Hank Fletcher
New Member
Two-and-a-half weeks ago I received my Dell Optiplex 755. Everything was fine, except they installed an ATI 2400 pro rather than an ATI 2400 xt graphics card. Not a big deal, but the second card is twice as fast as the first, and it was suppose to come with DVI and VGA outputs on the same card, which it didn't (just DVI, with two splitters, one for two VGA, or one for two DVI - not what I asked for).
The first headache started when my computer couldn't render 3D graphics - I just got the blue screen of death when I tried. The problem? They'd installed the xt driver, even though they installed the pro product. First Dell rep: useless (and kind of weird). Second rep: useless, and breathed into her headset. Third rep: figured out how to download and install the ATI driver, which is what ended up revealing that the card I had was not the card I'd ordered (and paid extra for, and by the time of writing this, has already be paid off on my credit card).
Okay, so something's rotten in Denmark: I figure I should either make sure they send me what I've ordered, or reduce the charge for the computer by the whole $20 extra I paid for the xt. Right? Well, there has been no convincing anyone on Dell that the most sensible solution would be to just refund the $20 difference (afterall, the pro was an option of, I think, three graphics card option when I bought my computer, it just wasn't the one I'd selected).
So then I convinced Dell that they ought to send me what I've order. At first they said, "Well, remove your current card and mail it to us, and we'll see what we can do." I was all like, "I don't think so, how about you fulfill you contract to me, and send me what you've charged me for, and I won't press for charges of mail fraud?" After I get what I've paid for, then I'll see if it suits my convenience and means to correct Dell's mistake of mailing out the wrong products by returning those products to them.
A few days later, the replacement part arrives: another ATI 2400 pro, not the xt it was suppose to be. So begins round three. I call up, they tell me how sorry they are, and promise me that in another few days I should be receiving the proper card. A few days later (the day before the day I was told to expect to receive the card), I notice the expected date for me to receive the card has now been bumped more than two weeks, down to August 8!
"The part may be out of stock at Dell," you might think, so there must be some time for them to get that product in, you might think. They've certainly suggested as much. But here's the deal: technically, they've waived my 30-day warranty rights on the whole computer package that I've purchased. This changes from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but by Canada law, which supersedes even any contract between two parties, the purchaser is entitled to return any product within 30 days for a full refund.
It doesn't matter, for instance, what the 14 day policy might be on the back of your Futureshop receipt: you have 30 days. The idea is to protect the consumer, so that they can have opportunity to realize, reflect, and respond in such instances that may happen wherein they say, "Clearly I was insane at the time I made this purchase." Getting back to Dell: their 15% restocking fee should you choose to return your product within 30 days is at odds with Canadian law.
You see the problem? I can either decide to return the entire product, which will cost me about $120 in restocking fees, or resign myself to having paid $20 extra for a card never received. What's option three? Tolerate Dell's customer service, which has been my most insufferable experience as a consumer, ever!
Never mind that the people on the other end who have actually been able to help me have required, I absolutely kid you not, an average of 1 hour phone conversations each. Never mind that I've had to speak with 5 such reps to get this problem sorted. It's the wasted time and effort that bugs me: the constant buck-passing, the absolute disinterest in taking responsibility for the problem, the hang-ups (as in, simply hanging up the phone on me: "Oh, you must have been inadvertently disconnected, sir!), the lies (as in the fellow who told me that he needed to speak to my wife, because the purchase was in her name, even though the invoice I received clearly has my name written all over it!), and the sheer incompetence (as in, "Can you call back later? Our office computers are down," and my favourite, "I'm sorry I can't help you with that problem, I'm not really good with computers." I actually suggested to that person that perhaps working at Dell was not the job for them).
I'm sorry I don't have more tangible evidence on this. I recently bought myself a voice recorder, and I can"t wait to use it the next time (heaven forbid) I should have a problem in this vein.
The product that did arrive is good. All products (save this last resolution effort) have arrived quickly. It's just not the parts I asked for, which begs the question: if I could have spared myself this headache, but simply had to wait a few weeks to get exactly what I wanted, would I? The answer is: absolutely!
The first headache started when my computer couldn't render 3D graphics - I just got the blue screen of death when I tried. The problem? They'd installed the xt driver, even though they installed the pro product. First Dell rep: useless (and kind of weird). Second rep: useless, and breathed into her headset. Third rep: figured out how to download and install the ATI driver, which is what ended up revealing that the card I had was not the card I'd ordered (and paid extra for, and by the time of writing this, has already be paid off on my credit card).
Okay, so something's rotten in Denmark: I figure I should either make sure they send me what I've ordered, or reduce the charge for the computer by the whole $20 extra I paid for the xt. Right? Well, there has been no convincing anyone on Dell that the most sensible solution would be to just refund the $20 difference (afterall, the pro was an option of, I think, three graphics card option when I bought my computer, it just wasn't the one I'd selected).
So then I convinced Dell that they ought to send me what I've order. At first they said, "Well, remove your current card and mail it to us, and we'll see what we can do." I was all like, "I don't think so, how about you fulfill you contract to me, and send me what you've charged me for, and I won't press for charges of mail fraud?" After I get what I've paid for, then I'll see if it suits my convenience and means to correct Dell's mistake of mailing out the wrong products by returning those products to them.
A few days later, the replacement part arrives: another ATI 2400 pro, not the xt it was suppose to be. So begins round three. I call up, they tell me how sorry they are, and promise me that in another few days I should be receiving the proper card. A few days later (the day before the day I was told to expect to receive the card), I notice the expected date for me to receive the card has now been bumped more than two weeks, down to August 8!
"The part may be out of stock at Dell," you might think, so there must be some time for them to get that product in, you might think. They've certainly suggested as much. But here's the deal: technically, they've waived my 30-day warranty rights on the whole computer package that I've purchased. This changes from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but by Canada law, which supersedes even any contract between two parties, the purchaser is entitled to return any product within 30 days for a full refund.
It doesn't matter, for instance, what the 14 day policy might be on the back of your Futureshop receipt: you have 30 days. The idea is to protect the consumer, so that they can have opportunity to realize, reflect, and respond in such instances that may happen wherein they say, "Clearly I was insane at the time I made this purchase." Getting back to Dell: their 15% restocking fee should you choose to return your product within 30 days is at odds with Canadian law.
You see the problem? I can either decide to return the entire product, which will cost me about $120 in restocking fees, or resign myself to having paid $20 extra for a card never received. What's option three? Tolerate Dell's customer service, which has been my most insufferable experience as a consumer, ever!
Never mind that the people on the other end who have actually been able to help me have required, I absolutely kid you not, an average of 1 hour phone conversations each. Never mind that I've had to speak with 5 such reps to get this problem sorted. It's the wasted time and effort that bugs me: the constant buck-passing, the absolute disinterest in taking responsibility for the problem, the hang-ups (as in, simply hanging up the phone on me: "Oh, you must have been inadvertently disconnected, sir!), the lies (as in the fellow who told me that he needed to speak to my wife, because the purchase was in her name, even though the invoice I received clearly has my name written all over it!), and the sheer incompetence (as in, "Can you call back later? Our office computers are down," and my favourite, "I'm sorry I can't help you with that problem, I'm not really good with computers." I actually suggested to that person that perhaps working at Dell was not the job for them).
I'm sorry I don't have more tangible evidence on this. I recently bought myself a voice recorder, and I can"t wait to use it the next time (heaven forbid) I should have a problem in this vein.
The product that did arrive is good. All products (save this last resolution effort) have arrived quickly. It's just not the parts I asked for, which begs the question: if I could have spared myself this headache, but simply had to wait a few weeks to get exactly what I wanted, would I? The answer is: absolutely!
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