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Just thought you might like to hear about my experience with Dell. I bought a top-of-the-line 266 MHz Pentium 2 desktop system for $2600 from Dell in June 1997. In December 1997 the system lit itself on fire and melted several parts inside, including the motherboard and ISA/PCI slots.
On January 2nd, 1998, I reported the incident to Dell and they said they'd ship me a replacement CPU. Bear in mind that with Dell, we are paying for a next-day on-site repair policy. But they preferred to ship the replacement rather than send someone out, since the damage was so bad.
Two weeks later I received a computer from them. It was the wrong one. Dell said that there had been a screwup, and my replacement computer was also sent to the wrong customer. Another week later I received an airbill with instructions to ship the computer I had received to its rightful customer.
Another week later, and I still don't have my computer. I called and they said they would initiate the process anew, and I could expect my replacement computer in another 5-7 business days. IF I receive the machine by then, I will have gone 5-6 weeks without a computer.
I asked for some kind of remedy or compensation considering that my next-day on-site repair policy had turned into a 6-week no-computer policy. They offered no remedy, so I asked to speak to a supervisor. The manager I spoke to (Jose Vega) said he reported directly to Michael Dell himself, and offered no remedy other than a weak "I'll see if I can get the replacement upgraded for you". Then I told him I had all the hard disk and RAM I needed, and I wanted something concrete. He said there was nothing he could do, and that they receive calls on less than 10% of their machines, and therefore they have good customer service.
If I wanted to wait 6 weeks for a warranty repair, I certainly wouldn't have paid the premium to buy a machine from Dell. Any local PC VAR or retailer could do better, at two-thirds the price. The funny thing is, prior to this incident, I've recommended to anyone who asked me where to get a PC, that they get one from Dell.
--Barry
ps. Oh yeah, when I first bought the machine, they overcharged me $45 on shipping and handling, and I had to call to get them to take it off my credit card.
Another thing, having spent several hours on the phone with them, I can tell you that my average wait time after dialing their customer support hotline is 10-15 minutes.
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