I am the victim of really bad customer service. My recent purchase of the Studio XPS 13 (or XPS 1340) was a complete disaster. So much so, that I sent a letter to Michael Dell via FEDEX to register my complaint. Rather than rewrite the entire story, here is the letter I sent to them:
2-September 2009
Mr. Michael Dell
One Dell Way
Round Rock, TX 78682Re: Studio XPS 1430
Dear Mr. Dell:
It is with sadness I have undertaken the writing of this letter. My recent purchase of a Dell computer is most likely my last (Order XXXXXXXXXX, ST: XXXXXX). I have tried every route I can take and am unable to contact anyone who is capable of solving my issues. My recent purchase of a Studio XPS 13 has resulted in lost time, productivity and has negatively affected my business. Here, in list form, are the current issues:
1) The PC when purchased was unable to sustain itself for more than 5 minutes without locking up. Research on the net indicated that this was a common issue.
2) After reinstalling Vista, the problem compounded itself and became worse, every 3 minutes the machine would lock up and stop working (no blue screen). In addition, the Studio XPS requires me to download the software from SmartSource.dell.com, but I am unable to download there because my machine’s registration was fouled up. There is no support personnel for this site so I have no way to download the software I need.
3) Additionally, there were hardware imperfections on the machine: The screen came loose, the USB cord wouldn’t properly secure and the same for the power plug. Almost every piece of padding on the bottom and between the keyboard and the screen has fallen off.
4) Upon calling and chatting online with your support personnel, a trip back to the depot was ordered and I sent my PC. Without any warning on your part, the staff at the depot removed the SIM card for my ATT Mobile Broadband device and did not replace it. I was unable to connect and had to visit ATT when the machine came back.
5) Additionally, the machine came back and proceeded to still lock up. Now, in addition to lock ups, I routinely get a blue screen.
6) Upon return of my machine, the webcam was no longer working. I have contacted support and been through all of the steps and it still is not active. My guess is that it was broken in the depot.
7) In addition to all of this, there was an offer of a $200.00 gift card that never came through. It was said there was a 6 – 8 week delay. Its been since February and still nothing has arrived.At this point, I’m at wits end. This is my 6th Dell Notebook, I have had 5 desktops, 6 monitors and 2 printers in the past few years for myself and my business. With each purchase the experience has progressively gotten worse, to the point that I am starting to recommend that clients go elsewhere for new PC’s. I’m unsure what can be done to rectify this issue. I’m shocked that such a shoddy product would be shipped out, that technical support is unable to assist and that reaching a representative on my continent is impossible. Not to mention the missing gift card. Please help!
I can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXX or via email: XXXX@XXXX.XXX. I’m fedex’ing this letter in hope of a quick resolution. My business demands reliable hardware and my intuition is telling me now to buy another Apple computer because I’ve never experienced issues like this with any Mac I’ve owned.
Thanks in advance for your attention and assistance in resolving this issue.
Peter J Czech
Now, you would figure that the response from them, upon receiving this email, would be to at the least contact the customer and hear the complaint. However, it took 8 days to receive a response and it was from a representative in India. Upon hearing my complaint, she attempted to start the entire tech support process over. Frankly, I’ve had enough, and the fact that they want to start over with the process (despite having a record of my previous communication), and clearly state that exchange is not an option, led me to actually hang up on a customer service rep for the first time ever.
At this point, Dell clearly has no respect for the customer. They cannot even get a North American to respond to my issue. My gift card has still not arrived, the computer is a lemon… As I told the rep via email later – “I’m done with Dell and telling everyone I know about it.” So now I’m telling you – there is a reason for this stock performance… They suck.
Why can’t Dell learn from great companies like Garmin, who replaced a broken Nuvi with a new one with only one call? Or like Keurig, who honors their warranty and replaces their broken coffee machines?
Anyway, I will probably allow them to fix the webcam that is broken, but then I’m going to get a Mac. Enough is enough.
This post has been purposely SEO’d with terms so as to help inform other people of the problems with Dell in general and perhaps save them the hassle!
