Dan’s Blog

I have a love/hate relationship with Dell. I love them because their computers are top notch and their prices are reasonable. Whenever I have to recommend a computer to a friend or family member, it’s always Dell. I hate Dell because of their customer service. It used to be fantastic. Then they offshored their CS and all hell broke loose.

This summer, my father needed a new computer. He uses his computer for work-at-home purposes, so he can’t go a day without it. He had been having computer issues for some time, and it was an old computer anyway. So, it was decided a new computer was in order. I identified a refurbished model on their website (a good way to get a cheap computer). I then called, had the operator reserve the refurbished item, and asked him to ship it next day. He told me that was impossible, since the credit check and paperwork took a couple of business days. Unbelievably, no matter what negotiation methods I used, there was no way for him to ship it overnight. So, my father and I took a trip to Wal-Mart, yes, you right right: Wal-Mart, to purchase a Dell. They had two boxes: a model without keyboard/mouse/monitor, and the same model without said peripherals. It was a great machine for a great price, so my father got a new computer.

But that’s not the point of this post, believe it or not. This summer, I reformatted my computer in the name of starting the school year fresh (it got abused with installs last year). I thought I had reinstalled everything, but evidently, Dell does not make the PowerDVD codec available for general download. I did a chat session with a Dell technician yesterday who informed me that there was no way to download the software and that she’d have to ship one out to me. Fine, just send the software. I expected to get it in a few weeks. When I came home today, there it was on my doorstep. They shipped it DHL next-day. Perhaps Dell is starting to realize that their customer service used to be a competitive advantage that they had lost and are now working on fixing it.

Here’s your opportunity to get an OLPC of your own. You know, it’s the green, solar powered laptop for needy people that was supposed to cost only $100. If you buy one for $399, they’ll send one on to someone who really needs it. Plus, when you get sick of looking at the tiny screen on yours, you can donate it as well. An interesting fact from this article:

OLPC’s drop tests show that the device can absorb a fall more gracefully than a Panasonic Toughbook

Wow.