Dell Laptop Fiasco

Chris,

I don't think Dell puts the Quadro in anything "but" the M70-60-50

Regards

Mark

My son recently ran into something similar with TigerDirect, but it wasn't for a laptop. The whole deal was like bait and switch. He ended up paying ten dollars more to get something that would run; this was the pragmatic solution.

Hopefully you kept copies and notes of everything.

They did for a brief time put the FX GO700 in the D800. I did some research and have seen a couple of people (gamers) who wanted to "upgrade" them to a ATI radeon!

THX

I've got copious notes. Doing some research indicates Dell's consumer care is woefully inadequate. I've sent multiple e-mails to the two "managers" I got to speak with and have gotten no response.

I filled a complaint with the BBB in Texas, but I don't think that will make a difference. All Dell has to do is say that they are willing to refund my money and the compalint is marked as resolved. The BBB is a joke.

I packaged it up and it's going back.

CD

I would want to go with the Dell M70 anyway or a used M60.

I have used an M60 for the last year, and can say I love it, and figure I am due to trade up to a M70 (or M80/next gen. if it comes out) this year. Might even sell my M60 to make it less costly.

No matter what, be sure to get the extra for a 3 year "Complete Care" warranty. A single glitch will pay you back the $300 you fork out for extra coverage, and they have always done it in less than 24 hrs. I was impressed.

Bo

Thanks for the confirmation. I'll keep my eye out to see if I can find a reasonably priced M60/70.

=========================================================================== Chris

Somehow I am not surprised. Although I have a Dell, and am happy with it, the process of purchasing it was like playing a shell game. Each offer they sent (dealing with their small business sales group) had a different configuration that what I asked for. Each time I would call or email, we would review each item, agree on it, and then they would send me a new offer - each time something else would change. They claimed this was because their order system did not allow them to update the original offers, only create new ones... so basically they they were sloppy. My opinion is that they were doing anything possible to sneak and swap something out for each item they agreed to give me. It really was an annoying process which went through about 9 offers until I told them I was not giving them the order ? at which point they sent me the correct offer. I was not impressed.

What will you do if, when you receive the laptop it is different from the order?

I have also contacted people @ Dell in the past regarding buying a hi-end laptop (Inspiron was the last one via phone). What became very apparent is that I was dealing with a salesman (located in god knows where) who really knew less than I did.

Since then, I just order with their website ordering system, and everything just hummms right along and I never had a problem. But I was never trying to tweedle the price down. I was just trying to get a terrific laptop quick.

Bo

The problem is "Customer Care" is now located in Bangladore, India. I tried calling the Dell local number in Round Rock and I still got transferred to India.

If you don't know a specific name in Round Rock, it's off to India you go to "solve" your problem.

I normally do that, but I was told I might get better pricing if I called - which I thought seemed strange - normally I would expect the best price offer on the web (and I am not a large corporate customer). Anyway, I probably saved about 600 USD on my Precision workstation and got a better spec'd machine in the end. I was really shocked by the price difference. OK, it was December and they may have been trying to meet quota or something. Either way, I do not like that kind of price flexibility - makes me nervous that they are trying to scam you any way they can. That was why each time the right hand gave me the item I wanted, the left hand was behind the back taking another item away or downgrading it. Nasty little process.

Daniel

That is probably why specialty PC makers can make a good living. Sager, Alienware, & Boxx seem to make hi-end laptops that are well regarded.

Given that I spend more on SolidWorks "maintenance" fees on average each year than I do on computer to run SolidWorks, I think it is time for me to start negotiating with my VAR for an upgrade only once every

I really do not know whether I will ever load up SWks 2005 for full time use, so I paid near $2000 US in December 2004 for something that is virtually vaporware for me. Now that p......s me off. I could have taken a nice vacation on $2000, or bought a stand-alone add-on for SolidWorks.

Bo

funny, I just read an article the other day on exactly that comparison:

Really? I have very good luck with it. But I am waiting to see if 2006 will be stable and improved.... you know the story.

Yes, I feel this pain too. In fact, I have two licences and wanted to kill one, but was blocked because it was past the cancellation period - hence i could of had 4000 for a very nice vacation (or new flatscreen!) Doh!

Daniel