Just ordered an XPS 15 but starting to have 2nd thoughts ...

tl;dr: Dell keeps customers waiting on hold for an hour? Why?

My 10-year-old MacBook Pro is on its last legs. (Actually, the MBP mostly works fine. It does take forever to boot, but once it's up and running, it runs generally pretty well. The main problem is that it's too old to meet the minimum requirements for the current Mac OS's, and it soon won't be getting any more security updates. Plus, it's still stuck in USB 2, and I'd like to use the faster connections now available.)
So after deliberating for past 2 - 3 weeks, I placed an order for a Dell XPS 15 today.

A few hours later, I get an email from Dell saying that there was a problem with the credit card--I call the credit card company and assure them I had placed the order, it wasn't fraud. I then call Dell to let them know, and it seems everything is ok.

A few hours after that, I get another email, this time saying a hold has been placed on the order and I need to contact Dell right away.

I call Dell and after being transferred to a different line, I am left on hold for an hour. (The "press 1 if you want to receive a callback" wasn't working.) After an hour, a representative tells me I just need to reply to the email saying that I had authorized the order--as simple as that.

Why did I have to wait on hold for an hour to just be told that I needed to reply to the email saying I'd authorized the purchase?

My first desktop years ago was a Dell. And one of my first laptops was too (although I sold that one without ever really using it because I ended up getting a Thinkpad around the same time that was bigger and more powerful). I don't remember Dell's customer service experience being so exasperating back then. And as I see various forum posts complaining about bad pixels and backlight bleed, I am beginning to think that maybe this purchase might have been a mistake. If I have to deal with hour-long holds for tech support because there's a problem with the display or some other component, I am not going to be happy.

I am coming from the Apple experience. I had no trouble ordering the MacBook Pro 10 yrs ago. And in those 10 years, I've only had to speak with Apple about the laptop once. I had actually bought a 13-inch originally but after using it for a day realized that it was just too small, so I called to arrange to return it and upgrade to a larger screen. It was a quick and easy conversation. No being put on hold for an hour.

 

2 weeks ago I ordered through Dell website only to be notified couple days later that my order has been cancelled because of shortage of certain special part. I ask what that part is and they can't tell me because it's a code name. They then patch me through their sales department to see if I can get the same model for the same sales price. Lo and behold they told me they can give me same model at same sales price but I have to reorder it online?!??! Why it canceled in the first place? And buying it again doesn't make sense because the ebates when I first bought it was way higher than the second time. So I just cancelled the order.

 

I never had that experience at all. I ordered a white 11 3000 2 in 1, when it arrived, it was storm grey. I was pretty ticked at first, but I got 150 dollar dell card to use on another order. So, they stood up to their mistake and I got something out of it. I have never had any other issues with ordering from dell at all. I think your call just got stuck in the phone system ether!

Enjoy the future with the xps compared to the macbook.

 

That makes no sense.

When did you make that purchase?

 

Received an email last night. Dell has canceled my order. No reason given.
WTF?

 

2 years ago.

 

Seems like one of those rare instances, they are usually considered among the best support wise. HP and Acer being the worst and Asus is so-so.

Are you buying in the US? Never seen anything like that here as I bought two laptops (refurbs: XPS13 & Inspiron 7567) late last year and my cousin bought an new Alienware 15 just last month.

Dell let’s you bargain and coupons are available all the time so I’d give it another try.

Support wise Dell is usually excellent if not the best on the PC side (mine and friends/family experiences) I bought a refurb $700 7567 November of last year, and they gave me a $1200-1400 maxed out 4K 7577 as replacement when I complained 2x about uneven core temps (2 day shipping). They even returned the HDD from the 7567 in case I wanted it and mailed it separately. Not only that I upgraded the HDD to an SSD on the 7567 and they returned it with a brand new HDD and my SSD packaged separately as they wanted to return the 7567 in factory default condition when I sent it in the first time.

Dell also doesn’t void warranty for self replacements of SSDs, RAM, WiFi cards. If you change a part and send it in they even put a new

I’ve seen quite a few corporations prefer Dell for their support over cheaper alternatives. I’ve used a lot of my dad’s companies old Latitudes and Precisions, built like tanks and never had one fail yet.

 

@Aivxtla, yes, I was trying to buy in the US.
I don't doubt that many corporations prefer Dell. But I am an individual consumer, and Dell treats individuals differently than corporate clients. Check their website--home users are segregated from business users.

I also don't dispute that the prices look good and on paper the specs look good. But those matter little if you can't get good support. Or, in my case, if you can't even make the purchase in the first place.

If HP, Acer, and Asus are worse than Dell, then that just means that the whole lot of them are in a very sorry state.

 

I neglected to mention that their automated customer service call-routing system is also horrible. I called phone numbers from Dell's website and from an email I had received from Dell concerning my order. The automated system offered no option for finding out why your order has been canceled. And when I managed to select one of the available options to try to speak with a company representative about my order, the system said that the office I was trying to reach was closed, please call back during business hours. This was on Friday at noon EST in the US, on a day that was not a public holiday.

I had to go to a third-party website that I found via google to scrounge up a phone number for Dell that eventually got me to speak with a human being (who still couldn't help with my problem).

 

Mine and family purchases were all either through refurb site or main Dell consumer site. That includes the refurb 7567 that they replaced for free with a maxed out 7577.

I also mentioned business side to just to give a better idea of overall support.

Definitely sucks that your experience was bad but I’ve never faced anything like that from them I would assume it’s not a common occurrence. I’m surprised it was like this on the US site. I usually would just get an agent if had issues after the phone menu system so yeah that’s odd, hopefully never happens again. They also have the web chat on their site so you could use that as well.

Enjoy your laptop whichever it maybe. I’ve heard Lenovo is also somewhat decent support wise so if you don’t want a Dell that might be another good option. But yeah beware of HP/Acer both from a QC and support standpoint. I usually tell people to avoid those like the plague .

 

This separation applies more to the products than the customer. If you buy a consumer machine, you're in the "home user" section of the site, and if you buy a business machine, you're in the "business" section of the site (like I did w/ my Precision).

Beyond that, corporations that spend a lot get more customization options and discounts, but the support and products are the same.

 

You can always purchase an XPS 15 from a bricks and mortar store, or just order a unit off Amazon. It's way, way easier to return stuff to a physical store than returning an item you ordered online.

 

I'd agree with this, the call routing is awful and I've often been cut off or put through to the totally wrong department quite a few times when recently trying to get a refund for my returned 9570. Dell used to be a lot better than this, I've been using them for over 20 years both as a home customer (and for business at times) and never has it been this disappointing. I often found it a struggle to understand the representative when I did get through to a human and had to either ask them to repeat themselves or put it in an email to me.

Feedback often asked me if I was satisfied, and would I recommend Dell reward the rep with a coffee, meal or product?