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Dell PC + Customer Service. MUST vent!
Posted by
I just stumbled onto this site while googling for info relevant to my dell pc, ironically, since I needed the info to make sure the tech support I was talking to had their facts correct while working out yet *another* problem. And what do I find? wow. you all inspired me to vent. it can't be helped now.
I bought the computer in question about 1.5yrs ago, and was not very current with the "tech beat" at the time, and I guess I missed the memo when dell went from an excellent company to complete crap.
3 onsite visits, 2 fans, 2 motherboards, a power supply, a hard drive, and a stick of ram later, I get the point. I still look longingly at my old dual p3 800mhz dell that worked flawlessly for ... well it still works, it just got too outdated for my needs. what happened dell?
to dell's credit - after going through the motions of talking to "tech support" and letting them read their scripts, I inevitably managed to get them to schedule a tech to come replace the necessary part(s) on each occasion. also, the 2 motherboards were not broken up front, but were being fried by a failing power supply (very difficult to diagnose, trust me), which was finally fixed.
also, the stick (1gig) of ram was a casualty of war - somehow the tech killed it while replacing the hard disk. don't ask me how, he seemed a capable enough guy - always called the next working day, not 10 days later... worked fast and efficiently despite hardly speaking a word of English (ukranian maybe?) but I've had similar mishaps in my career, and nobody's perfect.
OK, so in reality, I got a bad power supply (failed after ~1yr) and a cheap hard drive that failed. so not as bad as it sounded, but frankly, I expect better brand name parts than what I found inside (I got samsung, not kingston ram. maxtor, not seagate harddrive, etc. - though I noticed the replacement drive was seagate, maybe they're learning) on a $3500 system, especially when I could swear, albeit a long time ago, they listed the good brand names on the website when I was customising it...
with that out of my system - to dell's DIScredit:
I used to work for a company that handled outsorced phone support for a ton of companies - AT&T worldnet, AOL, compuserve, ups, and a handfull of airlines, and unsolved mysteries phone-in tips, just to name a few. I was a floor supervisor and it disguested me daily the way the system worked. the scripted crap, the lies (never say the network is done, it's being "upgraded") and knowing that, being completely separate from the actual company (and not allowed to admit such), there wasn't a thing I could do to help people unless it was a problem on their end - and even then, minimally.
BUT - we were located in the same country as the people using the services we supported and we ALL spoke ENGLISH, and most of the phone reps really did *try* to help and/or be kind and understanding, knowing the service we supported was... unstable on a good day. it wasn't the reps' fault, it was a job - we all got to eat. people screamed at me daily when a rep would send up a flare for "they want a manager/supervisor". I never hung up on them, insulted them, berated them, or left them on hold for years, and tried real hard to talk around the subject rather than lie like I was supposed to. (and no, I'm not telling you what company this was for, nor what service we were supporting).
I didn't last long in tech support, even as a supervisor. stupid morals and stuff. I got moved to corporate, so I supported the company I worked for. my soul was put to rest. at least I could fix things, and if not, it was my own fault.
SOOOO... anyway. New Dell Computer runs happily along. one day, we (me and my significant other who actually uses the machine in question) wake to find the dreaded blue screen. reboot, bad/missing file trying to start windows. check this and that... determine disk has bad sectors that have crept into the windows critical file area. (did I mention I was a bench tech and fixed PC's previous to above mentioned tech support? OK, I'm a little out of date, but a disk is a disk. this isn't rocket science.)
but really, and I know this from experience, if you tell the person on the phone you know what you're doing, it instantly translates (I don't care what language they speak) to "I'm an idiot end user that's just going to make this call more difficult by thinking I know far more than I really do", and yes, that is often the case - those people were *quite* adamant that it *was* a cup holder, and "why didn't the internet come installed on my computer?" and "I ordered a 486 plentium damn you!" - it really makes it difficult when you DO know what you're doing. *sigh*
when a disk goes bad, it can go *CLANK* (or a number of other unpleasant noises), or it can slowly deteriorate over time, which can take awhile when you're talking well over a hundred gigs. I've seen it many, many times, ever since it happened on my first, beloved, 20MB (yes M not G) drive. I call tech support to get it replaced, via my shiney warranty.
I tell the tech what the problem is (note, tell, not ask). he says it's software configuration. windows "randomly marks sectors as bad sometimes and causes this" he says in extremely broken English. bull!@#$. he has me go through a slew of steps; removing and reinserting the bios battery (nearly impossible do to it's placement among other parts). using a jumper to short the bios and cause it to reset. re-seating the RAM and graphics(?!) card. then boot to the utility partition, and reinstall windows. viola! the computer is up and running, and he is proud to have shown me how ignorant I am. I tell him thanks, we'll call back when it happens again, which it will, in due time.
time passes...
wake up one morning (this computer ONLY dies during the night - or day if I stay up all night, I swear!) and the screen doesn't come on when the mouse is moved. finally the screen produces "no input device". this means nothing is come out through the graphics card. this is bad. again, I go through my personal troubleshooting system and determine that the motherboard and/or processor is dead. I call tech support.
I tell them the problem, which is this time backed up by the diagnostic lights on the back of the computer, and the fact that the cpu fan isn't working. again, I'm to open the case, reseat the ram and graphics card, and I flat out refused to take out the battery again stating that whatever their screen said it WASN'T causing a problem and the last cuts were still healing... OK, so I was right and wrong. the motherboard WAS dead, I just didn't realize that it wasn't suicide, but murder by a 3rd party. either way, after much to-do, I was granted my on-site tech with a new motherboard. hurray!
a few weeks later, the exact scenario happens again. wake up, dead machine. laugh cry and scream all at once. call tech support. same problem. explain to foreigner what a "no lemon law" is, he doesn't get it. we finally get somebody to get a manager to authorize that if it happens again, we get a new machine. tech guy comes, and brings new power supply, and new motherboard. I'm still not sure who or how they figured it out, the guy on the phone hadn't let on if he had... but whatever, if it works, I'll be happy. OK, so yay! it's working again - the only caveat being that after attaching and de-taching the monitor cable a few times, the vga to digial adapter literally just fell apart, so I have to give the male MY 21" Sony flatpanel for his 19", since my graphics card has a vga port, and his didn't. I suggested swapping cards, but he didn't buy it.
time passes...
it's the male's birthday. he wakes up (don't ask why) at 30min past midnight. it's JUST turned his birthday. he turns on the monitor. blue screen. he nearly starts to cry. I, being just about to go to sleep, realize I've just had a change of plans. (he does not "do" computers, he just uses them).
reboot. missing windows file. boot to dell utility thing, run hard drive diagnostics, get error code 7. google for info on my (working) computer (which isn't a Dell), truckloads of posts on message boards and such about it. always a bad disk, support always ended up having to replace. surprise surprise. I call tech support.
I TELL them the problem, and tell them to read the notes that I KNOW they're supposed to keep for each customer ticket/problem, and explain that I'm more than a tad annoyed I (he) will be yet again without his computer when I explicitly said this was going to happen. the only thing they hate more than an irate know-it-all is an irate female telling them they're wrong. only men use computers, duh.
in broken English we wade through the problem. he makes me run the disk diagnostics - again. I tell him the error - again. he runs some other diagnostic thing dell had hidden somewhere on the disk, it fails when it gets to the cd drive, so the test stops prematurely. he says it'd have said there was a problem, "disk is checked before cd drive." "don't these programs usually report a summary of errors when they COMPLETE?" I ask ever so innocently... he mumbles some irritated sounding jibberish and starts in about how we're going to reinstall windows, then check the disk, "and disk will be fine. this is software configuration error, disk is fine. we re-install windows and you see when we run test." can't we just fix the installation? you get that option on the windows install. no.. windows is installed on special partition. no fix, only reinstall. (thank you microsoft, for deciding customers no longer needed real windows installation disks anymore, and "system restore" disks would cure your piracy problems!)
so I reinstall, losing all hope of recovering the non-corrupt data from the disk. why? because I can't afford new parts for this system and if I go through their "troubleshooting" I don't get the tech and replacement part that I paid for via that god-send of a warranty (what if I hadn't bought it? I usually never do. why would I? dells are (were) reliable that I knew. woman's intuition. must be.) OK so windows reinstalls, his tone changes to something resembling gloating, even through the accent. OK, now we run hard disk diagnostics again. I do. fail - error code 7. you can hear his ego fall through the chair and *splut* on the floor. he will not be defeated! we go back to dell's util partition and run a custom test and tell it to check the disk sector by sector. low and behold, at 20% I get an error. then another. then another. wow, bad sectors abound! read failures! no additional sense data! he grunts and puts me on hold.
I realize he's only gone to so much trouble to diagnose the problem because he was determined to prove me wrong. I believe this is where they hang up on most people. he comes back, creates the order for the on-site tech and admits defeat. we will get a new hard disk, but they won't install windows. they only do that in the first few months. "but this disk WAS defective then, you just didn't believe me". no go. just a blank disk. and some restore cds. we argue, he digs in his heals, finally we give up. fine. a disk. a working disk is good.
don't give up on me now, dear reader, this is where it gets good.
next morning the on-site guy calls. we get the same one every time. I guess people around here don't have many dell problems, because he's always here in 24-48hrs, and he seems to be the only tech. my boyfriend just says his name and the guy says he'll be right over, he knows the directions by heart by now.
he replaces the disk, closes the box, and is gone in 10min or less.
we plug in the computer preparing for the grueling installation of windows, drivers, updates, and a crapload of personal software. but hark? I know that sound, those beeps. bios error codes. no. hard drives don't cause beeps. a system will boot fine with no hard drive, it's not a critical error. something ELSE is wrong.
you all know what happened if you've been paying attention so far. I look up bios codes on the net, on dell's website, in the computer's owner's manual. I look at the lights on the back and compare. yes. they all agree. I re-seat the ram, and even the graphics card, just so I don't have to give them the joy of hearing my pain during the inevitable call. I take out chip #2. no beeps. I remove chip #1 and put #2 in #1's slot. beeps. again, not rocket science. I put #1 back into #1's slot and proceed to start the install-fest 1gig short. the male calls tech support.
he explains what happened. they go back and forth, and armed with the beep/no beep pure simple logic, he is able to dupe them into actually admitting we seem to have a dead ram stick without going through 3hrs of "troubleshooting." OK, but customer care needs to handle this. I'll transfer you. *click*
... "if you'd like to make a call, please hang up and..."
he calls back, and gets another "tech." he re-explains the issue, then looks over at my vexed expression and his computer - which is not installing windows - and starts to say something about it and ... *click* this time the guy just hung up. no hold, no transfer.
truly, I'm fighting with the computer. I won't go into details (this is long enough eh?) but suffice it to say, the thing was being purely possessed. by now we have a 3rd guy on the line, and he's been filled in, he says to give me the phone and he'll "walk me through installing windows." he tells me to turn off the computer. I do. then turn on and hit f2. I do, and am back at the bios screen I was looking at when handed the phone... he asks me if I can locate the arrow keys on my keyboard. "would I know what a bios screen was if I didn't know what @#*$(@ arrow keys are?!" I held my tongue. I just thought that. really loud.
he goes through the most obvious steps that I've already done at least 5 times each. he relents, mumbles, I give the phone back, and my dear beloved actually gets successfully transferred to customer care. .who quickly inform him that tech support needs to handle this. OK. he asks for a manager. the customer care lady tries to convince him otherwise, and that he should talk to tech support. because of his refusal, she asserts that she can't help him if he refuses to try to troubleshoot the issue with tech support. his eyes turned chrimson and fire licked out from his nostrils. in moments she was apologizing and said she would get a manager.
he waited on hold for over 30min. the music wasn't even that good. finally, an answer. wait a minute, are you a manager? this is TECH SUPPORT? he demands again to speak to a manager. he's transferred back to customer care where he informs them of this latest transaction and says he. will. speak. to. a. manager. NOW.
eventually, somebody comes on the line. he starts to go through the re-explaining and stops... the man says all the calls are recorded and archived as part of your account history and he's just listened to them, hence the 2nd long hold time. please, don't explain, he's already writing up the paperwork to have a new machine sent out to us right away! refurbished? no, brand new. promise? yes. with ALL the upgrades I ordered that came with this one? yes, I have the original order details right here.
says it'll be 7-10 days to assemble the new machine. this sounds promising as it indicates a real, new machine. we'll get a box, we put the old machine back in, flip on the airbill, and at no cost our lemon is gone and replaced.
so far, I don't see any activity denoting this on the "my account" page on dell's website. I was happy till I started reading this site, now I'm seriously worried. it sounded genuine. will the new machine come? will it WORK? to be continued...
seriously folks. this isn't a problem with Dell being a crappy company. I mean, it is, but it's just a symptom of a much greater one. I'm a highly trained, experienced professional in the IT industry. I've been more unemployed than not since the tech crash. I've watched friends lose jobs as call centers closed as they were outsourced to india and others. I've seen much more than tech support outsourced. they send out contracts to have software written - the quality of which has never disappointed my expectations - complete crap that somebody usually has to put in extra hours to fix, or just re-write, on salary with no overtime.
WHY are we paying people in another country to NOT do what we're paying them to do at the expense of our own economy and workforce? can anybody please explain? sure, they're cheap - but when it comes down to time, miss-ordered parts, hell - the long distance charges for the 100s of hours we sit on the phone with them overseas! can it *really* be cost effective? even if it is, is it SO much that it's worth *THE* #1 rated computer company only a few years ago is now the #1 complained about computer company?! I am a geek, not an economist. somebody explain this to me, please. then tell me how the economy is looking up, only half the large companies had lay-offs this year as last! and the government sees no reason to stem the in-flux of forign workers - nevermind the outflux of jobs. I don't get it.
I'm done. thank you if you read all that. it doesn't work to vent unless somebody hears you, or I'd write a letter to Dell Corp.
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Sparticus on 06/23/2006:
Dell used to put quality parts in their machines (pre-2000). But somewhere along the line they got greedy, stopped testing their builds, started using cheap parts and moved their customer service to India. Hence they dropped from being number one in my book, to my last choice.
Dirtydave on 06/23/2006:
Could be worse, you could have bought an emachine. Bottom line here is all PC's sold to the "home consumer market" are basically cheap, and customer service is a thing of the past.
Doc J on 06/23/2006:
The quality will further degrade and the customer service will only get worse (It's hard to imagine how, unless a call to a CSR results in Dell shipping a box of purulent feces to the caller). The situation will worsen until we all unite and agree to stop buying their junk. The choice is entirely ours. We can just "vent" or we can be proactive.
Dirtydave on 06/23/2006:
Well said Doc J! It is indeed up to us to make this change.
twistedfunk on 06/23/2006:
I agree completely Doc J. I will not be buying anything new from dell (or any other company that follows this type of 'screw the end-user' philosophy to save a buck). and we all know it's not limited to the computer industry - customer dis-service is the new standard in retail chains and online businesses alike. unless a store is paying commissions for sales, good luck finding somebody. even then, it's iffy. and man, ever tried calling a major store like Best Buy or Compusa or walmart? it just doesn't happen. somehow we, as consumers at large, have to reach a critical mass and stop tolerating this crap before its going to get better.
Anonymous on 06/23/2006:
A couple things. 1/make a copy of your boot disc to floppy (write protect it) and a CD-R. 1a/You MAY need to start doing disc defrags more often 2/Brush up on your DOS commands (see the net) 3/You need to become aquinted with your Control Panel | System Properties | Device Manager, I repeat do not meddle with it unless you know what your doing! 4. Almost any comp problem can be solved by going to Google | Groups | Advanced Search, or searching the alt.windows, or comp.sys hierarchies. Remember "Don't let the computer master you...you master it" repeat it again, and again work that flabby chin. Good luck
twistedfunk on 06/24/2006:
Thanks for the would-be helpful advice Mrs M, but 1) I don't have a floppy drive (who the hell does?), 1a) a fragmented disk does not cause bad sector errors and drive failures. 2) I used a 286 for some 5yrs. I know it fine, and don't see where it's applicable here since DOS boot disks are a thing of the past (see 1, no floppy). 3) I've worked on computers for over a decade fixing, supporting, building, networking, and programming them. I think I can use windows control panel. I don't think you actually read my post or you'd know this. :) it's almost as frustrating as the guy from dell support asking if I can "locate the arrow keys on my keyboard".
twistedfunk on 06/24/2006:
I feel I should reiterate again: please READ the post before making ridiculous and completely innacurate comments. I can only assume you're a forum troll, because that was simply the most inane response I've read on this board yet.
Anonymous on 06/24/2006:
In regards to my statement "or searching the alt.windows, or comp.sys hierarchies" take note that Google archives all posts forever (a remnant of Deja News but can be deleted through finding the link). My point DON'T POST to a google group without realizing they keep all posts. OK.
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Don't Buy a Dell
Posted by
I cannot explain how aggravated, outraged and how sick to my stomach I am over the experiences I have had with Dell. I first purchased a computer on 8/27/04, this past summer. Around 10/26, my Dell Support Alert (which comes with the system) popped up a message to download Service Pack 2. Being a message alert from Dell, I did what I was told. Well, that just screwed up the entire computer....I could no longer access my start up task bar, the internet, any of my pictures, nothing...not a thing! So, the phone calls started, the first call was on the 26th of October and I spent over 4 1/2 hours on the phone with Technical Support. I have a 9 month old baby, I had to spend this time on the phone past 8pm, so I was up very late.
They told me that I needed to have my operating system re-installed and that someone would call me back with the resolution. He also told me that there had been other customers with the same problem all related to downloading the Service Pack 2. I waited, and waited for someone to call me back until two days after. I called back. After again explaining the situation to customer service, they transferred me back to Technical support. They tried to remove the Service Pack 2 from my system. That did not fix the problem They tried to tell me that I should have never downloaded the Service Pack 2 and this is a Microsoft issue and that I need to contact them. When I told them that I was asked to download the Service Pack 2 from the Dell Support Alerts that pop up on my screen every day, you will never believe what they told me.....they said that it is possible that I downloaded something from the internet and someone was posing as Dell. He told me that Dell does not send out support alerts!!!! I couldn't believe it. If that is not bad enough, he told me that I should have shut off the alerts so I didn't get them because they were not important. So, then why is that option installed on my computer? As a new buyer, how was I supposed to know. And how can they not take responsibility for something that has their name on it? And to tell me that it does not exist.....I am so outraged! Then nearly every other day, and I once waited a week to call back because I was so boiling mad, I would spend hours and hours trying to reinstall the operating system, they sent me new disks to reinstall my operating system, tried a system restore and so on.....nothing worked.
I went on to tell them that I wanted my money back (just the amount I paid toward financing the PC). The response was, "you must pay to ship the PC back to us and pay 15 percent of the cost of the PC for a restocking fee. After argument, I decided to try to have them fix the computer again. Nothing worked and I had already spent a few weeks or so just talking with technical support for hours, I mean hours at a time. Finally, I called customer service again and told them that I was planning on making a complaint to the Attorney General, and taking them to court. The man told me then that he would have replacement computer sent to me, this was on 11/18/04. He told me that I can expect my system in 3-5 business days....This was a Thursday, meaning the following Wednesday 11/24, I should have my computer. I waited until Monday November 29th, and still no PC. So, I called customer service again. They told me that the computer was sent and shipped on 11/18 and they gave me DHL's phone number and the tracking number of the package.
I called DHL, the tracking number they gave me was for the CD's they sent me a on 11/12/04 to have my operating system reinstalled. That same day I called customer service back and they tell me that the computer was never ordered and he wanted to know who I talked to. I told him the first name of the representative I talked to and again, I told them of the situation which I had to do every single time I called, I mean all 100 times I called, I told the story from the beginning, they asked me for the information, they couldn't look it up? Finally, I was told that the computer was ordered again and I would receive it within 3-5 business days again. So, ordered on 11/29, should be received by Monday December 6th. So, by Tuesday December 7th, I was looking for the PC. I called customer service again. They told me that the system will ship on or before December 14th. Finally, I received the computer two days later on the 9th.
So, this process goes on from 10/26/04 until I received a replacement system on 12/9/04. Now, I try to burn pictures and CD's because I have that capability, and I can't. The program does not recognize the disk in the drive, it keeps telling me to insert a writable disk in the drive. So I received the replacement computer nearly a month and a half later and after hours and hours and days and days spent on the phone. Four days later, I still am not able to do what I purchased this PC for! I am so frustrated. I called Dell again today 12/13/04. I spent over 57 minutes checking the drives, and reinstalling software to burn pictures and music. Once that did not work, the technical support representative told me that I needed to have my Operating System Reinstalled. I almost went through the roof. Since I did not get off the phone with him until quater to midnight, I have to wait till tomorrow to call Customer Service. I just want my money back and I want you to take this computer back. I called Customer Service the next day. I was very angry and unhappy.
The representative told me that I should box up all the computers and have them ready for pick up on the following day. He also stated that I would not be charged for the shipping or for the restocking of the PC's. He wanted my digital camera that was a free gift, I told him that it is now mine for all the aggravation you people have put me through, it was free and given to me for purchasing your coomputer, I don't think that you deserve it back for all the trouble, time and aggravation you have put me through. He said I would get a full refund, I could keep the camera, and the computers would be picked up the following day. Of course, more broken promises from Dell. No one came.....I still have these computers. I cannot call again, I cannot begin to tell you how angry I am and how excited I am to finally think this is resolved once again, and then, broken promises from Dell again.
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kiducation on 01/11/2005:
I have felt the same frustration you have at Direct TV. Every time I called back I had to start over
with the customer service people. I just wanted to
reach through the phone and strangle them. Sometimes they had the notes from my call in there, and sometimes it was like I never called.
And then I couldn't be transferred to someone who was familiar with the situation, I had to start all over and get transferred all around the company. I even talked to a "supervisor" and when
he did no good, I told him I wanted to talk to someone who was higher up on the food chain and who worked for the president, he told me "he worked for the president of the company"
Your experience sounds HORRIBLE. There should be a 3rd party we can call in situations like this when
a company does not stand behind their product.
merldbg on 01/19/2005:
I don't know what my3cents policy is on contacting people in this forum but I would like to contact you regarding this issue. I have the same major problems with Dell. I do highly recommend you file a complaint against Dell through the FTC, they are putting information together to see if this is a case.
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Poor Customer Support
Posted by
YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN -- Referencing: Service Tag #3YFTT51
Service Code: 8612782021
Case #089615996
My anger and disappointment in Dell, Dell Technical Support and the overall attitude so far expressed by the Dell Company towards its customers now runs very, very deep. I am enraged by what is quite obviously a nonchalant attitude towards Dell customers.
After spending 4 1/2 hours on the telephone with technical support last night, January 6, 2005 from 6 PM to 10:30 PM, what I am left with is a new computer, less than 3 months old, that is still under warranty, is covered by a Platinum Service Agreement that covers me 24/7 including at-home service, that is right now absolutely useless as anything other than a large Solitaire screen. I have an e-mail that I have accessed from a friend's computer in my Inbox thanking me for contacting Technical Support and resolving the issue.
There are several problems with the above scenario:
(1) The original problem with my computer, no connectivity, is not resolved. After 4 ½ hours of cooperating with both service technicians that I talked with and performing each and every step that they requested me to do multiple times: (All at their request)
a. Restoring the system twice
b. Performing virus scans multiple times
c. Using the command menu to ping internally repeatedly with no response
d. Verifying on my children's lives that I did not have a wireless router or router hub installed, and that my workstation was a stand-alone unit connected to (1) DSL modem and that the phone lines were working
e. Using the command menu to ipconfig release and renew multiple times
f. Verifying both Broadband and LAN connections, set-ups and configurations at least 5 times in the Windows XP system operating software
g. Building new Broadband connections
h. Turning on and turning off firewalls multiple times
I. Turning off all items in the start-up menu
j. Erasing the Winsoc Hkeys completely in the Registry Editor
k. Verifying that yes, all the way through this 4 ½ hour saga that the LED on the back of the Ethernet card that came supplied with the machine was red, not green. (Hint, root cause here folks, bad Ethernet card!)
l. The only net result I am left with is a computer that still has no connectivity, and in fact now when starting up is very slow and slow in the operating system after performing all of the "fixes" that both technicians wanted me to try. It is now in worse shape than when I started with Dell Technical Support last night.
(2) It became very apparent that this was a problem beyond either of their abilities to resolve. Let me explain as a background, I have spent the last 25 years as technical support for industrial computers that control machinery, and as such, have a pretty good idea before I even walk into a problem what the root cause and solution really is. I just figured that since I had paid for 4 years worth of 24/7 technical support including at-home service and had a machine under complete warranty, I might as well use what I paid for.
(3) The first technician that I was talking to, "Gary", located in Panama City, Panama hung up on me and disconnected when I laid the phone down to, at his request, disconnect and reconnect an Ethernet cable. Despite taking my home phone number down, he did not call me back, as promised "in case we get disconnected". I wound up calling again and talking to "Wayne" somewhere.
(4) At the end of the total 4 ½ hours, "Wayne's" only solution was for me to sit with him on the phone on the floor of my home office and while talking to him, take a brand new computer apart to reseat the Ethernet card into a new slot. He informed me that he was "not willing" to send a service technician to my home as in his estimation this was not a problem that required one. THIS IS NOT A SERVICE TECHNICIAN'S DECISION TO MAKE WITH A CUSTOMER THAT HAS PAID FOR AT-HOME SERVICE 24/7 NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS. THE CUSTOMER HAS THE RIGHT TO REQUEST IT, ESPECIALLY ON A MACHINE THAT IS 90 DAYS OLD AND UNDER WARRANTY! I will freely admit that I had a problem with taking my machine apart while talking to "Wayne" on the phone. (a) My experience up to that point led me to the conclusion that the technicians were guessing and still had absolutely no clue as to what the real problem or root cause was, much less a solution. The second one "Wayne" freely admitted that what was going on with my machine was "not in the script" and he "didn't have a decision tree for it", leading me to the knowledge that this was a problem beyond their ability to resolve and understand. (b) Under no circumstances will I personally take the machine's case apart and begin to reseat cards with a machine still under warranty, that would be the job of a Dell-certified technician in my home on a service call that is covered by a price that I already paid at initial purchase (b) I don't have three hands, I was not born a genetic freak. (c) It had been since 6 PM and was now 10:30 PM, I was getting a little cranky with no dinner and bathroom breaks and (d) I will also freely admit that I was having an extremely difficult time understanding either tech. It was readily apparent that English was not their primary language and I kept having to ask both of them to slow down, enunciate and repeat themselves. After 25 years of working in heavy industry, my hearing is beginning to lose it's low, conversational tones and I have a hard enough time following someone whose primary language is English, much less someone to whom English is a secondary language and whose microphone is not properly physically placed near their mouth. I resent the fraudulent practice that Dell employs of having foreign service technicians adopt "American" names. As an American, working in an industry that is rapidly being harmed by the practice of outsourcing work off-shore to cheaper, foreign labor while supposedly "patriotic" American companies do great harm to the American people and the American economy, I find this practice treasonous and seditious.
(5) After telling "Wayne" that I was requesting a service call in my home, he informed me that "he was not willing" to do that, that his supervisor was busy and that if I didn't have any other questions, he thanked me for using Dell Technical Support and to feel free to call them again if I ever had any other issues with my machine. I informed him that I would be contacting Dell in the morning to continue to pursue this matter, again he thanked me and hung up.
The resolution to this problem is simple. I want a Dell-certified technician on a service call, which I have paid for with a 4 year 24/7 Nights and Weekends Service agreement including in-home service at my house tonight, Friday January 7, 2005 and I want the machine fixed. I doubt this will happen. I will continue to pursue this.
The e-mail sent to me this morning states that if I have further issues, to contact Dell Premier Support, I cannot, once I go to the Web Page, it asks me to log in, but since I have never been given a userid or password even though I am entitled to it, I cannot. I will post this to the "regular" Support Page as well in an effort to make some sort of human contact here on American soil.
My experience with Dell in the short 90 days that I have dealt with them has been horrid. I am making a recommendation to anyone that I know to not buy a Dell computer and not support it's predatory, malicious and fraudulent business practices.
Copies of this letter have gone to my Congressman and both of my Senators, as business conducted over the Internet crosses State lines and falls under Wire Fraud Protection acts.
As well, I have posted this letter to a total of 10 separate websites and message boards that deal exclusively with Dell complaints, in an effort to stop the next person from buying a Dell computer.
Kip R. Williams
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Dawn B
SPRING, TEXAS -- OK, to be honest, my first Dell was great, but lets talk about the E520, well this computer was purchased by my employer in 2006, the minute we got it we had nothing but problems with it, we eventually had to pay $200 to get it serviced as the warranty conveniently was out (sometimes you wonder if these electronics have an internal clock that sets these computers and printers to malfunction right after the warranty expires).
Well it seemed to run well for about 3 months, long story short, the business closed and I was given this POOR EXCUSE OF COMPUTER, ignorantly giving away my older computer for a newer, newer doesn't always mean better as you'll soon find out.
Now for my birthday my boyfriend bought me, you guessed it, a new DELL computer, so I thought well I'll restore the DELL E520 to the original settings and give it to my niece for school to write reports, etc... Certainly it should be good for that. Well doing the restore, theres a floppy disk failure, and this model doesn't have a floppy disk, so this process rendered the computer more useless than before, nothing works.
So being the loyal Dell consumer and purchaser of 2 Dell computers and having 1 bestowed upon me, I call DELL TECHNICAL SUPPORT. This was an experience of a lifetime, I thought I pushed English, but I guess not because I spoke to man who kept repeating g for jack, g for jack.... when trying to explain what he was saying by spelling the word.
I thought I had called American on Line, the customer service was identical, they don't speak English even though that's the option I chose, they are looking for any reason to hang up, and customer service is not what they are about, they want to tell you they can't help you for any reason and get off the phone. I can't even believe it, but believe this, if you buy a DELL, your ON YOUR OWN. I have contacted their customer service department, but come on who are we fooling, nothing substantial will happen. Been there done that, but won't be doing it again with DELL.
DELL DOES SUCK and I CHALLENGE THEM TO CHANGE MY MIND.
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Anonymous on 05/15/2009:
What can you expect for an old computer that's well out of warranty. There are user forums for DHell computers. Visit them and search for the problem you have. Or post the problem. Chances are you will get real help (free) to have the computer running again.
Soaring Consumer on 05/15/2009:
What type of disc are you using to restore the computer?
Dawn B on 05/15/2009:
I guess you didn't read the whole review, the computer had issues from the day of purchase, warranty was for 1 year, I really expect a computer to last longer than 1 year, wouldn't you????
Disgusted_beyond_repair on 05/19/2009:
OMG! I was promised the world by Dell and I bought in 2007 their top of the line lap top worth over $1,650 and it has been a LEMON from hell! It has never worked properly! I was told time and a gain that it would be replaced. The new computer never came and when I call in to complain I get non-English speakers in India or the Philippines! They refuse to connect me to the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Ireland or New Zealand. When I ask these corrupt and arrogant reps to repeat something that I truly do not understand, they go off on me and say abusive things. I get treated in a nasty manner and if I wish to speak to a supervisor, I end up holding for 2-3 hours at a time and get hung up on. I ask desperately, "Is there someone who speaks English?" And they say, "I am speaking English!" I then ask if they can speak more slowly and clearly and they get insulted start mumbling in Tagalog or Hindi or Punchabi and place me on hold for hours on end! MY DELL LAPTOP HAS NEVER EVER WORKED! It crashes constantly and I have to spend 100s of hours every month to BEG and PLEAD for help and for Dell employees to be merciful for my cause! As time progresses they get ruder and nastier and now they want to charge me between $49 and 69 per incident as the warranty has worn out! While hte product was in warranty they sweet talked me into believing that a replacement computer was on the way and now they say I should have called in more often (I called over 300 times) when the orignal replacement did not arrive! Dell has an uncanny way of training all their employees to turn any situation around and make it constantly the customer's fault! I recently learned that the founder of Dell, Inc. is a memberr of the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS aka: "LDS" or Mormons! I have tried to express my disgust with Dell, the most dishonest organization of the world with Mormon neighbors and I have found out that Dell pays "Tithing" or HUGE sums of money to this church / cult in Salt Lake City so they can promote worldwide their doctrine of hatred, ignorance and intolerance! Dell needs to be destroyed! It is evil!
jktshff1 on 05/19/2009:
disgusted, I would like to make you aware that your 1 reply and 2 copy and pastes will be off the front page in a little while. You would have done better placing one and then later or tomorrow placing the other. As it is, only the people here for a couple of hours will see them unless they search dell.
Dawn B on 05/19/2009:
Dear iktshiff1, not sure why your disgusted and what your referring to with your reference to about copy and pastes will be off the front page and I should have posted the next day. I'm new to the forum, however I'm not the only one sharing my view points, obviously you made no reference to dell, so what's your position? I think that's the important queston.
MSCANTBEWRONG on 05/19/2009:
Hi Dawn,
I believe jktshff1 was replying to Disgusted beyond repairs post. Welcome to MC3.
jktshff1 on 05/20/2009:
Thanks MS, yes I was.
Welcome Dawn
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Dell Disappoints A Loyal Customer
Posted by
I recently (October 2008) needed to upgrade the storage capacity of my Dell 4600, which I'd purchased in 2003. I turned to Dell for two reasons: until now I'd received good service from them, having bought three systems from them over the years, so I felt I'd get good service now; and I trusted that they would know what I needed, as I am not a hardware guru, and so I would not have to worry about making mistakes. Unfortunately this was incorrect on both counts.
When I spoke with Dell sales, I said I wanted a 1 TB SATA drive. The representative said my system was not SATA compatible, and I would have to go with EIDE, and the largest available was 500 GB. I took her word for it, and as time was of the essence (I am a grad student, and had assignments due that required massive amounts of drive space and my original 120 GB drive was near capacity) I had the drive overnighted. The drive arrived the next day (the only thing that was to go well in this affair), but when I contacted tech support to have help walking through the installation, I found out that I needed an IDE cable, which did not come with the drive and was not available in my machine. This was my first surprise.
When I called Dell sales, they told me they'd be happy to sell me a cable, but it would be several days before I'd receive it. Upset that, if I'd been told about it, I could have purchased the cable at the same time as the drive and therefore would have had it then already, I opted to try to locate one locally. Little did I realize how rare IDE connectors had become... I had to go to a specialty store that was not open on weekends (I found out Friday, late). Once I had the cable, I contacted tech support again and began the installation... when I had the cover off, and was trying to locate the bay into which the drive would go, I discovered that my original drive was a SATA! I had never seen a SATA connection before, so did not realize what it was until the technician told me... that was when I began to feel REALLY upset. That began my adventure with Dell customer service.
The more I ruminated, that day, over Dell's mistakes, the first being told my system was not SATA capable, the second not even being told I needed additional parts to make my second-choice drive work, the more I felt they needed to make this right by offering me the SATA drive I'd originally wanted at the same cost as the one I'd been told was my only choice. I sent them a complaint to that effect, and waited... and waited... and waited. They then sent me a letter saying no. I complained to a supervisor, adding comments about how I have been a loyal Dell customer for years, and would like to continue to be (when I graduated I would probably be buying a new, high-end system). And waited, and waited... in the meantime my original drive began to make sounds, and I thought I might need to replace it; I also thought it was becoming less and less convenient to simply return the drive I'd mistakenly been told I needed (but which did work) - so I changed my proposal to this: I would buy a new 1 TB drive at the cost of the EIDE drive I'd bought, and Dell would ship it overnight at no additional charge. I felt this was equitable, especially since the cost of 1 TB drives continues to fall rapidly, and this was dragging out so long that the prices had fallen appreciably, making Dell's "discount" to me even less.
Dell didn't see it that way.
I just got off the phone with their "supervisory staff". He tried to tell me that there were no internal drives offered on my system's "upgrade path", so they would not sell me one (although if I wanted to buy one locally, I was welcome to). When I pointed out that, if his assertion was true, the sales staff that had sold me the internal EIDE drive was doubly wrong, he tried to tell me it had been an issue of availability at the time...
Basically, he was giving me rationalizations that made Dell's position for denying my request seem appropriate, and when I pushed to hear Dell's final position he finally said no. I clarified that Dell was denying a long term customer a discount that amounted to $20.00 at this time after having been given bad advice under urgent circumstances and then gone through a four-month run-around trying to resolve the matter, and he repeated no. He tried to add that Dell was noting my concerns, and would review the events to be able to provide better service in the future, but I interrupted him by replying that I had no interest in what Dell did in the future as I would not be doing business with a company that valued $20.00 over loyal customers.
The final summation is this... caveat emptor. If you have a Dell system, you need to learn its technical specifications yourself and do your homework before calling them. If you don't, and a mistake is made, even if it is Dell's, you can expect absolutely no contrition or even regret on their part. But they will be happy to sell you something else to make it right. Oh yes, and don't forget they'll ask "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
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Anonymous on 01/15/2009:
I am surprised that a (almost) six year old machine is SATA equipped, but given that it is, almost always the mother board also has an accommodation for an IDE cable connection.
If you download and run a freeware program like Belarc Advisor, or Sandra, it will give you the specifications of your machine, including the manufacturer and model number of your motherboard.
With that information, you can go to the manufacturer's website and enter the model, and it will give you all the specs of the motherboard, like what kind of drives are supported, the type and amount of memory, and what processors it can handle. You can also, usually, download a pdf manual for the motherboard. This helps because it points out where the various connections are on the board.
Once you have the information, you can just go to Big Buy or similar and buy the drive and cable you need. Installing a drive is pretty simple, especially if you have a diagram in front of you.
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Dell Is A Joke!!!
Posted by
ROUND ROCK, BUT REALLY.. INDIA, TEXAS -- I purchased a DELL Dimension computer and within the first 6 months, it crashed and would only start in âsafe modeâ. This issue started when I was sent an automatic update which ended up being incompatible with my driver. It crashed the computer, corrupted the driver and the video card. When I called customer service (which is located in INDIA) I was told numerous times by different âExecutive Support Revolverâsâ that the issue was due to a Virus that I was responsible for downloading and that it wasnât covered under my warranty. I was told that I would have to do a complete system restore and would loose all of my valuable programs I paid good money for, along with everything I had saved unless I paid them to help me remove my pictures and documents to an external hard drive. I just did not feel comfortable doing this, so I continued calling in hopes that I would get a service technician who actually knew what they wear doing and could help me.
A year had gone by with no such luck, but finally in my persistent attempts I reached a representative who finally figured out that it had been an automatic update sent to my computer and NOT a virus that had caused such a massive problem. I then spent a total of 3 days on the phone with this technician, for 3-4 hours a DAY, totaling now an average of 25 hours of my time spent resolving and troubleshooting in order to fix the problem. They then sent a technician to my home who replaced the video card and now my computer is working again.
However, in the YEAR that my computer was broken, I lost a year of my extended warranty that I PAID for and also in that time, my anti-virus program expired, leaving me to have to purchase a new $60 program. And good thing I didnât listen and trusted my instincts because if I had listened to them, I would have had to replace thousands of dollars worth of programs because of Dellâs mistake.
I have been on the phone with supposed âsupervisorsâ asking that they simply extend my warranty for the year that these issues have stolen off of my paid warranty but have been told that they can not do this.
I should have researched better before purchasing this piece of $%*T because I now see that I am NOT alone and my âlittleâ problem pales in comparison to the MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY MAAAAAAANY other people who have had WAY WORSE experiences with DELL. I would not recommend a DELL to ANYONE and wish I would have gone with an APPLE!!!!!!!!!!!
This SCAM company should NOT be in business and more media attention should be brought to the public about how shady DELL is.
To see more of what I am talking about, Google âDell Complaintsâ â¦.
Where is DATELINE NBC and 20/20 when you need them!?!?
DON'T BUY A DELL unless you want to throw your money away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Anonymous on 06/11/2008:
Amen Brother. My former moniker on my3cents.com was No More Dell 4 Me.
DigitalCommando on 06/11/2008:
A very simple check can reveal where your problem is. The "technician" should have told you to: Click start/control panel/system/device manager. A list of your system components will appear. Any device that has a problem will be indicated by a yellow circle with an exclamation mark inside of it next to the device that has a problem. It should have immediately identified your video card as the problem. It could have easily been fixed by right clicking on the device name and choose "update drivers" Anybody can check their system anytime with this method since it cannot hurt your computer. You must have really had some dumbos on that phone as this is computer 101 simple/stupid very first thing you do when checking for problems.
Anonymous on 06/12/2008:
"Executive Support Revolver's"????
Is their job to transfer you from department to department?
Anonymous on 06/12/2008:
This is exactly why you are well advised to make and keep current backups. If you were backed up, you could just have done the restore and been done with it.
Also, Windows has a feature (Restore Points) that will allow you to back out updates to a time when the machine ran OK. You might want to make sure they are turned on, and that you acquaint yourself with their use.
Anonymous on 06/12/2008:
I'm puzzled why you would lose 'valuable programs I paid good money for'. If you bought those programs you'd still have the original media (unless they were downloaded shareware, etc). Before I 'saw the light' and went Mac, I was forced into a full restore on a Dell POS several times. It was inconvenient, but I never lost any purchased programs.
ladyblogger on 07/19/2008:
I also have the same model # you do. My previous computer crashed so much that I asked for another one. They gave me this model and they also upgraded me to Vista and I lost my XP which I loved and had no problem with! I hate Vista!! I thought I had problems with the old computer - This one is worst..
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Can't Take It Anymore too
Posted by
CALIFORNIA -- Have a Dimension 8400 that is about 5 months old. Been getting blue screen errors and, finally, the system stopped working. Tried for hours to get through to tech support (in India) where they jacked me around for another 6 hours trying to prove the software was the problem. Very difficult to understand the person trying to help. I lost all my data when they had me format the disc 3 times only to decide the hard drive was bad and the memory chips were bad. They even had me pay for software tech support so they could help me save my data (I proved my ignorance). Days later, a new drive and memory show up to be installed by a tech. Drives installed and, voila, the fan goes crazy and the computer completely quits. Another 4 hours and two days to get help. Now they decide the fans are bad.... Tech says the mother board is actually bad. Now another weekend waiting for fans and then more time to fix the motherboard. Asked them to replace my computer or take it back, which the Indian tech support avoided at all cost. I'm sick of being on the phone for hours talking to India. Forget buying Dell. They spend hours trying to point a finger at the operating system and zero time fixing bad components to avoid fixing their problems. Phone calls are routed through automated attendants and then you are put on hold for hours. Well, I got a Dell, dude, and would love to give it back. I have purchased dozens and dozens of computers and have never had such a terrible experience. Never again. Looking at the complaints, I guess I'm not alone. Oh, forget trying to talk to customer service...it's in India too. What a shame that a company I perceived as the top of the line is run this way.
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groveman55 on 06/24/2005:
It is really sad to see Dell go down hill. I must have one of the last decent computers they put out. It is three years old and I realize it will not last forever.
I planned on buying Dell again but after reading all the troubles everyone has now and seeing the problems friends have I will never buy Dell again.
It seems though all the major brands but one have many complaints. That one is IBM which I will buy next time.
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Dell Hell
Posted by
The list of reasons not to buy a Dell computer would take me hours to write. Let me some it up to say it is Hell to get them to service what they sell. They charge exhorbitant prices for help. Even if you purchase an extended warranty it is like pulling teeth to get them to honor it. They never quite fix it right. It is so slow I can walk the dog and come back and the pages still haven't loaded. It runs constantely....sounds like a coffee pot percolating. I have tried to get this fixed many times and still no satisfaction.
As far as I am concerned this is a piece of junk and the customer service is non-existent.
Buy at your own risk.
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MRM on 03/09/2011:
With regards to web pages taking a long time to load, are you using dial up? If you are, then the slow page loading is to be expected.
jktshff1 on 03/09/2011:
Yep, your internet carrier name would be helpful and connection ie cable, satellite, or dial up.
azRider on 03/09/2011:
what is slow? web pages? Lord of the Rings? or writing a document in word or viewing a pictures that are on your machine? when you say pages that tends to make me think your local ISP is the issue, not the machine. do you have good antivirus software? malware/spyware checking software? there are few tools that I recommend, but one that I found to work quite well is TuneUp Utilities. a tool like it can help you find programs running that don't need to. a lot of people look at computers like an appliance, like it was washing machine or toaster. its a complicated machine and lots of things you due to it can cause a host of issues. its not easy to take care of a PC you have to be aware of what your putting on it and its purpose to keep it running well. perhaps the issue is a software you downloaded and installed.
trmn8r on 03/09/2011:
Sounds like your fan is running constantly, and Dell support has been unable to help. That stinks. When was it purchased? What model?
As far as pages loading slowly, that is something Dell may not be able to help you with under the warranty, if it only covers hardware.
getoverit on 03/09/2011:
Good points here about the type of connection and software issues being more likely to affect web performance than hardware. Run a registry cleaner, virus scanner, and all that.
I've owned one Dell machine and used several different ones at work. They seem to be no better or worse than average because they are assemblies of pretty much average components. But if you have to call them for anything, it truly is Hell. CSRs are misinformed and don't follow-up on their own promises. They'll tell you almost anything just to get you off the phone. You call back and then get to listen to someone else tell you that the first guy doesn't know what he is talking about.
It's one of the most ridiculous organizations I've ever dealt with.
delstinks on 03/09/2011:
Thank you all for your suggestions. I do not have dial up and have done all the actions you have suggested. The problem still persist. I have to gird my loins to even call them as it takes easily over an hour to do the simplest thing with them.
Skye on 03/09/2011:
delstinks, that's one funny comment!
MRM on 03/09/2011:
Since you have tried all the above solutions and the problem still persisted, your last option is to restore your computer to its factory settings and your computer will be running like brand new again. You will need a recovery disc to restore your computer to its factory settings.
*WARNING* Please backup your files before using the recovery disc as it will erase every data on harddrive.
getoverit on 03/09/2011:
The trouble with those recovery disks is that that have all the crapware on them that originally came on the computer. So, if you use one, you're back to square one in terms of uninstalling all that, and cleaning up your registry and stuff.
The computer I bought from Dell came with dysfunctional software on it. I spent three hours on the phone with some guy from Dell trying to uninstall it. I don't remember if the computer came with a recovery disk, or not, but there's no way I would have used it.
Untold evils lurk in the catacombs of Dell Hell.
Whiteduck on 03/09/2011:
And while not really a Dell issue, some places are charging you to remove all that crapware before you take it home if you don't want it (and no one wants it). So the old days of sliding in a recovery disk and getting a clean system are long gone...
getoverit on 03/09/2011:
You always have the option of ponying up to Microsoft for your own copy of Windows.
Cwazychicken on 03/10/2011:
In 2006, I spent 1000 dollars on dell computer. Well, took about a week to get it and when I got it I thought, great should work good! Wrong! It seemed like a good deal, until a year later it quit on me for no reason. And it was right after the warranty went out, so I couldn't return it, I ended up throwing it away. I now use toshiba, I like them a lot more than dell. Dell is a overrated, overpriced company that seems to just want money and doesn't care.
I will NEVER buy another dell computer again. They are just as bad as gateway.
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Outrageous Customer Support
Posted by
I simply do not know where to start because in my opinion, the way Dell has treated me over a very minor issue is inexcusable.
On Tuesday July 13, 2010, as I turned on my XPS 700 tower, the little button that you lift up on the front grill fell into the inside of the cabinet. That began an almost unbelievable saga of transfer after transfer as I attempted to get your company to send me a replacement part. I did not want them to send it to me free. I was out of warranty. I wanted the part sent to me. It takes about 2 minutes to take the old one off and replace the new one. Been there, done that.
With each transfer, it was like no one could read so I had to tell my story over and over again just to be transferred again. From technical support, to out of warranty support, to sales, back to technical support, to spare parts. On my stop in out of warranty service, I was told by XXXXX XXXXX that in order for Dell to help me, I would have to extend my warranty for a grand total of $160.00 and if I did not extend my warranty they would not be able to sell me the part.
So I was behind a rock and a hard place. The part itself is made completely out of plastic. It has a sleeve and a little paddle type stick. Total cost probably is about $3.00. I did not want a warranty. I only wanted to replace the little part. I did not want anyone to replace it for me. I just wanted the little part. Because it is so flimsy, it has broken before and I have replaced it before. Did not need $149.00 bill to have someone come to my house.
So you can imagine my surprise when I saw my bill today for this extended warranty. The total cost, that was never agreed to by me was now $247.00 not the $160 that XXX told me. What a rip-off. I know that Dell banks on the fact that I will never need their assistance to fix my computers. Most computers break at about 90 days anyway. Mine is 4 years old already. I am not a novice and do my own work on my computers.
I have been a fan of Dell products for many years, but over the past few years, I have detected that Dell has lost its focus on its customers. Dell has made it more and more difficult to get assistance. I am sure that being shifted around for four hours and talking to 8 different people has become the rule rather than the exception.
If this is the way you treat your loyal customers, just think about those who are first time buyers.
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Anonymous on 07/16/2010:
While I think the basis for your complaint is valid, the "Most computers break about 90 days anyway" is not factual in nature. You don't say anything about having disputed this with your cc company. Have you? Let us know what happens. (My complain with Dell was that I had to reformat my hard-drive, and the drivers were not on the recovery disc; I ended up paying $150 for tech support to provide me with the appropriate drivers. I probably would never buy a Dell again, either.
Helpful on 07/16/2010:
Amen to everything Alex has stated. Computers absolutely break outside of 90 days.
How are they attempting to have you pay for this bill? Did they charge a credit card? I'd love to know.
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Dude, DON'T Buy A Dell
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Purchased a Dell Dimension 4700 Desktop computer almost 3 years ago. Within the first month, the hard drive crashed and had to be replaced. After fighting dell for over 2 hours on the phone with various customer service agents overseas (who were VERY, VERY difficult to understand due to their accents), my warranty was honored and they mailed me a refurbished hard drive. A technician was sent out to physically put the device into my computer, but I had to install the drivers, software, windows, etc. myself. Data recovery is never provided by Dell, so when your hard drive crashes, you better have already backed-up your stuff. Since then, the replacement hard drive has crashed and was replaced under warranty with, yet again, a refurbished model. Now, almost 3 years later, the 2nd hard drive has died and I am going through this all over again. 3 Hard drives in 3 years - pretty bad.
Although Dell has very knowledgeable customer service agents that try to walk you through technical support, but due to their extremely heavy accents, it\'s not worth the headaches and frustration of trying to decifer what they are saying over the phone, and therefore, basically useless in my opinion. I will NEVER buy another Dell computer again, nor would I ever recommend Dell to anyone else. You will want to throw your computer out the window and just buy a HP, like you should have done in the first place.
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john_louis on 11/03/2008:
Don't Buy a Dell!
I bought a Inspiron E1505 in dec of 06 with the 3 yr warranty. within a yr I had to buy a new battery and now my display is broken and they won't fix it.
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Jewish Studies Source offers researchers full-text coverage in a broad range of subject areas, providing a diverse look into the different disciplines of study. With over 400 full-text publications, this resource contains content covering many subject areas including archaeology, anthropology, area studies, ethnic studies, history, languages, philosophy, political science, religious studies, and women's studies. This database also offers extensive full-text backfiles, with titles that include KASHRUS (back to 1990), Contemporary Jewry (formerly Jewish Sociology & Social Research; back to 1974), Western States Jewish History (formerly Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly; back to 1968), YIVO Annual of Jewish Social Science (back to 1946), and the entire Jewish Telegraphic Agency database (1922 to present).
When the administration of the Western College for Women – now a part of Miami University – opened its campus to civil rights activists in 1964, the institution followed its long tradition of independence and innovation. An estimated 700 young, idealistic college students from across the north arrived in Oxford, Ohio for voter registration training before leaving to serve in Mississippi to register African-Americans to vote and assist with local community projects, like Freedom schools and the building of community centers.
Today, the story of Freedom Summer has the power to evoke important questions about American identity, public life, engagement, and commitment. This exhibit will focus on local resident Roland Duerksen and former student volunteers Carole Colca and Mark Levy. They have left the legacy of their work in the Western College Memorial Archives. This exhibit, which includes photographs, letters, audio recordings, and an interactive map of Mississippi, will serve as a narrative of their dedication to civil rights and social justice.
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Jamie, a boy who skips school to avoid playing sports, is attracted to his next-door neighbor Ste, an athletic teen who is regularly beaten by his father and brothers. One night, Jamie's mother Sandra offers Ste refuge from his abusive family, setting off a chain of events that changes their lives forever. Set in a working-class area of southeast London,Beautiful Thing illustrates the struggle of growing up in a world that can be cruel and unforgiving to anyone perceived as different.
Written in 1993, Beautiful Thing was initially produced by The Bush Theatre, London, England. It received its American premiere in 1998 by Famous Door Theatre Company in Chicago and then transferred to New York in 1999 at the Cherry Lane Theatre. "As 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of Beautiful Thing and with bullying issues still very much a part of today's headlines, this is the perfect time to revisit this play, which feels more relevant than ever," says director John Nasca.
From January 17 – February 17, at the Athenaeum Theatre (Studio Three) 2936 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago.
Previews: January 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. • Opening Night: January 19 at 7:30 p.m. • Sunday: January 20 at 2:00 pm.
Prices: $15 for Previews • $23 on Thursdays and Sundays • $25 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Tickets: Available at www.athenaeumtheatre.org or by calling 773-935-6875.
Jonathan Harvey (Playwright) comes from Liverpool and now lives in London. His plays include The Cherry Blossom Tree (Liverpool Playhouse Studio, 1987), which won him the 1987 National Girobank Young Writer of the Year Award;Mohair, Wildfire, and Beautiful Thing, winner of the John Whiting Award 1994; Babies, winner of the George Devine Award 1993 and Evening Standard's Most Promising Playwright Award 1994; Boom Bang-A-Bang, and Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club. Jonathan is currently working on several projects, including a new television series and a musical with the Pet Shop Boys.
John Nasca (Director) is co-founder and Artistic Director of Glitterati Productions and an Artistic Associate for Pride Films and Plays. His directing credits include Gypsy, Moon Over Buffalo, No, No, Nanette, Love Sucks!, and the staged readings of Beautiful Thing, Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood, The Ritz, Save the Date, Maurice, Hello Norma Jeane, andVisalia. John is also a 3-time Jeff-recommended costumer for Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Anyone Can Whistle, andDie! Mommie, Die!, and the proud recipient of After Dark and Broadway World awards. His costume work also includes Noises Off, Metropolis, Phantom, Poseidon: An Upside-Down Musical, Follies, The Miracle Worker, Chicago, The Little Foxes, Rigoletto, The Great White Hope, Tintypes, The Women, and On the Waterfront.


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3-5 Hours (depending on experience)
Britain on View
Britain's highest mountain features on many people's hit list and while the walking and summit views make it a worthwhile outing, it is not a walk to be undertaken lightly.
4400 feet (1300m)
Plan your route: VisitBritain Journey Planner
The path is easy to follow although there are some steep parts and the climb goes from sea level to over 4400 feet / 1300m. You should be sensibly equipped with walking boots, maps, compasses and warm clothing. Visibility can be poor, and it can be cold on the summit, even in summer. The local rescue team and others produce an excellent "Ben Nevis - Essential Information" leaflet which is recommended.
There are many ways of scaling Ben Nevis, but the Mountain Track (also known as the Tourist Track) is the fastest and safest for most walkers. It takes 3-5 hours to ascend Ben Nevis depending on your walking experience, and 2-3 hours to descend.
Your walk up to the summit of Ben Nevis starts here, at the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre. Here, you can get information about your walk, and buy essentials such as maps and snacks. You can also learn about other walks around the area, or enjoy a picnic on the riverside.
The summit of Ben Nevis is very flat and could almost fit 2 football pitches on. When you reach the top, you'll find a large cairn and trig point marking the highest point. There's also an old meteorological observatory at the summit, which is now in ruins. The summit is usually covered in snow, even in the summer months. Descending from Ben Nevis can be extremely dangerous, so follow the safety advice given by guidebooks and the local rescue team.
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Dots telegraph that spring is here. A fresh look on a top with floaty ruffles peppered with smaller dots. Shell: 100% Polyester georgette. Lining: 100% Polyester charmeuse. Machine wash, cold; tumble dry low. Or dry clean. Imported.
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My memory of tactical mastery is a little hazy, but isn't that used for stance-dancing?
Barely any expertise is the condition of ICC gear unfortunately, but smart choices will keep you close to the softcap of 26. Glyph Devastate. Dodge trinkets meh. The stam/armor trinket combo's are quite effective currently (as most fights in ICC are physical) but on magic fights 2 x stam trinkets could help out a lot.
As for the rest I'm a little unclear as to what you are asking....?


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Monday, February 20, 2012
Fun with SoCal Avocados
I'm sure this skewed my opinion of these uber healthy pear shaped fruits (yes, they are fruits not veggies) because until recently I saw them as basically just fillers for sandwiches and such; nothing special. This all changed in late January when my Virtual Potluck group teamed up with SoCal Avocados and we were all shipped a box of 20 hand picked avocados to create recipes with.
SoCal is a small family owned avocado ranch in Southern California. They grow several varieties of avocados (who knew there was more than one kind) including the well known Hass. My box of avocados included 4 varieties and a description card to help distinguish each by shape, texture and taste. You can read more about the different types on thier web page....and I suggest you do because it's really quite interesting. SoCal also offers a avocado of the month program be sure to check it out. Want to WIN some SoCal avocados.....keep reading for details.
This was probably one of the most enjoyable and enlightening food projects I've worked on. I was determined to experiment and bring avocados into the forefront of my diet. And why not the health benefits are amazing. They have no cholesterol, they provide over 13 grams of fiber, are low in carbs and can help you lose weight when you choose them over other sources of fat.
So what did I make with all these avocados? I started with a Caesar dressing...experimenting on substituting avocado for the egg in my favorite recipe. It worked well...maybe even better than the original. I moved on to ice cream. I've heard people talk about avocado ice cream in the past and thought why not. I pureed the avocado, mixed it with cream, sugar and some rum until I got the taste and consistency I desired. Topped with crushed pistachios the finished product was good...different for sure. (see recipe below)
My favorite dish by far though was the Avocado Fennel & Beet Salad. Thin slices of fresh fennel, avocado and red beets layered over a bed of peppery arugula and drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of lemon juice. This was heaven in a plate.
Avocado Fennel & Beet Salad
1 SoCal avocado; peeled and sliced
1 package Melissa's Peeled Baby Red Beets; sliced
1 fennel bulb; thinly sliced
1 bunch arugula
lemon juice
olive oil
salt & pepper
Place arugula on a serving platter mix with shaved fennel. Top with alternating layers of avocado and beets. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Avocado Rum Ice Cream
3 SoCal avocados
4 tablespoon rum
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
crushed pistachios
Peel and pit the avocados. Add the avocados, milk, and sugar to a blender and puree. Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and rum; whisk to combine. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and chill about 4 hours.
Process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. For soft ice cream, serve immediately. If desired, place in freezer for 3 to 4 hours for firmer texture. Top with crushed pistachios.
SoCal has agreed to send one lucky reader a box of avocados to try. All you have to do is visit their site and choose the avocado you would most like to try. Come back here and let us know and you'll be entered.
Want a few extra entrees.... Follow me on Facebook or Twitter and let me know here. Already a follower...thanks! How about following one of the other VP bloggers or SoCal
Contest ends 2/26/2012 at midnight EST.
48 comments:
I only ever knew about Hass avocados, it was so neat to read about the others! I would love to try the Pinkertons!ReplyDelete
I also am now following you on Twitter! =)ReplyDelete
Hmm..avocado ice cream...I would be all over that. I would love to try the Gwen or Bacon variety.ReplyDelete
cereza25 at yahoo dot com
I follow you on Twitter @GoddessFoodie.ReplyDelete
I've always liked the Haas variety. I'd like to try the Bacon avocado.ReplyDelete
look so goo and want to try the bacon onesReplyDelete
follow you on facebookReplyDelete
follow you on twitter @cjsorelReplyDelete
You've been busy! The salad is beautiful - just got some beets from my CSA and I think I have one avocado left, so I'll have to try it. Love the idea of avocado ice cream - I made an avocado cheesecake that was a big hit too.ReplyDelete
I wanted to grab that salad and it eat straight off my screen! the ice cream looks yummers too.ReplyDelete
I want to try fuerte avocados!ReplyDelete
jfong1130 at yahoo dot com
I would love to try the Fuerte!ReplyDelete
larkspurpurple (at) gmail.com
I would love to try the Gwen Avocado or the Zutano! All of them seem amazing! I love, love, love avocados. Thank you for directing me to their site.ReplyDelete
I loved all of the Avocados especially the Fuerte! Your dishes look incredible! What time is dinner?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 21, 2012 at 4:35 PM
I would love to try the MacArthur Avocados. I didn't know there that many varieties. yellow_patricia at hotmail dot comReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 21, 2012 at 4:36 PM
I follow you on twitter as yourpotofgold. yellow_patricia at hotmail dot comReplyDelete
Such a pretty salad! I need more avocados to make everyone's recipes!ReplyDelete
Im not a fan of avocados. I remember I tried eating it before and then i got collapse for 10mins whew. but this post looks interesting.ReplyDelete
i like the style.
I love avocados. The Lamb Hass sounds especially interesting and I would love to try it.ReplyDelete
I follow you on twitter.ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.ReplyDelete
I would love to try them all but the bacon variety looks interesting.ReplyDelete
I follow you on FB.ReplyDelete
I already like SoCal on FB!ReplyDelete
- Brandi MaltmanFebruary 23, 2012 at 7:59 AM
I also, never knew there were so many varieties of avocados. The ice cream looks delicious! Their sushi recipe lloks super easy too! I would like to try the fuerte avocado as they specifically say it has great taste. I am sure they all do, but it sticks out to me because it doesn't darken when ripe. Yum, all around, yum.ReplyDelete
- Jen LuberskiFebruary 23, 2012 at 8:41 AM
I would LOVE to try the Bacon Avacados! I have been experimenting with them as well. I absolutely LOVE them!!!ReplyDelete
What a great salad. I love the combination.ReplyDelete
- Rachel BlomFebruary 23, 2012 at 12:11 PM
That salad looks delicious. I'd love to try the Fuerte avocado.ReplyDelete
Bacon Avacados!ReplyDelete
I follow you on FBReplyDelete
I follow you on TwitterReplyDelete
I am interested in trying the GwenReplyDelete
I liked you on FBReplyDelete
I followed you on twitterReplyDelete
I also follow SoCal on twitter, FB and e-mailReplyDelete
I'd go for the Lamb HassReplyDelete
I follow you on FacebookReplyDelete
I friended SoCal on Facebook. Kate @kateiscookingReplyDelete
I friended SoCal on Facebook. kate @kateiscookingReplyDelete
Just have to tell you my funny about avocados. When I was three we moved to CA for a few months. My mother was thrilled to have fresh avocados ALL the time. Me, not so much. I finally looked at her and said, "I just don't go for those applecados." Now, I think about how many wonderful avocados I missed!ReplyDelete
I would try the gwen, they had me at rich & buttery!ReplyDelete
- Rachel BlomFebruary 25, 2012 at 11:15 AM
I follow you on facebook.ReplyDelete
- Rachel BlomFebruary 25, 2012 at 11:22 AM
I follow all the other VP bloggers and SoCal Avocados on FB also :)ReplyDelete
I'd like to try the Zutano and Bacon.ReplyDelete
I'm one of your current followers on both facebook and twitter.ReplyDelete
I am following Miss in the Kitchen.ReplyDelete
I love Hass Avocados but would like to try the Bacon ones as they sound interesting.ReplyDelete
I follow on Twitter as @southerncookerReplyDelete


text:
|Series :
|Rating :
|Disc No :
|Episode :
|First Aired :
|14 Jan 2005
|Stardate :
|Director :
|David Straiton
|Year :
|Writers :
|Ken LaZebnik, Michael Bryant
|Season :
|Guest Cast :
|So the inventor of transporters was badly injured by one; his son was "killed" testing one; and he says that several other people were killed testing them. Call me a coward, but I'd want to know that they had sent a few monkeys through the transporter at least ten thousand times each before I went anywhere near it. Don't they do animal testing in the future?
Emory says his sub-quantum transporter is a completely flawed concept. So how come it worked on the probe? And if we say that he just did a normal transport on the probe, why would it end up 40,000 kilometres away? Previous episodes have indicated that the Enterprise transporter range is a few thousand kilometres, tops, so this was extended by at least tenfold! And even if we assume that Emory came up with some upgrade to the normal transporter to allow this, what was all that about "maybe you can extend your range a few hundred kilometres" at the end - he'd already beaten that by a long way!
New fact about Archer - he was one of those child prodigies! In this episode he talks about a heart-to-heart chat he had with his father the day before he went to flight school. In "Cold Station 12", we are told that Archer's father died when he was only twelve years old. So Archer must have gone to flight school when he wasn't even a teenager!
|Great Moment :
|I have to go with Bill Cobbs. He does a good job as Emory, especially when talking about the loss of his son.
|Body Count :
|Two - Emory's son Quinn and Ensign burrows.
|Factoid :
|Emory Erickson was the first Human being to be transported; the transport cycle took a minute and a half to complete. Transporters do indeed pull a person apart into their constituent particles and then squirt them through space, just like McCoy always said they did.
Since Emory invented the transporter, we can have a reasonable window on when this happened. We can be fairly sure that the transporter wasn't cleared for biomatter (people) until shortly before Enterprise began in 2151 thanks to "Broken Bow". Emory was already working on the sub-Quantum transporter fifteen years before this episode, in 2139. So he would more than likely have built the original transporter somewhere in the region of 2120 - 2135.
|Quote :
|"Why settle for making myself miserable when I can spread the misery around to an entire class of students?" - Erickson; on teaching
"At least the warp engines still need me!" - Trip; on T'Pol dumping him
Emory Erickson, inventor of the transporter, comes aboard the NX-01 to test a new invention - the sub-quantum transporter, a device which could beam people between star systems. The ship travels to a barren region of space to test the device, but when a crewman is killed by a mysterious anomaly Archer begins to suspect that Erickson may be working to another agenda entirely.
I didn't like this one much. The idea of bringing the inventor of the transporter onto the ship is a reasonable one, but the story used to frame it is a bit nonsensical and, frankly, silly. The idea that this guy has been floating around in space in a dematerialised state for fifteen years... I couldn't get past that and the episode suffered because of it.
There are shades of Voyager's "Jetrel" here; in both episodes a scientist who comes aboard saying he wants to do one thing when actually he is lying to cover his true mission. In both the real mission involves using the transporter to recover a person apparently killed by the scientist's actions in the distant past. In both the recovery attempt proceeds once the plot is uncovered, and in both that attempt then fails.
Unfortunately, while Jetrel makes an outstanding episode out of this premise, Daedalus just feels flat and lifeless somehow. It doesn't really grab you or involve you in any way.
|Copyright Graham Kennedy
|Page views : 3,198
|Last updated : 24 Nov 2014