[Krydor]

Awhile back in the other place, I made mention of my new kickass computer from Dell. Dude, I was getting a Dude! So I got a Dell. All in all, a fine computer.

That all went out the window this weekend. My superfantastic DVD burner crapped out. All in all, not a big deal. I decided to get the super warranty! After 2 hours of jerky tech support going through a number of steps to confirm that yes, the DVD was broken they decided to send me a new DVD. Huzzah!

Or was there a cause for celebration? About 2 hours ago a package from Dell arrived. Inside the package was a return label, the assorted DVD drivers and 2 fluffy deals to keep my new DVD safe. However, there was a lack of a DVD inside the box.

Time to call Dell.

"Hello Dell? Yeah, my replacement DVD burner wasn't sent," I politely intone.

"Wow, do you have a tracking number dealie?" Says the gal on the other end.

"Sure do!" My problems were almost solved. In mere seconds, I assumed, my DVD would be on its way.

"Paul (because I'm all 'Call me Paul'), you'll have to call the other department, because we can't do that here. I have a number for you to call."

I found this odd, to say the least. They can't just transfer me? Well, whatever. My wait on hold for this nice gal was non-existent. Once again, I made an assumption that the other department would take no time at all to get this mess straightened out.

10 minutes and various soothing Mozart sonatas later, a voice pops on the line. "Yes, how can I help you?"

I repeat to him my situation. A fairly easy fix, right? Oh, how incorrect you'd be.

"All I got was a box with 4 disks in it, there was no DVD."

"So your DVD works then?"

"No, you guys were supposed to send me a new one."

"You got the disks ok?"

"Yes, the disks are fine. What I was wondering was the status of my replacement DVD burner which is supposed to be in the box."

"We weren't sending you a DVD burner, just some disks."

"No," my voice getting a slight edge to it, "according to all the paperwork in front of me, the first item on the list is a new Panasonic DVD burner."

"You didn't get it?"

"Yes, that's correct. I would like for you to send me the actual hardware, the actual drive."

"Let me put you on hold."

5 minuites later, he's back! "We will send you the new DVD burner. I will have to put you on hold for a new order number." Another 5 minutes my new DVD was on its way.

Next time, I'll do what I normally do: build my own computer. First and last time I go with Dell. At least I know that when I build my own, the tech support is not that bright and I can't be put on hold.

[Pun]

Sounds like you at least got someone who spoke English. That's a far cry from what I always get when I have to call for support on my Linksys router.

[Krydor]

Well, the gal spoke English. The dude? I'm fairly good with deciphering accents. The dude, well, let's say English was his 3rd language. He sounded like a French Hindu, which was the weirdest thing I've ever heard.

[Jack Quinn]

I have had to deal with Dell a few times, usually nothing too terrible. The latest back and forth with them was to fix a billing mistake. The most frustrating part is talking to people you just cannot understand.

I will say this, they may not be great, but they are a far cry better than the folks at Gateway. THAT was a runaround!

[Outback Frito Pendejo]

After a decade of owning Dells I gave up on them. This summer my 11 month old PC crashed. After the usual hour on the phone with India, they started sending over this creepy guy who made several tries at fixing it, to no avail. Every time he came to the house, he stole pens. (Cheap plastic ones, but still creepy.) After nearly a month I finally got a replacement PC from them.

Prior to this mess, I had used a pre-installed "Dell Jukebox" feature, after which performance slowed down considerably, and eventually Dell tech support advised that users of this feature were complaining of this problem and they advised getting rid of it, but the 3rd party vendor (Musicmatch, IIRC),I had paid already wouldn't refund the balance of my subscription.

Building my own is not in my skill set, but a local company built one I use in my office and they send a tech over within an hour if anything goes wrong, so they will get my future business.