Major Frustration with Dell!!!
I am really ready to pull my hair out, here! I ordered a laptop from Dell nearly 3 weeks ago, and it still hasn't arrived. Now Dell wants to charge me even more for it! Here's the complete story, mostly copied from an email I sent to a manager at Dell.
On 11 April, I placed an order for a Dell XPS M1530 with a sales rep over the phone. The rep included a 10% off coupon that I had received via email. He also promised me expedited order processing, and thought that I should receive my system within the following week. He told me that while the ship date was showing 21 April, it should change as soon as expedited processing was added onto my order.
This ship date did not change, however, until 21 April when I received an email telling me that my order was further delayed until 28 April. I was scheduled to leave the country on 30 April, and so I immediately called to find out what was going on. I began a conversation with a resolution specialist. He began a case on my behalf and offered me free overnight shipping on the order. He told me he would look into the problem, but assured me I would receive the laptop before I had to leave the country.
The next day (23 April), he informed me that there was a delay in receiving the LCD screen I had ordered, and that they were still waiting to receive it from the manufacturer. He offered me the option of cancelling the order immediately, but instead I chose to stick with Dell and wait it out. 28 April came, and I received yet another email informing me that my order was now delayed until 2 May, so I arranged for a colleague to receive the laptop once it shipped.
The very next day (29 April), I received a final email informing me that my order had been cancelled "under the Federal Mail Order Rule." This is apparently because I wasn't available when I received an automated call from Dell asking me whether I authorised the delay in processing my order. I spoke to Mr. Dundi again, and he advised me that I would have to contact the sales department to re-create the order.
I immediately called to re-create the order, and at this point, 19 days after my original order, I was advised that the 10% off coupon I had used was invalid, creating an "illegal configuration," and that this was in fact the reason my order had been cancelled. The sales woman I spoke with told me that she could reinstate the order for around $1400, $50 more than I had originally paid. This, after waiting nearly 3 weeks for my order to ship, and having to deal with all of this inconvenience, calling back and forth and making arrangements to get my laptop while I was out of the country.
I recognise that, apparently, neither the sales associate I spoke with, nor her sales manager had the authority to help me with this situation, and so now I am appealing to the sales manager's boss via email. When I initially called, I was extremely frustrated at all of the trouble Dell has put me through in this purchase process, and I was intending to ask for some type of compensation for my trouble. I never got that far, however. I was completely floored that Dell would put me through all of this, and then insist that I pay MORE for the product that I ordered 3 weeks ago! As someone who works in customer service myself, I simply cannot understand this attitude toward their customer!
Dell made a mistake. They never should have allowed this 10% off coupon to be applied if it was invalid. This is not my fault. I was left to believe I had a computer on the way for nearly 3 weeks before you cancelled the order. During this time, had I known the order was invalid, I could have gone out and purchased another machine. Dell does reserve the right to cancel an order at any time, however I find this to be in extremely poor taste, and as a customer I feel mistreated. I was forced to get my old laptop fixed to use while out of the country instead of the new laptop I though I had ordered.
This is my first time ever purchasing from Dell, and this experience has certainly soured my opinion of the company. In my email, I said that I was willing to stick with Dell only if they are willing to honour my original purchase price. If they do insist upon charging me more, after everything I have been through, then I must cancel my order.
I am looking at alternatives now. Lenovo is my #1 choice. They don't have the same fancy 1900x1200 screen that I wanted from Dell, but you can still get 1680x1050 which is decent. You can also get the Thinkpad T61 with SUSE Linux preinstalled, which I like very much. Dell sells the smaller M1330 with Linux, but not the M1530 for some reason. Does anyone have any other recommendations for laptops with high-resolution screens? I do not want a 17" laptop, it is too big for me. Thanks for your suggestions!
On 11 April, I placed an order for a Dell XPS M1530 with a sales rep over the phone. The rep included a 10% off coupon that I had received via email. He also promised me expedited order processing, and thought that I should receive my system within the following week. He told me that while the ship date was showing 21 April, it should change as soon as expedited processing was added onto my order.
This ship date did not change, however, until 21 April when I received an email telling me that my order was further delayed until 28 April. I was scheduled to leave the country on 30 April, and so I immediately called to find out what was going on. I began a conversation with a resolution specialist. He began a case on my behalf and offered me free overnight shipping on the order. He told me he would look into the problem, but assured me I would receive the laptop before I had to leave the country.
The next day (23 April), he informed me that there was a delay in receiving the LCD screen I had ordered, and that they were still waiting to receive it from the manufacturer. He offered me the option of cancelling the order immediately, but instead I chose to stick with Dell and wait it out. 28 April came, and I received yet another email informing me that my order was now delayed until 2 May, so I arranged for a colleague to receive the laptop once it shipped.
The very next day (29 April), I received a final email informing me that my order had been cancelled "under the Federal Mail Order Rule." This is apparently because I wasn't available when I received an automated call from Dell asking me whether I authorised the delay in processing my order. I spoke to Mr. Dundi again, and he advised me that I would have to contact the sales department to re-create the order.
I immediately called to re-create the order, and at this point, 19 days after my original order, I was advised that the 10% off coupon I had used was invalid, creating an "illegal configuration," and that this was in fact the reason my order had been cancelled. The sales woman I spoke with told me that she could reinstate the order for around $1400, $50 more than I had originally paid. This, after waiting nearly 3 weeks for my order to ship, and having to deal with all of this inconvenience, calling back and forth and making arrangements to get my laptop while I was out of the country.
I recognise that, apparently, neither the sales associate I spoke with, nor her sales manager had the authority to help me with this situation, and so now I am appealing to the sales manager's boss via email. When I initially called, I was extremely frustrated at all of the trouble Dell has put me through in this purchase process, and I was intending to ask for some type of compensation for my trouble. I never got that far, however. I was completely floored that Dell would put me through all of this, and then insist that I pay MORE for the product that I ordered 3 weeks ago! As someone who works in customer service myself, I simply cannot understand this attitude toward their customer!
Dell made a mistake. They never should have allowed this 10% off coupon to be applied if it was invalid. This is not my fault. I was left to believe I had a computer on the way for nearly 3 weeks before you cancelled the order. During this time, had I known the order was invalid, I could have gone out and purchased another machine. Dell does reserve the right to cancel an order at any time, however I find this to be in extremely poor taste, and as a customer I feel mistreated. I was forced to get my old laptop fixed to use while out of the country instead of the new laptop I though I had ordered.
This is my first time ever purchasing from Dell, and this experience has certainly soured my opinion of the company. In my email, I said that I was willing to stick with Dell only if they are willing to honour my original purchase price. If they do insist upon charging me more, after everything I have been through, then I must cancel my order.
I am looking at alternatives now. Lenovo is my #1 choice. They don't have the same fancy 1900x1200 screen that I wanted from Dell, but you can still get 1680x1050 which is decent. You can also get the Thinkpad T61 with SUSE Linux preinstalled, which I like very much. Dell sells the smaller M1330 with Linux, but not the M1530 for some reason. Does anyone have any other recommendations for laptops with high-resolution screens? I do not want a 17" laptop, it is too big for me. Thanks for your suggestions!