Dell Online Review

www.dell.com

Overall 3.63 of 5 view all 30 reviews

Cat
Charlotte, NC

Frustrating as Dell!

tech geek, an avid online shopper, Internet Addict, a gadget geek, a busy professional, pc-user

Pros

custom built computers, good selection, easy to navigate, easy to purchase

Cons

poor communication after the sale, frustrating customer support, delays

JUL

2007

Dell Online —

My plunge into darkness began about a month ago. I arrived home from an evening out with my husband and some friends, turned on my computer to check my e-mail and found that my hard drive was reporting a "S.M.A.R.T" failure, and my computer wouldn't boot. I spent about a week trying to salvage the drive, but all I had to show for my efforts on day 7 was a brick in an eMachine case, and a couple of new disk recovery CD-ROMs I had burned. I was faced with a decision: Spend minimal money and just replace the failed disk, or spend more money and end up with a fancy, whizzygig new computer. I chose the new computer. I went to Dell Online to build my custom computer, with visions of fancy Windows Vista icons dancing in my head.

I chose Dell because they're a reputable, well-known computer company and I could customize my computer at their website. I bypassed Gateway after checking their website and seeing similar computers offered at a much higher price. I didn't want a budget eMachine computer, not only because my previous (now-dead) machine was an eMachine, but also because I couldn't customize it. And I bypassed HP, as I the terrible quality of my husband's HP laptop had soured me on the entire line of HP products.

About Dell Online
Visitors to Dell's website can purchase a wide variety of Dell products, including the Inspiron line of notebooks (and just recently desktops, more on that later) and printers. Dell's site was easy to use, and I selected the Inspiron 531 desktop, which I then proceeded to configure and "trick out" as only a techie geek madwoman can do. I dropped all the peripherals I didn't need, and chose to add in tons of extra memory, to upgrade to Vista Home Premium, and to add in things like a wireless card, a 13-in-1 card reader and the DVD-RW drive upgrade.

In short, I customized my computer for speed, but I didn't add anything crazy or bizarre to it. At the end of my order process, I checked out and put in my credit card. Only after I finished ordering did I note that my "Estimated Ship Date" was two weeks from the date of my order.

Whoah.

As an Internet addict, I am the queen of short attention spans. On July 2nd, as I looked at my estimated ship date of July 16th, I took a few deep breaths and tried to tell myself that time offline was "good for me". I could straighten up my office, go swim at the neighborhood pool once in awhile, and maybe get out and meet my new neighbors. This was a good thing, this two week delay in the shipping of my computer. I calmed my quickened heart and wiped the sweat from my palms, prepared to go without "my fix" for two weeks.

Dell-ayed!?!! Dealing with Customer Service
As July 16th approached, I became excited. I checked the status of my order daily, all weekend long. July 16th arrived, and still my "Estimated Ship Date" said July 16th and my order was listed as still "In Production". I had mentally budgeted two weeks for my computer, not a day longer. So as I entered into the afternoon of July 16th, with nary a shipment in sight, I began my relationship with Dell Customer Support.

I called support, and was unsurprised when a fellow with a thick Indian accent eventually answered my call, after a long navigation through interactive voice menus. He was exceedingly polite, even as he told me that my computer shipment was to be delayed by one more week. Another week?! I took some deep breaths, closed my eyes, tried to find my happy place, and asked him why production of my computer had been delayed by another week, extending the production time by a full fifty percent.

He politely said, "Oh I think there is a backlog with the parts."

My next question was simple: Why had Dell not informed me of this delay? In fact, why did my "Estimated Ship Date" still show the 16th? At what point would Dell inform me of this delay officially? He had no answer.

I found out that Dell would inform me that my computer ship date had changed the next morning, the 17th, when without explanation my new ship date became July 23rd. Frustrated, I called support again, and spent twenty minutes talking to someone. My question was simple: Dell had provided me an estimate of two weeks. It had slipped a third week. What was the holdup exactly and could someone please give me some confidence that the new ship date was correct?

No one had any answers for me, but they were exceedingly polite about not knowing anything. I spent more time calling India than I did calling my own family and friends, and the best that I could get out of Dell was that they would "expedite" my order. When I asked what good "expediting" would do, if there was a delay on actual parts, they were again stumped.

I was also befuddled and distressed when I called, as every support representative would confirm my order by saying, "I see you've ordered an Inspiron laptop." After the fourth time saying, "No, I ordered the desktop," I finally stopped a representative mid-sentence and said, "Why do you all keep saying laptop? This isn't making me very comfortable here. Universally you all seem to think I've ordered a laptop." He explained saying that the Inspiron line of desktops was new, that previously all Inspirons were laptops.

Overall, I found that Dell customer service was extremely polite, but utterly unhelpful. I managed to escalate to a manager who gave me his 7 digit extension and promised a follow-up, but when he didn't, and when I called back to check and used his 7 digit extension, I received a busy signal and was disconnected. Chalk up another frustration.

A Day of Great Joy
By Friday of the week my computer was to originally arrive, I was honestly ready to go buy one off the shelf, crack the case and customize it myself. The Dell support representative who did finally follow up with me didn't have any status on my computer as of noon Friday, and asked me to please not cancel my order until the 23rd came and went. She had no response to my now standard line of, "Given that the date slipped once, what can you do to help my confidence that it won't slip again?" But she was unfailingly polite.

That evening, my shakes subsided when I logged on via my husband's computer (which by the way, sharing a computer is completely foreign and disturbing to me, I have found out) to find that my order had shipped! I would once again be able to feed the beast that is my Internet addiction!

After a week of calling India, speaking to reps across ten time zones (I got into the habit of asking them what time it was, and if they ever got the evening off), my computer was coming my way. And surprise of surprises, even FedEx ground shipping had an estimated arrival date of -- the next day??

Turns out that I had hounded people thousands of miles away about why my computer wasn't built when they said it would be, all to find out that my computer was built within an hour of my home. Oh the irony.

Cat's Bottom Line
In the grand scheme of things, even to an Internet addict, a week isn't a lot. But because Dell didn't communicate the delay until the day after my computer was supposed to ship, and even then didn't give a single real reason why, I lost faith that their order status page was at all accurate. If they'd slip the date by a week without so much as a word of explanation, or an e-mail, would they just blow by the second date as well? I honestly didn't know. The product is great. I have absolutely no complaints about what I got for my money. I just wish that Dell would have been more proactive in their communications during the ordering process.

Dell builds a nice computer, but dell-ays frustrated the whole experience.

Last edited on Jul 23, 2007

Dell Online is recommended by Cat

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Comments about Cat’s Review

I dealt with "Trevor" from India. What a joke, I have never had worse customer service in my life. Then there was a billing issue and my account stated that I was behind in payments (which wasn't true). If you think their customer service is awful, try dealing with their collection people. They called (no lie) 5-6 times a day harrassing me until we finally figured out it was an issue on their end.

Great review Cat. My guy was Sean. Sean from Bombay. He assured me my order would be in Boca Raton in days. But I told him I was now in New Dehli and that, of course started a whole new conversation. Even after I told him I was kidding he went on about New Dehli. Well, the stuff showed up and was OK but customer service there still rankles me.

Rudi

I had the same experience with Dell. Joe and Paul with thick Indian accents were oh so polite but knew NOTHING at all. I nearly canceled my laptop which WAS an Inspiron Laptop because they just got everything wrong over and over and pushed my ship date further and further back. The day I was going to cancel, they shipped it from Malaysia. It's fine but wow, what a hassle for me to give them a lot of money for a souped up laptop! Good review. I should write my own but remembering my frustration is painful.

Oh Cat the misery we have seen, or experienced at the hands and mouths of Indian support people named Paul, Mary, Liz and Pete, who are oh so polite but do nothing what-so-ever to fix our collective problems. Your horror was with Dell, mine was and is with HP that venerable stalwart of the computer industry who has delayed shipment of my part for almost a month now! Why just today Mary called to tell me of yet another delay in shipment! I feel you fellow geek, I feel you!

Vincent

I bought one Dell and went through customer service hell. Never again. I am not talking to any more "comrades" as the guy on the phone told me when he found someone who could speak better English.

Yes! And from my fancy new computer no less! So glad to be back. So glad I'm no longer computer-less! (Seriously, to me using someone else's computer is like using their toothbrush - just a little too icky and I was never comfortable doing it.)