"Ok, I'll start this review the same way I started my conversation with around 9 Dell representatives. I live in a very shady area of Savannah Georgia where everyone is an idiot, a thief, or both. My roommates and I, over the course of 1 year, have had 8+ mailed items stolen or "lost" (signed for by someone who doesn't live here...UPS website shows the recorded signature to be a solid line every time). So I purchased a UPS PMB box. Guaranteed to be mailable by places that don't ship to PO box's. Basically the UPS store signs for things and holds them for my pickup. Hopefully the people reading this understand that concept, as the representatives from dell couldn't quite wrap their minds around it.

From Dell I ordered an asus A626 PDA. I received an email stating that they couldn't ship to my PMB box, because they don't ship to PO box's. As stated above, its not a PO box. So I called the number in the email to correct the mistake.

Right off the bat, it took maybe 5-10 minutes of menu hopping just to get to a real person. After taking a few minutes to describe my problem, the person read off some script about making sure my home address was the same as my credit address. I read to them the actual Email since they didn't seem to get it. Upon doing so, they acted confused for a minute and then read off the script again. After telling them my billing address IS my physical address and properly linked with my credit card, they transfered me...I explained the problem again, and was promptly given the same scripted speech. Rinse wash repeat, 6 or so transfers later, I was asked to hold and the call was cut. Called back, after another lovely 5-10 minutes navigating the menu system, and another 30 waiting to talk to a representative, guess what, same script. By this point I've all but degraded to just yelling at them to mail to my shipping address. Finally I was transfered to a man who rudely told me that they have no control over such matters and that I should just change my mailing address to my physical. I asked him whether I would be accountable if I never receive the item, and he told me that I would indeed need to pay another 300 bucks every time it didn't make it.

A good 2 and a half hours of my time wasted and and helloooo amazon.com! Never even looking at the dell website again. Oh, it also took a good 30 minutes of transfers to cancell my order..."

"
I realized today that Dell can be just as annoying as a bureaucratic government office. My ongoing hassles of dealing with Dell about my computer are annoying enough, but for now, I will post about an incredibly simple task that ended up taking way longer than it should have: a simple task of unsubscribing from their catalog mailing list. I never asked to receive ads from them, but they took the liberty of sending me junk after my order, so I proceeded to try and cancel.

After calling Dell, I am told all support reps are busy, and that the best times to call are Tuesdays through Fridays at 11am to 4pm. Funnily enough, I was in that low-volume slot, but nonetheless I waited about 14 minutes. When I finally got in contact with someone, he had a thick Indian accent. He proceeded to note down my name, email, phone number, and address. Initially, the representative appeared to be confused and thought I was asking to be subscribed to the mailing list instead of unsubscribed. He asked me again for the address. Several times during this, I kept having to repeat myself to be understood. When I told him my city name, he misheard me, so I confirmed and reconfirmed to make sure he got it. Then I was placed on hold while he finished creating the unsubscribe request.

I see several things wrong with this. First, I have no idea why my email and phone number were necessary to unsubcribe me. Second, he was unable to communicate clearly in English. Third, why does this support representative have no ability to do such a simple job as unsubscribe me without submitting a request to someone else? All in all, I spent 25 minutes just for a simple request.

The frustrations are magnified significantly more for my actual computer. Trying to write out ALL of the problems I have had with that product will take more space than Reseller Ratings allows. I think that this absurdity of what I had to deal with to get unsubscribed illustrates perfectly well how Dell will deal with you. I urge you not to buy from them if you want to keep your sanity when things go wrong. Things WILL go wrong.. because dude, it's a Dell!"

"I ordered a "basic" Inspiron 6400/e1505 from the Dell SB store. The unit shipped on time and arrived in nice shape.

The unit has been decent, with a few problems:
-the original firmware had problems with power plug/unplug events in Windows XP. I eventually upgraded to A15 (after having the system for about 6 mos) and now it is okay.
-I had a problem with the AC adaptor, Dell sent one at no charge under warranty.
-I had a vertical band on the screen, LCD assembly was replaced next day under warranty.

For a $700 notebook (I bought it with a couple incentives and deals :) I really can't complain.

For the record...I DO NOT LIKE having to rely on the non-US-based tech support. I don't really like live-chat support either, but I realize that these things cost $ and this WAS a super-cheap notebook.

I don't think this system had an option for Gold support...I would consider it next time....and I won't but a Dell without at least a 1-year on site warranty.

Generally good, with the above caveats."

"Horrible! Dell took over 2 months to deliver my e1520, and it was broken when it arrived. Customer service informed me that I had to send the computer to a depot. They said that, due to a backlog, I may not get my new computer back for 3 weeks, after the 21-day satisfaction guarantee had expired (they refused to extend it).

Also, on three separate occasions, Dell promised me a $100 credit as compensation for my inconvenience. I never received that credit.

Finally, don't believe the reviews you read on Dell's site! They let customers post reviews of their computers to aid others in their buying decisions; but the fact is that THEY DO NOT ACCEPT NEGATIVE REVIEWS. No joke. I posted a polite review giving the e1520 two stars, outlining the issues with the system, and the review never showed up on their website. I tried again, too, but had no luck.

Beware this horrible company!"

"I ordered the Dell Inspiron 1520 Laptop and got a confirmation email almost immediately after the online order. I was very worried because the expected delivery date was August 10, a month after my order, and I needed to be at school on the 14th. Fortunately, I ended up receiving the order a mere 7 days after my order was placed. I am very satisfied with the speedy delivery and the quality of the product. I cannot speak for the customer service as I have not dealt with any Dell representatives."

"Originally 12/04/2005
Bought a PDA Axim 50V, than bought the upgrade to WM5, never worked over 22.000 petitions were collected with same problem.
Dell has never refunded the cost or fixed the problem.
I was finally after having problems with cradle and dead extra purchased battery given a brand-new Axim 51v after waiting 2 years for a fix.
They transferred my Warranty 297 days left over for which i paid "extended.
Now a brand-new unit comes with 12 months warranty anyways but Dell is refusing to either ADD the 1 year to it plus the remainder of my paid extension, nor allow me to pay for an extension.
I believe that DELL must feel so insecure with the reliability and or longevity, that they refuse this.
Even Supervisor said no.
So, I hope Dell Corporate sees this and will honor the rightfully 12 months PLUS my extended leftover days at least.
I am a PC Technician and constantly have to rate systems performance warranty etc.
Leaving me like this, I don't think I need to explain what will happen from this point on, since it is the second time of non satisfactory engagement.
updated 8/25/07 Dell finally issued a Axim51v due to false promises and never resolving the WM5 issues.
I had to RMA twice due to problems.
Dell does no longer produce PDA's, what a shame, i loved their product !"

"I've always been happy with dell before and kept buying more dells ever since 2004 but (there is always a but) about 4 months ago I had a problem with one of my computers (bought 4 year warranty on it) so I called their tech support and I got to an Indian guy who couldn't figure out what it was so he gave me to his supervisor and he didn't know what to do so they just hung up. I called again and got someone else and this guy couldn't understand English very well. I called again and got someone else and he couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. this was all three months ago. after that there is a link on their website about unresolved issues so I contacted them that way and I received an email from a tech who always gave me an appointment and later said that she is on vacation or she had something to do that day. now after four months I contacted BBB and still have no solution.

I wanted them to fix it and I was hoping they would because I wanted to buy a new dell laptop but as it is I can't get myself to buy a dell again. they don't give a ____ about me :(

I am going to buy an asus.

EDIT: I just want to update and say that they did replace my system and although it took 4 months, BBB's help, and several hundred (exaggerated)phone calls and emails they did agree to replace my system and sent me a new one. so thank you dell. although I would've been much happier if they had fixed it initially. it just cost me some money and LOTS AND LOTS OF TIME trying to find a solution."

"I ordered a bare bones computer on a Friday afternoon (around 3pm). Chose standard shipping (in this instance it was free). They shipped the computer that Friday and I received it the following Tuesday. I was very surprised to get it so fast. The only downside was that I couldn't reconfigure my order once I placed it."

"I ordered a dell inspiron 640m on June 6th. But Dell kept on delaying the shipment due to "unforeseen circumstance" as mentioned in their website when I tried to see the Order Status. Dell did not bother to mention the exact reason behind the delay in shipment. After 2 consecutive delays of 1 week each, I had to cancel my order (my order is going to be cancelled automatically anyway due to Federal Trade Commission Requirements as mentioned in Dell website). This incident proves utter incompetence of Dell in managing their orders and worst level of customer service. I will never purchase from Dell again."

"After reading all the negative reviews, I was expecting nothing but trouble. However, I was completely happy dealing with Dell. I ordered the Z-5500 speaker set from Dell as they had the best price, enough reasoning for me to be willing to put up with the troubles so I went ahead and ordered it on the 26th of may, just before memorial day. The order shipped on Tuesday May 29th, a day earlier then the estimated date. Shipping was 3-5 day and I got the item on the 1st of June. Just 3 days and the best part it was "FREE" shipping. Overal, I'm extremely satisfied with Dell. Perhaps future purchases will say otherwise but right now, I definately will buy from Dell again. "

"despite the reviews im very pleased with dell
i ordered alot of things from them and i haven't had
to many problems and if i did they where resolved extremely fast Returns couldn't be any easier i would recommend buying from them to everyone"

"A month-two ago I bought an Inspiron 6400, with a very good configuration, for a very good price, plus some extras (given the good price for these too). Knowing exactly what I wanted in my computer I had waited for a few months, until the deal right for me came in. I am completely happy with the machine, it's exactly what I expected. As for the much-talked-about customer service, my experience has been excellent. I called them twice: once about my mistake with Vista password; the other time with complex technical questions related to partitions on the disc (I work with computers; with Vista these are not simple questions). The service was as good as you may wish: they were extremely communicative and effective, and reasonably knowledgable. To their credit, for what they did not know they nicely said that they needed to look it up, put me on hold for (literally) a few minutes, and came back with solutions. One thing was impressive actually: the guy figured out, in less than 5 minutes, a very specific OS issue (which he had not known about). I am certainly very pleased. Both contacts were in fact enjoyable. (Disclaimer: I have no interest of any kind in Dell. Just giving credit when due.) I wish to add that my previous laptop, purchased nearly five years ago and needing replacement (while still OK), was from Dell too (Inspiron 4100); and for the past year I have often used another of their laptops (Inspiron 700m). Given my experience with these, I easily decided to go with the same maker-vendor again (while I did notice all the talk about worsened customer service). One can surely get a fancier machine, and certainly better quality / stronger build, than what I have (and also from the same company), but only for *much* more money."

"I have bought several PC's from Dell, usually on line through quidco, recieving 5% discount. I bought my latest desk-top over the phone (the website refused to take my order) and never again! Sales people pushed
aggessively for me to up-grade hard/software which I did not want or need and which was grossly overpriced. My advice is to buy on-line, keep to the basic system as advertised, make sure the warranty is the minimum 1 year and avoid security software unless it is free. This way you get a fairly good deal. "

"Not exactly what I had hoped for... They're so much friendlier in the commercials... I decided to get a Core2 Duo equipped Inspiron 6400 with 2 gigs of RAM from these guys... At the time I ordered the machine, only Vista was available. My laptop showed up loaded with bloatware. I reloaded the machine with a spare copy of XP, and it runs better, although some drivers were difficult to track down. A little over 2 weeks after my purchase, I noticed that Dell offered the machine with an XP installation. As I do not plan to use Vista, I called Dell Cust Svc to see if I could get a legit Dell XP disk, so that Dell would support my OS as well as my hardware. The rep told me I would have to send in my laptop in order to do that. This would not wok for me, as I had already spent a lot of time configuring my machine. The rep essentially told me to take it or leave it. As I had already begun a number of projects on the machine, I had to hang on to it. Essentially, I had to pay for two operating systems for my machine, but I only plan to ever use one. This was my first time ordering from a computer manufacturer (as opposed to building my own) , and the whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. The computer works fine, but Dell's customer service leaves much to be desired."

"I purchased an XPS with a Core Duo E6700 CPU, 2GB ram, nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX videocard, 750 watt power supply and 160 GB HD @10,000 RPM, running XP Media. It ran perfectly out of the box and, to my great surprise, is very quiet even though it does not have liquid cooling. The case is huge with lots of room for expansion. It's a great gaming computer and I am very happy with it. "