XPS 8300 Delayed again, again, and again

4-Nov-2011 - Ordered high end DELL XPS 8300. Did have 2 TB HD. Also ordered an extra monitor so we'll have two 24" monitors.

    EST delivery 14-Nov for extra monitor, 21-Nov for XPS 8300.

~7-Nov-2011 - DELL calls me to say they no longer have Graphics Adapter in stock. They would like to upgrade me free of charge. Said ok.

~8-Nov-2011 - I notice my order has been cancelled. Called CSR to find out they must cancel your order and reenter to make any change.

9-Nov-2011 - Order reentered, with new Graphics Adapter. New delivery date on XPS 8300 moved out 21 days to 12-Dec-2011

~10-Nov-2011 - Received the extra monitor. Now what do I need the extra monitor for, without the XPS 8300?

14-Nov-2011 - CSR indicates the XPS 8300 order is stuck in production. They indicate will get back to me in 24/48 hours.

16-Nov-2011 - CSR calls and emails to indicate they have no further information.

29-Nov-2011 - CSR sends email to indicate that they have been experiencing shortages due to flooding in Thailand, and that if I switch to 500 GB HD they can build it and send it out.

  Now last time I agreed to an update, they slipped out 21 days, so I was wary. Additionally, they wouldn't provide any estimate of shipping, whether I would get the system at the same cost, or whether they would reduce the cost due to getting the 500 GB HD. They simply wanted me to say yes. They wouldn't respond back to my questions.

  But, I immediately sent out a response ok, as long as 1 of my 2 conditions met. At the time I thought they were reasonable, but now I know that they have no control or authority. Reader beware.

1. Reduce the price to account for the smaller hard drive.
Or
2. Increase the amount of RAM from 12 GB to 16 GB with no extra cost

1-Dec-2011 - I sent out another email as CSR did not respond. Asked what's going on with my order, and my conditions?

1-Dec-2011 - CSR responds and indicates that I just need to confirm.

So then I think, well I've been waiting this long, why not just wait until 12-Dec-2011 and get my 2 TB drive.

So that's what I did.

8-Dec-2011 - A new CSR calls and sends me email, asking whether I want to update my order to reduce the size of the HD to 500 GB.

I respond to their email, provided my cell phone to call. They then called, and I had a long talk, and asked whether they could actually confirm whether I can get the 2 TB drive for the 12-Dec-2011 delivery or not?

They could not confirm that I would get it any sooner if I waited or if I switched. At one point I said, ok, go ahead and update it to the 500 GB HD. They then said, well wait a minute, why don't we see if it will ship and arrive for the 12-Dec-2011 delivery. I agree, and so we wait.

12-Dec-2011 - Received the dreaded email from DELL proper, that my order has been delayed, and they are confident I will receive it by 19-Dec-2011. If I do nothing, the order remains active. They do provide a link so that I can cancel the order if I so choose. Decided to do nothing, as they are confident it will arrive by the new indicated date, which, after all, is still before christmas.

12-Dec-2011 - Received a call from CSR. Now they indicate the HD is in, but there are three other components that are lacking. I ask what they are, and one of them is the graphics adapter, that caused the original delay to extend from 21-Nov to 12-Dec. How ironic.

19-Dec-2011 - no email received. I go online, and see that my order no longer appears on My Account page. Apparently it is getting so old that it is no longer a recent order. I manage to locate my order via the check status, and entry of the order number, and my zip. It indicates that my order has been delayed again, to "for arrival by 26-Dec-2011". It also indicates that my order will be cancelled, due to FTC (Federal Trade Commision) rules if I do nothing. So I click the button that indicates accept this delay, and continue the order. The other option is accept all delays.

At this point some questions come to mind.

1. Why do I no longer see my recent order on the My Account web page, so that I can immediately see what is going on?

2. Does DELL want the order cancelled, after all they didn't bring the new delay to my attention with an email.

22-Dec-2011 - Received email from CSR, apologizing, and indicating it is not ok, this delay, and it is due to shortages, and I am now lacking the HD, and the graphics adapter. Thought my HD was in. Not sure what gives. Feeling like they are giving the parts for my machine away to others. How can they not have the graphics adapter? That is the reason they had me reorder on 9-Nov-2011!

25-Dec-2011 - Checked my order again, as received no emails. Again had to specifically query the order status, with the order number, and my zip code, to find that the order has slipped to 2-Jan-2012. Again, I must accept the order change, or the order would be automatically be cancelled, due to FTC rules. Decided to accept.

29-Dec-2011 - Making this post, as I see others are experiencing similar situations, and I thought it would be informative. Has anyone received a computer recently? Anyone? Bueler?  DELL, if you plan on getting this to me, by 2-Jan, you must ship by today, I would think. At this point, I have no confidence in DELL. Given their track record, I would think the chances of this happening, are just about 0 %. We've always bought DELL computers, we've never had an issue, and we have always defended DELL. I am contemplating whether that can continue. I guess my level of anger is increased simply because DELL cannot make the delivery on any kind of predictable schedule, and CSRs can provide no insight as to when a delivery will be made. I used to be a believer in DELL. At this point, we have been waiting nearly two months. Anyway, we do have the extra monitor, although that really doesn't seem like a plus at this point, as there is no computer to hook it to. Keep that in mind, if you are considering the extra monitor option folks!

This is making my wife consider getting an IMAC and discarding DELL's and regular PCs all together.

We lost our original DELL computer to the storm that hit the NE in October. We ordered a computer shortly after that, and now we are approaching the first of the year, and still do not have a computer. DELL, please help, as I am in the dog house with my wife.