broken, ; - Gizmodo

posts about #broken more →
My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
Sometimes We Unintentionally Endorse Bad Companies, Like MacPadd
Behold, the Unkillable Palm Pre
Next Xbox Live Update Breaks 'Unauthorized' Memory Cards
Price Drop! Amazon Selling PS3 Slim for Only $1,000,000!
Apple Aware of Snow Leopard User Account Bug
Are Apple Time Capsules Short Lived?
MacBook Pro Shocking the Crap Out of This Poor Reader
ThinkPad's $100 a Year Warranty Service is Actually Pretty Good
Insanity: Xbox 360 'Repaired' 3 Times, Returns Each Time With Red Ring

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

UnderLoK
11/13/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
I was living down in Lauderdale at the time and my Mom didn’t want to bother me with a computer problem she was having so she took the initiative to call customer service at Dell.

She couldn’t get on the internet, that was it, and while my Mom couldn’t convey exactly what had happened I found out when I came back up for a friends wedding. I went down to my Mom’s office at the house and on the desk I saw a Dell XP CD… I almost shit and asked her where it came from and she said that Dell said she needed it and charged her $40 for it. $40 for a cd that came with her computer… Ok well whatever, so I said "you didn’t put this in the computer did you?" and she went on to tell me that Dell had her put it in while the computer was off, turn it on, and go through some stuff. I freaking flipped out because I knew they just wiped out my Mom’s computer when the router was just flaked out.

I immediately called, was transferred to a manager and I let them have it. They credited her for the CD and offered to give her 2 more years of support for free. I’m sure you know what I told them to do with their support…

I had shown my Mom how to backup her stuff, she worked as a secretary (exec assistant I guess they call them now days) so she wasn’t a fool and for a long time she was great about backing up her stuff, but long story short she hadn’t in a very long time (and I wasn’t around to check up on it).

She told me she had a word doc with over 500 recipes in it that she had created herself (her own work not from cook books), I literally thought I was going to throw up. Luckily I was able to get piece a copy back together for her, but almost all of the other stuff was gone, no biggie that file was the only real important thing.

I couldn’t believe some MORON had my Mom (r.i.p.) format and reinstall her computer because it wouldn’t get on the forking internet… They got theirs we didn’t renew our lease with them at work because that was the last straw. I enjoyed that conversation with our sales rep.

After that my Mom wasn’t even upset. She was like "Oh it’s ok, I have it all on papers scattered around I’ll just re-enter it all", but her tone changed while I was trying to restore her stuff because she couldn’t find half of the papers. Oh and the best part? The idiots at Dell still didn’t get her internet working nor did they give her the drivers to load so her printer didn’t work, it was at 256 colors, and I forget what else. After doing all this with Dell she called me and didn’t tell me about all of this, I just talked her through getting the internet working (2 minute conversation) and I saw the aftermath when I came up shortly after.

Dell support is full of straight up morons, but that is what you get when you pay people minimum wage, even if they do know what they are doing, they don’t give a crap.
Reply

Edited by UnderLoK at 11/13/09 9:46 AM UnderLoK was starred UnderLoK was unstarred

infmom
11/13/09

@UnderLoK: "Not being able to get on the internet" is a problem for every freakin' tech support person one might have to call.

Especially the low level drones who answer the phone at your ISP.

Me to Charter: Our internet connection is out.
Charter to me: How many little icons are in that bar at the bottom of your screen? They might be using too much memory.

I would not have believed that response if I hadn't heard it myself. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

infmom was starred infmom was unstarred

Odin
11/13/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
Bonuses by commission has a huge set of problems associated with it. It does give motivation to sell products and rewards the employee for it. Unfortunately it comes with the caveat that all the employee wants to do is get the customer to buy anything rather than give them the service they need. It's especially bad when you combine commission bonuses in with support staff. Rather than telling you what you actually need to do they're more likely to force you into buying something you don't actually need just so they can get a bit more money.

On the other hand if you don't get commissions you're more likely to be honest and up front with the customer. Often at the detriment of your employer though. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Odin was starred Odin was unstarred

valkilmerisawful
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
Sorry, only good luck for me... My left mouse button stopped working, so they sent someone to my house the next day that replaced it in 20 minutes. In and out. Synaptic's track pads still work terribly (e.g., wandering cursor syndrome, mostly when running flash). I agree with most that my next computer will not be a Dell, and I built my desktop, but for a laptop, they did just fine and I still like it a lot. Alternatively, my warranty is up, so I won't be dealing with Dell ever again. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

valkilmerisawful was starred valkilmerisawful was unstarred

Software_Goddess
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
I’ve been telling my friends for years that Dell is for beginners. No one that knows better would ever buy one. If you start off with one, your second computer will be ANYTHING but a Dell. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Software_Goddess was starred Software_Goddess was unstarred

Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
11/12/09

@Software_Goddess: Welllllll...

If one thing is for sure, they sure have made their way into overcrowded server rooms and cubicles around the world. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Software_Goddess
11/12/09

@Shamoononon: I wax my xxx.: Oh Sham, I feel so sorry for you. At least you are not the one that has to fix them when they get sick. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Software_Goddess was starred Software_Goddess was unstarred

Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
11/12/09

@Software_Goddess: Yeah, I was a little hurt there for a minute. I have two of them in my cubicle alone and we have a lot of Dell servers.

But heck, I don't own them. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

DH405
11/12/09

@Software_Goddess: I have a few pieces of Dell hardware. Had a Dell laptop for years and never had a problem. My clients very often have Dell hardware. I'd say that, in my experience, their failure rate is impressive. Why are you hating on Dell so much? Want to follow the In crowd? #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Software_Goddess promoted this comment DH405 was starred DH405 was unstarred

Software_Goddess
11/12/09

@DH405: I’m not a follower, I’m a leader. I’m also a Technician and I’ve seen the little buggers inside and out. I don’t recommend them to any of my clients, though like you, I have many clients who do own them. They are inferior and their customer service is a joke. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Software_Goddess was starred Software_Goddess was unstarred

DH405
11/13/09

@Software_Goddess: Once again another Dell-bash post... with NO facts or data. I've seen them inside and out as well, and I've had no problems with them. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

DH405 was starred DH405 was unstarred

nutbastard
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
ouch, you get the one-two punch on BB and Giz when you piss off the BLam fam. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

nutbastard was starred nutbastard was unstarred

Nick
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
if Brian Lam's GF can't get good service then what hope do the rest of us have?
ps
you didn't just have an extra battery lyin' about? #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Nick was starred Nick was unstarred

weatherman
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
It was a boring story when I saw it on BB this morning, and it's a boring story again here. It's too bad that poor Lisa didn't get the white glove treatment and that the customer support rep she talked to first, who was trying to be helpful, didn't have the right answer, but I hardly think it's worth making a fuss over. This is yet another example of a blog (two in this case) making a big issue out of a personal issue, which does not constitute news, does not shed light on a pattern or practice, and does not even bother to entertain. And it's an example of how sites like boingboing and gizmodo can go from being good blogs to becoming bad personal diaries. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

weatherman was starred weatherman was unstarred

wheatieboy
11/12/09

@weatherman: Are you kidding? Two hours on Customer "Service", with no resolution and I'd be screaming from the rooftops. Why is this any less important than the guy with Red Ring of Death issues on his Xbox360? His issues were reported here.

Quit yer whingeing. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

weatherman promoted this comment wheatieboy was starred wheatieboy was unstarred

Student.Driver
11/12/09

@weatherman: Amen. This will now show up in all kinds of search responses, and nobody will read all the good responses, like how I got both sticks of RAM overnighted for a BSOD issue. Whatever. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

weatherman promoted this comment Student.Driver was starred Student.Driver was unstarred

max11221
11/12/09

@wheatieboy: Not exactly sure what exact "resolution" was expected. A product was PURCHASED with a particular configuration. So the purchaser wants to CHANGE the configuration and people try to help but they couldn't. Purchaser keeps COMPLAINING for two hours about something I doubt many if ANY companies would do.

So they were supposed to open up the package...take out the 6 cell and then put in a 3 cell? What would they do with the 6 cell now? Put it in the 3 cell box and sell it to someone else??? Open box it?

Sorry non-issue...someone purchased a product at a NON CUSTOM price and apparently wanted to "customize" it.

Sorry companies just don't open up boxes and switch parts out...nor should they expect to.

Oh and I hate DELL....but this is not even 1% their problem. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

weatherman promoted this comment max11221 was starred max11221 was unstarred

cgchandra3001
11/13/09

@weatherman: well said.
Reply

weatherman approved this comment cgchandra3001 was starred cgchandra3001 was unstarred

weatherman
11/13/09

@wheatieboy: I'm not the one whingeing [sic]. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

weatherman was starred weatherman was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
It doesn't often pay to be an extremely pushy demanding asshole to get what you want, but in the case of Dell, I've decided to make an exception. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred

EBone
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
I laughed when you twittered her progress in real-time a few days ago. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

EBone was starred EBone was unstarred

Xeno
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
For normal stuff my experiences with Dell are great. On the other hand when I got my Dell media server with 2 CC tuners getting support for that setup was insanely horrible. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Xeno was starred Xeno was unstarred

PN - gooapplesoft
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
well i've always had amazing things to say about apple care. The beauty of apple car is that if they dont give you what you want, a quick "can i talk to your consumer relations department" always does the trick.
One time my monitor broke because my cellphone hit it. Sent my laptop in. The decline repair but also scratched it. I called consumer relations, they told me that they would replace the monitor (at the time 700 bux to repair) and redo the body.

Apple care is a good example of great customer service. If costumer service doesnt take care of it (rarely), the consumer relations department will. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

PN - gooapplesoft was starred

Lizard_King
11/12/09

@PN - gooapplesoft: I've NOT had good luck with Applecare. I have a year and a half old Macbook with perfectly good Applecare, but I have to carry around a bunch of documentation to show the Applecare is valid because of an error on their end. Everytime I have a warranty issue, I have to pull the paperwork to show warranty is good.

The optical drive won't finialize a write, sometimes won't read and makes eject noises every hour and a half or so. The top is cracked, and the hinges are loose, yet no love from Apple. Of course, I can always upgrade.... I have another appointment on Sunday. uhhhg. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

Lizard_King was starred Lizard_King was unstarred

OMG! Ponies!
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
Sorry about the self-promotion, but here are my collection of good and bad customer support stories.

[www.omg-ponies.com]

And both Apple and Microsoft can be good or bad - depending on sunspot activity. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

OMG! Ponies! was starred OMG! Ponies! was unstarred

HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
Thank you for perfectly expressing why I will never buy from Dell again. Or from Acer.

Lenovo FTW. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

xperiate
11/12/09

@HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.: er...until Lenovo screws up one support call from you? #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment xperiate was starred xperiate was unstarred

HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.
11/12/09

@xperiate: Which they have yet to do, despite me having about 300 Lenovos at my command and, thus, having to call them on a semi-frequent basis.

Not to mention, every time I call them, I end up talking to somebody in Atlanta who can speak English.
Reply

Edited by HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H. at 11/12/09 7:13 PM

kosai
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
My laptop cable stopped working on my Dell a few months ago so I called in and after a quick check through their online system to verify it was the cable not my battery, they immediately shipped me a new cable which I received in 2 days, call took about 30 minutes. But I have had really bad experiences with them as well it seems to be really hit or miss. #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

kosai was starred kosai was unstarred

ripfire
11/12/09

In reply to My Girlfriend's Call to Dell: 90 Minutes, 10 Customer Service Reps, Nothing Accomplished
You wanna know what's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong.

It's BLam listening to his girlfriend talking to a Dell customer for 90 min when he knew the answer to her question all along.

.

;) #dellcustomerservicesucks
Reply

ripfire was starred ripfire was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion