Hello, first post-and 90% will be under a cut because it will be long....
Last year I purchased a Dell Inspiron Laptop. After a year the power jack started to go bad, and after taking it to a local place for investigation, they told me to contact Dell, as they couldnt fix it but that it should be a relatively simple fix. So on August 17th I first go online, and try to talk to someone via their Chat program. Not an option, it seems, because my laptop is no longer under warranty.
And here is where it gets fun!
After trying to figure out what department I need, I finally just wait to talk to a human being. That takes a while. Finally I get one on the line and English is NOT their first language. I have nothing against foreigners, but when I call a company that is based in a English speaking country, I expect to get someone on the other line who I can understand and who can ALSO understand me. That, my friends, is an impossibility with Dell.
I give him my info, explain the problem, and he doesnt understand. So he transfers me. Again, I am on hold for another 15-20 minutes and someone picks up, I give my info AGAIN and explain the problem, and they dont know what to do so they transfer me. And I get disconnected. So I call back and start the process all over again. Finally, after about 4 more transfers I get someone who can "help me". I find out that I will have to ship my laptop out to Memphis, and this is going to cost me a grand total of 375.90. Why? WHY, I ask, is Dell charging me almost 400 dollars to repair a jack, for gods sake? Oh, because thats not easy to fix and we will have to change the mother board too, and you arent under warranty. Ohhhh K. At this point I am frustrated, my 18 month old is crying, and I am trying to understand some dude whos primary English language knowledge comes from a script. I tell him fine, lets do it, whatever. I give him my credit card info, get my confirmation number and get off the phone in tears because who wants to spend that much money to fix a laptop?
So I call the husband, explain to him what took place and he says that we might as well buy a new laptop for that and I should just cancel the order. And I get on the phone once again, only wait about 30 minutes this time and when I get a human on the phone I tell her that I want to cancel my order, thanks but no thanks. Cancel the order? Apparently cancel is not one of the English words she understands. First she tries to talk me out of it, then she has to talk to her manager (oh noes, code red-a CANCELER!) and she gets back on the phone 5 minutes later and tells me "good news! We're going to give you 100 dollars off!" Um. NO. You are going to cancel my order, mmmmk? So finally she says ok, we're going to cancel the order. Ok, fine, is that all I need to do? Yes, but you might see this charge on your next bill, but we are taking it off. I explained to her that it wont be on my next bill, because my bill should be mailed out soon, and that by the time my next bill comes they will have had plenty time to remove the charge. Is there anything else I need to do? No ma'm, thats all. Ok good. I hang up.
Well, that day my husband found a place that would fix my laptop for 150 bucks so we do that, its fixed, I havent had a problem at all, and my motherboard is still intact. It took less than 3 days from sending it out to getting it back.
Fast forward to this past Friday, when my next credit card bill arrives. And guess whats on there? A charge, from Dell, for 375.90. Ummm. No. They had over THREE WEEKS to remove this charge. I'm pissed. So I get on the phone yesterday and go through a very similar process with them again, but just amp it up about 10 notches. I was on the phone for an hour and a half. I was transferred from one department to another, because no one knows what to do, and no one wants to take responsibility, and half the time they are either transferring me to a department I have already talked to, or trying to transfer me to a department I have already talked to.
I gave out my info UPTEEN times, I got over three new customer id numbers, and was even told by one idiot that there was no one who could help me because they were all gone on the weekends, but when I call that number-guess what-I get a person on the phone! Finally, after I get to the right department (and I am pretty sure I had already talked to someone in the "right" department at least once before) the guy proceeds to tell me that I never cancelled the order. EXCUSE YOU? Oh yes I f*ing did. Then he says "well you called at 10 am on August 17th to make the order, then called back at 10:43 to cancel the order" NO *(&#$!!!AND I WAS TOLD IT WAS CANCELLED!!! So why was my card charged? Oh, well we didnt cancel it. Well, why did your company employee TELL ME it was cancelled? Oh, well I dont know but its too late to cancel now. You were supposed to get a refund check, but something happened and we never sent it out.
OMGZ. Are you kidding me??? I want the charges canceled on my card, or I want a check before my bill is due. He finally agrees to cancel the charges on my card and it should be done in 8-10 days. Fine, I tell him, but if its not removed I will be disputing the charges with my credit card company and all holy hell is going to break loose, do you understand? And NEVER EVER EVER WILL I BUY FROM DELL AGAIN!!!!
Now please understand, that by this point I am ticked off beyond reason. My blood is boiling. But I know its not Foreign Dell Clone guys fault, and I explain that to him, but I also explain that I am pissed.
So let this be a warning to any of you out there who have Dell products-if you dont want to deal with BS first you must a)purchase extended warranty when they offer it to you, or you are just low man on the customer totem pole b)look elsewhere first to see if you can get service for your item before getting pickpocketed by Dell.
After trying to figure out what department I need, I finally just wait to talk to a human being. That takes a while. Finally I get one on the line and English is NOT their first language. I have nothing against foreigners, but when I call a company that is based in a English speaking country, I expect to get someone on the other line who I can understand and who can ALSO understand me. That, my friends, is an impossibility with Dell.
I give him my info, explain the problem, and he doesnt understand. So he transfers me. Again, I am on hold for another 15-20 minutes and someone picks up, I give my info AGAIN and explain the problem, and they dont know what to do so they transfer me. And I get disconnected. So I call back and start the process all over again. Finally, after about 4 more transfers I get someone who can "help me". I find out that I will have to ship my laptop out to Memphis, and this is going to cost me a grand total of 375.90. Why? WHY, I ask, is Dell charging me almost 400 dollars to repair a jack, for gods sake? Oh, because thats not easy to fix and we will have to change the mother board too, and you arent under warranty. Ohhhh K. At this point I am frustrated, my 18 month old is crying, and I am trying to understand some dude whos primary English language knowledge comes from a script. I tell him fine, lets do it, whatever. I give him my credit card info, get my confirmation number and get off the phone in tears because who wants to spend that much money to fix a laptop?
So I call the husband, explain to him what took place and he says that we might as well buy a new laptop for that and I should just cancel the order. And I get on the phone once again, only wait about 30 minutes this time and when I get a human on the phone I tell her that I want to cancel my order, thanks but no thanks. Cancel the order? Apparently cancel is not one of the English words she understands. First she tries to talk me out of it, then she has to talk to her manager (oh noes, code red-a CANCELER!) and she gets back on the phone 5 minutes later and tells me "good news! We're going to give you 100 dollars off!" Um. NO. You are going to cancel my order, mmmmk? So finally she says ok, we're going to cancel the order. Ok, fine, is that all I need to do? Yes, but you might see this charge on your next bill, but we are taking it off. I explained to her that it wont be on my next bill, because my bill should be mailed out soon, and that by the time my next bill comes they will have had plenty time to remove the charge. Is there anything else I need to do? No ma'm, thats all. Ok good. I hang up.
Well, that day my husband found a place that would fix my laptop for 150 bucks so we do that, its fixed, I havent had a problem at all, and my motherboard is still intact. It took less than 3 days from sending it out to getting it back.
Fast forward to this past Friday, when my next credit card bill arrives. And guess whats on there? A charge, from Dell, for 375.90. Ummm. No. They had over THREE WEEKS to remove this charge. I'm pissed. So I get on the phone yesterday and go through a very similar process with them again, but just amp it up about 10 notches. I was on the phone for an hour and a half. I was transferred from one department to another, because no one knows what to do, and no one wants to take responsibility, and half the time they are either transferring me to a department I have already talked to, or trying to transfer me to a department I have already talked to.
I gave out my info UPTEEN times, I got over three new customer id numbers, and was even told by one idiot that there was no one who could help me because they were all gone on the weekends, but when I call that number-guess what-I get a person on the phone! Finally, after I get to the right department (and I am pretty sure I had already talked to someone in the "right" department at least once before) the guy proceeds to tell me that I never cancelled the order. EXCUSE YOU? Oh yes I f*ing did. Then he says "well you called at 10 am on August 17th to make the order, then called back at 10:43 to cancel the order" NO *(&#$!!!AND I WAS TOLD IT WAS CANCELLED!!! So why was my card charged? Oh, well we didnt cancel it. Well, why did your company employee TELL ME it was cancelled? Oh, well I dont know but its too late to cancel now. You were supposed to get a refund check, but something happened and we never sent it out.
OMGZ. Are you kidding me??? I want the charges canceled on my card, or I want a check before my bill is due. He finally agrees to cancel the charges on my card and it should be done in 8-10 days. Fine, I tell him, but if its not removed I will be disputing the charges with my credit card company and all holy hell is going to break loose, do you understand? And NEVER EVER EVER WILL I BUY FROM DELL AGAIN!!!!
Now please understand, that by this point I am ticked off beyond reason. My blood is boiling. But I know its not Foreign Dell Clone guys fault, and I explain that to him, but I also explain that I am pissed.
So let this be a warning to any of you out there who have Dell products-if you dont want to deal with BS first you must a)purchase extended warranty when they offer it to you, or you are just low man on the customer totem pole b)look elsewhere first to see if you can get service for your item before getting pickpocketed by Dell.
And I am serious, I will never ever buy from Dell again. Thats just too much BS to have to go through, and I cannot believe they charged my card and act all "oops". As if I wouldnt notice an almost 400 dollar charge to my credit card >:|. And if its not taken off, you all will get to hear from me again!
I bet you're looking forward to that ;P.