How much is too much?

Hi all! I am writing this because of all the threads and posts on getting credits and concessions from dell. I have personally recieved a lot back from dell and am even considering asking for one last thing. I would like responses for my personal issue but to also keep this open for all generalizations of this topic. Let me explain my situation now. I have received the following back from dell

75 dollar credit for a delay;
100 dollar credit for not accepting vista eula;
media center remote;
IR express card remote;
next day shipping on all orders.

When I make this list I cannot help but feel that I have been greedy and have already asked for too much back, but when i rationalize each concession i feel that I have been entitled to everything i have recieved. For instance, the 75 dollar concession was to afford me to drive from my college to my home, and back because the delay was past my first day of class (turned out that it arrived the day before i had to leave). The 100 dollar remote was for a piece of software I had no intentions of using or declining, and honestly had problems with the eula itself. I was one of the minorities who actually had big problems with only being given 10 reinstalls (i only later found out AFTER I have recieved the credit that microsoft changed this part of the eula, but it was not changed on the eula on my laptop). For that I cannot help but think I am fully entitled to that concession. As for the remotes, I was under the impression i would be receiving one with my laptop purchase, but I did in fact give the csr the wrong part number, even though i clearly specified it needed to fit in the express card slot. I was then mailed the correct remote.

I feel entitled to everything i have received when rationalizing it in this way, but at the same time I cannot help but to look at that list and then at my price and what I have received. What this really boils down to is that I am unsure what to do about my screen and video card. I will admit that I was one of the uninformed about the type of video ram that my laptop had when I was first looking around in the forums, however BEFORE i placed my order I had personally spoken with a dell rep and he told me it was in fact gddr3, even though everyone on the forum said it was ddr3. I placed my order on july 4th, right when all the craziness seemed to start, just to cancel and reorder on july 6th.

Honestly I can let the video card issue go and be one of the few not to call and ask for more back, but I am really on the fence about my screen. I purchased a wxga+ screen and it is in fact grainy. Very very noticeable. Even worse than the graininess is that the right side of my screen is signifcantly darker than the rest of the screen. At first I felt OK with having this screen because the grain is truly unnoticeable during games. But after having the laptop in working order for 2 days now, I have realized that I spend most of my time looking in browsers. This is where the grain is most noticeable. There is so much talk about the graininess, no it is not a sham it is clearly visible to anyone. It is not something you only notice if you are looking for it, you WILL notice it no matter what. To help explain what I mean by grain let me say this, when looking at a solid white or light color, you see a rough sand paper effect over it. All of the pixels are either at slightly different brightness or color. It still is white or a light color, but it is not uniform. This is not an issue at all during games, but i do not know what i can do about the right side of the screen being significantly darker, besides sitting and typing from a very awkward position.

I just cannot decide on if I should make dell give me a replacement or not. With the shortages as it is, it would mean that one more person is pushed back longer (maybe not but that is what it feels like). I am not asking for someone to tell me to do or feel one way or another, just your honest opinions on the matter. I would like to keep this both specific to my issue and in general. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you all post!

 

man its your money and you paid for a item that supposed to be right.. imo if dell had said well okay you keep the bad screen and we'll give you 100$ and you say okay then i dont think you should ask for more later.. unless you get $$ back for there being a actual problem i would 100% get a new system. dell know there are issues with lcd's or they would not be so quick to say okay we'll send out another one..most likely you are seeing a light bleeding from the brighter side of the screen..and you will not be making anyone wait, you will unfortunatly get back inline i did the same now i am backed up till sept 7th i was told they would expedite it but who knows

 

To the guy who posted above me: I can't believe you got all that for less than 11 grand.
And to the guy above the guy who posted above me: I wouldn't want to suffer having some weird angle syndrome because Dell screwed something up.

BTW I think the guys who actually test the notebooks during the Testing Stage are doing a rather poor ass job in inspecting things like graininess among other things...

 

i recieved 300$ compensation plus used the 325 coupon plus got the upgrade to the wsgxa for free from escalations dept..

 

OP, it sounds like each and every one of the concessions you've received has been completely justified- although, frankly, I have no problem whatsoever with obtaining unjustified concessions. Dell is trying to earn as much as possible off of us- that's their job- and we are trying to save as much as possible, or more properly get as much as possible for as little as possible- that's our job. Yes, there are certain ethical underpinings- one shouldn't, for example, lie about not receiving something to get a free replacement- but there's nothing untoward about calling Dell, telling them you're upset, and asking them what they intend to do about it. The fact is that Dell has made promises to consumers that it cannot keep, and they need to deal with the consequences.

As for the replacement issue, in my book, that's a no-brainer- do it. From your description, there are two completely legitimate, return-worthy problems with your screen- graininess and uneven lighting. I understand that some people go looking for problems- I will admit that I've been scrutinizing my beautiful 1720 WUXGA screen for any graininess and light leakage way more than I should be- but from everything you've posted, it doesn't seem like you're that type of person at all. More importantly, you're unhappy with it, and for a $1000 machine that you will be using every day, you should be happy.

 

I am leanign towards giving dell a call pretty soon here, but I am a bit worried about how long it would take a new one to ship to me, I am in college and use a computer nearly every day for course work, and then if the screen would even be improved.

 

Just wanted to say i chatted with dell to start the whole process and returning. I really hope i get a better screen, especially one that doesn't have the backlighting issues.