The worst customer service of my life, and no way to complain about it.

I have to agree.  The way they serve their customers has really gone downhill. 

My motherboard died a couple of months ago so support sent me a replacement.  I sent the old one back as instructed using the info provided by them. 

Over a month and a half later I get a message from them asking when I will be returning the old motherboard.  I tried calling them but their customer service department was closed so I tried using the support chat.  After being transferred to someone I was told would be able to handle my problem I was told that the issue would be sent to the cognizant department for resolution.  I was also told that I should call customer service and let them know of my problem.  Why I have no idea as I thought that they would take care of it.

I tried calling Dell and after being transfered  six times to people who I was told would be able to help me I finally ended up being put on hold listening to a recording of where to get information and if I would like to buy something. I hung up.  What a waste of my time.

Yesterday I received a call from Dell and I just happened to be near the phone to pick up and talk to the Dell rep.  After our discussion he told me that he would clear everything up and that the matter would be resovled.

Today I checked my anwering machine and yes there was a Dell rep asking if I had returned the item.  so much for dell resolving the matter.  This is it for me.  Dell has lost me as a customer.

WORST is an UNDERstatement!  I just cancelled two computer orders after being hung up on three times by Dell reps in India.  In this economy, the only thing that can give an edge to companies is showing their customers that they care.  Well, Dell, I'm out of here.  I can find another laptop and be helped by people who are also contributing tax dollars for the common cause.

I remember when Dell customer service was hailed as the best.  Now I can only think of words that I can't put in print here.

I don't think there will be any government bail-out money for computer companies, so the only recourse is to spread the word, Consumers!  If every one of us who's been pooped on by Dell customer service encourages just five friends to NOT buy a Dell, maybe then they'll listen.  If you happen to know a government procurement officer who has some authority on systems, please encourage them to also pick a different supplier.

GRRRRRR   :(

WOW...I have to say after reading these I am feeling a little better about my situation.  I placed an order for and XPS back on 11/11 and it has not been delayed 3 times.  According to the email I received today it will not ship until 12/11. 

Of course, after the second delay I tried everything I could to find out what was the delay.  I emailed customer service twice, with no answer and then called several times.  I was finally able to get a hold of a CSR after being transferred multiple times.  She placed me on hold 3 separate times only to tell me she has no idea why it is being delayed.  According to everything she could see, all the parts were available. 

Then to top it off I ordered a media extender the same day I ordered the computer.  It showed up at the house the very next day.  This weekend it went on sale for half off.  I called customer service and told them about it and was told I would have to return the unopened one I have at the house and order a new one in order to get the lower price.  So I did and it is now been delayed and is not expected to ship until 12/11 as well. 

I have been a long time fan of Dell and didn't even consider another brand when I was ready to replace my Dell I bought several years ago.  Now I am seriously considering if I should cancel it all together and just get something else for Christmas since I doubt the XPS will make it by then. 

What a shame this company has become! 

They have become shameful...and everytime I open a news article claiming that India is so superior as a workforce I think of what Dell has become, which is a joke.

I ordered a Mini 9 on sale for $299 during the after-Thanksgiving sale on the 26th. Mind you, I'm a law student, living on loans and financial aid, but I wanted to replace my HP, which was one of the first to have Vista installed.  Aside from the obvious problems, a member of HP's tech support acknowledged that it probably wasn't installed correctly, but I struggled with it for two years, often sending it back to be serviced. When it gave me problems again this past October I recalled the very high quality Inspiron I'd purchased from Dell in 2002 and decided to go back to them. I figured a computer with Linux or XP had to be a step up.

Well, the computer OS I received was a Linux and I ran into many problems with that, getting on the internet or getting it to recognize my MP3 player or even a Dell printer. At the time of purchase I knew that Linux was not easily compatible with things, but supposedly there was a hotline at Dell to troubleshoot problems with Linux and according to a sales rep even with Linux the Mini was supposed to recognize the Dell printer.  So I went ahead and bought it.

So when I got the Mini I started encountering troubles. I actually called my phone company/DSL provider first, and they gave me a Linux number that had been disconnected.  From there I went to Dell tech support, who said they did not service Linux.  They said this even of the printer that is a Dell and was supposed to be immediately recognized by the Mini. By the third time I'd spoken with them someone gave me the number that was supposed to provide support for Linux, and this being a Saturday, they were closed. I went to the Linux/Ubuntu community page and frankly couldn't understand what they were suggesting I do about these problems.  So I waited until Monday, dialed the number, and it's a recorded message. The only thing it says is that Dell DOES NOT service Linux, and to go to the Ubuntu page.

So I chatted with tech support and asked if I could upgrade to XP, and said that I was perfectly willing to pay MORE to send it back and have it done. Tech support said of course I could do it, by myself. I asked, but could THEY do it? They kicked me over to customer service, who tried to send me back to tech support, back and forth, each department saying "I am so sorry for x, but refer this to y, who will be able to provide you assistance," whether in chat or email form (always signed with an Indian surname).  So I called customer service one more time and said I wanted to return it or again I repeated the request to send it back to get XP on it. She said that it could be sent back to have XP installed on it, but promptly sent me to returns, and a rep read a statement including a "re-stocking fee" of $42. And this person, the only one who was fluent in English, took the time to state that it was my decision which was the cause for the return. I acknowledged this was true but I said what sales was promising (the printer & phone help) isn't there. She said, "it doesn't matter." 

As a footnote, when I received the Mini (all of 5 days earlier) I began typing out an outline for an upcoming final and saved it on Open Office. The plug for the electrical outlet stopped taking electricity and I'd already used up the four hours of battery life. So the computer powered down and my outline was...gone.

FedEx picked up the Mini at 7pm the next day. That was 12 days ago. I only hope I will see this "refund." I can barely afford the $42 in fees and $36 in sales taxes that I'm going to have to eat, for nothing. The incredible thing is that I was trying to come up with a solution other than sending the netbook back. But from the way the plug behaved, maybe I'm better off, even with this old half working HP. I will never buy from Dell again. I thought highly of them -- once. 

Wow, I wish I had read all these posts before letting my daughter order her Inspiron 1525 with money she had earned and saved herself. Our nightmare began less than 2 weeks after purchase, with the system crashing and having to be rebooted every time a new program was installed and run. So much for the DVD recording capabilities, as every time we tried to burn a new DVD, the system would lock up and we would lose our recording. The letter "T" on the keyboard quit working, as well, the same problem my husband's Inspiron 6400 began having.

Since the system was less than 2 weeks old, we called Dell Customer (Dis)Service. We were switched back and forth between customer service, tech support no less than 10 times, hung up on twice, and even sent to one department after it had closed. Oh well, Dell is paying my toll call per minute, to India no doubt. After giving up for the night, we tried again to call, with the same results, "Sorry, we can't help you...we can't exchange...can only refund..." Different story with each new rep, who were probably all sitting in the same room with each other.

So, after several frustrating attempts at resolving this matter, I called my credit card company, explaining what had happened, and asked them to put the charge in dispute. Maybe if this company who decided to sell our country out to the Indians doesn't get paid for its shoddy computers, it will take notice. I find it insulting that on the 'on hold recording', Dell states that if you want to "pay up" for good service, you can get a "North American service technician--usually within 2 minutes." Why should we have to pay more for someone who can speak English and not hang up on you when you ask for a resolution to your problem. Our business and our family have other choices, which we will excercise!

I have to agree. I bought my son an XPS 1730 laptop at the end of November last year. The one year warranty has just expired. He had not tried to play a DVD using the Media Direct software before. It generates an error that the DVD is the wrong region code. We cannot even find anything to tell us what region code it thinks it is. They want to charge me $49 to help me get this software to work. I have purchased 2 laptops over the last 2 years and the one for my son cost over $3700 before we were done. I tried tech support, sales and customer service and none of them would extend the warranty to cover this issue. So over $49 they will lose a good customer. What a way to run a business!

Hate to break it to you guys, but no PC maker has tech support in the USA anymore.

Every company outsources to India.

The computers themselves are made in China or whereever.

Gateway claims that they haven't outsourced their tech support. I have no firsthand knowledge.

If you think HP is better, try Googling on them. If you think IBM is btter, try Googling on them. Each and every one of them has problems. Oh, if you think paying 2x the money for an Apple is better, try Googling on them.

It is the luck of the draw.

{knock wood}, all 4 of my Dell PCs have been great. The last two laptops I bought from dfsdirectsales.com, which is Dell's returned from corporate lease division, have been excellent values. Of course, none of my PCs run Vista. Maybe that's why my luck has been so good. ;)

Reading these posts, I should consider myself lucky. At least my computer works. Of course, I've only had it one month.

My customer service story is that I ordered an upgraded keyboard. Nothing fancy, just one to go with the TV card I had added. Dell shipped me the basic keyboard. I notified them two days after receiving the package. Took them 3 days to reply and ask for some basic information they already knew. I was traveling for work and then it was Christmas so it took me 2 weeks to get back to them.

That's when they tell me that 21 days have passed and they cannot replace my keyboard. I say I don't want you to replace my keyboard - I want you to ship the one I paid for.

So far, they're not budging. They have m y money and my keyboard.

Any tips on how to get resolved?

Hello guys I am from india and I own an XPS laptop . If anybody out there have any impression that since all the services are being outsourced to india, Indians are getting a better deal - think again. Or never mind I will tell you what is happening to me and you will undestand yourselves.

 The Dell engg. came for the installation service - I told him in clear terms that i had a problem with my hard disk that it is showing variable free space at all times. (For eg. it will show the free space in c drive now as 10 Gb and then after 10 mins of stand by  it will show some 5 Gb free). He told he will get it fixed and he left. Never to be seen or heard from since.

I was away with my work and did not use the laptop much after that since i was using my office laptop. So I did not call up dell.

After 5 months i came back and checked my laptop only to find that it was over heating. I called up dell on a friday in oct'08 .My battery was also up at that point. So first the dell support person asked me to run the diagnostics and he then told that the diagnostics is gonna take atleast 1 and half hours and so please call back after that. So i called dell after that and then this 2nd technician, he told me to run the diagnosics again and call back again after it is run.

  This happened three times and i got fed up and had an argument with him, after  which he took down the error codes. He then fixed next thursday as the day for the engineers visit, and told, he will sent the parts as well one day before (wednesday) directly to my address. So I had to take leave from work for two days since both the services would not be possible on weekends or during after hours. And as of magic the dell technician called me up on wednesday morning and told me that the parts are already sent and thati should recieve them that day. And to my utter disappointment and annoyance nothing would come. So I again called up dell in the evening and what he said was that he would not know what happened !!!!! (to the parts he sent me).

Thursday : Dell engineer who was supposed to visit me rings up and when i asked him it turned out that he had no idea as well about what happened to the parts. So he cancelled his appointment with me as well. Again called up dell. I was told that the parts will be delivered on friday. ( Why in the name of lord did that idiot then tell me that i will recieve the parts on thursday - does all the dell reps think that they are the only ones who work for a living) 

Friday : I recieved the parts. I called up Dell and he says there is no way an engineer can come that day or satuday and the earliest would be monday. I said OK .

Monday : Dell engineer comes and replace the battery Heat sink and Motherboard. In the process he breaks a connection cable between motherboard and the wifi switch. He apologises and he said he will get the part sent to me and will come and replace it. He says it will take a month for his record to be submitted and so please wait that long. He even took photos of the broken part and mentioned it in the service report he made.

  But as I suspected he would do nothing of any sorts to replace that cable. And after one month after  the motherboard was replaced my fingerprint reader would not work and my speakers also would not work. The heating problem was back and the hard disk problem which they promised me was because of the motherboard defect was also back.

  Again called dell. I told all my problems. And this is the best part . He told me that " There could be a problem with the motherboard". And when I told him that it was replaced a month before all he could say was that " Yah, but there could be some problem in the way the motherboard was replaced". That is how much trust the dell has in their engineers. Man how the did this company come to be known for the aftersales service that it gave.

After that he sent an engg to check my laptop and he found that there were troubles with my system. He reported the problems and then also the dell manager would not accept that there was a problem with my harddisk and he again said it was my motherboard. Then i agreed and they replaced my motherboard, heat sink again togrther with the dvd drive and speakers.

Now for the icing on the cake. The new speakers worked fine for the evening and next day onwards started givinig static and nothing else. And the heating problem was there as much as it was earlier. Then the harddisk - No change at all. All that the dell manager when again contacted would say to the dell engg who came was that it could be the restore files. ( I was having loss of memory space in 5-100Gbs). I would like to ask if anyone has ever seen a system restore file that is so big. This shows how much the dell manager knew about hardisks and also about windows system  restore. This was one week before.

Now when i called them up again . They asking for the laptop to be sent back to them and that they want to run tests in their workshop. guys what should i do ??

I have an XPS 1530 with an nvidia graphics card and have the complete cover warranty which will run out in another month...

NB: All DELL has to say about the situation is to "xtend the warranty"..

Good news for all of you guys ....

  Before I used to tell many of my friends to buy an XPS from dell if they are buying a laptop at all , because it gave you better service nd performance. But after what has happened to me as i have mentioned in my last post I asked my friends not to do so....

AND HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS ......

 One of my friends work with TCS , it is the leading IT solutions company in India. They were planning to upgrade their laptops and desktops in his place and they had decided on XPS desktops as well as laptops. But after i had a talk with him and his boss, they understood the problems and they cancelled a 400 desktop and 300 laptop order they were about to place with DELL.

Ha ha revenge is sweet.... But my laptop still has a mind of its own and all my problems are still there....

Ha ha revenge is sweet.... But my laptop still has a mind of its own and all my problems are still there....

I guess besides being revenge-happy, you also don't comprehend very well.

It is luck of the draw.

Try reading on problems with IBM, HP, Acer, whoever.

Oh, and if your friend ends up with problems with his next purchase, you will be the one getting the blame. Luck of the draw.

Hello guys I am from india and I own an XPS laptop . If anybody out there have any impression that since all the services are being outsourced to india, Indians are getting a better deal - think again.

Read again and try to understand what people are writing.

Nobody is saying that the Indian customer is getting a better deal. The Dell Indian support is bad. PERIOD. Doesn't matter who the the customer is.

Everyone is talking about the in-home service. I used to have that in my older Dell PC's but the timing of them arriving is a hit and miss..and this is not only for Dell but practically all services where in-home servicing is offered.. and I mean everyone including PC makers, phone companies, gas and htdro companies, cable companies, you name it.. "Hello.. I need someone to come and look at my cable connection" " No problem sir.. someone will be there between 8am and 5 pm between Monday and Friday"   LOL..

So with Dell I gave up paying the extra for in-home servioce.. Now if I have a problem I just send the PC back (after all they do pay for the shipping and they send all the waybills) and tell them don't return it till it works fine.

Fortunately I have only had to send my PC/Laptop back twice in three years and both times have received it back working in perfect condition.  :-)

1) I can see where that would wind you up. I'm the same way, I don't want a door prize for enduring poor service. Firmly but politely decline and inform them that what you DO want is resolution of the issue.

2) Might I explain something on this to clear the air: Dell does not perform the onsite. Much like cable TV companies in the US, the onsite technicians are from outsourced companies. If the onsite tech is incompetent or unable to perform their job, you have to let Dell know and they can escalate up their tree to have people with offical sounding titles at Dell yell at the people with offical sounding titles at the service provider who then roll it down hill and woe to the service tech at the bottom of the hill. The techs on the phone, at the most, will talk to a dispatch person for the service vendor. They have no direct communication with the field techs unless the field tech calls.

3) You state "The least you can do is send an out of hours engineer". They can't. Not they won't. They can't. Unless you have one of those uber expensive 4 hour contracts, they simply can't.