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Thread: Just my thoughts on Dell Computers...

  1. #31
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    SpywareDr,

    Please explain how you have been able to get such good support from Dell as a small business. I also run a small business from my home and my tech support calls were routed to India, with long wait times and in the end, the issues were never resolved by Dell nor did Dell ever send a tech support person to my office.

    Does your company have a Dell account representative, which takes you out of the normal tech support telephone aggravation?

    Or is there a special telephone number that you call?

    I think it would be very instructive for the other posters to more fully understand how Dell works.

    Thanks,

    Linda

  2. #32
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    Since we usually purchase several at a time (in order to get a discount) the sale itself is handled by a Dell Sales Rep. (Prior to contacting them voice though, we've already selected the needed components via their web site).

    We purchase the "3 Year On-site Business Standard Plan (enhanced protection)" which includes "Next Business Day On-Site Service" and "Advanced Technical Support". (I believe this is the default "Dell Service & Support Plan" for their Dimension series).

    Before we call in or visit their support sites, we simply gather up the original order's paperwork as well as whatever came with the PC, (Model/Serial/COA numbers etc.).

    The Dell mailing address, telephone numbers and web sites we use are the standard ones:
    Dell Inc. - (800) WWW-DELL
    11550 Stonehollow Drive
    Austin, TX 78758

    Sales: (800) 915-3355
    Customer Care: (800) 624-9897
    Technical Support: (800) 624-9896

    Main: http://www.dell.com
    Customer care: http://www.dellcustomercare.com
    Technical Support: http://www.support.dell.com

    And FWIW, Dell has once again been named a 2006 winner in the ninth annual "Ten Best Web Support Sites" competition, which showcases excellence in online service and support. The annual competition is sponsored by The Association of Support Professionals (ASP). The win is the fifth for Dell, which ties them with Cognos for most wins to date. Dell’s previous win placed them in ASP’s “Hall of Fame”, which is reserved for companies with at least four wins.

    The Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2006
    http://www.asponline.com/awards.html
    The Association of Support Professionals (ASP) has announced the winners of its ninth annual "Ten Best Web Support Sites" competition, a prestigious award that showcases excellence in online service and support.

    The 2006 winners include (in alphabetical order) eight Open Division entries—Dell, Hewlett-Packard Customer Care, Juniper Networks, Lucent Technologies, McAfee, Microsoft, Reuters, and RM. In addition, two companies—Made2Manage and think3—were named winners in the Small Company Division.

    Microsoft and think3 were also named to the ASP's Web Support Hall of Fame, which honors sites that have been named among the "Ten Best" for at least four years. Other Hall of Fame sites include Cisco, Cognos, Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard ITRC, and Symantec.

    The award winners were selected by a panel of judges with expertise in Web support design and implementation, using a s coring system based on 25 separate performance criteria. The evaluation process covers the following areas:
    • Overall usability, design, and navigation
    • Knowledgebase and search implementation
    • Interactive features
    • Personalization
    • The major site development challenge
    The ten winning sites will be profiled in a book called "The Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2006," to be published by the ASP in June.

    "The diversity of this year's winners is a striking indication of how widely the Web support model has spread," says ASP executive director Jeffrey Tarter. "We have winners whose customers range from relatively inexperienced consumers to high-end enterprise systems managers, and whose products cost anywhere from a few dollars to millions of dollars. Yet in all these market segments, technology companies have found that high-quality online support appeals to users and generates real customer loyalty. It's getting hard to imagine a customer segment where the Web isn't becoming the preferred way to deliver support."

    The Association of Support Professionals is an international membership organization for customer support managers and professionals. In addition to its annual "Ten Best" awards, the ASP publishes research reports on a wide range of support topics, including support compensation, services marketing, and fee-based support.

  3. #33
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    SpywareDr,

    I also purchased my computers with the 3 year premium "Next Business Day" warranty. I followed all of the same steps that you did but I was always routed to India and I never got the "next business day" support that I had paid for.

    During the 90's Dell had excellent documentation and when STC (Society for Technical Communicators) would have their annual competitions, Dell would always win multiple awards. This was one of the things that impressed me at the time about Dell. The documentation was so thorough and easy to understand that anyone could use it. The diagrams were so good that it made hardware simple. At the time, I was a newbie hardware wise, since I had always been on the IT development side of the house.

    In the 90's Dell was a well run company, which provided a high quality product and support to its customers. Everyone that I recommended Dell to in the 90s were happy and satisfied. I guess when we had the .COM crash, Dell executives went over the edge and became totally focused on maximizing their net profits for Wall Street and themselves. Commitments to their customers just did not fit into their plans.

    Cheers,

    Linda

  4. #34
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    Don't know what to say. We too get 'routed to India' (or wherever it is) first of course. But after convincing them that it is indeed a hardware failure, they concede and schedule a tech, (or in some cases they'll send just the part if preferred).
    Last edited by SpywareDr; July 16th, 2006 at 04:11 PM.

  5. #35
    JPnyc is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
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    That's the part I have no patience with. I am involved in the business world and so I understand the need to make and conserve money, but that really is a pet peeve of mine. If you want to give me someone from India or wherever to answer phones, then market your products there, not here. I don't patronize companies who use this practice. I want a primary anglophone to speak to.
    There is nothing to fear, but life itself.

  6. #36
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    And then you back this conversation down to what it's all about. Not "commercial" and "business" concerns so much as the average 'Joe' that just wants to buy a PC off-the-shelf and get decent warranty satisfaction for the money he has spent. Do you think he will get this from Dell??

    I don't think this will happen in the 'near' future,,or,,for that matter,, a forseeable lifetime!!
    Stupid question? No such thing!
    Virtual Dr. to the rescue!
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  7. #37
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    Nov 2005
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    I think that Dell tends to make good quality laptops. At my job, I rerely see Dell brand laptops coming in for service. Dell desktops are a whole other story. Like all brand name PC's they tend to come with sub-par hardware that breaks easily, and comes with pre-loaded software that fouls up the entire computer's operation. i'm glad that I know how to service computers myself, after all the horror stories i've heard about Dell's tech support. That's why I like to just build my own machines. Just my 2 cents.
    My Network:
    -Workstation1: AMD64 3400+; 1gb RAM; 360GB Hdd space; GeForce FX5500; SB Live! 24-bit audio;WinXP Pro SP2
    -Workstation2: PentiumIII 800 Coppermine; 384MB RAM; 36 & 9gb Ultra 160 HDD's; Matrox G400 Dual Head; Yamaha DS1 audio; Win2k Pro SP4
    -Workstation3: PentiumIII 800 Coppermine; 384MB RAM; 80GB HDD; GeForce MX4000; SB Live! Basic audio; Win2k Pro SP4
    -Laptop: Pentium M 1.66GHz; 512MB RAM; 27GB HDD;
    Win XP Pro SP2

  8. #38
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    Just thought Id mention that this tool was posted on another forum if its of interest to anybody: Dell De-Crapifier…

    The PC De-Crapifier is designed to remove a specific list unwanted software in an unattended fashion. Before running, the user may select exactly what software should be removed. Currently, it is targeted for use on most Dell machines; however it will theoretically run on anything that has the software listed below

    Currently Uninstalls
    The user can select exactly what is uninstalled from the list below

    QuickBooks Trial
    NetZero Installers
    Earthlink Setup Files
    Tiscali Internet Files
    Wanadoo Europe Installer
    Corel Photo Album 6
    McAffee Personal Firewall
    McAffee SpamKiller
    McAffee VirusScan Online
    McAffee Security Center
    Google Desktop
    Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer
    America Online 9.0 US Version
    America Online 9.0 UK Version
    Musicmatch Jukebox
    Musicmatch Music Services
    Get High Speed Internet!
    Internet Service Offers Launcher
    Norton Ghost 10.0
    Search Assistant
    MS Plus! Photo Story 2 LE
    MS Plus! Digital Media Edition Installer
    Corel Word Perfect
    Roxio RecordNow
    Sonic DLA
    Sonic Update Manager
    Sonic RecordNow Audio
    Sonic RecordNow Copy
    Roxio MyDVD LE
    Run Registry Keys:
    “BuildBU” - Part of Dell Alerts which provides customers with an update on latest updates. Can be run manually as needed
    “DVDLauncher” - Belongs to the Cyberlink PowerCinema video viewing software which allows you to play DVDs on insertation. This program is a non-essential process, and is installed for ease of use.
    “ISUSPM Startup” and “ISUSScheduler” - InstallShield Update Service Scheduler. Automatically searches for and performs any updates to the software. Can be run manually.
    “msci” - Used for McAffee Security Center
    “MSKDetectorExe” - Part of McAfee Spamkiller
    “QBReminderFlash” - QuickBooks
    “QuickTime Task” - Tray icon that you can use for quick access to the QuickTime application and additional settings. Can be run manually.
    “RealTray” - Tray icon that you can use for quick access to the Real Player application and additional settings. Can be run manually.
    “SunJavaUpdateSched” - Updater for the Java Runtime Envronment. Can be run manually
    “DellSupport” - Agent that offers additional support and update features for your Dell computer or laptop. Can be run manually.

  9. #39
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    "De-Crapifier".... : ....I like that.....

    Does anybody know if Gateway outsources their support? Wouldn't be surprised if people are getting routed to Nepal or New Guinea....
    Desktop: Intel i7 960 CPU @ 4.0GHz, EVGA Classified 4-Way SLI mobo, 12GB Corsair Dominator-GT 2000 DDR3 RAM, Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB Solid State Drive, Two WD 2TB SATA drives, 2x EVGA GTX 570 Superclocked graphics cards in SLI, Coolermaster HAF X full tower case, OCZ ZX 1250w PSU, Corsair H100 CPU Cooler
    Laptop: MSI GT60-004US, 2x Seagate Momentus XT 750GB SSD Hybrid drives in RAID 0, 16GB DDR3 1600 RAM, GeForce 670M 3GB graphics card, Networks 'Killer' N-1103 WLAN card

  10. #40
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    I know BT [British Telecom] does.Boy did I get fed up going through the same hoops every time I had connection issues and waiting several minuites whilst they read my file

  11. #41
    Join Date
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    Ft Myers FL
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    My pet peeve with Dell is their name recognition translates into "it has to be good (or "right"), it's a Dell." In the past month alone I've had four jobs where customers complained about slow response times, only to find AOL and XP installed with 55-60 applications running in the background on a machine with 128MB of installed RAM. I wised up on the last two, when I heard Dell I brought extra RAM with me and did a no-charge demo. My elderly customers may not be too hip about computer jargon, but "seeing's believing" to them.

  12. #42
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    Location
    Strasburg, VA
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    Angry

    I hate to tell you, I experienced the same service horrors on a Compaq desktop (prior to their takeover by HP) and on my current HP Pavlion.
    Unfortunately "build your own" option is not readily available to most of us. I for one lack confidence in purchasing a few hundred dollars worth of components and being able to put them all together and make them work. What if I can't?. Local computer stores are rare in small communities. One I had access to a few years ago installed a pirated copy of Windows on my Compaq and went out of business.
    I wish I knew what the answer was.

  13. #43
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    And that really is the sad part ... Dell certainly has no corner on the "customer no service" market.
    Windows 10 on: ~Asus P5B-E ~Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3GHz ~G. Skill (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 ~EVGA 7900GTX ~Kingston SSD (for the OS) ~Western Digital 650GB Hard Drive (Data), Turtle Beach Santa Cruz w/Klipsh 2.1 Pro Media Speakers ~ Twin BenQ FP202W 20.1" LCD's

  14. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by x71s8zTN
    I hate to tell you, I experienced the same service horrors on a Compaq desktop (prior to their takeover by HP) and on my current HP Pavlion.
    Unfortunately "build your own" option is not readily available to most of us. I for one lack confidence in purchasing a few hundred dollars worth of components and being able to put them all together and make them work. What if I can't?. Local computer stores are rare in small communities. One I had access to a few years ago installed a pirated copy of Windows on my Compaq and went out of business.
    I wish I knew what the answer was.
    This was me a year ago (already!) but with the help from the membership here I did it. I've done it since, probably 45 times or so now and sell the results.

    I wouldn't dare rely on local merchants who have a high CAM fee and lease to pay for their space--their prices suffer as a result. Buy from Newegg, TigerDirect, ZipZoomFly, etc. and you get reliable products and service. Today's components are almost self-installing so it's much easier than when one had to configure all the system IRQs and manually configure network/modem settings. One pretty much makes sure the components are compatible, assembles them and that's all there is to it most of the time.

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