if they are selling recons as NEW... SUE their ass.
Posted on 10/11/2006 5:17:29 PM PDT by LibKill
"You will NEVER buy a Dell again."
So pronounced my boss.
We bought a new server and a new desktop for the boss. I talked him into buying Dell because that is the only brand our university MSS department supports. That is because our techs can open a Dell case without voiding the warranty. Not true of many other brands.
The boss's new desktop was a disaster. Despite the new dual-core pentium IV it was slower than a 4 year-old Compaq. It turns out that Dell uses reconditioned parts in their new machines and the reconditioned hard drive was defective. Dell sent a contract tech to replace the harddrive. The boss still does not trust the computer although it runs well now.
As it is the tally goes:
1. Dell saved a few dollars by using a reconditioned harddrive. It's failure and subsequent replacement cost Dell much more than they saved.
2. We have somewhere around 50 computers, will have to replace all of them in the future and buy even more computers as our operations expand. Not one of them will be a Dell. Sales lost to save a few dollars by using junk parts.
3. My boss, an influential and persuasive man is now bad-mouthing Dell to all and sundry. Many people listen to him on this score and believe him as he is a scientist and a leader in his field.
4. I am not influential or persuasive, but you couldn't give me a Dell for my own personal use let alone will I ever buy one. I would rather build my own computers for my home use. At least I know the parts are new. At least one sale lost there, maybe more.
I doubt this will ever be read by anyone at Dell, or even if they would care much. But, those of you who run businesses please consider that sometimes saving money is not the be-all end-all of business. Sometimes quality is more important than you might think.
Your reputation is on the line with every sale you make. Sometimes you only get one chance.
What makes this crazier is that Hard drives are cheap.
I've had two Dells for three years now and flog them daily with no problems. What's the point of this thread anyway? Got up on the wrong side of the bed?
I have a 15 year old dell that just gave up the ghost. That's not to shabby as far as I am concerned.
My Dell laptop, on the other hand, has been the best machine I've ever had!
Not at all. I did experience much moaning and such from the boss fella about Dells but I'm over that. :)
I know many Freepers are business owners and/or in a position to make decisions such as, "Should we save a few bucks by using junk parts?"
Sometimes you get one chance and only one chance. It's not like Dell is the only company making computers.
I've bought about 10 or 12 Dells since I gave up on Gateway Computers. All of them worked fine.
It could be worse.
I own a Mac .. actually 5. Ever seen a Mac thread? Much abuse.
I seriously doubt this. It would be a welcome mat for a class action suit.
The replacement drive might have been reconditioned, but if the system was sold as new, the parts have to be new.
I'm no big fan of Dell, but they would be suicidal to use reconditioned parts in systems they sell as new.
Dell is recycling. recycling , get it?
My dell works fine, I have a friend who has added stuff to it as hes a computer tech. Its 6 yrs old. I personally won't buy a dell because all tech help is outsourced to India and I could not understand the people trying to help me. I won't deal with any other company who outsources their tech help. I will just get my friend to build me a new computer when the need arises.
if they are selling recons as NEW... SUE their ass.
Bear in mind that I myself am not a computer tech, although I do sometimes work on my own computers and have built many. So could a monkey if it could use a screwdriver and read english. Real techs have to know more than just how to bolt 'em together.
I am not interested in suing Dell. I'm not even really interested in Dell at all. The point of this post is The False Economics of Cheapness. Sometimes it costs more to be cheap than to do quality work. It sure did in this case.
Either you misunderstood him, or he should get fired. It's not unusual for replacement parts to be refurbs, but I find it hard to believe they would put one in a new machine.
BTW, new parts fail, too, and in general refurbs have a lower failure rate.
Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten. On another note, my Kingston flash drive just went through the washer and the dryer, and it still works. Amazing.
Being in the computer 'binness, I've recommended Dell in the past, but have stopped doing so (especially for laptops).
I've seen 3 different Dell laptops, all under 2 years old, where the lcd/external monitor switching circuitry would go flaky. The lcd screen itself was fine, but you could only use the laptop (sometimes to restore things by uninstalling the Dell video driver) by connecting an external monitor.
Pretty bad...
It could be the local PC maintenance company uses refurbed parts.
I bought a refurbed Dell business laptop 3 years ago. Have dropped it hard 3 or 4 times and it still works fine.
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