[Wskopar]

I know my membership suggest I am new to the forum, and that I have asked a bunch of OS questions, however I have been a long time user for the Dell Mini 9, and was a regular here for a while, around the mini 9 hype under the alias of "Komplex" with around 300 odd posts.

So my Dell has worked for me without a beat, or any issues, it proved its worth when I flew off to Malta, and France. However recently the hard drive has crashed.

It had to happen 2 weeks after my warranty, so I rang up Dell Australia customer services. I didn't really feel bothered about this, as my Father's business has dealt with Dell UK for 10 years without any issues with customer service.

So I had a chat, and the call took 50 F**king minutes!! First they fart-arsed about where I got it from, and tried to get me to recover the hard drive, which I followed through, already I had already attempted this.

They then kind of realized after me reverberating myself that it was kaput. so then they looked at the warranty, and informed me they can't do anything, without me renewing the warranty for a year. It would cost me $700 FOR A YEAR!! The new Dell Mini 10 costs $550, and comes with Windows 7, why the frack would I do that?

So I ripped into them saying "why the **** should I pay $700 to get a faulty hard drive fixed? Is Dell not proud enough to back up its products for more then a year? Is Dell implying that this product is suppose to last only a year? Is Dell not confident in their products? I can get a mini 10 for $550, Tell me the logic in why I should pay $700, why don't you ask me to bend over instead?"

Of course this was 7.30am and I hadn't had my coffee, which means I woke up in a bad mood to begin with. So after a while, he talked to his supervisor, I had the joy of listening to Jazz music over the phone, more often then his voice.

So they said they'd send me a new hard drive. okay that's not sooo bad I guess, considering they're no wholesalers in Australia for Runcore. So he then pressed about the XP cd, and if I had an optical drive. well Dell never provided me an XP cd, and I only have a legitimate vista, and mandria powerpack. Then the Dell technician, suggested probably one of the most unprofessional things I could think of, which set me off again asking about if I could ask some friends to borrow their XP.

Most of the people I know have OS X, so I stated that fact and then said that for Dell's delinquency they should send me a copy instead, which he replied about they don't sell them any more, and all XP's they have are for customer support. (well yeah im aware XP is no longer on sale) so I a rebuttal suggesting they send me a free Windows 7, to which he put me on hold.

I know it was cocky, but I wasn't in a good mood, I had a Studio photo shoot on Thursday and Friday night which was a total of $2,300, I usually use my H20 digital back and tether it to the mini 9, since the mini 9 is compact and light. Those days I borrowed my friends Macbook pro.

So His supervisor wasn't going to give the windows 7 for free, but they'd sell it to me for $220. To which I said no, and I pushed for it, stating that their delinquency and lack of confidence backing this product nearly cost me 1000's of $$. I also suggested that sending a free windows 7 is only minor collateral for good customer relations, My father's business has heavily invested in Dell, do they not what to deal with his company again?

So after all the fuss and troubles, they're sending a technician down to install XP and put in a new hard drive, that's what we came to be complacent with, well on their behalf, I was nearly about to lose it... and my mom wanted to see the manager because I had been on for soo long.

If this Dell gets repaired I won't be buying form them again, In fact Im going to get a macbook Air. Some of you may disagree with my arguments, but from the looks of things Dell was out to rape me in every possible way. I said what I thought was necessary to get the customer service I deserved.

I have never had customer service issues this bad. Even Nikon who charge a bomb for their products fixed my D200 for free 4 years after the warranty had expired. That's good customer relations...

Regards,
Wolfe Skopar.

[w7ox]

My view is that customer service is better when you make nice with them. This "So I ripped into them saying "why the **** should I pay $700 to get a faulty hard drive fixed?" and some of your other comments suggest you may have not played their game (and it is their game) very well.

Phil

[Primadog]

So wait... Your warranty expired, you yelled the crap out of every CS you came across, even the tech that came personally to you (and in Australia too), yet Dell fixed everything for free. Then you go ahead and come online to complain about the whole experience?

I am all for better service, which Dell is not known for. For this instance, however, I think this time they have went out of their way and done a fine job, but that's just my opinion.

[reflex]

What a crybaby.

[rrfranczak3]

Personally I think that Dell is better off without you............

[thundertracks]

Well, At least they fixed it,when they weren't legally bound to do so. But I also know how exasperating dealing with Dell's Customer service can be. In the interest of customer relations after trying to fix your problem failed they should have volunteered to send you a new drive with XP loaded on it. They do try to run you around in circles in situations such as this,seems their goal is to wear you down and have you go away. But at least they fixed the problem, there are certainly many companies out there that would not give in.

[Wskopar]

Originally Posted by Primadog

So wait... Your warranty expired, you yelled the crap out of every CS you came across, even the tech that came personally to you (and in Australia too), yet Dell fixed everything for free. Then you go ahead and come online to complain about the whole experience?

I am all for better service, which Dell is not known for. For this instance, however, I think this time they have went out of their way and done a fine job, but that's just my opinion.

I am a very fair, and reasonable person, I dealt with one customer service operator, I did have 2 rants, but I was very firm with my ground. I understand that I didn't have anything to back me up with the warranty. However $700 is ridiculous. It's $400 here for 3 year apple warranty.

Also my work that I do is not as easy as it may seem, last week I was fortunate to get 2 photoshoots. The Phase one H20 has to be tethered to something, and the Dell was always great for being ultra-portability. These photoshoots were both big incomes for me. I get about 3-5 shoots a month. That barely covers my personal outgoings, and my studio in the CBD district.

Landing these deals takes patience and time, I have to sell myself to clients, after all why should they pay $800-1500 to hire me, when some new photogs will charge $500 for the opportunity and under sell themselves?

For something like the Hard drive to crash, is very frustrating. I myself deal with customers a lot. I am a very fastidious, and pragmatic person, so to me, I take great care, and attention to my clients, and I get fantastic customer feedback. you can interpret this situation however you want, but I wasn't impressed with Dell's response, and the way they treated their customers.

To me they showed how unprofessional they can be, they were reluctant and resilient in every step of the way. I really had to stand my ground to get anywhere. I can understand it being frustrating to both parties. Right now I think Im just very frustrated with the whole issue, and that I might have some piece of mind once it is all sorted.

[bjd223]

The only thing that is weird is the cost of the warranty extension. Maybe it is so high because they can not source parts easily.

Or maybe the operator just didn't want you to buy it so he added an extra 0 on the end of the price just for you.

Anyway, how would you feel if your customer screamed at you for something you literally had nothing to do with. CSRs do not make, engineer, source, or have any input in the product's design, implementation, or distribution, so give them a break.
FYI, you can tell someone how upset you are in the product and with the service without screaming and cursing. I do think it is important to be firm and stick to what you think is right but Americans are notorious for this tactic (screaming to get what they want) and imho its stupid (I am an American btw).

[LibbyLA]

So instead of buying a replacement SSD, you pitch a fit? And you want Windows 7 for free, in addition to a free replacement SSD?

And your mother got involved?

Oh, my!

There's definitely some unprofessional behavior involved, but it appears to be all on your end. There are some customers that aren't worth having, and you sound like one of them. Dell will be better off if you do take your marbles elsewhere.

to bjd233: So why are you blaming this tirade on Americans? Wolfie doesn't write like any American I've ever been around....

[bjd223]

Originally Posted by LibbyLA

So instead of buying a replacement SSD, you pitch a fit? And you want Windows 7 for free, in addition to a free replacement SSD?

And your mother got involved?

Oh, my!

There's definitely some unprofessional behavior involved, but it appears to be all on your end. There are some customers that aren't worth having, and you sound like one of them. Dell will be better off if you do take your marbles elsewhere.

to bjd233: So why are you blaming this tirade on Americans? Wolfie doesn't write like any American I've ever been around....

I used to work in customer support at a pretty large company (we did International Support). And it just seemed to me that most people I spoke to in the USA seemed like they felt entitled. This is just my personal opinion, and has no scientific basis at all. I am an American myself btw.

I also have no idea what nationality the OP is, and further more do not think that this has anything to do with his story either.