NSS: Dell customer service/tech support

[AlpineJay]

I know that there's been a lot of hatin' on the Dell support system, but I'm gonna throw this out there because tonight I had a great experience with them, and not for the first time either. Tonight as I was on my 2-1/2 year old Inspiron 8200 the screen's backlight completely went out. After a little troubleshooting myself I decided it needs to be replaced I called them up. I was on hold for about 15 minutes which kind of pissed me off, but when I finally got through an Indian dude answered (yes - outsourcing) and was surprisingly helpful in making sure all issues - however minor - were addressed.

In the past three months I have decided that I am fed up with the way some of my components were working - like my modular CD-RW was coming off the notebook, the touchpad and the keyboard felt a little worn out, etc, so I called them up on two previous occasions in the past 12 weeks and got excellent service as well. I know that having dealt with other computer manufacturers in the past I had to beg for something to be replaced, and the service wasn't anything near the courtesy level or the quickness of Dell. Just on the word that my keyboard was being flimsy and my touchpad being worn, they overnighted me the parts so I can replace them.

When I called them up tonight and complained about the CD-RW coming off, the support rep put in a dispatch for a new bottom plastic as well - just to make sure. I was pleasantly surprised for this level of treatment.

I know that many of you have had horrible experiences with Dell tech support and a lot of it is due to outsourcing, but hopefully this is a glimpse of hope for those who have Dell computers/are about to buy one. I know that I probably got the best of the crop, but seeing as I've had three different people help me in the past 3 months, I'm convinced that Dell is stepping up to address customer complaints (by moving their tech support for business systems back to the US, etc) which is contrary to other companies.

Now I build my own desktops unless I run into a crazy deal through Dell. But for laptops Dell will almost always be the first brand I consider along with IBM. Either way this 200 dollar 3-year service contract I bought back in August 2002 is really helping me out here.

Thumbs up for the big guy :thumbup:

[caribiner23]

It's great that you got good service from Dell. That's certainly different feedback from what I've seen (I can't speak from personal experience, as I don't own a Dell).

And it seems like a smart thing that you bought the extended service warranty.

I guess my concern would be that after 2.5 years the laptop has had a bad backlight, a lousy keyboard and touchpad, and the CDRW is popping out. Is this typical of Dell quality?

Maybe I'm just way too gentle with my ThinkPad, but my T21 has had absolutely zero problems with daily use since I got it in February of 2001.

[Hypnotist]

Good to hear both sides of the Dell Support story. Folks need to know that Dell can still keep customers happy after the sale. As with most consumer feedback, the negatives are aired much more frequently than the positives... we're spoiled and lazy I guess.

I've got a new Dell 8400 on the way, and AlpineJay, I'm happy to know how pleased you are with your Dell Support and that you chose to share your experience. From what I've read, you are fortunate. I hope if the need arises, I will be too.

[AlpineJay]

It's great that you got good service from Dell. That's certainly different feedback from what I've seen (I can't speak from personal experience, as I don't own a Dell).

And it seems like a smart thing that you bought the extended service warranty.

I guess my concern would be that after 2.5 years the laptop has had a bad backlight, a lousy keyboard and touchpad, and the CDRW is popping out. Is this typical of Dell quality?

Maybe I'm just way too gentle with my ThinkPad, but my T21 has had absolutely zero problems with daily use since I got it in February of 2001.

It's no secret that Thinkpads boast the best reliability as they are built like tanks. I do hope though that the future Thinkpads will have the same level of reliability and quality now that IBM's turned over their laptop business to a Chinese company. Dell Inspirons are consumer-grade and are not built as well as the Thinkpads and the Latitudes (Dell's corporate line). However what they lack in reliability they make up in price - I remember paying under 1400 for mine, and that was in the days when my system was cutting edge.

However, I am equally as guilty here as I didn't baby my laptop as much as I should have. The screen backlight going out probably had much to do with my screen usage and the way I carried my laptop. The keyboard/mouse wearing out thing was just due to heavy use and a nuisance more than a problem - which they were happy to do something about.

[Jeffbx]

I guess my concern would be that after 2.5 years the laptop has had a bad backlight, a lousy keyboard and touchpad, and the CDRW is popping out. Is this typical of Dell quality?

Maybe I'm just way too gentle with my ThinkPad, but my T21 has had absolutely zero problems with daily use since I got it in February of 2001.

Somtimes you're lucky, sometimes not... I've been on both sides. I've got Dell CPi laptops that are 6-7 years old & still running without a hitch. I've also got a batch of eight IBM T21s, and exactly seven of them have had bad LCDs.

Generally speaking, I'd say that Dell & IBM are about the same quality, with a slight edge to IBM. However, now that IBM has sold off their entire PC business, I wonder if that will still be true in a year.

[AlpineJay]

Generally speaking, I'd say that Dell & IBM are about the same quality, with a slight edge to IBM. However, now that IBM has sold off their entire PC business, I wonder if that will still be true in a year.

Jeff, do you put the Inspirons on par as the Thinkpads in terms of reliability? Or do you mean Latitudes? I can see how tht can be true for Latitudes but would have to disagree if you meant the Inspirons.

I have to agree with your concern about the Thinkpads now that it's been turned over. I am slowly beginning to look for a replacement for my rig (giving it to my younger brother) and was seriously looking at Thinkpads. I will be awaiting user reviews and checking other things to see if I'd choose a Thinkpad over a Latitude.

[caribiner23]

Here's (http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=55801443) an article from Information Week about Lenovo's buying IBM's PC business...

Part of the article:
We find it unlikely, however, that the features and quality of ThinkPads will decline significantly under Lenovo Group Ltd., at least for several years.
http://img.cmpnet.com/infoweek/spacer.gif
http://img.cmpnet.com/infoweek/spacer.gif
Lenovo is buying a lot more than market-share and manufacturing capacity. It's buying a brand with a reputation for quality and innovation. It would be short-sighted and foolish to squander that reputation. The fact that the Chinese government will be the largest stockholder, with a long-term view rather than Wall Street's preoccupation with quarterly earnings, may actually give management more flexibility to focus on product differentiation rather than on profit margins....and further on...


Stephen Ward, the current general manager of IBM's Personal Systems Group, will be CEO.
The world headquarters will be in New York, not Beijing.
The current IBM product-development team will remain in place.
Three-quarters of the shipments initially will be of current IBM PC products.
More than half the employees will be current IBM employees.
IBM will continue to sell and service the products. We'll see what happens.

[Jeffbx]

Jeff, do you put the Inspirons on par as the Thinkpads in terms of reliability? Or do you mean Latitudes? I can see how tht can be true for Latitudes but would have to disagree if you meant the Inspirons.


Latitudes only... but I know there are a lot of Inspiron users here, and I didn't want to make them feel bad! :wavey2:

If I were to buy a new laptop & my primary concern was price, I might consider an Inspiron. If I want a machine that will last 3+ years & I have a little more $$ to spend, I'd be getting a Latitude (or a Thinkpad).

Yeah, I'm witholding judgement on the future of IBM quality for the next year or so. I'm sure in the short term there won't be many changes to what happens today. But give it a year & when they begin to change from an IBM culture to Lenovo, we'll see what happens. My prediction:

They'll want to increase their share in the desktop market, so they'll have to aggressively lower their costs. They'll (slowly) move much of the PC operation to China to save on labor costs. They may try to hold onto the Thinkpad reliability by leaving the design & manufacturing unchanged for as long as possible, but eventually they'll begin phasing some of the development to China as well. At this point we'll begin to see whether they'll be able to hold onto the Thinkpad quality. I doubt they'll be able to build a machine as reliably as IBM has in the past, but hopfully I'm wrong. Within the next 2-3 years if their market share has not fallen significantly, they'll be fine.