Dell Poor Customer Service Austin Texas

Yesterday, I reported on what I thought was an example of incredibly poor customer service. Two individuals commented on my complaint. Robert wanted to know if it was a gray market computer. No, Bob, I ordered in online from Dell, it was shipped from Dell and I have an invoice and order number in hand, but there is no way to get that to Dell. Incidentally, Bob answered the question I was trying to ask Dell, and I didn't even have to buy anything from him.

On the other hand, Phoebe from Beverly Hills thought I was way out of line expecting an answer to a simple question on the 366th day I owned the computer. I also have a Dell laptop. The little spindle in the center of the DVD drive was not fastened when I received the computer. But it was O.K., if I remembered to remove the spindle from each DVD I played and replaced it properly. Yes, you guessed it - there came a day when I forgot to remove the spindle and could not find it anywhere. Since the unit is useless without the spindle, I asked Dell to sell me a 5 cent piece of plastic. They refused. The said I had to send the computer back and they would replace the whole DVD drive. So I did. It cost $189. And the best part is that the drive they sent back was the same one I sent in (I marked it), but with a new spindle.

I guess Phoebe thinks I should just have tossed out my desktop Dell instead of trying to find the answer to a question not covered in the documentation. Well, maybe that is the way it works in Beverly Hills, but university professors do not have that luxury.

So Phoebe, I hope you noted that Dell didn't care if my laptop was in its 366th day as long as I paid the $189 to fix a problem they caused. And, Phoebe, if you are really tossing out 366 day old computers, let me know. I will gladly drive to Beverly Hills and take them off your hands (no charge). That goes for all your friends as well.

That's it folks. if you still want to buy from Dell, don't ever say you weren't warned.

James
San Clemente, California
U.S.A.