Man, what ever happened to Dell...

I used to like Dell, really. I liked the ability to configure my computers to my specifications. Their cases were also fairly roomy, which made it easy when you had to replace components. I just had a horrendous experience with Dell.

In May, my laptop died in mishap of comical proportions. I made a stupid mistake of underestimating my clumsiness, and spilled my drink all over the laptop. The computer shut off on it's own(bad) I popped the back case, and cleaned it off as well as I could, and then put it up in my closet out of the way to dry. I figured I'd check it after a week and see if it was salvagable or not.

That night, my cat finished off the job. She decided the laptop was a great lounging spot, and in the process, knocked the laptop down. The case was cracked, the harddrive went flying and about half of my function keys were shattered from the keyboard. Basically, a total wash as the repairs would cost more than the laptop. Since the laptop was a gift, I did not have my standard laptop accidental coverage.

Unfortunately, the laptop was a gift from my Dad. As I didn't want any awkward questions on the status of my laptop, I decided to order the replacement from Dell since the original laptop was a Dell. I placed my order on the website after fiddling with the config options for about half an hr. This time I got accidental spill coverage ;)

Then the waiting starts. After about 2 weeks, they send me a notification that my order is delayed. About 2 weeks later, they send another notification of a delay, and request that I confirm my order. I send confirmation of my order by email. 1 day later, they cancel my order. The cancellation letter states that I can email back for an explantion, but when I do, they tell me they cannot explain anything, just provide the status of my order and direct me to contact customer servicce. I called them up on the phone and spoke to customer service. No one could explain why or how the order had been cancelled, just that it had been. The woman I spoke to then transferred me over to sales.

Sales explains that they are backed up on orders, and that they have no way of placing my order back in the queue where it was, just to create a brand new order. He then goes on to explain that it will take over 25 days before they are able to ship my laptop at the current queue. I ask to have my order expedited as I did not authorize the cancellation of the work order, and should not be moved to the back of the line because of a mistake on Dell's part. No can do.. but they oh so helpfully offer to upgrade my shipping. So instead of waiting 58 days it will only take 56, well I guess that is helpful.....

I don't understand how a company can expect to survive when they consider it ok to take 2 months to deliver a computer. I also at this point don't feel comfortable ordering from them, as I have no guarantees they won't decide to do the same thing with my order once again after another month of waiting. So, it looks like I'll be going to Best Buy tonight instead.

- Monocot