jimntx
Veteran
I wasted over 3 hours this afternoon attempting to purchase a reconditioned computer from Dell's outlet website. (Some fabulous deals IF you can get the website to work.) I "chatted" online with Customer "Care" in India. They evidently have a script and a list of every possible question that could ever be asked and a standard answer to those questions. My question was not on the list; so after much chatting back and forth in the following form, they simply disconnected and refused to continue with the "chat." I have also included the letter I sent to Michael Dell this afternoon. I'm sure it will be ignored, but it made me feel better to write it. :angry: 
Chat with India:
Me: When I get my order the way I want it, I can't "checkout". There is no way to provide payment and shipping information.
Dell Customer "Care": Click on the Checkout Button.
Me: There is no checkout button on the screen.
Dell Customer Care: You must click on the Checkout Button in order to complete the order.
Me: There is no checkout button on the screen.
And so on and so forth. There was a lot more conversation about the speakers I ordered...from them, not from me because I didn't order any speakers. I already have speakers. I tried telling them that, but they were insistent about the speakers; so, I just gave it up because I knew there were no speakers on the order.
The letter to Michael Dell:
Michael Dell, Chairman
Dell Inc.
One Dell Way
Round Rock, TX 78682
Dear Mr. Dell:
Though I am sure this letter will be ignored, I feel that I must write it. I spent over 20 years in the computer industry as a consultant. However, I am writing today as a customer. Or, perhaps I should say, soon to be former customer.
Your customer service and support has gone down the tubes since being outsourced to India. I wasted over 3 hours today attempting to order a computer from your Outlet website. Part of that time was spent most unproductively in an online “chat†with your alleged Customer Support group in India.
“Nadia†was obviously working from a script and only had a limited number of answers to give—none of which happened to fit the question I was asking. Finally, “Nadia†put her supervisor, “Alexâ€, on-line. Though he was somewhat better, when I got to the (evidently) killer question of how do I checkout and pay for the computer, he told me to click the checkout button and fill in the information asked for. When I told him that there was no checkout button on the screen--I looked carefully up and down and sideways several times—“Alex†simply logged off. Well, I can’t swear that he logged off, but when I informed him of the absence of the checkout button, I got no further response.
Your company has developed the attitude over the past few years that you know all the questions that can be asked before they are asked and you have all the answers your customer will ever need. When someone asks a question that does not appear on the “listâ€, your “employees†simply hang up.
There is an evident “bug†in the outlet website which prevents the checkout button from displaying, but there is no one with which to address this issue. Your employees take the attitude that if it “appears†to be working on their end, there is no problem.
As this is not the first time I have encountered this problem when dealing with Dell “supportâ€, most likely I shall be buying my next computer from one of your competitors.
Yours truly,
Chat with India:
Me: When I get my order the way I want it, I can't "checkout". There is no way to provide payment and shipping information.
Dell Customer "Care": Click on the Checkout Button.
Me: There is no checkout button on the screen.
Dell Customer Care: You must click on the Checkout Button in order to complete the order.
Me: There is no checkout button on the screen.
And so on and so forth. There was a lot more conversation about the speakers I ordered...from them, not from me because I didn't order any speakers. I already have speakers. I tried telling them that, but they were insistent about the speakers; so, I just gave it up because I knew there were no speakers on the order.
The letter to Michael Dell:
Michael Dell, Chairman
Dell Inc.
One Dell Way
Round Rock, TX 78682
Dear Mr. Dell:
Though I am sure this letter will be ignored, I feel that I must write it. I spent over 20 years in the computer industry as a consultant. However, I am writing today as a customer. Or, perhaps I should say, soon to be former customer.
Your customer service and support has gone down the tubes since being outsourced to India. I wasted over 3 hours today attempting to order a computer from your Outlet website. Part of that time was spent most unproductively in an online “chat†with your alleged Customer Support group in India.
“Nadia†was obviously working from a script and only had a limited number of answers to give—none of which happened to fit the question I was asking. Finally, “Nadia†put her supervisor, “Alexâ€, on-line. Though he was somewhat better, when I got to the (evidently) killer question of how do I checkout and pay for the computer, he told me to click the checkout button and fill in the information asked for. When I told him that there was no checkout button on the screen--I looked carefully up and down and sideways several times—“Alex†simply logged off. Well, I can’t swear that he logged off, but when I informed him of the absence of the checkout button, I got no further response.
Your company has developed the attitude over the past few years that you know all the questions that can be asked before they are asked and you have all the answers your customer will ever need. When someone asks a question that does not appear on the “listâ€, your “employees†simply hang up.
There is an evident “bug†in the outlet website which prevents the checkout button from displaying, but there is no one with which to address this issue. Your employees take the attitude that if it “appears†to be working on their end, there is no problem.
As this is not the first time I have encountered this problem when dealing with Dell “supportâ€, most likely I shall be buying my next computer from one of your competitors.
Yours truly,
