Dell Laptop Battery Support Problems

As a computer guy, folks frequently ask me what kind of computer they should buy.  Until recently my recommendation was to go with a Dell. I’ve changed my preference although I’m sure you can still find some good deals from Dell. 

One of the reasons I’ll stop recommending Dell is their lack of support. Earlier this year I had a problem and now daughter my Erica has been charged over $200 for batteries that don’t match her laptop. You may have read my “Dell Phone Support Disassembles My Laptop” post. Erica’s experience was more frustrating and costly.

Last month, Erica ordered a replacement battery for her Dell laptop after her original battery died. Her problem started when Dell sent her the wrong replacement battery.

Her first call to Dell was unsuccessful because she didn’t have her laptop available when she called.  On her 2^nd phone call she was told, “sorry”, she was a few days past the 21 day return policy.

After some discussion the support representative decided, as long as it was a replacement and not money back there wouldn’t be a problem. That sounded reasonable until they sent her wrong battery again.

After calling Dell support back expecting them to chuckle at their mistake, she was told it was her problem, not theirs. She could only get a replacement on the wrong battery. A supervisor repeatedly told her “ I don't know ma'am, that's not my problem."  Even, the tech support who forwarded her call told the supervisor that Dell wasn’t being “customer centric”.

I should point out that each phone call included a 20–40 minute wait time which is also unacceptable. The real irony is my youngest daughter Amy also replaced her Dell Laptop battery but ordered a 3^rd party battery on Amazon. Her experience was a positive one and Amazon’s 30 return policy was clear.

My own recent laptop purchase was a Lenovo ThinkPad and I couldn't be happier. Looks like Lenovo will be my new recommendation.

Thanks to Ben Popkin at The Consumerist 
   Dell: We Can Only Send You the Wrong Kind Of Battery

Update: Thanks to Dell Customer Outreach Liasison, Larry I'm pleased to report that Erica finally has the proper battery and refund.   Snaps to Dell, their customer advocates and the folk(s) who let Dell know of our problem.

Dell Phone Support Disassembles My Laptop

Dell made the news recently after my friends at New York’s Attorney Generals office sued for “false advertising, failure to provide services and deceptive business practices”. I recently purchased a new Dell laptop and while I didn’t submit a complaint I was a victim of one of the charges.

Most news organizations and bloggers are focusing on misleading finance offers and long waits on the phone but my experience was a first of its kind for me. According to the list of complaints my experience falls in the following category…

• pressuring consumers, including those who purchased service contracts promising “next day onsite” repair, to remove the external cover of their computer and remove, reinstall, and manipulate hardware components;

My new Inspiron 1520 had a problem with bad memory. As a technical person it wasn’t hard for me to run the appropriate tests and confirm my own diagnosis. After removing the external memory chip, the problem still existed so it appeared the laptop would need internal servicing.

So I called Dell to arrange my repairs. Imagine my surprise when the phone rep wanted me to remove the keyboard and unscrew internal components so I could access the internal memory chip. I was stunned. I just couldn’t imagine them telling somebody’s mother how to do this over the phone.

Even I didn’t feel comfortable snapping off my keyboard so I pleaded with the rep to just let me pack up my laptop and ship it to Dell. Nope, if I wanted it repaired, my only option was to work with the phone rep. I finally agreed and sure enough it turned out I had a bad memory chip inside my laptop.

Now for the good news. Dell still didn’t want me to send back my laptop. Instead, they shipped the required hardware to a local repair rep who came out to my home and completed my repairs. Kudos to Dell for in-home repairs but please stop the over-the-phone surgery.

Back Up Plans and Hard Drive Crash Stats

I wanted to post something useful today but I’m having a lazy day. I didn’t feel like doing a lot of research and writing so I’m going to use this time to preach the bible of regular backups. It’s something that can’t be stressed enough.

Seriously, the number one support Email I receive looks something like this…

5/1/2007 Jeff wrote: “I recently had a total system crash and need to know how to reinstall the "Pro" version, which I previously paid for. “

4/29/2007 Cheryl wrote: “I have plus but when my computer crashed I lost the code and info. Can you please send it to me?”

4/28/2007 Linda wrote: “I WOULD LIKE TO REINSTALL MY WP PLUS. I HAVE MY COD NUMBER. I AM NOT SURE HOW TO DO IT. MY COMPUTER CRASHED AND I LOST EVERTHING”

Do you have an actual backup plan? Have you backed up your critical data recently? Your music? Photos? Address Book? Custom settings?

If not stop reading my Blog and do it now!

If you have or you’re done you can read the research Google did at http://209.85.163.132/papers/disk_failures.pdf