One month ago the hard drive on my 9 month old Dell laptop crashed. Having a hardware warranty I called Dell and arranged for a replacement. They convinced me that the Concierge service was a worthwhile investment at $239.00. The software seemed to be all encompassing including the Concierge backup service. A couple of weeks later I called with an issue. Of course, I was talking to someone with a very difficult to understand Indian accent. Eventually he fixed my problem but in the process coerced me into buying System Mechanic at a cost of $117.00. I was very reluctant to make this purchase but I was made to feel that once downloaded, installed and run it would complete the correction of my problem. He also wanted to sell me an extension of the concierge service for $200 that would extend until 2017. One day later and after the usual buyers remorse I called Dell back and complained loudly that I do no appreciate being pressured into buying more software when I was under the impression that the concierge package would be all that I need. It felt like I was at a car dealer buying a car and being pressured to add more options. So, I was able to cancel that purchase (don't see the reverse charge on my Visa yet) and I will uninstall the software. The next day I decided that I didn't want the concierge service either and cancelled that. I'm waiting to see that charge reversed on my Dell Preferred account. I told the individual that I have had a computer for 20 years and Dells for 12. I've so rarely needed any type of support other than hardware warranty type support. If I have a software problem I'll find an answer on the internet where there are plenty of resources. The bottom line is that I do not like having to struggle with someone with the accent and don't appreciate Dell hawking software purchases on me. I've been a loyal Dell user for a number of years but that could easily change. I'm wondering if the pressure to purchase additional software stems from the recent news stories of Dell's financial woes.
georgedn
1 Rookie
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16 Posts
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January 24th, 2013 05:00
One month ago the hard drive on my 9 month old Dell laptop crashed. Having a hardware warranty I called Dell and arranged for a replacement. They convinced me that the Concierge service was a worthwhile investment at $239.00. The software seemed to be all encompassing including the Concierge backup service. A couple of weeks later I called with an issue. Of course, I was talking to someone with a very difficult to understand Indian accent. Eventually he fixed my problem but in the process coerced me into buying System Mechanic at a cost of $117.00. I was very reluctant to make this purchase but I was made to feel that once downloaded, installed and run it would complete the correction of my problem. He also wanted to sell me an extension of the concierge service for $200 that would extend until 2017. One day later and after the usual buyers remorse I called Dell back and complained loudly that I do no appreciate being pressured into buying more software when I was under the impression that the concierge package would be all that I need. It felt like I was at a car dealer buying a car and being pressured to add more options. So, I was able to cancel that purchase (don't see the reverse charge on my Visa yet) and I will uninstall the software. The next day I decided that I didn't want the concierge service either and cancelled that. I'm waiting to see that charge reversed on my Dell Preferred account. I told the individual that I have had a computer for 20 years and Dells for 12. I've so rarely needed any type of support other than hardware warranty type support. If I have a software problem I'll find an answer on the internet where there are plenty of resources. The bottom line is that I do not like having to struggle with someone with the accent and don't appreciate Dell hawking software purchases on me. I've been a loyal Dell user for a number of years but that could easily change. I'm wondering if the pressure to purchase additional software stems from the recent news stories of Dell's financial woes.