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Easy to Buy, Easy to Own, Easy as . . . Not!10/08/03
I am here to tell you from personal experience it can be painful. Very painful. And I now know many of you have undergone something along the lines I am about to relate. (This is but an abbreviated version of what I experienced.) Steep price declines and amazing technological advances, coupled with more demanding business requirements, convinced me in July to upgrade to a new Dell Dimension desktop. Dell has the best sales and customer satisfaction rating--by far. I spent a few hours mulling this bell over that whistle and called. Their call center was overseas, and the first person I spoke with could not pronounce my name or spell it correctly after several attempts. Not a good sign for someone taking phone orders. I asked for another representative. Everything went smoothly. I tried to pay with my credit card, but she talked me into the “90 days same a cash” deal. “I have several important graphic publishing jobs and need this system, with the internal zip drive, without delay,” I said. “Does this 90-day deal delay anything?” “No, Mr. Savas, your system will be on your doorstep in nine days.” And then the nightmare began. Ten days later and no system. I checked the order status online: CANCELED. After a lengthy wait on the phone, three transfers, and one disconnect, someone figured out the sales representative had not linked my financial information to the order. Everyone makes mistakes. “Ok, I still want the same system for the same price.” The sales rep confirmed the order line by line and told me he would expedite it. On a painful hunch I checked the status two days later: CANCELED. I bit my lip. Hard. I went through the same drill (call, wait, transfer, disconnect, call, wait.). The new sales rep could not explain the second cancellation. “I just want to buy a computer!” I said through clenched teeth, trying to keep cool. She took the order a third time, and confirmed every part and option. The system finally arrived. I know enough about mail order to carefully read the packing slip before opening the box. I read it and winced: no internal zip drive was listed. By now even you know the drill: call, wait, transfer, disconnect, call, wait. The new sales rep told me the zip drive was on back order. “Are you sure?” I was more than a bit skeptical. “I can’t transfer data from my current system without it, and I need it for several jobs that are backing up!” “Your zip will ship in two weeks or less. I am sorry for the delay.” A Stephen King-like nightmare rash of automated phone messages deluged my house. I was afraid to answer my own phone. Each computerized call told me the zip drive was delayed. If I did not call and confirm within 24 hours whether I wanted it, it would be AUTOMATICALLY CANCELED. I called. Over and over. I even e-mailed. It was still canceled--twice. When it finally arrived a month later I felt like a kid at Christmas. I popped off the front panel--and it did not fit my computer! By this time even my wife screamed. Same drill (call, wait, transfer, etc.). “Mr. Savas,” said yet a new sales rep, “I am very sorry, but the system you ordered does not support an internal zip drive.” Enough was enough. “You can have the whole darn thing back and I am taking my business elsewhere!” She asked about, and I related, the entire story for the umpteenth time. “What is Dell going to do for inflicting your ‘world class purchasing experience’ on me?” I asked. She squirmed. I held firm. She hemmed. I hawed. She offered a feeble rebate. I laughed and mentioned a competitor’s name. That got her attention. She finally made it right with a FREE Epson printer/scanner, a FREE 250MB external zip drive, and a large rebate. This company has the highest customer satisfaction rating. What must it be like shopping with the others?
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