Daisies, Dell Inc and Delirium...A Long Story Made Long

I did it. I finally did it. I achieved the ultimate achievement by far....I got a REFUND from Dell Inc, or shall I say "Delirium Inc" One might think after dealing with the "customer service" or as my friend Kari R so eloquently put it "customer runaround" (clever my dear, C-lever!) you were in a delirium and may want to commit yourself to either a small room with no light or windows, OR an mental institution. It all started over a yr ago when on a sunny spring day, my son Tyler wanted to buy a laptop computer, his VERY first laptop...but not just any computer, but a Dell Inc computer. Now one knows that when you go to buy something such as a computer one SHOULD do some research, comparison shop, etc,. However, if anyone has ever been a teen, or has a teen you know rational and common sense can sometimes lack (sorry kids, but the parts of your brain that control those 2 necessary elements are not fully grown until you are at least 21) My son Tyler wanting "instant gratification" (who doesn't??) asked me to help him put together a Dell laptop online and walk him thru the process of purchasing.
We get the system and within a 1, it starts having "software issues" We begin the arduous task of getting a hold of someone to get it resolved, after all Tyler was smart and purchased a long term extended warranty (which turned out to be more fabulous than if he had with another purchase, you'll understand later)We get it resolved, only to have something else occur, I forget exactly what as it has become a haze in my mind now. I decide as these problems continue to occur that MAYBE, just maybe he should get a refund and go into a store and buy one so that if a problem arises, he can take it to the store vs try and do it on the phone and such. When I speak to the customer runaround, ah-hem! I mean service I am notified that Dell has a 21 day policy vs a regular 30 day(or sometimes longer, dep on the item and store)policy, and guess what?? Its the 23 or 24th day! Again, deeo haze set in already at this time. Of course it is, right?! That my friends is when the "fun" begins! So to spare you a year long of details of the amount of emails that if laid side by side would measure 10 football fields (at least)and phone calls that had I had to pay for would be in the thousands of dollars which how curteous of them , its a 1-800 number....isnt Dell thinking of the customer??(Note: sarcasm in tone)I will say I have been hung up on, by phone AND chatting online, told I would be contacted back only to be ignored, spoken to as if Im stupid and the list goes on we come to the last say few months. Now mind you during all this "fun" transpiring we have exchanged my sons system a total of 3 times. I must tell you since Dell is soooo curteous and put the customer #1, the 3rd time they exchanged the system it was "as a favor" to me. Gee, arent they sweet??? I also must tell you that I was told that the 2nd system was going to be a "new" system and quickly found out when Dell says 'new', they dont really mean 'new' but 'refurbished'...note to self: contact Websters dictionary to notify them of the multiple definitions of 'new'. And gosh, since my son paid 1209.09 for his original computer, he shouldnt expect a 'new' system, right? I have many reasons to believe he was sent their def of 'new', and I will keep it at that.

I must say the systems they sent caused such laughter, which I now think was just the delirium I spoke about setting in, inc the 2ND one having the bottom piece very loose, and oh come to find out the screws are STRIPPED!! Wow, if that says 'new' I don't know what is, right? I mean who would think that when you go to a store, say Target and you buy say a box of cookies that it would be ridiculous of you to think that the package would be sealed and unopened right? Well, apparently if Dell sold cookies, you could expect not only the package open, but cookies missing!

So, let me just inform you, the saga doesn't end there. Oh and one detail I have forgotten to mention is that as we are going along following all their directions to try and solve the different issues with each system I asked numerous times to get a refund, which I was told was not possible because "so much time had passed". As if I didn't know right? I only spent countless hours contacting these people by email, phone and such. I mean who doesn't mind doing so, right? That is MY idea of F-U-N! (sarcastic tone again in case you didn't catch that) Lets see where were we, I'm confused, are you? (Pausing to read again to see where I left off as Ive gotten lost) Oh and also another thing I must note, is that I have been passed around by customer service more times than that ugly sweater your Aunt Thelma knit for you Christmas of '88 Gosh, this is going to be a way long story that I cant cut down as much as I thought I could. So, during this I contact several authorities, one inc the Attorney General (by the way if you want something done, contact him!) That's where the story takes a turn for the better. I was contacted again by the person I had been dealing with most recently, Mr. Nicholas Martin, and lo and behold he is not of Indian descent (no offense to people of Indian descent, I just cant understand you, as you probably me) and is the kind of person I would have EXPECTED I could have dealt with all along. Language barriers make it all the more interesting. He informs me the letter from the Atty General was received and he wants to discuss it with me. I decide I don't want to do it by phone, it ends up going awry and email is much easier to say my peace and be done. He requests I do a diagnostic and send him the results, in order to try and see whats wrong with the system, which is slower than your 87 yr old Granny with her walker! After some research we realize its worth 500.00 maybe, not 1200.00 which is what my son paid PLUS it doesn't have the extras my son paid for. However I guess they thought since they "did us a favor", they also were so "generous" and threw in a blue ray player, I guess out of the kindness of their heart. Not gonna fly with me. I'm a momma lion protecting her "cub", I'm gonna get a refund if I have to drive their and go to Dell Inc myself! You moms can relate. I inform him of these details and also tell him I will not stop til my son has a refund. One note I even went so far as to "build" a Dell on their site such as the one they sent, and it came to about the amount I said previously, no deal! I will say on their behalf I didn't already, is that this last time they DID send what seemed to be a "new" system by my standards of "new", again probably as a favor.

So here we are now. I was notified in the next email from Mr. Martin that he was processing my refund, lo and behold! What I didn't mention previously is the details in that letter from the Atty General. Apparently there was a big investigation of Dell and they admitted to a bunch of wrongdoing shall we say, inc the kind of stuff they did with me and came to a settlement which inc giving refunds to customers who have been abused by this wretched company. I was sickened by reading the charges that they admitted to doing, its saddening because I know I would have purchased more products from them. I do like their options such as colors of systems, and such. Its appealing but of course we know how they can work. Of course I cant say ALL Dell systems are bad, I have heard from a selective few they liked their Dell. So, I have been told a refund is in the process and I think we have reached the end, FINALLY! The sad thing is though that I do not trust this company so I cant even send in the system until I know fully how, when I'm getting my refund which should not be the case. It should be a fluid transaction, but then again this whole thing should have been a fluid transaction.

The moral of the story is this: Perseverance and diligence is KEY! And it pays off. It was rough, tiresome and being that I have continual health challenges, it made it even more difficult. But I was determined, as a mom but also as a principle. You might be wondering where the "daisies" in the title come into play and I would say that this task of seeking resolution was nothing like a field of daisies by any means.I will say this is not even the WHOLE story. I know I'm not alone, my friend Kari R has a similar story, see my link to her blog. No one should be treated as I was, nor my son was. SO if you are reading this, and you have had similar experience with your Dell by all means, let me know and I will put you in touch with all the necessary info. I'll let you know when Tyler receives his cold hard cash. Hopefully he'll buy his mom something pretty with that cold hard cash as a kickback for all her perseverance and diligence :o)