dell support sucks!

online chat with dell RTS
7:30:59 PM System Initial Question/Comment: everytime the intel 3945 connects it makes an annoying beep ( PC speaker) and there's no way to turn it off
7:31:01 PM System You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
7:31:02 PM System Connected with RTS Jonathan Liddell
7:31:07 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell Thank you for contacting Dell Hardware Warranty Chat Support! Please give me a moment to review your question and retrieve your service tag information.
7:31:19 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell Would you please verify the person or company name that owns this system and the current address of the system?
7:32:06 PM You XXXX
7:32:51 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell Is this a new or existing case?
7:33:05 PM You just got the laptop, and it's always been this way
7:33:19 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell Ok tell me what exactly the issue is.
7:33:55 PM You everytime the intel 3945 connects it makes an annoying beep ( PC speaker) and there's no way to turn it off
(which i already stated in "original question")
7:34:32 PM You and when it finds a network
7:34:40 PM You it's the PC speaker
7:34:51 PM You and this happens even when the laptop is on mute
7:34:51 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell That's your wireless?
7:35:01 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell or Ethernet
7:35:28 PM You intel 3945 is an 802.11abg wireless card on my Inspiron E1505
7:35:41 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell Ok have you tried updating the driver?
7:35:52 PM You yes
7:35:59 PM You but the laptop is new
7:36:08 PM You there's only one driver ever been available
7:38:05 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell Ok it looks like this is going to be a wireless issue with your card. I am going to have to refer you to the wireless department at 1-800-822-8965
7:39:11 PM You i've called
7:39:30 PM You and can't get through, as it doesn't recognize my service tag
7:39:35 PM You and hangs up when i call
7:39:54 PM You i've already spent time with RTS', and they just transfer me the first secong they get
7:39:56 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell Ok they will be the one's to handle this issue
7:40:03 PM You and i never get transfered anywhere
7:40:05 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell It is your wireless card
7:40:24 PM You is it too much to ask to just get help for a simple problem, or should i just return my laptop and never buy a dell again?
7:40:36 PM You I could have told you that!
7:40:53 PM You i've been on hold for 45 mins to that number, and it just hung up on me!
7:40:58 PM You just what am i supposed to do?
7:41:02 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell Well I understand your frustration, but it is the wireless card configuration.
7:41:25 PM You but transfering me doesn't help
7:41:40 PM You as i don't get transfered anywhere, or when i call, they hang up, or transfer me 5x
7:42:06 PM You i already know it was the "wireless card configuration"
7:42:18 PM You have i just wasted the last 10 mins here too?
7:42:38 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell They are the only one's that have that information.
7:43:05 PM You so what is you job, just to transfer calls, and not have any "information: ?
7:44:19 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell No
7:46:41 PM You this is disgraceful
7:47:09 PM You they actually pay you to just paste in pre-written responses ??
7:47:18 PM RTS Jonathan Liddell Is there anything else that I can help you with today?
7:47:38 PM You anything else??
that would imply you'd already helped once??


this is disgraceful
dell's cheap, but that's IT
if only i had money, i'd buy elsewhere

 

i edited out your private info.

Did you try disabling the PC speaker in the device manager?

 

Yes, I've walked down that same slippery dog poop path and learned my lesson well. And thankfully, I'm not going to cut corners this time and since $'s not an object I am looking at the following:

LG TX
Asus W3j
Apple MacBook Pro

Thin, light, with a dedicated graphics card and batteries that last.

 

I found this on the Dell site: "I finally found out how to get the wlan detection high sound to go off...found it in the properties under alerts,and now the machine is all good and quiet when it should be"

Perhaps that will help?

 

I was contacting a Dell representative through an online chat. I basically wrote what two computers I was considering. I told him what I wanted and I wanted to know what advantage the 710 m had versus the Latitude D620. He didn't bother to read anything I wrote and he ask me the same questions I posed at the beginning of the question. Then he got testy by replying 'did you read my last response?'.

He went on ask if I print pictures and I said I don't develop my own but he tried to sell me some multifunction printer. I said I already had one. Then he wanted to sell me an extended warranty. After that he wanted to push me to buy on Wednesday (the night I called).

I was so frustrated that I just closed the chat box. What a dumba$%!

 

thanks kegobeer, i figured that out during the 2 hours i was on hold

dell support is just plain disgraceful.
i don't know any other way to describe it.
they just transfer you around, and paste stupid responses.
i mean, the 3 times i been on the chat, the first Q they ask is (after the stupid name, address, email, phone etc..) ok, what is the problem?
when that's already the title of the msg.
just looking at the chat above, after almost 10 mins, he says
"i think it's a wireless problem, call this number" (i was actually on hold at the same time)
after i knew i wasn't going to get any real help, i decided to just tell him what i thought of his "help"

just look at his brain power
he doesn't know what an intel 3945, which, fine, i can handle, but if you see what i wrote, i said that this happened everytime if finds a network
how can my ethernet "find" a network???

 

I understand your frustration. I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of first-tier support must follow a troubleshooting script as they are either bound by work statements or not very technically savvy. Unfortunately, the only way to avoid the scripted troubleshooting responses is to purchase a Gold Technical Support contract. That, or do what I did and spend about 30 minutes Googling every combination of "beep wireless network dell" I could think of until I finally lucked into a useful link.

 

Here ya go... One of the Dell forum mods posted an invite asking for feedback on Dell support. Go post your experience. A single voice is hardly ever heard - a group of voices speaking the same thing is much louder...

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=cc_general&message.id=78303

 

hey man, thats just plain bad. It's even worse for people who are not that technical because more often than not they get even more confused and the horrid "hold situation" winds them up even more.

I guess thats why there are these types of forums.

 

Customer Support : Try HP and Sony

If anyone buying the HP or Sony. You better off buying the extended warranty from the store then HP or Sony direct.

If you buy the warranty from HP and Sony, two word : GOOD LUCK

Dell is getting bad.

 

I'd get the W3J out of those three... Sorry if this is off topic, I'm addicted to consulting laptops... <_>

Also, I'm sorry for your bad experience, I've never had one with Dell myself as I fix all my problems myself.

 

i can fix stuff myself usually too.
I'm about to graduate in EE, and have a computer building business on the side, but you'd think dell people would know more about their laptops than we would......guess not

 

Sometimes the dell support representatives would get a very poor training on all of their systems.... I guess dell is expecting too much from their technicians with nothing in exchange....

 

Hey Reize - we have the same laptop Inspiron 4150 - well at least it was until 1 year ago when the MB suffered a horrific meltdown and they dell wanted to charge me close to 700 bucks for the MB and labor. I got a replacement C640 for around 150. So yeah, after that screw up I've avoided them and the unfortunate thing is I recommended the 4150 to families and friends and there's 17 out there because of my opinion.

I'll be flying back to Asia in late May and will check it out first hand on all those new lappies.