I now know what it's like to be a woman in an abusive relationship. I have been trying to give dell my business since last Friday and they just don't seem to want it. They keep beating me down and for some reason I keep coming back asking for more. It is amazing to me why they are still in business. The problem is that I look around, and I can't find another computer that I can deck out exactly like I want it anywhere else. I have this thing max'ed out. XPS 410 w/ Quad-core, 4gb ram, Vista Ultimate. For some reason, they just don't want to sell it to me. Any other business with their level of ciaos would be out of business. I have spoken to 12 separate people over countless hours and still don't have a system.
There are so many things wrong with they way they do business. There is money that is just being pissed away. The biggest thing that is lost by the folks on the phone dealing with a "home" buyer is how much of an impact this impression leaves when IT geeks like myself weigh in on corporate desisions for computer purchases. There is a ripple effect that they need to stop.
To end my rant, and offer advice (DELL - please take notes). I really do love their computers. I don't want them to go away. I just want them to fix these problems so I don't have to suffer every time.
Why is it that each person can do one and only one thing? I talk to the XPS guys, and they can't apply the EPP discount. I talk to the EPP guys, but they can help me with the Financing. Then I talk to financial and, my god, please buy these guys new computers. They must be running 486s with Windows 98. All you do it give your account number and it takes a good 5-7 minutes before they can ask you any verification questions. I've spoken to at least 3 or 4 folks in that group this week with the same results, so it's not just a fluke. When I call, I want one person to "own me", I want them to handle everything. If they need help, they should stay on the line and walk me through it. (twice I got transfered to an automated line with no option to talk to a person). If want a direct extension that they will answer in the event that we are disconnected. And, they better speak fluent, clear english. I want them to talk to me, not read me their script. I know this seems excessive, but if you do things right, I shouldn't have to ever call back.
Here's the story, for those interested. First, I tried to take advantage of their financial deal, 12 months same as cash. ( None of this would have happened if I just charged it). Well, I did the same thing the last time I bought a system from them. That account was closed due to in-activity. Well, my order got put on hold because they would not allow another perferred account under the same ssn and could not add it to the first because it was closed. You can now see where this is going. After about 8 people we figured out that this is what happened. They re-opened my account and approved my limit. They then cancelled my first order and placed a second order. Turned out to be about $50 less. I thought I just got lucky. Turns out they left off a few items off. When I called back to get the items added, it increased the cost to $150 more than orginally. That didn't go over too well. They realized what happened. They were unable to appy the EPP discount. (These guys were actually good. The only two folks from Dell who had some sense and truly seemed to care. Thanks Kyle and Michael. You guys rock.). It was realized that the only way to get this resolved was to cancel and re-submit the order on-line(or go through Financial and the over to the EPP group). Sounds easy right. One small problem, The first order hasn't cleared the finance group, so the second order pushed past the approved credit limit they set. I spent some time with finance but he (12th person) just wasn't getting it. At this point I gave up.
So what's next? I went out and looked at HP computers tonight. They allow you to configure your system just like dell, but I just don't end up with the warm fuzzy feeling that I get when I'm done with my dell config. It's the little things, like bluetooth wireless mouse and keyboard instead of just "wireless mouse and keyboard". I do however like the HP dvd drive that prints labels onto the disk. I guess I'll just give this until tomorrow, see if the financial crisis clears itself up and allows me to go foward. If not, I may possibly just pay cash for the damn thing. I'll have to do that if I go elsewhere. Build from scratch is till an option, but do I really want to deal with that. (I'm getting to old). I just want to plug it in and get to work.
Wish me luck.