Customer service of Dell Europe?

[Torsten]

Hi, I'd like to share some experience I had as Dell customer. About a year ago I purchased a Dell Inspiron 6400 notebook and a couple of months ago I noticed that the power cable of the adapter was slightly broken and I knew I would have to replace it sooner or later. What I didn't know was that as business client my warranty had expired one year after the purchase which was on April 19, 2007.

Since I don't think it was my fault that the cable had worn out after about one year, I called Dell Europe to ask if they would replace it. They said no, they would not offer me a refund or replacement and that I had to reorder the adapter which costs about $70.

The adapter has a very specific design and it's almost impossible to use another brand but Dell. So here are the options Dell is giving me: I can either reorder the adapter (and there is no guarantee and that new one will wear our within a few months too) or I can purchase a new notebook). This doesn't look like excellent "customer relations management" to me.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Torsten
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[NinaZara]

First of all I think warranty should last at least two years, but since laptop breaks more easily than desktops I can understand their reluctance to warrant it more than a year. I don't think you can blame them for not wanting to replace the cable of your notebook because they only warrant it a year.

But I had better experience with customer service.

Before, I used Lavie from NEC, I carelessly dropped it from my bed and it hurt the hard drive. According to the warranty, NEC would not cover damages caused by careless conducts. The thing was brand new and the cost of replacing a new drive was 60000 yen(around $600).

Guess what? Eventhough I honestly told them I dropped it, they still replaced it for free! Boy, am I lucky.

[Jamie (K)]

In the US, a lot of computer stores have their own "no questions asked" extended replacement warranties that you can buy for a percentage of the purchase price. They'll sell you one of these for anything you buy, if you agree. A friend of mine used to talk people into buying them for things as stupid as USB cables.

Of course, they wouldn't make money if most things went kaput under warranty, but you can use the warranty a different way. You can keep your computer or whatever until the warranty is about to expire, and then you take it to the store, show the warranty and say, "Um, duh, this isn't working for me anymore." Then the store has to replace it with the "equivalent item". However, since by that time what you have bought will be obsolete, it means you get an automatic upgrade free. (The store clerks told me to do this!)

Some stores have this, and some don't.

The best thing for you to do -- if this is possible in Germany -- is not to order the new power cable from Dell, but to order it from a computer retail chain that will sell you an extended warranty.

[NinaZara]

Isn't that cheating, Jamie?

[Stew.t.]

Hi Torsten

I had the same deal with a Toshiba power cable.
If your willing to pay a lot less money and not have a brand name product, I bought a power cable that has different adaptors for different makes of laptop.

Let me know ; ), and will drop you a line with the details.

The States do their laptops, PCs under better conditions, and Europe our Cell/Mobile phones (unless it is an i-phone). You win some, you lose some.

cheer stew.t.
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[Torsten]

Hi Stew,

Thanks a lot for your offer -- yes, please do let me know how I can get a replacement for my Dell adapter. It doesn't have to be Dell; it can be any brand. I talked to the folks at SATURN and they shrugged their shoulders saying they can't do anything since Dell has designed its adapter in such a way that it's very hard to replace it by another brand.

Regards,
Torsten
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[Jamie (K)]

[Prezbucky]

Just don't run a system de-frag for a few years... then bring it in and claim it as defective.

I'll explain:

The first computer I owned was an HP PC with an Intel Celeron (sp?) processor. I bought it in 1999.

I did not have any idea that I was supposed to run a system defragmentation once in a while, so I never did... and in 2002 or 2003 my computer absolutely crashed. It got to the point where I had to run a system install every time I wanted to use the computer.
------

Anyhow, maybe computers have improved in this regard, but I bet if you "forget" to de-frag your computer, eventually the data bits will be messed up to the point of causing your computer to simply stop functioning.

That way there's really something wrong with your computer, justifying you (to a greater degree, anyway) in not feeling like a thief when you accept your new computer under your extended warranty.

hehe
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[NinaZara]