Dell XPS 17 USB 3.0 issues, and quality control

I purchased a Dell XPS17 Laptop on October 1st.  I recieved the product the middle of October and was EXTREMELY excited about this computer.  From the get go, I had issues.  For some reason, the computer stopped recognizing my Iphone which, I had already synced due to the update to iOS5.  I also couldn't transfer massive amounts of data from my external HDD to my computer because at some point in the middle of the transfer, the USB would cease to recognize my External HDD.  Same thing with my Nostromo gaming pad.  I tried everything I could think of.  I uninstalled the drivers and deleted out of device manager.  I restarted my computer and reconnected.  All would work for a bit...then it would break again.

Being a relatively intelligent person, I scoured the forums looking for an answer to my problem.  It turns out, I was not the only one with this issue.  In fact, if you look at the entry here, this issue is well documented, and has been going on for over a year.  I read through the posts, and came to the conclusion that I had a bad board. I knew that I had to go through the customer service rig-a-marol, so I went ahead and contacted them 

AsI knew they would, customer service downloaded the updated Reneasas drivers, and then flashed my BIOS.  They told me it should fix it, and if I had any trouble to call back.  It took only 20 minutes for my USB's to stop working.  I called again, they sent a tech out to switch the Mother/Daughter boards, and they did send a tech, who installed new boards yesterday.  There are now minor tool marks on my case...a computer that is just over a month old.  I know its not a lot, but it's just annoying to have my new computer already marked up.   By the way...the Tech installed the boards correctly, but did not know how to stop the keyboard from beeping every time a key was pressed. I had to figure THAT out.  His words: "I just install the hardware, we're not allowed to touch the software;"  The issue was that he hadn't hit FN-X to exit out of manufactuer mode; he should have known that.  I shouldn't have to troubleshoot my own machine with a tech support contractor standing over my shoulder going, "I'm betting it's a softkey," (which it wasn't.)

Now I'm worried about my components.  It is obvious from the forums that I'm not the only one who had this problem...in fact there are customers who have been dealing with this issue for over a year.  Dell is having issues with these mother/daughter boards...and they shipped a product, playing the odds that the component would work without designing a preemptive test protocol.  Knowing there are issues, they should at least TEST the USB ports after the build to keep these headaches from occurring.  They either failed to, or chose not to create a quality control for this issue, and opted to fix on the back end, instead of catching the issue before shipping.   This makes me wonder if this policy is consistent with the other components on the computer...and my confidence in their product has been shaken.

I have always been a champion for Dell...even when I've had people tell me that their service sucks, their computer's suck, and they are just interested on moving product out the door. I've been slightly marred on my opinion of Dell (not unlike my brand new computer case,) and I worry that they overlook known issues, and that more might be out there to find.  At the very least they should extend our warranties at no cost to us; something to restore our confidence in the Dell name. 

Thank you.