Has Dell's support gone south?

[Athena]

I had a horrible time with Dell tech support last year when I bought my new computer. There was a hard to diagnose problem with the LAN card - it would connect to some Internet sites, but others, most notably Everquest which was 90% of the reason I bought the damn computer - it wouldn’t.

I spent literally HOURS on the phone on hold, talking to idiot tech guys, and being transferred from their Windows group to their Hardware group to their Software group. I repeated my story dozens of times. I finally appeared to get one manager’s attention when I told her that if the problem wasn’t resolved I was returning the computer. She assured me that she’d have her top A-1 mucho mojo tech support person get back to me that afternoon.

That was a year ago. I still haven’t heard back from them.

I finally resolved my own problem by purchasing a $15 LAN card and installing it to see if THAT worked. It did. I’m happy. But Dell support sucks mangey donkey balls.

[DougC]

• • • By the by, it is my understanding that many off-the-shelf computers that now come with WinXP don’t even come with a reinstall CD (I ain’t shopped in a couple years at least, so I dunno)… so how do you reinstall the OS with no CD? …-or are the vast hordes of Indian expert techs about to lose their most valuable tool? (gasp!)
      ~

[bare]

Dell ships original CD’s of everything installed on the computer.
Did I just say something positive about Dell?
::SMACK::

[SlowMindThinking]

*Originally posted by Avalonian *
**I’m with slortar… our first home PC was a Dell, waaaay back in 1996. We had lots of questions, and the Dell support people had lots of answers – good ones even! And when the monitor went kerflooey (literally) about a month after we got the machine, we got a new monitor sent to us within 2 days, with no problems. Pretty flippin’ awesome.

It’s sad to hear that Dell has abandoned the one thing that would guarantee me coming back to them (great support) in favor of something that I can get elsewhere (low prices).

Ah well. Dude, guess I’m not getting a Dell after all. **

Well, I got my first Dell Waaay back. I think it was 1988. I was really impressed with their support back then. I got my second Dell in 98. I know that because it has Windows 98 on it. When a MS patch made have to reinstall my operating system, support was great. (just before Me) I bought a laptop two years ago. I wanted support for an issue with the DvD just over a year ago. They were so worthless that I decided my next PC would not be a Dell.

I’m thinking my next computer is a Linux box from IBM.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

I dunno; last month my husband’s motherboard got fried on his Dell. He got immediate help from someone very competent, who stayed on the phone with him for over an hour while they tested component after component to find the problem. Then the guy worked to find a replacement close to us so that it could be delivered and installed by someone local. My husband was up and running again before noon the next day–and the guy followed up in the morning to make sure the courier had gotten there.