Dell M1330 - UK

Reading all this posts is really making me depressed! My M1330 is due to arrive by 28/07.07, but it I see still stuck in pre-production.

Initially I haggled so much with the rep to get my price down (From £1430 to £950), that I fell a bit akward to ring him and ask for more discount if my laptop is going to be delayed!

BTW, Just checked my account, Dell have still not taken any monies... do you know if they normally charge the credit card after the laptop is shipped?

 

i think statuses will be updated tomorrow or friday when they get the delivery of the part i'm supposedly missing, seems it could apply to most people

 

Hi, I think thats the price ex VAT. I may be able to claim back VAT via my company.

 

I've been bumped from 20/7 to 18/8.

I can only hope that the story about the online status being inaccurate is correct but if that's the case my system should be built by now and being tested so that it will be shipped tomorrow to arrive on friday.

.......I don't see it happpening though.

 

I think you need to read here for more info

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=141028&page=10

 

If this is accurate then I can't help feeling Dell are going to generate a lot of bad feeling from this debacle.

I realise delays can be possible on a new product but when they extend an already long lead time of getting on for 3 weeks to what could end up being 4/5 weeks then sympathy runs short.

 

Bought 1330 3rd July
Estimated Delivery 20th July
... Updated Delivery 8 August..

The reason for the additional delay, I have been told is because of a series of broken monitor screens in the warehouse!

Apparently they are now awaiting more to come into stock to get ours made and shipped ASAP.

Plus the usual extra checks for the XPS models they do so kindly for us.....

Im annoyed as most are, but what can we do?

I might call again in a few days to check progress as I go away in a week. Might be able to get them to throw in a battery for inconveniance etc..

ALSO I found out today that their call number is a premium rate number!!

 

This is probably a fantasy - but wouldn't it be a clever move if Sony waited for the Dell model to be launched and then suddenly seduced the WLED screen manufacturer with a very attractive offer for their entire stock... (been reading the article about how Dell do just-in-time assembly and how the screens belong to the supplier until they cross a certain white line on the factory floor).

 

You guys say they update the order status 2 days prior to your EDD? Here's mine:

Ordered: 6th July
Pre-Production: 7th July
EDD: 1st August

This has remained unchanged but if the people here with an EDD in July have suddenly got their's extended to mid-late August then come the 30th/31st of July - I'll be relatively annoyed if mine is put into September. They would need to take off another £400 off my order to keep me from cancelling.

 

I've thought it over and I think I'm going to cancel. Waiting another month just isn't acceptable.

It's a shame really because the 1330 is probably the most desirable laptop on the market at the moment. However looking around I can get more performance for less money - albeit in not quite so neat a package.

 

My order has just been delayed till 15th August

Ordered on 4th July...previous EDD was 23rd July.

 

Mine has now changed this morning and not happy at all. Should i wait for dell to contact me or shall i contact me rep?

Order Date: 04/07/2007
Estimated Delivery Date (on or before this date): 15/08/2007
Pre-Production as of 19/07/2007

 

Exactly the same as mine killsta.. I knew it was coming but..gutted!

Money off time methinks

 

I've already emailed mine...I actually emailed him 2 days ago to check and I got this response:

Dear Mr. xxxxxxx,

Thank you very much for responding to my email.

The estimated time of arrival is still the 23rd of July and the order will leave the factory accordingly, please be assured.

We have a constant track of this order and will come back to you as the order moves from the factory.


Thanks and regards,

 

Emailled mine...

WHAT THE **** IS GOING ON!!?

 

Check this out for a slap in the face,

'I assure you that your situation is not indicative of the quality
service Dell is capable of providing. I am truly sorry that we were not
able to provide an experience that was completely satisfactory to you.

Unfortunately we are unable to discuss about any compensation until the
order is delivered.

If you don?t wish to proceed with the order, kindly reply to this
e-mail.'

 

oooo harsh.. i didnt expect to get any more money off mine.

 

Its not just sony and dell... (from appleinsider)

Unveiled in June, the new MacBook Pros are the first Macs whose screens are backlit using LEDs, which consume less power than standard LCD backlights - and do not contain mercury.

AppleInsider reports that while supplies are trickling into Apple's own stores, dealers have had thousands of units on back-order since June.

"In speaking to these dealers, Apple representatives have reportedly identified the new 15in LED backlit display panels as the root of the problem," the website says. "However they stopped short of indicating whether the hold-up is a result of an ongoing quality issue or simply supply constraints associated with the relatively new display lighting technology."

 

so its likely that although the sony will be released in early august, it wont be available for a while either

 

It's not just an LED backlight problem all M1330s are delayed as I've gone for a standard CCFL screen and my EDD has been revised to 20/08 from 19/07.

 

Got a reply from Dell..giving me £40 off as a goodwill gesture

 

lol seriously.. i want that too

 

Yep...might email back and say I want a free bag too

 

Just to rub my face in it.. i got the late delivery email 5 minutes ago..

lol go for the free bag.. That way i can say.. bbbbububu.. but KILLSTA GOT ONE :cry:

 

I got just 50EUR !

 

Absolutely furious with Dell. Ordered my XPS M1330 on the launch date - 27th June, expecting Dell to have everything up and running for their new launches, after all, this is a well established company, and this is not the first time that they have launched a new laptop/pc - so they should be able to anticipate the associated problems and have everything in place to meet the demand that this laptop created.

My initial delivery date was the 16th July, one of the earliest I believe, and after being stuck in 'pre-production' for a couple of weeks, my estimated delivery date was changed to the 7th August - a delay of three weeks. Then, mysteriously, Dell cancelled my order. I logged into the online tracking to find that my order number was recognised but that the status could not be retrieved and was prompted to speak to customer service. After speaking to customer service, I was told that they were unsure as to why my order had been cancelled... Pathetic don't you think? Has anybody else had their order cancelled by Dell mysteriously?

After speaking to Dell Customer Care (an oxymoron if ever I heard one!), I was told that my order would be reinstated and I would be contacted the next day. After writing a quick reply to the representative telling her this was simply not good enough, and listing a number of things that I wanted her to get done for me by the end of the day, I waited for confirmation of receipt of my email, and for confirmation that some, if not all of my requests had been acknowledged/dealt with. Needless to say, I received no email by the end of the day, and nothing the following day despite what was promised to me. My order I found was reinstated, but Dell only emailed me to tell me this today - I had already found out a couple of days previously and so their email was rendered pointless.

Getting truly fed up with the lack of service, I spoke to Dell customer care again, futile as it was, asking what the status of my order was, when it would be delivered, and what had been done about my requests. I also asked about compensation, and the possibility of extended warranty/free shipping etc.

The representative informed me that it was "in production" which I highly doubt, and when I asked him to clarify this for me as to the definition, he told me it was indeed being manufactured. I highly doubt this. I was also given the excuse of a shortage of glass leading to the delays.

I had also pointed out that given that my revised estimated delivery date - now the 17th August was more than 30 days over my initial delivery date - in accordance with the ordering terms and conditions 5.5 - i was within my rights to cancel, without charge, and obtain a full refund. I then asked whether to stop me from cancelling he would be able to arrange compensation/extended warranty etc. From reading previous posts, some of you have been able to arrange various things with your representatives, including £40 goodwill for example. If this is true, then the rep i spoke to was clearly lying through his teeth, as he said he was not able to do anything of this sort, and that it was not Dell policy. He said that he could only offer me customer care. Well no actually, it is abundantly clear Dell cannot offer customer care.

I am now left with a delivery date over a month over my initial EDD, no money off, left with an extremely sour taste in the mouth, not to mention no laptop! The problem is that this is the only laptop I want, and so I'm having to put up with all of this. Dell is in a winning position here - they are not being penalised for giving exceedingly bad customer service here. Or have I just found some stubborn representatives? Have the rest of you managed to obtain discounts etc because you have deisgnated private/business account managers? Does anybody have an account manager for instance that would be able to help in my case, because Customer Care is getting me nowhere.

Also, is there not some way that collectively as a group we could complain to a higher level at Dell? Maybe they would start to stop messing us around so much if we collectively complained to somebody high enough up, and competent to deal with this situation? Or is that naive of me?

 

Sorry MigHunter but as you will be aware as a member on this forum it is a Worldwide problem and there is nothing Dell can do about it.

Either wait or cancel.

Customer Care always state in-production when in reality its in pre-production.

In regard to compensation i would always recommend to let rip once you finally get it, thats when you get your extended warranties etc

 

I got the same here, except they said they could talk about compensation when I get my laptop, which sounds like BS, and it depends actually on when or if I ever get it at this rate

I think escalating these issues is a good idea, the main problem is who to contact, everyone I have spoke to at these indian call centres so far just don't care.

 

has anyone had any prior experience with dell launches, is it usual for US customers to get priority, and if it is, how long after they move into the build stage do we.

Or is the m1330 launch so messed up that it is unique

 

I bought a Inspiron 8000 when it was launched (I had actually ordered in I5000 which got discontinued before it was built) and it came through quickly and on schedule.

I would hope that some questions are being asked inside Dell about the cause of the fiasco with the European delivery dates. Today I was given the "shortage of glass" excuse by a customer service person who had responded to my request for cancellation. That could be a factor, but it didn't happen overnight.

John

 

the shortage of a part can't be changed but how you manage the situation can, I don't think dell had much control over the cause of the delay.

dell should get the part even for just the first days orders from europe. A few exuberant posts in the forums would, at this point keep people who are teetering on the edge of cancelling from doing so. Not doing anything, basically ignoring the european customers, seems like terribly poor crisis management.

 

Yeah but we make up such a small amount of the sales how would they distinguish between a forum poster and average joe..

Chances are if they did that we wouldnt know about it anyway..

 

This is worldwide, not just european. Just because american customers have gone into the build stage dosent mean they will be getting them any sooner than us. Sounds like a smoke screen by Dell US to shut people up. Nobody has got one yet in the States have they

 

By the time we get these things, it'll be old tech. Looks the case when Dell is constantly shifting the delivery dates. This is an absolute pee take... ...

 

Is there ANY european order further than pre-production yet? Or did I just miss them?

 

Doubt it.

I'm beginning to have my doubts on receiving my notebook by the 1st August. Are there any other alternatives to the Dell M1330 for the size, build quality and one that I can receive quickly? The only ones I can think of is a Zepto 14" and even then - they don't look pretty.

 

Mmmmm did you look at the small barebone from Asus? Honestly you can get a more powerful laptop for a cheaper price. Will just not look as good, no LED and maybe no HDMI. I think it's the S37. Look here:
http://nexus13.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=297&idproduct=918

But to my knowledge, it's not yet available, so you may face the same kind of delays on this one

 

Spoke to my account manager today. She said that the delay was partly due to screen delay but also because of the terrorist atacks on the UK? i was thinking riigggggggggghhhhhtttttttt... what other BS is dell gonna come up with.

That asus up there is looking quite nice - is that website legitimate?

 

Thats what the rizeon 13.3" one uses. Looks pretty nice actually.

 

Can I just ask, how does the Vostro 1400 compare with this? I mean can we see it as an alternative... I assume it ships quicker?

 

has anyone noticed the list prices seem to have fallen.. my spec machine which was £1700ish (not including extra 6 cell battery) now only lists as £1550.. by the time we get the machine the price will be the same as the mega discount we all thought we got hehe

 

the vostro has the same specs as the xps. You just lose the hdmi out and obviously its 14.1" rather than 13.3".

If you like the spec of the xps and don't mind the extra size and weight of the vostro then its a good deal. Fair bit cheaper too.

 

Is it me or does the Vostro 1400 look like a black 14" Inspiron 1520?

 

thats what the vostros are... black inspirons..

we dont get the inspiron 1420 in the Uk atm..but we have the 14" vostro

 

In China we were also looking like we might get deliveries as early or earlier than the US... but mine remains in Build stage with the current delivery date of 25-Jul so I am getting sceptical. I do fear that the noise that has been made in the US may have resulted in parts being re-allocated to them instead of other regions.
In China you can no longer order the WLED screen at all so it annoys me when people write that the WLED screen shortage has now been solved. That is probably how it has been solved!

 

That would be a joke. It's only going to infuriate other consumers around the world if allocation is done in this way. I believe everyone in the UK still has their order status in "Pre-Production".

 

That's actually a pretty ingenious way of solving that kind of problem. Just kick the little chinese out of the market and sell it to the much more solvent western buyers.

If I were chinese, this would piss me off. But luckily I'm not.

 

I am not Chinese but I am in China - so I would be pissed off if I hadn't already got my order in.

Incidentally, the Chinese may be more solvent... they have got all your dollars in their banks! The middle class here go for all the brand names and there are quite a lot of them now. My neighbours have a Hummer as a second car.
That is probably how companies like Sony manage to charge their Chinese customers more than the US ones - and yet still prioritize the American customer over the Chinese one. Dell were doing better than that.

 

The only worthy alternative is the Asus S37S and even then, this is supposedly be shipping in September! So there's no point in that.

I guess the only thing to do is to wait it out or expect miracles.

 

I spec'ed out the asmobile Indus with T7700, 4gb ram, GeForce 8400 Gfx, 120GB Hard Disk Drive 5400rpm , etc for £1,159.00. For a less powerful XPS machine (see sig) i'm paying over £1,600. Albeit the XPS machine has WLED and probably looks a bit better (including meing marginally lighter)... but this seems like a truely viable option?