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What is wrong with these people?!
For about the last year, I’ve been doing routine maintenance on a friend’s computer. Not being all that interested in learning how to do that stuff herself, she was more in the “I want to turn it on and just have it work” camp. And that was fine. I enjoyed the tinkering.
When I started, I’d never seen a computer so infested with viruses, adware, and spyware. The computer had virtually come to a standstill. It took several days of diagnostics and cleaning before it was back up to speed and completely clean. I installed spyware killers and adware killers and two different virus checkers and killers. As well as a Mozilla browser and mail program. Everything hummed along very nicely after that. She was able to turn her computer on and just have it work.
And then, a couple of months ago, lightning struck (literally) and fried her modem and router. When it came time to set them up, she called Dell Computer. They informed her that she must remove all that third party software or they wouldn’t help her. She had to uninstall the adware and spyware killers. They didn’t like one of her virus protection programs. And, they wanted her to get rid of Mozilla. They took her through the process of doing all that removing.
And then the problems started again. I urged her to let me re-install the safety nets, but she was reluctant because Dell told her they would not honor her warranty if she had all that crap on her computer. I think that’s a bunch of malarky, but that’s what Dell told her repeatedly.
So, the end of that story is that her computer is so laden with viruses and adware and spyware once more that her computer is nearly inoperable. And yesterday she finally gave up her transcribing business because of the constant crashes and loss of material that made meeting deadlines simply impossible.
Thanks Dell. I cannot believe they advised her to stop protecting her computer. I cannot believe that her warranty would be voided because she had third party software on her computer. But that’s what they told her. I heard them tell her. No amount of arguing seemed to get through to them.
Her take on it? “I’ll never buy another Dell.”
I am so completely astonished at all of this. Completely frustrated, too.
I’d re-install it all, and then I’d use my WP program to write Michael Dell a letter explaining that sequence of events. I’d tell him that his company’s representatives had given some of the stupidest instructions I’d ever heard.
Then I’d de-install if I needed to call on Dell’s “service” again.
At this point I need to convince her that voiding her warranty is not really any more serious than what they’ve already done to her. It sounds scary to void one’s warranty, but when their tech ‘advice’ is so bad that it leaves a computer almost unusable and removes one avenue for income, it seems to me that the cost of the warranty has already surpassed the value of the computer. So...yes, I think I will push her to re-install everything. And perhaps two letters to Michael Dell are in order. Because...I certainly don’t have any intentions of purchasing a Dell computer in the future, either.
That is simply outrageous!
I don’t think I’ll be buying another Dell either!
Making her remove Mozilla alone sounds like a load of packed bull crap… Never mind the other stuff…
Everything that doesn’t come with a computer is 3rd party software, isn’t it? Like whatever you get for your own personal computer needs! Software, games, etc.
Are Dell customers prohibited from using the computer for anything that requires software that isn’t available from a 3rd party that Dell doesn’t have a deal with?
It’s simply ridiculous.
Ack! What a mess. I hope she listens to you instead of them.
FWIW, I also have a transcription business, and the program that I use would probably flip out the Dell “service” folks (Word Perfect 5.1!). I had a big virus problem this summer and it convinced me to keep a backup computer with nothing on it but my transcription files.
Yes, Chloe, they were extremely hostile toward the Mozilla browser and email. The third party software they disliked were ‘shareware’ programs that many of us use to quite good effect. They kept her computer clean.
Terriynn...I’ll give her a few days to let her computer’s awfulness convince her that she has to do something that Dell isn’t doing for her. It can be very difficult to convince someone, who is not computer literate, to go against the grain when there is a warranty on the so-called line. I am really appalled at Dell’s techies.
I, too, have a DELL and have no intentions of ever getting another. My “techie"--the last time I was having problems not only was awful, his English was SO bad, I could neither understand him nor could he understand me. In absolute and total frustration, I finally gave up and hired someone to come and fix everything. I wrote a LONG letter to Michael Dell and like everything else, received no response…
Yeah, it sure sounds like an issue they have that goes far beyond not supporting “third party programmes”. Keep the casual computer user under control?
The last time I talked to Dell tech support, it was an Indian woman. I’m not actually too bad with Indian accents, but I swear the call lasted twice as long than it could have because of us both having to repeat things. Accents and broken English might not be that big an issue in some circumstances, but when you’re talking about technical jargon, with people unfamiliar with it, it could be very frustrating. I imagine for both parties.
Customer service is (allegedly) even worse in the UK and we pay much higher prices. Years back I stupidly* ordered a second hard disk for from Dell. Never, ever agan. I needed to check something before installation, rang the helpline and was basically told to **** off, they “don’t support peripherals”.
Having said that, this machine is now five years old, still going strong and I would buy another Dell. But I’ve learned to be a bit more assertive on support lines and will ask to speak to a supervisor if I’m not getting good service. Sometimes it works… :-0)
*I could have bought a non dell hard drive for a third of the price but being gullible, I thought it would be better to stick with Dell.
You have to be assertive with customer service and tech support.
However, I’m finding that these days, many places do NOT allow you to talk to a supervisor. Verizon is one of those customer service lines where I have been told “there is nobody else for you to talk to”. And that was that, when I demanded it, I was hung up on.
I fear this is going to be the call center standard in the future.
I imagine there’ll be a lot of work for lawyers in the future too - because I think everyone’s going to need a mouthpiece just to install software that didn’t come pre-installed on their Dell computers.
BTW Daisy… There’s no reason a computer shouldn’t last 5 years & still be going strong. It’s just the software compatibility issues, and speed of processor / space on hard drive, that generally prompt buying a new computer, for most. I’ve heard of Macs dying of old age, but I’ve never heard of any PC, even cheapie ones, dying of entropy.
Earlier this year I finally chucked a 486 that was bought in 1993, and it still worked fine… It was just totally incompatible with today’s software, internet connections, etc.
The computer I’m on now I bought in Feb 2000. I’ve done upgrades, but not much. I could use something better, but it’s not vital.
Plus, I don’t really want XP, that’s for sure. Not when I hear about stories like this post!
I’ll have to put in a good word for XP. I upgraded from Windows ME and I have loved it. No problems upgrading....it was a smooth as silk.
My HP is pushing 4 years old now, but is still fast enough with a 1.3 GHz processor, and ample space left on the hard drive. Memory could stand an upgrade, though. I don’t foresee buying a new one in the real near future.
I’ve only called HP once. It was unremarkable, to say the least. I’ve found that if there is a serious problem, I can just pack the computer in the car and take it to Best Buy where I bought it. Great extended warranty and their tech people have never failed me. In fact, they pretty much bend over backwards to send me away happy. Beats the heck out of being stuck on hold for an hour and then struggling with the first tier of service reps.
[I can just pack the computer in the car and take it to Best Buy where I bought it. Great extended warranty and their tech people have never failed me. In fact, they pretty much bend over backwards]
...and therein lies the reason my next will not be a Dell or a Gateway!!
I’m sure XP is an improvement from ME, considering ME was total crapola and a bucket of mud to boot.
But I’m not running Win ME, that’s for darn sure. I never got that at all, thank goodness. I’m still using Win98 2nd Ed. And I’d rather not clunk up my space with XP, AND get all the crapola that goes along with it. I still wouldn’t be getting much pros in exchange for all the cons, by upgrading. So I leave it be… until I really believe there’s somewhere better to go. heh.
Yep, why mess with success. I’ve never used anything as bad as ME. It froze at the drop of a hat. No doubt why my first hard drive died early. I had to switch off and turn the computer back on without benefit of shutting it down several times a day. ME just beat the heck out of my computer. For me, XP has been a blessed improvement, as you might imagine.