DELL customer support--useless or non-existant?

You know with your attitude it does not surprise me that your not being helped.

I had a couple of problems with monitors and they went over and above what they had to.

My suggestion is not to be so negative towards the people who can help you.  You actually might be surprised .

Cyruss

You are right Cyrus.  Let me formally apologize to DELL.  Dell does make very good products.  It is unfortunate their customer service access is so very frustrating and difficult that it has truly soured me on Dell’s fine products.  It's given me headaches and stress I don't want.

I'll guess that, at the core, the problems I faced were ultimately a management decisions to save money, and not the fault of the people trying to implement the program.  How can I blame the reps?  Certainly Dell’s low prices are in part due to the low emphasis they place on customer support.  Customer serviced does have a cost and it's reflected in the product pricing.

I do think Dell should have someone answering phones for people who needed to speak to a customer service rep.  What about people who don't have online access to DELL because of a computer problem?  Should they be forced to use surface mail to resolve a problem? 

The web based forms system is probably something new and not completely tested before being implemented. However, given that it's the "main interface"--the receptionist for Dell’s customer support, it should work shouldn't it?   The web forms problem would be a small investment on their part to repair it.  I'm confident DELL will fix it at some point. 

Also I'm sure that DELL will eventually provide email notification of tracking information to allow customers track shipments, like the vast majority of companies offering this service as normal business policy.  The 3-5 day delivery claim is just nonsense, and frankly unnecessary.  Customer's don't mind a wait, but they do mind when their expectations on things like shipping dates are violated.  I'd advise DELL to drop the 3-5 day claim and focus on giving customers a contact point by email along with a tracking number when an item is shipped.  Simple!

Don't you think it is reasonable for everyone to receive a tracking number for every shipment?  What is so hard about that?  Every other company I've done business with lately has provided this to me.  Without tracking information, I'm either wasting time waiting for a delivery, or else wasting time and gas, driving a distance out of my way to drop off the return item.  In my case, to avoid a hassle, I can best simply return that item when the correct item arrives--the same truck does the drop off and the pick up.  I've done this with APPLE products to replace an iPod battery.  I was favorably impressed.

I guess it all comes down to fulfilling expectations.   My expectations were not met a number of times at Dell.  The most important point being the difficulty reaching someone at DELL in a timely manner so I could get the correct item shipped out to me. 

I now have an email address for someone at customer service. I wrote a letter explaining what happened to me.  I hope they will fix the web forms problem, and provide a phone number on their web page where a human can be reached to promptly fix shipping mistakes like mine, and offer me something of value to me as compensation instead of a fast expiring $35 coupon I'll never use.  My purchases are larger and less frequent than the date on the coupon.

I'll give DELL one more chance to make me another satisfied customer, and if they do, I'll do my future computer shopping at DELL.  If they don't, they will not have earned a customer loyalty points with me.

One final thought on customer service.  People who get good service come back and shop again.  Those who don't are more likely to go elsewhere.

Well Bart I really hope it works out for you.  I do understand you though.  When you buy somthing you expect to get what you pay for.  Good luck bud , hope all works out for you.

Cyruss

Thanks Cyrus.  It is nice to hear one person giving me some kind words.  It has been a miserable experience--the worst I've ever had with any company. 

I am hoping for a response from DELL soon.  All I've received is a survey in which I outlined things for the fourth time.  I hope the survey was not the response!  If they are doing something I'd expect at least a note saying, "Hey, we're working the issue" if a response is not immediately forthcoming. 

I constantly get the same impression.  It seem like I should expect DELL to drop the ball, like the woman that called twice leaving terse messages withing leaving a number or following up with another call.