Editor’s Take: How Dell (May Have) Lost Me

The next day came and went with no phone call. So I called again that night. I reached a rep who repeated the same line about the warranty. Now I started to lose it. Again, I asked for a supervisor. I was starting to believe I was talking to actual robots, so to prove myself wrong, I asked this: “I’d like you to answer only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to this question: Do you think a Dell battery should die after only 14 months?” He answered yes!

I said, “OK, then if this were your computer battery, would you want to do business with Dell again if Dell was refusing to send you a replacement?” He said nothing at first, and then said he’d see if he could do something.

Resolution?

Forty-five minutes later, the supervisor got back on the phone and at long last, after two calls totalling two hours and 43 minutes combined, he told me they would send me the battery after all, and at no charge. I was inclined to ask him why Dell suddenly was ready to do what it should’ve done in the first place, but by now I was spent. Also, I figured I’d better quit while I was ahead.

Favorable outcome? Yes, more or less. Positive experience? Far from it. Will I do business with Dell ever again? Hmmm … that’s a tough one.

—Paul Miller, Editor in Chief
(914) 669-8391, pmiller@napco.com