, better 2.0 Skype-certified webcam, better heat dissappation, better construction.

 

Yes, but he doesn't want it for all those things. Even though the XPS 15 would be better as it has a better screen, speaker and webcam, it would also be heavier, bulkier, and uglier than the XPS 15z (IMO). Icecubez189 wants a laptop that's "sleek, sexy, light weight, unique and has a thin design." The XPS 15 is not that. The XPS 15z is the closest thing Dell has to that, after the Adamo XPS.

Dell should be giving you something that is "equal or better," remember that. Now you bought the Dell Adamo XPS because of it's portability, sleekness, sexiness and unique design. If Dell doesn't have a Dell Adamo XPS to give you, then the only thing they should be giving you is the XPS 15z. That is already larger than what you already had and almost 2 times heavier. So "no," in this case you're not wrong for asking for the XPS 15z. I don't know why they would retract their initial offer because that was the correct offer. Now don't be overbearing (or rude), but definitely demand that they either give you an Adamo XPS replacement or at the very least an XPS 15z.

I also doubt they'd give you a refund seeing as you didn't purchase it from them. Honestly that ebay dealer might have sold you a malfunctioning laptop...(idk ). Talk with Dell again and preferably ask to speak to a supervisor if the normal CSRs are being difficult. Good luck.

 

I got a full refund from Dell after 11 months of owning a refurb. Studio 1558 which went through 4 fhd lcd replacements and one HD replacement. Other than that it worked well...I called their customer service after something went wrong with the 4th screen and said I had enough and did not want a 5th engineer visit......I asked for my laptop to be replaced with another non Studio model.....they didn't want to do that and instead offered me a full refund! Now I have all my money back and will be buying an XPS L502x from dell outlet! plus I will get 1year warranty... and 1 year newer components...not bad in the end!

 

Thanks for the answers. Yeah those are the reasons why I am not taking the XPS 15 as a replacement. If portability is not what I am aiming for, I would happily accept the XPS 15, I understand that it comes with a better screen, better speakers and what not but those aren't important to me.

The 15z better fits the bill but honestly, I really don't want it. Getting my money back won't happen as I didn't purchase it from Dell but from an eBay buyer. Did he screw me over? I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

I'll be sure to talk to a supervisor or someone higher up if I can't get a 15z. I've been nothing but polite this whole time but I am slowly being drained of patience haha.

 

If you are not getting the resolve you want..there is always Dell Twitter Cares, or of course..unresolved issues & emailing M.Dell. : )

 

don't have a twitter account and I'm not sure Michael Dell will care about little old me when he's making his millions! he saved a few a few bucks by not stockpiling spare parts

 

it seems when you're having a problem that's not getting resolved, you can email Michael and there's there's some sort of tech team that sometimes responds to peoples problems with much better results. of course the email isn't actually his email, but people have gotten helped by sending "him" a letter explaining your problems

 

When, I was having problems with my 1530 I sent emails to Unresolved Issues, and carpet bombed several upper exec's emails..(a lot of them "bounced"), but I did hear back from someone on M.Dells "executive team", and went from there with getting resolve). Sure, I felt like I went "round and round" but finally after reaching out to several of their resources I was given a replacement. : )

I think it's all in "how you present yourself", and come across, "firm, yet polite", etc.

 

email [email protected]

 

Push for a 15z and if you don't get it then settle for xps 15. When you get it sell it off on ebay and get your money back.

Ask for escalation once and then push for a 15z or an Alienware. Don't take no for an answer, argue a little and they will send you an alienware. If they don't, settle for xps 15z or xps 15.

 

I agree 100% can I hire you Cin to get my Dell problems worked out ? You seem to get great results

 

I have found that with Dell, unless you get really "lucky" on cases likes these..they like to always "say no" first (or give you other results you didn't want)..then see how you react.

LoL..sure!
(Do you want to know my fee's)?

 

No way I am settling for the XPS 15! I already checked the resale value for the both of them on eBay,and it doesn't seem that great. after all fees are calculated, I doubt I will get $900, maybe $800 or less. If i have to accept an XPS 15, it better be fully loaded to the gills. that would be a last resort, to try and resell and purchase another laptop that better suits my needs.

I would argue for an Alienware but to be honest, their lineup is even worse than Dell's. First off, the only model they have that even closely matches the weight of the Adamo XPS is the 11.6" M11x and even then it's still 4.4lbs and thick as hell (1.29inches)! their 14inch M14x is freaking 6.45lbs and even thicker. These are 'portable' gaming machines more than anything, don't need the fat! Dell and Alienware has the worst lineup of laptops I've seen in a while, it's just a shame I am caught in the middle of it. They've had some decent stuff in the past but they've trimmed everything down too basic. No more great 13" or portable 14" notebooks. The best i can do is resell them though, but i'm not sure Dell would even give me an Alienware.

still waiting for them to call me back.....

 

I completely agree with you. Ask them for the specs of the notebook before they dispatch it and make sure it's worth over $900. In most cases they do send a configuration which is of equal or more value but dell sucks now, so that's a problem .

Whenever they offer you a notebook the support guy locks it first on their outlet server and has the configuration in front of him/her. They don't actually configure the notebook and it's mostly pre-configured so check to see if it's worth something. If they are not able to offer you something to your liking, tell them to call you back in 24 hours, maybe something will show up in the inventory. After repeating this a couple of times they will ultimately find something to your liking.

Argue with them that you wanted an adamo but since they don't have it you want something of equal worth since you won't be using it but selling it off on ebay. Also ask for compensation for the trouble caused .

 

you bet I'll ask for the specs! selling is a last resort, I really just want to be able to use a laptop. My signature shows the "desktop replacement" XPS 1640 that I have but the Adamo was the one I used to bring around outside so portability is a must. The best way they can compensate me is to give me a fully loaded laptop. It's refurbished too, what a shame. I'm potentially being handed another problematic laptop .

Also, their in home technicians need to be better trained and equipped with the right tools. I'm still steamed about that guy who came and cracked open the Adamo unprofessionally. I'm not buying another Dell until quality and customer service improves dramatically. HP quality is sub par as well, don't know about their customer service though. I might need to stay away from these two sellers and consider other ones, or start buying business grade laptops, maybe even an Apple (which I'll bootcamp if need be )

I bought the Adamo mid April and I literally had maybe 2 or 3 weeks of solid use out of it. all of the other time was spent laying around (unable to open), shipping to Dell and having it waiting at Dell's service depot. That's more than 3 months so far, OY.

 

I would say push for the 15z, I just got a replacement for an L502x and for me a much more solid machine with form factor, I find it much quieter than the previous xps L502x and has an air of quality the fan noise was annoying for me. Did you have a 1080 screen on the Adamo? A must have option for me. The only thing for me missing from the machine are the JBL's however still have a very decent sound without the sub and wavmaxx software is still on the 15z so you get a very clean output. Good luck and persevere and I am sure you'll get the machine.

 

Nope, the Adamo XPS only has a 720p screen available. I suppose I should ask for a 1080p screen on a 15.6" notebook but a 720p resolution is fine. The other important factor is battery life. I would opt for the larger battery but portability and lightness is important so hopefully even with the stock battery, it'll last a while. How is your battery life? Also I hear people complain about the flimsiness of the chrome trim around the laptop, what's your experience on it?

 

I would rather not have the chrome trim to be honest but it does not distract from the looks of the machine IMHO, I think apple did a good thing in this regard, Time will tell with regards to durability,I cannot really understand why everyone raves so much about the L502x to be honest, It's a great machine but it's too heavy to carry around (desktop replacement maybe) On the L502x I had the 6 cell as I could not bear the thought of the carrying it around with the 9 cell, With the 8 cell battery on the xps15z I get over 6 hours on power saver which feels like twice what I was getting from the xps 15 so no issues. you wil not be disappointed I suspect as it's got an i5, 4-8 gig ram good video card and a good screen, coming from the Adamo you may well appreciate the power and looks combination. For me its the PC answer to the macbook. Btw I do have a macbook but need a pc for work as I work in IT. I admin windows servers and need something light, fast and a good battery life. I considered getting HP envy but I'm not keen on HP home/office pcs for the domestic market. HP proliant servers are the standard and are a different ball game.

 

My XPS 1640 is 6.3 lbs and I hate carrying it around along with my A/C adapter and a binder for school work. The battery only lasts 2 hours on power saver mode, it's got some wear on it. Wish the XPS 15z was 5.2 lbs but i guess you can't have everything. battery life sounds good though, probably won't need the A/C adapter for the 15z. thanks for your feedback.

 

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know I was approved for the XPS 15z

The guy who's authorized to make changes called me today (right when I was napping, no less) and asked me what I needed help with. told him the situation and he put me on hold (for almost half an hour! but he apologized for it) and when he came back, told me they could do it. i think they are building a new one too, not a refurbished unit, because he said so himself and he also says the specs aren't finalized yet but he mentioned 1080p screen (not an option on the website so I am unsure), Core i5, 6GB RAM, 750GB HDD (SSD not an option but I asked anyways, no go ). I believe he also said it should ship or I should receive by Friday, not sure about this, should have clarified this. I'll update again when I receive it. Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions so far.

 

Good for you, tell us what the final specs are when you get them.

 

Please update this thread when you get the 15z. I am in exact same situation, otter technician and all. I'm sending my adamo xps to their warehouse tomorrow. Hopefully they can fix it. If not, then I have the unpleasant task of choosing from dell's heavy weight lineup =/

 

Possibly silly question: Why did the Vostro V130 not come up in this conversation? It's basically Dell's current iteration of what the Adamo XPS was - a very thin, light, low-voltage, portable unit that appears to have fairly similar specs. Of course, it's a much less expensive machine than what the Adamo XPS was, so I dunno if that would suffice.

If you're set on the 13" form factor but are willing to accept a little bit more thickness with some added performance, there's also the Vostro 3350, which has been refreshed with Sandy Bridge chips and has a discrete graphics option. Very much not the sleeker machine that the Adamo was, but more portable than than most, and packing very respectable performance.

 

Honestly the portability factor kills both of those for me - Vostro 3350 has great specs, but starts at 4.5 lbs with a 4 cell battery. V130 has very poor specs, and still weighs 3.5 lbs. Adamo XPS by comparison was 3 lbs even. I lug this laptop with me everyday for work, so anything over 4 LB or over 13" is out of the question. I'm looking at highest resale value at this point so I can ebay it and buy something portable.

 

The Vostro 3350 is very similar to the XPS Adamo but the price point doesn't match. A fully loaded version would be $800, and I bought my refurb XPS Adamo for $900 so I didn't want to accept anything less. The Vostro 3450 wouldn't have been bad but it was never offered to me as a replacement so I don't know if they would have allowed it. Honestly this is all very confusing and Dell hasn't made it easier!

 

Did you have the same issue as my Adamo XPS? If so, prepare to pick out a replacement.

 

icecubez - did you take your SSD out? i'm considering it in order to save my data and possibly reuse it elsewhere. i'm not sure if the form factor will work for anything else though, and I'd probably need to buy some specialized tools to do it.

 

left SSD in, don't even know if you are allowed to take it out. i backed up my data. you might need special tools to remove it though, this might void your warranty, i'm not sure.

 

So i received my XPS 15z yesterday, would have gotten here on Wednesday but I wasn't home for FedEx to deliver to me. anyways, i take laptop out of packaging and as soon as i open the lid..... the back chrome trim pops out and it now currently hanging. this is too much Dell.... TOO MUCH! calling them today.

for those who wanted specs:

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Intel Core i5 2410M
6GB RAM
1080p LED screen
Intel HD graphics
Forgot to check HDD space
2 year warranty

 

I did say that the trim is the weakest part of the shell. I have had no issues with mine however I am very wary as this could become an issue.

I also think dell need to address some sofware issues, new machine= software problems as some have documented.

I know you must be fairly pissed at the trim, however what do you thnk of the machine otherwise? let us know the outcome.

 

Otherwise it's not bad. The screen looks good, build looks good although the aluminum/metal exterior is a bit thin. definitely not as thick as aluminum MacBooks but for the price, i would say its completable. Hardware seems fast. weight and size is definitely more than the Adamo XPS though, you can tell the difference immediately.

calling Dell tomorrow about the chrome trim, it's really ridiculous!

 

Honestly that is ridiculous. On your first open it pops off!!! Wow. I truly am speechless about that one. Very very poor from Dell.

 

Called them today. it took a few minutes to explain that the chrome trim was busted, not the back of the lid. The customer service rep told me they would send an in home technician to get it fixed.

They then called me back a few hours later to tell me the chrome trim is back-ordered until the 15th. the 15th!!! I can understand if the laptop isn't in production any more but seriously! the incompetence of Dell's supply chain is baffling. these spare parts should be available and in stock. but i guess the chrome trim breaks so much on every one else's 15z, it might be understandable.

I have no real complaints on the customer service though, they are very nice and willing to help. they are definitely trying to improve from their past mistakes. I don't mind being put on hold (I've been put on hold so much, I actually enjoy their 'hold' jingle now) but they should speed it up a little bit.

 

The 15z's build quality is truly baffling. I returned mine after a week.

 

Fortunately a Dell technician in my area has the part and I've scheduled an appointment for Thursday. we'll see how it goes!

 

also disappointed the warranty is carried over from my original system configuration, considering i wasn't able to use that laptop for almost 3 months.