Dell Headquarters
1 Dell way
Round Rock Texas 78682

Att: Mr. Michael Dell

March 15, 2010

Dear Mr. Dell:

I have just called the telephone number associated with your corporate office in hopes of speaking to a customer service representative in America, but my call was routed as all my calls have been over the last year, to India. This reinforces my feeling that Dell prefers to be disconnected from its customer base. That’s too bad.

I started purchasing Dell computers in 2002 when I chose an Inspiron 8200. In 2004, when my son went off to Brown University, I sent him with a Dell Inspiron 9100 laptop; it is still running without any issues.

With these two good previous experiences I decided to get a new desktop for my home office. In 2007 I was the first kid on the block to get Vista, and an XPS 410 desktop. I always upgrade my computers and like the way I can build my computer to my specifications. I have been happy with the computer despite the many issues I had with Vista which took a long while to resolve.

Though my Inspiron 8200 was still running it was quite slow and could no longer connect to the internet, I replaced it with an Inspiron 1530 in March 2009,(service tag xxxxx). I upgraded it as usual and was happy until I realized there was a major conflict with Trend Micro Internet Security. Dell was unable to fix the problem and referred me to Trend Micro directly where, for 5 months, several times a week sometimes for hours, Trend Micro took remote control of my computer to work on it and obtain logs in order to figure out why it was in conflict with a 64-bit computer. In August they just gave up and gave me the 2010 version of Internet Security. So for months I felt like this new computer was not my own, and I delayed installing programs and trusting it with personal information. By June I noticed that there were issues with the keyboard; keys were not being read and my ability to type was compromised. A technician had me do a power discharge and that seemed to work for a while. I had endless Bluetooth problems and have to uninstall and reinstall the mouse to get it to work.

In October 2009, I purchased a desktop for my husband, a new laptop for my son and a mini 1010 for me. I now own seven Dell computers, six are running. In December I extended all the warranties and purchased three software incidents with Dell On Call.

I have spent a fortune on Dell products.

Getting back to my 1530, about a month ago, all of a sudden Adobe reader wouldn’t work. This was horrendous as I am a writer and use the computer for my manuscript. A technician uninstalled it, and installed a generic program. The program was OK but not completely adequate and I called back. Another technician highly recommended that I should purchase Windows 7 Ultimate and an external hard drive to back up my data. “It would solve all my problems,” he promised.

I spent about $350 for the software and about $150 more for the hard drive. Another technician called on a Sunday and spent hours with me on the phone backing up my data and installing the operating system. He called me the following day, a Monday, to finish.

I told him that the night before I had been trying to write an email and noticed that the keyboard was still acting strangely. I had a long list of things to look into and everything was resolved but the keyboard.

This is crucial: this technician, along with all the technicians before him, told me I would receive an email; though there was no direct number to call the same technician I was told all I had to do was respond to the email and I would get a call back as soon as possible. I have never received an email from any technician, in all my interactions. And there were many. They lied.

After I disengaged from the technician to try out my “new” operating system and to bask in the knowledge that all my problems were allegedly “solved,” as promised, I noticed that the keyboard began to act as crazy as ever, if not more so. Letters were moving to previous lines and embedding themselves creating gobbledygook. This happened in emails, on websites, in Word, in notepad and in DOS. I was unable to reach the technician who worked with me and set out on a journey between India and the Philippines in trying to get my computer to work after spending almost $500 on new software and external hard drive. I spent hour and hours on the phone testing and retesting.

A technician was dispatched to my home and replaced the keyboard. He left. The keyboard started acting up again. The technician returned to my home with a new keyboard and a mother board a few days later. Surely this would fix it. The keyboard is still not functioning properly.
You can’t imagine how many hours I spent on the phone trying to get this resolved. Just look at my records.

Finally I was told that my computer would be replaced. I was promised that although it would take about three weeks, the new Studio computer would be as good if not better than what I presently have and if the parts were no longer available they would be upgraded. As good if not better? Was it ever good?

I am still waiting.

Remember the Inspiron 1010 Mini I mentioned previously? (Tag xxxxx, express code xxxxx). What better computer to travel with? Soon after I bought it I set up my user account; I got locked out of my computer. I would enter keys in the pass code and maybe three of six would display. It was the keyboard again. A technician solved the problem by turning off my user account. The keyboard appeared to be working, but as it is not my main computer I rarely use it and I didn’t try setting up a user account again; I assumed everything was fine.

I gave the mini 1010 to my son to take on a trip to Oregon and Hawaii. My son does photojournalism and needed a computer on which to store his photographs. He also needs it to book his reservations. It was crucial he have a computer.

First, he was unable to get on the internet at the airport. Second, he called me in the middle of the night in a panic after arriving in Oregon yesterday, to tell me the keyboard wasn’t working, strokes weren’t recognized. He was unable to get into his email or transfer photographs.

I gave him the service tag number and the tech support number. He called. The technician attempted to solve the problem. His attempts didn’t work. He said he would send my son a new keyboard. Arrangements have been made for the keyboard to be shipped to my son’s hotel in Hawaii so someone could sign for it. In the mean time my son has noted that some of the keys that don’t work at all need to be depressed at the same time another key is pressed. So he has been typing with the cap lock on. Oh, did I mention that he called to ask me why his Bluetooth mouse didn’t work? I walked him through an uninstall and reinstall–you see at this point I know all the tech tricks.

Mr. Dell, I am sitting and shaking my head and thinking, “this is insane.”
If I had a dollar for all the hours I have put into my Dell tech issues, all the time and aggravation, I’d be richer than you.

I have always been brand loyal, but I see a huge shift in manufacturing and reliability.

For example, my family has always owned a Toyota, at this time we have three. I am putting my six Dell computers in the same league of disappointment as I have with Toyota. Here’s why:

• you have disconnected yourself from your customers
• you appear to be using inferior parts
• communication from a customer to the upper echelon is impossible
• this is no longer a product I would highly recommend to friends
• there is obvious loss of reliability
• tech support is inconsistent; I had a technician in India tell me to just wipe out the hard drive of my desktop computer and start all over for a relatively solvable issue. I think that was the same tech from who fell asleep while trying to address my problem. Sorry, I woke him up
• a customer has to spend hours on the phone to resolve anything
• I have had technicians who have been more concerned with selling me televisions and extended warranties; it made me very uncomfortable
• and just like I am fearful that one of my three Toyotas might decide to head for the hills at 90 mph thus taking some of the joy out of driving, and possibly end my life, I have learned to fear my six computers: which is the next computer to go down? Which is the next computer that I will be trying to fix? How many more hours will I waste on the phone? At least Toyota owned up to its situation and issued a recall. But look what it took to get there.
• the thrill is gone

I am saddened, frustrated, disgusted, and lost. I feel like I have been deceived by a good friend; it’s been a rude awakening. Where do I go now? It seems more and more apparent that large corporations have lost sight of their initial goals: a good product that is well supported.

I ask: where do YOU go now?

As a writer and a blogger, I run two computers simultaneously for different purposes. Thankfully, my desktop computer is working. I just wrote my latest tech blog: “Is it Too Much To Ask For Things to Work? Maybe, sir, you can answer that question. Maybe you can tell me what to say to the folks who leave comments on my blog and ask why I don’t use a Mac.

I am posting this letter on the internet via Twitter.

Hoping to hear from you.

Sincerely,

reply greenwytch wrote on Mar 15, ’10 good for you! i really hope someone will acknowledge your letter. good luck!

reply shoppingdreams wrote on Mar 15, ’10 You rock!!!!! Brilliant!!!

reply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Mar 15, ’10 Oh Yeah!

reply shoppingdreams wrote on Mar 15, ’10 Can we turn this letter into a petition? I want to sign! 🙂 🙂

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 15, ’10 I’m going to fax it tomorrow!

reply philsgal7759 wrote on Mar 15, ’10 I’d be very interested to hear his answer.

reply josfreshlybrewedmood wrote on Mar 15, ’10 I, too, would be interested in his response. Oh my gosh, a tech falling asleep on you–inferior service does not begin to describe it, eh?

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 15, ’10 Just one of my hundreds of experiences, Jo. it foes on and on. Don’t forget, India is 11-12 hours ahead and they are working the night shift there and in the Philippines.

reply josfreshlybrewedmood wrote on Mar 15, ’10 I have a Compaq, my second in under 3 years, and I was talking to the pc guy at the store about my disappointment in customer service. He said all the pc manufacturers are getting complaints of poor service because they all route calls overseas. I have nothing against foreigners, but i would appreciate it if they understood my language when I call about a pc I bought from the company they work for, ya’ know?

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 15, ’10 I can’t honestly say that I have had major communication problems, but some have been better than others, there’s no way to get back to the same agent, no one takes on a case, it’s all random, luck of the draw.

reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 15, ’10 Good for you Sue think we all wait with as much anticipation for the answer as you do, be sure to post the reply as soon as you get it…… assuming Mr Dell replies of course.

reply sousonne wrote on Mar 15, ’10 I’m getting REALLY tired of calling a company or a bank and getting someone in India or Pakistan, etc. I have gotten to the point that as soon as I realize the person at the other end is NOT American, and they’re not in America, I politely ask to speak to someone who is American and who can speak and understand English. I have, in the past had a couple of angry young men reply that they speak English just fine and that I don’t NEED an American…and I firmly told them, I’m the customer…don’t you DARE tell me what I need and what I don’t need…give me your supervisor.This last Friday, I had to call CitiBank. It’s where I have my mortgage…they had evidently bought out the bank where I had originally taken out my mortgage loan. As soon as the young man answered, I dug in my heels and got ready for another battle. This time, however, I was pleasantly surprised. When I said, “I’m sorry, where are you located?” “Pakistan”, was his reply. “I see, ” I said…”I’d like to speak to an American…someone who speaks English, please.” Without hesitation the young man said, “I understand…it may take a minute…please stay on hold and I’ll transfer you to the States”…and he did….when the line rang again, it was an American and he spoke English very clearly, and I got my business done in less than 10 minutes! I DID inform the young man that I had first been connect to someone in another country, and that I had requested to be transferred. I think if enough of us start speaking up and request to speak to someone in America, maybe they’ll change things….who knows. I do remember another time, I was supposed to have been transferred to the States and ended up with someone in Canada! (At least the English was better!)

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 15, ’10 I often got Canadian technicians from Dell in ’07 when I got my desktop and then it seems that all changed. The last fellow I spoke to was in Central America, I think El Salvador–he had a heavy accent but it was still America-he got the job done. I am soooo tired of all this.

reply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Mar 15, ’10 Interestingly, my husband buys Dell via corporate sales and all the reps he has dealt with have been American. So does this mean the regular consumer is less valuable than the corporate client and therefore gets to struggle in communication with foreign sales/technical staff?

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 15, ’10 It sounds that way, doesn’t it? It all comes down to the dollar. I am still working on the letter, some tweaks and then off it goes.

reply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Mar 15, ’10 sanssouciblogs said It all comes down to the dollar. But ya know…we spent our $$ on their product and that should be enough to have responsible customer service.

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 15, ’10 and that’s what makes it all the more disgusting…they just don’t give a damn!

reply shoppingdreams wrote on Mar 16, ’10 It’s not even just the communications issue, it’s the cultural difference. It’s obvious the culture in the places where those call centres are situated is not geared to customer service. And, frankly, it’s not geared to respect towards women. I’ve been treated in a blatantly sexist manner during some of those calls. Obviously, Dell doesn’t monitor how its customers are treated even that much.

reply shoppingdreams wrote on Mar 16, ’10 Maybe females should not buy from Dell, if we are not to be treated with equal respect to their male customers.

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 16, ’10, edited on Mar 16, ’10 I have been reading that customer service is lousy from most if not all of these companies, and guess where their customer service centers are located.I agree that the women have been quite a bit more understanding and receptive. I will say that I haven’t experienced too much condescension; I am a good trouble shooter myself and speak from a technical point of view and the men pick up on that; I am very firm. But it does depend on who picks up the phone. I have found myself engaged in conversations about culture. These folks are interested for the most part, we fascinate them. They want to learn more about what goes on here and I ask questions about what goes on there, I try to break through on a more human level. I know these people are not thrilled about working nights to accommodate us, but it’s a job. I have actually gotten invites to India and the Philippines!! I have met some very lovely people through tech support. Unfortunately they were supporting a flawed product and I am sure they were as perturbed as I was. The bottom line is that companies should respect the consumer and bend over backward to help us. Bring back mom and pop businesses.

reply shoppingdreams wrote on Mar 16, ’10 You were lucky then. I’m a good trouble shooter too. But I still had some guy say “madam I must inform you that the computer must be plugged in to work.” I think it reflects on him.I’m not interested in describing my culture when I call to fix a problem with my Internet. I’m speaking with a local company. I think you may be a bit more understanding than I am, but I think if I’m dealing with a Canadian company, I shouldn’t be telling somebody in India what my daily life is like.

reply sharons7th wrote on Mar 16, ’10 Go get ’em, tiger.

reply lunarechoes wrote on May 24, ’10 Excellent letter. I,m so glad you linked to it today, because I thought I remembered the problems, but I hadn’t read this, and while I hated hearing how bad your problems were, I thoroughly enjoyed your letter.If someone told me my computer needed to be plugged in to work, being on another continent might be all that saved his life. Argh!