“And you’re the computer people”

I was going to wait I had the new computer before posting about the shitty experience I had ordering it. But it’s a quiet day around here as we’re off work for the holiday.

Since my current computer is a Dell and it lasted me over four years without giving me any problems, I figured I’d go with them again. It turns out that my employer has a corporate discount of five percent which was just another reason to go with Dell again.

I got the name of the company’s contact at Dell- Mark-and e-mailed him explaining what I was looking for. Since my last purchase, Dell has obviously made changes to their line-up of models so I had some questions about which model I should get.

Mark wrote me back within a few hours and cc’ed another employee named Alexis. He suggested I build a model online and then send him a copy of the final details. I had already built a machine and made a PDF of it so I sent that along. I indicated that I didn’t want the Microsoft Works software installed since I already have Office 2007. I also asked that the 30-day trial of McAfee anti-virus not be pre-installed because I have a subscription that’s paid through until next year and I wanted to avoid conflict between the two versions.

Alexis wrote me back and said that she would be helping me with the order from then on out. She sent me a quote with the corporate discount and final pricing all worked out. On the quote, I noticed that both Works and McAfee were included. I wrote Alexis back and pointed out (again) that I didn’t want the two programs installed. She called me back and assured me that they wouldn’t be.

During that phone call, we set up the payment information and I asked that the system be shipped to my office since no one is home during the day. Alexis again assured me that my request would be taken care of. I gave her the mailing address for my office and indicated what floor the mail room was on. The conversation ended with Alexis promising me that the order would go through with all of my requests met.

Later that afternoon, I received a generated e-mail from Dell letting me know that my order was processed, confirmed and on its way to production. I hadn’t done much to the configuration of the system I’d chosen. The only things I changed were the installation of a DVD burner (as opposed to just a reader) and I got the energy efficient monitor. That and the request to not get Works and the trial version of McAfee were the only modifications I made.

The order acknowledgment said that the estimated shipping date would be October 14th. The shipping address was listed as my home and a quick scan through all of the details showed that both Works and McAfee were going to be installed. WTF?! I thought. I explained to Alexis several times both over e-mail and on the phone that I didn’t want those two programs installed and I wanted the machine to be shipped to my office, where I would be to sign for it. I called Alexis and left a voice mail asking her to get back to me and clarify why the items we discussed had not been addressed.

That was mid-way through Thursday afternoon, I didn’t hear back from Alexis that day or the next. By mid-morning on Monday, my irritation was reaching its breaking point. I wrote a lengthy e-mail to Alexis and explained my concerns. I also pointed out that while my questions and concerns before the sale was final were answered promptly, my attempts at reaching Alexis after the sale was complete had not been replied to as quickly.

Alexis called me that afternoon and left me a voice mail apologizing for the delay in getting back to me; they had been short staffed, blah, blah, blah. She once again assured me that the computer would be shipped to my office. I returned her call the next morning and left her a voice mail letting her know that I’d be at my desk all day and she could reach me at my work number.

That morning, I logged into the Dell site to check the status of the order and I was surprised to see that instead of one order being listed, there were three, two cancelled and one ‘in production.’ I clicked on the link for more details and noticed that the Works and McAfee installs were no longer included. However, the shipping address was still showing as my home and the shipping date had been pushed back to October 26th, a full two weeks later than the original date.

By then, my irritation had turned into full-out anger. I called Alexis back and left a stern message asking for clarification as to the three orders and the pushed back date. I was so mad, I was tempted to cancel the order altogether and just re-order it online. That way, I would take away the commission from Alexis as a sincere ‘fuck you.’

Two days after my last voice mail and e-mail to her, I still hadn’t heard anything back. I wrote Mark, the initial contact, and explained that I was having a hard time reaching Alexis and that I had sufficient concerns to warrant canceling my order. I also asked that he send me Alexis’ manager’s contact information.

An hour later, Alexis called and explained that the machine would indeed ship to my office, but the order had to match the billing address. That made sense, but why couldn’t she have told me that from the beginning, instead of making me wait and guess as to what was going on?

I asked about the three orders and she stuttered and said that one of the parts’ serial number had changed and so they had to re-enter it into the system. Right, like it had nothing to do with the fact that she went in and made sure she took off the software I didn’t want installed.

“It’s a wonky system,” she said, trying to make light of it.

“And you’re the computer people,” I retorted.

Alexis went on to say that she had been following the order and that the original shipping date of the 14th was still the target.

Even though the Dell web site still shows the 26th as the shipping date, I’m going on Alexis’ word that it will be shipped out this week. In her last e-mail to me, she included her manager’s e-mail address. If the machine does come this week, I may still write him a note explaining how Alexis’ lack of attention to detail and poor communication skills made this entire process much harder than it had to be. Maybe I’ll send him the contact information for the folks’ at Bose since they obviously seem to grasp the principle of customer service.

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