This is a long story, but might have a moral in it somewhere. Or at least a warning.
Six months ago I bought a portable PC, which had a lot of technical challenges i.e. didn’t work. I wrote about the problems at the time because I spent ages on a premium phone line while someone explained to me how to fix them – I had to be guided through the process of updating my BIOS (is that normal when you buy a PC?).
My complaint at the time was that the support department completely ignored email support requests, forcing customers to use the premium price phone support. They also kept calls ‘on hold’ for a long time while waiting for support. Enough background, the original story was here.)
I never mentioned the company concerned, because everyone can have a bad day. I even convinced myself it was a one off, since they seemed to be a large reputable company. Hence I just bought a new desktop computer from Dell France, the company who were responsible for the earlier fiasco.
There is a saying about learning from one’s mistakes. I wish I’d remembered it. Because the new Dell PC is in an even more sorry state than the last one, and customer service appears to have got worse. Bear in mind this is a brand new computer delivered last Friday – and never worked at all from the moment it was plugged in.
Yes they still ignore email requests for support (one sent Friday, two today, no response to any), and yes they still keep phone customers hanging on a very long time while the super-price phone bill ticks away.
When I eventually got through to someone on the phone they then talked me through the process of dismantling the computer, fiddling with the ‘motherboard’ inside the computer, then starting to reinstall the operating system etc. No they wouldn’t call me back – I asked. Apparently it’s for me to pay 20 euros an hour to get my brand new Dell PC working.
But the best is yet to come. Having taken so long to get through to someone, it was about 4.15pm by the time the computer was back in one piece and we could start reinstalling the software – a process that takes a couple of hours. Their support person told me they had to stop work at 5.00pm, so no chance to get it finished. OK I can see they need to stop at some point but stopping half way through a job semed a bit of a bad attitude. Anyway they promised they would call back first thing Monday.
Guess what, phone lines must be down at Dell France today because they have been unable to call me all day. One could even think they are trying to force me to call the expensive phone line again. Surely not? Even if I do, I’ll get someone different to talk to, and the first support person knows our current situation – how do I explain it all to someone else?
Dell recently announced that they were to make 1,900 people redundant in Ireland. I’m very sorry for them. But the company as a whole – or at least the Dell France side – appears not to have noticed that their sales are plummeting, people are losing their jobs because of it, and just maybe if they could deliver a PC that actually worked, and offer friendly and efficient support, things might just work out a little bit better for everyone concerned.
(Note: you will need to read through the comments below to see how the story evolved…)
I had a recent experience with Dell UK. Before Christmas I decided to buy a new laptop. I had a strict budget of £400. I did some research and settled on a laptop from Dell. So, I called them up and tried to order a laptop which cost £389 delieved. All I wanted was the laptop delivered, no bells, no whistles. Could I have this done? No chance. The sales lady was incredibly pushy, at every stage offering upgrades and software. After me refusing upgrades repeatedly the order was placed. In the following couple of days I received three phone calls during which I was being pushed towards upgrades and software and through my budget. I eventually had enough and cancelled the order. In the end I went to Currys and bought an Advent laptop for £359 which matched the spec of the Dell one costing £30 more. Lesson learned.
You did all that IN FRENCH!!! You’re a hero! Don’t let them grind you down.
Best wishes
Janet
“Progress, not perfection – I may not be “there” yet, but I’m a long way from where I used to be!
Ah well, I was toying with going for a Dell as a replacement for our office PC, but on second thoughts I don’t think I’ll bother. Silly sods.
The PC was delivered on the 13th, and today is the 19th – six days later, and my PC, with it’s ’24 hour on site guarantee’ is no closer to being usable.
After I had sent numerous emails to their support department, someone rang on wednesday 17th and talked me through reinstalling the drivers etc. Unfortunately a couple of hours later the original problem recommenced, with the PC continually crashing. So back to square 1. I spoke to them end of yesterday (they called me back!!) and they wanted to ‘just try a couple of things (eg opening the box again and removing and reinstalling the memory chips) – that also didn’t help.
They are to call me back again today to see if they can bring themselves to actually replace it.
My quaint understanding of a 24 hour on-site guarantee assumed a happy engineer driving around the country repairing PCs the day after the problem was reported – and hadn’t included the possibility that after almost a week I’d be spending hours still trying to get it working myself. Silly old me.
One tiny positive though – when you eventually do talk to a support person they seem very efficient, pleasant and helpful (and tolerant of language difficulties) – even if they don’t just say ‘someone will be round to mend it this afternoon’ which is what you really want to hear.
Hi All
I tried buying from dell (UK) who took the order etc.
but messed me about with emails a week later saying I would have to re order which I sorted out (Via Phone/email) then 2 weeks later it was canceled again. I then had to stop the payment,
and go somewhere else.
This was my first dealings with Dell and my last.
I stuck with good old HP in the end, not the fastest pc in the world but good and sturdy, with no complaints
Did you notice this morning how I said ‘They are to call me back again today to see if they can bring themselves to actually replace it.‘? What was I thinking of? That was what they had promised, but no they didn’t ring back – exactly like the last time they promised they would call back the next day, and it took three days and numerous emails to get another response…
Friday evening postscript: it is just possible the problem will be resolved after the weekend, update comment to be posted Monday evening. If I haven’t thrown myself (or my computer) under a passing lorry before that.
Just to explain how this sorry state of affairs came to a close…monday 23/2 someone from Dell actually came to the house, replaced various bits and bobs in the computer, and all now seems to be well. The mystery is – what happened last Friday to prompt this sudden enthusiasm for repairing the PC? Was it just by chance that we caught someone’s attention? Was it because we were poised to email pretty much every director in Dell (we mentioned this in our final email to support)? Or was it because this grumpy thread happened to appear on page 1 in google for the search ‘Dell France’ – so would be seen by not just the usual readers of this blog, but potentially by lots of people searching to buy a dell computer? (I guess it will drop out of the results quite quickly, as blog entries tend to do, but it is currently at 23/2 still on page 1 of google.com). I guess we’ll never know why, but suddenly Dell technical support changed their attitude, rang us a few times to make sure everything was OK, and they became the most helpful support team you ever met. For which I am very grateful, whatever the reason. Fingers crossed for other purchasers that is the normal level of service that buyers can expect to receive, and I just caught them on an ‘off-week’!
Please tell me how you found the email addresses of the directors. I am also having Dell hell here in France.
I am having huge problems with Dell “support” here in France but with a new inspiron 1370 laptop. Bought in the Uk but covered for Europe under my warranty/insurance. I had spent hours and euros on the telephone because it stopped responding – my French is reasonable but most of the time i could not understand them – none mother tongue speaker trying to communicate with another non mother tongue speaker….. If they tried to talk to me in English – bless them – even worse.Any way laptop collected for repair and returned to me but NOT with the original operating system – windows 7 64bit replaced with windows 7 32bit not two drives just one. a programme locked into IE8 in I think Russian very difficult to remove. The supp rt line does not seem to understand the difference between 32bit & 64bit. I cannot load the drivers from my Dell disc ….. my data back cause problems as I am restoring to a different system. I am now going to have to get it sorted out in the Uk when I visit my daughter next month I have now had to write a letter recomande to Dell in Montpellier but so far no response. quelle surprise! I now have no confidence in Dell France so sad because I had good service in the past. I have mailed tech support UK and had very polite replies but I cannot telephone them (08 numbers) and they cannot telephone me. So sad that the French do not seem to understand good customer service Any way helps to have a rant as I do not wish to start shouting at some poor Dell employee!
I also informed that the charger was faulty but it has not been replaced as promised I don’t think I will risk buying a Dell again ever I am so glad that you had a good outcome
Sorry to hear about your experiences Sara, you’ve brought a lot of stressful memories flooding back! On a positive note, the computer has worked fine ever since! Unfortunately I can’t remember how I located the email addresses – in any event, the only thing that got results was ringing the help line number, and staying very very calm…despite the urge to swear profusely. Speak slowly, make out you are completely hopeless, thank them for their help – you need them on your side! Then come back here and tell us how it all turned out, and whether you get a response from Dell in Montpellier…