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64991
January 22nd, 2013 12:00
Concierge service
I was called by someone from Dell with an Indian accent recently to offer me a concierge service saying it had expired, and they could renew it for $239. Or something similar. I thought they were talking about the Your Tech Team service, a group that answers in the US, and does not have an Indian accent. That group is hardware maintenance only, and will come to the home if necessary. They have generally worked well with my needs. The Indian techs are very nice, their English is good, but so accented that sometimes I cannot understand them. I prefer someone with English without an accent. I would be just as annoyed if the techs were from Scotland, where the accent is beautiful, but frequently not clear either!
The concierge service they were selling me was actually a software repair package with lots of automatic calling and annoyances. I told them I did not want to be bothered with automatic calls, and that I wanted to call myself if I had a problem. They agreed that could happen. Then today I received an automatic call saying l had scheduled a maintenance call, which of course, I had not.
In calling them back, I discovered I had actually bought a software maintenance package, and that the Your tech team package was still good until the end of 2013. I have seldom needed software assistance. Even when I paid for it for a one time event , it was not all that helpful. This computer is two years old, and works fairly well for my needs. I will buy a new one in two years and hopefully it will work as well.
I should have been alert to this, as I have had sales calls from Dell before trying to sell me extras I did not want. I have had Dells for 13 years, and am generally fairly content with them. Whittier, Ca.
georgedn
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January 24th, 2013 05:00
One month ago the hard drive on my 9 month old Dell laptop crashed. Having a hardware warranty I called Dell and arranged for a replacement. They convinced me that the Concierge service was a worthwhile investment at $239.00. The software seemed to be all encompassing including the Concierge backup service. A couple of weeks later I called with an issue. Of course, I was talking to someone with a very difficult to understand Indian accent. Eventually he fixed my problem but in the process coerced me into buying System Mechanic at a cost of $117.00. I was very reluctant to make this purchase but I was made to feel that once downloaded, installed and run it would complete the correction of my problem. He also wanted to sell me an extension of the concierge service for $200 that would extend until 2017. One day later and after the usual buyers remorse I called Dell back and complained loudly that I do no appreciate being pressured into buying more software when I was under the impression that the concierge package would be all that I need. It felt like I was at a car dealer buying a car and being pressured to add more options. So, I was able to cancel that purchase (don't see the reverse charge on my Visa yet) and I will uninstall the software. The next day I decided that I didn't want the concierge service either and cancelled that. I'm waiting to see that charge reversed on my Dell Preferred account. I told the individual that I have had a computer for 20 years and Dells for 12. I've so rarely needed any type of support other than hardware warranty type support. If I have a software problem I'll find an answer on the internet where there are plenty of resources. The bottom line is that I do not like having to struggle with someone with the accent and don't appreciate Dell hawking software purchases on me. I've been a loyal Dell user for a number of years but that could easily change. I'm wondering if the pressure to purchase additional software stems from the recent news stories of Dell's financial woes.