There is no bigger travesty, no bigger piece of crap (POS) than that awful four letter word. Dell. I have a few horror stories to share, but nothing strikes me funnier than the words, "I will never buy a Dell again." It was the number one sentence I heard at CompUSA, (number two was, "Next time I'm getting a Mac."), and I have heard it over and over since. No institution I have worked at will ever buy a Dell again either.
I have a client who made the mistake of buying Dell's a few years ago, and they feel the pain every time they pay for a new service contract and ever time they need an on-site repair call (who have never been on time, usually a day or more late). Lately that has been more often than they would like. One machine is on it's second motherboard and RAM (and maybe video card) in six months, another is about to go onto its third set in about the same amount of time. Pathetic. Their customer is terrible. I give a company a "three strikes" policy. If a machine breaks down because of the same problem three times, I don't accept further repairs, I make them replace the machine, regardless of how far up the food chain I need to go to get it done.
A colleague had a Dell laptop. It needed a new battery (which they were willing to buy as it was no longer covered) and a new AC adapter. Dell insisted on sending a tech (usually a contract guy who also does other brands) to replace the motherboard (My colleague didn't want this). The machine has been nothing but unstable since. I over heats, they came back and replaces the heatsink and fan. It didn't help. Now she just wants a machine replacement, and will never buy a Dell again.
I must also say in my personal experience, their customer service is not what it is cracked up to be, but I'll give them that they have gotten my issues resolved and usually in a timely manner. The people are usually nice (however institutions get the cream of the crop), are attentive and literate, and are willing to come off script. The parts aren't sent as quickly as some other companies, but the seem to work the first time (unlike another recent problem I had with MPC the new and "improved" Gateway, but that is for another entry).
These are typical stories I hear and witness about the four letter word. And these are just a couple of examples. So please if you have to buy a PC for goodness sake don't go to Dell.
Addendum: I wanted to link another great Dell related blog entry from another blogger: Dell Hell
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4 comments:
dear random tech guy
i am in dell
i sit here typing on this 1501
inspiron- BUT you know a worse
than d(hell) is the F....VISTA
software.
thank you for your warning albiet
a bit too late. haha
rita
I am sorry to hear it was too little too late Rita, I really am. I know someone who sent their Dell back BECAUSE of Vista, they couldn't even activate it without high speed internet (they only had dial-up). Dell (allegedly)even commented (at the time) that they had to start selling XP again due to the number of Vista machines returned, and customers literally hanging up on them when they found out they could only get Vista. Best of luck to you!
I support a smallish company with a few dozen PCs, predominantly Dells from previous generations (P4-based, XP). I have not been frustrated by Dell support, because 9 times out of 10, I don't use them. Our systems are generally out of warranty, so I get parts myself. Dell's ubiquity is a plus here, because a lot of people sell parts for them. Competition means you can generally get decent prices and, once you get used to Dell's notion of engineering, most of them can be replaced fairly easily. Sure, I'd rather have Macs, but I can live with this alternative.
Otto you seem to be an exception, but at the same time are in a good position. I do disagree about Dell parts, I don't have time to be searching eBay for their extremely proprietary parts (I know Apple is proprietary, but I expect it from them). It wouldn't be so bad if you could just throw any motherboard in a pinch, but with those silly daughterboards they use for things like front panel USB, sound, or even the power switch you can't. The HP's and even many of the Gateways I support could use generic parts in a pinch.
I will remember your words, "Dell's notion of engineering", so wonderfully and succinctly put. Brilliant. But that besides the service that is my main problem with Dell, I don't want to tolerate their notion of engineering. Thankfully I really don't have to anymore. They refuse to buy them anymore where I work, and I am moving them (rapidly) out of circulation (especially those ones with the useless RDIMMs). They go to a junk pile where I scavenge them, and the on to recycling and salvage. Just where I like them.
I wouldn't look forward to ubiquity much longer, with Gateway's assets being sold to Acer (consumer) and MPC (commercial) Acer got bigger. Plus Dell's profits and sales are among the lowest amongst PC manufacturer's. Allow me to predict that in 5 or so years, there won't be a Dell.
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