I just sat on hold with Dell for 10 minutes...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

So I could talk to someone who barely knew English, or how to speak up so someone could hear him. And then he spoke to me like I was five. I'm sorry, but that pissed me off and seriously made me think twice about buying my laptop from them. Thoughts?
Duckie

[Reverend_Smitty]

1. Ahhhhh the joys of outsourcing

n/t

[Catholic Sensation]

2. get an apple

[YellowRubberDuckie]

3. WAAYYYY out of my price range, or I would in a heartbeat.

[DenverDem]

12. I think you are mistaken about the price differential.

Given the superior performance, iBooks are an incredible buy.
<http://www.apple.com/ibook/>

[YellowRubberDuckie]

16. The base models are higher than a totally tricked out laptop...

at Comp USA.
Duckie

[DenverDem]

17. The base models kick the ass of a totally tricked out wintel pos.

Performance.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

21. I need these specs:

at least 40 GB hard drive, 512mb ram, DVD/CD ROM Combo drive, built in 802.11g WLAN adapter. If you have suggestions, let me know.
Duckie

[DenverDem]

39. Apple I Book to your specs

$1,478.00


1GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache @ 1GHz
14-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
512MB DDR266 SDRAM
40GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
AirPort Extreme

<http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/72503/wo/Ms2HCHiMHoHa3LU63zVOJkQerdU/2.0.7.1.0.6.3>

[kikiek]

4. Are their techs still stateside?

[jean]

8. yes, are they? We will be buying two laptops by Labor Day and would

prefer to support the least out-sourced company out there.

[Maddy McCall]

45. Do not buy a laptop from Gateway.

If you need to know more, PM me and I'll share my experiences with you. Gateway laptops suck--unreliable--and tech support and customer service are evil.

Do not buy Gateway.

[jean]

46. thanks for the warning. Sorry for your bad experience!

[Don_G]

10. Only In The Mornings

If you call in the afternoon or evening, you get India instead of Texas.

[MajorFlaw]

7. Absolutely! Apple's tech support is very good and they speak

"American English."

[Catholic Sensation]

13. so the verbs are in the wrong tense and tend to follow the wrong pronoun?

:D

[Bamboose]

24. What are you trying to be saying about me?

I must telling you I do not appreciate your insinuminiations. I spoke English just fine always and did now too.

[Mikimouse]

5. You talk funny...you girl, ask man who know more than you...

you got computer thingy plugged in???? Silly girl, go ask man, he tell you! :evilgrin:

[Don_G]

6. I Hear Toshiba Is One Of The Best

Had I known that, I would have bought it instead of my Dell.

[Mizmoon]

9. Wait till you need tech support

That's when the real fun starts.

[Droopy]

11. I wouldn't hold the English thing against him

But I would the condescending attitude.

I say if you can get what you want elsewhere for the same price then go for it. If you decide you still want to buy from Dell and you get that kind of treatment again, ask to speak to a supervisor. Maybe that will clear things up.

[Pithlet]

14. I had problems with Dell

I had mine for less than a year, and every time I had to call about the myriad problems I had with it, it was always a hassle, just as you described. I finally gave up and bought an HP. It is now in the shop for a second time, after having it less than a year. What is it with laptop computers? :mad:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

15. Damn...should I just get a new Desktop?

Sounds like much less hassle.
Duckie

[Pithlet]

31. I think I've just had bad luck.

I prefer a laptop over a desktop computer, alhtough both have their advantages. I just wouldn't get a Dell or an HP. Good luck in your search.

[robnycny]

18. I had problems w/ Dell, too.

I'm running out the door - but words of advice from robnycny: go mac. I have a powerbook, but before the 2003 tax return I had an ibook (gave ibook to boyfriend because his computer, Dell, died).

If you call at the wrong time, Apple support wait times can be long... but, they are very good: patient, kind and know what they are talking about. I always seem to get guys in Ohio, so I don't know about outsourcing.

I've had my new mac since February - no problems at all. I love it more & more everyday.

The pricing on an ibook is close to an inexpensive PC laptop. And, there are so many amazing benefits to the mac -- most importantly limited viruses (as I understand, "they" just don't make the viruses for mac as they do for PC's). Plus, macs are just cool.

Um, is "viruses" a word? Is there a plural, like "viri" ? Me bad at american english

And good luck ! on your new purchase - I hope the shared dorm and all is good, too! (Saw earlier post while lurking.) :D

edit: dumb rushing typo

[TroubleMan]

19. What is your problem...maybe we can solve it here.

nt

[YellowRubberDuckie]

20. All I was doing was calling to ask a question before I bought.

Couldn't find the answer on line. So I call. Chaos ensued. Thanks though, for the offer.
Duckie

[galadrium]

22. I was on hold with dell for 70 minutes last night

Being transfered around to various departments... it sucked big time

[Bamboose]

23. I've had good luck with Dell thus far

but a friend of mine had the devil's own time with his latest Dell a few years back. That damn thing would not work no matter WHAT he did. He spent more time on the phone with them than I did, and tech support was my job - and he's a solo lawyer whose time is worth a bit more than sitting on the damn phone.

He finally got so exasperated, he wrote a scathing e-mail to Michael Dell's secretary, telling her he spent almost $2500 on that PC, and although he realized that $2500 is probably what Michael Dell wipes his ass with, it was kind of important to his business to HAVE HIS DAMN COMPUTER RUNNING.

Two days later, he got an e-mail from Michael Dell. A day after that, a PC arrived at his house, identical to the problem one (except for the minor detail that it actually worked).

[YellowRubberDuckie]

25. I remember you telling that story before.

But it was under a different name, apparently, but welcome to DU all the same. :hi:
Duckie

[Bamboose]

26. not that I recall . . .

although there's sometimes quite a bit I don't recall.

Thanks for the welcome! I'm still kinda new (duh, right?) and not entirely sure about protocol and etiquette and such. I'll try not to ruffle too many feathers, and apologize in advance for offending anyone (which, me being me, is liable to happen sooner or later)!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

27. No, it's just that I heard that story before...

Glad to have you on board.
Duckie

[Bamboose]

28. is that your pooch?

He's smiling for the camera! Love it!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

29. Oh I wish.

She's just some puppy I found on Google looking for a new pic for my sig line.
Duckie

[Bamboose]

30. I love dogs

And cats. Birds and fish, not so much as pets.

[Deja Q]

32. Well, Dell execs aren't telling them to treat you that way...

I got the same BS treatment from folks at CompuServe (owned by AOL).

Outsourcing is not a good way to maintain this country's infrastructure...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

33. This country's in the toilet.

Anywhere I get a computer from probably outsources.
Duckie

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

36. any local shops who build their own laptops?

you don't have to have a dell, compaq, or HP.

There are clones out there that are just as good.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

37. I'm going to look around.

Thanks for the suggestion.
Duckie

[VOX]

34. Dell is too busy with its BushCo contracts to deal with us "po' folk"...

http://www.corporateswine.net/dell.html
Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Computers, one of the largest personal computers distributors in the country, is a bigtime supporter of George Bush and the US military. Dell has shown his loyalty to Bush by steering his company in a direction to help the military with their warfighting endeavors. Bush, in turn, has handed out dozens of contracts to his Austin neighbor. Much of Dell's 35 Billion dollar business is supported by contracts from the DoD and America's largest defense contractors.

George W. Bush's laptop is a Dell PC. He has been known to call Michael on a regular basis with technical questions about his computer. Dell has been a Bush supporter since early on in his race for the White House...

<snip>

[YellowRubberDuckie]

35. Well, really not buying a Dell now...THANKS!

[Guy Fawkes]

38. mmmmm I told you so? get a Two Geeks computer

or ABS www.abspc.com

[KTM]

40. Only 10 minutes ?

Sheesh - thats GOOD. I've worked as as Network Admin for 8+ years.. spend more than an hour listening to "Radio Symantec" sometime.. or try calling Compaq for anything... its especially fun the second (and third) time after they send you the wrong part. Get on hold with ANY of the big boys... 10 minutes is NOTHING.

That said, I hafta tell you - I've worked with just about every name-brand PC, and oodles of knock offs. I've built, literally, thousands of computers. I've supported, both in corporate and as a consultant, Gateway, HP, Compaq, IBM, Toshiba, Sony, eMachines, Dells, and just about every type of home-built PC under the sun. I've dealt with countless hardware vendors, both in person, on the phone, via email, and over the web. Hands down, without hesitation, regardless of the founder's politics, I'd recommend a Dell all day, every day.

Unless you are a geek, into tweaking and specializing, gaming and modding, buy the Dell. For the average Joe-Blow "I want a reliable, rock-solid, always works, easy support, good warranty" consumer, Dell wins without a challenge.

Want a Mac ? Buy one. Want a Windows-based PC ? Buy the Dell.

[Maestro]

41. Here is another relatively inexpensive place

to buy a kick ass pc. www.monarchcomputer.com. Or you can go to www.newegg.com and put together the exact components you want one by one , have them shipped to you and you put it together or pay someone else to do it; either way you are still coming out better than going with Dell, Gateway or any other huge mail order type business.

[KTM]

42. Until its time to upgrade, or repair...

And you are on your own, scouring Taiwanese websites for an updated BIOS that isnt there... go ahead, call MSI, or FIC, or ABIT... and good luck when your video driver on that off-brand nVidia chipset video card gives odd errors on one program... do use Gainway's driver ? nVidias ? Which revision ? How much time do you have to scour web forums trying to find the few other folks out there who have your same bizarrre problem ?

Yes, some of us have the skills and patience for this.. some of us demented types even ENJOY it.. (and get paid well for it at that) but the average PC user - especially one who gets fed up after 10 minutes - is going to loathe that PC in a year or two. I agree you or I can build a kick-ass system if we want to - but would tell your Mom to ? Your mother-in-law ? How many PCs do you want to support for free ? :-)

Of course, the vast majority of computer problems are caused by software and poorly-informed users... thus the difficulty many people have when calling the vendor for support. Dell did not sell you a PC infected with spyware... they did not pre-load Kazaa... they did not say "OK" when prompted to install Gator and Comet Cursor...

[Wapsie B]

43. One link:

www.newegg.com

Build it yourself and tell Dell to stick it.

[Maddy McCall]

44. ADVICE: DO NOT BUY A LAPTOP FROM GATEWAY

I have had mine a year and a half. It's been in for repairs FIVE times. I have the extended warranty--you would not believe the hell I have to go through to get it shipped in for repair.

Gateway's latest excuse for anything wrong with a PC is "you have some spyware that's causing the problem. Here's our fee-based 800 number to resolve the problem."

Five years ago, I told everyone I knew to buy Gateway. Good PC, good service, good tech advice. Today, I tell everyone I know to stay away from Gateway. PCs suck, customer service sucks, and techs don't know as much about fundamental computer problems as I do.

Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A PC FROM GATEWAY. Over the last four or five years, all aspects of Gateway have gone south. I have purchased three computers from Gateway in the past seven years. I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER ONE from them.

[Placebo]

47. BUY A MAC.

Once you go Mac, you never go back.

Absolutely beautiful on the outside, simple, clean OS that never crashes, and "getting a virus" becomes a thing of the past! Also, they are damn reliable, you can keep them for years. And all their technical support is in the U.S., you'll never talk to a foreigner for tech help.

[Swamp Rat]

48. I agree! I love Panther/UNIX!!!

A Mac is also much cheaper in the long run.

[REP]

49. Get A Mac

They look great and perform even better. American tech support, American programmers, and Al Gore's on the board!