What do you mean "spamming these forums" isn't going to help, who are you? And where did you get the idea that I spammed the forum, all I have done is to speak the truth that is not spamming the forum as you suggest if the truth hurts then so be it.
Still after 96 hours the so called upper management has not contacted me..that is the truth not spam as you call it.
Message Edited by just joe 906 on 04-29-2008 04:30 AM
Message Edited by just joe 906 on 04-29-2008 04:31 AM
Rohe is a computer user, a normal everyday person like you or me. He does not work for Dell, he is just someone that is knowlegable and enjoys helping others fix computer problems.
What he means by spamming is that your message was more of a rant rather than a request for help. The user forums are designed to allow someone to explain their problem and see if another user can help fix it. If you just scream that Dell Support is horrible and start giving your opinion, with no intent on asking for help, then that can be construed as spamming. And just FYI, another poster was told to stop spamming and all he did was write a thread about how he loved Dell and how good Dell was. Once again it wasn't a request, but rather just an opinion and it was considered spamming, so it is not necessarily so just because it's negative.
I have read your other thread and that states what the problem is, and it also gives solutions that may help. That is a good thread, no spam, unlike this one could be considered.
Understand that we all can sympathize as most of us have had computer problems. I just received one yesterday a new 1720 with VISTA ULTIMATE. Tried a couple programs that blue screened, Dreamscene was working, then it wasn't (traced it back to a video convertor program I installed and it's' working now), so we've all been there. If we can help, we will try, but we can't do anything if you just want to say Dell Support is horrible and tell us why. If you need help, we will do what we can. Hopefully a solution in the other thread will help you.
Okay sorry about the rant just upset that they put me thru the ringer even to the point that they had me remove keyboard, harddrive, memory etc and hanging up on me and still not able to correct the problem. Still 5 days now and no call from management, I use my personal laptop at work as well and really need it fixed. I really like the Inspiron 1520 and my fault I guess for installing the SP1 or trying to.
Actually in such a bind for a computer for work that I went to Best Buy today and looking at something cheap that I could buy and use until it is repaired. Was looking at a Toshiba for $499 and actually bought the Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop for $589 including tax. Very nice system, lightweight and pretty fast. Just hope my 1520 is fixed soon.
Yes, to address one of your questions that you asked tech support, contrary to what some of us understood when we purchased our computers, the in-home tech support means that they troubleshoot it by phone, email or online chat. This is not what I understood when I bought the machine--in thinking back I know that I asked the salesman about that to clarify and although I don't remember the exact conversation, that was the understanding I was left with. He may have directly lied to me--he did lie about calling him or emailing him if I had any questions. Once the sale was made and I tried emailing him he didn't bother to reply.
But that is the way with Dell. They diagnose it by one of those 3 methods. I would prefer email, but sometimes the turnaround time on getting an answer might be the next day. I've found that I can often get help on the user forums much faster. And there seem to be a lot of very knowledgeable people here.
Online chat can be faster and has the advantage that you should have a written log of the back and forth of what was said. I like to have it in writing so that I can go back and review it, although the chat session that I had on Sunday got aborted--the chat part--the tech was still there so he communicated via the helper program that let him control my machine--with my permission of course so I don't have a record of much of what went on.
That can be a good option for something especially that might have a quick solution that they know the answer to. So you might try that.
I would really recommend though that you start over here with the user forums and just mention what you did in the beginning of the message, including that you had talked to tech support with no results, or whatever, but focus on getting a solution to the problem. So come up with a subject that focuses on the problem with the machine--not Dell tech support (I well understand your frustration. I've had similar frustration with the tech support not being what I expected and had been led to expect and requiring way too much of my time and involvement. I've just spent maybe 2-3 hours with online chat on Sunday I think it was--I'm losing track of which day is which I've spent so much time working on the computer both by myself and many hours with tech support without much resolution. Although the 1st guy solved one problem but apparently created another one that we spent 1 1/2 hrs trying to resolve tonight right at dinner time until I finally said we weren't getting anywhere and I didn't want her to call me back again. It was taking way too much of my time. So I still have to figure out how to get my backup software to work again--probably downloading from their website which a supervisor offered to do but by then I was tired and hungry, etc. And this is not the first time I've had to spend hours dealing with a problem. These issues apparently were't Dell's fault and not hardware related apparently. But previously my HD failed and that took days to get taken care of and I was mailed the part and had to put it in myself since that was considered user installable. And then the days of trying to get all the software reinstalled, etc. And then an intermittent LAN connection issue which I pretty much figured was hardware since jiggling the connection at the back of the computer made a difference but yet I had to spend my time going through the diagnostics.)
So Dell tech support is what it is. I don't like it and sometimes they can give excellent and quick help. And of course in general its tough to get good tech support.
But repost your issue, focusing on the computer problem in the subject and in the post. And likely you will get some suggestions here to point you in the right direction. And include which version of Windows you are running. I was thinking XP, but then it hit me that you may be talking about Vista.
Also, have you checked the website Knowledge base articles and searched for your issue? They sure don't address every thing but they do have answers for a lot of stuff and even if it isn't exactly your issue, it could give a pointer in the right direction.
And for telephone tech support, it may depend on what time of day you call. After a contract tech came out to install the motherboard to fix the intermittent LAN connection (because I guess it was soldered to the motherboard or something) and was just a hardware guy who didn't make sure the problem was actually taken care of and also created another one I had to call Dell twice. They were simple straight forward issues and the first time I called I'm pretty sure that I actually got someone in the US who told me how to take care of that problem (I think it was disconnecting and turning off the modem, etc to let it reset or something like that.) Short and sweet. Took care of the problem. Then the next day i couldn't boot--I think it couldn't find the os or something so I had to call again. This time I got someone in India who quickly determined, when I told him that the guy had inserted a CD and updated the BIOS, that he hadn't made sure the setting were there for the C drive and the CD drive to be boot drives. So I had to go into I think it was F2 screen and select them. Together we figured it out (different models have slightly different setup of that screen so I had to tell him part of what it said so he could tell me what to do). basically it involved navigating to where I could check for both of those to be selected as boot drives.
Both of those calls were during the middle of the day time Pacific, whereas usually I've made contacts in more off hours which are also prime time for tech calls from home users. So time of day might make a difference.
So hope some of this helps. At 4 mo old, I guess you are stuck with what you've got. And yes, the other option would be to go to an outside service, but I would check your warranty since it likely would say something about work by unauthorized people. But even talking to others, someone else may have experienced the same thing. It may not be Dell's problem if its software related. And that's the way it is as the supervisor said today==they deal with hardware.
I know the frustration of not wanting to have to have the responsiblity of figuring out whether its hardware or software and having to troubleshoot it yourself.
My conclusion is that while I'm glad that mine did come with a 4 yr warranty, knowing now what I know, I would not likely buy another Dell because I don't want to have to do all the troubleshooting myself, taking so many hours of my time. My previous computer experience was that I took it to a shop where a knowledgeable tech analyzed it and figured out what was wrong and fixed it. Of course there was some initial troubleshooting to make sure it wasn't operator error or something like that.
my conclusion is that Dell is better for those who are better able to troubleshoot things and who like to be involved to that extent. For those of us who prefer to just take it to a tech who will figure it out and fix it, another arrangement is probably better. And it is too bad that this is not clear up front so that people can make more educated decisions in purchasing a computer and its tech support options.
Hope you can get some help, and I've found that I usually did on the user forums.
kathiMR is correct. Dell will come to your home and replace a hard drive etc. but will not troubleshoot for you. Dell will tell you step by step how to do instructions, however. I had an unuseable computer and Dell eventually replaced it for me. It had a dying hard drive among other problems. I could not have asked for a better support experience. However, I did spend several hours on the phone first trying to correct the problems to my wife's disgust. Dell will help you reinstall your OS.
Actually, maybe depending on the model, a HD is considered user replaceable. And they do telephone troubleshooting. So when my HD failed after some diagnostics they mailed one to me. Of course the instructions on the website at that time at least on a sub page warned about having a qualified person do the replacement, as I recall because of the danger of static discharge. I was rather nervous about it, but actually physically doing the replacement was the easiest part of the whole thing.
It was really a bummer that their hard drive failed after under 6 mo and I was stuck with hours of work in installing it and then installing XP, Office (they helped walk me through that but just installing XP took about 2 hours) and then there were all the other software programs and trying to recover what data I could that took hours.
So far my HD has failed and been replaced--by me with it provided by them, CD/DVD drive sent to me to be replaced and then the motherboard replaced by a contract tech who also replaced the CD/DVD drive while he was there.
And the quality of the tech support varies. Sometimes I've gotten ones who sound like they really know what they are talking about. Other times they seem to be reading a script without really knowing it themselves. Of course my experience with tech support in general is that its not very good for most companies. They have a tendency to be in a rush when reading an email and it seems that they read the first line or something and then try to respond, asking questions or making suggestions that if they had only read the whole thing they would have known didn't fit. This is not just Dell. Palm was really lame and the had a very short warranty period.
So I haven't tried email tech support with them lately.
And they mostly just do hardware. Of course sometimes its hard to tell whether its software or hardware of just what is causing a problem.
I have found that often, depending on the problem I can get a quicker and better answer from the user forums as there are some people here who seem to be very knowledgeable and aren't bound by the strict hardware boundaries.
Of course with software, like the OS checking Microsoft's website might be helpful. I haven't tried that very often as it seemed to be too techie but more recently I think I saw that you could check whether home user or IT person or something like that.
And OS problems would be related to MS and just installed on the Dell machines. And long ago I formed the opinion that getting tech support from microsoft was a lost cause. Of course that was back before the web and all that which has simplified getting help from various sources.
So basically with Dell, some things are considered user installable and they just order it and mail it for the customer to install although they may provide a walk through on the phone for at least part of it.
But for issues like installing a service pack malfunctions, probably the software forum for the appropriate os would be more likely to elicit responses with solutions as I would think a service pack is part of the os.
Well as I think I mentioned, I've also had good and bad experiences and I only have one Dell. I was thinking that it might have to do with the time of day. After they replaced the motherboard (outside contract co) and he was only hardware and did nothing to make sure that the problem that ocasioned the replacement--intermittent LAN connection due to apparently loose connector--was fixed. Nor, it turned out did he know what he was doing apparently when he updated the BIOS since he was saying something about having trouble booting and he did a work around.
The 2 problems surfaced a day apart. The intermittent LAN connection was no connection at all.
I called tech support number and got an American who quickly directed me that it basically needed to be disconnected, turned off for a couple of minutes to reset. Worked fine and I guess maybe it wasn't off long enough that it didn't remember the drives or something.
Next day it couldn't find the HD. Again called the same number. This time I got a guy who I believe was in India--he had a slight Indian accent. And again, he quickly and efficently walked me through the solution.
Of course I think both of these issues were pretty straight forward. And both handled quickly and efficiently. So it may not be the model, it may be the issue or the time of day or just call flow that determines who you get, I'm not sure.
When my HD failed (can't remember whether it was when it sort of bliped and then was ok the next day or when a few mo later it abruptly died right in the middle of some email), anyway, one of the times which was evening Pacific time and probably a peak time I was on hold for I think about an hr and a half or something like that and I don't think there was any indication how long it would be. If I would have known I would have hung up, had dinner and called back later. But that was about 3 yrs ago.
And I think its telling that a computer professional has issues with some of the tech support. I noticed, after I had made the purchase and went back and looked at the reports of all the tech support that Dell had won, when I clicked on them to check further, they were for tech support in a business environment.
that's a lot different than the average home user.
But I do know that in the approx 3 1/2 yrs that I have owned my Inspiron 5160 I have spent many, many hours dealing with tech support issues, especially when the HD failed.
So again, I don't think I will be purchasing another Dell. I don't want to have to spend so much of my time with extensive troubleshooting and taking my time on the phone or chat while they try to diagnose the problem. It would be nice if Dell was clearer about the exact nature of the tech support provided by their warranty so that purchasers can decide in advance in an informed manner if that is the kind of tech support that they want for their computer. It isn't the type that I want. I just want it to work so I can use it to help me with what I want to do, not get in the way of it as it has the last few days. And I still need to figure out how to get my backup software working again that apparently the first tech messed up and the 2nd one couldn't figure it out and a supervisor was going to do something but that was 1 1/2 hrs late for dinner after several previous days spending hours on the computer, both on my own and with tech support. And from what I had seen of the way they work, sort of painstakingly on some things that would have likely taken another hour or something.
They wanted to call me back, but I don't want to deal with more hours talking.
Sorry, didn't mean to get this long. At this point I'm very tired and also frustrated.
Bottom line is that I think Dell has a certain model of tech support that is remote access, rather than hands on with a tech doing the work. Its great for some things but a big pain for many issues and can require a huge amount of the customer's time. And some of the techs seem much more competent and also speak much clearer American style English than others.
Its also nice if the techs trying to help actually have worked on the computers that they are trying to provide support for or at least similiar ones. The US tech really was a tech and had worked on them. Others I could tell just seemed to be following a script, which of course can take longer if they have to go through the whole list rather than knowing the computer and being able to cut to the chase faster. Of course this is not unique to Dell. I ran into similar problems with Palm. Of course my Palm wasn't under warranty and they kept wanting me to call them which would incur a charge. I didn't think I should have to do that to get an explanation for an error message that wasn't included in their online FAQs or other that I could find.
Let me make this short and sweet. I had two warranty issues to deal with today, both were bad motherboards. One was a Dell Optiplex GX280 the other was a Dell Dimension 3000. I had done the troubleshooting before I called to save time. I am the owner of a computer shop and I do a lot of maintenance with Dell and other equipment. The first call on the GX280 took exactly seven minutes to an American support agent. I told him how I had troubleshot the motherboard and he agreed the motherboard was bad and had me a case and dispatch number in no time, very professional and very polite and quick! Next call... The Dimension 3000, that would be the hot line to New Delhi... an hour and twenty minutes fighting with incompetent and unprofessional people who almost have grasp of the English language. This is exactly why when someone asks what kind of computer to buy it is always either a Optiplex or Latitude, Never a Dimension or Inspiron! I have learned my lesson. Maybe others can learn from my previous mistakes! Warranty work does not have to be this painful!
kathiMR, we all sympathize with you, but, this forum is intended to help folks with technical issues. I hope you feel better after your rant. It might have been more useful if directed to Dell customer support. Judging from Dell's falling market share, others share your opinion. I personally have bought several Dell computers and have been happy with them including the one with hard drive failure.
Well, I wouldn't call it exactly a rant, although I am very frustrated right now.
As I started out, I've had good and bad and I was intending to comment that it wasn't necessarily the model that got me to US tech support or good tech support.
As far as contacting Dell, right now I don't even know who or how to contact someone to just repair my backup software that the tech apparently messed up without spending more hours of my time. Maybe I'll hunt up email tech support since that would take less of my time, although in the past that had often yielded the least results.
And I was trying to comment on the type of tech support taht Dell offers which seems to be a different model than other companies which some people apparently like just fine and others don't.
And I was trying to point out that often the user forums have answered questions quicker and better than official tech support. But that depends on the issue of course. If its advice, this has often been a great place to get it and can go beyond what official tech support would be expected to address.
As far as contacting Dell, right now I don't even know who or how to contact someone to just repair my backup software that the tech apparently messed up without spending more hours of my time. Maybe I'll hunt up email tech support since that would take less of my time, although in the past that had often yielded the least results.
Message Edited by KathiMR on 05-01-2008 05:02 PM
This is probably the right place to ask that sort of question. What sort of backup software are you using? What is/isn't working? If you provide some more details I'm sure someone around the forums can offer some assistance.
Thank you for the suggestions. I'll try posting it as a new subject and thanks for the subject title suggestion. And yes, I'm hopeful that someone here could help me to figure it out so I can just use it.
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
April 28th, 2008 23:00
Sorry you're having problems, but spamming these forums isn't going to help.
just joe 906
9 Posts
0
April 29th, 2008 08:00
What do you mean "spamming these forums" isn't going to help, who are you? And where did you get the idea that I spammed the forum, all I have done is to speak the truth that is not spamming the forum as you suggest if the truth hurts then so be it.
Still after 96 hours the so called upper management has not contacted me..that is the truth not spam as you call it.
eskymi
1.1K Posts
0
April 29th, 2008 11:00
Rohe is a computer user, a normal everyday person like you or me. He does not work for Dell, he is just someone that is knowlegable and enjoys helping others fix computer problems.
What he means by spamming is that your message was more of a rant rather than a request for help. The user forums are designed to allow someone to explain their problem and see if another user can help fix it. If you just scream that Dell Support is horrible and start giving your opinion, with no intent on asking for help, then that can be construed as spamming. And just FYI, another poster was told to stop spamming and all he did was write a thread about how he loved Dell and how good Dell was. Once again it wasn't a request, but rather just an opinion and it was considered spamming, so it is not necessarily so just because it's negative.
I have read your other thread and that states what the problem is, and it also gives solutions that may help. That is a good thread, no spam, unlike this one could be considered.
Understand that we all can sympathize as most of us have had computer problems. I just received one yesterday a new 1720 with VISTA ULTIMATE. Tried a couple programs that blue screened, Dreamscene was working, then it wasn't (traced it back to a video convertor program I installed and it's' working now), so we've all been there. If we can help, we will try, but we can't do anything if you just want to say Dell Support is horrible and tell us why. If you need help, we will do what we can. Hopefully a solution in the other thread will help you.
Good luck....
Dr. Lawrence Ho
2 Intern
•
2K Posts
0
April 29th, 2008 20:00
just joe 906
9 Posts
0
April 29th, 2008 23:00
Okay sorry about the rant just upset that they put me thru the ringer even to the point that they had me remove keyboard, harddrive, memory etc and hanging up on me and still not able to correct the problem. Still 5 days now and no call from management, I use my personal laptop at work as well and really need it fixed. I really like the Inspiron 1520 and my fault I guess for installing the SP1 or trying to.
Actually in such a bind for a computer for work that I went to Best Buy today and looking at something cheap that I could buy and use until it is repaired. Was looking at a Toshiba for $499 and actually bought the Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop for $589 including tax. Very nice system, lightweight and pretty fast. Just hope my 1520 is fixed soon.
Thanks
KathiMR
282 Posts
0
April 30th, 2008 04:00
Yes, to address one of your questions that you asked tech support, contrary to what some of us understood when we purchased our computers, the in-home tech support means that they troubleshoot it by phone, email or online chat. This is not what I understood when I bought the machine--in thinking back I know that I asked the salesman about that to clarify and although I don't remember the exact conversation, that was the understanding I was left with. He may have directly lied to me--he did lie about calling him or emailing him if I had any questions. Once the sale was made and I tried emailing him he didn't bother to reply.
But that is the way with Dell. They diagnose it by one of those 3 methods. I would prefer email, but sometimes the turnaround time on getting an answer might be the next day. I've found that I can often get help on the user forums much faster. And there seem to be a lot of very knowledgeable people here.
Online chat can be faster and has the advantage that you should have a written log of the back and forth of what was said. I like to have it in writing so that I can go back and review it, although the chat session that I had on Sunday got aborted--the chat part--the tech was still there so he communicated via the helper program that let him control my machine--with my permission of course so I don't have a record of much of what went on.
That can be a good option for something especially that might have a quick solution that they know the answer to. So you might try that.
I would really recommend though that you start over here with the user forums and just mention what you did in the beginning of the message, including that you had talked to tech support with no results, or whatever, but focus on getting a solution to the problem. So come up with a subject that focuses on the problem with the machine--not Dell tech support (I well understand your frustration. I've had similar frustration with the tech support not being what I expected and had been led to expect and requiring way too much of my time and involvement. I've just spent maybe 2-3 hours with online chat on Sunday I think it was--I'm losing track of which day is which I've spent so much time working on the computer both by myself and many hours with tech support without much resolution. Although the 1st guy solved one problem but apparently created another one that we spent 1 1/2 hrs trying to resolve tonight right at dinner time until I finally said we weren't getting anywhere and I didn't want her to call me back again. It was taking way too much of my time. So I still have to figure out how to get my backup software to work again--probably downloading from their website which a supervisor offered to do but by then I was tired and hungry, etc. And this is not the first time I've had to spend hours dealing with a problem. These issues apparently were't Dell's fault and not hardware related apparently. But previously my HD failed and that took days to get taken care of and I was mailed the part and had to put it in myself since that was considered user installable. And then the days of trying to get all the software reinstalled, etc. And then an intermittent LAN connection issue which I pretty much figured was hardware since jiggling the connection at the back of the computer made a difference but yet I had to spend my time going through the diagnostics.)
So Dell tech support is what it is. I don't like it and sometimes they can give excellent and quick help. And of course in general its tough to get good tech support.
But repost your issue, focusing on the computer problem in the subject and in the post. And likely you will get some suggestions here to point you in the right direction. And include which version of Windows you are running. I was thinking XP, but then it hit me that you may be talking about Vista.
Also, have you checked the website Knowledge base articles and searched for your issue? They sure don't address every thing but they do have answers for a lot of stuff and even if it isn't exactly your issue, it could give a pointer in the right direction.
And for telephone tech support, it may depend on what time of day you call. After a contract tech came out to install the motherboard to fix the intermittent LAN connection (because I guess it was soldered to the motherboard or something) and was just a hardware guy who didn't make sure the problem was actually taken care of and also created another one I had to call Dell twice. They were simple straight forward issues and the first time I called I'm pretty sure that I actually got someone in the US who told me how to take care of that problem (I think it was disconnecting and turning off the modem, etc to let it reset or something like that.) Short and sweet. Took care of the problem. Then the next day i couldn't boot--I think it couldn't find the os or something so I had to call again. This time I got someone in India who quickly determined, when I told him that the guy had inserted a CD and updated the BIOS, that he hadn't made sure the setting were there for the C drive and the CD drive to be boot drives. So I had to go into I think it was F2 screen and select them. Together we figured it out (different models have slightly different setup of that screen so I had to tell him part of what it said so he could tell me what to do). basically it involved navigating to where I could check for both of those to be selected as boot drives.
Both of those calls were during the middle of the day time Pacific, whereas usually I've made contacts in more off hours which are also prime time for tech calls from home users. So time of day might make a difference.
So hope some of this helps. At 4 mo old, I guess you are stuck with what you've got. And yes, the other option would be to go to an outside service, but I would check your warranty since it likely would say something about work by unauthorized people. But even talking to others, someone else may have experienced the same thing. It may not be Dell's problem if its software related. And that's the way it is as the supervisor said today==they deal with hardware.
I know the frustration of not wanting to have to have the responsiblity of figuring out whether its hardware or software and having to troubleshoot it yourself.
My conclusion is that while I'm glad that mine did come with a 4 yr warranty, knowing now what I know, I would not likely buy another Dell because I don't want to have to do all the troubleshooting myself, taking so many hours of my time. My previous computer experience was that I took it to a shop where a knowledgeable tech analyzed it and figured out what was wrong and fixed it. Of course there was some initial troubleshooting to make sure it wasn't operator error or something like that.
my conclusion is that Dell is better for those who are better able to troubleshoot things and who like to be involved to that extent. For those of us who prefer to just take it to a tech who will figure it out and fix it, another arrangement is probably better. And it is too bad that this is not clear up front so that people can make more educated decisions in purchasing a computer and its tech support options.
Hope you can get some help, and I've found that I usually did on the user forums.
Dr. Lawrence Ho
2 Intern
•
2K Posts
0
April 30th, 2008 06:00
kathiMR is correct. Dell will come to your home and replace a hard drive etc. but will not troubleshoot for you. Dell will tell you step by step how to do instructions, however. I had an unuseable computer and Dell eventually replaced it for me. It had a dying hard drive among other problems. I could not have asked for a better support experience. However, I did spend several hours on the phone first trying to correct the problems to my wife's disgust. Dell will help you reinstall your OS.
KathiMR
282 Posts
0
April 30th, 2008 09:00
Actually, maybe depending on the model, a HD is considered user replaceable. And they do telephone troubleshooting. So when my HD failed after some diagnostics they mailed one to me. Of course the instructions on the website at that time at least on a sub page warned about having a qualified person do the replacement, as I recall because of the danger of static discharge. I was rather nervous about it, but actually physically doing the replacement was the easiest part of the whole thing.
It was really a bummer that their hard drive failed after under 6 mo and I was stuck with hours of work in installing it and then installing XP, Office (they helped walk me through that but just installing XP took about 2 hours) and then there were all the other software programs and trying to recover what data I could that took hours.
So far my HD has failed and been replaced--by me with it provided by them, CD/DVD drive sent to me to be replaced and then the motherboard replaced by a contract tech who also replaced the CD/DVD drive while he was there.
And the quality of the tech support varies. Sometimes I've gotten ones who sound like they really know what they are talking about. Other times they seem to be reading a script without really knowing it themselves. Of course my experience with tech support in general is that its not very good for most companies. They have a tendency to be in a rush when reading an email and it seems that they read the first line or something and then try to respond, asking questions or making suggestions that if they had only read the whole thing they would have known didn't fit. This is not just Dell. Palm was really lame and the had a very short warranty period.
So I haven't tried email tech support with them lately.
And they mostly just do hardware. Of course sometimes its hard to tell whether its software or hardware of just what is causing a problem.
I have found that often, depending on the problem I can get a quicker and better answer from the user forums as there are some people here who seem to be very knowledgeable and aren't bound by the strict hardware boundaries.
Of course with software, like the OS checking Microsoft's website might be helpful. I haven't tried that very often as it seemed to be too techie but more recently I think I saw that you could check whether home user or IT person or something like that.
And OS problems would be related to MS and just installed on the Dell machines. And long ago I formed the opinion that getting tech support from microsoft was a lost cause. Of course that was back before the web and all that which has simplified getting help from various sources.
So basically with Dell, some things are considered user installable and they just order it and mail it for the customer to install although they may provide a walk through on the phone for at least part of it.
But for issues like installing a service pack malfunctions, probably the software forum for the appropriate os would be more likely to elicit responses with solutions as I would think a service pack is part of the os.
KathiMR
282 Posts
0
April 30th, 2008 23:00
Well as I think I mentioned, I've also had good and bad experiences and I only have one Dell. I was thinking that it might have to do with the time of day. After they replaced the motherboard (outside contract co) and he was only hardware and did nothing to make sure that the problem that ocasioned the replacement--intermittent LAN connection due to apparently loose connector--was fixed. Nor, it turned out did he know what he was doing apparently when he updated the BIOS since he was saying something about having trouble booting and he did a work around.
The 2 problems surfaced a day apart. The intermittent LAN connection was no connection at all.
I called tech support number and got an American who quickly directed me that it basically needed to be disconnected, turned off for a couple of minutes to reset. Worked fine and I guess maybe it wasn't off long enough that it didn't remember the drives or something.
Next day it couldn't find the HD. Again called the same number. This time I got a guy who I believe was in India--he had a slight Indian accent. And again, he quickly and efficently walked me through the solution.
Of course I think both of these issues were pretty straight forward. And both handled quickly and efficiently. So it may not be the model, it may be the issue or the time of day or just call flow that determines who you get, I'm not sure.
When my HD failed (can't remember whether it was when it sort of bliped and then was ok the next day or when a few mo later it abruptly died right in the middle of some email), anyway, one of the times which was evening Pacific time and probably a peak time I was on hold for I think about an hr and a half or something like that and I don't think there was any indication how long it would be. If I would have known I would have hung up, had dinner and called back later. But that was about 3 yrs ago.
And I think its telling that a computer professional has issues with some of the tech support. I noticed, after I had made the purchase and went back and looked at the reports of all the tech support that Dell had won, when I clicked on them to check further, they were for tech support in a business environment.
that's a lot different than the average home user.
But I do know that in the approx 3 1/2 yrs that I have owned my Inspiron 5160 I have spent many, many hours dealing with tech support issues, especially when the HD failed.
So again, I don't think I will be purchasing another Dell. I don't want to have to spend so much of my time with extensive troubleshooting and taking my time on the phone or chat while they try to diagnose the problem. It would be nice if Dell was clearer about the exact nature of the tech support provided by their warranty so that purchasers can decide in advance in an informed manner if that is the kind of tech support that they want for their computer. It isn't the type that I want. I just want it to work so I can use it to help me with what I want to do, not get in the way of it as it has the last few days. And I still need to figure out how to get my backup software working again that apparently the first tech messed up and the 2nd one couldn't figure it out and a supervisor was going to do something but that was 1 1/2 hrs late for dinner after several previous days spending hours on the computer, both on my own and with tech support. And from what I had seen of the way they work, sort of painstakingly on some things that would have likely taken another hour or something.
They wanted to call me back, but I don't want to deal with more hours talking.
Sorry, didn't mean to get this long. At this point I'm very tired and also frustrated.
Bottom line is that I think Dell has a certain model of tech support that is remote access, rather than hands on with a tech doing the work. Its great for some things but a big pain for many issues and can require a huge amount of the customer's time. And some of the techs seem much more competent and also speak much clearer American style English than others.
Its also nice if the techs trying to help actually have worked on the computers that they are trying to provide support for or at least similiar ones. The US tech really was a tech and had worked on them. Others I could tell just seemed to be following a script, which of course can take longer if they have to go through the whole list rather than knowing the computer and being able to cut to the chase faster. Of course this is not unique to Dell. I ran into similar problems with Palm. Of course my Palm wasn't under warranty and they kept wanting me to call them which would incur a charge. I didn't think I should have to do that to get an explanation for an error message that wasn't included in their online FAQs or other that I could find.
newnanpc
2 Posts
0
April 30th, 2008 23:00
Dr. Lawrence Ho
2 Intern
•
2K Posts
0
May 1st, 2008 15:00
kathiMR, we all sympathize with you, but, this forum is intended to help folks with technical issues. I hope you feel better after your rant. It might have been more useful if directed to Dell customer support. Judging from Dell's falling market share, others share your opinion. I personally have bought several Dell computers and have been happy with them including the one with hard drive failure.
KathiMR
282 Posts
0
May 1st, 2008 22:00
Well, I wouldn't call it exactly a rant, although I am very frustrated right now.
As I started out, I've had good and bad and I was intending to comment that it wasn't necessarily the model that got me to US tech support or good tech support.
As far as contacting Dell, right now I don't even know who or how to contact someone to just repair my backup software that the tech apparently messed up without spending more hours of my time. Maybe I'll hunt up email tech support since that would take less of my time, although in the past that had often yielded the least results.
And I was trying to comment on the type of tech support taht Dell offers which seems to be a different model than other companies which some people apparently like just fine and others don't.
And I was trying to point out that often the user forums have answered questions quicker and better than official tech support. But that depends on the issue of course. If its advice, this has often been a great place to get it and can go beyond what official tech support would be expected to address.
dsopro
97 Posts
0
May 2nd, 2008 14:00
This is probably the right place to ask that sort of question. What sort of backup software are you using? What is/isn't working? If you provide some more details I'm sure someone around the forums can offer some assistance.
Dr. Lawrence Ho
2 Intern
•
2K Posts
0
May 2nd, 2008 17:00
KathiMR
282 Posts
0
May 3rd, 2008 00:00