Horrible Dell Customer Service Experience

I've been on the phone for an hour with dell trying to order a replacement LCD for my e6510. I've been transferred 7 times, and finally got someone who tells me "the only screen they sell is the WLED WXGA screen". I replied, "I don't mean to argue, but on your site you offer 3 screen options [listed those options]". He tells me that I am correct but he can only allow me to order the one that came with the computer. He said the only way I could get the better screen is if I purchased it at the point of sale.

I said, "so, you have the part, but you won't sell it to me?" I then rephrased and said, "but you would sell it to me if I gave you a service tag that had a 1080p screen?" He said something like yes, to which I said get me a manager... he argued with me saying that a manager would say the same thing. I said I don't care, I just want to hear it from a manager, he argued some more, then put me on hold and came back saying "the manager said the same thing, he told me to transfer you to tech support to get a part number for the screen"

By this time, I've been on the phone for an hour... tech support couldn't find a part number... neither could some specialized business class tech support.

This is insane, I can't simply order parts? Everyone wants my service tag, and once they get it, I cannot get a 1080p screen. What's with that, whatever happened to "I have a [model] I need a [part]" and "ok, sir, how would you like to pay for that?"

I finally was hung up on at my 9th transfer... Is this what I can expect from dell support?

oops. I put this in the wrong section, can someone please move this?

 

Actually, the entire point of a spare parts department is to provide spare parts, which is precisely why 99.9999% of customers are making contact with a spare parts department. It makes sense to match components with the service tag. It avoids errors. It even makes people happy 99.9999% of the time.

In your case, you've apparently bought a used, second hand computer and you want to make a very unusual upgrade. If you'd wanted the 1080P screen you should have bought a new E6510 with a 1080P screen. My advice is to seek out a second hand 1080P screen for your second hand computer.

In this case, it sounds as if Dell's Customer Service wasn't horrible at all.

 

I agree what what you are saying, Honestly even if they will sell you it the issue is that they overcharge, and you might want to get it off Ebay or another place.

 

I understand that a system they have makes selling spare parts easier for the morons they employ (for example, when I said I wanted the WUXGA screen, they said "all we have is WLED"... three people said this). However, it is not out of the realm of possibility to want to upgrade. I know a very large business that, after buying hundreds of laptops, had their IT department add a specific part to each of them that they did not think they would need at the time.

In fact, my dealings with HP's support have been much better. No wasted time matching service tags, most, if not all, parts are interchangeable (within the same model). I asked for at least 10 parts and all were mailed next day, all they asked is that I ship back 10 (or whatever) non working parts... no "let me get the service tag for every individual laptop".

Aside from that, being transferred 9 times? Half my transfers were people saying "oh, no you want such and such a department". If my display went out, why wouldn't I spend the extra $20-30 for a much nicer screen?

in any event, I know someone with the same laptop who has the 1080 screen. It's stupid as hell that I should have to call in with his service tag, but I will. I will certainly pull dell off my list of considerations in the future. one of the basics of customer service is to not argue with the customer. If they wanna buy something, let them buy it... if you have to warn them that it is not recommended, do it.

 

They cover the initial system nothing more. Except for when you ADD stuff like a WWAN card or Bluetooth but those are additional purchases. It's actually YOUR responsibility to figure out what you want at the time of purchase. I tried the same thing because the RGB LED screen only became available later but selling loose parts is just not their business, and you can get those yourself easily.
The reason you got transferred is probably becasue service figured you were talking about an upgrade so a new purchase and sales dep. heard about a broken lcd panel so it's a service matter. I agree the structure of this causes this type of problem and it could be done different.
What does the very large business who had their IT department add a part have to do with this story btw? That's pretty much what Dell is telling you, buy the item and replace it, right?

 

Oh and btw....you should call with Business support from the start since you have a latitude...consumer support is (even) more clueless

 

Sounds annoying and cumbersome nonetheless, even if said protocols are part of what sounds like a rather stiffled policy.

 

I don't mean to complain.. I was just astonished at the treatment I got. Aside from my request, I was argued with, talked to sarcastically, transferred a million times, and not given even the slightest bit of help after wasting over an hour of my time.

"their IT department": Because the company, HP, provided the part... I wasn't asking dell to install my screen. I was simply emphasizing that some people simply find out they need something else, and it is not economical to purchase a new system.

I have been unable to find the screen online, perhaps I suck at searching, but I've emailed three parts providers and I cannot find the 1080p screen.

I really didn't see this as an outlandish request.... I thought the process would be simple. Maybe this is why I am so frustrated. I also don't like being argued with by a member of the support staff.. If I want a manager, get me one, or get me their voicemail.

I really expected more from their business support.. in terms of knowledge, efficiency, and perhaps even helpfulness. Perhaps they could have given me the number of their primary parts supplier... or even the model number of the screen I was looking for (which they couldn't find).

Again, I hate to be so negative... but this was pretty bad.... maybe I'm just used to working with good companies.

 

Did you ask people here for the modelnr. of the panel? Searching for that could help.

 

I don't think that you quite grasp what that the purpose of a "support department" centers around the support of a product, hence the reliance on service tags. I'd say that Dell does very well in terms of support, especially for business users.

It isn't fair to expect Dell's support staff to be knowledgeable about hardware modifications, since the entire focus is on providing correct replacement parts, based on service tags, not incorrect replacement parts that may, or may not, work.

 

Yeah, I asked, haven't gotten a reply on the part number.

Thanks for explaining that to me. We both have different views of customer service. For you, apparently, it is to provide the minimum level of acceptable service... get you a replacement. For me, it is hard to imagine an entire company not having a single person that both answers phones and knows something about their products. If you think good support is cookie-cutter responses read out of a user manual, that's fine. I expect a bit more.

 

Again, the entire purpose of customer support is to provide the correct support, in this case, replacement parts that match the configuration of the computer in question. The real problem is that you're attempting an upgrade that may, may not, be entirely successful. It's not the mission of any customer service department to deliberately provide the wrong parts for an amateur upgrade. If you get it wrong, you'll probably want to return the screen for your money back as well as making a warranty claim in the notebook. I can attest to the fact that non-standard resolution screens can cause driver errors, for instance - and in both case, the notebooks in question were factory configured.

If this is your mistake idea of bad customer support, I'd just like to see you buy an 8GB iPod and call Apple customer support to see if they'll sell you 64GB nand memory to upgrade it.

 

I'm not having the same customer service experience but I'm having a similar issue with the part.

I've have a Precision m4400 (call it "A") with a WXGA+ for over a year and it had a few dead pixels on the screen. I decided to get it replaced (had 500+ days left on the warranty so why not?). After a few bad replacements Dell sent me an "equal or better" m4400 as a replacement (call it "B").

B had a WUGA screen which apparently my eyes are too bad to use. I called Dell and the tech got manager approval to swap it for a WXGA+ screen like A had - since it's what I'd originally ordered. To do that you need 3 parts - LCD panel, screen back (the lid) and screen bezel. No problem. Parts shipped tech came and installed it just fine. Ten minutes after the tech left the new panel goes crazy and all pink and fuzzy. I'd gotten a bad WXGA+ panel. Dell sent it to me, Dell installed it, Dell should replace it no problem. But ...

Call Dell and they are just completely confused. Seem to be completely tripped up that the service tag for B says it has a WUGA screen and not a WXGA+. They just installed it, here's the service order for it. Said the system won't let them order a part for a computer that's not in the manifest via the service tag and I need to call customer service to have this changed call they can't. Fine.

Call the general customer service then they transfer me to "work station support" - which is the same as the tech support I'd been working with earlier. The rep I speak to seems to understand what I want to do better than the last, and after speaking with his super, says he'll send out a new WXGA+ panel. That's great - he compared the service tag for A to B, set up the dispatch, we hang up and I await the email telling me it's done and to sit and wait for a call from the tech tomorrow.

I check the service call info on the site and the parts ordered - A WUGA PANEL! Completely wrong!

I emailed him back but haven't heard back - if I call I'll just in this confused mess again with a different tech. I hope that there's a note attached so the person packing the box will send a WXGA panel and their computer system just won't show this. But if it's the wrong panel, all I can do is refuse and try to get in touch with a manager.

I get the feeling that all they can do is send another new computer - their system is too inflexible to handle changes to hardware outside of the spec'd service tag - even if they did all of the work themselves.

EDIT: tech came out with the wrong parts from Dell, of course. He had a different number to Dell and called and had the correct parts shipped.

 

That does sound frustrating. I am glad someone else finds the way they handle issues like this unsatisfactory. I agree that it is great for low level CS reps to have their information by service tag so errors are not made, however, a higher level rep should have this as well as a list of interchangeable parts. If I break my LCD and have to pay for one out of pocket, I would like to have the option to upgrade if I choose to do so. I think this should be an option especially since they do a lot of online ordering. Some people might not understand how crappy 1366x768 looks on a 15.6 inch screen until working with it for a little while. I hope you get things resolved... and if you find someone who will give you the panel you want, or at least a part number, let me know!

linuxwannabe's - your comparison to an iphone memory upgrade makes no sense in this issue. If my screen were somehow soldered to the motherboard, you might be close in this comparison. I am sorry you've had driver issues in the past... I've never had a problem w/ drivers that I couldn't resolve. Oh, and you still miss my concept of customer service. I think the company should do anything that is easily within their means for a customer as long as the customer is willing to pay for it if required. I see it like this, dell has the means to supply me with a 1080p screen for a cost that I am willing to pay. They also have the means to supply me with the screens model number (or the name of a parts supplier for out of warranty service). Their refusal to do so based on "policy" is bad customer service.

 

I think the moral of that story is that it's best to stay away from screen upgrades. Sure the premium panel guarantee is dandy, but if there are dead pixels out of the box, you can return the notebook in the first 21 days, no questions asked. These days a standard WXGA anti-glare screen is even viewable in direct sunlight and LED backlighting is standard. Good enough.

 

Actually, there's nothing wrong with that resolution on that size of screen, hence the market dominance of that particular resolution.

My iPod comparison was a perfect analogy. Companies don't provide customer support for the sake of providing inexpensive aftermarket upgrades. The entire point is providing support for the units sold, not customization.

As far as driver issue with upgraded displays, it's an issue I've had on several occasions. Of course, I suspect that there were other hardware issues as well.

 

Ok, apple has a strictly hands off policy on self-repair... on the other hand, dell provides service manuals for replacing parts. Also, if I am not mistaking, as I said before, the memory module is NOT a replaceable part on any of the flash memory iDevices.

I am not gonna argue any more on the definition of customer service and whatever. I've dealt with many companies who will provide parts, part numbers, and even ASSIST in modifications (polk audio comes to mind). I guess I just expect more, if you disagree, that's fine.