Dell fails.. again

Once again I come to you with another rousing story of failure in business. In particular, customer service. It seems many businesses still don’t get they survive off of a customers money and continued business. In this global community word travels fast and one success story can spread exponentially. Conversely, and perhaps most importantly, one failure can ripple through the internet. To a large corporation a single instance of failure is nothing, it’s to be expected. When one instance of failure is combined with many others it provides interesting insight into a company, and for many people, weighs heavily on their decision to either purchase a product or service or go with a competitor.

Buying something is not just a one time thing where the company and customer can meet each other and then forget, it’s much more than that single, meaningless, one night stand. Consumers invest considerable time into their decisions and will ultimately have the choice to keep on coming back for some more great service or look elsewhere. With competition so fierce and prices so close, customer service is often the one thing standing between a sale or a failure.

So today, I bring to you Dells Failure. This particular company has been the subject of intense criticism in the past about their customer service tactics and unfortunately it appears things haven’t changed.For other stories I recommend www.consumeraffairs.com, a great website looking out for consumers and featuring other stories of Dell’s failings and www.theinquirer.com, in particular one persons story and the following comments. There are plenty more out there though, so do a quick google search like I did and take your pick.

Of course Dell would say other companies have the same problem and while this may be true it doesn’t exonerate Dell for their failures. In any case, here’s my latest story of failure.

Dave: “Hi, I’m having a problem with blue tooth on my dell vostro 1500″

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Ok, what exactly is the issue with the blue tooth?”

Dave: “Laptop says I don’t have one”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Ok, Based on the information you’ve given me, your system qualifies for a Dell Connect session. During this session, I will be able to troubleshoot your system using special software that will allow me to see what you have on your desktop. At no time will we access any personal information on your system or open folder which will contain that information without your explicit permission. Would you like to do a Dell Connect session?

Dave: “Yes. Before we begin I’d like to tell you that I’ve tried the switch”

Dave: “I’ve already downloaded and installed packs R159805 and R161378 from Dell website.”

Dave: “It still asks me to turn it on when I’ve tried every possible way to do it.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Does the system have xp now?”

Dave: “yes”

Dave: “I saw there was a problem with some XP systems while downgrading but I followed the steps to fix it”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Ok, here is the thing.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “This system was sent with vista, and unfortunately, windows xp was not a downgrade option you purchased.”

Dave: “No but I purchased it myself when I saw Vista wouldn’t work for me.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “We are unable to support OS that are not originally sent, unless you purchased the downgrade option with the system”

Dave: “I didn’t buy the system myself. I bought it from someone else.”

Dave: “When I saw all the crap he had on his computer and the fact that Vista wouldn’t work for me I needed to do something”

Dave: “So I installed the best option for myself.”

Dave: “Are you now telling me that Dell is refusing to support their own systems?”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “I am telling you that the system was sent compatible with vista components”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Since it does not have a downgrade option..”

Dave: “Hold on one second.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Sure.”

Dave: “Are you aware that Dell provides XP drivers for this system?”

Dave: “For this model of computer”

Dave: “This means that the system is compatible with XP components also.”

Dave: “Heck, Dell provides a FIX for this problem for people like me who downgraded on their own.”

Dave: “How can you refuse to support that which you provide a fix for?”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Yes, because a downgrade option may be purchased.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “But unfortunately this system was not purchased with that option.”

Dave: “So you’re telling me Dell will not provide support for the systems they sell?”

Dave: “I just want to make sure before I make this public.”

Dave: “This is the 3rd negative experience I’ve had with Dell techs in just a few months.”

Dave: “Are you also aware, sir, that another tech did help me when he knew I had XP on my system?”

Dave: “I’m sure this is not a new policy”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “No it is not a new policy, if you wish to purchase the downgrade option, then you may contact customer care, and they can provide you with options, as well as the warranty coverage agreed to when purchase if you wish.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Their number is 1-800-456-3355.”

Dave: “No”

Dave: “I’m not purchasing anything else from Dell”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Ok, is there anything else I can help you with today?”

Dave: “I require a phone number of a supervisor”

Dave: “Or an email of a supervisor”

Dave: “Or something which will actually get me satisfactory service.”

Dave: “And yes, you can help me still.”

Dave: “Explain why someone else helped me but you are refusing to?”

Dave: “I recommend that before Dell tries to screw customers they get their story straight.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “I am not that someone else so unfortunately I would not be able to speak for them.”

Dave: “Surely then you can provide me with the phone number of someone else who can answer that question then.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “The system may be sent with xp, or vista with downgrade option as I told you before, but this system was not purchased with that option.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Customer care might be able to provide you with options for that.”

Dave: “You are customer care.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “No, I am “hardware” technical support.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Customer Care can be reached at 1-800-456-3355.”

Dave: “Awesome, thanks for being useless.”

Dave: “Have a great day.”

Agent (SMB_Agustin_177838): “Very welcome. We do appreciate your business. Thank you for choosing Dell. Have a great day!”

In the interest of brevity I edited out the beginning of the chat which began like any standard chat with a customer service tech. I also took out parts of the middle where he explained how we would go about setting up a remote connection. Other than that everything is left in there, including the parts where I became angry. Kudos do go to the tech for not responding.

Failure on everything else.