Dell Computer Corporation Consumer Reviews - Page 4

ALBANY, NEW YORK -- DISSATISFACTION with Dell Inc. After 4 months of trying to solve technical issues in my computer with the so claimed "Award Winning Dell Technical Support" I sent a letter to Dell complaining on their poor technical support copying the local BBB. A few days later, for purposes of privacy I would call "Mr. **" from Dell Executive Support, contact me by telephone on November 1, 2004 and sent email to BBB stating his views about the issues.

His position, typical of a big organization that defines the situation as “blown out of proportion”, was covered with a delicate soft veil for purposes of good public relations, but plowed ahead by trying to flex its muscle when it comes to receiving any criticism or bad mark. By tactfully asking questions conducive to confuse the issue or find a fault, Mr. ** did not bring any satisfaction to my original complaint. Mr. C.'s explanation of the problem to the BBB was not accurate. He made it sound that I was not able to connect to the internet via a router because of software set-up.

If he had read my original letter, the problem started with the modem in the computer and the inability of the Dell technician to solve them. The main claim was about poor service support. In addition, the router was connected after I had the computer fixed by a private individual. Given the whole history of the problem per my original letter sent to Dell and the BBB, it appeared that Mr. ** did not read my letter and if he did, I can only deduce his main goal was to get on the good side of the BBB.

I was taken aback by his reaction or total incomprehension when Mr. ** repeatedly stated that it would not have been necessary for me to contact the BBB since they could have solved the issue directly. Further, he took the position that no matter what additional steps I would take, Dell would consider the case close after his call. My original letter also pinpointed my forewarned intentions, which were sent previously via email to Dell, that I was going to contact a private party to fix the computer. Dell had plenty of time to notify me at that time of their policy of third party expenses not been covered.

The amount of credit requested from Dell does not justify me spending additional resources on this claim. I reluctantly accepted Mr. ** offer of $ 50.00 online coupon. It does not nearly represent what I went through with Dell in time and efforts which forced me to hire a private technician.

The settlement was not satisfactory and I will certainly not support Dell's products in the future. I stand by my original complaint that Dell Technical Support failed to properly diagnose and support the product by not providing the required and proper customer support that this case needed. On a scale of satisfaction 1 to 10, I give Dell a dismal low score of 1. If you have similar issues with Dell, do not hesitate to contact them and copy the local BBB. That really seems to get their attention.

AURORA, ILLINOIS -- This is my experience, but I have unfortunately learned that I am not alone. This note is to warn others. The statements below are based on my experiences and opinions. Tactics from Dell:

1) Customer Service is Customer Sales. Customer Service does not provide help for technical service difficulties or complaints. They will listen to a complaint and file a complaint with no mention of a response or follow-up.

2) Call Customer Service for a purchase or delivery scheduling, and an American will answer pleasantly and helpfully within minutes.

3) Call Technical Service for technical service, and a person from India will answer with a sweetly rehearsed routine after on hold for what seems forever. Since when are gals from India called Olivia? Why is this pretense needed? Are we that gullible?

4) Why are sales calls answered by Americans and technical support by Asian Indians? If Dell sends technical jobs to India to save money, then why not the sales jobs as well? Maybe if people received the frustration and poor service with purchasing a computer similar to technical support, then Dell would lose a lot of business upfront. Again, sales… American answers, technical service … India answers.

5) Report a hardware problem under warranty and the India technical support will not send a technician to fix the problem right away. They first suspect and point a finger at a possible software problem. They say a service technician cannot make a site visit to fix a hardware problem until the problem has been absolutely identified as hardware problem and the specific hardware has been identified. They say the service technician cannot be sent without the specific hardware.

This approach makes sense to a point, but can cause a great delay to servicing a significant problem. Too bad a service tech cannot arrive, diagnose the problem, order the part and return with the part to fix the problem. Or arrive with a couple hardware parts to save a return trip. Most regular service technicians in other professions arrive with a van full of diagnostic tools and parts.

6) The elimination of a software problem or configuration problem is exhausting. This process will probably take many hours and days talking to India. Each phone call may require repeating previous identification information and background information. The language barrier will often cause information and questions to be repeated several times.

7) The service from India seems very scripted, even the dialog and apologies. A scripted apology is worse than no apology. Also, what good is an apology without the intent of really helping or caring?

8) When a hardware problem occurs, technical service recommends updating the BIOS (chancy), changing BIOS settings (very dangerous), reloading the original drivers (use old drivers?), upgrading the drivers, reconfiguring settings, and downloading configuration files. If none of those items changed before a piece of hardware failed, then why change those items? Seems obvious, if nothing changed and the hardware fails, then the hardware needs to be replaced.

9) Hardware replacement, in my experience, did not include updating the BIOS, supporting hardware drivers, or configuration settings. If the hardware does not work you are responsible to complete this work with someone from India.

10) Hardware replacement, in my experience, did not include the visiting service technician to spot check the computer for any problems that may have occurred or compounded from the service.

11) A computer can only be replaced within 4 weeks of receiving the computer. No matter how many problems occur with a lemon computer, you are out of luck.

12) Technical supervisors will give the same routine as the initial phone technician.

13) The on-site service seems to only occur after technical service exhausts you on the phone diagnosing the computer and luckily identifies the hardware is actually bad. Sorry crying on the phone does not work, nor saying you will never buy another Dell again. The technical service from India simply does not TRULY care.

14) Lastly, I had to laugh during the last year, when a Dell commercial showed two young American interns turning off the lights on the late night technical support group. In the commercial, the support people answered with American voices. I have called Dell tech support many times during the last year and talked to someone with an India accent every time. Dell is really portraying an image that is not typical. Again, why the pretense? You know and I know. Image is everything, but truth will always prevail.

This posting is not to say people from India are not good or intelligent. On the contrary they are nice and very intelligent. This posting is about the Dell technical support from India, those specific technical support technicians, and Dell’'s lack of customer satisfaction.

Currently, I have been through everything mentioned in item #9 and my Dell computer hardware problems still have not been fixed. My current hardware problems only occurred immediately after the service technician replaced the motherboard.

If you know someone who recently purchased a Dell computer without any problems, then they should thank their lucky stars. Here’'s my warning to anyone thinking of purchasing a Dell computer. DO NOT BUY!!! The Dell computers are supposed to be reliable with good customer service, but something seems to have dramatically changed!!! That’'s all for now. It's time to call Dell Technical Support again!

RED JACKET, WEST VIRGINIA -- In Oct. of 2002 I purchased a Dell 8200 laptop with preferred service. From the moment it arrived this computer had a problem where when picked up the floppy fell out, then many weeks of putting in crucial school testing reports, I am the math director of the main HS in Del Barton, WV, all data was lost when turned on one day. Yep all three weeks work gone. I have a record of over 30 calls, oh yes the preferred customer package I purchased, well as a preferred customer you are only kept on hold to talk to a human for about 2 to 3 hrs.

Well they finally sent a repairman by after numerous patches that did nothing, and he after an hour said that it was not worth repairing. So it was sent back, we thought that they were going to either fix or replace it, but after a month of no emails or other contact from them we called and informed them that we had purchased another computer and that we wanted a refund. Well we were promised that there would be a check sent for part of the money from Dell, the 1000 down payment, and the 1700 plus balance from Dell Financial, which is not a part of Dell we found out, with no mention of the interest that was paid in at a rate that is almost 25%.

Well after another month we called and were told "Oops we made a mistake on the amount of money that was to be refunded and that's why it didn't go out, but we are sending the correct amount now". A month later we called again and this time another lie, they said that beings the computer was over a year old they were just going to give us a credit to get another Dell. We in formed them that the computer was only 2 months old when the complaints to them from us started and only 7 months old when it was shipped back.

Well this call took us over 3 hours because we could not understand the person on the phone and we asked where this person was talking from and she said India. Well that's who you get now, they have outsourced all their business to India and it is very hard to understand why they think that a person that takes 3 hrs. to talk to in India could be done in 15 mins. by an American.

Anyway after all these many months and hrs. on the phone we still have not gotten a refund. What's really a laugh is that my husband has an old 486 computer made by IBM that worked 10 times faster and never loses data, than this 2700 dollar Dell. I'm writing here because I cannot get a reply from Dell by email. Here's something to try, call Dell at 1800 www.dell.com and push the sales dept. on the phone menu, you have a human on in 3 rings. Now call the no. and push the support on the menu, you will be on the line for over 2 hrs. before a human comes on. Signed, disgusted with Dell and their lemons and support!!!

ROUND ROCK, TEXAS -- It all started when I purchased a Dell Inspiron 1525 in 2007 or so from Best Buy. Within months of purchase the hard drive died. It happened 2 more times after that only months apart as well. I took it to Best Buy to have it replaced since I was covered. Then shortly after that it started overheating and shutting off. By then the Best Buy warranty was expired but the Dell warranty was active. I went through Dell and they replaced the heat sink but then it happened again just a few months later. The 1525 I bought was defective and Dell refused to admit it. I contacted the BBB to try to have Dell replace the laptop and they put up a fight.

They were also very rude and the customer service transferred me from person to person. They tried to blame Best Buy for my problems as well. Finally I spoke to someone willing to replace it but they tried to tell me I had to get a refurbished laptop. I fought that only because with all the trouble I had, I felt it was fair to get a brand new one. Finally they agreed. I got that replacement laptop but found they sent me the wrong charger. The replacement laptop was a Studio 1555 that needed a 90-watt charger and they sent me a 60-watt. After my bad experience with Dell I chose to buy the charger on my own. Shortly after that the battery died.

I called Dell Inc. and all they did was transfer me for 2 hours from person to person. No one wanted to help at all. It's like they don't care about their customers at all. They were rude and I didn't appreciate as a customer to be treated that way. One person told me that I did not buy anything from Dell and therefore they can't help me. I BOUGHT the original laptop from Best Buy but it was their product. Dell refuses to stand behind their product and take responsibility. All they know how to do is rude and disrespect their customers. The man said that I didn't buy directly from Dell and all Dell has been doing is helping me. Well duh! It's THEIR product. They should help.

Out of all the laptops I could've bought, I chose Dell. Isn't that enough for them to want to satisfy the customer? It's disgraceful and unacceptable. Something needs to be done because I am not the only one who has suffered with bad customer service. Why should we as customers stay loyal to a company that obviously can care less if they have unsatisfied customers? Now I have to shell out a lot of money to replace a battery that's defective after only 6 months. It's not acceptable at all. Something has to be done to fix this because all I see are bad reviews of Dell with bad customer service. Shouldn't happy customers matter to a company? We deserve better.

I have a Dell laptop, approximately 3 months old, hardly used it as I have an Dell (5 yrs old) ready to die - just bought the new one in case this goes at least I won't have to wait as I have my business websites I need to use all the time. Now I also decided to get a mini, so I could take it with me. The salesman gave me the idea of remote access. Here my story starts. When I got the computer, I called Dell to activate my remote access, they told me I would be better off with file sharing, so I did - 6 hours later, done. The next morning something wasn't working, 2 hours later, OK again.

The next day I decided to open Musicmatch, I just wanted to download a song. As it did not open and sent me a non-compatible message, I called Dell again. 2 or 3 hours later, after opening and closing many things on my computer, nothing but error messages came up so he told me I need a new computer. I have too many issues. He would call the hardware department and let them know and he disconnected me. I called back as I needed to know what is going on I can't use my computer and the next technician said he would help me fix it. After about an hour he asked me if I had XP I said "No I have windows 7".

He informed me that Musicmatch shouldn't even be on my computer and would download another one for me. After he thought he was done, it had no sound, after another hour or so he backed up my files so he could reinstall the operating system, now another couple of hours and nothing opened. He also told me to call in the morning and ask for a new computer.

In the morning I spent approximately 5 hours trying to get a new computer, the only thing I got finally was that they would send a new hard drive. I was not happy with that and I finally got someone in the Customer service department that said they could send a replacement but it is refurbished. I did not want refurbished as my computer was new and they ruined it. He told me that I would be better off with a hard drive and if it did not fix the problem then get the refurbished. Now I get the hard drive, the programs are on it. By the way I thought I was set. Well the files they saved no one knew where they could by found.

Again after another 5 hours, "Sorry about that" I'm told. Every time I want to do something I would have to call Dell. I wanted to open a youtube, the picture wouldn't come on, they fixed it. I wanted to open a file, couldn't, they had to download Adobe. I wanted to print, couldn't, they work - "They do must have changed the settings", they say. They have a Dell dock, which are icons on top - it wouldn't stay. Approximately 3 phone calls for that, finally someone tells me the spyware one of the technician put on my computer is incompatible with the Dell dock, so they took it off. Now my email doesn't save, that gets solved.

O.K. do you get the idea? By the way it is still not working properly. My salesmen must have emailed the someone, I got a call from the Tech Dept. saying they would look at the records and let me know what they would do for me. I felt maybe someone would see what I am going through, I now have spent 56 hours on the phone with Dell in a one-week period, lost 3 days work, my family is ready to disown me and throw the computers out, so let's see what happens.

This is what happens, the corporate office calls me, doesn't really want to hear anything because he has the records, but I tell my story. He actually says "I see you have had a couple of instances", he corrected that quick with "quite a few instances", "but I can't send you a new computer, is it alright if I call you in 3 or 4 days to see if your computer is working?" Well what do you think about that? Not even the corporate office in a company as large as Dell can or will do anything to make it better. Now mind you each and everyone, almost, there were a couple of exceptions were polite and wanted to be helpful.

Every time you call Dell it takes about 10 minutes to get someone. Their system is "Tag number please, name, what is your problem, I'll get you someone, now here we go again", same, maybe 3 times before you get to where you have to. Now a couple of hours, then some other department because they can't do it. Every time they put you on hold you get disconnected and have to start all over again, same questions, everyone sends you to their manager who can make a decision, who then sends you to their manager who can make a decision. Guess what? No one can make a decision.

Well, this is the end of my story. I think the final straw was when the corporate office tells me knowing that I still do not have a properly working computer that was so obviously ruined by Dell technicians and my records show how many calls and issues I have had, with stress and disconnects and all those hours on the phone and still does nothing, something is really wrong with this picture. Thanks for listening, that's more than Dell did.

I recently purchased, on the phone, the pc/printer pair selected by Dell's sales rep, who was slick as glass. I was looking for a nonrecreationally oriented pc for the sole purpose of creating and maintaining my own website for the promotion and sales of my current book online. I used the function on their website entitled "Everything You Want and Nothing you Don't" which seemed to be ideal for my purposes.

Actually, I have had the two items since the beginning of June 2010, about six weeks ago, and I don't know how the PC will do, other than the fact that from the beginning, a disc placed in the CD/DVD burner, which, due to the design, stands upright, and the disc is therefore standing on the edge upright, rather than lying flat, tips back and forth scraping as it is performing the current action.

I have used the pc very little, as the download of Office Suite 2010 Pro Plus they promised me for accepting the 2007 version, for temporary usage, which is technically obsolete, and a nightmare to try to use, was provided to me with an invalid Product Key, which is what they call the ID code for licensing. When I tried to activate it, Microsoft shut down my computer entirely, basically accusing me of being a "pirate".

This action caused me to be totally out of communications for over a week, and would still be the case, had I not been able to access one Indian "tech" who finally stayed on the phone through numerous disconnects from more "senior" techs she thought would help me, and phone me back when she had one on the line. I had to try to reach Dell by phone, since I could not even access the desktop of my pc. The full India runaround prevailed for over a week -- almost full time -- in attempts to get my pc turned back on. Dell knew exactly how the shut down had been done, and turned it back on, so it was all too familiar with them to have happened the only time.

Incidentally, if they also pull this stunt on you, the way to turn it back on, is NOT to try to use your mouse to click something it won't reach, to stop a threatened reset to factory default, that will not be possible to undo; (which even has a countdown by seconds to paralyze the user) you must realize that MS -- dear old MS -- has utilized an old DOS program, which is something archaic enough that most current users would not be familiar with, which requires you to use the arrow key to stop it, as it will neither recognize, respond to a mouse click, or provide you with the opportunity to navigate to select the option to stop it. That will effectively regain you access to your desktop again. Don't mention it; it is my pleasure!

However, the 2010 Office download sits in my programs without my being able to activate it. My computer would again be shut down! If I hadn't reached the Indian representative who took my phone number, and also stayed on the line through several transfers leading to only a dial tone, and finally phoned me back, in horror of what her (new, would be my guess) employer was perpetrating upon its customers, I would still be in possession of a very dead piece of expensive decor, instead of a semi-functioning device, short of the software with which to bring about the promised performance from Dell.

With the faulty Office 2007 software, I have had what would amount to full days, if the hours were pieced together, with my ISP techs trying to get the Outlook app to stay functional. It still won't let me format my outgoing email, and the block junk mail senders doesn't work. I still have mountains of the same junk mail daily, which I have to move about three times just to double delete it on each day's arrivals. Dell, without consulting me, added a 3-yr. warranty which I never would have bought, and which I will never be able to activate, in all likelihood, as I am securely barred from reaching anyone in the US, let alone in a position of authority.

I have had to find (thank Heaven for small favors) Open Office by Oracle and Sun Microsystems (I think) which approximates the best of Word. I haven't tried the other equals, such as Power Point, and Excel. By the way, if they leave you cut off from the communications technology you've bought and paid for from them, Google a no charge email program which has been around for years. I won't list the name here, but just search for a classic email program, which can be downloaded from the web for no cost. You'll get several mentions in the top half of the first page, with links to the website. It's very much like Outlook at its best version.

It's taken me many hours with my ISP special tier tech to try to get it to work with its servers, though, with another 2-3 hour session (I fear) scheduled 3 hours from now, to hopefully connect with their servers, as each ISP, I assume from this experience, partners with only one (major) software co. We all know who I'm referring to, I imagine. I had a very sleepless night stressing as to whether or not I will ever receive the services and equipment I paid out almost $1300 to Dell for. Oh yes, the printer, you ask? Well, it wasn't hooked up for the first three weeks, as with no promised software, there was nothing to print or scan.

About the time I began to acquire the substitute software from the web, I tried to install it. It turned out that it was shipped partially disassembled, with no instructions for the installation of what turned out to be the printhead. Who knew? Well, finally, I got it displaying some signs of life, but on a test run, the grinding sounds and shaking as if it would self destruct, were topped off by its failing to release the sheets, and holding them mangled in its clutches. I turned it off, worked the pages gently free as it maintained its death grip on them, to find that the ink was smeared on them. When I tried a second time, it would not turn on -- even the power switch.

Now, after having been ripped off by another electronics Company, Apex, over the Christmas Holidays, in connection with two dTV converter boxes for my TV sets, which had a button on the remote, which was located closely adjoining the number buttons, and assured to be accidentally touched, likely, sooner than later, which turned on closed circuit captioning which had no method of turning off, but remained forever covering the screen with moving text of the full dialogue, not just abbreviated subtitles as with a foreign movie, I have become assured of the futility of addressing the State Attorney General's Consumer Protection Department.

I received a letter from them a few weeks ago -- six months after the fact that they don't do anything to assist the consumer. Same deal with the Federal Trade Commission, and this time, after being run through the wringer, as all of you contributors, only will fully understand, the local ADA from the DA's Office Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit, after three weeks of telling me that I am placing him in overkill with the details of my saga with Dell and their rotating three Indian call center "techs" and the best he can do for me is to try to access some local technician on the warranty section of my sales paperwork to come out and fix the problems, minus, of course, the hundreds of $$$ for the promised 2010 Office Suite Pro Plus.

We all know how terrified that phone call is going to make Dell, don't we, kiddies? It is my very sad conviction that the country has become such an oligarchy that the mega corps will become even more brazen in their exploitation of the American consumer as time passes. After all, even on the small claims court level, have you ever sat and watched to see who loses and pays up? The consumer whose teeth have been ruined by the malpractice of the dentist the judge plays golf with twice a week? Not very likely, Quien Sabe!

I bought a Dell Inspiron 1470 from Best Buy sometime in Dec. Soon after, one of the keys popped up and was replaced by Dell through the mail where I had to remove the old keyboard and replace it myself. Keep in mind that I had no idea what I was doing and didn't have any instructions on how to do it. At the end of March while I was doing homework, the laptop crashed. I contacted Dell who sent me out a box (label provided) to return the laptop to be repaired.

I immediately took the computer and the box to a drop-off location (what they suggested). About a week later (first week of April), I called Dell to check the status and they said that the computer was still being worked on. I called about two weeks later and this time they said that they haven't received it yet. I called several times after that, and each time I called I had to tell the story from the beginning. I asked them how come they don't keep notations in my record so I won't have to go through this every time I call and they all claimed that they do.

After attempting to track the package by myself and Dell, it was discovered that the tracking number that was sent with the box was from Dell to another customer in another city in 2009. They then told me to call FedEx to help track it and they had the same info from 2009. FedEx did not take fault for this and I refused to. After calling several more times, explaining myself all over AGAIN, being left on hold for hours, waiting 5-6 business days for someone to call me back, Dell FINALLY sent me out a REFURBISHED replacement in early May because I had just past the 90-day mark to receive a NEW replacement.

I called Dell to let them know that the specs were not the same, but I could not be helped because the replacement's service tag # was not attached to my account (this was after she asked me if I had sent the original back and telling the whole story again). When the service representative tried to attach the service tag #, she said that I had to call back because she couldn't do it at that time. I have yet to call back because of the hassle.

Two weeks with the refurbished laptop, I have received letters, emails and phone calls to return the original because they have not received it yet. Are you kidding me?! It is now June and the last message I received was a threatening message that I will no longer be able to receive help until I return it. First of all, Dell HAS NOT helped me, has NEVER helped me, and this whole laptop situation was a horrible experience and very time consuming and I will NEVER buy another Dell or refer them to a friend!

ROUND ROCK, TEXAS -- I am writing this letter about Dell due to my grave dissatisfaction with the support I have tried to receive after purchasing an Inspiron 1521 notebook in October of 2007. The notebook I purchased has not worked properly since the 5th day I received it. The computer will continuously shut itself off on a daily basis, sometimes only minutes after being turned on. I called the support desk immediately after encountering the problem and have spent countless hours on the phone with Dell Support trying to get this remedied.

On six separate occasions the support team had remotely logged into my computer, recognized there was a problem, restored my computer back to its original state and still the computer does not work properly. The support team even had me uninstall and reinstall the operating system twice. I am by no means computer illiterate, but I feel that I should not have to do this to a computer I paid over $1200 for. They also sent me a new hard drive to install, and again, as a consumer, I feel this was not a part of what I paid for.

As for actually getting through to Dell Support which took, on average, 17 minutes each time to get a live person, I would continuously get hung up on. I can't begin to count the amount of times I was hung up on. To give an example, on December 4th, I was hung up on 4 times. To me, this is just poor business practice. I asked to speak with a supervisor or manager and was told no one was there; again poor business practice.

My frustration level has been escalated each time because each time I was given a different response and clearly they recognized there was a problem with the computer. They even told me that the problem was with the operating system, but there was nothing they could do for me because they only warranty hardware. Again, I purchased the operating system with the computer because I had to, therefore I would have assumed there would not have been a problem with it.

At this point, I am going on over a year that the computer has not worked properly and it has been the same problem since I first got the computer. I was then told that I can no longer get service from Dell because my warranty expired and I would have to pay an additional $49 for them to talk to me. It is the same problem that was never fixed and yet Dell wants me to pay more money for an extended warranty. I can't go into detail every call I made with Dell Support or every service tag I had with them because that was all saved on my computer and I no longer have a working computer.

I have to believe there are ways for someone to research these calls to understand my frustration level. I purchased a Dell because of their reputation and I am beyond disappointed. I feel that as a consumer, if I purchase something that does not work, the company would or should stand behind their product. This has not been the case with Dell and I just feel that I should not still be dealing with an original problem on my computer that was there from day 5.

I have sent a letter to Corporate because I was not getting anywhere with Dell Support and I was hoping someone could look into the problem and actually give me a solution. I am just a consumer who purchased a computer that assumed would work. Dell never got back to me. It is 2 1/2 years later and I had to purchase a new computer. Rest assured it was not a Dell.

TEXAS -- Two months after receiving my system, the remote speaker unit, which houses the left and right rear speakers, failed. In other words, there was no 5.1 surround sound. The first time I called Dell I assumed I would be sent a replacement part. I'm an experienced software/hardware engineer, and before calling Dell I spent more than an hour running tests.
Because at the time I did not have a broadband connection on that PC, the representative was unable to do a remote diagnosis.

I waited a day and called back twice. I spoke to a representative with a thick Indian accent. I described the problem and recounted all the tests I had performed. Unfortunately the language barrier made it difficult for us to understand each other. Nevertheless, he insisted that I go through the same testing routine I had already performed. He told me to repeat the tests and then call back the next day.

Before hanging up I insisted that Dell send me a replacement speaker unit but the representative turned me down. The next day I called Dell and spoke to a different representative with a better command of English (but a poor knowledge of PCs). Well, guess what? He insisted that I repeat the same tests. He put me on hold for ten minutes. When he returned, he added a new twist; he instructed me to uninstall my Bluetooth software. I told him that the speakers had nothing to do with Bluetooth, but he insisted that it was a Bluetooth problem. Of course, it wasn't.

I ignored his instructions but pretended that I had uninstalled Bluetooth. He had me unplug and plug several cables, but my speakers were still dead. After 15 more minutes of listening to him thumb through some pages, I became exasperated and ended the call. A week later I again called Dell. The rep's English was so bad that we constantly had to repeat almost everything we said to each other. After studying the history of my problem, he insisted that I repeat the tests. I refused and told him it was a waste of time, but he would not proceed until I did the tests again.

After pretending to do the tests, he had me turn off the PC and disconnect every cable. While cursing him under my breath, I complied. Ah, the speakers began to work. I was pleased and thought I finally had surround sound. The representative did tell me to disconnect and reconnect all the speaker wires once a week. I ended the call by thanking him profusely. But after 15 minutes, the speakers died, along with any hope I had of resolving the problem.

The next day I insisted on speaking to a supervisor, who gave me some mumbo-jumbo about why Dell could not send me a new speaker unit. I became furious and threatened to complain to the state attorney general's offices in Texas and California. Perhaps it was my anger more than my threats that finally got results. Two days later, a complete set of new speakers arrived at my home. They've been working well ever since. NOTE: I plan to build my next PC from scratch.