General question about customer service.

I keep hearing horror stories about consumer customer support and higher praise of business support.

My question is where does the support for a system such as the Studio XPS 16 fall in. I here that the XPS line has better support, but does that make a difference if I order it from the consumer (Home) section?

 

You'll always get better service and attention if you buy an extended warranty from the business division for your system rather than the consumer division. Businesses are where the bread and butter for system companies are, so that's where their best top -tier resources go. And note I said "extended warranty business" - standard warranty won't get you much.

However, the best thing to do is what most people don't - don't treat your computer like a toaster or blender. Learn how to operate and maintain it. Every day I'm here and on other sites helping people, and every day I see a high percentage of nitwits who have problems solely because they were too lazy to learn how to treat their system properly - like a toaster, refrigerator, garbage disposal, etc.

However, if you're just not technically oriented, then a warranty contract would do you well. Dell has been beefing up their support lately, obviously in response to criticisms.

The question though is whether or not your XPS choice is covered under a business contract. It's been some time since I deal directly with Dell sales, so you'd need to make sure if that's the way you wish to go.

For system choice, I also always recommend to my clients to go to the Forums for the manufacturer of the system you're buying to see what problems are being reported by users there. It's the best way to know if you're getting into a lemon or a good buy.

 

It's a given that you will get better Customer Support if you order a lappy from Dell's Business side.

However...you will also receive great Customer Support via the XPS line also.

But, it also depends on whom you receive on the other end of the phone and their *general attitude*.

XPS Support is generally very good. I have the XPS 1530, and 97% of the support I have received has been great.

If you were to purchase a SXPS 1640, you would fall under the XPS Support...

Check out the Dell forum..read up a bit..you will find very interesting and informative threads, here!

Cin

 

The biggest problem that I have with Dell is that they have these different categories of support. Standard home support, XPS/Studio XPS home support, Business support, and god knows what else.

A company as big as Dell can certainly afford to not outsource their support for less expensive models. Those of us who buy Inspiron and Studio series laptops are customers just the same as those who buy Precision and Latitude models, right?

Sure, they might not make profits quite so huge, but I guarantee Dell will not go bankrupt paying for properly trained support for all of their products.

 

I thought Dell XPS models bought after a certain date a few months ago now receive the same support Inspiron/Studio users do (a.k.a. outsourced)? On my recent SXPS order, it even labels my warranty as "CompleteCare Accidental DamageProtection, Inspiron"

 

I'm pretty sure the XPS models still have their own support.

I just found this on the Dell tech support contact page:

 

But does that provide any different support for new XPS purchasers or will they simply be redirected to normal Inspiron support? I know that those who have owned their XPS models for quite some time have the higher quality support.

 

I assume that the number I circled is the specialized XPS support number. I assume Inspiron customers call the number to the left, since it's the same number I call for my Studio 15. When you call the XPS number it will ask for your Express Service Code, which I assume identifies your system as an XPS.

 

That is the number I continue to call for support on my XPS 1530
And, it does ask you for your E. Service Code.

Cin

 

The reason they do this is precisely because they don't make as much money on the Inspiron and Studio laptops. The cheaper consumer laptops have smaller profit margins and don't include the high-end support.

Dell (like almost all laptop manufactures) don't make a huge profit off each laptop, they rely on volume to make money. Those of us who paid £1500 (including £300 for 3Y NBD on-site warranty) expect to get better support because that is what we paid extra for. The reason business laptops are expensive isn't because businesses want to spend lots of money, it's because they cost more to produce. To give the same support to all customers would probably add a couple of hundred pounds to the price.

Having said that, I agree that the basic support they offer to home users could definitely be improved; I just don't think completely merging the higher levels of support is the answer.

To answer the OP's question: Yes, XPS machines seem to have a different support line to other machines. Whether not this is changing I cannot say. From personal experience I will say this: When I call the Latitude hardware support the first person I talk to asks me for my Service Tag and I then transfers to the Latitude department where they deal with the problem. Thus, it is likely that someone calling with an Inspiron or XPS would likely be transferred to the relevant department.

 

Take the Latitude series for example. Most of those are cheaper than the average Studio!

 

Let's compare the two, with specs matched as closely as possible:

Dell Studio 15
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 6 MB L2 Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English
HARDWARE SUPPORT 4Yr In-Home Warranty Support, including evenings and Saturdays
LCD 15.4" Wide Screen WXGA WLED (1280 x 800) Display with TrueLife™
WEBCAM 2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera
MEMORY 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
HARD DRIVE 320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3450
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery
KEYBOARD Internal UK English Qwerty Keyboard
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Intel WiFi Link 5100 (802.11 a/b/g/n 1X2) 1/2 MiniCard
Services & Software
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORT No Accidental Damage Support
ONLINE BACKUP DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year
Power Supply 90W AC Adaptor
Total incl. VAT: £808.00

Dell Latitude E6500
PROCESSOR Latitude E6500 - Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8700(2.53GHz, 1066MHz,3MB/25W)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista ® Business SP1 32Bit - English - with Media
LCD 15.4in Wide Screen WXGA (1280x800) LED
CAMERAS Integrated 0.3MP camera with microphone for LED LCD
BACK COVER LCD Back Cover Black Finish LED for camera and microphone
GRAPHICS CARD NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M, 256MB
MEMORY 4GB 800MHz DDR2 memory (2 x 2GB)
HARD DRIVE 250GB serial ATA HDD 5400RPM
OPTICAL DRIVE 8x DVD+/RW Drive (with Software)
PRIMARY BATTERY 6 Cell 54WHr LI-ION Primary Battery
INTERNAL KEYBORD UK/IR - Internal Qwerty Standard Keyboard
Accessories
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Intel WiFi Link 5100 (802.11 a/g/n 1X2) 1/2 MiniCard with Centrino label
BLUETOOTH Internal Dell 370 Bluetooth™ Card
FINGERPRINT READER Standard Touchpad
Services & Software
SUPPORT SERVICES 4Yr ProSupport for End Users and Next Business Day On-Site Service
SECURITY SOFTWARE Norton Internet Security™ Centre 2009 (30 day subscription)
MOBILITY Declined CompleteCare
COLOUR CHOICE Brushed Metal Black
Power Supply UK/IR Power Cord with 90W AC Adaptor 3 pin
Total incl. VAT: £1,311.00

So the Latitude is £503 more expensive with

1. A smaller hard drive
2. A worse graphics card
3. A lower quality webcam

Please do enlighten me if I'm missing something but I do fail to see how the Latitude is cheaper.

 

The XPS support is great!!!

I got the extended warranty on my last 2 laptops and I'm very pleased. I've received new OS recovery disks when needed, I got a x64 Ultimate disk to replace my x86 disk that got scratched , w/ no problem (though I did have to return the x86 disk , lol).

They also replaced my lcd screen, etc. They've been great to me!!!

 

I think I've gotten as good support on my Dimension 9100 desktop (with a 4 year warranty) XD. They've sent me a recovery CD (though I didn't originally order one), replaced my LCD monitor, replaced my wireless keyboard/mouse (my mouse kept dying abnormally fast) initially with another wireless keyboard/mouse before sending us wired ones when we were still unsatisfied (without requesting the old ones back), my AIO printer after the paper tray broke, and my surround sound speakers (they seemed to have quite a bit of static after 3 years XD).

That said, I am not too fond of Dell's technical support (in terms of how informative it actually is) or a few of their customer service departments. I am fond of their warranty/replacement policies however.