Dell Customer Service... PayPal too...

Odale

Active Member
I feel some strange need to share this with other people who share my interest with computer-related tech items.

On the 10th of September I ordered an XPS 13 from Dell's Outlet and I paid with PayPal. My order was never processed and never shipped. I emailed them before I called them. Last week I managed to just cancel my order and move along. It was so infuriating.

The email below is a response to an email I got today about the incidents that happened on the 18th.

I don't know who dropped the ball, but I'll never order another Dell product again, nor will I use PayPal.

To whom this may concern,


I ordered a Laptop and a tree for the environment for $2 (because I felt nice; they are orders 4623XXXXX and 4623XXXXX). I "paid" using PayPal on 9/10/13. On 9/18/13 I checked the email for order confirmation and it turns out that the payment from PayPal was either never sent to Dell by PayPal or was never processed by Dell once PayPal sent the information (there is plenty of money in my bank account to support this purchase). Before I did anything, I sent Dell an email. When I felt that I needed to do more, I called both companies and explained the issue. PayPal said the issue was with Dell and Dell said the issue was with PayPal. That's a convenient thing for both companies to say, but completely inconvenient for me to deal with, as I had to look up both Dell's customer service number, and PayPal's number, call them both and then pry at these Dell and PayPal for more information.


Because you are a Dell employee and because you claim to be a manager, I will explain to you what happened. I had to call Dell four times. The first time I called to explain the processing problem (the Dell representative told me to call PayPal). I called PayPal - they said to call Dell. I called Dell a second time, and was transferred somewhere where there was no extension and your telephone system ended the call. This made me mad. I called a third time, was sent to your billing department to get the method of payment changed. I asked the woman who answered if I could change the method of payment and she continually gave me an answer that I felt was unrelated to my question. I asked for a manager and after she argues with me, I ask slowly after a ten-second pause. She puts me on hold and after five minutes or so, hangs up. I call back the fourth time to try to get back to the billing department only for someone in customer service to tell me they had closed for the day. I don't know why I was hung up on, but I can't help but think it was because they were going home. At this point, you could say I was furious - but that word does not do my experiences with your customer service and billing departments justice. I was forced to wait and get this problem resolved the next business day. Initially I wanted to change the payment type so I wouldn't have to reorder a laptop. Once I spoke to a real person (your animated voice selection service is also terrible) was told that because I ordered off of the Dell Outlet, the option of changing payments was not made available to me - even though my order never left the processing phase. Why did the lady in the billing department fail to tell me that the fourth time I called? I was forced to cancel my order.


I do hope this email is due to my horrible experiences via calling Dell customer support and not a response from the email I sent prior to calling (I see the quoted text and apparently it is not the former). Because this is a response from my email, and because it is several days late, it shows what a lackluster company Dell is and shows that Dell has no interest but to collect money from people and has elected to not help their customers with their issues.

Your customer service could not be any worse than it currently is. Over the five calls, I spoke with at least a dozen people, and for everyone I spoke with, I had to re-explain the first paragraph of this email. That's terrible customer service. A note should have been placed on my account that says "this person is mad" and the note should have summarized what my problem is so that I didn't have to do it so many times. I simply cannot believe how bad the customer service is at Dell. I'm going to buy a computer from a company so many of your laptop models so obviously mimic - a Mac. I know they are considerably more expensive, but I am wagering that their customer service is genuinely good, unlike your own (maybe you should try to mimic their customer service, too).


My orders have been cancelled, so there is no purpose for this email.


Regards,


A Former Dell Customer
 
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Sorry to hear that man. I generally bought Dell's for my customers when I ran a tech support company. Let me tell you, I had a similar experience OR WORSE so many times I lost count. If HP wasn't even more Satan and no one else with that price point... I would have never continued to go back for more torture from Dell. But alas, I suffered this hold-hangup-rexplain cycle over and over because my options were limited.

I feel your pain and you gave me flashbacks..
 
Dude he got a Dell? (sorry had to go there, a whole new meaning to the phrase) That kind of frustration makes it very difficult sometimes to maintain a Christian attitude, that is the hardest part of it. I deal with an organization, the VA, that does some of the same stuff, and not only is it frustrating, but has a direct bearing on how I am forced to live my life. Knowing the old passion of Dell to use proprietary hardware in their desktops, I don't think you have encouraged me any to deal with Dell.
 
I don't know if there IS a laptop manufacturer with reasonably priced laptops AND good customer service. Seems like you have to pick one or the other. :(

That being said, my wife really likes her Lenovo laptop. (I think she'll like it even more if and when I install a mSATA drive and load the OS and programs on that. :D)

Sorry to hear you had a rough time with Dell and Paypal. Both companies have a terrible reputation when it comes to customer service.

I feel it's only fair for me to add that Dell gave me a whole new laptop (a Studio 1737) when they couldn't seem to fix the video issues with my Inspiron E1705. The Studio 1737 has its own issues (terribad speakers and a mobile ATI graphics card that will occasionally freak out when on battery among them), but it was an upgrade from my E1705 and carried me (sometimes limping) for gaming through the last 2-3 years until I could save up some money for rockin' upgrades for my desktop computer.

That being said, it is highly (HIGHLY) unlikely I would ever buy another Dell. If I were to buy another laptop tomorrow, I'd probably look into a Clevo laptop for a gaming laptop or a Lenovo for an "everyday work" laptop (though I'd probably opt for a tablet PC or a tablet with a snap-in keyboard for that purpose instead).
 
Dude he got a Dell? (sorry had to go there, a whole new meaning to the phrase) That kind of frustration makes it very difficult sometimes to maintain a Christian attitude, that is the hardest part of it. I deal with an organization, the VA, that does some of the same stuff, and not only is it frustrating, but has a direct bearing on how I am forced to live my life. Knowing the old passion of Dell to use proprietary hardware in their desktops, I don't think you have encouraged me any to deal with Dell.

The VA is by far the worst I have had to deal with. Unlike other customer service, in general the people I got on the phone were really nice and try to be helpful. Unfortunately they do not make the decisions, they just enter the requests and you find up to a year later(some people have waited longer) if you were approved or not for the benefits. The worst part is trying to change a disapproval, that should have been approved, because the process is the same. All you can do is put in a request through the person on the phone and eventually someone you cannot talk to makes a decision.
 
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Lenovo has horrid CS as well, mainly because it is impossible to get a hold of anyone. They do make great laptops, regardless.

Honestly, the best in my experience, is Dell with the accidental/3 year ONSITEwarranty. Every time I call in for one of those I seem to get immediately escalated to a guy in Texas who speaks perfect English and gets a tech at the front door in a matter of a couple days. He then fixes the laptop at the dinner table and all is good. Cannot recommend that service more! Depot/mail in warranty is trash IMO. I had that on my wife's dell and with twin toddlers in the home, lets say we got to know the local dell tech on a first name basis.
 
Not to derail this too bad, but if you have solved an issue with the VA in a year you have had lightning service. I have had a disability, based on 7 months in an Army hospital that has been dragging on since 2005. I am at 50% disability and holding right there. A second issue has been since 2007. And if you want a real nightmare read what the Vietnam Vets had to go through to get the Army and VA to admit there was a problem with Agent Orange exposure. Now back to your regularly scheduled rant against Dell.
 
Honestly, the best in my experience, is Dell with the accidental/3 year ONSITEwarranty. Every time I call in for one of those I seem to get immediately escalated to a guy in Texas who speaks perfect English and gets a tech at the front door in a matter of a couple days. He then fixes the laptop at the dinner table and all is good. Cannot recommend that service more! Depot/mail in warranty is trash IMO. I had that on my wife's dell and with twin toddlers in the home, lets say we got to know the local dell tech on a first name basis.

That's been my experience, too. Excellent response and repair on my Dell.

I'm not sure I'll buy a laptop again. I'll probably go tablet for mobile, and desktop for serious work and gaming.
 
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