OMG! I'm addressing letters for the American Cancer Society to our Relay sponsors and just listening to Senator Jim Webb deliver the Democratic Response to President Bush's State of the Union address. I forget what Sen. Webb said, but it was something corny enough to make me stop what I was doing to look at the television.

OMG! DOESN'T HE LOOK *JUST* LIKE BEAVIS, from "Beavis and Butthead?" I want to have the recognition of being the first to say it following his televised speech, of course, but man, the similarities are uncanny! I'm just waiting for him to start talking about his nads.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 7:18 PM | Permalink

"The main thing is that we want to keep the Seattle Sonics (and Sounders) here," says a spokesman for the Oklahoma group that now owns the Seattle Sonics and the Sounders.

But it's obvious that the "main thing they want" is public funding of their new world-class facility to be located in Renton or Bellevue. And city managers from those two cities are looking like two-bit whores as they doll themselves (and their towns) up in a bid to get the Sonics to bed there. At the same time, we have those Nascar idiots in South Kitsap screaming for public funding of their monstrous redneck race facility near Belfair. And Mayor Fat-Ass Nickels in Seattle with his crazy "Gimme my legacy" tunnel idea - that's a whole 'nother post, one I'll work up over the weekend.

Let's keep public funding where it should be, road maintenance, infrastructure, etc. Let those overpaid sports crybabies pay their own way and stay off the public teat. Or go build far away from here and take your rabid fan base with you so we can get on with our productive, happy lives.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 6:17 AM | Permalink

Okay, I have long since given up on getting fair treatment from Dell, and have given up on Dell. Lately, this has just been more entertaining than anything else, and I'm happy to have cost Dell more in support resources than the cost of the upgrade I've been fighting for. Here's the latest from Dell, and my response.

In summary, Dell sold me a Windows XP license two weeks ago that I shouldn't have had to buy, as it's the second license for this one machine. I had to buy it because Dell dropped the ball many months ago. You'll read that later in this entry. The problem is this: no one is selling XP now without an upgrade voucher to Vista. But Dell is milking Microsoft's products for all they can get and, by my latest calculation, this transaction could end up costing me far more than amazon.com is selling Vista for. Now, Dell wants me to uninstall XP, return it (at my own expense) and then purchase the Vista upgrade. If they had included an upgrade voucher two weeks ago like Tiger Direct and other more reputable vendors do, all this could have been avoided.

Dear Mr. Coleman,

Thank you for contacting Dell Technical Support.

I am a supervisor at Dell and have reviewed the case history. I can understand your concern and apologize for the trouble.

Mr. Coleman, Dell is offering the Windows Vista Upgrade to on systems purchased no earlier than October 26, 2006 and no later than March 15, 2007. Your Dimension XPS system was purchased on 02-01-06. Therefore, it is not eligible for the upgrade.

Regarding the Windows Media (FULL XP PRO) that you have purchased two weeks back, I would suggest you to contact the Customer Care department and return the media. You may contact our Customer Service department in regards to this issue at 1800-624-9897, or you can email them by going to the following link:

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/en/emailcustomercare?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Once the media is returned, you may order the Windows Vista Upgrade.

As per the records, the media shipped under DPS# 83271780 has been delivered to you. In case you need any further assistance, please feel free to write back. I am willing to be your point of contact until a satisfactory resolution to all your issues.

Dell values you as a customer and we are committed to provide best of support and Service at all times.

The case number for this interaction is 152742932.

Thank you for choosing Dell.

Thank you,
Pankaj
Dell Rep ID # D36477
Dell Technical Support

***************************************************************************

Pankaj,

I'm sorry you do not see my outrage to be sold XP two weeks ago, and then have to pay additionally to return it, and pay additionally to upgrade to Vista, when if you had sent a Vista upgrade voucher in the first place like your competitors do, this all could have been avoided.

You may close this case. I have lost all confidence in Dell, and will closing my Dell Financial Services account within two months and moving all my business to HP, as I need to replace my Dell Inspiron 9100 laptop and an older desktop model. I've never had a problem with HP.

I have heartily recommended Dell to my friends and business associates through the years. Four of my friends have bought Dell home systems based on my recommendation. I will now actively un-recommend Dell as a vendor, and I have sent a letter to Microsoft complaining of Dell's vendor practices with regard to milking a now-obsolete product of theirs to your own gain, blinded to the fact that it is not your gain - you have lost.

Jim

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For those following this saga, I replied to Dell again, patiently explaining my case. You'll read my response here, and then, UNBELIEVABLY, you'll see an automated message I received from Dell telling me that since I have an XPS system, I need to call an 800 number rather than email the support staff. I have received this same automated message several times over the last two weeks that I have been fighting this battle.

At this point, I have given up on my Vista upgrade and given up on Dell. Their customer service is atrocious. Their support staff can't comprehend English with any proficiency. Yes, they can read the words but can't follow the thought or the logic. Their replies are scripted and hot-keyed (especially in chat) and when they do need to type something in by hand, the replies are filled with spelling and grammatical errors. Not a positive reflection on a major corporation.

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
Pankaj,

I have the CD. When I bought my XPS system 10 months ago, the application to create the OS CD did not work. I contacted Dell and attempted to get a copy of the CD, but that was never resolved and the CD was never sent. Ten months later (three weeks ago) we had a terrible storm that crashed my hard drive. I bought a 500 gb hard drive from Dell, but since I had no OS CD for the XPS, I had to spend $190 to buy another Windows XP license.
AFTER buying that software THEN I found a link on Dell to request the orginal OS CD, so I did that. But I'd already bought the XP because my previous contact with Dell to acquire those CD's was never resolved.
Then, it became an issue of the XP that I bought. Tiger Direct and all your competitors are not selling XP without the Vista upgrade. My complaint is that Dell sold me, two weeks ago, Windows XP with no upgrade voucher. It's obsolete software. I paid Dell $190 for it. Now Dell wants another $49 for the Vista upgrade. My case is that as I just bought XP two weeks ago for $190, Dell should ship me the Vista upgrade and not squeeze me for another $49. Amazon.com is selling Vista Business now for $199. Why is Dell doing this to a good customer like me?

Why is this the FIFTH TIME that I've explained this to now the FOURTH person from Dell and no one seems to understand what I'm talking about? All my friends and business associates here understand my point, but Dell does not. All I want is my Vista upgrade and I don't want to pay $49 for it, because I just paid $190 for XP two weeks ago, software that is now obsolete.

I sincerely hope this is understandable. It's not rocket science, just one unhappy customer who has spent a lot of money with Dell in the past and can't understand why, over $49, this continues to be an issue.

Jim

*************************************************************
Please do not modify the subject line when responding. The subject line is
used to properly route your e-mail to the correct agent.
*************************************************************

Dear Mr.Coleman,

Thank you for contacting Dell Technical Support.

I see that you have questions regarding your Dell XPS system. As the owner of a Dell XPS, you have access to a specialized support team dedicated to the Dell XPS line of systems.

In order to reach the XPS team, you will need to call 800-232-8544. You will be prompted to enter your Express Service Code from your XPS system. Using the express service code will route you directly to an XPS Team technician.

Thank you for choosing Dell.

Noel
Dell Rep ID 01439096
Dell Technical Support

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 6:35 AM | Permalink

Well, my long torturous saga with Dell continues. Now we're down to squabbling over $49, plus shipping and handling. The problem is, I can't get ahold of anyone at Dell who (1) wants to give a minute of their undivided attention and (2) understands English well enough to comprehend what I'm saying. I have spelled this out six ways to Sunday to three different people at Dell and none of them read past the keywords they recognize from their "How to do Customers Services and Informations Manual" that Dell must give them when they start their jobs.

It's simple. I bought a new Dell XPS system ten months ago. It did not ship with OS disks but, instead, came with an application to create a one-time CD of the Operating System and the associated XPS drivers. The application did not work. I contacted Dell ten months ago to get a copy of the CD, but they didn't understand English back then, either, and I never got my CD's. Now, after a huge weather-related crash, I had to buy a new 500gb hard drive and then spend $190 to buy XP Professional from Dell. If I had the OS disks all along, I wouldn't have had to buy a second operating system license for the machine. With me so far? Well, when I bought the XP Pro, no Vista upgrade voucher was included. Instead, Dell wants to charge me another $49 to upgrade, plus shipping and handling. No one else is selling XP without an upgrade voucher now - no one but Dell. I can pre-buy Vista Business from amazon.com for $199. Dell wants the $190 I already spent two weeks ago, plus another $49, plus shipping and handling. THAT is a rip-off.

Even funnier, Mr. Mogudishu thinks that I'm talking about the Dell system disks that I ordered on Dec. 30 of this year AFTER having to spend all that money on XP. Those were the existing disks that I tried to get nearly a year ago, and never got. Apparently they've made it easier to get them now. So even though they are basically useless to me now that I've purchased a second XP license for that machine, I may as well have them.

I think I've communicated this using very good English so that anyone can understand the story. This is not the first time I've brought up this issue on this blog and have even sent Microsoft a letter to complain about Dell's vendor practices with regard to customer service and OS disks. Someday, someone will file a class action suit against Dell for damages directly related to the fact that Dell's customer service people can't understand English at a level proficient to resolve consumer issues quickly, without complication and without the consumer having to spend unnecessary money to resolve issues.

What you will read next is their answer to my original complaint. If it wasn't so sad to see a company so blatantly disregarding customer service, all the misspelled words in the official Dell response would almost be funny:

-----Original Message-----
From: US_CAG_Customer_Care [mailto:US_CAG_Customer_Care@dell.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 1:03 AM
To: Dell Support Online
Subject: Re: Dell Support Request: Other Question not listed

*************************************************************
Please do not modify the subject line when responding. The subject line
is used to properly route your e-mail to the correct agent.
*************************************************************
Dear Mr. Coleman

Thank you for contacting Dell Technical Support.

Please accept my apologies for the difficulties you encountered with your system. I assure you that your situation is not indicative of the quality service Dell is capable of providing. We agree that the patience and time you have invested are invaluable.

I have reviewed your email and do understand that you need Operating System CD and concern about Vista Upgarde. Please be assured that I would resolve the concerns that you have put forward to us.

Mr. Coleman, I have looked through the details in our records and see that a request for dispatch of operating system CD was initiated on date 12-30-200 under reference number dps no 083271780 . You must have received the CD. If not please inform us.

I apologies as there was no upgrade voucher for Vista included. I am sorry to say you need to buy Vista Upgarde.

The case number for this interaction is 152742932. The case has been documented and the contents of this case are available to all Dell support representatives. If you need additional assistance with this issue and you utilize our phone or chat support channels, please provide them with this case number. For additional assistance via e-mail, simply reply to this e-mail.

Thank you for choosing Dell.

Thank you,
Abhishek
Rep ID 01130403
Dell Technical Support

***********************************************

Problem Description:

Greetings:
Service Tag number: B3XXXXX

I will try again to get this issue resolved and I would appreciate your assistance. I purchased a Dell XPS system in 2006. The application to create a one-time OS disk did not work and I was unable to create a disk. I opened a service ticket at that time and it was never resolved.

We had a storm three weeks ago and wiped out my hard drive. I had to purchase a new hard drive from Dell (500gb) and also a new copy of XP Pro for $190. If I would have had the OS disk in the first place, I wouldn't have had to buy the new XP. I was a bit put off that I had to buy another OS when I already owned a legal copy shipped with my Dell XPS.

To add insult to injury, there was no upgrade voucher for Vista included, as I had assumed would be. I buy from Tiger Direct and other distributors and NONE of them are selling XP now without that voucher. I contacted Dell (case number 153102848) and was offered a $49 upgrade (plus S/H) to the Vista business edition. After further thought, I find this unacceptable. If Dell had included the OS disks or helped me previously when I requested them, I wouldn't have had to buy the additional XP license. And now that I was forced to buy it to get my system back together (it's the central system on my network), now I have paid $190 for obsolete software.

I am requesting satisfactory resolution to this which would consist of a copy of Vista business shipped to me when it is available. I own several Dell systems, including an Inspiron 9100 laptop and have five computers total on my network. Of those, four are Dell, and two will likely need to be replaced this year. I purchased a dual core machine from HP and have had no problems with it or with service. I'm at a crossroads of continuing to do business with Dell or to move entirely to HP. I hope you can give me the resolution that I feel is appropriate in this case as I would like to see my image of Dell continue to improve rather than degrade.

I have done a lot of business with you in the past. True, I'm not a corporate customer, but I would like to think that individual customer satisfaction counts with Dell, too.

Best regards,
Jim W. Coleman
jim3@jimwcoleman.com

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 12:42 PM | Permalink