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Posted in reference to THIS ancient thread>
My dear friend is on the phone now with Dell as I type this comment.
He purchased his laptop in December 2007 and last night was the 3rd re-load of the Windows OS as directed by Dell Tech Support.
His calls last not minutes but literally hours and hours! One case # lasted a total of 14 hours before all was resolved, after loosing his family pictures including a wedding; until last night and the horror started yet again.
I stepped in for the first 2 1/2 hours last night on his behalf.
You see, I used to be a service technician myself and all Dell problems go through this same nightmare. I gave up my business working with people with Dell computers because it was almost immoral to have to charge people for my time when Dell was prolonging the issue. They should have been paying me to act as the on-site technician instead of the customer. The very customer who had purchased on-site support and never got it!
As I write this, he is being stonewalled by a Dell representative. He has asked repeatedly for an RMA# today. He has been infinitely patient (beyond reasonable). Perhaps Dell customer and technical reps have been trained by AOL specialists who are proven specialists at stonewalling and ignoring the customer's requests to cancel an account.
Anyway, last night after several levels of tech support; and then for the 3rd time of reloading Windows Vista in as many months...They tell us they'll call back in 1 hour. Call came in with the ID input of our own phone number. But upon answering the phone the other party immediately hung up. We called Dell Tech Support back no less than seven times, each time going back to voicemail.
This process started in the early evening and by Midnight, the re installation of the OS locked up and now won't reboot. Dell Tech Supt. won't return our call as promised.
Its now the following day as my dear friend is on the phone again. They tell us that the log indicates that they attempted several return calls. Only we know that this is a lie. Whomever entered that into the log did so fraudulently. They didn't even try to call the secondary contact number we gave them. His cell phone did not ring as both phones sat in front of us till it was finally time to give up (as Dell hopes?).
They offer him a refurbished computer now?????
They want to give a customer a used/refurbished computer after hours and hours and days of frustration.
They (tech support) last night started off the conversation before diagnostics by blaming the Trend anti-virus software for a possible problem with Windows. They encourage the purchase of Norton 360. They encouraged the purchase of a one-touch back-up external drive for safe keeping of data. What about the problem with this Dell purchase? It is apparent that Dell is avoiding refund/new system replacement at all costs. Rather they would further degrade customer relations to save a few bucks on their end. Meanwhile here is a good man; patient beyond belief, spending days on the phone, endless transfers, more Dell Reps ,repeatedly telling his Dell computer problems to each and every Dell Rep.
Needless to say, Dell has gone far far over the line with not only this customer but with many, many customers...
Coming from a Quality background, I can tell you that the number one priority for every business is Excellent Customer Service. #1
Product is second to customer service. If a customer can not be comforted in the fact that they will be taken care of... that resolution will be quick...then you have lost a customer, lost future purchases, lost future customers who read these many blogs and letters.
The only thing a customer has left is their voice. The voice to tell others their Dell Nightmare. In hopes of saving countless others this very same horrible experience.
Okay folks: Call now ended, two hours as a follow-up to last night's fiasco. Dell won't refund his money, they want to give him a refurbished computer. Huh? They cite 21 days even though there has been issues from the start. It was they who would not take it back. Of course its beyond 21 days.
The Dell Rep asks for the case # so that he can look up the original order. My friend asks with humor: "Which of the 21 case numbers would you like"?
Okay, he said that this person has agreed to exchange this flawed product with another new computer of the same model.
If this replacement proves to be an issue, it can not go any further than a total refund next time. My friend's patience has finally reached its end.
The Dell Nightmare will never be forgotten. The pure mention of the name Dell will illicit not positive but negatives and a story each listener will find movie-worthy!
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