Tips for those who have trouble with Dell customer service...

I'm reading a lot about bad Dell customer service. From my 6 years of experience with Dell, I have to say, Dell has one of the best customer service, of any big company, ever. Those of you who hate Dell customer service are all doing it wrong.

Golden tip: You have to be active, you have to tell them how to make you satisfied. DON'T let them arrange fixes, set up dispatches for you: you make the calls, you make the demands, and it is their job to supply it.

You have a 21-day return period. Use this time to make you that you are fully satisfied with the condition of the system. Make return arrangements if you see potential problems.

Ask for exchanges...not dispatches.

Note: Basic social standards and courtesies apply. Be patient with the reps if you want them to be patient with you. Be nice to them if you want them to be nice to you and help you. Tolerate bad accents. Be nice, and act softly, like a victim in need of their help.

Note: All interactions are personal. Make the reps help you from their heart, not based on their employee's manual. Niceties are almost always reciprocated.

Note: THis is from my experience in the US... I don't know about how Dell international works, may be similar.

Here are the strategical steps you should take if you receive a problematic system:

1. Chat - Always go to chat first. It gets your feet wet. You can diagnose problems, ask the agent possible solutions. Talk to tech chat, or just XPS chat. Dell stores all chat sessions. If you have future problems, they can pull up your chat records, which would verify any problems that have already been identified, thus saving you much time repeating things.

2. Call return service . They don't require a lot of valid reasons from you to issue you a return. Even if you are not sure about the return, request for the return anyway. Dell will issue you a online shipping label that expires in like 2 weeks. You will have plenty of time to think about it and make decisions.

3. Technical support calls - The next step you should take is to call tech support. When they offer you a solution, don't just take it. Like if they say they will arrange a dispatch, don't just be like, "Okay, i give you guys all the power." but think about it, collect your thoughts, list some reasons why you think you should get an exchange instead. Usually they will grant the exchange.

4. If things don't workout, you've already got the return label...

5. Dell is very good about after sales. They usually refund you the whole thing, including the incoming shipping fee. They can arrange pickups at your home, or you can drop your package off at DHL/Fedex, or whatever service they use.

6. If you are unsatisfied, you can always return the laptop, and then buy a new one - does not cost you an extra cent. (however, if time is very valuable to you and you are a busy person, this may...well, may still be better than waiting for dispatches and stuff, right?)

Here's my experience:

- bought m1330 from outlet, dent and scratch unit, 855 shipping/tax included.

- System arrived with media control not working, bottom piece screen flush

- Chatted with Tech support, the guy remote-controlled my laptop, tried various drivers installations and rebootings, and concluded that I had a bad media control panel.

- The tech support dude said he could arrange a technician dispatch to fix this.

- NOW HERE'S THE CATCH: They are calling the shots on how to fix your problem. Your position automatically change from active to passive (from calling about your problem to waiting for dispatch). See what they did? If you agree for him to arrange a tech dispatch, you agree to give THEM the power, the power to make you wait, to make delays. And the longer you hold the defective system, the more risk you take and the more chances that there may be more problems.

- Here's what I did: I said, "no thank you, I think I will just return the lappy." He said, "I understand. Sorry about the defect." End of chat.

- And that's what I did, I called return service that day and arranged a return. Agreed full refund. They were really nice, and apologized, and emailed me the shipping label and everything.

- However, you don't have to ship your system back right away, you got about 10 days until the label expires.

- I then called Tech support (instead of going on chats, because phone calls give YOU more power), you are communicating on a personal level, not one customer against a system (i.e. you vs. chat system).

- I told them, I have this defective part upon arrival, I think I am entitled to an exchange. They pulled up my previous chat session log with tech support (proof and save you time for more remote diagnosis), and agreed to the exchange. The rep was EXTREMELY nice. His supervisor was apparantly giving him a hard time granting me the exchange, because I had to do some sort of remote diagnosis with them again or something, but this guy argued with his supervisor that I already had the chat session, and I shouldn't have to sit through it all again.

- In many cases, the niceties are reciprocated always, and I had absolutely a fantastic time chatting with this dude. We made jokes and stuff, and it was very pleasant. Later I even called his manager to praise him. And that's what you should be trying to do: make it personal, connect with the rep, and he will then help you from his heart, not from his employee's manual.

- I now have a BRAND NEW built xps m1330 with exact same specs as the Dents and Scratches unit that I bought from the outlet.

- The outlet system was 850 dollars, and the brand new system is 1397 dollars. I got an upgrade...for free.

- Now, the new system came with a return shipping label for the old system. I've got two labels. I can return both system for a full refund whenever I want to.


Hope you guys can take something away from my experience lol.

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Here are my specs: m1330, T8300, 3GB RAM, 320GB HDD, WLED display, 8400m GS, bluetooth, fingerprint reader. Black.

 

Great write up and interesting experience. I have never thought of utilizing some of those actions before. Has the beginnings of a sticky guide.

 

Thanks dude.

Well, this is only for the short term, many ppl don't have problems until a couple month into it, and that would be a whole different ball game. hmmmm

 

Beautiful... I don't even understand it but it sounds like some Oceans 11 stuff just happened...

 

many people have a problem within a few weeks, i had plenty, and i really liked the m1210's just never thought of an exchange... it's ok we need an hp customer service tips now...

 

What you are saying with your suggestions is that Dell customer service/support is not that great and you have to learn how to deal with them.

I have been buying Dell computers for almost 10 yrs now and the Customer Service and Tech Support has gotten terrible over the years mainly because they have farmed it out overseas to people who barely speak our language.

It takes twice as long on the phone after being switched from one person to the next. Very frustrating. Most people avoid calling them which is what they are probably counting on. Now all of the computers will be built overseas so we will lose more quality but be able to buy them at a lower price.

Yes you are right you have to learn the Dell system so you can play the game. Once you go over the 21 days you lose a certain amount of control over the whole transaction. The bottom line is if you do have any doubts or problems with the computer arrange for a return before the 21 days is up.