To anyone in the market for a Dell

Service sucks It really does, I didnt think it would be a problem but it is. Maybe I was lucky to only spend 7 hours with various tech support, I had one guy who I could actually understand and I am very pissed that I did not get his name in the event of more problems. I dont really have any hardware issues because what screwed up was not made by them but I just thought Id let people know, because I was very iffy in buying one because of the support issues I had heard from others.

 

ya that is a know problem with dell. there online chat support is supposed to be much more helpfull.

 

Does anyone know if their chat service is avaliable to Canadians I cant seem to find it?

 

I don't know if chat is available in Canada...but I know that chat is alot more helpful then calling.

I got hung up on one too many times and I used the chat and I was actually suprised how much better it is than the phone peoples.

It might be that they are easier to understand and they can understand you better.

 

well one of my two dells (i8200) just had its lcd go out so I called up dell (its under warranty still) and waited on the phone for about 5-10 minutes and then got some guy from india of course! However his english was fine and he was very nice and helpful. Also someone will be coming to my home to replace the LCD which is nice as well. However not until tuesday and I called on thursday! Service could be better of course especially when it comes to some of the warranties and support setups. (i feel I have it ok on both counts) there hardware is good to although they run a bit warm.

 

the online chat is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than the phone techs. I used the online chat and had to wait about 10 min b4 a person was available but it ran smoothly and everything was solved

 

Yeah the chat is great. I had used it to get a replacement 42" plasma TV. My current TV developed a loud buzzing noise (have read numerous threads that this is a problem widely seen in the 42" plasmas). I will say that besides the buzzing the TV has been awesome.

 

the reality of the situation is that dell sells a grip of computers and the support structure for such a large organization is very difficult to maintain. think about the different attitudes you get from wait staff at your favorite restaurant or bar. while all are trained, sometimes you get an attentive server, sometimes a rude one, sometimes a mediocre one; factor in the type of day that person has had and the variables just increase exponentially.

because of this, threads like these always turn into a 'battle of the anecdotes'. one person posts about their bad experience. another follows up with their good experience and so on.

it's virtually impossible to gauge what kind of service to expect on these anecdotal stories. those that have posted horror stories may well have had a good experience simply by calling 2 mins later and vice versa.

i sympathize with the original poster.

i guess i'm not really adding anything to the discussion except that threads like these aren't a good way to gauge the service you can expect to receive from dell or hp or ibm or any other company that provides a product and service along with it whether it be computers or widgets or whatever.

hopefully the original poster will have better luck next time.