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DELL Delivery HELL

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DBZ_2
DBZ_2 Posts: 21 Forumite
edited 21 November 2009 at 12:41PM in Consumer rights
I thought I would share my miserable DELL HELL experience after purchasing a Dell Computer as a birthday present, to serve as a warning to others.

On 23rd October I ordered a Dell XPS 8000 pc along with a monitor. Dell confirmed delivery as 3rd November. The delivery time fitted well as it was for my Daughter’s birthday on the 7th November.

Dell e-mailed a week later to say they had oversold this particular pc, it was out of stock and it would not be delivered until the middle/end of November. No amount of explaining to them (pleading with them) that it had been purchased as a present and we needed it for the 7th, stirred them into to trying to pull the stops out and somehow some way get the pc to us before the 7th.

We had to live with the new delivery timeline. In fact the computer arrived on the 17th – err well actually no, part of the computer arrived but they forgot to send the monitor, or lost it or the carrier lost it or something else as they cannot tell because they do not know. So, my Daughters initial delight when the carrier arrived at the door with her birthday present, soon turned to double disappointment when she we realized she could not actually use the pc!!

Since then, I have patiently communicated with the DELL so called customer service, who first said the carrier had the monitor, then said the warehouse had it, then they said no the carrier has it. The latest is they don’t know where it is, and (this is the priceless bit) they refuse to send another one. In other words, DELL don’t know where the monitor is, will not send another and insist on finding the original one however long that may take (they do not know how long it will take because they do not know where it is, so an infinite period of time then - bet they won't put that in the glossy brochures of media advertising!!!!).

The reason they won’t send another you ask? Quote “the monitors are built to order and it will take a very long time”. So, DELL also thinks their customers are very stupid.

Please heed this warning as sadly I DID NOT! My sister in law purchased a DELL pc for home this summer, and had a five week nightmare getting a replacement when the pc was dead on delivery. I thought it was a one off, naturally I now think this is more common. In any event it seems if you are unlucky enough to have a problem with DELL, they are a nightmare to deal with, a nightmare to get problems sorted.

So having been given the run around on e-mail, what next? Well I tried phoning them yesterday and got the telephone run around via there call centre in India – the first person just hung up!!!!! Second call resulted in being passed to five different people, the last sounded as though they were reading from a script, simply repeating standard answers (I felt a bit sorry for the person I ended up speaking to as they are just a puppet of a big corporate exploiting people). I then got a land line number for DELL UK head office in Basingstoke (01344 860456 this is the switchboard number, NOT a call centre somewhere else in the world) and telephoned to find the name of their UK Managing Director. Surprise surprise they have a no name policy (what does that tell you) but a quick delve shows their UK MD to be Adrian Weekes. I sent him a fax yesterday (it would seem he has a special department to deal with unhappy customers who are sick of being fobbed off). I have not had a reply from him, or anyone else, despite being repeatedly re-assured I would have an e-mail reply yesterday.

It remains to be seen what happens next but for sure I will not be buying anything from DELL in a hurry. I will however update this thread so that you can keep track of the on going saga.

Incidentally, if you need their head office address it is DELL UK, Dell House, The Boulevard, Cain Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 1LF.
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Comments

  • Keep the commentary coming.. I'm umming and aahing about whether to order mum's christmas present from Dell....
    Starting Debt: ~£20,000 01/01/2009. DFD: 20/11/2009 :j
    Do something amazing. GIVE BLOOD.
  • BillTrac
    BillTrac Posts: 1,869 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    In the last year we have ordered and received two laptops and a notebook. All individual/seperate orders. All were delivered before the estimated delivery date given when you order. All were as ordered and I would certainly order again from Dell. So much simpler than dealing with the pushy sales people at PC World etc. And you get to "design" the system you want, not what the others have in stock and want you to buy.

    And before someone comments, no I have no affiliation to Dell other than being a satisfied customer
  • DBZ_2
    DBZ_2 Posts: 21 Forumite
    Keep the commentary coming.. I'm umming and aahing about whether to order mum's christmas present from Dell....

    LeeSouthEast, if my DELL HELL service experience is anything to go by, let me help you with your dilemma - DON'T DO IT!!!
  • DBZ_2
    DBZ_2 Posts: 21 Forumite
    BillTrac wrote: »
    In the last year we have ordered and received two laptops and a notebook. All individual/seperate orders. All were delivered before the estimated delivery date given when you order. All were as ordered and I would certainly order again from Dell. So much simpler than dealing with the pushy sales people at PC World etc. And you get to "design" the system you want, not what the others have in stock and want you to buy.

    And before someone comments, no I have no affiliation to Dell other than being a satisfied customer

    BillTrac - it sounds like you had a good experience - I'm pleased. However, if I set aside the initial delay in delivery which I accept can sometimes happen but in this case was rotten timing, the utter incompetence of their so called customer service is nothing short of disgraceful. This seems to be the main issue with DELL when you look across the internet, they are shocking at putting right their errors and mistakes. As is the case with us, after 5 days they can offer nothing in terms of a solution, except they continue to e-mail the carrier and warehouse in turn, who between them are bickering about who has the monitor. Utter incompetence.

    Experience to date (I'm a naturally optimitic person), by a DELL computer at your peril!!!!!!
  • Five Dells in 12 years and never a problem either. Sorry for your difficulties, but I'm keen to "even things up" as I'm another satisfied Dell customer. Sorry!
    Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac ;)
  • DBZ_2
    DBZ_2 Posts: 21 Forumite
    edited 21 November 2009 at 9:12PM
    Sorry for your difficulties, but I'm keen to "even things up" as I'm another satisfied Dell customer. Sorry!

    Even things up? Not sure what you mean? I did not start the thread to run a poll, but to let others know of what a shocking service they might encounter as we have had, and continue to suffer. DELL are a hugely successful commercial enterprise, and therefore at least some of the time they must do ‘things’ which please people. In other words, they must deliver on their promise. The point is, when things go wrong (as our family have most recently discovered) they are shocking at putting things right. Contemptuous even.

    I’m glad to hear of your good experiences, really I’m genuinely pleased you have had no problems, but, do tell me if you think the following is reasonable.

    * - Deliver the order 2 weeks late (after my daughter’s birthday and giving us 2 days notice of the delay i.e. little or no time to arrange another suitable computer – in fact we would have breached the contract if we had tried to cancel!)

    * - Deliver only part of the order making what they have delivered useless

    * - Fob us off for 5 days with no sensible explanation other than their carrier is arguing with their warehouse about who has the missing monitor

    * - Hang up the phone when querying the problem with them

    * - Get passed to 5 different people during a second 45 minute telephone call, only to be told nothing new (including we do not know where your monitor is)

    * - Refusing to send another monitor, and we must wait for the one they think is somewhere

    * - Giving no timescale WHATSOEVER on when we will receive the monitor (a few more days, a week a month? – they refuse to say)

    I do not think that is reasonable, and clearly is not the level of service anyone should reasonably expect or have to suffer.

    I accept things go wrong. It happens, but when you get something wrong, surely the key is to put it right quickly and effectively. In fact, I tell my staff to give the customer "a little extra" if we drop the ball, give them a little more than they expected. That will be the customers lasting memory and builds loyalty. "Yes something went wrong, but they sorted the issue quickly and without fuss AND did XYZ over and above". The XYZ is the sweet taste the customer is left with.

    I assume Dell must have had good customer service at some point (perhaps when they were a much smaller company), hence why they are such a large organisation today. But now? I think they are demonstrating by example that they are so big, they don't need to care. Perhaps they just look at their management accounts each month and count the money?

    Do you know, their UK head office said they do not have anyone who heads up customer care in the UK! Nobody. They said there customer care Director sits in India - yes I thought, these are the people who hang the phone up on you....
  • to the op sorry to hear of your problems with dell i dont work for them but never had a problem with them they have always delievered on time and if anything went wrong theyd send replacements out straightaway. hope u get your problem sorted
  • DBZ_2
    DBZ_2 Posts: 21 Forumite
    UPDATE

    As requested, a brief update.

    Still had no contact from Dell as they had promised last week so I telephoned them again this morning. Twenty six minutes on hold, then passed to four different people, but finally spoke to someone who said if they do not get a cast iron guarantee from either their warehouse or carrier by tomorrow, they will despatch a replacement monitor. I clarified this and they repeated “we will send a replacement monitor priority delivery, if nothing concrete on your existing monitor by tomorrow”.

    It would seem there could be light at the end of a very long, laborious and time consuming tunnel.

    I will update the thread with the outcome.
  • I've been a Dell customer for over 10 years now and never had any issues before BUT...

    Last Year I purchased a Dell XPS m1730 laptop, I got it with pretty much everything you could get on it and ended up spending around £2500 for it, few weeks ago the graphics card in it died (for the second time) I rang dell support (I have premium next day support) and was advised that yes indeed the card was broken, and an engineer would be ou the next day to replace it, so the next day comes and goes with no engineer, I ring them and they apologise and say it will be the next day, so again I sit in and wait and again no engineer, at this point I grab the wifes laptop and investigate what could be wrong with my laptop.

    What I find is that Dell do not have any of the cards available to replace the one in my computer, and infact will not have any till Jan 2010. I ring Dell back and again they say an engineer will come out the next day, at this point I say I want to speak to a manager, I speak with this guy and he assures me they do infact have the cards.

    To cut a very long story short, after 2 weeks of lies from Dell they finally admit they don't have the cards, and won't have any till mid Jan 2010, by this time I'd spoken with Consumer Direct and written a letter of complaint to Dell, a further week of phone calls and I have managed to get my computer replaced by Dell (they have given me an Alienware Desktop in replacement).

    The moral of the story, Dell are ok as long as there are no major issues, as soon as something major goes wrong expect the worst customer experience of your life.
  • DBZ_2
    DBZ_2 Posts: 21 Forumite
    vorpal wrote: »
    The moral of the story, Dell are ok as long as there are no major issues, as soon as something major goes wrong expect the worst customer experience of your life.

    Vorpal is spot on, expect the worst possible customer service you can think of.

    Spoken to another four people today (that excludes the first 8 minute call waiting for somone to answer before being cut off). After 41 minutes on the phone, the latest is they have agreed to send a replacment monitor, but their so called "priority delivery" which they told me about yesterday (filling me with hope of a fast resolution) is 3 to 5 working days..... I will believe it when I see it.

    I will repeat what I said a few days ago, buy a Dell computer at your peril! Because if anything goes wrong there "customer service" is horrific!
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