Just Ordered an X51V...What a nightmare w/ Outscourced Service

Milenkod · 04-22-06, 10:47 AM

I originally orderd the base X51v (non-bundled) for $374 - $35 coupon. The next morning I see that the bundle prices have significantly dropped. So I call to cancel and I get to the outscourced center (India? I guess) and ask for my coupon back.

OMFrigginG...what MORONS!! I first was told NO and argued that the product isn't im my possesion so it's tecnically not sold to me yet and it hasn't even shipped. Put's me on hold to "check something out"....1/2 hour later while "On Hold" I hang-up...that's just too long to WANT to buy anything.

I call again and get to the outscource center and I ask to cancel, retun my coupon and want to re-purchase the bundle. She (her name was Smithy...OK whatever you say) can cancel, returm my coupon but it wouldn't be valid against the re-purchase because coupon codes are not allowed on that particular bundle. I ask her to explain because I was sure you could. Suddenly I loose the connection. I call back on her extension a to try to complete this trasaction....another 1/2 hour of holding and I hang-up in frustration.

I call back a few hours later and try again. Get outscorced, explain what I want to do and what's happened to me so far....seems sympathetic. Cancels my order but can't get me the coupon back. I AM PISSED NOW! He puts me on hold to check with his manager and says he will forward, in my email, a $50 coupon in exchange for the $35 coupon and for my troubles...RIGHT ON!!! I get a case #, give him my email and everything is good. I planed to avoid all this outscourced BS/crap and use my $50 with by purchasing online this time...or so I thought.

Hours go by and I get my cancellation confirmation in my email but NO $50 COUPON as promised. I call back, get outscourced and explain my case. The guy says he sees no such coupon or credit to my account. WTF?....I'M SUPER PISSED NOW! This guy seems to want to help though. Put's me on hold to see if there is any coupons he can give me. I'm on hold for about 20 minutes, but he get's back to me ever 5mins to let me know he's still looking. Finds a code, enters it and can't get it to work. Tells me that there is a $20 coupon...at this point I'l take anything. Put's me on hold to "get the paperwork going". I'm on hold for 45 mins while this is going on. However, he chimes-in ever so often to let me know that he's working on it. Finally completed everything and then tells me that he was able to apply the $20 + another $15 coupon. YEA!!! So I was back to where I began. I got my confimation in email that the order was processed and the price was as correct with the coupons applied.

So after 2+ hours of lost productivity and several phone calls, I got the X51V bundle (Rihnoshin Alum case + extra battery) for $314 + tax. What a pain in the assss!!!! This is the second Dell purchase though outscorcing that has soured me. I WILL NEVER PICK UP THE PHONE TO CALL DELL AGAIN!!! THE OUTSCOURCED IDEA DOSN'T WORK!!!

04-22-06, 11:25 AM

While I understand your frustrations having gone through something similar back in Feb. when I ordered my Axim, in the end you got a better deal than you started with.

Sgt Hollywood · 04-22-06, 11:39 AM

Just don' t buy a HP printer then too, or you'll be having a great time with their Bombay call center.

myrcgarage · 04-22-06, 11:49 AM

You might want to try http://support.dell.com/chat. It is much easier to deal with support this way. No problem to understand their accent since you don't speak to them, just typing.

Also, you could have tried to ask them to match the new price like Circuit City. I think they would be willing to do that.

Anyway, you've got a nice package. Enjoy your Axim. Remember to use Chat next time. It is much faster and easier.

rta53 · 04-22-06, 12:00 PM

Do you think the money you saved was worth the hassle? I think we sometimes we get too caught up in saving a few dollars. I bought my X51v for $339. Sure I could have spent a lot more time and perhaps saved a little more money. After all, is our goal just to get a great deal or to have a device that we can enjoy using?

saminegm · 04-22-06, 12:02 PM

Your Story is completely typical for Dell. I will never buy anything from Dell again.

myrcgarage · 04-22-06, 12:18 PM

I believe outsourcing to Indian is good for short term. However, it is not good for long term since people will be so sick of this kind of stuff. Then, people won't buy from Dell again. I know cost is a big factor, management only cares what they can save right now since the more they can save, the better they look to their bosses and stock holders. They don't care the future since they might not be working their anymore.
Outsourcing is such a big problem for all industries across the board. I hope I will still have a job in the future.

04-22-06, 12:24 PM

I had a simular experience with Dell also.Ordered a laptop online and a better deal came out the next day.I contacted sales on the phone and they were very helpful but couldn't cancel the order.I reordered and had to contact the outsource people to cancel.That took several calls and online chat but it finally happened.I had to bug them about the $250 rebate but got it in five weeks.All in all not terrible but they could make it much easier.

Patrick Y. · 04-22-06, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by myrcgarage

You might want to try http://support.dell.com/chat. It is much easier to deal with support this way. No problem to understand their accent since you don't speak to them, just typing.

Also, you could have tried to ask them to match the new price like Circuit City. I think they would be willing to do that.

Anyway, you've got a nice package. Enjoy your Axim. Remember to use Chat next time. It is much faster and easier.

I agree. BTW, DON't ASK FOR RETURN! ASK FOR PRICE ADJUSTMENT INSTEAD!!!! I got my axim a year ago and I got a really good deal on it. However, I thought I saw a even better deal afterwards (but really not). So, I immediately asked for price adjustment via chat and they gave me $15 back without even asking for details. :approve: I also got $85 back with Inspiron 6000.:approve: Anyway, don't call, use chat!

04-22-06, 06:38 PM

This happened to me twice but I've learned my lesson. And whenever I call I demand they put through the Canadian call center for sales and service all the time.

paulF3 · 04-22-06, 10:52 PM

I don't know if this will work with Dell, but I had a friend call a company and when he was asked if he would like to continue in spanish, it went to a bilingual operator that spoke perfect english and perhaps was an american.
Worth a shot.

Malkavian · 04-23-06, 12:24 AM

Spanish/English. This may work most of the time. I'm a systems administrator at a call center, but not for a technical support or sales, and our spanish speaking agents also speak english. Never thought about this option, but have had the dreaded, "Hello, my name is ajabilio....you can call me George" tech support and it is very much a nightmare trying to cut through the accent to understand exactly what they were saying.

TFJetfire · 04-23-06, 12:40 AM

Truth be told on outsourcing. It is a short-short term solution that will cause more problems than solve.
From a quick high-level overview:

First a company must invest in the local region to build up the support. Companies spend millions of dollars for startup.

Second the "cheap" labor will quickly inflate costs - (basic supply/demand meets human greed - even with cheap labor you give someone anything and they will come back asking for more thus inflation - not hard numbers but for example you start out at 25 cents an hour and within a few years you will quickly get up to $15 per hour)

Third as the cheap labor costs suddenly rise companies start looking elsewhere for cheaper labor thus migrating to new areas and starting the process over again
While companies can point out that they "saved" money during their "outsourced migration", they will next look for new ways to save money. Hence the cycle repeats.

Fourth as the companies leave for newer areas the original outsourced region from step 1 now has cost of living expenses that have risen thus the region now faces higher prices with lower incomes - can someone say recession or worse depression? - Need proof - just look at American job markets and the cost of living in the various regions - especially after jobs have been outsourced or cut.

Right now the quality of work coming from India isn't great but companies are looking at China next much like they did at India in the early 2000s.

After China?

norseman8485 · 04-23-06, 12:51 AM

So instead of: "Hello, my name is ajabilio....you can call me George" you'll get: "Hello, my name is xiao tze bai....you can call me George" Same difference, except with a chinese accent.

myrcgarage · 04-23-06, 01:54 AM

Originally Posted by norseman8485

So instead of: "Hello, my name is ajabilio....you can call me George" you'll get: "Hello, my name is xiao tze bai....you can call me George" Same difference, except with a chinese accent.

I don't think China can take this role since English is one of the offical languages in Indian(I know about the accent), but English is not an offical language in China. There is no way that Chinese can be in the tech support role. It will be even worse than India.