Letter to Dell

Dear Dell,

                For the last 8 years, I have been using your products. When I went to college, I was given a Dell Inspiron 1525 to get all of my work done. This notebook worked wonderfully and because of such, I sang praises of Dell and their amazing computers. Since I did not have a television, I decided to buy a Dell monitor that could double as my TV. The monitor did everything I needed it to and more. Because of this, I continued to sing praises of Dell and their amazing products. Whenever I had a friend that was in need of a good piece of machinery, I would point them in your direction and I was happy to; your products were good for me so why wouldn’t they be good for someone I know?

                Now that I have graduated from college, I needed a new phone. I needed a phone that would be business savvy, well-crafted, and on the peak of technology today. I did my research; lo and behold, I found that the Dell Venue Pro (DVP) was just the phone I was looking for. I didn’t mind buying from Dell either since all of my prior purchases were so good. Once I got my DVP, I fell in love. The phone was great; the screen was beautiful, the OS was incredible, the battery life was a definite upgrade from my last  phone, and best of all it was pretty. I bought the phone on May 28, 2011 and was happy ever since. Well ALMOST ever since. The screen stopped working on the phone about two weeks in. Now as a tech-friendly person, I understand that these things happen. I call for a customer service, I tell them the situation, they assured me that I will receive a tracking number in 24 hours. That was the on June 17th.

Tuesday the 21st rolls by and I still haven’t received a tracking number. I called and was told by the dispatch that the system was down. They would call me back when it was up again. After waiting a day, I got fed up and called back myself. It turned out that their system was back up; they apologized for not giving me a call back as they have been swamped with calls. I empathize with them, I tell them about my phone. I asked whether or not my phone was out of stock looking for ways to excuse this scenario, but I was assured that there were phones still in stock at the warehouse and I would be sent a tracking number within 24 hours.

By Wednesday, I have yet to hear anything from customer service. I figured I will wait a little longer and I call at night. I am told that there was a discrepancy (the discrepancy being that customer service put the phone down as a tablet and not a phone) and the phone will be sent out as soon as possible. I am assured that the issue has been fixed in the computer and a new order number has been generated for me (< ADMIN NOTE : Order no. removed per privacy policy >). I ask for a tracking number; they explain to me that it has to be generated when being sent out from the warehouse. This makes plenty of sense. Customer service tells me the number will be sent within 48 hours.

Saturday the 25th rolls by and I still haven’t received a thing from Dell. Not a call. Not an email. Not a tracking number. I am now starting to lose my patience. I call the Customer Service and ask to speak to a manager. I am given to Manish. I explain to him the scenario and let him know that I have been without a phone for the past week. He empathizes with me, letting me know that he is sorry for all of this and that he will do everything he can for me. In my mind this is a simple feat: I just want my phone. He assures me that he will personally call me back when the tracking number is available.

Monday the 27th. I’m still waiting. How can this be the same company that has been so helpful to me over the years? I present this question to the next manager I spoke to (Pankaj) since Manish was unavailable. He assures me that this normally doesn’t happen and that he feels for my frustration. I tell him that there is a limit to how long empathy can go on until it is simply lip-service. He tells me that there are some communication issues with the warehouses. Since they are in India and the warehouse is in the United States, the only way they communicate is through emails. These emails are sent out and eventually, the warehouse gets back to them with all of the information. As much information as Pankaj has given me, I am still in the dark on when I will receive my phone, so I ask to speak to his manager (Sachin). Pankaj brings Sachin up to speed and Sachin seems horrified at the ordeal that I have gone through. He then assures me that my phone will be sent out within two business days. I express my skepticism to his words but he promises to restore my faith in the company. I WILL receive a tracking number in 24 hours.

Tuesday the 28th. No tracking number. No calls from Manish, Pankaj, or Sachin. I am furious at this point. I have been without a phone for 11 days and this is now seriously cutting into my life. I request to speak to Sachin; he is not in. I request to speak to Pankaj. He is not available. I request Manish; it seems he is busy on a call. The dispatcher asks if he can just call me back. I laugh and ask solemnly “I don’t know, can he?” The dispatcher (Akanksha) tries her best to help me but it is clear that there is nothing she can do. Needless to say, I wait for him to be free. Once we get into conversation, it is apparent that he remembers me and apologizes for all of the inconvenience that Dell has caused me. Then the empty promises start up again on how he is going to personally make sure that the warehouse is contacted so my phone can be shipped to me quickly. And for all my pain and heartache, he will send me an Otterbox phone case with the phone. This time, he will make sure to call me back and if he can’t he will make sure that Akanksha send me an email when something came in. I received an email 2 minutes after I got off the phone letting me know that the case number of the phone call I just had (Case #655068001) and that if I have any other issues to call them back.  

Wednesday the 29th. I receive an Otterbox phone case. No phone. No tracking number. Sadly, I slipped the case onto my broken phone. It looked nice.

Thursday the 30th. I speak to Pankaj this time around.  I ask him whether or not people who are buying the phones new are having this issue. He declares that they aren’t. So why am I? I left my phone company and lost my phone number to get this amazing phone, yet here I am without. He comes up with the idea that if nothing comes from the warehouse in 48 hours, he will just order the phone new. Sounds great! Though I still didn’t have anything, I still left the conversation feeling somewhat satisfied.

Friday, July 1st. I received an email from Akanksha explaining to me that the device would be sent to me on July 12th or 13th. I’m completely stunned. I just waited two weeks for a phone that I only enjoyed for two weeks, and now I have to wait AT LEAST another two weeks? I speak to Pankaj. He tells me he just received an email yesterday telling him that the phone is now back-ordered and there’s nothing he can do. I ask him “how long was it out of stock?”  “Probably about three days.” After all of that, now the phone is out of stock? And you couldn’t call me? I requested Pankaj to direct me to where I can receive a refund.

  This ordeal has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. As I type this on my Dell monitor, I have no other feelings but disdain for the company that gave me such good products. After all of this, I am left without a phone, I have to pay full price for another phone and now I have lost trust in one of my favorite companies.  I write this not to smear the name of Dell, but to showcase how you drove off a happy customer and willing advertiser for your company. I was more than patient with you and at the end of the day, I am left wondering why I spoke so highly of you in the first place. Here’s some insult to injury; I was fought with to get a refund for this phone because the 21-day warranty had run out. Isn’t that funny? The representative Katie let me know that she will be looking into it and she will call me back in 15 minutes. 6 hours later, here I am. Still waiting.

 

Regards,

 

Kevin Hall