For those of you who have been following my never ending story about my experiences with Dell support, I have some heartening information.

(More links to old stuff)

Briefly, I have six (count ’em) running Dells and one old one that I have put away. Over the years I have noticed a decline in service and quality. I’d say things were fine until about 2007 when I bought my workhorse desktop. My son’s computer, purchased on 2004 before he left for college, runs day and night and he’s never had a problem with it
until recently when the e key stopped typing. He refuses to give it up despite the fact that I bought him a replacement in October.

From March through October, 2009, I purchased four computers. The laptop purchased for myself in March eventually had to be replaced within the year; it was an endless odyssey of aggravation. Issue after issue impeded my ability to work. A tech was sent to my home twice but the computer refused to cede to intervention.

My mini netbook was barely used, I sent it with my son on a trip and the keyboard didn’t work.The keyboard was replaced during his trip.

My husband’s desktop had to have the OS reinstalled and the tech in India who was helping me, 2 weeks ago, promised to call me back “in an hour” to complete the job and never did. I decided to wait and see how long it would take and eventually someone called, maybe 3 days later, to see how great the computer was working. I told him it was a paperweight thanks to the lousy followup by Dell. He promised a call back–did YOU get the call?

In additon, my new, replacement laptop had issues with freezing usually when coming out of hibernation, sometimes at boot up, AND my trusty desktop, purchased in 2007, was displaying some wacky keyboard issues to which a technician told me to reinstall the OS.

I refused. I can’t handle one more bit of aggravation. I manage any way I can. But no reinstall, it’s hell. Especially since I have no less than 3,000 manuscript folders on it even through it is backed up, I can’t go there, so I just work around the insanity of any keyboard intermittently ceasing from doing its job.

I wrote a letter to Michael Dell and posted it here. I twittered it. I received no response, so I scanned for Dell issues on twitter and found reps to whom I buddied myself to have entré to corporate. I sent the rep a link to my blog and got an emailed personal apology last week. She connected me a to a top technician in Texas (Texas, USA, not Texas, India).

A few of you were curious as to how all of this panned out.

The technician called me yesterday, (Friday) as per appointment:

•We worked for several hours getting my husband’s computer up and running;
•He took control of my replaced laptop and decided that I needed a new wireless mouse, something I have been complaining about since I got the original computer. Finally. I am also keeping logs about freeze ups; there was one at boot-up this morning;
•He felt it was unnecessary to reinstall the OS on my desktop, at least at this time, and that we could work together to troubleshoot the keyboard issues which might, just might be due to the need for a new motherboard.
•We were on the phone more than four hours going down the list of issues.
•We will follow-up next Tuesday and I will conference with the lovely woman from Customer Service I met on Twitter. The technician made notes about all my issues and complaints and he explained something to me.
•A computer company such as HP tries to get a wide customer base by offering inexpensive computers at a low price; there is no customer support.
•Macs are expensive and have excellent customer support because it is built into the price. Essentially you pay for it when you buy the machine.
•Dell aims for the middle: a moderate price with moderate tech support that has to be farmed out to be cost effective. There is a program where one can purchase a plan that covers all the computers one might own, it gives you access to a tech in the US and you can have one exclusively that you may like and book appointments for service. (This is for hardware, for software issues which I usually have, I get a plan of 3 incidents but always end up in India or the Philippines.)

So I said to my tech guy, wouldn’t you think that after being brand loyal, after having bought four computers this year (with so much aggravation), and extending 4 warranties, thus spending well beyond the average Dell consumer, that Dell should THANK ME and give me that plan without my having to pay MORE?

“Good idea,” he said, ” I’m putting it in your notes.”

So friends, I didn’t give up on my brand loyalty, corporate is listening, and I am ever so thankful to Twitter for helping me find Michelle who hooked me up with Terry. I feel much better than I did a few months ago when I was ready for blood pressure meds.

It doesn’t take much to make a customer happy; just make a decent product and be responsible for it. AND give the customer access to DECENT customer service.

Now to contact Toyota…

reply davkal wrote on May 30, ’10 sounds like you are getting everything taken care of,, think i will just stick with my local tech that i can drop my Dell off to an let her fix it..

reply josfreshlybrewedmood wrote on May 30, ’10 I have a HP laptop. Their customer service is awful. i do not care whether a product is low or moderate or high priced. Companies need to stand by their products and offer better customer service.Glad to hear your pc problems are on the way to being resolved…fingers crossed.

reply lunarechoes wrote on May 30, ’10 I’m so glad this is working out for you. Let me know if you have any luck with Toyota; I drive a Prius.As I said on another of your entries, HP: Never again. After years of crappy service, we bought a very expensive photo printer that could handle 13″ x 19″ inch prints on a variety of media. It was a pain in the ass from the beginning, because the censors that tell you when the ink is low don’t work well (so you drop from having 2/3 of a cartridge to it being empty without printing anything), and the freaking ink EXPIRES. But we had invested money in expensive paper, canvas, etc., and we couldn’t afford a new printer. So we continued to buy ink and had just spent over $100 on ink when a firmware update disabled the printer completely. HP has had multiple complaints from customers, but they won’t address the problem, even by making the old firmware available. They just came out with a new printer instead.Now, maybe $600 is cheap for this kind of printer, but it’s not an amount I’m willing to throw away. And it’s damned expensive for a paperweight. Our printer worked for just about a year before the firmware update made it useless. Apparently, there is a customer workaround, but it’s difficult to do and only works for a while. Before the smart customer figured it out, our ink had all expired. The only thing we ever hear from HP is spam asking us to buy more things from them. So I am definitely watching your adventures with Dell with a personal interest. Feel free to tell them that. Because we haven’t bought a new computer in several years, so we’re due for one or two soon.

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on May 30, ’10 Next printer, get a Canon, they are fabulous!

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on May 30, ’10 Also–the paper you can use with any printer; Canon inks are great because you buy the color you need SEPARATELY not a whole new cartridge; If you have a Staples near you they recycle the cartridges and give you a $3/ea credit–if you are a teacher get a teacher rewards acct

reply lunarechoes wrote on May 30, ’10 I plan to buy a Canon next. You can buy the HP pigment inks separately, too, but since they expire, you tend to need to buy most of the colors all at once or close in time.I get no teacher bennies like that because I teach college and don’t have state teaching credentials, but it’s very cool that they do that.

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on May 30, ’10 If you have a paystub, union card, I think that would be enough, TRY!

reply lunarechoes wrote on May 30, ’10 I will–thanks!

reply shoppingdreams wrote on May 30, ’10 My Dell laptop has just started freezing. It may make me pull a major nuttie.I’m calling you for help!I’m so glad you are getting it sorted, but infuriated it took all this!

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on May 30, ’10 I KNOW! I’ll give you the name of the lady at Dell, she’s on Twitter, link up to her, send her a pm and tell her what’s going on!

reply shoppingdreams wrote on May 31, ’10 Thanks so much I will!

reply gilesy01 wrote on May 31, ’10 Hmmm, I think I’d have left them ages ago.

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on May 31, ’10 And the problem is, it’s not better elsewhere. We area all stuck, and believe me I was tearing my hair out!!

reply agnes128 wrote on May 31, ’10 Yes a good client like you can expect some services in return!