Order mistake - 2 laptops.

I have a good friend who has been having tons and tons of problems with a dell laptop he recently ordered. At least 5 different laptops requiring exchange. Finally he settled with Dell on keeping the last defective laptop he was sent and was happy with the deal. It has been almost 3 months since the original order, 2 months since he has had the first laptop, and 1 month since he settled on the one he has.. He find out the other day he still has the initial laptop they sent him in his closet. He kept sending back different units and completely forgot about the first one. He now asks me what he should do and honestly I have no idea what to advise him. He says he was under the assumption that they were going to send him a waybill just like they had on all the previous ones but they never did. He called recently to make sure that all the concessions were placed on his account and talked with a manager who never mentioned it. Should he call them up and remind them to pick up the laptop?

 

depends. you said he went through how many laptops? maybe their letting him keep it as a sorry gift

 

keep it lol

 

keep it for the trouble...

 

I think he said he went through 5 or 6 new laptops. His main concern is that they may notice later and come back to him..

 

and if they do then he can return it.. in the mean time.. keep it.

 

hehe, keep it til they notice.

 

You will more than likely here from them. Although it may take a while. Once they start to do clean up of open exchanges. You will start to get calls from one of their exchange collections groups. After a while, if they cannot get it returned, a hold will go on the unit service tag.

 

you're more than free to keep it. they'll charge you for it. but please feel free.

 

Honesty is a virtue lost in todays world. Everyone who has screamed that your friend should keep the notebook is clear evidence of that. My initial reaction was that Dell could absorb the loss easier than most people can.

As I mulled it over in my head I realized something. This world owes not one of us anything. Dell does a good job of keeping satisfied customers (why else would there be this discussion?). A loss is a loss no matter who is the victim. Should someone profit over a clerical mistake? Clearly the answer is a resounding 'No' IMHO.

The costs of goods and services have to reflect those losses, otherwise companies are not able to keep the doors open. I don't believe Dell makes a huge profit on systems, otherwise they would not push the add-ons so persistently.

One missing notebook will definately not bankrupt Dell, but it will lead to higher prices. So even if morality is taken out there are economic factors at play here.

Your friend knows what the right thing to do is. He just needs a nudge. Send it back. There is more honor in doing the right thing than to justify keeping something that will have little value in the long run. We are all just passing through here.

 

ben_w: thanks for keeping your thinking straight, I couldn't agree more.

Please do your part in keeping this world a place you want to live in: call Dell and let them know.

 

Thanks mini. I registered just to respond to this post. Been lurking on the board for a couple weeks. I think this is a great community. I believe I will stick around.

 

I had a lengthy discussion with him on the issue.

His thought was that he has spent hours and hours on the phone trying to get a laptop that was without defect and ultimately had to settle in order to avoid further complications and frustration. He is not particularly interested in keeping the second laptop but does not know if he should be the one to initiate another call, some of which he tells me he has been on hold for nearly 40 mintues, just to return a laptop that that they were supposed to have already sent a waybill for.

 

Tell your friend to listen to his moral instincts. =P

 

I will. His response will probably be that he will leave it boxed at the door waiting for someone from Dell to pick it up as they stated. What do I tell him then?

 

It's always refreshing to see people that want to do the right thing. Just when I'm about loose faith in humanity all together, someone keeps the balance.

People tend to look only at how things benefit them as opposed to others. If everyone tries to nickle and dime big corporations, It starts to add up and hurts everyone including them if they continue to take part in services from that corporation.

 

Truth will always stand up against scrutiny. That said it should also be noted that doing the right thing will never need justification.

If he leaves it at the door for someone to pick up you can guarantee someone will do so. But who? Until it is passed off to someone designated he is responsible (legally) for the item. If it were me I would want every possible protection afforded me.

If he just 'sets it out' for someone from Dell to come retrieve it there is likely to be blow back. He will not have a leg to stand on if Dell finds their error. Get a tracking number.

The best solution would be to gather up all the notes and packing slips, making copies and send the system back. Personally I would rather pay the shipping to get the item back to the owner than to get a suprise down the road. Once FedEx, DHL, UPS has accepted the package the burden of protection from the item transfers to them.

I hope your friend does the right thing. Thank you for taking the time to query the public on this issue.

 

Send it back, period. IMHO you shouldn't even have to think about it twice. Take care

 

I think you guys are misunderstanding his point. He has it boxed and had no intention of using it, but he is not keen on spending effort to call Dellt to come and pick up their laptop. When I said leave it by the door, I mean inside his house waiting for the pickup dell promised months ago.

 

If dell realizes you have two laptops, i mean, WHEN dell finds out you have two laptops, they will either call and tell you to send it back, and ask why you still had it. or they will simply charge your account for the second laptop. simply put, i suggest returning it.

If it seems too good to be true, it is. just return it.

 

When dell replaced mine they picked up the faulty one 2-3 months later

 

.......gather up all the notes and packing slips, making copies and send the system back.

Personally I would rather pay the shipping to get the item back to the owner than to get a suprise down the road.

Once FedEx, DHL, UPS has accepted the package the burden of protection from the item transfers to them.

 

Well for some reason they ''forgot'' about it.. I understand he lost alot of time/effort because of Dell, but couldn't he just call them up a day when he has a break and tell them that they ''forgot'' a laptop? Just so he's sure that he won't have problems in the future.. that's all I'm saying

 

Just another suggestion if he's bummed on the call hold times. I usually contact Dell's customer care through the online chat method. Yes there are hold times but I can surf the internet, play games, act like I'm working until they get to me in their queue. Aside from that, there is usually less confusion in the written word as opposed to talking to someone over the phone. At least that has been my experience.

 

Don't forget about karma either

 

I would call them and tell them. Theres a chance the rep will let him keep it if the laptop isn't in the system. It's too much hassle to take it back. By doing so, he isn't doing anything dishonest, and has a decent chance to keep it. Dell sent me like 3 lojack for laptops CD's and serial numbers, I called them, and the almost immediate response was no, keep them.

 

An extra LoJack CD/Serial is quite a bit different than an entire laptop.