Comments on: Ordering from Dell? Be prepared to wait… and wait… and wait

By: Scooter

Scooter — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:06:57 +0000

Ditto. Ordered a loaded, $2200+ Studio laptop on 1/10 thru an institutional account. Was originally due to ship 1/16….then 1/23…then 1/30…then 2/6. Starting to see a pattern? Spent more than an hour on the phone (including many “disconnections”) with no less than 15 different “customer service” people (from no doubt many different countries), all who were unable to give a specific explanation for the delay (all of whom I had to give my order # & customer # to after each transferred phone call – WTF?). Was finally put to a person who told me the T9400 processors are the big holdup. Would’ve been nice to know three weeks ago! Worst part is, after this last delay, we apparently didn’t contact them in time to continue the order, so they canceled it on 2/7. When speaking with their rep, she informed me she’d have to “rebuild” the order from scratch, even though the canceled order is still shown on their site (again, WTF?). So now having had the order canceled, I’ve now lost my place in the queue and my “new” ship date is 2/24…they claim they cannot alter my priority at this point. Wow. Just wow. HP, here I come. Are you listening Dell? Maybe you should consider hiring back some of those 4000+ people you laid off.

By: jr.ewing.78

jr.ewing.78 — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:30:25 +0000

Oh, man…. I ordered a Mini 12 over the weekend and did a Google search just now (to see if they were underpromising on the delivery date of Feb 16) and came across this post. Now I am uber disappointed that I didn’t just buy something else. I would have bought a refurb (which I know from past experience ships quickly) but I put this on my small business account since this is for my company and the outlet won’t take small business credit. GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Now I am all disappointed.

By: Mr. Chuck

Mr. Chuck — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:02:11 +0000

I purchased a Dell Vostro 1510 on 1/16/2009. After a week, the system was still listed as “In production” and an estimated ship date of 2/4. I called (India) and got an update. Was told they were waiting on parts, but they would be in soon and shipping was upgraded to next day at no charge.

Well on 2/4 I get an email from Dell telling me that now my estimated ship date is 2/16. A month later than when I ordered. Furious at this point, I call (India) again and after 3 or 4 transfers, I finally get someone her ein the states to give me the real scoop. According to this guy, the hold up is the processor. He said the 1510 and 2510 models used the same processors and that they were seriously backordered. I offered to get an upgraded processor and he said that wouldnt’ make a difference. He said they were all backordered.

So now is is going to be a month at least before my system ships. WTF Dell?

With the economy the way it is, I would think they would be kissing my ass to get an order. Guess Dell doesn’t need the business. Maybe I should cancel and buy a HP or Gateway.

By: P. Chu

P. Chu — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:27:34 +0000

I ordered a mini 9 on Dec 8. It has been delayed 4-5 times; I can’t even keep track. The new ship date is supposedly tomorrow, Feb 3, but I’m betting that at 9am, I get that email from Dell with a new date and no apology. I am close to canceling the order and just getting something else, though I did a bunch of research and wanted the Mini. 4 of the little trips it would have been nice to have it for are now over. Funny–for everything else but this, I’m a Mac person.

By: sexysofie

sexysofie — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:41:32 +0000

i ain’t not never gonna buy a puter wid a mikrosuft windoze operatin’ system ever agin, nor am i gonna buy one frum a company that recommends it.
get with the GNU/Linux program, manufacturers, if’n y’all ever wanna see any money frum me.

By: Walls

Walls — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:39:12 +0000

I ordered two Dell Latitudes which took two months to arrive, along with numerous incorrect orders and poor customer service.

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:19:14 +0000

We’ve used Dell PCs and laptops for the past six years for our company and we’ve typically had good luck with them. They’ve been delivered on schedule and we’ve only had a few problems, all of which were fixed quickly. (The next-day onsite service warranty is something we add to every order.) But, we go through Dell’s Premier site for large businesses, which probably makes a difference in the delivery timeframe for new orders. We also haven’t ordered any of their netbooks yet, so I’m not sure if the turnaround time for a netbook would be just as bad for us as what you described in your post.

I like my Dell Latitude D620 notebook and it has lasted through three years (and endured some overseas travel along the way), but the newer Dell notebooks (Latitude E series and XPS) have not received the glowing reviews their predecessors received, and the prices on some of them are not as good as what we’d pay for the same configurations elsewhere. So instead of going with Dell for my new laptop, I ended up ordering a custom-configured Sony VAIO VGN-FW on Monday after spending about a month researching various brands and reading reviews. The estimated delivery date was slated for February 3rd. The laptop was shipped yesterday and the tracking info indicates it will be delivered on February 2nd, so I’m pleased with their turnaround time. Hopefully I’ll never have to make use of their “express ship” warranty service.

By: Wayne

Wayne — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:41:24 +0000

Looking forward to the post on CDW.
Gave them a thumbs down on SU.
Man, I love this site!

By: Wayne

Wayne — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:34:50 +0000

I lived through DELLHELL!
I’ll not do it again.

I actually ENJOY using the custom built machine I have now. It wasn’t at all expensive. I got exactly what I wanted.

Most people say extended warranties aren’t worth the price. If you still decide to opt for a dell, do yourself a favor and go with at least a two yr. war.
By then you’ll probably’ve figured out you screwed up
and started saving for a diff. system.

By: Geeks are Sexy

Geeks are Sexy — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:01:47 +0000

Another one from CDW.. resolving yet again from the CDW domain..

Way to go guys. You just earned yourself a nice blog post. I’ll investigate more about this and post something later.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:59:39 +0000

I too made the switch from Dell to CDW years ago. Dull builds half ass machines with half assed parts.. but that’s what you get when you buy from a company who sells price over value. To top it off Dull will outsource your support calls to India.

By: Geeks are Sexy

Geeks are Sexy — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:56:19 +0000

Hey Everyone check out the Comments from John and Matt above.

John and Matt: You know what I really, REALLY hate? companies leaving FAKE BLOG COMMMENTS to endorse themselves.

Intersting facts about these 2 comments.

1- They come from the same IP address.
2- This IP address resolves to, guess what domain name? CDW.COM!

Bad move.