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Previous: Subway's digital billboard | Main | Next: Old Navy sign
September 9, 2004 12:21 AM
Broken: Dell ordering
Steve Hoffman writes:
Ordering from Dell is broken. Here's a recent conversation:
Me (on the phone with Dell Computer): I want to order a Dimension 2400 system I see on your website, but I can't figure out how much it will cost without a monitor.
Dell Phone Woman (DPW): One second, sir, let me look that up for you...Oh, first I need to set up a customer account.
Me: Just to get a price?
DPW: Yes sir. Can I have your name? (I answer) Address? (I answer). Thank you. Let me look up that info for you...
Me: (sigh)
DPW: Oh, here it is. That would come to $840.
Me: The Dimension 2400?
DPW: Yes.
Me: Without the monitor?
DPW: Yes.
Me: But here on your website, it costs $449, WITH the monitor.
DPW: That's right, sir.
Me: So, you are going to charge me twice as much to not send me the monitor?
DPW: Yes, sir.
Me: Doesn't that sound just a little goofy to you?
DPW: Yes, sir, but that's the way it is.
Me: (as I hang up the phone, hysterically laughing...) Thanks.
So, not only did I waste my time in some Fellini like zone where less stuff costs more, I'll probably wind up getting Dell catalogs for the rest of my living years since they got my name and address. Off to the Apple Store.....
[P.S. Speaking of which, the New York Times review of the new Apple iMac. -mh 9/16/04]
> Off to the Apple Store.....
Me: "I'd like to get one of your new computers."
Apple: "That will be $1299 for the 1.6 Ghz iMac G5 with a 17" LCD screen."
Me: "Hmm.. kinda expensive... How much is it without the LCD screen?"
:)
This is the nature of the beast. Dell phone sales are graded not only on their sales, but how quickly they can close. I've heard stories where if a phone sales rep goofs up, they sometimes feel the damage has been done, and it's better to just hit the eject button then to fix the goof. I think you got a bad salesperson. It happens.
I encourage you to configure your system as you like, call back and tell them to do a "cart takeover." You should fare better.
I called them once to order a part. My brother in law has two exactly the same computers. He had replaced one part on one and still had the box. The other one went out and he had me call them. After spending over an hour giving them information and every number on the computer they refused to give me the price. Seems one of the computers had been listed stolen. It was, then recovered. So they refused ot give me any information. I told them I just wanted a part.
I finally said screw it and my BIL had a friend in Canada order it there, after a lot of hassle also. But he stuck to the part number only and no more information. They finally agreed to sell it to him, but seemed insulted they could not get the information.
I have an HP and will never ever buy a DELL after that one call.
I guess it was only a matter of time until the fast paced world of slick marketing, bundled discounts, and instant rebates overcame the laws of gravity, physics and logical reason. If you ever want some cheap entertainment, check out the combo deals at your local fast food chain. I recently visited a local coffee shop to purchase a sandwich and a coffee. To purchase these individually, it would have cost me around $6.30. If I ordered a combo deal I could get a sandwich, coffee, and doughnut for $5.75. I explained to the counter person that I didn’t want the doughnut but politely requested the combo price. The counter person looked at me shocked and confused and informed me the only way I could get the combo price was if I took the doughnut. I explained once again that I didn’t want the doughnut and that it made no sense to force me to take a doughnut I didn’t want to charge me less for a sandwich and coffee. At this point the counter person became rather irate with me and stated that “either you take a doughnut with your sandwich and coffee or you don’t get the combo price.” Not wanting to leave without my sandwich and coffee, I ordered the combo and saved the 55 cents in change. Upon leaving the shop the counter person shouted after me, “Sir, you forgot your doughnut”, to which I responded “since it’s my doughnut, I give you permission to do with it what you please.” I thought that I was going to catch a doughnut in head after the frosty look I received but managed to duck out before the dough began to fly. I know it may sound odd to have gone through that ordeal not to have a doughnut but I found the principle of the entire situation too amusing to pass up on.
For an entertaining story about one man's efforts to prevent having to pay more to get less, point your browser to this column by writer Mark Evanier, as he relates the tale of trying to buy a mushroom pizza when the "special" is pepperoni and mushroom:
Ordering from Dell Europe could be torture. I've placed orders on their Web site and received an acknowledgment, and they've either never made it onto their order processing system or been cancelled inexplicably by Dell without telling me. Now I spec the system I want on the Dell site, send the spec to a reseller, give them the hassle of dealing with Dell and usually get a better price as well.
One I remember reading about: A woman in a restaurant. I forget what she wanted but it was all but the eggs of a special. The waitress warned her that she would have to charge more because of no eggs. The woman was practical, she took the special. How do you want your eggs? Raw and in the shell. She took them home.
Selling bundled products for less than the sum of its parts is a common occurence. If a bundle is already packaged and ready to go, it costs time (i.e. money) to customize it.
Let's say you need to buy two T-shirts. A package of three T-shirts costs $8, and individual T-shirts cost $5 each. Would you take two individual T-shirts to the cashier and demand to purchase them for $8? Just buy the bundle, and take the extra shirt/monitor/donut and donate it to someone, or sell it.
>>the point is, would a package of 2 shirts cost more than a package of 3?>>
Yes. That's the whole point of having a special. It gives you incentive to get 3 shirts instead of one, knowing you're getting the third for less then half price. I know it works for me.
If it didn't work, they wouldn't do it. Obviously it makes profits.
In dealing with Dell, I am writing from a Dell notebook, and two others Dells are in the house. I've never order over the phone, but rather ordered on-line. Our on-line experience with them has been good - no errors, and plenty of confirmations. Support over the phone is very satisfactory, but I assume that is only if you call within the support warrenty...
I had the exact same thing with Orange. It would cost £40 to upgrade my phone or I could cancel the contract and get it for free with a new contract.
..Correction .. from my other comment. A few days after posting that my laptop went down after complications with Windows Service Pack 2, AND Dell's (and Microsoft's) suggested 'safe' way to unistall it. ..I might add that most of the Dell support tech's have, at times, heavy accents, which makes me even happier..... but overall I still like Dell - since there's always at least one tech who can actually Help you. :)
In response to ilan, the point is bundling packages that cost less than the package minus one significant item.
In the case of your shirts, you would be paying $5 for the first one, $5 for the second one, and THEY WOULD BE PAYING YOU $2 for the last one.
The Dell situation is ludicrous and inconceivable, considering the fact that I've seen ads for Dell showing prices without the monitor and such.
The situation with the doughnut is a health conscious issue. If the sandwich and coffee cost $6.30, and the combo costs $5.75 with a doughnut, they get offended if you don't take it. If they argue, walk over right in front of them and throw it in the trash.
Most food combos don't save you more than the cost of any one item, anyway. But, anyway, that's my two cents.
Mike
My son has a Dell system with a Dell printer. Dell only sells ink cartriges for the printer they are not sold at Staples, Office Depot, etc.
Dell ships these cartriges via Airborne Express which will not deliver to my rural area. I ordered carts. three times asking that they be sent UPS. The last order was for over $180 for ink and paper. Each time they were sent Airborne and I never recieved them. Then I had to fight with Dell to cancel the charges.
The printer is useless without ink. I have written and emailed and filled out complaint forms on line and still have no ink. Anybody want an ugly oversize paperweight?
Never ever buy Dell.
I ordered my Desktop bundled,via the web. I received 4 separate shipments. I called and complained, as I was receiving bills for items I hadn't received. The monitor was "lost" in the mail, and it took about 3 months for them to credit my account.
In addition, the computer was supposed to have Word on it. They put Word Perfect 10 on it instead. It's taken me 2 years to learn all the nuances of Word Perfect.
If you call customer service, you are connected to India. This is true! However, I never had difficulty understanding them, because I went to a university that had many different cultures, so I adapted. ( Plus, I love their melodic voices.)
If you are ever billed eroneously, you're screwed.
They will sent it to a collection agency, even if you've given them proof that you cancelled the item and/or never received it. I even had names, letters, and dates from Dell credit indicating the matter was settled, and still the bill collectors called! This was for a $53 wireless hub, that I canceled before it was shipped!
Someone Google "Dell " and watch the number of hits go into the millions.
------------------------------------------------
Their reputation is bad because they are in dire need of their own computer services. They probably run their website on good servers and keep their database on WANG 80186 terminals. Steer clear of Dell (for the above reasons), HP (because I know, from experience, that their cases can permantly scar you) and Windows. The best way to get a good PC is to build one yourself with parts purchased online or at computer shows. Load it with Red Hat Linux and GO!
Update to previous comment. I'm writing this on a homebuilt PC that has better specs than the Dimension 2400 and cost me $100 and 30 minutes to build. Ha Ha Ha Ha...
Have just read all the negative info about Dell and its poor aftersales support. I have this week taken delivery of my first Dell product. (Ordered via their UK website) When my new monitor arrived on the date promised by the online 'order tracker' system, I was about to post some positive feedback. But what's this? On opening the box, the beautiful black 20" monitor I had seen in the brochure/advert/website has strangely metamorphised into a shiny silver one! Furthermore, it has a very slight 'blemish' on the display area, not dead pixels but a very small grey discolouration behind the screen surface. Will I be telephoning Dell to report this? No! I may just go and by an aerosol tin of of matt black spray paint! As for the blemish on the screen? My daughter tells me to find something more important to worry about!
Have just read all the negative info about Dell and its poor aftersales support. I have this week taken delivery of my first Dell product. (Ordered via their UK website) When my new monitor arrived on the date promised by the online 'order tracker' system, I was about to post some positive feedback. But what's this? On opening the box, the beautiful black 20" monitor I had seen in the brochure/advert/website has strangely metamorphised into a shiny silver one! Furthermore, it has a very slight 'blemish' on the display area, not dead pixels but a very small grey discolouration behind the screen surface. Will I be telephoning Dell to report this? No! I may just go and by an aerosol tin of of matt black spray paint! As for the blemish on the screen? My daughter tells me to find something more important to worry about!
Broken is not the word!!!
I tried to order a digital camera from Dell. I placed the order. Everything seemed to be fine. My credit card was charged as expected. Then Dell credit card services got involved and things went downhill from there.
The order was cancelled and the Dell rep assigned to my order would not return my calls.
This is not the Dell I'm used to dealing with.
Based on this experience, Dell has become just 'another big, bureaucratic company'.
This doesn't bode well for it's future. If you own Dell stock , I recommend selling.
I was shopping for a laptop last year, around November. I'd been getting Dell catalogs for several months and due to an abysmal past experience with Hewlett-Packard, I thought I'd try a Dell. I called the order line, to inquire about various models and someone named Dave answered. I said that I was shopping for a laptop, but I was'nt going to buy it today. The line went dead! He'd hung up on me!! Well, so much for buying Dell. If they don't have time to sell you the product, I know they will not service it after the sale. Fie on Dell!
Comments on this entry are closed
Previous: Subway's digital billboard | Main | Next: Old Navy sign
They've gotten a little too big I think. When I wanted to order 50 workstations the catalog price doubled when I wanted systems with no floppy drive or CD-ROM. And they refused to not load Norton Anti-Virus, AOL trial, etc.
Of course, I'm writing this on a Dell laptop.
For workstations I use my local white-box builder. They build exactly to my specifications.
Posted by: T. Bradley Dean at September 9, 2004 02:32 AM