"This was my first and *LAST* order with Dell. I bought a Canon S1 and assorted accessories, about $450 total.

After receiving my order confirmation I noticed that they made an error that meant I would not receive a free 256mb CF card with my order. I placed 9 calls to their customer support (that's a joke!) center, several chat sessions and no one was able to help me. They kept telling me I needed to speak with the original order taker but he was never available. Many suggested just cancelling the order outright but once again only the original rep could do that.

After leaving several detailed messages concerning the problem on my reps voice mail I received 2 return phone calls that did not reference the problem and in fact sounded like he had no clue there was a problem.

I finally called a Dell number in Texas and explained my problem. They were very receptive and appologetic so they put me through to a person who could *definately* help me with my problem...in India!!! WTF!

Needless to say I never got the correct camera bundle and I spent a total of almost 9 hours either on hold to dead numbers, in "live" chat or argueing with someone. Bottom line: Dell doesn't give a rat's behind about anything after they get your credit card.

Never again. Never. I don't care if they're giving it away for free. Dell blows!"

"I am extremely unsatisfied with Dell's support. I bought several things from Dell, however my last digital camera purchase has been a horable experience. They didn't charge my credit card correctly and I've called over 15 times already to get the order corrected and haven't been able to do it so far. My calls either get forwarded to a non-working Dell phone number or my calls were forwarded to a wrong department and had to hold for hours on the phone! Dell just doesn't have any concept of customer service!!!! As far as product (Dell Insporon 6000, Dell LCD TV), the quality is marginal, nothing super. I would try someone else next time..."

"Transaction went fine. There were delays but not because of Dell. I was able to track the order, get accurate, courteous info from customer service, and receive the order sooner than expected."

"Dell's customer service has been worse than I could image, they transfer me to invaild numbers, wrong places, and calling customer service numbers switch to tech support once I answer questions relating to my call, then tech support sends me to customer care. I thought I was happy when I spoke to an individual that spoke english, but they misdirected me as well. All I want is to return a damaged Dell 2405 monitor and that seems to be impossible. If I dont return it they say they'll bill me for it. I will not make another purchase with them ever again. I'm sorry I made the mistake this time."

"I can describe it as HORRIBLE&FRUSTRATING. My previous experience with Dell was OK, so despite quite big number of negative reviews and bought from them Canon Elura 90 camcorder. Upon arrival I discovered that microphone is not functioning and it doesn’t record sound. So I contacted via live chat with dell representative and they said that I will “promptly” receive exchange. After almost two weeks and ton of my e-mails they finally shipped replacement. When I opened box it was Elura 85, not 90. There is at least $85 difference in price between these models and dell was selling it for higher price than other vendors. So I tried to contact dell again via live chat (since they didn’t have telephone number) and when I explained situation they just shut off chat on my face!!! But I tried and tried again, till some guy named Sandeep finally accepted chat and even then tried to persuade me that Elura85 is better and cheaper than 90, like I’m imbecile or something. Finally he agreed to process return for both camcorders. That was my experience from HELL, oops, DELL (quoting from somebody’s review on dell)"

"Customer service is non-existant. Their rating says it all.. They backorder products that they say will ship within 24 hours because "they are in high demand". Why oversell if you are going to backorder 2+ months. SAD EXCUSE FOR A COMPANY!"

"By FAR the worst experience I have ever had shopping online. Their website functionality is simply atrocious, their customer service non-existant. I ordered a Rebel XT and Viewsonic monitor, but tried to cancel when I found out they would not ship until November 14th. I dont deal with companies that lie about product availabiltiy. Trying to cancel the order proved an exerice in patience and futility. They have their website designed to handle orders effieciently, however they have no way to change orders or cancel orders except jump through an endless amount of loops trying to contact people and get someone to do something. "

"Hi. I bought a Canon S2 Powershot digital camera and a flash card at dell on 10th Sept 2005. I thought it had a better deal than it competatiors. After a week when i checked for statsu, the flash card was shipped but the camera was backordered. I called dell to get the status and they said they cannot ship camera until 10th Oct. And after that so far they have backordered 5 times... now they are saying that the estimated shipping date is 31st Oct. But this is also not sure. There is no use in calling dell because they also know what we know about the order. If we ask them, when they can ship. they are saying that the system shows as 10th Oct, so it should be 10th, but this is an estimated date. They were not sure, they dont know anything more than that. When i asked them, what is the use of flash card for me without a camera, why did you ship ? . They said both are different orders and they are processed independently. They asked me to ship it back, if i dont need it. But the fun here is, they are not ready to pay the mailing charges. The card costs me around 10bucks for which i need to pay same price for shippment. Very poor customer orientation and they are not bothered of what customers are going to think... when i showed my un-satiscation in the call. they are raising their voices as that they are customers and we did something wrong. They said, if you dont want to wait, cancel your order. This is the first time i am buying from dell and i am very much upset with the service."

"The short of it: Ordered a camera as a birthday gift on 10/20, and ordered and paid for overnight shipping. It was late, so I did assume it would not go out until the next day (Friday) and be delivered on Monday. The item was in stock. Item shows as shipped on their web site Fri/Sat, but disappears later. They use the worst possible carrier (DHL) now, and DHL tells me Dell never shipped it - that they preprint their shipping labels so it shows shipped on their site, but it could still be in the warehouse.

My "overnight" order actually shipped ON Monday, and was to arrive today. Then DHL temporarily loses the package in Pennsylvania, and now it will be arriving tomorrow (one day after the birthday of the person who was to receive this). This is not the first time Dell has messed up on shipping my orders, and this is not the first time DHL has messed up with delivery. Dell has become the most disorganized company I have ever dealt with, and to save a few dollars is using the absolute worst shipper. Need customer service? I had to call them three times before I could reach a rep I could even halfway understand, as all of my calls were directed to India. I am now thoroughly convince that Michael Dell must be a crook, who is fully aware of all of the problems his company throws at people, and literally does not care one bit, as there is NO WAY anyone with a sense of customer service would allow this many problems to continue for so long. Oh, I look forward to the day we turn on the evening news to find out he's in jail for some kind of laundering. Until that day, he won't get any more of our money."

"Dell is an incredible company. After having my new system, valued over $800 (which is A LOT for a starving college student who is also a full-time mom and employee - note the lack of time for unnecessary grievances!) for less than a month I have spent numerous time and money talking online and on the phone to many Dell CSR. Each time, I get the same response - replace the problem. Well, after that philosophy, I have had four monitors (a fifth is on its way), three motherboards and two mouses! I've complained to management, who just non-chalantly transfer me back to the CSR that I didn't want to talk to because of the aforementioned philosophy route that I did not want to venture through again - wanting RESULTS I thought I could go to management! Also, I've been patient, I've been efficient with their trouble-shooting, well after using the trouble-shooting methods available before calling a tech. Needless to say, Dell doesn't value neither their product nor their customers! I continue to have problems complaining to someone who will actively engage their time as I have mine to finding a resolution to this problem - give me my money back is not the problem, offering me a system that works is, not replacing my current one with more refurbished products!"

"I purchased a $2723 Inspiron 8100 laptop.

Dell's service and, in my case, equipment is deplorable and the company is not worth having you or me as a customer. The laptop was a lemon from the start – this and continued problems are extensively on record. When the 8100 was about a month old, a Dell rep issued a Credit Return Authorization (#024266661) to me, and agreed to give me at least a couple of weeks to return the 8100 so that I could save my irreplaceable data. But when I called Dell back to make final arrangements to have it shipped, another individual at Dell cancelled my Return Authorization and refused the return! Now despite more than 53 contacts I have made with Dell personnel by phone (each call lasting 1 to 2 hours) - most of which I have detailed records, Dell would not replace the crippled system which consistently kept overheating and crashing. Finally, after about 18 calls in November and December 2004, a Dell rep and her supervisor agreed to replace it with a refurbished Inspiron 8600, with specific features as per the phone conversation, but with no warranty! In addition, when the "bare bones" Inspiron 8600 (with a price inflated by Dell to be over $1741.78 on its invoice when a NEW identical one was selling for about $1300 on Dell's web site at the time!) came, it was missing about five key features I had been promised and had paid for in the original system. An individual from Dell's Executive Support Staff finally responded to me by phone at the request of an editor of one of the computer magazines I subscribe to, who I had emailed. The rep refused to exchange the 8600 for the better-equipped laptop I was promised and said that she would put a 90 day warranty on the refurbished 8600. However, the refurbished 8600 failed (first the CD burner, then the display) two days after I took it out the box. When I called Customer Support and Technical Service, I found that the 90 day warranty does not, and never did exist! After months of trying to get a response from the high level rep, she finally called me back, and then had a senior technician call me. He had me run diagnostics as we talked by phone, and confirmed that the 8600 was not repairable except by shipping it back. Since this would still leave me with a system deficient of the promised features, at the advice of the technician, I called the high level rep again, but she will not budge on the issue.

Furthermore, the BBB case which was opened on 4-20-05, closed on 8-30-05 because the BBB could not persuade Dell to rectify the situation. Also, the Dell spokeswoman fashioned a bogus story in her letter to the BBB, alleging that the reason for my dissatisfaction with the 8100 was that I was “enrolled in Computer Aided Design classes” and found the 8100 to be inadequate; this is totally untrue and I have NEVER taken CAD classes and wasn't running CAD software! Among other untruths, she stated that I waited for 2 1/2 years to call Dell complaining about the 8100; as my detailed records show, I called Dell technicians starting only days after my purchase and on a consistent basis for almost a full year. After a year of complaining, I curtailed the contacts with Dell because of the frustration level with the company.

At the advice of the staff of a radio consumer advocacy group, I mailed certified letters and complaints to the Chairman of Dell, to the President and CEO of Dell, to the Federal Trade Commission, to the Better Business Bureau, etc., all to no avail. I will still be sending the same information to the Texas Attorney General's office and the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. They both encourage me to forward my complaints and transcripts or recordings of the phone conversations to them.
Lawyers I contacted will not take the case, because of such things as distance, low profits, or need of a specialization in consumer law.

I returned the 8100 and now have a useless, non-working 8600. The personnel at Dell whose personal extensions I have, choose to not return calls. I do not know if Dell will ever do what is right, but I advise all potential customers to beware of Dell if you want to be spared a nightmare.

View the current class action lawsuit against Dell at http://www.lerachlaw.com/lcsr-cgi-bin/mil?templ=featured/dell.html . View Jeff Jarvis' blog of his experiences with Dell at http://www.buzzmachine.com/?tag=dell. For other examples of poor service, start with a link such as http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board?board.id=commfb&page=2. Dell is moving some of the most negative threads off the main page, but they can still be found such as these two: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=cc_general&message.id=71690#M71690 and http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=cc_general&message.id=72637 .

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"Simply amazing. I ordered a digital camera and it arrived in 2 days, before they even had a chance to send me an email confirming it shipped."

"Worst experience ever!!! I ordered the Canon lens EF-S 17-85 IS USM September 12 using 2 coupons, which brought the price down to ~$440 - great deal. However, I had to find out that the lens was not available, although the web page stated the lens as available. The estimated ship date was on or before October 18 because the item was backordered. On October 18th I was informed that the estimated ship date will be on or before November 14 - but I have the option to cancel. What a fraud!!! "

"I purchased a Dell UltraSharp 2005FP Wide Flat Panel display after reading on digg.com about the coupon code discounts. I ordered at dell.com an Oct. 11 and on Oct. 14 the monitor was delivered. This was with standard shipping. I've bought from Dell in the past and I'll have no hesitation buying from them again."

"I had placed an order for two items on 9/15 with the same order no.

The first item was a Canon PowerShot S2 IS and the second item was a pack of DVD+Rs. They were both supposed to ship in 24 hours. The DVD+Rs got shipped and reached me, but the PowerShot went on backorder, and got delayed three times.

I got a call on 9/26 stating that the PowerShot has been delayed to 10/11 and it will be canceled if I don't call Dell. I called back and stated that I want the order not to be canceled, and the guy on the phone told me he'd put a note on my order so that it won't get canceled.

The next day I see my order has been canceled, so I called customer service.
They forwarded me to the sales department, they forwarded me back and
forth to customer service FOR 6 TIMES IN A ROW. At last the customer CARE
department told me that he doesn't see my order for the PowerShot S2 IS and
only sees the DVD+R pack and if the PowerShot S2 IS had been canceled he
would see it! WHAT'S MORE he told me he'd forward me to a sales MANAGER, but
forwarded me to an automated order checking system which HUNG UP ON ME.

This is an absolute disgrace for Dell. Keeping me for nearly an hour on the phone and then hanging up on me like that."