Dell WTF



  • Last year, I tried to buy a pc from Dell. They told me all the parts were in stock (nothing was back ordered) and that it would be delivered "on time". They lied; some parts were back ordered. Their policy is to tell customers that it's "on time" until they miss the deadline, and then they'll send you an e-mail telling you of the unfortunate delay and specifying a new "on time" delivery date. I wound up buying a mac.

    Once again, I was looking to get back into the windows world, and ordered from Dell (Vostro 420). I asked at the time of order and again a few days later: is anything on back order or are all the parts available? Dell replied that nothing was back ordered, everything was available and it would be delivered on time. 10 days later, the deadline for overnight shipping to get it to me on time passed so I called and inquired. Dell's rep said that their computer said that it was "in production" (on time). When I explained that it had to have already shipped in order to be on time, and 3 service reps later, someone finally admitted that some parts were on back order and that all the Vostros were on hold.

    How hard is it to do:

    int systemWillBeDelayedDueToBackorder() {
       int availableInventory = inventoryOnHand - partsNeededForSystemsAlreadyInPipeline;
       return availableInventory <= 0;
    }

    I wound up buying from Tiger Direct and got my system delivered in less than 24 hours.

    To Hell with Dell - never again!

     



  • @snoofle said:

    Last year, I tried to buy a pc from Dell.

     

    There lies the WTF.  You should have just stopped writing after that sentence,



  •  Not a WTF. Go read The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. He has an entire chapter on how computers from Dell are built and it's quite an incredible machine.

    The short of it: it's like quantum mechanics. It's impossible to know both the current inventory and the requested part count of a given peice at the same time.



  • @snoofle said:

    How hard is it to do:

    int systemWillBeDelayedDueToBackorder() {
    int availableInventory = inventoryOnHand - partsNeededForSystemsAlreadyInPipeline;
    return availableInventory <= 0;
    }

    As someone who spends his life building eCommerce systems for medium-large retail businesses, the answer is 'very'. Sure, it's simple when you've got one dude with 5 lines of stock selling stuff out of his garage, but as soon as you have tens of thousands of lines, which go together to make other lines, which are sourced from multiple dealers and held in multiple warehouses, and you want to allow oversale of goods based upon predicted stock arrival dates, things get very, very, very complicated very, very, very fast, particularly when you don't have realtime stock reconciliation from fab plants or warehouses.



  • @vonNeumann said:

    As someone who spends his life building eCommerce systems for medium-large retail businesses, the answer is 'very'. Sure, it's simple when you've got one dude with 5 lines of stock selling stuff out of his garage, but as soon as you have tens of thousands of lines, which go together to make other lines, which are sourced from multiple dealers and held in multiple warehouses, and you want to allow oversale of goods based upon predicted stock arrival dates, things get very, very, very complicated very, very, very fast, particularly when you don't have realtime stock reconciliation from fab plants or warehouses.

    I agree that it's difficult, especially when you start dealing with predicted sales and stock deliveries, but Dell is no longer one guy working in his garage. It's long been built up into a very large and complex organization. At the very least, once they KNOW that something is out of stock, it wouldn't be THAT hard to inform all affected customers of the delay and then let them make the choice of waiting, modifying or canceling the order; continuing to tell folks everything is on-time once they know that it isn't is indefensible!



  • @JamesKilton said:

     ...Go read The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman...


    Thomas Friedman is himself a WTF.

    To reply to the OP, I have to say that my Dell shipped on-time. Granted, I made the mistake of buying one of their consumer-grade laptops, but aside from a small issue with the wireless card not cooperating well with Linux (it's fixed, works better than on XP now), the machine isn't bad. Five hours of battery life, and more than fast enough for whatever I need.

    Despite that, the next laptop probably won't be a Dell.



  • I was expecting the OP to be something along the lines of "I spent over 1000 dollars on a new computer from Dell and it didn't even have internet or Word. Dell made me drop out of school and ruined my life!"



  •  Why not just go to a store and choose a system that's on stock or choose your own parts and build it yourself. It would take less than waiting 10days for an 'on time' delivery from Dell.



  •  If you want your computer fast you shouldn't order a customized machine from a major dealer like HP or Dell.  Anything which was pre-configured would be fast (like your Tiger Direct).  Furthermore, you could order all the parts yourself and build a machine but you risk the same thing that probably happened to Dell.  One of your parts suppliers slips on a delivery and so you have every part but the power supply and you can't use your computer yet.

    I personally don't buy dell myself (I build my own), but I do like Dell.  However, I like Dell for price and customizability.  I don't like them for speed.  I think Dell purposefully trades off speed for price and options.  So if you need your computer fast, don't buy a Dell.



  • I've purchased several laptops and rack servers from Dell and have always been content with pricing and delivery.  I have never seen the delays you are referring to, so hopefully it was just a fluke or something.  I'm not a Dell fanboi or anything, but my next laptop will come from Dell and so will any new rack servers and most likely any flat panel displays.  Good luck with your new system, sorry to hear you had a bad experience but it sounds like things worked out for the best in the end.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    flat panel displays
     

    I only know of pricing here in Dutchland, but Dell is not the cheapest option. My current HP L2065 was cheaper, and so is LG's L2000 series.

    Of course, I was looking for IPS. Haven't paid attention to TN panels, which you might be after, which are dirt-cheap anyway.



  • @dhromed said:

    @morbiuswilters said:

    flat panel displays
     

    I only know of pricing here in Dutchland, but Dell is not the cheapest option. My current HP L2065 was cheaper, and so is LG's L2000 series.

    Of course, I was looking for IPS. Haven't paid attention to TN panels, which you might be after, which are dirt-cheap anyway.

    It's not so much about cheapness, but in the US Dell has some very good-quality displays for mid-range prices.  They are coming out with a 1920x1280 22" widescreen soon which is very uncommon and should have a very sharp picture. 



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    a 1920x1280 22" widescreen
     

    Ah, well if you're looking for that kind of res, budget's out the door anyway.

    @morbiuswilters said:

    should have a very sharp picture. 

    Hu? It's an LCD.

    LCDs have sharp pictures.



  • @dhromed said:

    @morbiuswilters said:

    a 1920x1280 22" widescreen
     

    Ah, well if you're looking for that kind of res, budget's out the door anyway.

    @morbiuswilters said:

    should have a very sharp picture. 

    Hu? It's an LCD.

    LCDs have sharp pictures.

    By "sharp" I mean "extremely high res". 



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    By "sharp" I mean "extremely high res". 
     

    Roger that.



  • @dhromed said:


    Hu? It's an LCD.

    LCDs have sharp pictures.

     




  • @dtech said:

    @dhromed said:

    Hu? It's an LCD.

    LCDs have sharp pictures.

     


    I use mine to shave and mow the lawn.


Log in to reply