I'm TRYING to do what you suggested, Dell!

The BBQ Pit
1

Ordered a computer system off of Dell’s Web site last week. (My company has a reciprocal agreement with them, so we get cheaper prices.)

The online order tracker, which until today was showing the status of my order quite nicely, now tells me to call a sales representative; apparently there’s some problem. So I’m trying to call a sales representative.

Unfortunately, the entire population of India apparently is also doing the same thing, because I have been on hold now for one hour and forty minutes.

I would cheerfully (and gratefully) handle this via e-mail, but every screen I’ve found on the Dell site that allows you to check the status of an order directs me to the phone once I input my order number.

Hey, Dell, if you’re gonna tell folks to call, you might wanna actually answer the phone, y’know?

Sheesh.

2

Heh. I don’t suppose Dell uses Emery, do they? If so, they’re gonna be a little backed up on the phone lines for a bit.

3

Well, I finally got through. I gave up after holding for two hours. I called back this afternoon, and only had to hold for 24 minutes. So I guess that’s an improvement of sorts.

4

Well?? Don’t keep us in suspenders!

5

Oh. Whoops. Sorry. I got through and the very helpful Dell rep talked me through the problem. So my system should be here in a matter of days.

Yay!

6

Watch the shipping like a hawk.

I ordered from you, Dell, a few months ago, and while I’ve got a sweet mamma-jamma of a system now, it came in three different shipments on three different days from two different couriers. This helpful service was provided, I’m sure, by the department of collecting the order and then putting it on a giant spinning steel plate and allowing centrifugal force to separate it randomly into grey buckets that Pete from shipping walks over to the delivery counter.

But at least you provided absolutely no fucking indication that there was more than one shipment. The shipment, you said in your cheery help-center voice, is slated to arrive on Friday. So I took Friday off, like a good boy, and sat around the house watching the Cubbies and talking to the dog. Guess which day was the only day for the next four business days that some nice person in a blue or brown uniform didn’t politely knock on my door to deliver something from my friends at Dell? That’s right. Friday.

Little did I know that “slated to arrive” does not mean “will arrive”. It means “almost definitely will not arrive but may through some grand accident of fate”.

Not that I’m bitter.