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(The Consumerist) Fail Dell tries out a new shipping policy, which guarantees free overnight shipping for laptop purchases, though it may take up to 18 overnights to reach you   (consumerist.com) divider line 45
More: Fail, Dell XPS One DESKTOP computer, Rob, specifications  
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5147 clicks; posted to Business » on 05 Nov 2009 at 5:46 PM   |  Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»   |    Get this fabulous T-Shirt and impress the methane out of your friends! shirt it!



45 Comments   (+0 »)
   

Archived thread
 
2009-11-05 01:58:11 PM
img.epinions.com
 
2009-11-05 05:54:52 PM
"overnight" is not, and never will be a synonym of "send"
 
2009-11-05 05:59:42 PM
Here's the translation for said dumbass consumer.

The package wasn't in the mail for 18 days.

When they finally DID ship it to you, they shipped it overnight.
 
2009-11-05 06:02:49 PM
looks like a relatively rare screwup, not in dells normal sales but rather the "someone ordered it and then cancelled it".

I've bought 4 computers from dell in the last 3 years, each has come before the estimated date. One had to be sent in to dell for work - they shipped me a box and labels, I put the laptop in the box, put on the labels, and called UPS for pickup. I sent off the laptop thursday morning, got it back monday morning repaired.

The only bad part of the experience was dealing with the inept and annoying indian call center guys to get them to ship me the box to begin with.
 
2009-11-05 06:12:33 PM
Outpost.com has gone the way of the dodo.
 
2009-11-05 06:17:46 PM
TheGreatGazoo: Outpost.com has gone the way of the dodo.

Is it hosted on the same servers as bookpool?
 
2009-11-05 06:24:41 PM
Why would anyone who knows anything about dell expect their computer overnight?

That isn't how they do business. They take your order, build it, and then ship it. They don't do that finished products inventory stuff.
 
2009-11-05 06:27:50 PM
Yah shipping happens; grow up.

The line '18 days' is to cover their ass in case it actually takes two weeks for some god-forsaken reason, so long as the parts are available the overnight is very much in effect. What whiny mc entitledpants fails to mention is how long it actually ended up taking for the replacement to arrive, my bets are it shows up tomorrow, but of course it will just get quietly ignored.
 
2009-11-05 06:48:46 PM
At least they're not using Smartpost
 
2009-11-05 06:48:52 PM
img4.imageshack.us

Dude, you're getting pissed off!
 
2009-11-05 06:49:09 PM
I ordered a laptop from Dell a month ago.

I find out a few days ago that they canceled my order (without telling me!) and created yet another, with another one-month delay. Why? I don't know, the most of the information I got was an "incompatibility with the wireless drivers." Either way, I'm going to end up waiting two months for a laptop.fark Dell.
 
2009-11-05 06:56:39 PM
Spontaneous Defenstration: I ordered a laptop from Dell a month ago.

I find out a few days ago that they canceled my order (without telling me!) and created yet another, with another one-month delay. Why? I don't know, the most of the information I got was an "incompatibility with the wireless drivers." Either way, I'm going to end up waiting two months for a laptop.fark Dell.


So why not cancel your order and go through someone else?
 
2009-11-05 07:09:41 PM
12349876: Here's the translation for said dumbass consumer.

The package wasn't in the mail for 18 days.

When they finally DID ship it to you, they shipped it overnight.


How hard is this for people to understand this?
 
2009-11-05 07:20:03 PM
crazypeltast52: Why would anyone who knows anything about dell expect their computer overnight?

That isn't how they do business. They take your order, build it, and then ship it. They don't do that finished products inventory stuff.


Why read the article and learn that it was a returned system and there was not much build time in it.
 
2009-11-05 07:24:58 PM
Spontaneous Defenstration: I ordered a laptop from Dell a month ago.

I find out a few days ago that they canceled my order (without telling me!) and created yet another, with another one-month delay. Why? I don't know, the most of the information I got was an "incompatibility with the wireless drivers." Either way, I'm going to end up waiting two months for a laptop.fark Dell.


Glad to hear you're encouraging them by CONTINUING TO BUY THEIR shiat.
 
2009-11-05 07:44:45 PM
Slight threadjack here, but I can't stand people that buy outlet, reconditioned or "scratch and dent" merchandise, then whine and complain it's not new.

I talk to people on a relatively regular basis that purchase "scratch and dent" stock from our stores, then are completely amazed when it actually has scratches...they then ask for new merchandise to replace the 'damaged' goods, and they get it...granted they pay the difference.

/end threadjack
//he wasn't complaining about the merchandise
///anticipating a dozen people whining that I DRTFA
 
2009-11-05 07:52:45 PM
ihatedumbpeople: Slight threadjack here, but I can't stand people that buy outlet, reconditioned or "scratch and dent" merchandise, then whine and complain it's not new.

I talk to people on a relatively regular basis that purchase "scratch and dent" stock from our stores, then are completely amazed when it actually has scratches...they then ask for new merchandise to replace the 'damaged' goods, and they get it...granted they pay the difference.

/end threadjack
//he wasn't complaining about the merchandise
///anticipating a dozen people whining that I DRTFA


images.businessweek.com
 
2009-11-05 08:06:07 PM
12349876: Here's the translation for said dumbass consumer.

The package wasn't in the mail for 18 days.

When they finally DID ship it to you, they shipped it overnight.


Overnight typically means it will arrive the next day. That's why people order it like that. There's no point in overnighting if it is already going to be sitting around for almost 3 weeks. A couple more days for shipping doesn't matter in that case.

On the other hand, I ordered something from Amazon with 5-7 day shipping and had it in my mailbox in less than 24 hours. That was awesome.
 
2009-11-05 08:06:10 PM
I nor anyone I know has ever had a good experience with dell. And I've read awful things online about Dell. Don't ever get a dell.

ACER FTW!
 
2009-11-05 08:14:34 PM
Don't even get me started with Alienware.
 
2009-11-05 08:15:15 PM
If you want it today, go buy some "off the shelf" crap at any box store and hope that it hasn't been sitting there for 6 months or more.

When you are done, proceed to the STFU lane.
 
2009-11-05 08:26:33 PM
Should have bought a mac

yeah, that $2K Dell translates into a $4k mac.
 
2009-11-05 08:31:23 PM
Spontaneous Defenstration: I ordered a laptop from Dell a month ago.

I find out a few days ago that they canceled my order (without telling me!) and created yet another, with another one-month delay. Why? I don't know, the most of the information I got was an "incompatibility with the wireless drivers." Either way, I'm going to end up waiting two months for a laptop.fark Dell.


...well, I see the stupidity in this story has already been pointed out. Carry on.
 
2009-11-05 08:40:04 PM
hamsack: Don't even get me started with Alienware.

What happened to Alienware? Last computer I bought from them was about 5 years ago (pre-Dell merger), but it's still running ok.
 
2009-11-05 09:05:19 PM
I gave up on Dell when they wouldn't help me with my monitor until I provided them with a service code. I didn't buy a system, I just bought a monitor. They just kept transferring me around saying they needed the service code from my system.

Plus their computers always have these jive ass proprietary connectors on the mobo.
 
2009-11-05 09:42:12 PM
I'd take Dell shipping screw-ups over HP related shipping screw-ups. They always seemed to go the extra mile to botch things up.

I loved HP's "2-Day Warranty" on laptops, too. That $200 warranty was written to make is sound exactly like Dell's warranty but they didn't mean that they would fix it in 2 days, it only meant that they would use 2-day shipping back and forth to the repair depot. The actual repair still took two weeks but they shipped it faster...
 
2009-11-05 10:03:48 PM
To overnight something just means it's shipped overnight, not that you get the product the next day after you place the order, right?

We've often had to wait on a product for many days and then overnight it to someone.
 
2009-11-05 10:04:09 PM
akharon: Spontaneous Defenstration: I ordered a laptop from Dell a month ago.

I find out a few days ago that they canceled my order (without telling me!) and created yet another, with another one-month delay. Why? I don't know, the most of the information I got was an "incompatibility with the wireless drivers." Either way, I'm going to end up waiting two months for a laptop.fark Dell.

So why not cancel your order and go through someone else?


Find me someone else who has a Core i7 laptop with a decent screen that isn't $2000 and I'll drop my order immediately.
 
2009-11-05 11:32:53 PM
foo monkey: Should have bought a mac

yeah, that $2K Dell translates into a $4k mac.


bought a dell inspiron 1500 in october 2006...80gb hd,1gb ram.1469 after tax....got the blue screen of death in Jan 2007.get sent a replacement that has vista home basic on it.suffered untill last month when i ordered my mac mini, with 2gb of ram and 120 gb hd for 579....so basically my 600 mac > my 1400 dell...

/just sayin
//smug free.
 
2009-11-05 11:37:14 PM
Tobin_Lam: Overnight typically means it will arrive the next day. That's why people order it like that. There's no point in overnighting if it is already going to be sitting around for almost 3 weeks. A couple more days for shipping doesn't matter in that case.

Overnight is important for security and insurance reasons. And the computer was probably still being worked on during those 18 days.

Tobin_Lam: On the other hand, I ordered something from Amazon with 5-7 day shipping and had it in my mailbox in less than 24 hours. That was awesome.

If you live near a distribution center, you can get things quick.
 
2009-11-05 11:43:55 PM
FTFA:
The rep apologizes again for the mishap and says that they will send the replacement via overnight shipping from their warehouse within 18 business days.

WHAT!?!?!? I asked her if that was correct to which she responded, "Oh yes sir, we need to find a computer with the exact specifications with the one you ordered."


Dell is trying to accommodate the customer -

"we need to find a computer with the exact specifications with the one you ordered."

But to do so will take some time.

They don't have it sitting on the shelf -

"they will send the replacement via overnight shipping from their warehouse"

Once they find (or build) the replacement, they'll overnight it.

What is so hard to understand?
 
M-G
2009-11-05 11:51:47 PM
Dell's definition of next business day is pretty screwed up as well. Took almost two weeks to get a system fixed that had NBD coverage...
 
2009-11-06 12:57:28 AM
12349876: If you live near a distribution center, you can get things quick.

This.

/lives near the Newegg warehouse.
 
2009-11-06 01:04:59 AM
I got my credit card number ripped off somehow about six months ago. The one thing they were able to successfully purchase (because I was out of the country and didn't check my statement for a couple weeks) was a laptop from Dell's online store.

It amazed me then, and amazes me now, that Dell was perfectly happy to ship a $1500 laptop to an address three states away from my card's billing address, apparently without doing any verification whatsoever. Luckily it was minimal hassle to dispute the charge.

/cool story bro
 
2009-11-06 01:08:49 AM
erscott_420:

bought a dell inspiron 1500 in october 2006...80gb hd,1gb ram.1469 after tax....got the blue screen of death in Jan 2007.get sent a replacement that has vista home basic on it.suffered untill last month when i ordered my mac mini, with 2gb of ram and 120 gb hd for 579....so basically my 600 mac > my 1400 dell...


Bought an Apple ][ back in July 1977...no hd, 48kb ram. $2900 after tax...got the black and and green screen of death in Feb 81.bought a vista machine last month for $499... so basically my 499 vista > my 2900 mac.
 
2009-11-06 01:10:11 AM
erscott_420: foo monkey: Should have bought a mac

yeah, that $2K Dell translates into a $4k mac.

bought a dell inspiron 1500 in october 2006...80gb hd,1gb ram.1469 after tax....got the blue screen of death in Jan 2007.get sent a replacement that has vista home basic on it.suffered untill last month when i ordered my mac mini, with 2gb of ram and 120 gb hd for 579....so basically my 600 mac > my 1400 dell...

/just sayin
//smug free.


You're comparing a laptop with a desktop, and there's a 3 year time difference. Of course it's going to be cheaper. I bet you didn't get a screen with your Mini either. Hey, why don't you also compare a tree with my bathtub?
 
2009-11-06 01:14:55 AM
Buy from Dell, HP, or Apple you need to get farked hard
/Newegg and Tigerdirect FTW
 
2009-11-06 01:57:27 AM
JewBoy Electronics makes shiatty computers anyways. Get an Asus.
 
2009-11-06 03:23:57 AM
Tourney3p0:

Bought an Apple ][ back in July 1977...

I shall assume you meant that '][' ironically, otherwise I'd have to call you a tosser.
 
2009-11-06 07:29:22 AM
erscott_420: foo monkey: Should have bought a mac

yeah, that $2K Dell translates into a $4k mac.

bought a dell inspiron 1500 in october 2006...80gb hd,1gb ram.1469 after tax....got the blue screen of death in Jan 2007.get sent a replacement that has vista home basic on it.suffered untill last month when i ordered my mac mini, with 2gb of ram and 120 gb hd for 579....so basically my 600 mac > my 1400 dell...

/just sayin
//smug free.


Try again. You got a replacement system for a software error?

LGeezer: Tourney3p0:

Bought an Apple ][ back in July 1977...

I shall assume you meant that '][' ironically, otherwise I'd have to call you a tosser.


That's how it was printed on those old bastards:

www.sbprojects.com

www.vintage-computer.com

Interesting site for ][s. (new window)
 
2009-11-06 08:15:32 AM
Spontaneous Defenstration:
Find me someone else who has a Core i7 laptop with a decent screen that isn't $2000 and I'll drop my order immediately.


I don't know what you mean by decent screen, but Newegg has 6 Core i7 laptops, all well under $2000.
 
2009-11-06 01:06:22 PM
erscott_420: foo monkey: Should have bought a mac

yeah, that $2K Dell translates into a $4k mac.

bought a dell inspiron 1500 in october 2006...80gb hd,1gb ram.1469 after tax....got the blue screen of death in Jan 2007.get sent a replacement that has vista home basic on it.suffered untill last month when i ordered my mac mini, with 2gb of ram and 120 gb hd for 579....so basically my 600 mac > my 1400 dell...

/just sayin
//smug free.


And your point is what, Smugbag?

You are comparing machines from different generations of computer.
 
2009-11-07 12:26:07 AM
I'm an independent IT guy and I have to give Dell some credit on their Gold support (or whatever they are calling it these days). Any time I've had to call them for a customer for a replacement part I always get an American, no bullshiat troubleshooting from someone who has no clue, and hell no more than 15-20 minutes on the phone before parts are overnight shipped. Last time I had to call for a customer went something like this...

Me: I've got a Dimension soandso here, about 9 months old that died, looked like a bad power supply but PS checks out ok and some caps are puffed around the CPU so I'm thinking motherboard.
Him: Yep, puffed caps, bad board, what is the service tag?
Me: xxxxx
Him: Power supply will fail too, bad batch, how many of them do you have?
Me: They upgraded a few recently, looks like there is 3 of this model left in the office.
Him: I'll go ahead and send out 3 Power supplies and motherboards, the other 2 will probably fail too. (Double checks address on file)
Me: Yep thats it.
Him: Should be there tomorrow, need an installer or do you want to do it?
Me: I can do it.
Him: Ok, parts are on the way, anything else?
Me: Nope thats it, Thanks.
Him: Here is a ref number, call us back if there are any problems with the shipment.
Me: Thanks, Bye.

Next day DHL showed up with a box full of parts. No Indians wanting me to restart a dead system or any other bullshiat, just straight to the point and quick. Haven't gotten that kind of service from any of the other manufacturers.
 
2009-11-07 09:05:22 AM
2many280s: I'm an independent IT guy and I have to give Dell some credit on their Gold support (or whatever they are calling it these days).

If you have gold. Most end users don't get that kid of service, if they call they get someone in who knows where...India, Philippines, etc. We have a gov't account with same day on servers, NBD on everything else. Server support is great, always a US guy when I've called. Desktop/laptops vary, usually stateside but I've talked to a guy overseas once when I called the problem in at 11pm EST.

Handsome B. Wonderful: How hard is this for people to understand this?

Very hard. I tell people that unless the site says "all in stock items ordered before 3pm PST will ship same day unless otherwise noted" then they might have to wait a couple of days. Not happy with that? They go visit a local brick and mortar.
 
2009-11-07 05:41:59 PM
oneodd1
Try again. You got a replacement system for a software error?

Uhh.. failing hardware will often cause BSODs. In my experience, if a company like Dell can blame someone else then they will. Chances are it was confirmed with a diagnostic program or a complete system restore.
 
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