Just recently purchased a SP2008WFP 20" Monitor with Webcam feature for my Mac-Mini.  But prior to purchasing I asked the sales rep about compatibility with MAC, I was assured that it was compatible and would work fine with my Mac. Once received, I connected the computer to the monitor through the DVI connections and nothing but the Self Test Feature Check appears. So I started the process all over, power off, unplug, replug, reboot. After attempting this several times with the same result,  I tried a different DVI and still it wouldn't operate.  Being totally frustrated, I attempted to connect to my PC and had no problem, it worked fine with my PC (connecting with VGA). So I'm left with no other option than to call Dell. After being on hold for 20 minutes I end up in India and struggling to communicate my situation with my friendly technical support rep Apu or Dave (not sure). Apu/Dave simply told me that Mac was not compatible and that's all there is to it.



Feeling completely frustrated after waiting a week and having to take off work for a 2 days to receive my package (Dell requires you to be home to sign for delivery and DHL didn't deliver when they told me they would...another story), I decide to call Dell in an effort to clarify the Mac incompatibility issue and decide to call sales (certainly they wouldn't sell me a monitor that's not compatible). I speak to my friendly sales rep Viccy in regards to placing an order for the SP2008WFP display and she assures me that the display will work fine with Mac and there would be no compatibility issues. That's when I explain my situation and the fact that the very knowledgeable technical support rep Apu has just told me that the display will not work with a Mac...."hold please"........ after holding for 5 minute, Viccy returns to tell me "that is correct, that display is not compatible with Mac".  And I tell her that she just told me that it was compatible with the Mac, that's when we enter the Twilight Zone,  "no, that's not what I siad/meant"  you should have known, I didn't know...........  well, she ended that conversation  quickly..... Everyone knows that the customer is never right!!!



Now feeling more than used and abused I call customer service to explain my situation. Knowing that I needed to speak to a supervisor/manager that would possibly understand my situation/frustration I ask my friendly customer service agent to allow me to speak to a manager and of course she will not connect me until I tell her my problem (the definition of futility). Well, once I have explained my situation and frustration she proceeds to tell me that everyone knows that Dell monitors are not compatible with Macs "even my 10 year old niece knows that". .... STUPID ME!!! And to make matters worse, I told her that I could not find anywhere on the website that stated the fact that Dell monitors were not compatible, when she in no uncertain terms told me that "it was my responsibility to know whether or not Dell monitors were compatible".  Again, the customer is always wrong....And stupid to boot!!!



Our conversation only went down hill from there. Can anyone say "CUSTOMER NO SERVICE"  (thank you Clark Howard-can't wait till he hears this one)!  Again, She would not allow me to speak to a manager, nor would she give me her name or operator number.  I told her that I had been informed by sales initially that there was no compatibility issue and that the monitor would work fine, that's when she basically calls me an idiot and a liar.  Well  I then told her to put me on hold and speak to the sales dept. and see what they told her about the compatibility.  After holding for 10 minutes she returns and starts to give me step by step instructions on connecting cables and pushing buttons without any explanation about compatibility.  She keeps giving me the same instruction and nothing is happening other than the same Self Test Feature box.  It suddenly gets very silent and I only hear rapid keystrokes (as if to modify the record of this call or to delte it's very existence).  In her frustration and to top off this wonderful experience she connects me to Apple (unbenounced to me).  Out of the blue I hear an apple menu and no longer hear my wonderful Dell rep.  I am then connected to a to a human at Apple who simply (and logically) says I need to contact Dell to determine the compatibility because they know of no such incompatibility issues. But he did tell me I was welcome to take the Mac-Mini and display to an Apple store and they'd be glad to help.



So, I'm about ready to pack up the monitor to ship back to Dell when I decide to try one more thing.  VGA to monitor with DVI adapterto the Mac and.... EUREKA!!!  It worked... what compatibility issue????  Ecstatic about my newfound discovery that all of Dell is unaware of, I shut everything down, unplug the Mac and replug my PC just to make sure it would still work with the PC in case I ever wanted to use the webcam and it starts up fine then goes into terminal power saving mode and even with numerous boots and reboots (regular, safemode, system restore) anything I can try to get it to work, but the monitor continues to go into power saving mode after every boot and will not come out of that mode to be functional.  

So now I'm left with these decisions:

(1) keep the monitor for the Mac using VGA with DVI adapter and not having any ability to use the webcam feature,

(2) keep the monitor and try to go through tech support frustration to determine problem with PC functionality

(3) send the monitor back and say goodbye to Dell.

 

Suggestions?