I would like to rate my printer, But I still have not received it.

Hello all,

I am not sure I am in the right place, but I feel I have to vent a little. I have been using Dell products for many years. I really like there systems. But the customer service is going down hill very fast. I decided to order a new printer as mine's on it's last leg. I ordered a nice laser printer on Decemeber 22, 2009. The preliminary ship date said something like the 28th. I thought thats not to bad. Then the order confirmation came in and it said January 11, 2010. Hmmm. Ok. I understand that it was an estimated date, but come on now. Thats like a bait thing. So Im thinking, whats going on here. I go online and look into buying  a new one from the web site to see what it would say about the shipping date. Well, my new date was January 11, 2010. The one i just picked out says January 8th. Even though of course I ordered mine on  December 22, 2009. So I called and asked whats going on, they stated that they did not know but the shipping was estimated. I said well thats very misleading, I said if I cancel my main order, could I get this new one I was looking at sooner. The reply was I don't believe so.

I deal with customer support with my small business all the time. But i don't bait people into an order to only keep changing the delivery dates. I called after seeing another new date (I was not notified at all of changes) show up for January 21, 2010. I thought, what the hell is going on. I'm suppose to get a notice when the order changes, but I got nothing. I checked my spam and such and noting there. But when I call its like do you want to cancel your order! I say no, I want to get my order. Will canceling get it here for me quicker? They said no. I asked is therer someone to talk to and see if this thing is even getting built? They said they only know that it's in production. So as I am typing this, I checked my email again, and after speaking to customer care like four times, and trying to actually speak to a Dell manager or person, I get a notice about the delay. Ok then.

I think Dell needs to get rid of the preliminary ship date and the estimated dates on the ordering system as its very misleading. I know its Christmas and I know I'll get a bunch of emails saying I am mean and should be patient. But when I order something and it takes 30 days before its shipped, theres something wrong there. I could get a car made custom quicker than that.

So to add to insult, my ink showed up (late too) and I don't have a printer to use it in.

I have noticed over the past few years that ordering and actually receiving keeps getting delayed and delayed. And I have orderd not just during the holidays.

Don't get me wrong, Dell makes great systems. They just can't get it to you in a reasonable amount of time.

I am not sure if it's shipping, or manufacturing. But they don't seem to mate up.

It's very frustrating when you can not talk to a Dell Manager or person, as the Customer Care folks are not even in the United States and have no clue who the Chain of Command is. They probably did that for a reason, but its very out of touch.

I would like to upgrade my systems for my business, but I'm not thinking Dell would perfom on time. If you can't even get a stock printer, how am I going to get a combination of printers, desktops, and laptops when needed.

What do you think folks?

Chris