Dell WTF



  • I ordered a new XPS 720 with 4GB ram, 2 seagate-320GB disks, and an nvidea gforce 256gb card, and it was due to ship in 3 weeks.

    Since they usually ship in 1-2 days, a week later, I call and am told it's on hold because the disks are on back order, but will be available in 2-3 days.

    A week later, I'm told the disks are still not available, but the video card is on back order, but will be available in 2-3 weeks. Weeks!?

    So Dell is not shipping any computers with their most commonly used disk drive or video cards for several weeks?

    Um, hey Mr. Dell, wtf gives with your company?



  • There is a saying:  Fast, cheap, good -- pick two. 

    It looks like fast is out, so let's hope it's good.



  • @Critter said:

    There is a saying:  Fast, cheap, good -- pick two. 

    It looks like fast is out, so let's hope it's good.

     

    It's a DELL, I think hoping for good is out of the question. Just hope it doesn't catch fire. 



  • @unklegwar said:

    @Critter said:

    There is a saying:  Fast, cheap, good -- pick two. 

    It looks like fast is out, so let's hope it's good.

     

    It's a DELL, I think hoping for good is out of the question. Just hope it doesn't catch fire. 

    Hmmm, I've used Dells (admittedly the crappy ones they buy at work) for years and haven't had any problems. Anyway, I got the 7x24 in home support so Dell owns it for 4 years, if they ever deliver it.

     



  • The Real WTF(TM) is that you're ordering a computer from Dell. If you're reading this site, there's about a 99% chance you have the know-how to put it together yourself. If you ordered from NewEgg and set aside an evening to build a computer, you'd have it by now...

     

    EDIT: Also, I've been reading this site for over a year, and I had to register just to say... WTF? 



  • @Bored Programmer said:

    The Real WTF(TM) is that you're ordering a computer from Dell. If you're reading this site, there's about a 99% chance you have the know-how to put it together yourself. If you ordered from NewEgg and set aside an evening to build a computer, you'd have it by now...

     

    EDIT: Also, I've been reading this site for over a year, and I had to register just to say... WTF? 

    There are many conditions under which I've fallen out of love with building my own machine.

    • For cheap machines, the $$ savings is no longer there
    • For servers, I'd rather pay for a machine with a designed and proven heat solution
    • Laptops are much more affordable now

    That really only leaves a game machine or something of the like, where I can save money and get better parts by building myself. Even there the margins are much reduced. The days of saving $300 by ordering your memory separately are long gone (unless you need 32GB of ram I guess :))

    Also over the past 15 years, pay has gone up, and prices have gone down. My job is much more specialized so researching PC parts and building a machine is no longer a useful exercise. Put all that together and one day you find yourself looking at machines instead of parts.

     


     



  • @obediah said:

    @Bored Programmer said:
    ... WTF? 

    There are many conditions under which I've fallen out of love with building my own machine.

    • For cheap machines, the $$ savings is no longer there
    • For servers, I'd rather pay for a machine with a designed and proven heat solution
    • Laptops are much more affordable now

    That really only leaves a game machine or something of the like, where I can save money and get better parts by building myself. Even there the margins are much reduced. The days of saving $300 by ordering your memory separately are long gone (unless you need 32GB of ram I guess :))

    Also over the past 15 years, pay has gone up, and prices have gone down. My job is much more specialized so researching PC parts and building a machine is no longer a useful exercise. Put all that together and one day you find yourself looking at machines instead of parts.

    Personally, I used to build from parts, but am no longer inclined to do so (after 6 systems, it has lost its appeal for me). An unexpected upside is that my kids are finding out that they actually can live without email and IM... it turns out that it's possible go outside and walk over to your friend's house, and communicate in person!



  • What I really want to know is where he got a video card with 256GB of RAM on board.



  • @Thalagyrt said:

    What I really want to know is where he got a video card with 256GB of RAM on board.

    Good catch - image what the guys at id s/w could do with that ;)

     



  • @snoofle said:

    @unklegwar said:
    @Critter said:

    There is a saying:  Fast, cheap, good -- pick two. 

    It looks like fast is out, so let's hope it's good.

     

    It's a DELL, I think hoping for good is out of the question. Just hope it doesn't catch fire. 

    Hmmm, I've used Dells (admittedly the crappy ones they buy at work) for years and haven't had any problems. Anyway, I got the 7x24 in home support so Dell owns it for 4 years, if they ever deliver it.

     

     

    Then you've had better experience. A previous employer of mine stopped using them because, as I recall the complaints of the tech guys, some 1/3 of the machines had problems, and DELL's Customer Service was less than useless in getting business systems fixed in a timely, convenient matter (as in, you'll have to deal with the HD manufacturer for HD problems, CD manufacturer for CD problems, etc)

    Add in the multitude of stories about said awful customer service, and that ever lingering concern about laptops turning into roman candles. 

    At least they could throw in some asbestos carry bags or asbestos antistatic mats. 


     

     



  • @snoofle said:

    I ordered a new XPS 720 with 4GB ram, 2 seagate-320GB disks, and an nvidea gforce 256gb card, and it was due to ship in 3 weeks.

    Since they usually ship in 1-2 days, a week later, I call and am told it's on hold because the disks are on back order, but will be available in 2-3 days.

    A week later, I'm told the disks are still not available, but the video card is on back order, but will be available in 2-3 weeks. Weeks!?

    So Dell is not shipping any computers with their most commonly used disk drive or video cards for several weeks?

       No, they're just bastards who are lying to your face.




  • @DaveK said:

    @snoofle said:

    I ordered a new XPS 720 with 4GB ram, 2 seagate-320GB disks, and an nvidea gforce 256gb card, and it was due to ship in 3 weeks.

    Since they usually ship in 1-2 days, a week later, I call and am told it's on hold because the disks are on back order, but will be available in 2-3 days.

    A week later, I'm told the disks are still not available, but the video card is on back order, but will be available in 2-3 weeks. Weeks!?

    So Dell is not shipping any computers with their most commonly used disk drive or video cards for several weeks?

       No, they're just bastards who are lying to your face.


    Hmmm, I've been avoiding Gateway as I've had 2 of their desktops die after 3 (trouble free) years, and I've heard assorted horror stories about most of the other vendors.

    Any suggestions (please be kind)? (IIRC, cost is not an issue)



  • @unklegwar said:

    @Critter said:

    There is a saying:  Fast, cheap, good -- pick two. 

    It looks like fast is out, so let's hope it's good.

     

    It's a DELL, I think hoping for good is out of the question. Just hope it doesn't catch fire. 

    Dell computers cannot normally burn, because they fall apart at the touch of a light breeze, so most ignition sources will obliterate them before the unit actually begins to burn.

    I've had remarkably little component failure from Dell systems besides hard drives, but the overall build quality is pathetic. I've had sneezes with better structural integrity. The only way to keep them in one piece is to dump them in concrete. Who the hell makes cases with side panels that can break off entirely?



  • @snoofle said:

    Good catch - image what the guys at id s/w could do with that ;)
    I'm more of Valve fanboy myself.



  • @unklegwar said:

    @Critter said:

    There is a saying:  Fast, cheap, good -- pick two. 

    It looks like fast is out, so let's hope it's good.

     

    It's a DELL, I think hoping for good is out of the question. Just hope it doesn't catch fire. 

    Dells are pretty good.  On the occasional  circumstance that I don't build my computers/servers, I go with them.  Just wish they would get rid of their "Low Profile" Cases... makes it hard to get decent equipment for them once they arrive.



  • I've bought many a Dell over the years, and have recommended them to my friends and family. So far they have an unwavering track record with the people I know that use them, and after personally owning two PCs and two laptops, I have yet to encounter a single problem that tech support couldn't handle in 24-48 hours.

    That being said, please tell me if I'm missing the point of the OP's article, but although he was told it would take 3 weeks, he thought it would be more like 2 days, and he's pissed because it actually will take 3 weeks? From the specs it looks like it's a fairly high-end system, so if you aren't willing to get one of the pre-packaged crap Compaqs or HP's from Best Buy, then just chill out man. There was a time when ordering from Dell translated to at least a 4 to 6 week delivery schedule, that's the price you pay for wanting the ability to customize all the internals. It's a faster process nowadays, but occaisionally they might run low on certain parts.



  • I had a similar issue.  I ordered a laptop, and after a few days it has not shipped so I called on a Friday.  They said it was backed ordered and would not ship for two weeks.  Said ok, and hung up.  Realized I could not wait I tried to call the following day (a Saturday) and was informed in order to cancel the order I'd have to call back on Monday.  So I drove out and picked up a laptop at the local store and waited until Monday to cancel.  When I got to the office on Monday, and called to cancel and they informed me the computer was un a UPS truck for delivery... and sure enough, 3 hours later the it was delivered right to my desk.  So much for a 3 week back-order.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

    I was able to get a refund and they took the computer back without any trouble at all... they covered the shipping and everything like that.  My experience with Dell has always been positive, both from a customer service perspective and from a quality perspective.  I find the people that complain about their computers 'falling apart' are typically the people that have all of their stuff also fall apart... usually due to the fact they don't care for their belongings in general.<o:p></o:p>

     Actually another funny thing about the initial call - After giving my address to the first call center girl, she informed me she used to work for the landscaping company that cut the grass at the school across from my house, then went on to say that she hates my town and can't stand to drive through it.  Now mind you, the town is middle class and above so I questioned her about her comment.  She told me the reason she hates it is because her ex-husband lives here with her son... obviously a messy divorce....<o:p></o:p>

    <o:p><FONT face=Calibri size=3> </FONT></o:p>

     



  • @kswanton said:

    I find the people that complain about their computers 'falling apart' are typically the people that have all of their stuff also fall apart... usually due to the fact they don't care for their belongings in general.<o:p></o:p>

    I'm a sysadmin, and my observation is based on the relative numbers of hardware faults that I have to repair or replace. Dells are fragile pieces of junk. 



  • I still build my main computers from parts. Why? Well, because I'm going to have to spend hours getting the thing into a usable shape whichever route I take - either putting it together from parts, or laboriously removing all the crapware, shovelware, and so on that places like Dell stuff their computers full of.

    Choosing parts and fiddling with hardware is fun. Wrestling with Dell's website and removing Symantec malware is not fun. Therefore, I build from parts. :)



  • I'm building my next one from parts because I want better hardware-fu.



  • I've just upgraded my pc by hand, which was originally built by hand.

    You aren't "l33t" until you've successfully migrated a windows install from one motherboard to another without using the "repair install" option in the Windows install cd.

    Next step: Fix my ubuntu linux install.



  • @Manni said:

    I've bought many a Dell over the years, and have recommended them to my friends and family. So far they have an unwavering track record with the people I know that use them, and after personally owning two PCs and two laptops, I have yet to encounter a single problem that tech support couldn't handle in 24-48 hours.

    That being said, please tell me if I'm missing the point of the OP's article, but although he was told it would take 3 weeks, he thought it would be more like 2 days, and he's pissed because it actually will take 3 weeks? From the specs it looks like it's a fairly high-end system, so if you aren't willing to get one of the pre-packaged crap Compaqs or HP's from Best Buy, then just chill out man. There was a time when ordering from Dell translated to at least a 4 to 6 week delivery schedule, that's the price you pay for wanting the ability to customize all the internals. It's a faster process nowadays, but occaisionally they might run low on certain parts.

    Actually, I was pissed because they told me that the disk drives and video cards were on back order and not expected for at least another 3-5 weeks (this being two weeks after I placed the order). Since the components were fairly mainstream, it seemed unreasonable that they couldn't build the system for the promised delivery date. That being said, their customer service folks turned out to be pathetic. Simply changing the order from a 320GB disk that was on back order to a 500GB disk that was in stock required cancelling the entire order (including financing), and re-entering it - manually - at their end - by someone that sounded like an untrained chimp attempting to read from a script. Needless to say, they got it wrong 4 (f*o*u*r) times. Finally I told them to shove it, drove over to the nearest Apple store, and got more than I needed in 10 minutes for $800 less.

    It's like watching Detroit screw themselves over - one vehicle computer at a time.

     



  • @snoofle said:

    @Manni said:

    I've bought many a Dell over the years, and have recommended them to my friends and family. So far they have an unwavering track record with the people I know that use them, and after personally owning two PCs and two laptops, I have yet to encounter a single problem that tech support couldn't handle in 24-48 hours.

    That being said, please tell me if I'm missing the point of the OP's article, but although he was told it would take 3 weeks, he thought it would be more like 2 days, and he's pissed because it actually will take 3 weeks? From the specs it looks like it's a fairly high-end system, so if you aren't willing to get one of the pre-packaged crap Compaqs or HP's from Best Buy, then just chill out man. There was a time when ordering from Dell translated to at least a 4 to 6 week delivery schedule, that's the price you pay for wanting the ability to customize all the internals. It's a faster process nowadays, but occaisionally they might run low on certain parts.

    Actually, I was pissed because they told me that the disk drives and video cards were on back order and not expected for at least another 3-5 weeks (this being two weeks after I placed the order). Since the components were fairly mainstream, it seemed unreasonable that they couldn't build the system for the promised delivery date. That being said, their customer service folks turned out to be pathetic. Simply changing the order from a 320GB disk that was on back order to a 500GB disk that was in stock required cancelling the entire order (including financing), and re-entering it - manually - at their end - by someone that sounded like an untrained chimp attempting to read from a script. Needless to say, they got it wrong 4 (f*o*u*r) times. Finally I told them to shove it, drove over to the nearest Apple store, and got more than I needed in 10 minutes for $800 less.

    It's like watching Detroit screw themselves over - one vehicle computer at a time.

     

    If you got what you needed at the Apple store for $800 less, then you didn't need what you ordered from Dell.

    As for the delay, your original story said after 2 weeks they were expecting to ship in 3 weeks leaving them 2 weeks off from their original date.  Things happen.

     As far as them not shipping any computers with that hard drive or that video card.  They are not lying and they ARE shipping computers with them.  To customers that ordered before you.  You don't really think that you are the ONLY person on the planet that ordered a computer with those parts from Dell in the last month do you?
     



  • The last time I bought a pre-built computer was 8 years ago - ever since I've just been upgrading it peace-by-peace (I got rid the last part of that original computer last year when I threw out the 8GB Quantum drive).



  • Just a quick question.

    Where do you leave the old stuff? Big box of goodies? Build computers from them and donate to charity?



  • Depends. I sold some stuff, I used some as parts for computers for my family, and I gave a few items away.



  • @Thief^ said:

    I've just upgraded my pc by hand, which was originally built by hand.

    You aren't "l33t" until you've successfully migrated a windows install from one motherboard to another without using the "repair install" option in the Windows install cd.


    This really depends on the version of Windows.  I've got an install of Windows 3.1 that I've migrated from the original 486DX to a K6-II, an Athlon XP, and now its current residence on a MacBook Pro.



  • @Carnildo said:

    @Thief^ said:

    I've just upgraded my pc by hand, which was originally built by hand.

    You aren't "l33t" until you've successfully migrated a windows install from one motherboard to another without using the "repair install" option in the Windows install cd.


    This really depends on the version of Windows.  I've got an install of Windows 3.1 that I've migrated from the original 486DX to a K6-II, an Athlon XP, and now its current residence on a MacBook Pro.


    Why would you do a thing like this?



  • @Cap'n Steve said:

    @Carnildo said:
    @Thief^ said:

    I've just upgraded my pc by hand, which was originally built by hand.

    You aren't "l33t" until you've successfully migrated a windows install from one motherboard to another without using the "repair install" option in the Windows install cd.


    This really depends on the version of Windows. I've got an install of Windows 3.1 that I've migrated from the original 486DX to a K6-II, an Athlon XP, and now its current residence on a MacBook Pro.



    Why would you do a thing like this?

    To be 539(16), of course!



  • @Cap'n Steve said:

    @Carnildo said:
    @Thief^ said:

    I've just upgraded my pc by hand, which was originally built by hand.

    You aren't "l33t" until you've successfully migrated a windows install from one motherboard to another without using the "repair install" option in the Windows install cd.


    This really depends on the version of Windows.  I've got an install of Windows 3.1 that I've migrated from the original 486DX to a K6-II, an Athlon XP, and now its current residence on a MacBook Pro.


    Why would you do a thing like this?

    These days, it's mainly useful for the reactions people have to a MacBook Pro running Windows 3.1.



  • I just gave up and installed Windows 3.1 in dosbox for my 16-bit program needs.

    x86-64 cpus won't run 16-bit code while in 64-bit mode, and XP x64 is missing the 16-bit compatibility layer (WOW16) entirely.

    That reminds me, now that I've upgraded my cpu pcsx2 should run at closer to full speed. 


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