Dell, Dell Technical Support

Dell, Dell Technical Support

Referencing: Service Tag #3YFsss

Service Code: 861278sss

Case #08961sss

My anger and disappointment in Dell, Dell Technical Support and the overall attitude so far expressed by the Dell Company towards its customers now runs very, very deep. I am enraged by what is quite obviously a nonchalant attitude towards Dell customers. After spending 4 1/2 hours on the telephone with technical support last night, January 6, 2005 from 6 PM to 10:30 PM, what I am left with is a new computer, less than 3 months old, that is still under warranty, is covered by a Platinum Service Agreement that covers me 24/7 including at-home service, that is right now absolutely useless as anything other than a large Solitaire screen. I have an e-mail that I have accessed from a friend's computer in my Inbox thanking me for contacting Technical Support and resolving the issue. There are several problems with the above scenario: (1) The original problem with my computer, no connectivity, is not resolved. After 4 &#189 hours of cooperating with both service technicians that I talked with and performing each and every step that they requested me to do multiple times: (All at their request) a. Restoring the system twice

b. Performing virus scans multiple times

c. Using the command menu to ping internally repeatedly with no response

d. Verifying on my children's lives that I did not have a wireless router or router hub installed, and that my workstation was a stand-alone unit connected to (1) DSL modem and that the phone lines were working e. Using the command menu to ipconfig release and renew multiple times

f. Verifying both Broadband and LAN connections, set-ups and configurations at least 5 times in the Windows XP system operating software g. Building new Broadband connections

h. Turning on and turning off firewalls multiple times

i. Turning off all items in the start-up menu

j. Erasing the Winsoc Hkeys completely in the Registry Editor

k. Verifying that yes, all the way through this 4 &#189 hour saga that the LED on the back of the Ethernet card that came supplied with the machine was red, not green. (Hint, root cause here folks, bad Ethernet card!) l. The only net result I am left with is a computer that still has no connectivity, and in fact now when starting up is very slow and slow in the operating system after performing all of the "fixes" that both technicians wanted me to try. It is now in worse shape than when I started with Dell Technical Support last night. (2) It became very apparent that this was a problem beyond either of their abilities to resolve. Let me explain as a background, I have spent the last 25 years as technical support for industrial computers that control machinery, and as such, have a pretty good idea before I even walk into a problem what the root cause and solution really is. I just figured that since I had paid for 4 years worth of 24/7 technical support including at-home service and had a machine under complete warranty, I might as well use what I paid for. (3) The first technician that I was talking to, "Gary", located in Panama City, Panama hung up on me and disconnected when I laid the phone down to, at his request, disconnect and reconnect an Ethernet cable. Despite taking my home phone number down, he did not call me back, as promised "in case we get disconnected". I wound up calling again and talking to "Wayne" somewhere. (4) At the end of the total 4 &#189 hours, "Wayne's" only solution was for me to sit with him on the phone on the floor of my home office and while talking to him, take a brand new computer apart to reseat the Ethernet card into a new slot. He informed me that he was "not willing" to send a service technician to my home as in his estimation this was not a problem that required one. THIS IS NOT A SERVICE TECHNICIAN'S DECISION TO MAKE WITH A CUSTOMER THAT HAS PAID FOR AT-HOME SERVICE 24/7 NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS. THE CUSTOMER HAS THE RIGHT TO REQUEST IT, ESPECIALLY ON A MACHINE THAT IS 90 DAYS OLD AND UNDER WARRANTY! I will freely admit that I had a problem with taking my machine apart while talking to "Wayne" on the phone. (a) My experience up to that point led me to the conclusion that the technicians were guessing and still had absolutely no clue as to what the real problem or root cause was, much less a solution.

The second one "Wayne" freely admitted that what was going on with my machine was "not in the script" and he "didn't have a decision tree for it", leading me to the knowledge that this was a problem beyond their ability to resolve and understand. (b) Under no circumstances will I personally take the machine's case apart and begin to reseat cards with a machine still under warranty, that would be the job of a Dell-certified technician in my home on a service call that is covered by a price that I already paid at initial purchase (b) I don't have three hands, I was not born a genetic freak. (c) It had been since 6 PM and was now 10:30 PM, I was getting a little cranky with no dinner and bathroom breaks and (d) I will also freely admit that I was having an extremely difficult time understanding either tech. It was readily apparent that English was not their primary language and I kept having to ask both of them to slow down, enunciate and repeat themselves.

After 25 years of working in heavy industry, my hearing is beginning to lose it's low, conversational tones and I have a hard enough time following someone whose primary language is English, much less someone to whom English is a secondary language and whose microphone is not properly physically placed near their mouth. I resent the fraudulent practice that Dell employs of having foreign service technicians adopt "American" names. As an American, working in an industry that is rapidly being harmed by the practice of outsourcing work off-shore to cheaper, foreign labor while supposedly "patriotic" American companies do great harm to the American people and the American economy, I find this practice treasonous and seditious. (5) After telling "Wayne" that I was requesting a service call in my home, he informed me that "he was not willing" to do that, that his supervisor was busy and that if I didn't have any other questions, he thanked me for using Dell Technical Support and to feel free to call them again if I ever had any other issues with my machine. I informed him that I would be contacting Dell in the morning to continue to pursue this matter, again he thanked me and hung up. The resolution to this problem is simple. I want a Dell-certified technician on a service call, which I have paid for with a 4 year 24/7 Nights and Weekends Service agreement including in-home service at my house tonight, Friday January 7, 2005 and I want the machine fixed. I doubt this will happen. I will continue to pursue this. The e-mail sent to me this morning states that if I have further issues, to contact Dell Premier Support, I cannot, once I go to the Web Page, it asks me to log in, but since I have never been given a userid or password even though I am entitled to it, I cannot. I will post this to the "regular" Support Page as well in an effort to make some sort of human contact here on American soil. My experience with Dell in the short 90 days that I have dealt with them has been horrid. I am making a recommendation to anyone that I know to not buy a Dell computer and not support it's predatory, malicious and fraudulent business practices. Copies of this letter have gone to my Congressman and both of my Senators, as business conducted over the Internet crosses State lines and falls under Wire Fraud Protection acts. As well, I have posted this letter to a total of 10 separate websites and message boards that deal exclusively with Dell complaints, in an effort to stop the next person from buying a Dell computer. Kip R. W Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: Email User Consumer