Dell is bribing me with $50 to keep a defective laptop.

So basically, I ordered an 1520 a month ago and got that one. It was grainy...very grainy, and the G key was squeaky...as well as an annoying CPU whine.

I requested and received a replacement yesterday, and so far...the screen is less grainy, the keys are ok, but the headphone jack is really bad, and the media keys aren't as comfortable to press.

I'm talking to dell online complaining and *****ing and asking for compensation/coupons towards a now possibly future 1330 purchase, but the rep is only offering me $50 ONLY if I choose NOT to return the laptop.

What do you think?

Think I can get the $50, and then request an refund through another rep?

What's worse about the refund is that I have 30 days + 1 extra week from the ORIGINAL invoice, and not the replacement, thus, I have until October 1st to return it. The problem? I bought the laptop solely for college, what will I do while I wait for the next order?

Ugh, help.

 

if you take the 50$ as comp then get a refund you DONT GET TO KEEP THE 50$ they credit you back the total you paid minus the 50$ just fyi

 

when a new rep pulls up your account, he will see what dell talked about with you when they agreed to give you the 50 bucks. he will know the whole situation whether or not you believe so. dell employees have to document everything really well. its their job.

 

say no to the $50, and return it

 

give them a ultimatum if you think you may keep it.. tell them 150$ or pick a number and work from there... if you dont get anywhere ask for escalations and be firm about it and DONT CHAT THEY SUCK... CALL THEM.. you get nowhere on the chat you need to call them till they get sick of hearing from you trust me

 

btw i was told dell is working on the headphone noise and the cpu whine and there should be a new bios soon that will fix these issues take it for what its worth this was from the tech dept

 

Make them send you a replacement. Use the POS while you wait.

 

Ichigo - I will not settle for another replacement, god knows how much worse it can get.

zfactor - if the whines from headphone/cpu is fixed, then I guess I'll be happy.

I settled for the $50 for now, I'm waiting for a golden opportunity here, such as a 1330 for cheap

Maybe I can sell the 1520 online.

 

Yes, with your golden description, see who will want to buy it.

So instead of taking a free chance with a replacement, you're happy with $50, a mistaken notion that you'll get an m1330 for cheap, and the vile idea of pawning the crap you received to some unsuspecting sap.

A++++

 

What can I say? I'm a thinker...

Actually, besides the headphone whine, nothing else is too terrible. The grain is practically not noticeable to the average person, the cpu whine seems to have been alot less after swapping hdds, and uh, yeah, that's it.

 

they WILL NOT OFFER you a 1330... no way... and once you accept the discount they pretty much call that issue fixed if thats what it was for.. trust me everything is documented on it.. i would personally request a replacement or a refund.. my replacment this time took less that 7 days to ship...

 

I am not expecting them to offer me a 1330, I am saying that I will get one whenever it is cheap and then get rid of the 1520 somehow.

The replacement that I JUST received yesterday took ~2weeks meh.

 

It will be cheap when the next model comes out.

 

If you the need the laptop now, ask them (or their manager) for a delayed replacement. Then make threats.

 

Alright, since I got time now, I'm requesting a second replacement.

 

Bribe is a very strong word and not fitting of this situation. If I were Dell I would offer you the same incentive to aviod another return. CPU whine unfortunately is not limited to Dell computers nor to your specific model so from their prospective it is acceptable. Of course it is not desirable but we pay for a level of engineering and manufacturing and that is what is delivered in most cases. If Dell were to produce and guarentee a perfect product everytime than frankly no one would be able to afford it. This was actually the case for the computers that were on ships years ago. The only company making them was charging 20k for a pc because it was "perfect". HP stepped in and offered regular PC's that were "good enough" for 5k and took over the market.

I would simply accept that the world is an imperfect place and take the 50 bucks. By the way I have the M1330 and while it is fantastic, if you look hard enough you will find imperfections. There is a guy on here with 30 picutures of what he calls flaws. Most are his preferences versus Dell engineers or 1mm variations of gap in the fitting of plastic.

 

One other thought. If you are a regular customer that only buys one computer or less a year your satisfaction is only worh so much. 50 bucks and a replacement (given the costs to Dell) are probably the limit to make sense for them. If you call them and make threats as some suggest you will get nowhere because you don't have much leverage. Now if you buy 100+ pc's per year like my company does than you have alot more leverage.

 

micp I am not so sure about that... maybe if you buy a LOT of computers somewhere they have it marked down, but I would bet that they use a more simplified rule set to decide how much they will give you to make you happy.

Maybe if you are a really BIG customer they would reward you a little better (I am talking dozens of computers at least a year) but for the average buyer I doubt they weight much difference between 1 computer every 2 years and 6 computers every two years. Both are small change compared to what many customers will buy.

Not to mention many business are trying to move away from blatently treating better customers better as it ends up pissing off people who find out they are not "good enough" customers and even pissing off good customer who find out others are treated better... end result is you make more people unhappy than you do happy.

 

Devedander, There is a formula called lifetime value of the customer that the folks with MBA's in the big offices use to determine polices such as return and compensation. Every company wants happy customers but face it I guy who sends two computers back because he doesn't like the feel of the media controls can't be made satisfied unless they change the design to his specifications.

The point I am trying to make is that the margins for hardware are far to narrow for a company like Dell to send multiple computers out to an average customer. They are far more likely to do so with someone who offers them volume.

 

hell i got a total of 450$ in comps when i had my dell but that was still not enough imo to live with that crap screen i had.. now way... for free maybe.. so you can get A LOT MORE IF YOU TRY TRUST ME

 

I got $125 after I exchange the system twice. The third system is perfect with nothing wrong at all.