Dell Warranty Support Still Shines

I read a lot of negative stories about companies here and on the web in general (and they generally are with good merit), but we don't usually add to the collective when we have a positive experience. As a result, we get a very polarized view of a company or almost anything that depends on voluntary user feedback. After reading HP's warranty text* (for a bud) and some posts in the HP forum on support issues I figured the community would be better off hearing my Dell experience instead of me keeping it to myself.

I have been a Dell customer since 1998. I remember getting my first Dell laptop in 9th grade and the reason I picked a Dell over competing OEMs at the time (this was before I became a computer geek proper). All the other OEMs would slap those warranty void stickers on their hardware and made opening them up a chore. Dell not only didn't post those stickers all over the machine, but they also put a guide up online telling you how to take every single part of it off and put it back on. A budding enthusiasts dream.

With that said I have a long history dealing with Dell...

Replacing my aged Inspiron 5160 (I replace my laptops on a rolling 3 year cycle) with my former Inspiron 1520 was met with good success. I purchase Dell products due to their good warranty support (quick turn around and next day parts). Due to a discount from my university I purchased Complete Care, first time in my 10 years.

Long story short... My 1520 got wet and I contacted Dell and sent it in for repair. I was not happy initially because Dell seems to now use FedEx for their warranty shipments (DHL's fault which sucks) so the machine was sent to Dell ground and not Next Day Air (adding a week to my repair time!). I was expecting Dell to fix my machine without problems as the 1520 was around a year old and they still have some in Dell Outlet, but they shipped me a Refurbished 1535.

It was, in some ways, a nice upgrade from my Inspiron 1520 so that's a bonus, but it had its issues too. Dell had to replace the touchpad and they had to ship me a 9 cell battery (to match what I purchased with the 1520). These were fast repairs with the touchpad being replaced by a tech stopping at my apartment.

Recently I noticed the mics don't work. I contacted Dell and they informed me that since the machine is within 21 days of being shipped they'll just replace it again instead of fixing the mics. I still am a bit shocked, but I'm glad they recognized it could be a lemon and did the right thing without me even having to ask.

Always very smooth support and fast service. I've always been happy with Dell and I'm sure I'll be buying their laptops for another 10 years without question.

I tried to keep this short where possible as it isn't a thread for me to drone on about my replacement or anything similar. I hope it can serve as a positive thread in a sea of negatives (primarily because the positive is more quiet). Initially I wasn't going to post, but I'm glad I did.

*Although expanding the thread a bit, I thought it might be acceptable to post what promted me to read the HP forum. According to HP's Warranty Terms (See Section 10.A.) [PDF] if you dont register your computer with HP within 10 days of receiving it they do not have to honor any warranty on the machine. That blows my mind and is a nail in the coffin of me never purchasing an HP machine.

 

Dell has been very flexible in handling returns and other issues in my experience too. They can sometimes be a bit stubborn, but with enough persistence you will eventually get what you need from them.

 

"if you dont register your computer with HP within 10 days of receiving it they do not have to honor any warranty on the machine. That blows my mind and is a nail in the coffin of me never purchasing an HP machine."

If you have to really read between the lines with these guys

 

You're absolutely right, people forget to give praise where it's due when they're content, but make sure their dissatisfaction is laid out in spades, so thanks for posting your experience. This is exactly the kind of information I've been looking for!

 

Agreed. I didn't want to do a full play by play as I didn't want to make the post even longer, but there were some snags. As I mentioned they had to give me the 9 cell battery as a fair replacement for my 1520, but there was a problem with that.

The first rep. I talked to issued me a 9 cell, but sent me the one for the 1520 instead of the Studio 1535. The second rep. I talked to asking her for a replacement with the proper battery told me it wasn't doable because they go by what the machine (my replacement) shipped with. The third representative issued the 9 cell and I got it the next day.

Was a bit annoyed, but I think the initial rep made an honest mistake and I wasn't too put off since the conversation with the third rep. took about 10 minutes.

Not sure what you are saying here, but if you clarify I'll respond.

Thanks for the comment. I'm glad this was a meaningful post . Hopefully more people will follow suit with positive stories from time to time.