Deplorable Dell Customer Service

Bottom line up-front. I would tell anyone who is thinking of buying a Dell computer to be very wary as their customer service system, customer service approach, and problem resolution is absolutely dismal. Though I have bought three computers from Dell in the last three years or so, I personally will NEVER buy anything from Dell ever again after this latest run around.

I have never felt so disrespected, confused, or in shock from any other customer service system I have ever dealt with in my life. From representatives that raise their voice to you, call you back on your cell phone to berate you further, put you on hold for long periods of time with no check-in, and even purposely transfer you to have someone else deal with you, it is beyond understanding. I do not believe there is any oversight or management to Dell's customer service system. I have complained before. I have filled out the surveys emailed to me. But it is always the same poor customer service..or worse.

I will get to the current problem with my laptop, that I again have to deal with Dell customer service, but let me give you some insight as to what to expect from Dell customer (dis)service. You will always get a scripted answer. This is typical elsewhere in customer service realm, but with Dell it is to the point of basically talking to a computer. You can listen to the scripted answer and explain why this case is different, to no avail. So what do you do? Well, most people would ask to speak to a supervisor or escalation department. From hours on the phone with Dell it is my experience you will NEVER talk to a supervisor. The service rep will dissuade you, will actually tell you it will do no good, or as I have experienced numerous times, they will tell you they are going to connect you to a supervisor, but they simply place you on hold for so long that inevitably you are routed back to main menu and computerized prompts to start all over. From my latest experience it took three attempts to talk to a supposed supervisor who told me he was going to connect me to another supervisor in the department I actually needed to talk to, to have him simply forward me to another department as if I called them directly. I asked "Did the supervisor who forwarded me to you talk to you?" Answer - No. I was just summarily sent away to be someone else's problem. So you will NEVER be able to talk to anyone who can do more than simply give you scripted answers. You will never be able to talk to someone that has an authority to make any decisions outside the script...no matter what the case is.

Why does Dell block any access to a customer service supervisor? Why is there no way to escalate an issue? Furthermore, if you need customer service from Dell, I believe you will experience holds and transfers that make no sense. that feel on purpose and possibly punitive. Today was the last straw. I went through numerous departments more than once and experienced once again the Dell customer service way. No more. My hope is that others will read this and simply then look for other online reviews and comments. Look at Consumer Reports. Look at Consumer Affairs website. Be informed what you are getting yourself into if you ever need Dell customer service.

My specific issue is a Dell Inspiron 1500 laptop computer that has had numerous issues. Most fixed through on-call tech support. However, the big issue is it has now broken down for the second serious time that requires it to be mailed in for repair. Last time was hard memory failure. This time I believe it is the hard drive as the least little bump or movement of the computer causes it to completely lock up. Call Dell and deal with scripted process once again..check. Go through all the on-call steps and remote-access steps once again with Dell...check. remove all my files again...check. And now, because it locks up when Dell is trying to factory re-image the machine it is called a software issue, which it is not. So my compuer has to be mailed in again. Estimated time without my computer is 10 days minimum. I asked if they were going to send me a shipping box, answer no. Can I talk to supervisor as to why? You guessed it - no. They emailed me a label I have to print. I have to find a suitable box, find packing materials and pack machine, and then mail to them.

So I honestly I do not want this computer back. I feel it is a lemon. I am tired of all the problems with it. So though I know from previous interactions that it is going to be an unpleasant experiecnce, I call to ask Dell customer service what options are there to trade this computer in, or have it replaced. As a Advantage Dell Member, is there any recousrse? Customer Care says call Technical Support. Technical Support says call Trade-In Department, Trade-in Department says call back to Customer Care, who of course routes me to Technical Support again with the lie that he is connecting me to a Technical Support supervisor. Can't trade it in as it is not working. Can't replace it as it is past 30 days. Can't pay more to just get a differnt one. Can't repair it and have Dell keep it as trade-in...all from scripted answers.

I get it the individual does not matter, and no situation warrants any alternate decision-making away from the script. Probably no one who is buying for personal use matters. I will send this computer in for service once again. I will be without a laptop again for several weeks. But, I am not going through this again. When I get it back repaired I will sell it. I will never deal with Dell again and will be sure to tell every family member and freind not to buy a Dell either. I will tell them so, not because my computer broke, all things break. I will tell them so becuase I do not want them to have to ever interact with Dell customer service.

M. Martin