DVD Rewinder: need I say more?

Take a gander at this CNN/Money "Blockbuster dropping late fees as of Jan. 1" article. Blockbuster's latest scam, "no late fees", which embraces Best Buy tactics, is why I haven't had a Blockbuster membership in a very long time, and have only rented from Netflix or the local neighborhood store (20/20 or Movies and More).

From one of my favorite online review sites, Kevin Kelly -- Cool Tools, comes a great review of Costco, that perfectly encapsulates why I love shopping at Costco so much, and why Sam's Club has a long way to go before reaching Costco's status.

The ongoing Dell Saga:

Dell sent me a survey link, in response to my e-mail to Customer Service. At the end of the survey, this question was posed:

"15. What does Dell's e-mail support currently do well, and what can be improved?"

Here's my response:

The from: address should be more friendly, not "US_CAG_Dell". One of your e-mails actually got caught in a very good spam-filter (by very good meaning very few false positives). Next, the e-mails should be answered by English-speaking CSRs who are actually trained to deal with customer issues, not some third-world flaks who posess neither an understanding of the English language, nor the business acumen to understand the issues at hand.

The problem I am having is that I purchased a product that was listed as "Ships in 24 hours", both the day I bought it, and the next day. Then, I am told that the product will actually ship 2 weeks later, after which a CSR AND a manager both tell me that "ships in 24 hours" means "ships AFTER 24 hours of processing", and "ships a FEW days later", and "it takes some time to assemble the system". I BOUGHT A SINGLE ITEM, A SATA CONTROLLER, NOT A COMPUTER! MY ORDER IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES, YOU JUST LOOKED UP ALL OF MY INFORMATION!!!! Right before another pointless reply to an e-mail request for help, I got another "your product will ship 2 weeks after the previous ship estimate" e-mail.

If TO THIS DAY Dell can't build an accurate inventory system, but Amazon/Netflix/Buy.com/Overstock can, I don't particularly want to deal with Dell. I'd rather pay another vendor more, to get better service and a peace of mind.

As an avid gadget lover/early adopter/computer guy, I often get asked for advice with buying anything PC/audio/video related. Since I build my own computers, I have never bought a Dell (or any other brand), but dozens have bought Dell PCs, laptops, etc. base d on my recommendation. After having recommended Dell PCs since 1995, Dell DJs over iPods, Axims over IPAQs, and Dell LCD TVs over other brands, to all who ask for recommendations, I will no longer recommend Dell - even if you do have decent products at decent prices.

How could this sour and goodwill-destroying experience have been avoided? If just one of those Indian CSRs, whom Dell hired to save money and take jobs away from its own customers, told me "I apologize, we made a mistake, the website wasn't updated on time, allow us to upgrade your shipping to overnight" or even "I apologize, our vendor (Maxtor) delayed their shipment of the product you ordered, and we are working with them to make sure the product gets shipped ASAP." To add insult to the CSR's "we won't do anything for you" attitude, I now have to wait YET ANOTHER 2 WEEKS for delivery!

In conclusion:
*it will take a month to get a product that was listed as "ships in 24 hours" - the day of the purchase AND THE DAY AFTER
*you've lost one formerly loyal customer (myself)
*you've lost many customers: to each and every person that will ever ask me for a recommendation, I will go out of my way to discourage their purchase of any Dell products. Why do people come to me for PC advice? I'm: A+ certified; first line of tech support for friends and family and co-workers; a Database Admin; early adopter; gadget afficionado; an opinionated PC user who already got hurt by your choice of re-wired ATX power supplies.
*This all could have been avoided, if your CSRs actually put some thought into answering a request, and were taught to work WITH the customer, instead of reciting scripted drivel, and rewriting the English language.
Bye-bye!!!

Here's a book that I'll be picking up this for holiday break reading:
Mind Hacks. Check it out for yourself, let me know what you think (comments link below post).

In this, a non-rant post, I'd like to bring your attention to USA For UNHCR, where you can sign a Holiday Card for the volunteers of the UN Refugee Agency. Just a nice thing to do for those wonderful people who take on the duties we don't dare take.

A RANT ABOUT ORDERING A MAXTOR SATA CONTROLLER FROM DELL, or
an order placed on 11/19/04 , listed "ships in 24h", may only ship on 12/17/04, a month later.

Full story:
On November 19th, put in an order to buy a Maxtor SATA/133 PCI Controller card. Dell.com's Small Business division had it for $44 w/s&h, taxes, after coupons. The card was listed as "ships in 24 hours" the day of the order. It was also listed as "ships in 24 hours" the day after the order was placed. Several days later, I received an e-mail from Dell with the tracking information, stating that my order will ship on November 6th.

I called Dell on December 1st to find out why the order was listed as "Ships in 24 hours" even the day after my order. Talked to an Indian CSR who could barely hear me (VOIP is a great cost-cutting measure, isn't it?), and quoted me a definition of "ships in 24 hours" that was the complete opposite of what the website listed, and was no help whatsoever. The next day, another Indian CSR, this time claiming to be a manager, called me to find out why I called. I explained the situation, and without offering to help me in any way, or explaining the reasons for the delay, he just repeated the same backwards explanation for why the order did not go out, and that "ships in 24 hours" means "it takes Dell 24 hours just to get the order ready for shipping, and the item is shipped after that". Both CSR's gave me the same speech.

On Friday, 12/3, I e-mailed DELL support online. First message I got back: our systems are down for maintenance, wait a while for a response. The next message, received today, 12/6, titled "First Delay Notification", states that my order may ship after December 17th.

Here's the text of the next message, received today, 12/6:

Thank you for contacting Dell Online Support.
I understand that you purchased PCI card under order number xxx
which is advertised as "ships in 24 hours", I understand your frustration regarding the delay in the processing of this order.
I apologize for the extension of the estimated ship date of your order. An estimated shipping date is provided to you at the time of placing the order based on conditions at that time. Most of our orders are shipped to our customers within the time frame referenced at the point of sale. However, due to many factors involved with the production of orders, Dell is unable to guarantee any shipping or delivery date.

As all of our systems are custom-built to specification, we do occasionally run into unexpected delays in the manufacturing process. [I DID NOT BUY A SYSTEM - JUST A SINGLE ITEM]

I assure you that your situation is not indicative of the quality of service Dell is capable of providing. [YES IT IS]

We appreciate your taking the time to share your experience with us. Your comments are very important to us and will assist in making improvements where necessary. I have forwarded your message to the management and I assure you they will look into this issue and will work on making improvements based on your feedback. [Translation: BUT YOUR ORDER WILL NOT BENEFIT FROM ANY OF THESE IMPROVEMENTS, AND WE WILL DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP YOU OUT WITH THIS ORDER]

Once again, I thank you for sharing your experience with us. Whether the feedback we receive is positive or negative, it remains a crucial tool for determining how we can best improve our products and services. [Translation: BUT WE WILL NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC ORDER]

We truly regret any inconvenience or frustration this matter may have caused. We value you as our customer[NO YOU DON'T] and your satisfaction is very important to us [IT ISN'T].

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. [HAD THREE CONTACTS, NEXT STEP IS CANCELLING ORDER] Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you [YOU DIDN'T ASSIST ME!].

I hope to have addressed all your concerns to your satisfaction. [YOU DIDN'T] Your case number for this interaction is XXX. Please keep this number for your records. This will help us keep track of this issue so we can better assist you if you have any further questions or concerns about the estimated shipdate for your order.

We appreciate your patience, and again apologize for any inconvenience. If you require anything further, please feel free to visit our website at: http://www.dellcustomercare.com

Thank you and have a good day.

Respectfully,
Nhoireekit

Here's the text of the delivery delay message:

We have reviewed your order. Although we had anticipated being able to ship your order sooner, we are experiencing an unexpected delay with your order and will not be able to ship this order and any associated orders until on or before 12-17-2004.  No action is required to proceed with the new date, however, if you do not wish to wait, you may cancel your order.  If you wish to cancel your order or if you have any questions, please go to www.support.dell.com  or contact us at 1-800-624-9897, extension (66966).  Please include your order number or customer number with any correspondence.  We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause.    Thank you,  Dell Inc. Notification Team 

This was only my second Dell order, first one also being for parts. So was the order delayed because I spoke up? Or is this yet another retailer adopting the BestBuy ANGELS/DEVILS strategy? Is the new trend to ignore the vocal customers who do use the discounts, and only take care of those customers that place large orders, and don't take advantage of the discounts?
It's bad enough that Dell rewired power supply connectors on their ATX motherboards, so that upgrades without correct wiring would blow up the Dell motherboards - now Dell is rewriting the definition of the word "ships". I am upset for three reasons: 1) Dell still had the item listed as "ships in 24 hours"after the order was placed, when in fact it will take 1 month to ship, 2) Dell's definition of "ships in 24 hours" is not the English language definition of "ships in 24 hours", and 3) Dell failed to: (a) timely warn me that there's a delay; (b) provide me a reason for the delay; (c) even bother pacifying me, by offering free upgraded shipping, or coupons, or discounts. I won't even bother ranting about the fact that I have to explain my problems to people that don't understand what my problems are. The language barrier is acceptable at the grocery store, liquor store, or a gas station - but not from a billion-dollar technology retailer. Good bye, Dell!
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