Facing the worst kind of customer support from DELL. This is the mail I had to write to them after my ALIENWARE lied there in a not-working condition over a month and they fooled me around with their flowery service promises.
"Hello,
I am Manabendra Choudhury . For the past one month I have been known as with the nick name of " Service Tag: HLCMYZ1 " . I was generally considered a smart person among friends, peers and family. But that was before I bought a Dell Alienware for nearly Rs.2, 00, 000/- . Then came my new name and with it the realization that how I am the most foolish person alive. As a feel-good factor I have multiple reasons for being considered so foolish . a. To choose Dell as a brand over so many others even after being advised against it by many. b. To wait for a month patiently like an ALIEN before deciding to write this mail.
This is how I spent a fortune to transform myself from being smart to the stupidest person alive:
I started experiencing a technical malfunction which did not allow me to proceed with any kind of work on 23rd Feb, 2015.When even system restore did not work, I called the Tech Support the very first time to register a complaint and they took remote access of the system and performed a check and carried out a few troubleshooting steps. I was also suggested to restore the system, which I had already done, however, complied with their request. They called me back again to check if that corrected the problem and then, they deleted my user profile to check if it was due to a faulty user account. It did not work as expected and then, they wanted me to re-install the operating system from the CD that came with the system. I was surprised to hear that because they should have known that the system package did not contain any such CD. Anyway, they then suggested that an Operating System Kit would be shipped to me and they would call again so that they can assist me re-installing the OS from the CD. I also got a call after that, on 10th March 2015 if I remember the date correctly, from a person confirming that he was calling from Kolkata(I should have saved his number but it is okay I can always request my cell phone service provider for a call list and they would be more than happy to comply unlike DELL) and that he received a call from Dell to ship the said OS Kit to me. He informed me that the Kit would be shipped by 14th March 2015(that was a shock because he needed 4 long days to ship it) and I should receive it latest by 17th March 2015. While the Dell guys continue to call me to find out if I had received the CD Kit or not, none could confirm the name of the shipper or any consignment number. I kept on repeatedly ask them to give me the name of the shipper and the tracking number and my request was ignored every single time. Anyway, the real shock was, yesterday evening around 7:20 pm I got a call from a local resource person(9085045821) who called me and asked if I had registered any complaint for a Dell product. Upon my confirmation, he told me that he would be coming to pick up a faulty hard drive. I was in total disbelief. I tried to explain that I was expecting an OS CD Kit and not someone coming down to pick up a hard drive. Hearing this, he hung up. When I called him again this evening, he first corrected himself and apologized and then, told me that he got a message from DELL that the monitor was not working and he was asked by DELL to collect the faulty monitor.
You at your end might be having a hearty laugh reading about this pathetically hilarious plight I find myself in. To add salt to the wound I read a mail from Mr. Raghavendra Medikeri from your Care Team( details in trail mail) that "Care team does not have ownership on sold/technical issues.". Is that the way you respond to a query forwarded on behalf of a troubled customer because it’s not your department? Is this the kind of PREMIUM SUPPORT you dish out to your foolish’not-at-all-premium’ customers after promising them to be in the Premium Class? I wonder what kind of treatment I would have received if I had bought a 50k laptop! I am being treated like a piece of dirt and this ALIEN like behavior is totally unacceptable. I did not spend a fortune from my hard earned money to spend a silent relationship for over a month with a laptop that doesn’t work. You may not prioritize work but I do and when I had to borrow a laptop for my work I became a subject of ridicule. "There goes the guy who needs to borrow a laptop after buying one of the most expensive laptops available! " Vendors and small outlets at Chandni Chowk in Delhi deliver better service than Your High Profile Company! I suggest you a new punch-line for your top of the line products,
DELL- makes your life go to HELL! - dissatisfaction guaranteed!
or perhaps:
DELL - The power to do nothing! I was wondering if you train your people to be so unprofessional? Do you also specifically train them to not respond to mails via the reply option so that the customer has difficulty in having all the communication in one block when he finally loses all hope from your award winning support services? Never mind, as I already mentioned I am the stupidest person alive, I went a step further to get all the required screenshots from all the mails and other details whichever may be applicable. I have also spent time to attach them for your esteemed reference. I also tried wondering who was more miserable, the retailer here who sold me the laptop or the PREMIUM SERVICES provided by DELL. I asked a knowledgeable friend here and his reply was motivating, He said " A rotten tomato and a Rotten egg both make me puke, I rather don’t waste time caring to know which is worse " . I was highly inclined to put this up on facebook and a number of other places which my friends would have loved to share and re-share till a huge number of people became more knowledgeable about DELL PREMIUM SUPPORT. I was also advised by the same knowledgeable friend who uses a MACBOOK PRO and isn’t as foolish as me to file a case in the consumer forum and perhaps also a legal suit demanding a compensation for all the loss that I have had to bear due to my as-good-as-dead Alienware laptop. He also said he could guide me with the exact procedures to do so. But then I don’t want to be repeating the name of DELL again and again as it gives me a headache. Just give me back the money I paid and relieve me from this misery. I want to be smart again. You may not realize it, but living life like a fool is extremely demotivating.
I am not ready to wait for any installation disc any longer. A company earns the trust of a customer. In this case however instead of earning my trust Dell has managed to earn my Disgust. This disgust doesn’t allow me to keep your disgusting machine awaiting your even more disgusting service any longer in my vicinity .In the words of your employee Mr. Raghavendra Medikeri, I don’t have ownership of your problems. I have left the laptop at the shameless retailer’s store(who continues trying to pacify me with his uninspiring smile) because I would have either broken it down or sent it on a trip on the garbage truck. Please don’t care to replace it or give it back to me as I will only be breaking it at sight and send it back to you as a damage warranty claim. I plead you to have pity on me and forgive my foolishness to rely on your services and return me back the money so that I can buy a laptop that atleast works and will be serviced on priority in case it malfunctions. May the Lord God Bless you for this act of benevolence. Please Relieve me of this miserable association with DELL. I hope I could write "Thanking you, Regards" but pardon me for being unable to do so. Just couldn’t fake it.
Your Disgusted Customer,
Manabendra Choudhury,
Service Tag: HLCMYZ1
"