My expectations from a PC Manufacturer and an Open Letter to Dell

To whom it may concern:

I am a buyer of new technologies.
I talk to my friends about the new items I buy, and I am an early adopter.
I am your customer.

I only ask for a few things:
QUALITY
I expect a product that does what it claims. If the product does not live up to its claim, I expect it to be repaired or some solution/remedy found. I am your voice to other early adopters.

RESPECT
I expect to be treated properly and have my concerns addressed, when I call for support, assistance, or guidance. I do not wish to be treated as if I am inconveniencing your staff. I am your customer.

RESOLUTION
If I cannot get resolution to an issue, I expect to be given a suggestion of a next step. There is always something that can be done. If you cannot do anything, you will only lose a customer. I am your bottom line.

If you can do these three things, I will be your customer. If you fail one of these, I am forgiving... to a point.

______________________


Dear DELL(DELL.COM):
I have given you many chances to provide me with a working Mini 9 computer. You continue to delay, so now I no longer trust in your ability to ship me a working computer.

Because of this loss of trust, I have requested a refund of the original purchase price, to be told that it is not possible. I fully intend to return the non-working machine, but that is not sufficient. It IS possible for a company of your size to give a refund to a customer, but you have chosen not to provide that courtesy.

At this point, I, your customer, have been left out in the cold. I have no one that I can call for assistance. I have spoken to every possible person within your company that I could reach. I even asked if there was anyone else that I could talk to, and was told that there was no one else.

I was not provided technical support and each time my computer was returned to you for repair, it was returned to me in the exact same condition: NON-WORKING.

I was not provided customer support, but was made to feel that I was inconveniencing your staff. Support means that you help. I was not offered any help for my situation, only more delays.

To this point, I have not been given any satisfactory solution to my problem, and continue to wait for a computer that will evidently never come.

Your new customers are getting their machines faster than me. Placing a Dell Mini 9 in a shopping cart on your site shows that it will ship in 2-3 weeks. I have been waiting for over a month (10/27 - 12/2).

I now basically have been told by your company that I have no choice in the matter. I HAVE to be your customer, because I didn't ask for my refund before 21 days were up. I now have to sit back and wait for my machine, and just keep it, knowing that if it ever has another issue, I will have to go through this process AGAIN.

Thank you for forcing me to participate in the charade you call support. I appreciate that you stand behind your product so well, that no matter what a customer thinks of it, they are stuck with it... No alternative.

No recourse...

Remember:
I am your voice to other early adopters.
I am your customer.
I am your bottom line.

Well, at least I was your customer.

--Craig Collinson

Perhaps Dell Finance can help me out when no other division of this crappy company can!

Nope!
I got customer support to transfer me over to the Dell Finance division, and got a live person.

I walk them through the whole thing, and then see if there is a way to return the laptop through them, in a sense "disputing this transaction" because I do not have a working product and the manufacturer is not providing a satisfactory solution. Nope. It's Dell. They are one big happy family, and can't piss of their siblings!

So, here is the situation:
I ordered a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 on September 10, 2008.
It worked for about 2 weeks, and then would no longer boot.
Now, It's December 1, and I still have no laptop.
Dell will not provide me any satisfactory solution.
I am at a loss.

I have four co-workers that were thinking of buying Dell Mini Laptops.
One has since bought an MSI Wind, because of my experience with Dell.
Another is looking seriously at the HP Mini.
The last two are unsure what they will buy, but will not be buying a DELL Mini 9 or any Dell laptop.

So, if you come across this post and are researching a Dell Inspirion Mini 9, or any of the broad range of Dell laptops at Dell.com here is my suggestion:

When you buy a laptop, you also are buying the customer service, the technical support and the the people behind the product. From my experience, you would be better served by another company.

-Craig Collinson