In the last 12 months I have ordered 5 computers from Dell, 3 laptops and 2 desktops. I did all of this ordering through their small business department and have been treated like a king with each order. Not only have they treated me great when I am ordering their customer support has been superb as well. Here is a breakdown of some of the orders:
Order 1 – Desktop, 3 gigs of memory, dual head video card, dual 19†monitors, yada yada yada. This machine was great. It was created and delivered in about the span of a week. I have had zero problems with this machine for the first 8 months or so and then ran into some blurring on both of my monitors.
My first tech support call was to their gold tech support, the woman was friendly and we tested various things and decided it was the monitors. This call was at 5:30 pm. At 9am the next morning I had 2 brand new monitors sitting on my doorstep. Problem solved. I put the bad monitors back in the boxes and they were picked up the same day. This was a FLAWLESS tech support call.
Order 2 – Laptop. I ordered this machine for my dad. This was built and delivered in under a week. Zero problems so far with this machine and no tech support needed.
Order 3 – Laptop. There was a super sale going on and I figured I would get in on the deal and get a new laptop for myself. I changed the order midway through and they were totally cool with that. The one semi bad thing about this laptop was that it had Windows Vista on it… The laptop came within a week, I tried it out for a day or two and decided it was not for me. This was my first return that I had to do with Dell and it went really smoothly. They covered the shipping costs to return it, and I was credited back on my account within 3 days.
Order 4 and 5 – Desktop and Laptop. My biz partner and I ordered new work machines. He needed a new desktop, we built a MONSTER. 4 gigs of ram, 2×19†monitors, etc etc etc. I got a better laptop, this time a latitude vs an inspiron. The quality felt much sturdier and had better battery options. Also this time I was able to get it with XP professional vs VISTA.
We ordered the computers on Tuesday, the desktop arrived on THURSDAY. Pretty much it was here within 48 hours… that is crazy.
My laptop was scheduled to arrive on Friday, but I was going to be out of the country until Tuesday, so I called up my rep and asked if they could hold it until I returned. The first thing they tried and do was see if they could get it there the same night, and even absorb the costs. That would not work because it was in transit. So my rep stayed on the phone with my while another Dell employee contacted FedEx to see if they could arrange to hold it. FedEx said they would have 3 delivery attempts times while I was gone, then it would be held for me at their pickup facility when I returned. FedEx left it on my porch on Friday, which led me to post this FedEx Sucks story.
My laptop was perfect and I have yet to have a problem with it, my partner on the other hand had some sort of driver issues that would cause his machine to shutdown sporadically. He called the Gold tech support, and they walked him through the problems. He was very happy with the level of support he had. If they were unable to fix it over the phone they would have sent a brand new machine out to him the next day.
So if you are in the market to get a new computer, I would recommend getting a Dell. If you have your own small business and will be needing multiple machines, it make sense to get them all from one place. It seems like they really value the small business customers, and I have been extremely happy with both the sales department as well as the customer support departments.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
George/Werty
Reading that you are a perfectionist makes me even happier to hear that we did not let you down. In fact, glad that we lived up to the delivery and service we pride ourselves on bringing to the market. Wanted to say thanks for the positive feedback!
Yeah I’m a fan of Dell as well for the super fast order processing, great value, reliable product, and quick support. The only thing that has really irked me in the last couple years is that they’ve often failed to ship the install disks with the machine even if I pay that nominal fee for the disks.
If I weren’t migrating the whole office to Mac I’d continue to buy Dell.
I have no problem with the install disks.
My biggest beef now is that they are pretty much forcing all the consumer side to switch to Vista. I still think that OS is worthless.
I was heavily considering a macbook, but thought they were kinda pricey, plus would need to get xp and that windows switcher thing too.
I’d still never buy a Dell. Three things:
1) Bloatware. This isn’t so much a problem, as an annoyance (I’d format the hard drive straight off and put Ubuntu on it)
2) Cost. I can build a better computer, cheaper, and not have to do the above, if I do it myself. Sure, it’ll take a little longer, but I’m in no rush…
3) Windows. And I don’t like Mac either. I like to be able to tinker under the bonnet. Windows and Mac are like a modern engine. Very powerful, but if it breaks, it’s got to be fixed by someone else, and will cost. Linux is like an older car – not as powerful stock, but you can mend it yourself, and if you want to bolt stuff on and tinker, you can make it way more powerful than a normal 4 pot modern thing.
Just my two cents…
I still think Dell is the easiest way to get a solid computer. The bloatware the last person mentioned seems to be down a lot. I didn’t have much on the computer this time.
The gold support is pretty solid and the guys seem to know a lot about computers. For some of the horror stories I’ve heard about Dell, I was surprised at how solid and smooth things went. The price was pretty good too.
I have had my Dell Dimension 4300 since 2001, the machine is so easy to work, not tools requires every part is clip together. and web based custmoer support is still on dell site for this machine, i was able to download a full PDF manul and drivers, so when my dimension 4300 dies is will be sure going for dell agian keep up the good work
I’m one of the Dell technical support and I really appreciate to read to this story, usually, the customer that I get over the phone have trouble with their Dell, the 98% of happy customer never call me to tell me… Dell service is super, continue your good job… Maybe I’m going to get one call like this at christmas, Dell is open 24/7, I’ll be here!
i love dell, i m an employee of dell n dell is such a lovely company, its beautiful.. n the cx service which dell gives is the best,
Been 6 years with your products and would not move.
I like Dell so far because they have the guts to offer Linux systems. http://www.dell.com/linux leads to their Linux section. Kudos to Dell for offering an alternative OS to Vistrash. 🙂
I ordered a Studio XPS 1340 laptop last Friday evening via Dell’s website, and I called Dell customer service on Mondayto confirm that my order had gone through (I saw an “N/A” in the billing and shipping fields of my confirmation-email link, and I just wanted to make sure that the order had been processed). The guy I spoke to was incredibly friendly and polite, and he offered to expedite my shipping at no cost to me, even though I hadn’t requested a shipping upgrade. It turned out that the production process was already in the final stages, though, so the order was already virtually expedited–another point for Dell! My customer-service rep also said that he would track my order through production and to let him know if I needed anything else, and I received a follow-up email after the call ended. I have never had a more pleasant customer-service experience, and I am more than impressed with Dell’s efforts in this area. I’ve tried to find a way to rate this somewhere on Dell’s website or on an external ratings website, but I can’t find any such forum.
Knowing that Dell values its customers and is committed to treating them well makes me feel completely at ease with my purchase. I wish I could thank my customer-service rep for making my ordering process such a smooth–even pleasant–experience. I highly recommend ordering from Dell!
well then just wait till you get tech support
and there customer care they are worst they just dont want to take the calls so they pass you to another department and they suck ballls
What? What? Dell Blows? Who are we kidding here. What’s next? A post praising how much you all love the gourmet taste of Ramen Noodles?
The only machine worth Praising is a MAC.
Eat it…
I also thought Dell were great when we purchased around 5 systems (apart from the first which was delayed)
If only you had the experience I‘ve had with dell over the last several days.
I paid for an order of a PSU, which was critical to the running of our small business, to be delivered sooner (3-4 working days). The order doesnt arrive, in fact it seems to have sat and waited at the Depot/Hub since the first day it was dispatched (5 days ago) and they simply say it’s not thier issue and to wait for phone call off the courier.
Date Time Location Activity
04/12/09 12:14 WWI – HINCKLEY ORDER COMPLETE IN HUB.
04/12/09 12:14 WWI – HINCKLEY FIRST BOX SCANNED INTO HUB.
03/12/09 14:21 WAALWIJK ORDER DISPATCHED FROM HUB.
03/12/09 14:21 WAALWIJK FIRST BOX SCANNED OUT OF HUB.
02/12/09 20:51 WAALWIJK MERGE ITEMS PICKED.
02/12/09 19:30 EMF DEPARTED MANU.FACILITY
Today is 08/12/09
– In total I’ve had nearly three HOURS of waiting and being transferred on the phone
– I’ve had the phone put down on me THREE TIMES
– I’ve had two completely different responses, the first saying it was thier issue and they were going to find out what was wrong – CLICK phone goes dead. The next person saying it wasn’t thier issue (I have her name)
– I’ve simply pointed the fact to them that if they see my track and trace on the item, it has not moved for 5 days even though it’s on a 3-4 working days delivery – I asked if this seems strange and to look into it.
It’s been a week since my order and I have absolultely no idea when I will receive it, if someone is going to contact me, or if I should spend another 3 hours calling Dell again.
Paul Carruthers
[email protected]
paul at resike dot co dot uk
Paul, a similar thing happened to me in the last year. I started a new company and needed a new laptop for it… of course I went to dell. They said it would be ready with 7-9 days or something like that. Then that time period went by and they rolled it back another week. Figured I could wait. Then that week went by and they tried it again. So I called them, got the run around and finally canceled the order.
Between that and the way their warranties are now handled, I now avoid doing business with them.