cgo

I have been a Dell customer since the late 80's. I have been key to converting a larger corporation to Dell products. I personally own and use three Dell desktops/towers on my home network. I have recommended Dell to many friends who ended up buying from Dell.

My Axim order has been a mess since day 1. Error on top of error. Screw-up on top of screw-up. I do have my Axim which is great because it's a good piece of hardware but it took four weeks to get here. My 3400mAh battery never showed. I did eventually get creditted for the lost battery but not without lots of time on the phone. I did get a lot of lame apologies but never any fixes. This was truly quite contrary to my past experiences with Dell. i also sent numerous emails to the Customer Service email address posted on the Dell.ca site but it's been 15 days since the first email with no response.

I may eventually place another order for that battery and another charger - where else could I go???? But the two personal PC's I plan to upgrade this year ... Since Dell hasn't shown any interest in retaining my business why should I?

Abear

I don't know, it sounds like you have been getting pretty good service up until this snafu with the Axim. I only hope that I can get that kind of service for 20 years. I just switched to Dell after putting up with many other companies who didn't even offer lame apologies. I understand how you feel, I have had my share of poor service and no interest by the supplier to contact me.

Just recently I ordered a 802.11b card from Amazon.com. I tried to cancel the order, nothing doing, it was kicked out to a third party vender. I contacted the third party vender, their systems we all automated. I received an automated email responce, no one answered their phones, I left 4 voice messages and over 5 emails. I did get a response when I left the message that I was disputing the charge with my credit card company. Yes they did cancel my order after a month of trying to contact them. The third party vender was Alphacraze.com. I did not choose them, Amazon.com sent my order to them.

This was my first bad experience with Amazon.com. I felt the same way you do right now about Dell, they were not going to get any more of my business. Well I have had nothing but good experiences with Amazon up till this point. So now I'm a little more pragmatic, if Amazon has what I'm looking for at the price I want to pay, I plan to give them another try.

Abear

johnm972

I'm not making excuses for Dell, but this is a new venture for them. Unlike their PCs, the Axim is made by an other company in the Far East. So like you, they have to wait for them to be built and delivered to them. I don't think Dell ever dreamed that the Axim would be in such demand and they may be overwhelmed by the orders and support requests.

Like you, I ordered my Axim (400Mhz) last week after many weeks of comparision shopping and reading the Axim boards. I hope it will be worth the wait. They say it will be shipped on Feb 6. I am not holding my breath. I expect it will show up sometime before March.

imarollingstone

I'm also pretty disenchanted with Dell. I've purchased 2 Desktops, an Axim, and a number of accessories in the last 60 days.

I've had problems with both the desktops and the resolution has been a comedy of errors. V92 modems for some reason do not work at my location. After 20 hours of talking to Dell, MSN, AOL, the phone company, I finally convinced a Tech that the problem had to be the modems. He told me he could send 2 new modems of a different type. 3 days later I called Dell to follow up, they told me Techs could not change the type of modem, I had to purchase a modem (Of course I had to talk to Software and Peripherals, another 45 minutes on hold), and return the original one.

So I do this. Paying $77.00 for a modem, because it is the only one they have in stock. Of course two days later the modem originally ordered shows up, followed by the $77.00 modem the next day. Of course the first modem arrived with no drivers. Another call to Dell and another 45 minutes on hold. Finally get the drivers, and it doesn't work, neither does the$77.00 modem. (Dell tech can't even figure out how to install the driver's on this one).

I finally pull the v90 modem from my Dell 4100, and it works without even installing any drivers. I decide the hell with it, I'll just buy another one of these and put it in. So I do so. Of course, a week later a box shows up, with drivers but no modem.

45 minutes on hold for Dell I explain the problem. They tell me they don't have the modem to go with the driver's they sent me, so I buy another modem (this is now 5 modems) After reassuring me this has the modem and the drivers. This one arrives, but again has no drivers to go with it!

45 minutes on hold for Dell, I explain the problem. Appears they don't have a modem to go with the drivers they sent me and don't have drivers to go with the modem they sent me. Of course I have to purchase modem number 6, which I'm hoping has all the applicable parts. Oh, and I have to call Customer Care to arrange for the returns for the modems they sent me.

It took another 2 hours on the phone to arrange the returns and credits for the modems they sent. Of course, once they set up the Credit, they credit my mother's account and not mine!!!!. Fortunately, they sent the rebate for her machine to me, so I'll just settle up with her.

Now, the Axim was ordered 12/22 and is not scheduled to ship until 2/03/03

I do believe it may be time to sell your Dell stock. Something very bad appears to have happened there.

ALA

I am also a disenchanted Dell customer. We'd always been very happy with our 2 Dell desktop PCs, so when the Axim was introduced, we thought it was worth taking a chance on a new product.

Our problem: we have yet to receive our portable keyboard, ordered on November 18. When I placed the order, the CSR told me I would likely receive the keyboard before receiving the Axim itself -- and the misinformation has just snowballed from there! I know more about this product than the CSRs do.

There have been numerous calls and much time spent with Dell "customer service". Needless to say, I keep being given new stories and new shipping dates, and of course the dates pass by and no keyboard has materialized. My pleas for action have fallen on deaf and unsympathetic ears.

My question to Dell is this: why are you leaving your customers in limbo? Clearly, you are not resolving these shipping delays. Even if the keyboard is made by an outside vendor (your CSRs can't agree on that point!), why do you not exert some pressure on these suppliers??

I will certainly keep my eye on the forums, as other people discuss their experiences with keyboards from other manufacturers. If I read of one that seems to work fine, I will definitely buy it! Without a doubt, Dell has successfully alienated this previously loyal customer.