David, You wrote: > Sorry, didn't realize I was posting to the list, my oops. > David > > On Saturday, January 4, 2003, at 06:26 PM, David M. Ensteness wrote: >> Hey, >> >> I called Dell's 1-800 number on their web site, went through about 4 >> subdirectories and got in touch with sales person who I had transfer >> me to customer service.... everyone there seems like they >> are brain dead, I have spent about 6-8 hours on the phone and hold >> with them over the course of 2 1/2 weeks.
Oh David, but it's nice to see that I'm not the only one who is amazed that Dell is still in business despite their horrendous salesmanship and customer service. I think the "Dell Dude", "Steve", is possibly the brightest bulb in their string of lights. Back in November, I had an experience that made me resolve never to do business with Dell. In the end I wrote a letter to the Dell salesperson covering my company. Listreaders here who have had mediocre experiences with Apple may find themselves happier, given such alternatives. I wrote to Dell, cc'ing their webmaster, their customer support address, and my own company's purchasing department: > Dear [XXXX], > > I must say, this is one of the worst shopping and customer support > experiences I've ever had. This whole thing makes me want to never > again deal with Dell, ever. > > I had a simple question. > I wanted to know if expansion bay drives exist for the Inspiron 4000. > If so, what is the part number. > I could not find the answer on your web site. (It's virtually > impossible to navigate) > I telephoned the Dell 800 number and suffered through an annoyingly > long menuing system. > Eventually I was connected to your voicemail, where I learned your > email address. > I emailed you with my question. > You did not answer my question, and instead sent me a link. > And a phone number for someone else. > The link was to a Dell web page, to submit questions. > I submitted. > The reply came today, from [YYYY]. > It did not answer my question, really, either. > Instead there was an attachment: purchase order instructions and a link > to a quote. > That linked quote gives practically no description of the item. > Am I supposed to buy something on the basis of a 9 word purchase order > entry? > I tried searching your website for what I assume is the part number > (05MXK). > No luck. > I'm ready to call it quits. > > This is incredibly poor salesmanship, incredibly poor support, poor > customer service, and a very poor website. > > If at some time you would like to try to sell the item, I suggest that > you (1) make it easy to find; (2) offer a description and > specifications; (3) Make technical specifications easy to locate on > your website; (4) don't make people sift through multi-tiered menues on > your telephone line; (5) Reply to simple questions with simple answers, > not links to websites that require further client information, > registrations, etc. It should surprise no one that the Dell response to this letter offered no further information to my question, and that I was subsequently hit with automated followup emails from the Dell "support" system asking for feedback on how well my question was answered--a www link, and asking an array of unrelated, unimportant other "survey" questions. Completely laughable. I continue to highly recommend AppleCare. --Jim. -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
