Bad Service - Order Lost but Won't Replace or Cancel

I have been ordering Dell products for years for both work and personal use.  When the need for a new all in one printer arose at work, I suggested we order from them as they had always had speedy turn around and order support.  Our business depends on our ability to scan, fax and print so it was necessary to get it quickly.

I ordered the printer, with no extras, on 9/5/13 and paid for overnight shipping.  I was told upon completing the order that it would arrive on 9/10.  9/10 arrived and immediately proceeded to track the package to see where it was.  At this point, the order status said shipped yet there was no tracking number.  Having worked in Logistics, I knew this to be a bad sign, yet sometimes overnight shipping can actually report late due to the fact that the shipping computer uploads only happen once a day.  So I waited.  At day's end, the tracking number had appeared but the new estimated delivery date had changed to 9/11 by 3pm.

The next morning, I tracked the shipment and it continued to say 9/11 by 3pm on the Dell site, however, FedEx still only sated that the shipping information had been received with no other updates, another bad sign.  When 3pm came and went I tracked the package to discover on the FedEx site the estimated delivery had been changed to N/A.  I knew this meant they had only received electronic notice of the package but not the package itself.  I immediately called customer service and after 40 minutes of hold time and explanation was told that they needed to send and inquiry to their logistics team.  I explained that we desperately needed the printer and couldn't wait another week to find out where it was or have it reshipped and they assured me they would have an answer in 24 hours.

The next day, I still had received no word, so I called again to find out what was going on.  I got the same broken record that an investigation request had been sent and that I would receive an answer by the next business day.  Big surprise, I got no call back.  The following day I called customer service again, I explained that since they could not tell me where the printer was nor when it would be delivered as they were still waiting on an answer from Logistics, I said I would need to cancel the order.  At this point, they said I couldn't cancel the order as it had been processed and shipped.  I said no, it hadn't been shipped otherwise I would have it.  They said I could always do a 2nd order but if they located the other I would be stuck with and have to pay for both $1200 printers.  I asked to speak to a supervisor, repeatedly and was finally put on hold.  After being on hold for 30 minutes, the line disconnected.  Later that day I called a 2nd time and this time immediately asked for a supervisor.  I was asked to give my name and order number which I told them they didn't need if I was going to talk to someone else.  They insisted so I provided my information and again requested a supervisor.  They put me on hold and after about 10 minutes came back and proceeded to tell me that they were awaiting an answer from Logistics.  I explained that I already know that and I had been told two days prior that I would have an answer by now but had heard nothing.  I explained the dramatic impact this was having on our business and that I needed to speak to a supervisor to get this straightened out.  They put me on hold and 30 minutes later the call disconnected.

After a weekend's rest, I still had heard nothing so I called again to get some closure.  I go the same run around but this time was given the personal contact information of the representative I was talking to.  Of course, the number he gave me to call was missing one digit and when I asked him to confirm the number he gave me an entirely different one, very trustworthy.  He assured me that I would get a call by day's end and big surprise, I heard nothing.

This morning, I decided enough was enough.  I went to the customer service for the Dell credit card we had used to purchase the printer because, oh yeah, we had been charged last week for the printer that was never shipped.  I reported the fraudulent charge and they took some information.  After yet another 15 minute hold, I was told they were looking into and would get back at day's end.  I now know what this means, they will do nothing.

I understand that things happen and shipments get lost but to be repeatedly told that its being looked into when it clearly never left the facility is very frustrating especially when the ineptness of the Dell shipment staff should not be my issue.  The item should have been reshipped immediately.  Furthermore, to charge me for a product that was never even shipped is downright criminal and fraudulent.

There are hundreds of complaints on the Dell site and thousands on the Better Business Bureaus site all reporting similar issues.  Many have been deleted by the Dell team for not wanting for face their own failures.   I would hope at some point Dell will fix this issue.  A good start might be taking responsibility for its actions, training a customer service team to actually think instead of only reading from a script or passing the buck or simply pushing a button.