Anatomy of a Dell Service Call

Spread this far and wide. What the world would look like without Gateway
tech support.
This by no means is an isolated case. Since the demise of Compaq and the
preceived (premature) death of Gateway, we welcome you to a near
monopoly world.

http://www.varbusiness.com/component...rticleID=43245

Anatomy of a Dell Service Call

By Rob Wright, VARBusiness

10:29 AM EST Wed., July 16, 2003

When a customer came in with a Dell Dimension 4500S and requested an
11-inch ribbon cable replacement, Roger Grady, president of Native
Systems in Boulder, Colo., didn't hesitate for a second before saying,
"No problem."

Famous last words.

Instead of a quick fix, however, Native Systems, which repairs and
services computers, including Dell systems, spent nearly three hours
trying to order the small part from Dell. Along the way, it endured
lengthy holds and scant help from Dell's outsourced technical support
and customer service.

Here's a look at the saga of the 11-inch ribbon cable, as documented by
Grady:

11:53 a.m.: Grady calls Dell at 1-800-449-DELL and stays on hold for 18
minutes and 26 seconds. After being transferred, he's told to call a new
number.

12:15 p.m.: Grady calls the new number--an automated service for Dell
home and small business reconditioned parts. He chooses several options
and talks with a customer service representative who then transfers
Grady to five other reps. After being passed off several times and then
left on hold for another 33 minutes, Grady hangs up.

12:50: Grady tries another number and is transferred

three times to a rep who is finally able to verify the PC model and
requested part. But then he is left on hold for 10 minutes.

1:15: After hanging up again, Grady calls Dell's main number again and
selects several options to get a sales rep. Grady is transferred to
another rep who offers an 18-inch cable but says she cannot handle an
order for an 11-inch cable. Grady selects another option, this time
Dell's technical support, which tells him they can't get the part to
Native Systems. He is told to call an extension for Dimension support.

2:12: After calling the new extension, Grady waits on hold for several
minutes and then talks with a customer-service rep who takes the request
and says he's going to get the part number for the order.

2:34: After waiting on hold for several minutes, the line goes dead.

2:35: Grady calls back the main Dell number and tries the tech-support
extension once again. He tries to get in touch with the rep he
previously spoke to, but the new service rep says she cannot transfer
him to another rep, so he gives the rep the order request.

2:44: After waiting on the line for a few minutes, the service rep hangs
up. After nearly three hours, Grady ends the futile pursuit for the
11-inch cable.


Cheers,

Albert

What Gateway Tech Support. I own a Gateway. When I bought it I didn't get any
help for anything, except an email asking twenty questions and then an
irrelevant answer. I unfortunately had an operating system called Windows ME
which was junk. I called a PC Service and had the system upgraded to Windows
XP.

Ed

Albertv wrote:

Spread this far and wide. What the world would look like without Gateway
tech support.
This by no means is an isolated case. Since the demise of Compaq and the
preceived (premature) death of Gateway, we welcome you to a near
monopoly world.

http://www.varbusiness.com/component...rticleID=43245

Anatomy of a Dell Service Call

By Rob Wright, VARBusiness

10:29 AM EST Wed., July 16, 2003

When a customer came in with a Dell Dimension 4500S and requested an
11-inch ribbon cable replacement, Roger Grady, president of Native
Systems in Boulder, Colo., didn't hesitate for a second before saying,
"No problem."

Famous last words.

Instead of a quick fix, however, Native Systems, which repairs and
services computers, including Dell systems, spent nearly three hours
trying to order the small part from Dell. Along the way, it endured
lengthy holds and scant help from Dell's outsourced technical support
and customer service.

Here's a look at the saga of the 11-inch ribbon cable, as documented by
Grady:

11:53 a.m.: Grady calls Dell at 1-800-449-DELL and stays on hold for 18
minutes and 26 seconds. After being transferred, he's told to call a new
number.

12:15 p.m.: Grady calls the new number--an automated service for Dell
home and small business reconditioned parts. He chooses several options
and talks with a customer service representative who then transfers
Grady to five other reps. After being passed off several times and then
left on hold for another 33 minutes, Grady hangs up.

12:50: Grady tries another number and is transferred

three times to a rep who is finally able to verify the PC model and
requested part. But then he is left on hold for 10 minutes.

1:15: After hanging up again, Grady calls Dell's main number again and
selects several options to get a sales rep. Grady is transferred to
another rep who offers an 18-inch cable but says she cannot handle an
order for an 11-inch cable. Grady selects another option, this time
Dell's technical support, which tells him they can't get the part to
Native Systems. He is told to call an extension for Dimension support.

2:12: After calling the new extension, Grady waits on hold for several
minutes and then talks with a customer-service rep who takes the request
and says he's going to get the part number for the order.

2:34: After waiting on hold for several minutes, the line goes dead.

2:35: Grady calls back the main Dell number and tries the tech-support
extension once again. He tries to get in touch with the rep he
previously spoke to, but the new service rep says she cannot transfer
him to another rep, so he gives the rep the order request.

2:44: After waiting on the line for a few minutes, the service rep hangs
up. After nearly three hours, Grady ends the futile pursuit for the
11-inch cable.

Cheers,

Albert

I have 5 Gateway systems, 4 desktops and one lap top and the few times that I have
needed parts or technical help I have been more then satisfied. I guess some
people are very hard to please if not impossible.
Bob

"Crawfish A. Crustacean" wrote:

What Gateway Tech Support. I own a Gateway. When I bought it I didn't get any
help for anything, except an email asking twenty questions and then an
irrelevant answer. I unfortunately had an operating system called Windows ME
which was junk. I called a PC Service and had the system upgraded to Windows
XP.

Ed

Albertv wrote:

Spread this far and wide. What the world would look like without Gateway
tech support.
This by no means is an isolated case. Since the demise of Compaq and the
preceived (premature) death of Gateway, we welcome you to a near
monopoly world.

http://www.varbusiness.com/component...rticleID=43245

Anatomy of a Dell Service Call

By Rob Wright, VARBusiness

10:29 AM EST Wed., July 16, 2003

When a customer came in with a Dell Dimension 4500S and requested an
11-inch ribbon cable replacement, Roger Grady, president of Native
Systems in Boulder, Colo., didn't hesitate for a second before saying,
"No problem."

Famous last words.

Instead of a quick fix, however, Native Systems, which repairs and
services computers, including Dell systems, spent nearly three hours
trying to order the small part from Dell. Along the way, it endured
lengthy holds and scant help from Dell's outsourced technical support
and customer service.

Here's a look at the saga of the 11-inch ribbon cable, as documented by
Grady:

11:53 a.m.: Grady calls Dell at 1-800-449-DELL and stays on hold for 18
minutes and 26 seconds. After being transferred, he's told to call a new
number.

12:15 p.m.: Grady calls the new number--an automated service for Dell
home and small business reconditioned parts. He chooses several options
and talks with a customer service representative who then transfers
Grady to five other reps. After being passed off several times and then
left on hold for another 33 minutes, Grady hangs up.

12:50: Grady tries another number and is transferred

three times to a rep who is finally able to verify the PC model and
requested part. But then he is left on hold for 10 minutes.

1:15: After hanging up again, Grady calls Dell's main number again and
selects several options to get a sales rep. Grady is transferred to
another rep who offers an 18-inch cable but says she cannot handle an
order for an 11-inch cable. Grady selects another option, this time
Dell's technical support, which tells him they can't get the part to
Native Systems. He is told to call an extension for Dimension support.

2:12: After calling the new extension, Grady waits on hold for several
minutes and then talks with a customer-service rep who takes the request
and says he's going to get the part number for the order.

2:34: After waiting on hold for several minutes, the line goes dead.

2:35: Grady calls back the main Dell number and tries the tech-support
extension once again. He tries to get in touch with the rep he
previously spoke to, but the new service rep says she cannot transfer
him to another rep, so he gives the rep the order request.

2:44: After waiting on the line for a few minutes, the service rep hangs
up. After nearly three hours, Grady ends the futile pursuit for the
11-inch cable.

Cheers,

Albert

If the tech you are talking to appears to be clueless, be polite hang up
and dial again, works for me.

Albert


Bob Smith wrote:

I have 5 Gateway systems, 4 desktops and one lap top and the few times that I have
needed parts or technical help I have been more then satisfied. I guess some
people are very hard to please if not impossible.
Bob

"Crawfish A. Crustacean" wrote:


What Gateway Tech Support. I own a Gateway. When I bought it I didn't get any
help for anything, except an email asking twenty questions and then an
irrelevant answer. I unfortunately had an operating system called Windows ME
which was junk. I called a PC Service and had the system upgraded to Windows
XP.

Ed

Albertv wrote:


Spread this far and wide. What the world would look like without Gateway
tech support.
This by no means is an isolated case. Since the demise of Compaq and the
preceived (premature) death of Gateway, we welcome you to a near
monopoly world.

http://www.varbusiness.com/component...rticleID=43245

Anatomy of a Dell Service Call

By Rob Wright, VARBusiness

10:29 AM EST Wed., July 16, 2003

When a customer came in with a Dell Dimension 4500S and requested an
11-inch ribbon cable replacement, Roger Grady, president of Native
Systems in Boulder, Colo., didn't hesitate for a second before saying,
"No problem."

Famous last words.

Instead of a quick fix, however, Native Systems, which repairs and
services computers, including Dell systems, spent nearly three hours
trying to order the small part from Dell. Along the way, it endured
lengthy holds and scant help from Dell's outsourced technical support
and customer service.

Here's a look at the saga of the 11-inch ribbon cable, as documented by
Grady:

11:53 a.m.: Grady calls Dell at 1-800-449-DELL and stays on hold for 18
minutes and 26 seconds. After being transferred, he's told to call a new
number.

12:15 p.m.: Grady calls the new number--an automated service for Dell
home and small business reconditioned parts. He chooses several options
and talks with a customer service representative who then transfers
Grady to five other reps. After being passed off several times and then
left on hold for another 33 minutes, Grady hangs up.

12:50: Grady tries another number and is transferred

three times to a rep who is finally able to verify the PC model and
requested part. But then he is left on hold for 10 minutes.

1:15: After hanging up again, Grady calls Dell's main number again and
selects several options to get a sales rep. Grady is transferred to
another rep who offers an 18-inch cable but says she cannot handle an
order for an 11-inch cable. Grady selects another option, this time
Dell's technical support, which tells him they can't get the part to
Native Systems. He is told to call an extension for Dimension support.

2:12: After calling the new extension, Grady waits on hold for several
minutes and then talks with a customer-service rep who takes the request
and says he's going to get the part number for the order.

2:34: After waiting on hold for several minutes, the line goes dead.

2:35: Grady calls back the main Dell number and tries the tech-support
extension once again. He tries to get in touch with the rep he
previously spoke to, but the new service rep says she cannot transfer
him to another rep, so he gives the rep the order request.

2:44: After waiting on the line for a few minutes, the service rep hangs
up. After nearly three hours, Grady ends the futile pursuit for the
11-inch cable.

Cheers,

Albert

Bob,

I have 5 GW's in my house...going back to 1994. All are still running.
Yes, tech support people today are not as sharp as a few years ago.
However, I just called about a sound problem, and the tech had to
confer with his supervisor before coming up with an answer. So
there are still people there who know their stuff. You just have to
ask for someone more knowledgeable. Also, I've always found it
easier to clearly explain the problem...and suggest the proper solution.
When done firmly, but politely, I've always gotten my tech problem
resolved.

Scott

Bob Smith wrote:

I have 5 Gateway systems, 4 desktops and one lap top and the few times that I have
needed parts or technical help I have been more then satisfied. I guess some
people are very hard to please if not impossible.
Bob

"Crawfish A. Crustacean" wrote:

What Gateway Tech Support. I own a Gateway. When I bought it I didn't get any
help for anything, except an email asking twenty questions and then an
irrelevant answer. I unfortunately had an operating system called Windows ME
which was junk. I called a PC Service and had the system upgraded to Windows
XP.

Ed

Albertv wrote:

Spread this far and wide. What the world would look like without Gateway
tech support.
This by no means is an isolated case. Since the demise of Compaq and the
preceived (premature) death of Gateway, we welcome you to a near
monopoly world.

http://www.varbusiness.com/component...rticleID=43245

Anatomy of a Dell Service Call

By Rob Wright, VARBusiness

10:29 AM EST Wed., July 16, 2003

When a customer came in with a Dell Dimension 4500S and requested an
11-inch ribbon cable replacement, Roger Grady, president of Native
Systems in Boulder, Colo., didn't hesitate for a second before saying,
"No problem."

Famous last words.

Instead of a quick fix, however, Native Systems, which repairs and
services computers, including Dell systems, spent nearly three hours
trying to order the small part from Dell. Along the way, it endured
lengthy holds and scant help from Dell's outsourced technical support
and customer service.

Here's a look at the saga of the 11-inch ribbon cable, as documented by
Grady:

11:53 a.m.: Grady calls Dell at 1-800-449-DELL and stays on hold for 18
minutes and 26 seconds. After being transferred, he's told to call a new
number.

12:15 p.m.: Grady calls the new number--an automated service for Dell
home and small business reconditioned parts. He chooses several options
and talks with a customer service representative who then transfers
Grady to five other reps. After being passed off several times and then
left on hold for another 33 minutes, Grady hangs up.

12:50: Grady tries another number and is transferred

three times to a rep who is finally able to verify the PC model and
requested part. But then he is left on hold for 10 minutes.

1:15: After hanging up again, Grady calls Dell's main number again and
selects several options to get a sales rep. Grady is transferred to
another rep who offers an 18-inch cable but says she cannot handle an
order for an 11-inch cable. Grady selects another option, this time
Dell's technical support, which tells him they can't get the part to
Native Systems. He is told to call an extension for Dimension support.

2:12: After calling the new extension, Grady waits on hold for several
minutes and then talks with a customer-service rep who takes the request
and says he's going to get the part number for the order.

2:34: After waiting on hold for several minutes, the line goes dead.

2:35: Grady calls back the main Dell number and tries the tech-support
extension once again. He tries to get in touch with the rep he
previously spoke to, but the new service rep says she cannot transfer
him to another rep, so he gives the rep the order request.

2:44: After waiting on the line for a few minutes, the service rep hangs
up. After nearly three hours, Grady ends the futile pursuit for the
11-inch cable.

Cheers,

Albert

Check out:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10898


"Albertv" wrote in message
...
Spread this far and wide. What the world would look like without Gateway
tech support.
This by no means is an isolated case. Since the demise of Compaq and the
preceived (premature) death of Gateway, we welcome you to a near
monopoly world.


http://www.varbusiness.com/component...rticleID=43245

Anatomy of a Dell Service Call

By Rob Wright, VARBusiness

10:29 AM EST Wed., July 16, 2003

When a customer came in with a Dell Dimension 4500S and requested an
11-inch ribbon cable replacement, Roger Grady, president of Native
Systems in Boulder, Colo., didn't hesitate for a second before saying,
"No problem."

Famous last words.

Instead of a quick fix, however, Native Systems, which repairs and
services computers, including Dell systems, spent nearly three hours
trying to order the small part from Dell. Along the way, it endured
lengthy holds and scant help from Dell's outsourced technical support
and customer service.

Here's a look at the saga of the 11-inch ribbon cable, as documented by
Grady:

11:53 a.m.: Grady calls Dell at 1-800-449-DELL and stays on hold for 18
minutes and 26 seconds. After being transferred, he's told to call a new
number.

12:15 p.m.: Grady calls the new number--an automated service for Dell
home and small business reconditioned parts. He chooses several options
and talks with a customer service representative who then transfers
Grady to five other reps. After being passed off several times and then
left on hold for another 33 minutes, Grady hangs up.

12:50: Grady tries another number and is transferred

three times to a rep who is finally able to verify the PC model and
requested part. But then he is left on hold for 10 minutes.

1:15: After hanging up again, Grady calls Dell's main number again and
selects several options to get a sales rep. Grady is transferred to
another rep who offers an 18-inch cable but says she cannot handle an
order for an 11-inch cable. Grady selects another option, this time
Dell's technical support, which tells him they can't get the part to
Native Systems. He is told to call an extension for Dimension support.

2:12: After calling the new extension, Grady waits on hold for several
minutes and then talks with a customer-service rep who takes the request
and says he's going to get the part number for the order.

2:34: After waiting on hold for several minutes, the line goes dead.

2:35: Grady calls back the main Dell number and tries the tech-support
extension once again. He tries to get in touch with the rep he
previously spoke to, but the new service rep says she cannot transfer
him to another rep, so he gives the rep the order request.

2:44: After waiting on the line for a few minutes, the service rep hangs
up. After nearly three hours, Grady ends the futile pursuit for the
11-inch cable.


Cheers,

Albert