Experience with Dell in a nutshell - Traumatizing

So I decided I would stick with Dell for my next purchase since my family and I have owned a couple of their models in the past. Our old inspiron and latitudes have held up for at least 4-5 years each so this a fairly easy choice for me to make.

10/28/09 - Ordering a new Studio XPS 1340
I was on the phone with Dell EPP and configured my setup for a fully loaded SXPS 1340 after about 2 hours of back and forth with the representative and manager (I am a bargain hunter). Blah blah blah the manager finally agrees on $1350 shipped (roughly a $200 discount after EPP).

10/29/09 - Order on hold
I get an email saying that my order is now on hold due to credit card processing difficulties and telling me that it would be best to call this 1800 number to get this resolved. I decide to go a different route and locate my representative as I had a couple more concerns about my order anyway. So after about 15 minutes of trying to locate this representative we finally locate her since she was from the Philippines. I voice my concerns that the battery life may not be sufficient and I may need to go with a different option and cancel this order unless I can get a 9 cell added or swapped for the standard 6 cell battery. I also ask her why my estimated ship date went from under 2 weeks and now closer to 3 weeks. So now I am on hold for about 30-40 minutes while she discusses this with her manager and that there are working something out for me... and then lo and behold disconnected.
This was not a big deal to me as these things happen on occasion and I had her name to reconnect to. After calling up the switchboard operator again he transfers me and all I get is a voice message system which I then left a message to. I then proceeded to call back in about 30 minutes to try again, now the operator tells me I am SOL because they are closed for the night.

10/30/09 - Order still on hold/Order cancellation
I am starting to get frustrated now since before I placed the order they had easily called me back within 10 minutes after telephone disconnections. This time I am transfered to an American sales representative who tells me that department is experiencing a typhoon and have no idea when I will be able to contact the manager and representative that I had dealt with earlier. Not only this but I am also SOL on battery deal because they are only allowed to duplicate the discount.

I think about my options, call back, find another sales representative, and ask for an order cancellation.


10/30/09 - Ordering Admire Adamo from outlet instead
I place an order for a Pearl Adamo from the outlet since I am too lazy and frustrated to deal with anymore sales representatives for the time being and figure I can try this system and return it if I feel it is underpowered. I am actually very excited since I found a model with 256gb ssd for the same price as a 128gb ssd model. I then proceed to order a case and dvd drive all with overnight shipping. I figured it would be a better idea to have the item shipped to my home address since it is safer then my university dorm address.

11/2/09 - Case and Adamo shipped
I have been patiently clicking refresh every few hours and I finally see that these two items have been shipped today but oddly my dvd drive is still in production. I don't particularly mind as I won't be using the dvd drive immediately anyway.

11/3/09 - Estimated Arrival Date
I am so excited for my new laptop I almost cannot contain myself. I keep refreshing the page to get an order tracking number but all it says is items shipped on 11/2/09 and estimated arrival is 11/3/09. I wait until about 2 and decide it is worth the trek home since the estimated date has not been changed. The drive home is about an hour away from my university so it is not bad. I get home and of course since I did not have a tracking number I missed the truck and have to schedule a pick up and also of course they used fedex and the base is 45 minutes away.

So I patiently wait until 7 (fedex said the carrier should get in at 8) and take off to the base still antsy to get a hold of my new ultraportable. This place turns out to be hard to get to but nonetheless I arrive at about 8. I run into the little building and give the woman my slip the left at my door and she gets me my box. I know something is wrong. The box is too light. I open this giant box and inside is only my Mandarina Duck sleeve. I immediately call Dell and they say they have no idea where the Adamo is but just that it was shipped yesterday. He also says there is nothing I can do until the item is delivered. Today I have driven a total of nearly 3 hours to try to get my notebook before CS class tomorrow and all I have to show for it is a notebook sleeve.

Dell claims:
In the instance of a delivery delay they will call the number I provided and/or email
Items are shipped separately for buyer's ease

My questions to Dell:
Where was my tracking number?
Where was my email for the delay?
Where was my phone call?
Why would I want my sleeve shipped before my notebook
Why is my dvd drive in production?



So....
What do I do now? I know for sure I am demanding a refund for overnight shipping, but what other action should I take? If there is anything that is unclear from my situation let me know. Sorry for the essay, I need some rest.

 

I honestly don't see what's so traumatizing. I think your course of action from here should be to wait until your laptop is delivered to your home address, then go pick it up.

 

Agreed.

OK
Your upset because you haggled for a bargain then changed your mind, the Credit Card is not Dell's fault, I had something simular because I paid Via Pay Pal and Pay Pal did not have the right Telephone number, I called and fixed it. So?........

You Canceled and upset because a Country had a Typhoon........ok Dell cannot control the weather.

Dell gives you an answer and you have to wait a day or so for the Notebook..........OK why are you upset again?

I just do not see it. But you get to vent.

 

Okay obviously I am not being clear on why I was upset, I did not cancel my sxps 1340 because of Dell I canceled because I simply could not wait 3 weeks for a notebook and the battery life of a 6 cell just was not cutting it and their response was to purchase one for $180. Being a college student that is not something that is in my budget.

I am upset because if I pay for premium for an overnight shipping service and they state they will notify you immediately if there is a delay and I do not get any notification that causes me to go on a wild good chase across Atlanta, this is where I get upset. The point is not that I have to simply wait another day. It is the principle of proper business practice and doing what you claim you will do.

Please if you want to take Dell's side that is fine, I am still ordering from them and I am sure I will in the future but don't try to make me seem ignorant for making this post.

 

Don't worry about what those others say...they failed sensitivity class and obviously have never been in a long-standing relationship with a female.

In any case, mine did ship also (yesterday), and I had no other items, so it should be here today. I hate that Dell doesn't make tracking numbers available. It's very frustrating at times, and could have saved you 3 hours of driving!

I'm just hoping that my 256GB Adamo comes in perfect condition! (knocking on wood).

In any case, yours should be delivered today.

 

No offense, but I found your post to be rather entertaining and enlightening. When it comes to Customer Services, it's like spinning the roulette wheel...some folks get awesome service and some don't . You just happened to be one of the unlucky ones where everything came down on you at once. i know it all sucks, but patience will prevail. Btw, if you needed a lappy so quick, why didn't you just go to your local electronics store and pick one up? hate to say it but if you procrastinate, nine times out of ten, you wind up losing. now, I am not saying you are completely wrong, but you are also not completely right. yes, Dell can't control the weather, they get flooded (and I mean flooded) with calls and it can be a real, as you say "wild goose chase" to track down that wonderful CS rep you dealt with from the beginning and of course, after Dell releases a product for shipping, it's the shipper whom you need to deal with not Dell. I've had my share of similiar experiences and I too have had to vent, kick things, curse, etc. but in the end, it's the patience that will reward you.

Wait til the laptop arrives, and if anything is wrong with it (even if the laptop looks at you funny), package it back up and send it back and get your refund. I assume that by the time it arrives, you will have already missed your window of opportunity to have a laptop in time for whatever it is you needed it for.

 

I don't think it's standard practice for Dell to NOT provide shipping info. I have ordered from them twice and both times, I had shipping info to track.

 

I buy hundreds and hundreds of Dell's each year (literally) and almost EVERY TIME, is says under tracking number "Data Temporarily Unavailable". And, temporary means ALWAYS. Sometimes, I can log in and look at my invoice through my Dell Premier web site, and the invoice will show the tracking, but sometimes not.

In the case of my in-transit Adamo, neither the order status page or my invoice on Dell Premier lists a tracking number.

 

Hmmm, that is strange. Could it be due to where we live? I have no clue as to why you wouldn't get that sort of info. In general, I RARELY ever have a problem receiving shipping info on anything I buy online, including my experience with Dell. if i were you, I would definitely look into it.

 

To be fair, if Dell had a tracking number easily available, it would have saved him/her hours of driving and frustration. I can relate. Tracking numbers should ALWAYS be available. Almost every other e-tailer I buy from, I get a tracking number when it ships. Dell, for some reason, has a problem with that. And, who wants to deal with Dell Hell on the phone just to get a tracking number?

NOT TRUE! The days of "no questions asked" return policy are gone. Sure, you have 21 days, but if there isn't anything substantially wrong, you will incur a 15% restocking fee. Trust me, the Dell reps on the phone DO NOT want you to return it just because "it looks at you funny".

Also, in defense of lilyang (and as a very frequent Dell Outlet buyer), 99% of everything you order at the outlet ships the same day (assuming you order it in the early part of the day). When you choose overnight shipping, you have a reasonable expectation to get it the following business day. So, in his/her case, since his/her case arrived, you would think that the notebook should have arrived also. I can certainly feel his/her frustration and disappointment (especially since he/she was excited to get it!).

 

I suspect no one at Dell would have a clue why, and I also don't have a free day to waste being transferred to every Dell rep in the world, repeating the scenario over and over again. I've lived with it for years, so I can live with it some more!

 

Maybe I should not have added the beginning section as it is not really that important I just wanted to express the entirety of my story, I know it is not Dell's fault a typhoon interrupts my order, I did not say that is why I canceled.

It is not that I am in dire need of a new notebook at my door step right now per say just that I need one as soon as possible. I am currently lugging around my 12 pound(with charger) m5750 to class everyday and I think I am developing back problems haha. So going to my local bb or brandsmart and picking up a model I don't want was not an option.

Thanks for the kind words lancorp, you understand why I am frustrated since yes I have the same message as you on my order status that literally no information but shipped date and estimated arrival is available. It is not that I have suddenly turned into a Dell hater it is that I have had better experiences in the past and suddenly a domino effect caused me a great deal of inconvenience.

The irony of one of the previous statements was that Dell does have the tracking number apparently and is just failing to provide it. The operator I talked to said we are not sure where your package is because it does not show an scan locations, which I assume means he tracked it.

I know is many situations it is nice for items to come asap and be shipped separately but my parents work full time and I am full time student it is simply not plausible to be at home and ready to sign for three days in a row with no idea when the package will arrive

Will I enjoy the notebook once it gets here? Most likely yes
Will I forget about this once I rejoice when the three different shipments get here? Most likely yes
Will I every understand why my sleeve was shipped first and my dvd drive is in production? Most likely no

 

Its the title that threw me, I understand, the tracking sucks with Dell, But I was patient and knew if it did not get here by 5 or 7 days then to complain to Dell.

Too many are quick to condemn Dell.

I have no idea why 3 shipments and yes its frustrating when your excited.

I may have been a little harsh, If I was sorry.

 

It's okay I wrote it just after I returned and was extremely frustrated and it is hard to judge internet posts vs a real conversation.

So an update:

Instead of rushing home to see if it arrived today, I had my one of my parents slip home and check for a door tag. Still nothing so I guess I am going to be making a another call to Dell and ask them to use their secret tracking number to locate it


P.S. lancorp if your overnight shipping beats my overnight shipping do you mind sending me one of your three Adamos to play with until mine finds its way here

 

Okay new update my parents are blind and I can make another attempt to get my package tonite. I think my head will explode however if I go to pick it up and inside the box is a lone dvd drive

 

Outlet products never seem to have tracking numbers, so you have to do this:

1) Go to FedEx's website and search by reference number.
2) You should have been given an order number in the email from Dell stating that your order has shipped. Enter your order number as the reference number and complete the destination country and zip code (you can leave the ship date as-is unless your order shipped over 15 days ago). You can leave the account number field blank.
3) Click "track".

 

Thanks for the tips, I was able to get Dell to tell me the tracking number after calling again even though the automated voice system said none was available

 

Damn. I hate Fedex / UPS guys but your over-excitement got the best of you. I have owned several dells before and I believe they are pretty good when it comes to shipping products on-time. Also, next time try not dealing with reps. Get online discounts where possible.

 

You da man! Thanks for that tip, and some REP points to ya for it! It works!

 

Mine arrived today! Opened it up, and it's in perfect shape! A little cleaning of the lid and palmrest to make it shiny new and no scratches at all.

It does indeed have the Samsung 256GB PB22 SSD drive, which is a much faster model than the slow 128GB in the other Adamo.

I have not booted it yet, as I want to image my Windows 7 off the Pearl Adamo, and put it on this Onyx Adamo.

I'll report back how things go.

Hope yours shows up today! If not, sure...come on out to San Diego and you can use one of mine!

 

Nice! Some positive news! Well in about an hour I can drive to the fedex base and pick it up

Sounds good lancorp, if I head to california right now maybe fedex will be open on my way home

 

In one of your previous posts on a different thread you said

"So sorry to disappoint those looking for benchmarks, I ended up canceling my order due to an incompetent representative from the Philippines. "

so yes, you did in fact cancel because of Dell. Also, you claim that $180 was not in your budget, but you bought an expensive system (at the very least $1500) with mediocre specs and "splurged on overnight shipping " My feeling is that you just wanted Dell to thrw in the 9 cell for free.

 

Please don't come into the thread trying to start some sort of flame war, if you were trying to make any sort of educated input you would read the entire post and then make accusations.

I could go on and list how many things there are wrong with your post but it would be a waste of my time. Thank you try again.

 

I think you are making a huge fuss about nothing. So your order will be a day or two late, big effing deal... They'll refund you the overnight shipping charge, and that's going to be it. There's a chance the delay wasn't even Dell's fault, but it may be. In any case, stuff like that happens all the time. If you call that "traumatizing", I wish you good luck if you ever get into a situation where you have real problems with a vendor...

 

I would seriously like some posters to read through the thread before going on a bashing rant. It was an exaggerated and somewhat sarcastic title and it has been discussed. If you can't see the situation from different angles go post in a thread in the mac forum (again sarcasm.. get it?)