Dell's Money Wasting Policies

[Jason Dunn]

<p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1220290101.usr1.jpg" /></p><p>Sometimes I'm amazed at how much money big companies can waste. Case in point: a couple of weeks ago, I returned my Dell Studio Hybrid because it was defective. It kept beeping three times when I booted it up, which is apparently a sign of a chipset failure of some sort. It also crashed Windows Vista with a blue screen of death whenever I tried to boot directly off the HDMI port. These two things together made me return the unit to Dell for a refund under their 30 day customer service policy. Sure, I could have gotten it repaired/replaced, but I took the opportunity to upgrade: I re-ordered a Studio Hybrid, same colour, hard drive space, and RAM, but I upgraded the CPU from 1.86 Ghz to 2.5 Ghz. I also added on the 802.11n mini-card, just in case I plan to use it in the future in a location where I don't have wired Ethernet. <MORE /></p><p>These changes, mostly the CPU, resulted in this new Studio Hybrid costing me $1129. That's a fair jump up from the $700 configuration I first had, but I believe that much faster CPU will give me the performance boost I'm looking for in Media Center (that, and turning off Aero Glass). This new Studio Hybrid shipped a few days ago, and I'm expecting it around September the 8th. This past Saturday I was checking on the status of my order, to see if the courier tracking number would show me anything new, and I saw that Dell was having a Labour Day weekend sale. Sure enough, when I checked the Studio Hybrid page, not only are they offering a $50 Labour Day weekend discount, they're also offering $120 off any Studio Hybrid more expensive than $799. So that's $170 in discounts - enough for me to jump through a few hoops.</p><p>Today I called Dell Customer Service, expecting that they'd simply refund $170 onto my credit card (making the purchase price $949), and instead they told me that I should order the new Studio Hybrid online with the discount, then arrange to return the one that's on it's way to me when it arrives. That seems rather ludicrous to me - why go through the expense of building another computer for me, shipping it out to me, that's going to be identical to the one that's already on its way here? Why waste money on the courier sending back an un-opened computer? The whole thing seems like a waste, but since that's the only option that Dell wanted to give me, that's what I did. Today I ordered my third Studio Hybrid, this one identical to the last one, and when the second Studio Hybrid arrives, I'll have to return it to Dell. Seems pretty silly, no?</p><p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> I just got off the phone with Dell today, September 3rd, and it seems the Dell person I spoke with who told me they couldn't give me a credit was incorrect. The Dell agent I spoke with today credited my VISA card $170, and cancelled the order I placed this last weekend. He gave me the option of a $285 Dell coupon, but with an expiration date of only three months, that wasn't a very practical offer. So the Studio Hybrid that showed up here today is the one that I can keep - cool!</p>

[Macguy59]

You aren't really surprised by the DELL way are you ?

[Rob Alexander]

They are betting that, no matter what you say on the phone, most people will not actually go through with sending the old one back. It's totally aggravating that they won't just refund the difference, but I imagine that some market psych consultant told them they'd save a lot of money this way. What they're not taking into account is the loss of goodwill this creates and the impact of that on future sales.

[Neil Enns]

I had a somewhat similar experience with Lenovo today. I'd originally placed an order for a laptop but forgot to include the fingerprint reader on the order. I called the next day to ask them to add it, but the best they could do was cancel the order and create a new one. However, when they did that they forgot to put on the 2 Day shipping option I got for free on the original order.

Insert 2 week vacation here.

I get back and call today, two days before the laptop is expected to ship, and ask them to fix the shipping method. I'm told they can't and the only way to fix it would be to cancel the order, start over, and wait the full two weeks for them to build a new laptop.

Seriously? They can't slap a different label on the box two days before it ships? Sheesh.

Neil

[Jason Dunn]

You aren't really surprised by the DELL way are you ?

Well, yeah, a little - I've had Dell give me credits for things before, but I guess not mid-stream on an order.

[Jason Dunn]

They are betting that, no matter what you say on the phone, most people will not actually go through with sending the old one back.

Yeah, you're probably right about that - in fact, when I called to return the first Dell, they offered me an $80 Dell coupon against future purchases if I'd keep it. She didn't want to hear the part where I said that it was defective. :rolleyes:

[Jason Dunn]

I'm told they can't and the only way to fix it would be to cancel the order, start over, and wait the full two weeks for them to build a new laptop.

Wow - that would be frustrating...! It's so silly when the systems they have in place are more important to them than customer satisfaction. :mad:

[Jason Dunn]

An update...I just got off the phone with Dell today, September 3rd, and it seems the Dell person I spoke with who told me they couldn't give me a credit was incorrect. The Dell agent I spoke with today credited my VISA card $170, and cancelled the order I placed this last weekend. He gave me the option of a $285 Dell coupon, but with an expiration date of only three months, that wasn't a very practical offer. So the Studio Hybrid that showed up here today is the one that I can keep - cool!