This past Tuesday (7/20), the Dell technician called to confirm that he had a new motherboard and could install it for me that day. He asked me what the issues were, and I told him (computer would randomly turn off in sleep or hibernate, and the battery needs to be reinserted to get it to start up again). I also informed him that, as of the previous night, it stopped turning on. I added that the computer was barely a week old.
He informed me that Dell will replace the laptop within 30 days of purchase. He got a tech support agent on the line, and the agent agreed to replace my system. He gave me a dispatch number and a number to call for customer service and informed me that I would need to call that number and give them my dispatch number to get the status of my order. He said it could take up to at the most 3 weeks, but to try back in a few days to check the status of my order.
I called today (Thursday, 7/22) just to see if there was any sort of update on when the order would be going out. The first technician told me my number was not in their system, and transferred me before I could even protest. The second technician informed me that the reason my number is not in the system is because this is Dell's Canadian line (I'm in the United States). Why did they give me Dell's Canadian line?
The third person they transferred me to, after I explained my situation, informed me that I was connected to the wrong department. So he transferred me once again. The fourth person took down my information and dispatch number, had me wait for ten minutes, then informed me that the laptop probably would not be shipping out for 4-5 weeks. Whoa. The technician originally told me 3 weeks at the most.
I explained to him, very calmly and politely, that I needed the laptop for graduate school. I was starting a new program and had no functioning computer because the one they originally sent me was broken upon arrival (and refuses to boot up anymore) and my new one won't be arriving until after the program starts. He seemed apologetic and said he could try to expedite the process if possible. I informed him that for the original laptop (the broken one) they sent me, I had paid for fast shipping (an extra 25 dollars) apparently for no reason, as I will not be getting a working computer for a month. I informed him, as well, that this will be the last Dell I ever buy, after being a steady customer since I was old enough to purchase my own computer. Keep in mind, this computer cost me over $1500.
I have no clue how long this is going to take, but believe me, I am quite irritated.