Don't Buy a Dell... Just Don't

Sure, Dell does offer some nice systems at a good price, I did like the deal that they gave me on my system and it's been pretty solid, aside from the problems that I've had with them...

First of all, my XPS 720 desktop came with a small part of the casing chipped off. This wasn't too big of a deal and I've never complained about that (if it was a laptop I would have, though). Two weeks after I got the system it would freeze in the middle of its' boot up. I must've spent hours in Dell chat to get them to agree to repair it. A technican came from Dell's on-site service and he repaired it decently, though I was pretty unhappy with how he handled the system. I had nothing worth complaining to Dell about the first time that he came.

Today, ten months after I got the system, the same guy came again. My system kept rebooting out of nowhere, which I have complained about for months without Dell fixing it. My desktop got the infamous "shriek of death" ten days ago and wouldn't power on. Even though a technican should have came on Tuesday before 5 or Wednesday, according to Dell, he came today, almost a week after he was supposed to.

That stuff is nowhere as near as bad as how pissed off I got at Dell today. From the start I knew that this guy wouldn't handle my system properly. He took a thin packing slip that Dell used to package the motherboard with and he used it to put the system onto the floor. This thing covered literally 1/20 of the system and it obviously wouldn't protect it. I told the guy that wouldn't protect it from scratches, but he didn't seem to care.

The technican was very rough with the system and didn't seem to care about the desk, the floor, or anything really. He constantly had to roughly rotate and even shake it at least fifty times, which isn't an exaggeration. I had to tell him a lot of what should have been obvious. He wasn't much better with the wiring in the case.

Now there's a lot of minor scratches on the top and the sides of the case. From him banging the system against the floor to reconnect the wires there's a lot of deep scratches on the bottom of the case. I'm also getting a lot of system errors before the system boots into Windows every time that I start up the system. My internet isn't working either. Maybe it's the computer or he might've broken the Ethernet cable.

I'm very unhappy with Dell. I have called their technical support and complained. I've talked to an agent's manager and he's going to have his manager call me tomorrow. For anyone considering buying from Dell, consider this... nine out of every ten of a company full of hundreds of people that my uncle works for had to have their work Dells repaired, half of them more than once. I've dealt with Apple's technical support for my iPhone (which I'm typing this on; best device I've ever bought) and both times were great. I can't say the same for Dell at all. Despite them working seperately, I think that this situation actually made me decide to get a MacBook Pro over the Alienware m15x that I was about to buy. With all of the horror stories in the Alienware section, I probably have a chance that's a bit higher than other companies to have problems with Alienware, and this isn't fun to go through... No company's support that I've ever purchased from compares to Apple's. You're paying that premium for a reason.

 

I have been migrating businesses from dell for a while now and all I can say is that they sure aren't the company they used to be. I can't deal with the wait or hold time to get something replaced. Average time to get a repair completed under warranty is at least an hour on the phone or chat. I don't have time for Dell support of failing motherboards.

 

Yeah, I hate Dell technicians with a passion. Terrible evil creatures. But I will still buy from Dell, things I cannot get from Apple. I recently had a few issues and after my first bad experience w/ the technician I called it quits. Now, I specifically recommend that they allow me to fix it myself (and I take full responsibility) and they send me over the parts. Pretty awesome, good experience for me to. Sucks you kept going through that bad technician cycle. I also wouldn't compare a desktop to a phone repair and say that Apple is superior flat out. I understand you're angry, you should be, and do make that complaint to make that guys life a living hell, but I too was angry w/ my first technician who badly scratched up my system, and rather than make the same mistake I compromised w/ Dell and carefully fix things myself.

 

I've read that Apple treats its' iPhones the same way that they treat their computers: Have a Genius find the problem and swap it out for a new one. I've really preferred all of the Geniuses I've worked with more than any Dell agent I've worked with. They're so much more knowledgeable and friendlier.

 

You know when a company calls their tech support people geniuses they are some arrogant SOBs. If anything Apple techs are they aren't geniuses. Sorry you had a bad experience with one tech, but one tech does not a company make.

 

LOL, Apple calls their tech support Genius?

 

Yeah and Apple calls the service desk 'The Genius Bar'. I guess that's what happens when you hire a bunch of 30 year old hipsters as your tech support.

 

No it's kind of cute though, they can't call themselves hardcore gamers, let them have the intelligent thing.

 

I've never been to a Genius Bar. So, I can't speak for them.

However, I have sent my laptops in to Apple several times. Each time my machine has come back looking like the techs were using it as a football. Each time, I've ended up having to get the case completely replaced on my Macbook. I've had more trouble with Apple's support than any other company I've ever dealt with.

I will say, they get things done, though. If they screw something up, they fix it, and they do it with a smile on their face. There is no arguing with Apple support.

Overall, Apple has decent support. Better than most, in fact. But, better doesn't make it good.

 

Almost all of my OS problems are solved with a clean install. It works every time for me.

Every time I have had a hardware problem with my laptop, I have Dell send the parts out. Sending the laptop in is too much of a PITA.

 

I will allways buy dell laptops thanks for the suggestion though

 

Have fun going through Apple "Hell" tech support. You went from shooting your self in the foot with Dell and stabbing your gut with Apple.

 

Agreed!

Even if Dell's tech support or customer service is lacking, my Dell isn't broken all of the time ... I see a lot of people around here with bad thinkpads.

See what I did there? I tried turning this from an Anti-Dell thread to an Anti-thinkpad thread

 

All the forums have complaints. I'm new to Dell, so I guess I'll be able to form my own opinion after my unit arrives

 

Good idea. All too often people allow others to form their opinions for them - see Vista.

 

No company is perfect. Each has it's own problems with their product line. My Dell m1530 hasn't had any problems since I bought it. I have HP's also and the first laptop I bought.. a Compaq conked out less than 30days but they replaced it free of charge. I have 2 HP desktops, one died due to the infamous nVidia GPU and HP extended the warranty and replaced the motherboard for free with free shipping/handling to and fro. I just gotten a Gateway desktop and so far so good (knock on wood). Altogether I have 6 laptops.. 1 Dell, 1 Averatec, 4 HP's (2 laps/2 tablets) and an Asus eee PC netbook. I gotta stop buying!

 

That was me!

Vista isn't as bad as everyone says ... works the same as XP for me.

 

Yeah I used to be a hardcore ignorant "Vista-sucks" guy, til I actually used it.

Nothing like how average users make it out to be . Especially if you tweak it with vLite on a 64bit version, it flys.

 

I like Dell, and I like Vista!

My only qualm is on/off communication skills with paying customers!
I think the Sales/Customer Service Reps...needs some intense training on: followup, and most importantly...follow thru.


Cin