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Posts: 14 | Thanked: 1 time | Joined on Nov 2007
#1
For those of you planning on ordering from Dell, please refer to this as a warning...Their sales reps are quoting a backorder date until March. The following was my experience, i hope it will help you avoid the frustration i had to endure:

So i ordered the n810 from Dell using a 15% off coupon back on 12/6/2007. At the time the page quoted 5-7 business days for shipping. 5-7 business days passed and I called to find out the order had been delayed to 12/23...i had one day shipping so i figured all would be well since 12/24 is a business day and packages are still delivered...12/23 came along so i called to ensure my order was being shipped and learned that the order was further delayed to 1/3/2008 (today)...mind you at this point the sales page for the item still showed shipping in 5-7 business days...frustrated, the deal was worth the wait so i decided to hold out...1/3 (today) came along and again i called to check on the status of my order...this is where the fireworks began...

0.) Called customer service number and sat on hold for 25 minutes
1.) Customer service rep i called from the number on my order email said i was in the wrong department and needed to transfer my call...they gave me the correct number in case my call got dropped...
2.) transferred my call
3.) call dropped
4.) called the number given by rep
5.) sat on hold for 20 minutes after going through automated phone system hell
6.) explained my case to rep
7.) rep says "i understand the situation, let's try to find you an alternate part that we can ship you immediately"...um...ok
8.) after i explained this is not a part but an actual product that has no "equivalent" in another form she put me on hold to check my order again
9.) sat on hold for 5 minutes
10.) rep comes back and says "my supervisor has explained the situation to me. what we can do is cancel your order and have you reorder. This will put you at the top of the list so we can expedite your order"...um...ok
11.) i ask to speak to this supervisor since the "solution" offered makes absolutely no sense
12.) placed on hold 5 minutes
13.) supervisor answers and explains that their process is to cancel, reorder with new order number, put in order notes to ship immediately and forward to case manager to ensure fast resolution. He offers to pay for my overnight shipping (which was already free in the original order....gee thanks).
14.) I still don't understand but decided to go along with their plan.
15.) Rep cancels order and creates case number for me then says she has to transfer me to a sales rep to place new order. gives me a number in case i get disconnected.
16.) rep transfers call, sit on hold for 10 minutes
17.) sales rep answers, i explain the situation, give him my order number, get hung up on
18.) call the number given and wade my way through 40 options of call automation
19.) on hold for 5 minutes
20.) sales rep answers, i again explain all that i've gone through at this point...he sympathizes...seems genuine
21.) he attempts to find alternative part to replace this backorder "part"...i explain again that the part is an actual item and has no equivalent...he apologizes
22.) he looks up item in all warehouse systems.
23.) he replies "the item Nokia n810 is backordered until March at the earliest. Even if we were to expedite your order there's no guarantee that you'll get it before then and since we ship direct from the manufacturer in this case it appears that the item will not actually ship at all until March. This item must be very popular or is being discontinued."

at this point i'm brewing with anger at Dell...at least this guy had the balls to tell me the reality of the situation...whereas Dell would continue to send me an email on my estimated ship date continuing to delay me in 7-14 day intervals to retain my order...now that's customer service if i ever saw it...

anyway, word to the wise, if you really want one of these...look somewhere other than Dell...i hear Buy.com is shipping in less than a week (1 to 2 days for some people)

Hope this helps you make a decision as to buying form Dell or not, i just wouldn't wish this kind of frustrating service on anyone. well....maybe my worst enemy...good luck
 

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