ferelin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:48:04 GMT

I have spend a month fighting with a new Dell computer. Finally a service tech is supposedly coming out this week to change out some hardware. My issues have included slow computer speed; programs randoming shutting down; a monitor that started blacking out every time the mouse was clicked; an inability to access networked computers; an inability to retrieve files off a USB chip, even when the computer showed those files on the chip; and even the refusal of the system to shut down programs that locked up. I rebooted, ran diagnostics, installed and uninstalled programs, reformated the entire computer, reloading the operating system and paid hundreds of dollars in tech support. To add irritation to the whole mess several times when I have I called tech support they can't find my file because internal system "upgrades." I have a seven year old computer that I wanted to replace with this one that is more reliable, faster, and has never resulted in the loss of productivity that I have experienced over the last month thanks to Dell.

This is your big issue. Poor product quality. The support people have been friendly but they want to blame the problem on the operating system. Is Dell too big? Too distanced from its suppliers? Based on this experience I would never buy stock in Dell because the image projected by this experience is one of incompetence. I can't afford to deal with Dell on another computer purchase. This one has put me in the hole so deep I could have purchased several machines for the loss of billable time.

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