Why I don't like Dell

[rkcstr]

July 2007 I purchased an XPS M1330 notebook, pretty much loaded and 3 years in-home/accidental warranty.

I received it 2 months later, in Sept 2007, due to high demand.  It looked and ran great and I loved it.

Since then, I have had the screen replaced (including failed attempts at doing so) 7 times, the hard drive (not including NEW drives included in replacement computers) twice, motherboard somewhere around 5-7 times, AC adapter once, and other misc. things.

None of this was "accidental" damage (by me, anyway).  

Two notable incidents:

1.  With my first (original) machine, the hard disk failed along with the monitor (not for the first time).  They sent me a new hard drive, that didn't work in the machine either, and they made me sent it to Depot because they said they couldn't send a replacement screen and motherboard at the same time (which later was not the case).  I sent it to the Depot and I got it back 2 days later... but without ANYTHING done!  There was note saying that the harddrive was "backordered" and it would be a few days.  At this point I had already not had a working computer for about a week, so I got along without a computer for some time and it went by until 3 weeks later I sat wondering "when is my computer going to be fixed?"  I called them up and according to the records, the original manufacturer of the hard drive was backordered, but they had OTHER brands of the SAME hard drive available... when I asked why they just didn't use one of those 3 WEEKS AGO, she said "I don't know".  Well, she was actually helpful, however she agreed that the depot "dropped the ball".  Well, my dad (who actually paid for it) called them up and gave them some crap and instead of me waiting for the Depot to screw up again, they sent me a new computer.

2.  Well, 3 months later, my AC adapter port quit on me (computer wouldn't charge).  They came to replace the MB, but then the screen was damaged (wasn't damaged the last I looked at it).  So, then they came back again to replace the screen and they did.  1 week later, the screen just stopped working... screen was all colored lines.  Over the past two weeks, they attempted 3 TIMES to replace the screen and motherboard and each time the screen came to the tech with one of the PCBs on it BENT and ended up not working.  The last time the tech told me they were sending a replacement computer.  Well, two days later I get an empty box from Dell.  I call Dell and they tell me I'm supposed to send it the the DEPOT!  I'm like "no, I was told I was getting a new computer".  Well, the guy says that's not what the records say, but after talking to his manager, they agreed to send a new one and since it was Friday, he said to call back this week to see when I should get it.  I called today (Tues) and they tell me that they can't tell me when I should get it because its still "processing" and "in production" and that it may take 9 to 21 DAYS before I get the computer!!!  I basically tell the guy that isn't good enough, I NEED A COMPUTER NOW.  He tells me there's nothing he can do, but I can call customer service.  So, I basically just give up for today and planned to call them tomorrow.  Well GUESS WHAT... knock at the door, FedEx delivery person hands me a NEW COMPUTER from Dell... WTF?? I thought it was still "in production"??  Am I going to get ANOTHER computer in 9 to 21 days, then?


I basically now believe that Dell has no freaking clue what is going on in their own company and every person there is basically just sitting behind a computer with no idea what they're talking about.  Simply stated, I will NEVER buy a computer from Dell again.

 

[maxkillz]

never owned a dell never will custom home built since 1998 it's always been cheaper and better to make a computer yourself

 

[thesk8nmidget]

my sister bought a dell xps and 3 times the screen is broken 2 times the motherboard broken fingerprinter reader failer who knows how many times and about 2 dozen other things... she has had less than 2 months usage ALL TOGETHER and has owned it for over a year they will no longer warranty it since she had the 1 year warranty and still needs a new screen and motherboard.

i always tell people to stay away from dell...



she ended up buying an hp laptop and got through her school work that way and it has yet to fail.... while the dell is still unusable.

 

[john_lawson]

dont you love thier customer service from India  :-? i bought my home unit a 4600 around 1400 bucks threre years ago a week after purchasing it it wouldn't turn on sent it back they gave me a new one then after about two months i get this phone call saying i'm late on my payment i said excuse me i paid it off in full .i sent them a copy of the cancelled check they had cashed then all was well for about two more months apparently they had sent me to collections even after i provided a paid in full reciept pissed me off then my computer screwed up again and they didn't want to fix it because i was late on my payments bs ,i paid it in full a week after i recieved it it turned out being a person from fresno 45 miles away also purchased  the same computer with the same name as my wife -they did fix my computer but as recieved a bad mark on my credit I will never buy a dell again!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[thesk8nmidget]

john that sounds like it enough for a law suit! dell can afford it too!

credit is not something you can take lightly these days! i would be livid!

 

[john_lawson]

yea the only way that they stopped calling me asking fort money
was they re-ran my wifes social security number and guess what it was another woman in another town --i hate dell they didnt even say sorry

 

[pullbangdead]

Crazy, Dell has been great for me, but HP is giving me crap right now. I have had a Dell laptop for a little over 5 years now. I abused the heck out of this thing, outright dropped it several times, broke everything on it at least once. But I had the 4-year accident-proof warranty, and every time anything happened, a tech was at my house replacing everything the same week. All my replacements went perfectly smooth, as well. No qualms what-so-ever. I also found their India people to be quite good. (And I believe the XPS series Rkcstr has includes 100% US support as well, I don't think anyone from India handles the XPS.) Glad you finally got that new computer in, sounds like you had some terrible luck.

If it makes you feel any better, I had a friend go through the same thing with Apple, he ended up going through 3 totally new computers before it was all said and done, so it's not all isolated to one company. I can forgive terrible luck with the machines and devices if the company takes care of it and handles the problem in a good-faith and professional manor.

But my wife's HP right now, is crap and HP's service is USELESS. This computer her dad bought her for Christmas last year, and had just the base 1-year warranty (she never carries it anywhere, just leaves it on the desk, nothing major) against manufacturer defects. Its hinges had always been stiff, and one day a month ago, when opening/closing the laptop, the left hinge broke inside the casing. The actual piece of metal, right at one of the two nut/bolt sets that hold the hinge to the screen, just snapped. The hinge is so stiff that without the extra leverage of the screen, the hinge won't move now, and operating the screen pops the hinge mechanism out of the case and breaks the plastic. Being a materials scientist who has spent YEARS learning about the deformation and fracture of metals, I look at the metal that broke, and it's clear that the screw hole was a stress concentration point and the metal around it fatigued, quite clearly. And I don't think I have to tell anyone, if the metal fatigued in less thna a year, there was a problem with it to begin with. So I send it back to HP, and now they want me to pay for it because, and I quote "there is damage to the laptop, and that damage does not constitute a factory defect." I have gone rounds with this one lady, who is (according to her) the ultimate authority for the entire company on what will and will not be covered under warranty, on how normal usage and a factory defect caused this, not misuse. But they will not yield, and have given me so many run-arounds it's not even funny. The hinge broke through normal opening and closing of the laptop, and somehow that's not covered under "normal use", apparently opening and closing the screen constitutes "misuse" to HP.

 

[john_lawson]

nooo thats the model i was getting ready to buy next :-? hp?

 

[maxkillz]

nooo thats the model i was getting ready to buy next :-? hp?

build your own, it's cheaper you will have a MUCH better computer and all the warranties are on each part so if anything goes wrong change the part I can get 4gb of ram for $80 a 1tb hard drive for $109 a case for <$50 a decent motherboard for $150 a sweet graphics card for $100 audio card for $150 with 7.1 out put 2 DVD burners for $40 each a keyboard as little as $10 if you don't game and same with the mouse. a moniter costs about $200 for a decent LCD. did I miss anything? oh yea and a processor can range from $70 for an ok one up to $300 for a nice one.

 

[rkcstr]

I don't think building a laptop is very easy    Desktops, yes, I built one myself last year.

However, I think most of the problems with Dell have been their severe lack of follow-through.  Sure, they've made an effort, but for EVERY SINGLE issue I've had, it has never been fixed the first time, I always have had repeat visits (if not MANY visits) for the same issue.

Part of the problem is probably the design of this laptop, since is is very thin and lightweight, I don't think they built it durable enough for everyday use.  Poor design leads to problems later.

And I agree about HP, not haven't had one personally, a friend of my and my dad both had problems with their HP and they had terrible time with their customer service.  My dad had to send his computer in to fix the monitor and they REFORMATTED his hard drive!  My friend had several issues with his and had it replaced a few times after a lot of arguing on the phone.

If I was to get a new computer, I'd probably go with one that is (presumably) built better and less likelihood of breaking, like IBM/Lenovo. I hear their higher end laptops are built well, though I don't know anything about their customer service or anything. The U330 looks cool.

 

[maxkillz]

One Answer for everyone: ALIENWARE !!
The best service and laptops around.

I thought Dell bought Alienware :-?

 

[thesk8nmidget]

One Answer for everyone: ALIENWARE !!
The best service and laptops around.

that is terrible advise!

seriously they are highly overpriced "cool" looking computers.

 

[kernelpanic]

I don't think building a laptop is very easy    Desktops, yes, I built one myself last year.

Actually Asus makes barebones laptops now. It's pretty easy to slap components in and go.

And maxkillz- yes, Dell owns alienware. Which makes Wes's post Hi-larious considering the title of the thread.

cheers,
kp

 

[HumanSymphony]

[quote author=rkcstr link=1225221993/0#9 date=1225238286]I don't think building a laptop is very easy    Desktops, yes, I built one myself last year.

And maxkillz- yes, Dell owns alienware. Which makes Wes's post Hi-larious considering the title of the thread.[/quote]
Volkswagen owns Lamborghini and Bentley. Dell owning Alienware is no different. Alienware is still far superior to a Dell just as a Volkswagen is no Lamborghini.

 

[MarioMaster]

lol Alienware, any time I see someone with an alienware computer it's like the ricers that get those stupid looking plastic body kits and spoilers, not only does it look stupid half the time, but it's fragile, easily broken, and you ended up spending a ton of money for only moderate performance.

 

[jwc]

I bought a Dell XPS M1330 because I needed a decently priced 13" laptop. The product itself is okay, but I'm kind of unhappy with the lack of attention to details. If the XPS series is supposed to be Dell's "high performance" series, I would expect that they keyboard wouldn't be some generic, inexpensive device with surprisingly large gaps between the keys, etc.

However, it does get the job done. I was going to buy an ASUS, but couldn't find a well-priced 13" laptop. Next year, when the high quality, desktop-oriented Nehalem cores come out (yes, they are slated to come out for servers next month), I'll build myself a nice desktop that actually provides a decent gaming experience.