Dell notebook turns into a Bad Buy

The reputation of Dell’s support has certainly had its ups and downs over the years. But the experience of one reader who recently bought a Dell notebook at Best Buy makes me wonder if company executives just don’t care anymore what people think of Dell support.

“Well, I have seen it all now,” the reader wrote. “One month ago, I bought a new Dell XPS M1530 from Best Buy while my other Dell was unavailable. It turns out the fingerprint reader did not work on the new notebook, and when the dust settled on a family and office move, I logged on to Dell support. The Dell website accepted my service tag, told me I had 300-plus days of warranty service available, but when I tried to have an on-line chat with a tech, I was told the warranty had expired. I then called Dell and a live person told me the reason for this apparent conundrum is that Dell computers now purchased from Best Buy are not covered by Dell at all, and I needed to call Best Buy for service.”

Since there had been no mention of this when he purchased the computer, the reader wasn’t happy to hear it. “I called Best Buy, they confirmed what Dell said, and then referred me to the Geek Squad. The Geek Squad said my choices were to either give them a credit card for help or take the computer physically to Best Buy. The latter, of course, is problematic because 1) in my experience, computers left with Best Buy can disappear or take eons to get fixed; 2) I have just moved and it is inconvenient to get to Best Buy; and 3) I bought a Dell XPS, not a Best Buy XPS.”

“Furious, I then restored the computer to factory software, and took it back to the Best Buy where I’d purchased it (fortunately I was on a business trip to that state) to demand a refund,” the reader wrote. “Two different people swore that the computer was covered by Best Buy or Dell, and when I offered to either go on-line or call Dell to refute this, I got the store manager. He then asked me what was wrong with having Best Buy service it, and I told him the reasons were unimportant but that customers needed to be explicitly informed when buying the machine that the manufacturer will not be servicing the warranty. Eventually, he took it back but charged me a 15 percent restocking fee.”

According to this Dell FAQ about the Best Buy relationship, customers are supposed to go to the Geek Squad for warranty service but are allowed to contact Dell “for basic technical support.” But from what the reader could find out, it’s got to be really, really basic because Dell won’t spend more than a few minutes.

“I escalated to Best Buy corporate when I got home and spent 20 min with a low-level representative who also could not see why I was troubled and said the store manager’s decision stood,” the reader wrote. “A call to his supervisor finally yielded apparently accurate information. She stated that there was a new agreement with Dell that entitled one to FIVE minutes (!!!) of Dell support after which one had to go to Best Buy. When I told her the differing stories I had gotten from Dell and Best Buy, she agreed that better education was needed. I also told her it was essential this be made prominent for people buying computers, and she agreed, saying that a sticker was probably needed on each box. Of course, if they do it, it will probably be small and uninterpretable.”

This last weekend I went to my local Best Buy to see if the reader’s request for more prominent notice had been honored yet. Not exactly – the Dell machines were marked as having a one-year manufacturer’s warranty on parts and labor. I asked the Best Buy salesman there if one could call Dell for technical support under that warranty and he said you could. So Best Buy might want to start educating its own staff about the Dell deal.

The reader’s complaints did eventually result in Best Buy agreeing to send him a $150 gift certificate to cover the cost of the restocking fee. But he’s still far from happy, particularly with Dell. “Am I out of sync with the world, or is this a new low?” the reader wrote. “I tried mightily to get to Dell Corporate about this. Every contact number I got took me to an overseas call center, and after finally getting past the ridiculous voice systems, when I got a live person and asked for corporate contact info (email or phone) for corporate, I was either disconnected or put on hold for a manager — who never picked up and I was disconnected after five minutes. Decades ago, I was a purchaser from PC Unlimited, Dell’s original college room effort. The recent outsourcing of service has been a real setback, but lucky for Dell, this is now the industry rule. The Best Buy move, however, will make me look elsewhere for my purchases, at least until all the other brands follow suit.”

Post your comments about this story below or write Ed Foster at Foster@gripe2ed.com.