power adapter fraying- act of no class

hi all, i am a long time dell customer. i built my first computer when i was 14 with dell parts and have stuck with dells for all computer needs since then. i have recommended them to everyone i talk to and as a family we have bought at least 8 computers through dell. getting to the issue at hand... the last computer purchase was about 3 years ago, an Inspiron 6400 laptop. at the time duo core was still recent and i paid well for that laptop. as expected i was very happy with the product. soon after the purchase my work took me to the carribean islands. while there the AC adapter had started acting up. initially i expected it was something wrong with the wall outlet (nothing in the carribbean is very reliable). but soon i noticed the fray power-cord. i suspected it was somehow my own doing, never expecting my trusty dell to make faulty equipment. as the warranty was already up i had to buy another adapter $70 (after shipping and customs/import tax i paid over $120. about an year after this i am in America when to my surprise the adapter is very touch and frayed again. of course i give dell the benefit of the doubt and purchase yet another adapter from them. now for the last month or so my adapter has again been acting up (3rd one) and finally today it died. i do some research into the issue and it seems >80% customers have adapter issues alone annually.  take a look at their direct review and decide for yourself : http://reviews.dell.com/2341/310-7712/reviews.htm .   furthermore, the company seems to exploit this to its maximum potential by knowingly manufacturing a potentially faulty product. now i have come to expect that from HP and some other company... but never "my trusty faithful dell."

now to make things worse... i decided it would be unwise to buy yet another adapter from dell. so i call their sales rep so i can know some adapter specs like pin and such. of course the sales rep says their don't know anything about that and i should speak to tech support. 15 min later -> get tech -> 20 mins of talk then i find out i am speaking to a desktop tech so he can't help me -> 15 min hold -> get laptop tech -> says he can't talk to me about anything technical since i am no longer under warrenty. i try to explain that i am not looking for any type of resolution, i just want adapter specs (should be detailed on the sales website) so i can see if there is a more reliable manufacturer. after 15-20 mins more of back and forth, he tells me i have to spend another $70 (after i had already spend $200) purchase the product from dell and he is not authrorized to give me any relavent information about the spec.  i find that to be outragious since it is an item that should be perfectly fuctional right from the begining. i mean, seriously now, it's an adapter, i don't have pets, and its not like i am chewing on it; so how is it that 1000s of customers are having to go through so many of these? personally i don't blame the customer service or the tech, he's just doing what he's told. i blame the boys around the round table who have driven a great, trustworthy company to the dirt. shame on them

this experience has shown such lack of class on their behalf that i'll never ever associate myself with dell again. additionally, i'll make sure people i know won't have to go through this with dell. infact, when the market opens in the morning i'll be selling all my stocks in the company.