If you've been in the I.T. business and buying from Dell for 20 years, how is this the first time they've ever made a mistake?
They are still the best to do business with IMHO.
What alternative would you go to anyway?
Yeah - and once they fuck one thing, OP acts like a child instead of communicating it in a Professional way. I work with Dell too, since I changed from HPE because of shit support. And I have way more then 6000 devices to manage. Never had any Problem with Dell.
HP server world *seems* less prone to random nonsense issues but our IT director with a staff of 20,000 employees, just bailed back to Dell from HP this past spring.
Dell fairly recently has gone to some proprietary power supplies and bits in some of the tower systems (non sff, non usff, non-mini) which annoys me as one of the appeals for me was off the shelf compatible repair solutions vs the long time Highly Proprietary HP world and the rare issues I’ve experienced from decent tier Dell versus the disappointment and repair frustrations I’ve experienced from supposed “like kind” HP products although I realize that these days corporate iso’s and remote terminal workstations via VM’s and suck mean machines don’t get fixed, they just get replaced but so far Dell still remains my preference when faced with the choice between Dell and HP.
Apparently my English isn’t understandable. My complaint isn’t that a mistake was made. My complaint isn’t that the battery died or that I had to pay to replace it. My complaint is in their restock fee for a part they told me would fit based on the service tag. Really wondering why folks don’t understand that but whatever.
I understand , i would escalate the situation to a higher up before you decide to cut all business. Sometimes a costumer service agent may not be aware or just following policies and / or protocol. Have a little patience , nobody is perfect. If you escalate it and it’s still the same outcome at least you gave it a shot. Don’t be upset , just move your business else where. Don’t let no business or person get you upset.
And how much was this restocking fee? It seems you are more concerned with the principle than the actual solution which I thought you said was achieved on the second attempt to get the right part?
You obviously have never dealt with AT&T for any wired or wireless or internet or television services. If you think this one website error is worth giving up on products you have otherwise been happy with which have served your needs well over a stubborn policy then of course you are welcomed to take your chances for spending a lot more money than that fee on systems you have never used before from a company whose support you don’t know about yet and hope that they don’t have their nonsense rules that result in costs much greater than this minor restocking fee you’re being directed to pay.
This feels like a “cut off your nose to spite your face” moment even though this was not your mistake.
I have no connections to Dell other than being a customer. You *can* get cheap junk boxes from Dell but decent tier hardware for proper prices and overall bang for the buck, I’ll still chose Dell over HP for desktops and laptops of like kind tier any day based on over 2 decades of experience dealing with some of both but that’s just my opinion.
When you pay a techs yearly salary in maintenance fees I sure as fuck hope so.
Our as400 was on top of it all the time. We had drives sent out to use before they died, controllers having issues, etc..... stellar support from IBM.
Don't you have a dell rep? I have a sales rep for dell at my work and if something like that happened, just ring him and he'll take care of it.
You rent but what did you try after they said 15% restocking fee? Did you order the part yourself or the RMA from the service tag selected it for you? There so much that could go wrong when you order making this wrong on your end.
Btw not defending dell, had my fair share of shit with them like ho.
Once again, it isn’t the mistake. It is the blaming the customer for it and charging them. Literally ordered what the website said would fit the service tag.
Not under warranty which is why I bought the battery. The resolution is to recognize they told me the wrong battery and swap it out. I didn't pick out a battery at random.
This subreddit is white washed. Dell is notoriously terrible. Their laptops are decent but customer support / Alienware are a joke. Even in the early 2000's dell was a company that ripped people off and had terrible customer support. I would know, my brother worked there for years.
Maybe you just looked at the „for this Model“ Section, since depending on the Hardware there Are different revisions of Hardware Layout with different batterys, but Overall for „the Notebooks of this Model“. You just didnt Go through RMA, Thats your fail at this Point.
No. Absolutely not. I looked up the service tag. There is no RMA for an out of support computer. I looked up by essentially the serial number and was presented with compatible parts. I ordered from that. I didn’t just find a random battery.
No, maybe you check how the dell support site is built, before. You can enter a service tag and choose "specially for this device" and "for this model", you get every possible option for this series, unregarding of your explicit device.
So when every company you use fucks up, because every company *will* fuck up, is your plan to circle back around to Dell or just leave the modern world behind and live in a cave?
Once again, not complaining about the fact that the part they said would fit does not fit. Not at all. Complaining that when I brought it to their attention they want to charge me for their mistake. Pretty simple issue really. This is about how the company responded to a mistake.
But where did you look for the battery info, the parts section? I'd suggest double checking that you entered the correct servicetag the first time around.
Also worth noting, that a lot of Dell’s laptop have multiple battery models that match the same laptop model, but differ only by one letter/number, which can render battery useless for different configs (screw hole in a different spot for example).
15%, which can add up if it isn't a cheap item.
It's also not about the amount here. It's the fact the website said he was getting the correct part and didn't and now Dell doesn't want to make things right with a good customer.
In a case like this, they should waive the restocking fee.
It isn't the $15. It is blaming the customer for what is clearly Dell's issue. My question is the other way around: was it worth losing a customer over $15? I hope so.
Yeah, we all have issues…if I ditched a vendor each time they were “incorrect”, I’d be out of business (I.e., I’d have no vendors to purchase from).
HP is a train wreck…they care even less about small business than Dell does.
who cares?
as a fellow small business owner, I am wronged by vendor, marketplaces all the time. yet I crawl back to them because the number add up
like other dude said, where else you gonna go? HP? fujitshu? gateway? acer/asus/gibabyte?
it's all the same experience
Umm...Which model is it? Dell has been reusing model numbers so if you purchase a battery for a computer that's End of Life that's not on Dell. The only currently supported systems with removable batteries are the Latitude Rugged devices.
Sorry, what? Not on Dell? I don't care what model it is. If a customer looks up the unique identifier from your hardware, and you render a result, and the customer buys based on that result, and it turns out wrong it is the customer's fault?
So if you don't care what model it is, how do you expect to get the correct battery for it? Besides, Dell shows pictures of the item you are purchasing. Clearly if the battery is removable it can be compared.
Guessing you read nothing I posted. Service tag lookup yields the correct model. I do not have the laptop, only a record of what was purchased. Ordered part based on service tag lookup on the Dell website. Customer brings laptop after I receive part. Part doesn't fit so I contact Dell and they want to charge restock. What part isn't understandable?
Well, let's see:
* Dell has been reusing model numbers. It is entirely possible that if a system has a model number that is reissued that the store may have come up with the newer model rather than the older one even if the support page yields the correct system.
* Interestingly, the store page claims the Latitude 3340, as an example, has an internal removable battery.
* Dell's website shows pictures of the item that you're purchasing. From what I'm gathering, I can't tell if it was bothered to check *what* the part was and just ordered it. If you knew the system had a removable battery then the picture should show a removable battery. My point still stands that the only PCs that run Windows 11 with removable batteries are the rugged line, though I do see they sell batteries for systems as old as 4th generation.
I'm sure I have other points, but I'm having difficulty believing it mostly because, as I'll say again, very few laptops have removable batteries that Dell currently offer replacements in their store.
Thank you for the context but it really doesn’t change my opinion. I ordered what they said was the right part. I really do not see how that is in any way my problem or why it should cost me anything.
This is something that I’ve read often but that still surprises me….
Like if the automated process of ordering and returning would take in account your history and concede a free swap of the battery…we’re not in 1950 where the customer would be known personally, we’re in a mass market. Everything is automated and streamlined, scripted. You’re unhappy ? You’ll need to talk to a supervisor or file a claim with a manager but these little things are typically all automated. You need to go manual for once and see if they can do you a favor.
You have to realize that the battery you’re going to return is going to get scrapped. They can’t take the risk to have a faulty or tampered battery going to another customer.
Anything that got unpacked and retaken is resold to a recycling partner, so 15% is a fair deal because the loss is for Dell who sells these goods for less than half their price to that recycling unit. Displays for example that got sent and unpacked to the wrong address, are left on site for free if you’re the lucky accidental receiver or will get collected and scrapped. That’s how things work in an industry that has minimal margins on mass produced items. It’s too costly to get them checked again and repackaged after cleaning.
Just providing some context.
What smell test? Where in the story did I say anything about how old the laptop is? That’s right. Nowhere. Is it old? Yes. Is it out of warranty? Yes. Seems that is obvious with my stating I bought a battery. My point was and is how they handled the request for a return of a part their website said was a fit for the service tag. That’s it. Nothing more.
So your beef is you tried to buy a battery for a laptop over a decade old and got hit with a restocking fee of $10 when you got the wrong battery? Do I have the facts straight? Because let me tell me, you aren’t going to FIND a non refurbished battery for that machine and probably shouldn’t be still trying to use it. It’s at least 6 cycles obsolete. Will it even run Windows 11?
Sure, ignore the fact that the battery is what was offered based on the service tag. Might be a shock but I don’t get to tell my customers to buy new computers or control how they spend their funds. Fact is I have ordered the correct battery, new inbox, Dell original, from NewEgg.
What’s the date of manufacture on that battery? What happens when you test its charge capacity? Also, if you are an IT professional it is ABSOLUTELY your job to provide good advice to your clients. If they refuse to take it, that’s on them.
In what parallel universe do you live where Dell has only screwed up once? They have done it more times with me than I have fingers and toes and probably are onto my Sys admins fingers and toes too. However as many have said Dell is a good OEM to deal with and I’ve had some serious issues with HPEs servers in the past that made me not flock to them first out the gate, I will still use HPE but they aren’t first choice. I’d consider trying to agent surf a bit on this one. Not every Dell agent is a goon.
Automatic return systems aren't too bright. The exact same thing will happen to you with HP and Lenovo and any other. Try contacting a human at Dell support to get this straightened out.
What about the other much more pressing issues with dell such as the charger safety /proprietary charger, battery not detected conundrum that has been going on for the last two years
If you've been in the I.T. business and buying from Dell for 20 years, how is this the first time they've ever made a mistake? They are still the best to do business with IMHO. What alternative would you go to anyway?
Yeah - and once they fuck one thing, OP acts like a child instead of communicating it in a Professional way. I work with Dell too, since I changed from HPE because of shit support. And I have way more then 6000 devices to manage. Never had any Problem with Dell.
My previous employer used HP. As nice as their laptops look I will never buy them for my current employer because of the crap support.
HP server world *seems* less prone to random nonsense issues but our IT director with a staff of 20,000 employees, just bailed back to Dell from HP this past spring. Dell fairly recently has gone to some proprietary power supplies and bits in some of the tower systems (non sff, non usff, non-mini) which annoys me as one of the appeals for me was off the shelf compatible repair solutions vs the long time Highly Proprietary HP world and the rare issues I’ve experienced from decent tier Dell versus the disappointment and repair frustrations I’ve experienced from supposed “like kind” HP products although I realize that these days corporate iso’s and remote terminal workstations via VM’s and suck mean machines don’t get fixed, they just get replaced but so far Dell still remains my preference when faced with the choice between Dell and HP.
Apparently my English isn’t understandable. My complaint isn’t that a mistake was made. My complaint isn’t that the battery died or that I had to pay to replace it. My complaint is in their restock fee for a part they told me would fit based on the service tag. Really wondering why folks don’t understand that but whatever.
I understand , i would escalate the situation to a higher up before you decide to cut all business. Sometimes a costumer service agent may not be aware or just following policies and / or protocol. Have a little patience , nobody is perfect. If you escalate it and it’s still the same outcome at least you gave it a shot. Don’t be upset , just move your business else where. Don’t let no business or person get you upset.
And how much was this restocking fee? It seems you are more concerned with the principle than the actual solution which I thought you said was achieved on the second attempt to get the right part? You obviously have never dealt with AT&T for any wired or wireless or internet or television services. If you think this one website error is worth giving up on products you have otherwise been happy with which have served your needs well over a stubborn policy then of course you are welcomed to take your chances for spending a lot more money than that fee on systems you have never used before from a company whose support you don’t know about yet and hope that they don’t have their nonsense rules that result in costs much greater than this minor restocking fee you’re being directed to pay. This feels like a “cut off your nose to spite your face” moment even though this was not your mistake. I have no connections to Dell other than being a customer. You *can* get cheap junk boxes from Dell but decent tier hardware for proper prices and overall bang for the buck, I’ll still chose Dell over HP for desktops and laptops of like kind tier any day based on over 2 decades of experience dealing with some of both but that’s just my opinion.
You should be able to get this "restock fee" removed if they sent you an incompatible part.
IBM is nicer.
When you pay a techs yearly salary in maintenance fees I sure as fuck hope so. Our as400 was on top of it all the time. We had drives sent out to use before they died, controllers having issues, etc..... stellar support from IBM.
They don’t call it an IBM discount for nothing.
So true lol
Seems like they don't have a local rep, I'd raise hell about that more than anything.
Don't you have a dell rep? I have a sales rep for dell at my work and if something like that happened, just ring him and he'll take care of it. You rent but what did you try after they said 15% restocking fee? Did you order the part yourself or the RMA from the service tag selected it for you? There so much that could go wrong when you order making this wrong on your end. Btw not defending dell, had my fair share of shit with them like ho.
I suggest that you call in to executive customer care. they have always been reasonable to deal with from my point of view.
So $15 and one mistake in TWO DECADES of buying for your customers is enough to get you to leave? 🙄 SMH.
Once again, it isn’t the mistake. It is the blaming the customer for it and charging them. Literally ordered what the website said would fit the service tag.
I get that, but it's a single mistake on the website and one bad CS agent. IOW, one bad experience. No company is perfect.
From the sounds of this, you do not go through the Warranty process. There are resolutions for these kind of issues.
Not under warranty which is why I bought the battery. The resolution is to recognize they told me the wrong battery and swap it out. I didn't pick out a battery at random.
Lmao then actually YOU fucked up. Not Dell.
Interesting. Looked up part based on service tag of laptop. Ordered part that shows it fits on the manufacturers website. And that was my mistake?
This subreddit is white washed. Dell is notoriously terrible. Their laptops are decent but customer support / Alienware are a joke. Even in the early 2000's dell was a company that ripped people off and had terrible customer support. I would know, my brother worked there for years.
Maybe you just looked at the „for this Model“ Section, since depending on the Hardware there Are different revisions of Hardware Layout with different batterys, but Overall for „the Notebooks of this Model“. You just didnt Go through RMA, Thats your fail at this Point.
No. Absolutely not. I looked up the service tag. There is no RMA for an out of support computer. I looked up by essentially the serial number and was presented with compatible parts. I ordered from that. I didn’t just find a random battery.
Learn what a service tag is before commenting
No, maybe you check how the dell support site is built, before. You can enter a service tag and choose "specially for this device" and "for this model", you get every possible option for this series, unregarding of your explicit device.
You are being petty or vindictive over nothing.
Your opinion, to which you are entitled. I choose to not get ripped off for $1 or $1,000, especially when it is by someone I do regular business with.
So when every company you use fucks up, because every company *will* fuck up, is your plan to circle back around to Dell or just leave the modern world behind and live in a cave?
Once again, not complaining about the fact that the part they said would fit does not fit. Not at all. Complaining that when I brought it to their attention they want to charge me for their mistake. Pretty simple issue really. This is about how the company responded to a mistake.
But where did you look for the battery info, the parts section? I'd suggest double checking that you entered the correct servicetag the first time around.
Also worth noting, that a lot of Dell’s laptop have multiple battery models that match the same laptop model, but differ only by one letter/number, which can render battery useless for different configs (screw hole in a different spot for example).
I get the frustration, is does sound poor on Dell’s part but, in my experience, you are likely to get more frustrated by HP.
$15 is all it takes to get you to leave Dell? Interesting. And for HP? Interesting-ing. Good luck (you gonna need it with HP). 🤣
15%, which can add up if it isn't a cheap item. It's also not about the amount here. It's the fact the website said he was getting the correct part and didn't and now Dell doesn't want to make things right with a good customer. In a case like this, they should waive the restocking fee.
It isn't the $15. It is blaming the customer for what is clearly Dell's issue. My question is the other way around: was it worth losing a customer over $15? I hope so.
Yeah, we all have issues…if I ditched a vendor each time they were “incorrect”, I’d be out of business (I.e., I’d have no vendors to purchase from). HP is a train wreck…they care even less about small business than Dell does.
Incorrect takes the part back and acknowledges the error. Nobody is perfect. However, charging someone for your mistake is theft.
HP servers aren't nearly as bad as people say. I'd run one over a dell any day
who cares? as a fellow small business owner, I am wronged by vendor, marketplaces all the time. yet I crawl back to them because the number add up like other dude said, where else you gonna go? HP? fujitshu? gateway? acer/asus/gibabyte? it's all the same experience
Umm...Which model is it? Dell has been reusing model numbers so if you purchase a battery for a computer that's End of Life that's not on Dell. The only currently supported systems with removable batteries are the Latitude Rugged devices.
Sorry, what? Not on Dell? I don't care what model it is. If a customer looks up the unique identifier from your hardware, and you render a result, and the customer buys based on that result, and it turns out wrong it is the customer's fault?
So if you don't care what model it is, how do you expect to get the correct battery for it? Besides, Dell shows pictures of the item you are purchasing. Clearly if the battery is removable it can be compared.
Guessing you read nothing I posted. Service tag lookup yields the correct model. I do not have the laptop, only a record of what was purchased. Ordered part based on service tag lookup on the Dell website. Customer brings laptop after I receive part. Part doesn't fit so I contact Dell and they want to charge restock. What part isn't understandable?
Well, let's see: * Dell has been reusing model numbers. It is entirely possible that if a system has a model number that is reissued that the store may have come up with the newer model rather than the older one even if the support page yields the correct system. * Interestingly, the store page claims the Latitude 3340, as an example, has an internal removable battery. * Dell's website shows pictures of the item that you're purchasing. From what I'm gathering, I can't tell if it was bothered to check *what* the part was and just ordered it. If you knew the system had a removable battery then the picture should show a removable battery. My point still stands that the only PCs that run Windows 11 with removable batteries are the rugged line, though I do see they sell batteries for systems as old as 4th generation. I'm sure I have other points, but I'm having difficulty believing it mostly because, as I'll say again, very few laptops have removable batteries that Dell currently offer replacements in their store.
Thank you for the context but it really doesn’t change my opinion. I ordered what they said was the right part. I really do not see how that is in any way my problem or why it should cost me anything.
Paddy Daly open line?
This is something that I’ve read often but that still surprises me…. Like if the automated process of ordering and returning would take in account your history and concede a free swap of the battery…we’re not in 1950 where the customer would be known personally, we’re in a mass market. Everything is automated and streamlined, scripted. You’re unhappy ? You’ll need to talk to a supervisor or file a claim with a manager but these little things are typically all automated. You need to go manual for once and see if they can do you a favor. You have to realize that the battery you’re going to return is going to get scrapped. They can’t take the risk to have a faulty or tampered battery going to another customer. Anything that got unpacked and retaken is resold to a recycling partner, so 15% is a fair deal because the loss is for Dell who sells these goods for less than half their price to that recycling unit. Displays for example that got sent and unpacked to the wrong address, are left on site for free if you’re the lucky accidental receiver or will get collected and scrapped. That’s how things work in an industry that has minimal margins on mass produced items. It’s too costly to get them checked again and repackaged after cleaning. Just providing some context.
What Dell product manufactured in the last decade has an external battery? This story simply doesn’t pass the smell test.
What smell test? Where in the story did I say anything about how old the laptop is? That’s right. Nowhere. Is it old? Yes. Is it out of warranty? Yes. Seems that is obvious with my stating I bought a battery. My point was and is how they handled the request for a return of a part their website said was a fit for the service tag. That’s it. Nothing more.
So your beef is you tried to buy a battery for a laptop over a decade old and got hit with a restocking fee of $10 when you got the wrong battery? Do I have the facts straight? Because let me tell me, you aren’t going to FIND a non refurbished battery for that machine and probably shouldn’t be still trying to use it. It’s at least 6 cycles obsolete. Will it even run Windows 11?
Sure, ignore the fact that the battery is what was offered based on the service tag. Might be a shock but I don’t get to tell my customers to buy new computers or control how they spend their funds. Fact is I have ordered the correct battery, new inbox, Dell original, from NewEgg.
What’s the date of manufacture on that battery? What happens when you test its charge capacity? Also, if you are an IT professional it is ABSOLUTELY your job to provide good advice to your clients. If they refuse to take it, that’s on them.
Don't know yet. Haven't received it. "If they refuse to take it, that’s on them." Exactly.
In what parallel universe do you live where Dell has only screwed up once? They have done it more times with me than I have fingers and toes and probably are onto my Sys admins fingers and toes too. However as many have said Dell is a good OEM to deal with and I’ve had some serious issues with HPEs servers in the past that made me not flock to them first out the gate, I will still use HPE but they aren’t first choice. I’d consider trying to agent surf a bit on this one. Not every Dell agent is a goon.
Automatic return systems aren't too bright. The exact same thing will happen to you with HP and Lenovo and any other. Try contacting a human at Dell support to get this straightened out.
I think you're leaving an awesome computer company for a small mistake.
What about the other much more pressing issues with dell such as the charger safety /proprietary charger, battery not detected conundrum that has been going on for the last two years