My final experience with Dell

first off, i just want to say i've been a supporter of dell for the past many years. sitting in the comfort of my desk, customising every tiny detail and having it delivered within days, what's not to like.

but this time, the experience was just so utterly disappointing i cannot see myself buying a dell again, especially with so many alternatives around.

this is what happened:

on 18/11/2013, i ordered a desktop and a monitor through their website.
hours later, i figured i should try my luck and asked if they can change CPU to windows 7 instead of windows 8. reason being this is meant for my mother, and i don't want to teach her how to use a new OS.

this is what i wrote in my request to them
I just realised the order comes with Windows 8. Can I change it to Windows 7 instead? This is because the computer is meant for my mother, and it is terribly hard trying to teach older folks new OS. I nearly died familiarising her to Windows 7, so please don't put me through it again. I won't mind topping up any amount. 


on the same day, i received a reply, saying that the issue has been forward to the sales department.
then nothing.

21/11/2013 i sent them another email, asking if there are any updates.
nothing.


25/11/2013 i gave up on emails, and called their customer hotline. and after giving the customer service person the order details, she said she would get someone to get back to me.

nothing for 2 days.
my assumption was that since i heard nothing, it probably means they can't change the OS, they would just go ahead and deliver the pc to me with windows 8 on 28/11/2013 as stated at the beginning.

27/11/2013 i finally received a call from Dell, informing me that my PC order has been cancelled a while back.
i was shocked. how can they cancel my order without informing me? and the reason they gave was that they could not meet my request, hence they felt they should cancel it and refund me the money.

i told them in my email i didn't say that i want to cancel the order if the change cannot be made, so how can they make that assumption?
shouldn't they ask me if i still want the PC with windows 8?

and if that's too much, shouldn't they at least inform me once the order has been cancelled?
but i received no emails from them!!


they said there's nothing they can do about it. and i need to go online to make a fresh order if i still want the PC with windows 8. except that i would have to wait another week or so because the PC needs to be assembled.

what a load of bullcrap. i told them in no uncertain terms that this is just unacceptable.
why would i put myself through this shit again when they can admit that they screwed up but still refused to do anything to right their mistake.


but they insisted they cannot do anything.

i sent a strongly worded email to Dell, explaining the whole situation as I am doing now, stating that if i don't get a satisfactory reply by 28/11/2013 on their plans for corrective actions, it would be the last time i order anything from them.


then i got home and saw that they have delivered the monitor to me.

THEY CANCELLED THE CPU BUT SENT THE MONITOR?!?! WHAT ON EARTH AM I GOING TO DO WITH A MONITOR WITHOUT THE CPU?!??!


so this morning, i called them up.
i told them to send someone to pick the monitor up and refund me the money. i don't want anything to do with Dell anymore.

that dude had the balls to tell me that they would have to charge me for the courier service to pick up the monitor.


i told him, no, it is your mistake to cancel the CPU to begin with. so common sense dictates that i want a complete working PC when i placed the order.
if you are going to cancel the CPU, you should cancel the monitor as well.

he went on and on about company policy, and about how CPUs need time to be assembled and monitors can be sent off the shelf.
i told him this is not my problem.
i ordered a complete working PC, hence i am only accepting it if the whole PC is delivered to me.


again, he said there is nothing he can do. so i asked to speak with his supervisor. and he actually told me the supervisor would tell me the same thing.
this went on for awhile until i lost it and said "i don't want to talk to you anymore, please transfer me to your supervisor."

finally he budged and said "ok, if you want to try your luck."
except that he placed me on hold till the line got cut off.


i thought now would be a good time to scream bloody murder, but i was actually quite calm.
and i called back the Dell hotline.
thankfully, i got his name the previous time around so he apologised for cutting me off.


again, he insisted that his supervisor would say the same thing, and again, i told him i am not interested in talking to him.
i was so freaking pissed i would pay the courier to take back a smashed monitor just to show how angry i am.

eventually, he said, "ok i would put you on hold to talk to my supervisor"

a few minutes later, he said that he doesn't want to argue anymore, so they will waive the courier fees and refund me my full amount.
so he got my details and i hung up.


honestly, i don't think i'm being excessively demanding or unreasonable.
at a point in time, i actually asked him if they were recording this conversation cos i want a copy to show people how ridiculous Dell was being.


why on earth do companies have to piss people off before giving them what they want?
Mio was the same, a friend told me you have to scream at them before they make things happen.

we have reached a stage where nice people would just get pushed around by establishments while loud and rude people reap all the benefits.
shouldn't it be the other way round, for companies to reward their good and nice customers instead of customers who are constantly screaming at them?


in any case, i went down to PC fair and bought a PC with similar specs for a lower price. with windows 7.
they will not just deliver it for free, but also set it up for me by Monday. a total response time of 4 days.


so tell me again, what does Dell have to offer now that other competition can't?
they are not cheaper (cost),
they are not faster (time),
they are not better (quality).


Michael Dell should quickly get back and do a Steve Jobs before there's nothing left to rescue.