[don]

...is the most fustrating thing on Earth.

I know, computers have issues and my main Dell laptop has worked fine for a few years. While I'm not pleased that my son's laptop screen has issues, I am so much more pissed about the communication level at Dell.

The gentlemen on the other line, while nice, could not speak English hardly at all. I had to ask him to repeat himself on almost every statement.

Then there is the delay between each side of the conversation which makes it even harder to follow.

He asked about an extended warranty and I couldn't understand him after a number of tries, so I said: email me the information. "We cannot have email sends" he says. Sure let me sign up for something I don't even know what it is.... Way to go Dell!

Good grief - I just hope this time the return box shows and the screen issue gets fixed.

 

[syadasti]

The key to Dell is to buy from their professional line (either new or used). Professional notebooks like the Latitude have North American based phone support and depending on the model, 3 years of on-site in-home service free. As long as you call the designated NA support number with a qualifying professional product, you won't have any issues.

 

[IH8Rice]

The key to Dell is to buy from their professional line (either new or used). Professional notebooks like the Latitude have North American based phone support and depending on the model, 3 years of on-site in-home service free. As long as you call the designated NA support number with a qualifying professional product, you won't have any issues.

for the rest of the world that doesnt buy their Pro lineup, its still another major FAIL on their end.
just remember...."We cannot have email sends"

 

[drkenan]

I was about to buy 3-4 new workstations and possibly a new server for the biz but this thread reminds me of why I shouldn't buy a Dell.

Who would be a good alternative?

 

[syadasti]

for the rest of the world that doesnt buy their Pro lineup, its still another major FAIL on their end.
just remember...."We cannot have email sends"

Their professional line cost less than other premium notebooks from HP, Lenovo, and Apple and it comes with a better free warranty/support. The support on all consumer/budget makes is pretty poor and non-US based if you look at evaluations of PC OEM support. Do you think when you buy a $300 bike from a major bike maker you are going to get the same performance as their high-end products?

 

[Sghost]

I was about to buy 3-4 new workstations and possibly a new server for the biz but this thread reminds me of why I shouldn't buy a Dell.

Who would be a good alternative?

The system that your local IT company will build you from scratch.

 

[binary visions]

The system that your local IT company will build you from scratch.

Local IT builds are a horrible waste of money and time.

You spend much more than the big box systems, and while sometimes local support can be great ("here, let me lend you a computer while yours is out of commission"), it can be tremendously hit-or-miss and there are other problems ("<insert small manufacturer> can't get us a part for six weeks" and/or "sorry, we have no lenders right now").

They're okay for personal, custom machines but for businesses they just don't work.

BTW, I would highly recommend the Dell professional lines. You generally can't get the bargain-basement models, but if you're shopping mid-range computers, the cost is about equal or only a tiny increase for better hardware and support.

And frankly, I've dealt with a whole lot of cheap computer support. They all suck, by and large. Anyone who wants to nail Dell to the wall about this should talk to HP or Gateway or any other big box manufacturer. They're all English-as-a-second-language call centers based overseas.

Not that I approve of it, of course, but it's reality. Customers demand cheap systems. That means companies need to cut costs. If you want better support, vote with your dollars. Buy the professional lines of your computers. I bought a Lenovo X-series laptop and when the battery died, I literally had another battery on my doorstep the next morning before 9:00am, no questions asked.

In terms of trying to work around it, I find Dell's chat support to be pretty good. Most of them type English well, they just have heavy accents. Use the chat support.

 

[don]

Thanks for the replies.

syadasti - I got your email - thanks for the tip - I will use that next call but hopefully I won't have to!

binary visions - I agree with all you are saying. Like I said, I understand it's a machine and things do break and Dell and the others have to save money to sell systems for less but I don't think long term it's worth it to use overseas phone tech:

1. This will be the 2nd time the laptop is going back for the same issue. Maybe the original tech couldn't find the issue the first time but I have a strong guess it was due to the notes not being completed as clearly as possible. The issue is intermittent and I had a heck of a time trying to tell that to the person on the phone. For all I know the laptop got to them and worked fine but it still is not fixed as the screen goes screwy every now and then. I'm going to write a note this time when I ship it to the repair place.

2. The same tech guy that I've been becoming increasing fustrated with, now is trying to sell me an extended warranty? You want sales, even on the smallest organic level, you put people that can talk to their prospect. I was so pissed they could have given me another year free and I wouldn't have taken it.

BTW, if I don't get far with syadasti's tip, I'll try the online chat. But, the issue was with my sons laptop screen showing horizontal lines and I couldn't see anything so the laptop was useless. Yes, most people have a number of work stations in the house but what if that was my only computer?