Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

*Terrific* Dell experience

Author:Jason Levine
Posted:8/26/1999; 9:21:53 PM
Topic:*Terrific* Dell experience
Msg #:10068
Prev/Next:10067 / 10069

With all of this clone-bashing going on, I decided that I should relate my current experience with Dell, which has left me a very happy customer.

Three weeks ago, my apartment was robbed, and my Dell Inspiron 7000 laptop was taken (along with mucho other things!). I decided that day that I would replace it with another Dell, and called up to place the order.

My first pleasant surprise came when I asked for a Pentium II 366 MHz machine with a DVD hardware decoder. The salesperson said that they were having problems with testing of the DVD decoder in machines with a 366 MHz PII, and that if I really wanted the DVD decoder, they'd just bump me up to a PII 400 MHz processor at no extra charge. Truly professional -- they couldn't provide the configuration that I wanted, so they gave me the next better thing at the same price. I was impressed.

I placed the order that day, and was told that there would be a 2 week lead time to build the machine, test it, and send it to me. I asked for overnight FedEx delivery when it was ready, and they told me that the target receipt date would be 8/26/99.

Two days ago (8/24), my machine shipped from Dell. Excitedly, I went into my office yesterday to wait for the box, but alas, it did not come with the morning FedEx delivery. I called Dell to ask why, and they gave me the tracking number, and said that as far as they could tell, it was in NYC but not yet on a truck. I told them I'd call FedEx, which I then did. What ensued at this point was about four hours of "I don't know what happened" from FedEx, and an eventual admission that it appeared that the machine was lost. Gone. Kaput. It was scanned into a FedEx depot in Manhattan, and then never got scanned back out. And a manual search of the entire depot turned up nothing. I was crushed.

So, I then ask the FedEx person what we would do about it. He said that they would have to get approval from their business office for the expense of a new computer, and then they would call Dell and have the new computer manufactured and shipped -- oh yeah, and the business office approval would take 5-7 business days. I was appalled at this, and told them so, and then proceeded to conference call Dell's customer service to see what they could offer. The moment that the customer service agent got on the phone, she lit into the FedEx rep, and (rightly) told him that his policies were idiotic. But this next part was what floored me.

Once the FedEx rep got done telling the Dell customer service agent that he couldn't give her authorization to build the new machine for 5-7 business days, she said that as far as she was concerned, Dell had failed me, the customer, since I did not have my computer. She said (almost a direct quote) that in spite of FedEx's terrible service and worse response, it was now her job to get me my computer. She put us on hold and authorized an expedited production of an exact machine for me, and then came back to summarily dismiss the FedEx rep from the conversation. (It was like a schoolteacher telling the bad child to leave the room -- it was awesome.) She told me that her normal lead time for the machine would be 10 days, but that the expedited production schedule would cut that in half, if not slightly more, and that as soon as it was done, it would be priority overnighted to me.

Oh, and I forgot to mention -- this all took place at around 5:30 PM EDT yesterday. End of the business day, in other words.

Well, I thought that it was pretty great that Dell took that stance -- they had failed me, and they were going to live up to their promise to get me the machine ASAP. I convinced myself that I could live another five to six days without a laptop, and that while FedEx did a terrible job, Dell more than made up for it. But the surprises were not yet over.

This morning, I had a voicemail at work from the customer service rep at around 11:00 AM, saying that my computer had just completed production, and was being tested; she guessed that it would probably ship out tonight, or at the latest, tomorrow morning. Again, I had to pick myself up off of the ground, I was so astounded. And sure enough, at 3:40 PM CDT, my machine left Austin, TX, on its way to me.

Now, to me, this is a terrific way to make up for an unfortunate mishap. Dell promised me a computer when I ordered it, and when FedEx screwed up, Dell did a great thing. I will now have my computer for the weekend (absent any more shipping hell), and Dell has a long-term customer in me.

So, all the stories out there aren't weepy... I'm glowing.

/jason

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