First, I want to start off by saying that I have not been exceptionally cranky lately :) I think my recent pet peeve ranting has made some believe that I have hit some sort of emotionally turbulent time - instead I just feel that I have some opinions to voice and that this blog may be a good outlet. I assure you I am not any crankier than usual - though many will agree that I can occasionally be a bit irritable ;)
And onto my next pet peeve -
Lousy Customer Service
So, a few weeks ago I noticed that my laptop was uneven...it wobbles on a flat surface. I flipped it over and noticed that one of the grips pads is missing. Its hard to explain what it is, but if you notice on this picture there are little black circles in the four corners...they protrude a bit from the laptop and help stop it from slipping on a surface. While they are nifty when you are working on slippery surfaces (or dont want so scratch wood), its a bit difficult to use your laptop when one is missing!
So I called DELL today, and had to try to explain for 15 minutes to the sales rep what I was talking about. This wasnt because I kept saying "nub" or "thingy" but because the guy on the DELL side of the phone couldnt speak English. After he finally figure it out, he told me that it came as part of a kit, and then asked me to tell him some numbers on the bottom of my laptop. I assumed this was to look up the right part, but no...he was placing an order. So I explained to him, its just a little piece of plastic and I dont know if I need a whole kit. In addition, you didnt tell me what the heck is in the kit and I have no idea what you are trying to order for me. How much is it? He tells me its $21.95 plus shipping and handling (which you know was gonna be like $10). I told him I would rather keep propping my laptop up with little pieces of paper and junk I find around the house than to order a piece of plastic for 30 something dollars :)
Anyway, I was a bit irritated by this whole thing, and decided to see if other people had similar problems. Of course they do! It seems that DELL keeps adding additional call centers in
India. Hooray for outsourcing!
I have been irritated with DELL in the past - my laptop seems a bit fragile and pieces of the plastic crack and break. In addition, its just over 2 years old..which is when the warranty ends. And right after the warranty ended the battery refused to take a charge. I tried calling tech-support to see what to do - but I no longer had tech support and they wanted me to enter my credit card number just to get through...there is an automatic charge just to speak to someone. Then I called sales and talked to someone, and I had to order a new battery (again, I surfed around, and this is totally common with the DELL Sony batteries - they die, often right after the warranty expires). The new battery cost me over $100. Despite the fact that I am mad at DELL, I cant help but drool over the new Inspiron. They come in some really cool colors and look SWEET!
So I called DELL today, and had to try to explain for 15 minutes to the sales rep what I was talking about. This wasnt because I kept saying "nub" or "thingy" but because the guy on the DELL side of the phone couldnt speak English. After he finally figure it out, he told me that it came as part of a kit, and then asked me to tell him some numbers on the bottom of my laptop. I assumed this was to look up the right part, but no...he was placing an order. So I explained to him, its just a little piece of plastic and I dont know if I need a whole kit. In addition, you didnt tell me what the heck is in the kit and I have no idea what you are trying to order for me. How much is it? He tells me its $21.95 plus shipping and handling (which you know was gonna be like $10). I told him I would rather keep propping my laptop up with little pieces of paper and junk I find around the house than to order a piece of plastic for 30 something dollars :)
Anyway, I was a bit irritated by this whole thing, and decided to see if other people had similar problems. Of course they do! It seems that DELL keeps adding additional call centers in India. Hooray for outsourcing!
I have been irritated with DELL in the past - my laptop seems a bit fragile and pieces of the plastic crack and break. In addition, its just over 2 years old..which is when the warranty ends. And right after the warranty ended the battery refused to take a charge. I tried calling tech-support to see what to do - but I no longer had tech support and they wanted me to enter my credit card number just to get through...there is an automatic charge just to speak to someone. Then I called sales and talked to someone, and I had to order a new battery (again, I surfed around, and this is totally common with the DELL Sony batteries - they die, often right after the warranty expires). The new battery cost me over $100. Despite the fact that I am mad at DELL, I cant help but drool over the new Inspiron. They come in some really cool colors and look SWEET!
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