"I was looking for a 256MB Secured Digital SimpleTech card for my Dell Axim X5 (I did not buy that directly from Dell). After looking at all the authorized dealers, Dell had the lowest end price. No sales Tax, no shipping, and lower sale price than any one else.

A few days after the order, and 1 day after my order shipped I got an e-mail from them saying that the shipping has been delayed until 5/30. However like I said, it had already shipped and I had a tracking number. Product arrived as advertised in a reasonable time for free shipping.

Would I do business with them again?? Probably, but the whole e-mail made me nervous about their internal tracking and shipping systems, and that I sent them an e-mail asking them to clarify it, and never got a response."

"The worst customer service I have ever experianced! I have 3 Dells and will not ever get another. It may be a great computer but the customer service makes the computer not worth buying. It has taken me over 2 months to get RAM that I was owed from the day I bought the computer. After speaking to 12 people in 3 different countries over a period of 2 months, I am now hold still waiting to get this problem resolved (I have now been on the phone for over 1 1/2 hours today alone.) Still hopeing to get the RAM or have them come and get the computer! "

"Even though it's a good deal with dell coupons, most of dell's peripherals have like at least 1+ weeks wait. Takes them forever to restock and the automatic phone system is very inadequate and confusing plus a waste of time to use. Returning stuff to dell is a major pain too through the phone maze system. "

"Very dissatisfied!

They had great prices, so I placed an order for a memory card. A day or so later, Dell notified me that it was backordered, which was fine. However, because of the delay, I realized it would not arrive in time for me to send off the rebate for the card. Cancelled that order and placed another one a few days later.

First order was not cancelled per my request. Emailed customer service about it, never got a response. Called customer service, waited on hold 5+ minutes and I guess the time ran out so I was disconnected. Next time I pressed 0 from the main phone menu and GOT CONNECTED TO SOMEONE'S HOUSE!

I still have not had the first order cancelled, and I have called three times (it was shipped to me instead). All three times the representatives were rude and unhelpful. (Trying to figure out which delivery company to look for, I asked one rep if the packages were shipped UPS or FedEx. He said "Yes." I then asked, "Which one?" He said, "Both." When I asked, "You mean one was shipped FedEx and one was shipped UPS?" he said, "That's just stupid. They were both shipped UPS.") Sorry that I'm so "stupid." I guess I'm too stupid to order from Dell anymore.

Another complaint - I requested that it be sent to my work address. The "confirmation notice" WAS shipped there, but the card was shipped to my home. ?!?"

"Ordered Z-680 system. After a few snafus with shipping and such their customer service finally got things right."

"What a terrible experience. If some of you have not noticed yet, Dell has a history of cancelling order or delaying orders that it does not have it stock. Dell does not tell you directly until 1-2 weeks later.
Here is an example:
On 4/23, I ordered 5 Dell Dimension system.
My friend also ordered several Dell Dimension system.
My friend's mom also ordered a Dell Dimension.

My order was cancelled 1 1/2 weeks later and was re-submitted again for no apparent reason. I called Dell, and they said they are still waiting for my credit card to process completely. What an lie; because on 4/25, I checked my credit card file online, and my card already had a $3000 credit hold allocated to that purchased.
My unfortunate friend also has his order cancelled. Dell's reasoning is that he needs to set up Business account with a tax id in order to buy from the Small Business Dept. What discrimination or lame excuse! I know the majority of people buy from the Small Business Dept without any trouble. Oh well, Dell won't put my friend's order through. I suspect that weekend's deal is too good; price is too low; and Dell is out-of-stock.
My friend's mom: Dell sent her an email saying that the credit card requires authorization. So Dell cancelled their order 1 1/2 weeks after the order was made. What took them so long? She called the credit card company, and there was not even an inquiry on her credit card from Dell. Normally, if the credit card company suspects fraud, they would initiate to give you a call. That did not happen either. I think Dell is just using as many excuses as possible to either deny the good deal, cancel the order and delay the order.
My recommendation: price and deals are excellent with Dell. However, be careful with the long shipping delay and poor customer service, especially if you plan to make phone calls. Expect a long wait time and several calls to get what you need.
My first system purchased through Dell in 2002: I had to replace three defective items in my system; extremely long hold time for technical service.
My second monitor purchased through Dell: I have to spend a couple of hours and make several calls to get the item shipped to the appropriate address. One call: I was on hold for 30 minutes, another 15 minutes, etc.
And finally, this purchase on 4/23 is just as bad, not just for me, but also for others that I know and told them about the good deal. If you read other users' feedbacks, I am sure I am not the only one having problems withe 4/23 deal.
"

"DELL IS BAD!! CUSTOMER SERVICE IS RUDE. TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING. PURCHASED 5 COMPUTERS ON 4/22. EXPECTED SHIP DATE 4/31 THEN 5/01 THEN 5/08 THEN 5/12 THEN 5/20. WHAT THE #$#$ IS GOING ON HERE. I WILL NEVER, EVER PURCHASE FROM THEM AGAIN. GEEZUZ BTW, MY FIRST PURCHASE WAS FOR A LAPTOP THAT CAME DEFECTIVE ALSO. THANKS DELL"

"Had 3 prior orders and all were shipped within a reasonable amount of time, but much longer than what I'm used to with the normal companies I buy through. My current order has been delayed an entire week, and I had no indication prior to ordering that the item was backordered. On the plus side the priced are very good when you buy things on sale and/or with coupon codes."

"4/1 - Ordered a Nikon Coolpix 4500 and Sandisk 512MB CompactFlash memory card from Dell Small Business Software & Accessories store.

4/2 - Receive email that camera is backordered until 4/4.

4/4 - Receive email that camera is backordered until 4/15.

4/11 - Receive 2 packages from UPS, one containing the camera and one containing a Sandisk 256MB CF card. Call Dell immediately and get Alex, who tells me to return card and put in a new order for the right card. I ask him why I should place a new order when he should just be able to send me the card I ordered. Alex puts me on hold, and I'm disconnected within 30 seconds.

Call back and get Tammy, who exchanges the card and ships me the right card overnight. She says she's including an Airborne return label.

4/12 - Finally setup camera, only to find the LCD had a dead pixel. Call Dell and speak to LeDon, who says they will exchange the camera, and to simply send it back with the CF card I'm already returning.

4/15 - Receive package from UPS containing CF card, but no Airborne label. My thought is that they're sending the label via USPS.

4/18 - Call Dell to get instructions for Airborne return, and get Alex again. Alex tells me that Dispatch has cancelled the camera exchange because they can't get any more. I ask why I was not notified of the cancellation, but Alex can't explain. I ask for a supervisor twice, but Alex will not put me through. Instead, he tells me they will put in a special order for the camera, and he will setup the Airborne pickup and give me an exact time.

I get an email that night at 8:30 from Arvind (Alex) stating that they will not be able to get the camera, and that the exact time of the pickup will be 4/21 between 0800-1800, and gave me Airborne's phone # if I needed to change it. Since it was 8:30PM, Friday night on Easter weekend, Airborne was already closed for the weekend.

4/21 - Call Dell to complain about the issue. Speak to Don who immediately puts me on hold so he can get a supervisor. After being on hold for 15 minutes, I end up in Sales, who transfers me back to CS.
Talk to Linda, who says they cannot get the camera, and will refund my money, plus issue me a $100 credit on a previous order I had placed in order to resolve the situation.

I seriously question whether I will ever order from Dell again."

"Ordered a dell 1800fp from the small business divison, got it in 4 days, no dead pixels at all, couldnt be happier, it shipped 30mins after they accepted my card, highly recommended, and plan to do business with again"

"Faster shipping than promised. Took two phone calls and three emails to upgrade and verify sytem ordered."

"My dealings with Dell:

My Canon 10D was ordered on 3-21. Expected ship date 4-14. Delayed 4-21. Delayed 4-24. Then only this morning(4-22) a new message up only an hour after I checked the first time which showed their standard delayed message, trying to fill order, claimed delayed 4-29.

I decided it was time for a phone call. I talked to Lenny in customer service. He first told me that it was delayed until 5-7. When asked why he thought it might ship 5-7 he said he hoped it shipped 5-7. When asked why this date should mean something when the others hadn’t he had no answer. He later said he expected it to ship 5-7 but again could give no basis for that. When he entered the camera number in the computer he told me that Dell had discontinued the 10D and it would not ship at all. We discussed this repeatedly and he insisted that it would not ship and that backorders will not be filled. I requested to talk to supervision.

Talked to a nice lady named Noel, above Lenny I presume. She claimed that no 10D’s had shipped from Dell since 4-14. When I asked why even small camera stores get weekly shipments from Canon and Dell’s supplier Ingram Micro is huge as is Dell, the story changed a bit. Seems the home division hasn’t shipped a camera in weeks. The business division has a separate queue and may well ship a later order before an earlier order in the home division. Noel claimed that the business division has no priority but was quite vague as to how orders are shuffled into Ingram’s and back out to Dell. (It should be noted here that two different customer service representatives told me that there was a priority list last week and that a customer had to request overnight shipping to get on it)

Noel did tell me that all of the cameras shipped back to Dell for real or imagined problems are replaced on a priority basis. Also the estimated ship dates for cameras are based on the dates that shipments are expected from Ingrams. These shipments may or might not have 10D’s included.

Those are the facts as accurately as I can report them based on the phone calls. My opinion is that individuals and people who didn’t use their business name or account to order through won’t see a 10D from Dell anytime in the foreseeable future. The 5-7 date has no more meaning than all the other dates given in the past.

Hu
"

"I ordered a server and monitors. Recieved late but was informed there would be a delay in the arrival time."

"Ordered a new 400mhz Axim with a wireless CF network adapter. Dell shipped it right away and it was in my hands within a week. Can't say all of my experiences with Dell were this nice but on this occasion they really came through."