Goals led Dell to cook the books

TalkBack 2 of 4:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

"EFFORT" to sell laptops in 8 "snazzy colors" is ABOUT ALL!

I recently purchased an HP dv9500t online from HP. I started doing my serious shopping in early July almost a month before my state had its annual back-to-school sales tax holiday, so I could be sure what I wanted in time to save the sales tax.

I narrowed down my choice pretty quickly to either a Dell Inspiron 1720 or the dv9500t, and was posting and reading HEAVILY in threads dedicated to BOTH laptops at the www.NotebookReview.com forum. Each had a thing or two to offer the other didn't, and I was flip-flopping a little between which I wanted, but DELL made my mind up for me (even though my current DESKTOP is a Del XPS 410 I got last November after a bad experience with my second HP Media Center PC -- my first still runs fine)...

HOW did Dell make my mind up? Well, there are folks on that forum who placed their orders when I first started shopping around July 10 who STILL haven't had their orders SHIP! I placed my order for my HP Aug. 3 and it shipped Aug. 9 and was here Aug. 13.

I continue to monitor the "Official Inspiron 1720 Owners" thread, and people who have ordered Inspirons in certain colors are being told it will be sometime in SEPTEMBER before their orders are shipped, while people who order with a basic black case are getting theirs in as little as a week... Some, when they call and ask what the holdup is, are being told Dell ran out of GLASS for the LCD screens -- or that the factory that supplies them did -- WHATEVER "story" it takes to get folks off the line, but then those stories are posted on the Notebook forum... Several of those folks have finally canceled their orders out of frustration and ordered what I did, or bought one of the similar systems available at retail, while others stubbornly persist and complain.

As for me, I've had multiple problems with Windows Media Center working with my TV Tuner since upgrading to Vista (which, of course, in supported ONLY by Dell, since my Vista was a Dell upgrade)... They even sent me a "new" tuner card, which was labeled as a refurbished card (although they sent me a letter threatening to charge me full price for a NEW tuner card when I didn't send the original back fast enough! I've been through their "tech support" so many times I've given up on it... At least when it comes to Vista issues -- particularly Media Center -- they're CLUELESS and although my HARDWARE is great, they've lost me as a customer.

So I'd say they're NOT just taking "shortcuts" and/or understaffed in their financial department. I'd say they're taking shortcuts and/or understaffed ALL AROUND... They need to WAKE UP and start doing EVERYTHING RIGHT or they'll be in far worse shape than SECOND PLACE!
Jeff Hayes

Posted by: Jeff Hayes   Posted on: 08/19/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now
• VMware Infrastructure: A Guide to Bottom-Line Benefits VMware Frustrated by the costs of maintain ever larger data centers?or building ... Download Now