"I have used Dell Computers at work and at home. My last Dell was a XPS 1730 and after 2 days and hassles with customer service and tech support from overseas I ended up returning it and getting a Alienware. I then purchased a Mini 12 Feb.26 and it arrived today March 13 and upon opening the box and removing the computer I heard a rattle or should I say something sliding around on the inside. I called to face more hassles under standing the person on the other end, we all know why...but after getting transferred 4 times and having to go ahead and try to start up the computer I was told there was something wrong and I would need to return it and order a new one or take it to a service center for repair.....Sorry Dell if you can't get it right the first time then you get no more chances. It is about time I switch to a different brand of computer. And Dell please do something about your customer service. Let me also say that I have ordered a camera,software and other accessories from Dell and have no problems so I am just saying that Dell needs to fix the problems with their computer manufacturing dept. and their customer service dept. "

"Well its easy say that Dell just does not cut it with me.
Ordered TV and took them almost 2 weeks before canceling order on me with out notifying me. Not even an email. I found out about it when i checked on status of order. Sure it was a killer deal, but I'm over it.
Wont shop there again."

"The worst customer service experience i've ever encountered. First you speak to an operator, of which I spoke to two, then a receptionis, of which I spoke to three, then the salesperson or technician, of which I spoke to a number. I got transferred mid sentence, bounced around and dropped call on. The representatives themselves are horribly trained. Base is in India and the attitude taken by most of them seems to be that that is too far to care. NO concern for my bad experience, which I had with their battery, no interest in my explanation that dell batteries are being recalled for faulty manufacturing, however not for my computer, and when I tried to explain that my problems were identical to the problems of recalled batteries, no interest. When I tried to explain that I want to file my complaint so that they look into whether my model batteries were affected too, being that is how call backs are initiated, we hit a communication barrier. That was not on the script, and if it's not on the script, the issue can not possibly exist. Replacement battery was 146 dollars, 59 to 70 dollars at competetive dealers. No disrespect to Indian culture, but offshore customer service has wide and extermely frustrating cultural gaps.

After many years of dell loyalty, I am so done."

"I don't why so many people are bashing on Dell.com. I recently ordered a portable hard drive at 2am in the morning, and it arrived at my dorm the next day at noon! (free shipping method) Overall I'm a happy customer. I also received 7% off for EPP and additional 4% off for DPA, so it was like not paying for tax :d"

"I have been upgrading hard drives on my system lately, buying a specific model WD drive from Newegg for $119 on sale with free shipping. When I found the sale had ended (now $129 with no free shipping) I was going to wait, but then some price watching site reported the same drive for $105 at DELL.

I checked it out, and then found a coupon code that would replace that discount with a better one, making the drive just $95. Ordering two got me free shipping.

I ordered, then noticed they were out of stock. It took a week to get them back in, then they shipped and arrived in a few days. Very nice -- and a good savings.

So no problems with DELL from me."

"I was a customer that has had a consistent good experience with Dell (a laptop for work and another desktop at home)...until this issue.

I had inherited a used dell 4600i desktop. Shortly after receiving it, the desktop's hard drive crashed. I called dell up and asked for the compatible replacement drive. The tech told me which one was compatible and they had it in stock. $120 for an 80GB HDD, ouch! But I knew how touchy proprietary issues can be with the brand so I said ok. I got and it didn't work. In fact now the CD drives didn't work as well. The tech sent me new restore disks, still didn't work. After a few phone calls and nearly 4 hours on the phone, the tech had gone cover to cover in his "what to do" manual. He said it must be the IDE control on the motherboard and it would need to be replaced.

I asked the tech if dell had replacement motherboards. He said that dell didn’t make them for the 4600 anymore. This process had already taken about 3 weeks (The 21 days). So at his suggestion, I bought a refurbished dell board from a 3rd party. I still had the same problem, it still didn't work.

I was within 90 days of purchase and thought I'd call to see what dell would do -maybe I could exchange the never working drive for memory for my existing pc or something. New technician checked the drive and tells me, “your problem is that the drive isn't compatible and we don't have compatible drives for your pc anymore,” -it was too old.

No problem he says, “I'll document all this and transfer this to customer service, would you like to buy that memory now??” I told him I’d wait to talk to customer service.

After dealing with the initial customer service person, who dutifully kept repeating the “21 day policy, return not an option,” I waited about 40-45minutes to go to a "manager" for customer service- Gary Singh. I was told that because I didn't ask for a return within 21 days, I was not eligible for a return period.” Even though the day I discovered that dell sold me an incompatible drive to begin with, Gary said, “no, you should have asked for a return on the drive when the tech said my motherboard was bad too.”

I reminded Gary Singh, with "full authority to make this decision, and there is no one above me," that in the current economy and business climate that he might not want to take this $120 stand for the attention it would receive. In addition, was he really willing to lose a customer that had already purchased 2 other dell pc's and had bought parts for all three because I followed the techs determination that it was the motherboard now and I didn't ask for a refund on the wrong drive sold to me in the 1st place. He simply responded, “I have already made my decision.”

It only takes one bad experience to lose someone and 250+ of their closest friends and business associates. And it only cost me $120. At that point I finally decide to get a new PC form the company I bought the motherboard from and not bother with another dell based on this experience.

A month later, after I actually received a couple of “customer satisfaction” e-mail surveys. I got an e-mail saying that Susan Thomas, “Dell Corporate’s Executive Resolver” had received my e-mail and would like to speak to me in regards to my issue. “Finally?” I wonder…. Cautiously optimistic, I call back. No answer at her number, no voice-mail, no ring, nothing. Susan says in the e-mail she has left voice mails and “tried to reach me for the past couple of days”. (I am sorry to say, I had no voice mails on any of my phones from her anyone else from dell.)

I told her I expected that dell would stand behind their original mistake of selling me an incompatible hard drive. Charge me the restocking fee and credit me the rest. She then tells me AGAIN….”I’m the last authority, I am dell corporate”…curiously like David Singh (below her.)

“Unfortunately, after 21 days there is no option for refund, but now I can give you a compatible hard drive to exchange.” I said no thank you. One, the last time I believed dell, it was wrong and two, after the AMAZING customer “non-service” I had already not received from David Singh at dell, I bought a new computer from another company. So, while I might have taken the exchange option that was not offered last month at that time, it was too little, too late now.

I told Susan, I wished she hadn’t bothered to call me and offer nothing in the way of standing behind the original dell error that caused me to go past 21 days in the 1st place. I would just write my letter to Michael Dell and tell him why I won’t buy anything from his company again and let him know the two “non-customer service” reps that solidified that. Susan again, told me that she was it at corporate and she had “full authority” again…etc.

All she did was refresh my irritation at how little service, satisfaction and “resolve” I received in this one, only and sadly, final issue with dell.
"

"Are you kidding me ??? This is the WORST ever customer service I've ever encountered in my life. I got transferred around 10 times, wait around 2 hours on the phone just to get to the return Department and yet "Indian Oscar" said that I will have to pay 15% restocking fees even I've repeatedly told him that my computer is DEFECT, it froze every 10' or so. Well, Dell is bad news !!!! everyone beware !!!!!"

"Purchased a Dell XPS730 desktop with liquid cooling. By far this has been the worst PC I've ever had the misfortune to own.

It took a month for the PC to arrive. After that I found that the OS only used 2 of the 4GB of RAM due to the 32-bit memory addressing limitations. Tech support had me read an article to prove I was mistaken, except that the article stated EXACTLY what I was telling them; Windows 32-bit operating systems cannot address total memory in a PC greater than 4GB (cache + RAM + graphics, etc). After almost a month Dell shipped me a 64-bit version of Vista Ultimate and then promptly turned around and told me they would not support the PC unless I reverted back to Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit. It took a few calls/chats before they would help me with the graphics cards (dual ATI Radeon 3870X2) that weren't working properly (one of the GPUs was always disabled). Found out from ATI themselves (referred to them by Dell)that the cards used in the PC were NOT compatible with the NVidia motherboard/chipset Dell used to build the PC. It took almost 2 hours on the phone before someone in customer support found a graphics card rated to be compatible with the motherboard they used. A tech came out almost 3 weeks later (the week after Christmas) and replaced the cards. At this point the PC freezes randomly (sooner if playing a game, which the PC was designed for per the Dell site when I bought the PC). The solution given was to try an imaged HDD sent by tech support. I've been testing it for almost a week now and still have the same problems using the system with an out-of-the-box configuration (after updating drivers with those from the Dell support site - onces on the CD were outdated and caused HORRIBLE problems).

For $4000 I'd expect to get a computer that works right out of the box. I'd also expect it to be designed in such a way that the hardware and software shipped all work to their fullest capabilities. This has been a VERY painful reminder that if you want something done right, build it yourself! Unfortunately for me it's well past the 1 month return period and I can't say anything more than this has been 4+ months of non-stop problems. What a lemon of a PC (in my opinion). I don't think I'll EVER buy from Dell again and will STRONGLY suggest no one I talk to/know does either."

"My computer/printer order was to include a coupon from Staples. The coupon never came. I called Dell Customer Service. Someone (in India) told me it was a mistake and my order did not qualify for this item. But it was clearly on my order, confirmation and invoice. As a matter of fact, I priced out several versions of my order first and the cost was higher for the order with the coupon...by the amount of the coupon. So I, in effect, paid for it because it was buried in their price. So it clearly qualified for the coupon and it was on all of my paperwork. Now, several months later, they said they will not send me one...it's a mistake, tough luck, go away. I even spoke to a Manager (also India) who was incredibly rude, sarcastic, and raised his voice at me. So I told them I will never do business with Dell again and I hope their little pricing rip-off scheme was worth it. Up to now, I have purchased several computers from them for my employees and for my home. So as I replace these, it will NOT be with another Dell. On the upside, I called Staples (I have an account with them) to tell them about my Dell experience and they had the common business sense to give me a credit to make up for Dell. Staples gets my continued business, Dell does not. I could go on about what I know about Dell's pricing practices but then this would be very long...just watch them like a hawk. Better yet, stay away. "

"I regret I did not read the reviews here and foolishly trusted the big name.
Sometimes I found extremely good prices at dell.com through price comparison webs such as dealsea.com but when I tried to order, the price was no longer good. On January 29 I finally found a real deal at dell and ordered immediately. The next day, I received a message from dell saying that because their price error, the order was canceled. I was shocked and wrote emails to dell customer service. The service representatives (apparently from India) could do nothing but give me a number to call. I called several times and were transferred to different persons. None of them wanted to take responsibility and do something for me.
My conclusion is: Dell is playing tricks. They use unusual low price to attract people but will not finally honor the order. Nothing really different from the worst online retailers.
I will never order from Dell again."

"I placed an order the new XPS computer from dell.com because they had a special offer. After placing the order I tried to apply for deferred payment plan online since they had no interest payment for 12 months but it kept on giving me an error so I had to contact their 24 hour customer support. The funny thing they don't know how to speak english very well. I had hard time trying give out my every information. They should already have my information on file since I registered online. It was like talking to a person who doesn't even know what computer I am trying to buy. I ended up canceling my order. Not very happy."

"I ordered a Canon SX 10 IS camera from Dell online. I had good experiences earlier at Dell online and hence chose Dell as opposed to other sellers of this product whose price was few $$$ less as compared to what Dell quoted. I needed the camera within 10-12 days and here's how my confidence in Dell dissipated with this order:
02/07: I placed the order - the product was showing In Stock. I was expecting to get the camera within 10 days.
02/08: To my dismay I found online that status of my order was showing 'Being Built' and ship date was about 2 weeks away! I contacted Dell customer care - customer rep checked my order and said - not to worry, the order has been sent to vendor and the status of my order will change in couple of days and camera should be shipped soon.
I waited 3 days and status of my order was still the same.
02/11: I contacted them again - the rep this time informed me that the camera is Out of Stock! And it would take another couple of weeks before it can be shipped! I had to cancel my order and look for another vendor to get my camera - i'd lost 4 days - all thanks to Dell!
Their customer reps were polite and hopefully my money will be returned as well - but overall a bad experience.
They should have told it is Out of Stock first time I called instead of making me wait 3 days. Besides - if a product is Out of Stock - they should list so on their site Clearly.
I'm pretty disappointed with Dell and will think twice before doing any business with them in future."

"On February 6, 2009, I placed an on-line order for a Canon SD 790 IS digital camera. I paid sales tax, as well as $16.00 for "Next Business Day" shipping because, as I previously explained to a telephone sales representative, I needed the camera to arrive in Greater Boston no later than today, February 11, 2009.

Shortly after completing the transaction, Dell sent me an e-mail entitled "Dell Order Has Been Confirmed for Dell Purchase ID: 2001614590079."

When the camera did not arrive today, I checked on line -- undoubtedly I should have done this earlier, but I relied on the Dell e-mail -- and discovered that the order not only had not shipped, it is still in "Order Processing."

I called Dell customer service. The first level support person told me there was a problem with verifying my credit card. (Odd!! Three related items I ordered that same day from Amazon.com all arrived yesterday.) I was told that I had received an e-mail to that effect. I assured the Dell representative that the last e-mail I had from Dell was the order confirmation. He suggested it may have gone into my spam filter. I checked my spam folder (gmail), but did not find anything from Dell.

I asked whether, in addition to correcting matters, Dell would expedite shipping at no cost to me in compensation for Dell's error. No, I was told. I then asked to speak with a supervisor.

I rehearsed these events with Shekhar (first name), Dell employee # 161031, who also insisted I must have received e-mail notice of the problem and who repeated Dell's unwillingness to compensate me through free, expedited shipping.

I only ordered from Dell because Amazon.com is much more expensive and B&H Photo is out of stock. Never again."

"Ordered a Dell Vostro, the $450 special. It came with the WiFi disabled. Tech Support for some reason did not know the hotkey to enable, finally figured it out. Fan made a noise, so I returned it and received the replacement within a week. Overall happy customer."

"First, this is just a start. I plan to post this on every message board I can find in the next couple days. I'd like to prevent people from going through the hell I have experienced the last couple months.

It took from the 13th of December to the 6th of January to get my Dell Studio 1537 laptop. That's a hell of a long time to live without a computer, and surely, if a new customer wants a computer, you would THINK they would get it to them faster. In any case, the customer service guy lied to me about a number of things (including the time it would take to arrive) in order to get me to buy the computer. Then, I was told I could cancel, but that left me without a reliable computer to use and no way to purchase a new one (I used Dell credit to get the laptop). So I suffered the long wait, and it finally arrived.

Upon receiving my new laptop, I decided to watch a movie on it. I put the DVD in, it loaded, but the DVD skipped over and over. Once that happened, I attempted to eject the DVD, but it wouldn't come out. So I restarted the computer and finally got it out of the drive. After this, I decided to try a different DVD, since the first one had a minor scratch on the surface. I tried a new DVD this time, but the DVD drive decided to pop the DVD out this time. The drive also sounds like it's a huge machine trying to produce a lot more than a video on the screen of a laptop. Something is wrong with it. Almost inevitably, the drive pops out any DVD at some point while I watch a movie.

What did I do? I called the technical support, and spent hours (two seperate times), attempting to get the issue resolved to no avail. It seemed clear that the issue was hardware, not software. Unfortunately, because I had to wait so long to get the computer, and because I was sooooo behind on work for school and my campus job, I was desperate. I wanted to return the computer. I spoke with the special department at Dell that talks to people like me; those people who are unhappy with their purchase and remorseful that they even contacted the company to begin with. The man told me that the issue was stated to be resolved by the tech department (the people in India that I spoke with I told I would have to play a DVD to figure out if the computer was actually functioning properly or not, and that I could not tell them that the issue was resolved, but they put it in the computer that it was). Because it said this, he told me that I would have to pay 15% of the computer's total cost to return it. I flipped out. After about 10 minutes of listening to me scream in his shitty ear, he said that he would see what he could do. But, would I be interested in taking $75 and keeping the computer? Haha! NO! I don't want a broken computer! WTF?! So then he offered to send me a NEW computer. He essentially begged me to take it, promising the new one would be built in 5-7 days and immediately sent out. He assured me that it would work perfectly as well. I didn't really want to, but once again, I don't have the money to buy a computer and Dell gave me credit- I figured I'd give it a shot and told the man I would return the computer at no charge if I did not receive what I ordered.

Here we are, well over 2 weeks later and I have no new computer. Tonight I call to see what is holding it up, because to be honest, I've sat around for about 6 weeks waiting for a reliable computer (counting all that time in December)- you know, the one I expected when I ORDERED this damn thing. The man on the phone told me that no computer had been made and he had no idea what I was talking about. I flipped out, once again, and spoke to his manager. The manager, unfortunately, had no way to help me and the people that I spoke with before (the ones who promised me a new computer) were the ones I needed to talk to. At this point, I'm returning the Dell. I've had enough of their crappy computers; customer service; and lies.

I was told that a someone from the legal department would contact me soon: I asked the man if that was a promise as strong as the one to send me a new computer, because if it was, I was just going to send this computer back to them.

What I figured out is that they are trying to get me by this 21-day return policy. You have 21 days to return the product, or you cannot return it and you have to keep it. This is something they do not want to tell you. So here I am waiting all this time for a computer that I bet they never planned to make so that they could trap me in their loophole. Sadly for them, my cousin lives locally and is a kick ass attorney. They had better HOPE they take this back. I'm currently on a mission to ensure everyone that uses internet and is interested in buying a Dell reads about what I went through, so that they do not make the same mistake that I did. The company and people are not only unethical, their products are unreliable. I'm sure some people have had decent experiences with their Dells, but that is not to say they will if they make future purchases through their company.
"