- when I went to their website, I was able to find an extension for about $42 a year. The page promised a 15 percent discount for ordering on line, although there was a phone number to extend by phone.
- the page did not offer any obvious link to a description of what was or was not included in the warranty.
- when I added it to my shopping cart and tried to check out I couldn't. On separate days I got the message that the page was no longer available. One day I got a message saying the code was wrong--something about the length of the HTTPS header exceeding 8140 bytes.
- there was no apparent way to contact Dell about the website problem.
- when I called the support line, I explained my problem to four separate people (each one very nice, and the first three transferring me to someone they thought could help)
- the last person got me so mad that I forget what his explanation was--IIRC he seemed to be saying the problem was known. Although the web page said my warranty expired on the 12th, he claimed it was actually the 11th.
- after a day to cool off, I called the number on the web page. The woman attempted to explain the elements of the warranty and gave me a price of $350+ for 3 years extension. I asked for something in writing, which she promptly sent to me.
- the Dell explanation of its warranty service was long and legalistic. I understand why--trying to cover all legalities in all the states, but what I really wanted was something more sales-oriented, a chart showing the different options (the guy from yesterday seemed to say there were different levels of support) and their cost.
Bottom line: while the people were polite and did their best, I conclude Dell makes them work within a flawed system, which will cause me to think seriously about a different vendor for my next desktop. Meanwhile, I'll take my chances with no warranty--if I need help, which I usually don't, I'll pay for support for that episode.
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