When last we left off, I had just sent my service tag numbers to Dell's Executive Support Office so 'Bob Frank' could investigate and see what they could do for me.

Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 12:45:39 -0600
From: Bob_Frank@Dell.com
Subject: RE: Online Blog

Hi Phil,

Thank you very much for the reply e-mail. I am going to continue with my investigation. I am currently looking to provide you a final response by no later than the end of business on Tuesday, December 12th, 2006.

Was there any additional information which you would like to bring forward which is not listed on your blog? As well, was there any specific resolution which you would like considered?

Sincerely,
Bob Frank
(address, phone etc.)

Ah ha! The cleverly worded, 'how much to make this better?' I replied with:

Not much else to report. I was finally able to find someone at Phillips who (like you) was willing to look at the customer experience and he sent me one replacement set of headphones. He said he would send two, but I never received another and he never returned my calls after that...

I'm not certain what I would like in terms of resolution. I am disillisioned with Dell as a company (and used to consider myself a satisfied Dell customer willing to be vocal in my support) and I am not certain what else would help at this point.

I would like the other headphones replaced at the very least. There's not much you can do to repay the frustration and time lost I know (and corporations should always be wary of handing out credits, refunds or free products, lest everyone suddenly demand them), but I am not certain what else would compensate me for the disappointment.

I would be happy to hear what you folks at Dell would be able to offer me. If I do become a happy customer, I will certainly shout it out as much as I shouted out my disappointment.

Fast-forward to today, where I received the following:

Hi Phil,

After additional research and review, Dell is going to provide you: Option #1) 2 sets of headphones; Option #2) Dell can provide you 1 set of headphones and a similarily valued item of your choice. If you chose to going with Option #2 please ensure the item is available through www.dell.ca

I look forward to your response and was there anything else I can do to be of assistance?

Sincerely,
Bob Frank
(etc.)

Hey, I like that. Even though I told him I had received one pair of replacement headphones, he felt they should replace the entire service order. And he acknowledged that I might not have need for three sets of headphones, and offered me the equivalent in other products.

This is great. Not only do I get what I felt I should have had in the first place, I am encouraged to visit their website and see what else they have to offer. Good thinking, and good customer service to boot.

I indicated I would indeed like a set of headphones, and mentioned I would be interested in the Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse, currently on sale at Dell for a scant $20 more than the headphones would be.

And Bob said:

Hi Phil,

Dell is going to provide to you a one time gesture of goodwill in the form of one replacement headset of Dell sku A0718470 and one wireless mouse with Dell sku A0718470 Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Notebook Mouse.

The replacement headphones are ordered under Dell order number (deleted). I have requested the mouse to be sent but as of writing this e-mail do not have a current order number for you. I will advise you once I have it available. The headphones are on back order; however, Dell's supplier of this product has advised that they should ship within 2 weeks. The mouse is currently in stock and should ship in the next 5 business days.

At this time, was there any further I could to be of assistance?

Dell does apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.

Sincerely,
Bob Frank
(etc.)

To which I said:

That's great! Thank you so much, and I will be sure to post how helpful you've been through this.

Thanks again.

I did neglect to mention that the two Dell skus he referenced were the same, but I'm sure he'll figure that out.

As a sidenote, I've been trying to get repairs done to my Compaq laptop. It hasn't been anywhere as amusing (yet) but has followed the sequence below:

1. Sunday, discover my laptop makes four beeps when I try to boot up and nothing else happens.


2. Use their online chat support and text with a woman who says it is the onboard battery and gives me the main tech support number who will arrange a repair.


3. Wait through the main tech support queue only to be told that the chat tech knows nothing and it must be the onboard memory. Walks me through resetting the memory to no avail. Tells me Purolator will be by Monday between 2 and 5 to pick it up.


4. Monday. No FedEx. Big surprise. Call tech support back, wait through the queue and am told that the first phone tech must have been crazy to give me a time. She calls Purolator and they are closed. I tell her what times someone will be available Tuesday and she promises to phone Purolator first thing in the morning, arrange it, and call me on my cell phone.


5. Tuesday. She doesn't call. Big surprise. Call tech support, wait through the queue and am told that the first two phone techs were crazy. Purolator will come when they feel like it, but definitely today.

Previous

Main

Next

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://whatisaw.wiredweirdness.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/790