Dell Outlet purchase

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Dominat0r

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Anyone else have a awful time with Dell outlet purchase?

I bought a certified refurb laptop (M1730) from the dell outlet, arrived dead on friday afternoon. Called them at 4pm their time (5pm mine) and was told that i couldnt get a RMA till monday.

So waited till today, spoke to a customer service rep and was told that it could take 2-4weeks to process a refund....

2-4 weeks? WOW...

So , i decided to grab a dell Credit card and buy another laptop, was given a service request number with my customer number and was told that if i wanted to buy something else, i could contact sales, give them the numbers and the coupon would still be honored (expired on the 28th). However, when i called, no one knows anything....i was transferred 4 times in 45mins and still havent spoke to anyone that can help.

Please tell me that im not the only one this has happened to, cause my luck im prob the only person who feels like im getting the run around...
 
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Sounds like you are getting the run around but it also doesn't exactly sound like it's on purpose. I've bought a laptop through them about 5/6 years ago and it's still running strong. I'm actually debating now if I'll install an SSD in it when I get it back from my Ex.
 
My friend just received his new alienware (m17x r2) a week ago. I told him he was a moron for paying $2800 for it (with that price it only has a 1 year warranty), since he was supposed to haggle with rep(s) to get ~30% off, or he could have bought a similar spec'd laptop from the outlet for $1850. Sadly it appears in 2011, Dell stopped letting reps haggle with prices, they can only give like $100 off.

When he called them to return it, Dell said it would take 4 weeks to process his refund. And he has to pay a 15% restocking fee since he wouldn't be getting a different computer from Dell. Dell did offer him $350 cash back to keep the laptop, or the option to give it a 3 year warranty ($400 value). That's still a bad deal since he could save ~$350 by returning it and buying a laptop on the outlet even with the restocking fee (though that fee should probably be waved since he'd be getting another Dell, just a used one from the outlet).


With him telling me the experiences of dealing with phone reps to purchase, and return his laptop, your experience with the run around seems like the norm.


It's interesting though, with a newly built Alienware, there's an option to get a premium warranty, which gives accidental coverage, and all North American tech support (i'm not sure if their consumer laptops have that option). Maybe dealing solely with people whose first language is English is worth the extra $160 per year over the standard warranty?
 
hands down the WORST experience with any company thus far. I got transferred to 3 different people, each one speaking less english than the one prior.

What the hell is going on with Dell? Use to be a painless buying experience, now its pure hell.
 
so since my money is tied up and not going to get refunded for 2-4weeks...i decided to open up a DPA and get another laptop.

So place the order, get a email saying my order is on hold...call them and now they telling me they cant verify my identity....

Umm....they just shipped me a laptop, which i just sent back RMA and now they cant even verify who i am?

YOU JUST SHIPPED ME A LAPTOP...how could they not know who i am? I paid for it on my CC....my name MUST be in there...
 
Sounds like pretty shitty service. I'm surprised your still trying to order again given the experience you just had with the company. I hope everything works out and you get a real deal on a new laptop.
 
I got a Dell M1330 on the outlet and it worked good for about a year and a half then had problems. They offered to fix it for free but when it came back the sound and touchpad didnt work. I had to open it up to fix the touchpad but it was never the same. It finally completely died after 2 years, overall it was a pretty bad experience.

And their support sucks. I tried complaining about the shitty repair job but no one knew what they were talking about so I just gave up.
 
it really isn't just dell, most consumer support for the major laptop brands suck.

They outsource a lot of the normal service reps and the only time you will get an american rep. is if you finally get an outsourced one who gives 2 cents and finds the right people to transfer you to.

This is my experience from asus, hp, dell, msi, and gateway.

In terms of standard consumer goods, i find that Apple (while in warranty) has the best support. And i think that is mostly due to the fact that you can simply go to the Apple store (that isn't to say that aren't free from stupidity, just less of it).

You are usually in better hands when you buy business class notebooks or premium (and new) notebooks. I'm not sure if dell still continues this practice, but the XPS|Alienware line of products use to have a dedicated line. HP also has a dedicated number for Envy class notebooks.
 
Well, a Rep called me today and couldnt of been nicer if i had paid her to do so.

She straighten out my DPA in 1 phone call, had my order rushed and placed out today for delivery on the 4th (no extra charge) also gave me 100$ of my purchase and will have the other 20% coupon applied to my purchase also. All this took place in the span of 15mins.

I filed 2 complaints, spent over 2 hours on the phone, got juggled to at least 10 different, non English speaking people.....and finally, 1 person in 15mins takes care of all it....

WOW........keeping my fingers crossed that this doesnt blow up in my face.
 
spoke to soon, again, they said my order is on hold pending verification.......wow, this is the most horrible experience ever.
 
pending verification = they are checking your credit card. they should call you to verify that it is actually YOU making the purchase.

Have bought 5 Dell laptops and have had nothing but OUTSTANDING service and support from them.
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Odd. My Mini 10v screen right out of the box had moisture/dirt/mold/something under the outer 1/2" of the screen. Did the online chat, got a phone call within 5 minutes of the chat ending, Rep was hard to understand but blasted me directly thru the RMA process, they are going to have a on-sit peon call in the next day or two to come out on site to replace the screen. I don't normally praise Dell on their tech support, but I was shocked to death how nice and easy this has been so far.
 
I know they need to verify info, but do they need to do it 3 days in a row with the same exact info that's verified? Samething every single day. Different people. Even got badge numbers and names of them all
 
they are buying time = wasting your time ... ask for the manager next time they call and tell him you had enough with them. :)
 
Next time go with a business laptop. Their business support is based in america and is way better. At my work they have all dell business laptops and there are no problems calling dell and gettings stuff fixed. Their home support sucks. Because they usually have dumb people that call them and say thier speakers don't work and the only problem was that they are either muted or unplugged. (I deal with this daily at work).

The best warranty support I have ever dealt with is panasonic toughbooks. I call them tell them so and so part is dead they ship me the new part and I send back the old. They have me do maybe 5 min of testing and not just dumb testing like is it on? and then they send me a new part.
 
I also had a bad experience in the last few weeks. I got an M17X r.2 refurbished with the 20% off coupon a few weeks ago and the laptop arrived with the wrong power supply. They sent a 210Watt instead of 240watt so the laptop would only run in stealth mode. I called Dell support about 6 or 7 times and the dumb support employees kept telling me "you have a 240Volt supply sir"

I posted in another forum and someone gave me a "special" e-mail and the person sent the correct power supply overnight.

All in all I think the Dell outlet laptops are a great deal if you are tech savoy enough to perform a clean install and make sure you buy an extended warranty, just not from Dell.

How else can you buy an SLI laptop with a Quad core i7 for $1600?:p
 
i got my laptop...it seems to work, cept the machine does not sit flush on the table. Meaning, it rocks back and forth when i lift/place my wrist to type.....arrgggggggg
 
^vostro 1400 did that as well but only on my work table ahaha so it led me to believe that it was a able issue and not a laptop one.
 
haha, i did the same thing..i checked with a level and my desk is perfectly flat.

I spoke to Dell and they going to send someone out to replace the bottom of the laptop for me. I think they felt bad for me since this is my 2nd laptop and had major issues with DPA center.
 
dell laptop number #2 is dead....LCD start getting all scrambled and pix-elated...The dell service rep came out and replaced the bottom, which was off and causing a wobble. I guess it didnt like that.

AARRGGGGGGG so frustrated right now.
 
Wow. I'm glad I bought mine when I did cause it's still pretty rock solid. Sorry guy. :(
 
I will stay away from Dell for the rest of my life and advise all others to do the same. What I went through recently talking to their Indian support is a complete joke. And this is me trying to fix my order and buy a laptop. I don't know if it's a cultural thing over there, but if your system is down you don't just hang up on a customer and this happen 3 times with 3 different Indians.
 
Yeah, I recently had to deal with dumb dell customer support. On the other hand I also have a business laptop, which the business service all I could ever dream of and more (next day parts or techs at your house).
 
well just heard from dell and they were telling me that there was a problem with the motherboard. They said that it wasnt covered under warranty. I just bought the thing, how can it not be covered?

I told them that im not the one who opened it and that a in home tech came and did it. So far its been 2 weeks and still no dam laptop.

Dell is HORRRIBLE service......all i wanted is a laptop, total time its been almost a month and still no dam laptop.
 
just found out that its going to be another 8-10 days to get the part needed to fix my laptop. Im soo fed up right now, im going to just return the stupid thing and buy something else.

Worst nightmare ever...paid for my laptop Jan 26 and still dont have a working laptop. Every time i call its another reason why its not ready. I cant believe how crappy Dell has become...its really really awful to treat people this way.
 
My refurbed Inspiron came today, I ordered it on Sunday. So not bad there. Out of the box it looks in perfect condition.

Powered on got everything installed. It sits flat and i am very happy with it.

Sorry you had issues.
 
Well now I am pissed off. Dell just sent me a coupon for 15% off refurb laptops. So now I get to stare at disgust at my laptop knowing I could have paid $60 if I had clairvoyance and had waited 4 days to order it.

CS or at least the two I talked to said I could return it (and pay 15% restocking and shipping) besides that they could do nothing.

So I doubt I will ever order from Dell again. Newegg will hook you up if you are not happy (they gave me a credit when I missed my rebate date because I had to RMA my ram,) made me feel good about my purchase. This made me not feel good.

You can argue if they owe me anything or that is just the luck of the draw and I am owed nothing. But I really think if I customer is not happy you should do something to try to make them happy within reason. I really think giving me the better price today is not to huge a leap.
 
Shakezilla, I'm not sure you really have grounds to request the coupon. I buy tech all the time, and right after I do so, the price drops. Fact of life, everything loses value.
But I hear you, and I get the same feeling.
 
Shakezilla said:
You can argue if they owe me anything or that is just the luck of the draw and I am owed nothing. But I really think if I customer is not happy you should do something to try to make them happy within reason. I really think giving me the better price today is not to huge a leap.
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I think they have and now you're just pissing and bitching like every other customer that wants to get something for nothing. It's behavior like that that makes me hate people.
 
well, to get back on subject.....here some more news.

I received my M11x R2, so far so good, it works well...no issues.

After another call to Dell customer care, i was able to apply my 20% off coupon that expired 1/28 (or 10k uses) to my new machine. It was a long long call and they tried to offer me a 7% discount. I told them that this is the 3rd machine from them and how the first 2 were DOA/Broken. He said it was the best he could do. I told him that i would just return the machine and close my DPA account. I dont think its fair that i bought my original machine, which was DEAD, with the coupon and not be able to use it on the machine that i purchased (at the time, full price) to replace it. Not that im cheap, but its the difference of about 130$. Not only that, but the machine i purchased (M11x r2) is on sale right now brand new and it costs only 100$ more than the outlet machine i bought. After i spoke to a CSMB Customer Care manager, they finally offered to apply the 20% to my new purchase and apologized for the problems with my machines.

All in all, im happy....but after going through what i went through, any good news is great.

I was always polite, i never raised my voice or got upset and got what i wanted. However, im not happy that i had to spend a total of about 10 hours on the phone...or that i had to speak to at least 20-25 different people to get the problem corrected. Dell service is very slow, the whole process is extremely time consuming. They really need to have Michael Dell call in and pretend to be a customer, just so he can see first hand how bad its become.

If you making a purchase through the outlet, just be aware...you might get the run a round, you will have to deal with crappy tech support and customer service. Im happy in the end, but again, be prepared to jump through hoops to get what you want.
 
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