Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Dell Computers Loses Customer

I used to be a fan of Dell Computers, but no more. I purchased my last one, a Dell Vostro, less than a month ago, receiving it on December 4th. I started having power issues with it on December 10th where it might or might not power on regardless of whether or not it was on AC or battery. On December 14th I called Dell's service department to arrange it for it to be returned to the repair "depot" and the service rep assured me that I would receive a return box from them in 2-3 days.

On Saturday, Dec 19th, I emailed Dell because I still had not received the link. By Monday the 21st I still had not received the return box and opened my email to retrieve my reference numbers so I could contact Dell. Dell had replied to my email of Saturday and responded with a link to the tracking confirmation showing that a box had been delivered. I reviewed the confirmation and saw that they box had been delivered to Connecticut. I live in Florida. I replied to Dell's email stating the delivery error and that I would be calling in a few minutes to request a refund for my Dell Paperweight.

I called Dell and started with the repair department where I had to point out to the girl that they did send a box, but to the wrong location and that my patience was gone. I am a writer and require my computer for work and can not wait to see where they decide to send the next box. I requested a full refund for my purchase and was switched over to customer service. After explaining everything to customer service the gentleman wanted to switch me back to the repair department to "see if we could work something out." I was adamant. "NO. They can't even deliver a box to the correct address with the correct information when they have my address on the invoice. I am done. I need a working computer and I demand a refund."

The representative has scheduled a UPS pickup for today, Dec 22. This is now in direct conflict with the email Dell has now sent me saying the UPS will contact me in a few days with an email link to a shipping label. UPS cannot pick up a box without a shipping label although it is scheduled for pick-up today. This saga can only continue to worsen and I anticipate several more lengthy phone calls while I attempt to sort everything out during my brief 21-day return period.

I will not be buying another computer from Dell after this fiasco.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Updates From the Eclectic Muse

A few weeks ago I posted a request to help get an animal cruelty video banned from YouTube. Well, thanks to the efforts of everyone involved, this video has finally been removed and a lot of flying squirrel owners and animal lovers alike are breathing sighs of relief. It's very encouraging to me to see that a few people can make a difference.

Baby Nibbles Asleep in a Kleenex

In other news I have acquired a new baby flying squirrel to keep Benji company. The new girl, little Nibbles, is coming along quite nicely. Benji seems unimpressed at the addition of a new little sister and would much rather continue to steal and hide nuts. Nibbles is just a little bundle of love. She will curl up in your hand and, true to her namesake will nibble fingers, although not very hard.

We have a new foster dog from Save Underdogs. Sasha is a shepherd mix that appears to have come from an abused home. It's taken me almost an entire week to be able to pet her without her flinching. She prefers women over men and doesn't care for loud noises. She is very playful once she feels comfortable and seems to really enjoy playing with our other three dogs. Sasha is spayed and her house training is nearly complete. She hasn't had an accident in three days!! I'm really hoping that this special girl finds a forever home before Christmas. She certainly deserves it.

My holiday shopping is nearly complete. I did all of my shopping online and am just waiting for the last couple of items to arrive. I simply must rave on Cafepress.com for a moment. I ordered several customized items from them and two of them arrived in less than perfect condition. The photo on the mug was crooked and the photo on the Sigg bottle was too dark. Well, I contacted them about exchanging the items and let me just say that their customer service response was phenomenal and the replacement items are already enroute and should be here before Christmas! Way to go Cafepress!!

Well that's about it for this edition. I've got to get a few more articles knocked out and then figure out what I can have for dinner that I can actually taste. Sinus/head colds seem to completely render tastebuds useless.

The Curse of the Laptop

Only two days left, but if you act now you can enter to win a HP Pavilion dm 3 Laptop by going here

What has inspired this blog post? The new Dell Vostro that I got just a little over a week ago has died and must go back to the factory for repair. Perhaps it panicked when it saw just how much writing I really do...