Dell Tells Me Their Computers are Crappy

I love Dell computers. I've had several of them throughout the years and we buy/use them at work as well. They've always been high in quality and I've never had a problem with them.

A year ago, my mom was looking for a computer, so I bought her a new Dell as an early Christmas present. She's loved it and I do too (since I hear from her more now that she has email.) :-)

Since I bought the computer, I was the owner on Dell's records (even though the computer was sent to Iowa.) So as the one-year anniversary comes up, Dell calls me to ask if I want to extend my warranty that's soon to expire. Thankfully my wife answers the phone and tells them that "if I'm interested, I'll call them back."

Well, the message didn't get through and the next time I wasn't so lucky. My son answered the phone, and when they asked for me, he handed it over. I didn't know who it was until I answered. I cringed immediately.

Anyway, the conversation really intrigued me. Why? Because the Dell rep was basically saying there was a good chance I'd have a problem with their computer. In other words, she said they made crappy computers. The conversation went something like this (not exact words, but the meaning is real):

Dell rep: Hi, I'm calling about the warranty on your Dell computer. The current warranty is about to expire and we'd like to offer you the chance to extend it.

Me: I don't want to extend my warranty.

Dell rep: Can I ask why not?

Me: Because that's why I buy Dell computers -- they last a long time with very few problems.

Dell rep: Yes, but what if something does go wrong?

Me: I've owned several Dells the past few years and never had anything happen to them. Why do I need a warranty on a product I think won't go bad?

Dell rep: To protect yourself in case the computer fails.

Me: I'm not going to be sold a product I don't think I'll need.

Dell rep: But what will happen if your computer goes bad? What will you do?

Me: I'm not going to be sold something I don't want or need. Good-bye. (I hang up.)

Does anyone else see the irony in this call? They market their computers a high in quality and reliability, then call a year later to convince me that the computers are crappy and I need to protect myself from their imminent failure. Sheesh!

Comments

Not sure if it's more that their computers are crappy, but that they want to make money on you - probably knowing that you'll never use the warranty.

[jza]

Ok this is funny, Dell is not a 5 people shop. You got several hundred of people allocated into teams that have nothing to do each other and have different sales goals. You just met the sales team of the warranty departmetn and their aim is sell warrantees at the cost of anything.

They dont care calling the computers made by a sweatshop factory in China crappy.

[Angie]

Dell computers almost always have some extreme failure in the 2-4 year range. Thats why I would never NOT get a 3 year warranty on one.

[ekrabs]

Wow, you've had terrific experiences with Dells then.

Based on my limited experiences with mine as well as other around me, Dells are a mixed bag. The desktop PCs are probably going to be OK, but I've heard horror stories about their laptops. But then, laptops tend to be more fragile to begin with, and more likely to be picked up and dropped.

I'm not saying that you or anyone should or should not buy extended warranty, but Dell's core business model is to make PCs as cheap as possible (without being crappy), not build them as reliable as possible.

[J Green]

Oh, yeah, their computer ARE crappy.

Let me tell you that over my 6 years of experience with Dell, I would switch over if our whole organization wasn't so embedded with the company (support, images, repairs, etc.) I have had a 40% failure rate with all of the Optiplex models, especially the small form factors from the 260 through the 755. If it wasn't the power supply, it was the motherboard. My confidence was soured through the whole leaky capacitor issue and Dell not really taking the initiave to restore confidence by proactively replacing the faulty equipment. (Yes, yes, I know that the capacitor issue was widespread and systemic, but Dell had a chance to shine an they dropped the ball--just about every machine bought during that period (270 and 280 models) in our department had to have the motherboard replaced.) We're now experiencing failures with the graphics cards on our 755 models. And don't get me started about the failure rate regarding our recent batches of the Dell Latitude laptop line. We now have implemented our desktop units with a raid configuration to help alleviate downtime on the anticipation of a hard disk failure. Our computer techs joke about the good ol' days of the dependability of the GX110s. The only thing Dell offers our organization is job security for our internal repair techs who've been authorized to fix these failing pieces of junk. I'd be happy to switch, but apparently our IT department hasn't found a viable alternative. I'm thankful that my department IS serviced internally and none of us have to deal with Dell's customer support.

[Gino]

I have a Dell laptop and it has served me pretty well for the last 2.5 years now. I used to travel alot with my job so it was always getting bumped around on long trips every month. I was a little cautious due to their reputation but the only problem I had was the charger broke about 2 years into it, it would power the laptop but would not charge it. Once I ordered a new AC adapter (through Newegg, not Dell) it has been working perfectly again.

[segfault]

Dell's on-site support is AWFUL. If you have a hardware failure they expect YOU to disassemble the computer (over the phone) for an hour while they troubleshoot it. How many home computer users are comfortable doing that?

That said, most of their machines are fairly reliable. But I'd never pay extra for their warranty.

[pink panther]

Does the entire US economy run on selling warranties and credit cards now? I was in Sears paying CASH and they wanted me to get a credit card... even trivial items in stores they ask you if you want an extended warranty that's silly, because of the price of a new, better one in a few years is a better deal than the warranty. Anything, not just big-ticket items. Do enough people buy warranties that this is a profit center? Most experienced cashiers just quickly press the "no" (I've seen this a lot) on the silly warranties that pop up because no one ever gets them. And why the hard sell? It just turns customers off - I didn't go to Sears to get hassled about a credit card, I wanted hardware. I know the cashiers are instructed to do it (and mine had a supervisor-like person hovering) but they are out of control with the hard sell.

[Rzrshrp]

I always just tell the extended warranty people that the price is too much for the product with a thin hope that they'll lower their rates one day. Circuit city wanted to sell me an extended warranty on a budget laptop that was 1/3 the cost of the laptop itself. It's just insane. If the prices were a bit lower, I would like to insure a laptop now and then because they're not as easy to fix yourself as PCs are but the prices are just way too high.

[Lots]

Dells traditionally use cheaper (thus less durable) parts to make their products.

[aa]

Maybe it's your overreaction. You could probably say "No, thanks." instead.

[Kevin]

I've had good luck with my Dell desktop purchased in 2001 and still going - but real slow (although the fan is making a loud noise). But the laptop my boss gave me after they upgraded to IBM Thinkpads a few years ago just died and it is only 5 years old I bet. Sounds like you've been pretty fortunate, FMF.

[JimL]

I have been very happy with Dell and their computers have held up well in our office. We use the Latitude laptops with docking stations. Great products.

[Ken]

Dell's customer service is always calling about warranties and protection programs. They're like the Chase of the computer industry.

[Gavagirl]

I used to work (around 1999-2000) in a group that tracked their warranty replacement parts for their enterprise warranties (2-4 hour onsite service warranties). There were definitely patterns to which parts seemed to dominate the stream from month to month or quarter to quarter. First there would be a certain power supply modelthat there seemed to be thousands of all of a sudden, then a certain hard drive would be flying out the door. Make of that what you will, but considering what those warranties cost, it really looked like they were sending not-so-great parts out the door knowing that if they sold enough warranties they would still come out ahead even if they had to replace all these parts. This was around the same time that Dell was in all-out ALL YOUR MARKET SHARE BELONG TO US mode against Compaq, if anyone recalls that.

At my next employer, the IT department bought 400 laptops from Dell and had to replace the drives in every single one within the first 6 months.

My experiences with Dell have not taught me to respect them much as a business or as an employer. It got worse after Rollins took over, but now that he's out maybe things will improve somewhat.

[1000000money]

Over the last two years, Dell laptops have become crappy. Their customer service has become crappy. No wonder they are going down. My company with 8000+ US employee base, has started thinkpad for last one year and I have seen everybody happy with thinkpad.

[DW]

Back when the dinosaurs roamed I went to a now-closed big-box store to buy a (then new technology) CD player and new stereo components. When I wouldn't bite on an extended warranty, the sales clerk called in his supervisor. This guy rolled out the doom and gloom, ending with: You'll probably have problems with the CD player in the first year.
Really? I said. Well, if they're so unreliable, I won't buy the thing. He was PO'd, but he backed off. BTW: I never had a problem with the player. In fact, it still works.

[Ben]

Most computers come with a one year warranty. They become outdated quickly so I think in the long run it is better to not buy an additional warranty even if it means buying a new computer earlier than you planned from time to time when your computer breaks earlier than planned.

I personally think IBM (now Lenevo) has been the longest running brand for reliability and build quality in notebooks, but for me the extra cost isn't worth it.

[Ken]

Plus some credit cards automatically provide extended warranties for purchases.

[Billybob11]

Dell rep: But what will happen if your computer goes bad? What will you do?

You: I buy a HP then.

[Lisa (current student)]

I'm not sure I can comment on your conversation with Dell, but I can give you my experience with Dell computers. I bought my first Dell in 2005. I decided to go with the five-year warranty. Thank goodness I did! In the summer of 2007, the CD/DVD drive quit working and had to be replaced. Then, just three weeks ago, the monitor on/off button got stuck in the ON position one night when I tried to turn it off. LOL! Dell actually sent me a new monitor on their dime, which unbelievably arrived at my door the following day. It's interesting how your conversation went with this rep. I'm starting to wonder, are Dell computers crappy? I hope not. I like mine too. :)

[Lisa]

P.S. - To add to my comment above, I just thought of one other experience I had with Dell. Last year, I ordered a Dell for my sister over the phone. When deciding on a printer, the rep actually told me he used to work for HP and said, "I'm not supposed to say this, but you'll get a better deal with an HP printer." It had something to do with the cartridges lasting longer with a higher quality of ink. I have to say, I did appreciate his honesty! My sister wanted the Dell printer anyway, but I'll definitely think HP next time. Besides, is it just me or does it seem the number of printed sheets to cartridge is pretty low?

[LisaM]

If you want fantastic laptops and great, domestic customer service check out PowerNotebooks.com. I will never by another laptop anywhere else. They are great Christian folks who deliver amazing quality, great value and the best warranty and customer service I have ever experienced regardless of the product - no joke.

just my two-cents worth (or in the current recession would that be .002 cents now??)

Lisa

[Sarah]

I've never used a Dell but seen friends using them. A business model laptop (supposedly hardier) went back a few times within months due to various issues. I've bought & used 3 laptops, ranging from business use to personal use. I have always been a careful user & not much trouble so far. From what I read online, Dell computers are iffy at best.

[Sharon]

I honestly feel you made an error in judgment by not extending your warranty. They called me as well last year to extend past my 1 year warranty for my XPS desktop version. I declined for the same reasons you used as I also have been a satisfied Dell user for many years. Ten days later it died. When I called for a quote on the repair, it was well over $1400. The original price of the computer was over $3500. Needless to say, I will never purchase another Dell computer again.

[Dave Farquhar]

Dell computers are built from off the shelf parts, so the quality of a computer will be completely dependent on the parts they're using. I have a 9-year-old Dell computer that still works fine (it's a web server, not my primary PC), but I have some Dell computers at work that aren't nearly that durable.

Dell computers are OK. Not great, not terrible. But as for warranties, there's nothing inside a typical Dell desktop PC that I can't replace for $100 or less if it fails in a year or two, so I don't buy them. Laptops are another matter of course.

[Matt H]

Warranties are almost always a bad deal, but considering how quickly computers drop in price, that's especially true in this case. A part that fails after a year could easily be worth half what it was when it was new.

[Mike B.]

I think if it was a desktop you should be OK. Computer parts (other than perhaps hard drives, which are fairly cheap stand-alone anyway) generally will fail within a year if they are going to fail. Laptops, as others have mentioned, maybe have a larger failure rate as they get carried around a bit. I won't comment on brand since I work for a laptop competitor. I have a Dell desktop and it has been OK for 3 years now. I don't remember ever being asked to extend my warranty.

I had a friend who just purchased a Honda and they were trying to push him on some extended warranty. He told them he bought a Honda because it was reliable--why would he have to waste money on a warranty? The guy told him that not all the parts inside the Honda were made by Honda, so who knows about those? What a crock, they'll say just about anything.

[anonymous]

So here is my take on how these warranty offers work. The company that is the expert on what the probability of a failure is of the product is (in this case dell), is essentially making a bet that something will not go wrong and they'll be able to pocket the $ you pony up for the policy.

By buying the policy, you are in effect betting that something will go wrong. Who do you think is the expert in this case?

[Paul]

I feel the same way when I buy a car, and the dealer tries to sell the extra warranty. Are they trying to say I shouldn't have chosen that car in the first place?

[Joe]

overreaction on your part.
Sorry, but this is just another way they make money,
just like how Best Buy always offers their warranties.
The salesperson in no way inferred that their computers are bad..

[cmadler]

Whenever the talk turns to warantees and guarantees, I always think of the great quote from Tommy Boy:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114694/quotes

[William R]

Insurance (which is what an extended warranty is) is only necessary to guard against a small probability event that would have dire consequences. The insurance company makes money because they can deal with the risk more than you, and therefore get well compensated. If they didn't expect to win the majority of their bets, they wouldn't be selling you the insurance! So in all cases, insurance is a losing proposition, and should only be bought if the worst case scenario is catastrophic. In the case of a computer, for whom is losing a $1000 computer a catastrophic loss? If it is, they certainly should not be paying more for a warranty, they should instead seek out a cheaper computer!

[rwh]

For the record, my Dell desktop PC is 4.5 years old. I bought a 4 year warranty that has since expired. I've never had any trouble with it.

What's ironic to me FMF, is since you're in advertising, you don't seem to recognize the company has a policy of trying to sell warranties. Someone is in charge of advertising the service/product and one way to do that is direct sales.

[FMF]

RWH --

I realize what's going on (of course) but I think it's a strange business model where you first try and convince people that your product is good, then try to play on their fears by implying that it could fail at any moment.

Personally, I would go with the "protect your investment" and/or "insurance in the unlikely case that your product fails" approach to selling rather than the fear and dread approach. Of course, this would probably end up selling fewer warranties...

[rwh]

Exactly. I'm sure they have some sort of quota or goal to meet so they do what works even at the risk of alienating some customers.

Kind of like negative political attacks.

[Jeff]

uh... you said most parts cost $100 dollars or less, makes sense to me then to pay the $200 dollars it costs to protect a desktop for the 4 years????

Especially if you end up needing to get your system replaced. Every electronic is made up literally thousands of parts, just like a car, lemons happen as do occasional part failure. Four years is a long time. I buy warranty on every expensive item I purchase. Computer, fridge, TV, video camera, washer and dryer etc.

[Peter]

I bought a dell desktop computer in 2003 for about $350 refurbished. It has served me will until just this month when I decided to upgrade. The computer still works, so i'll keep it as a server or something. 6 years of use without any major problems.

This year i just bought another dell desktop for $350 refurbished. As before i won't be buying any extended warranty because the chances of something happening that would kill the computer are so slim as to make it not worth it. If something does go wrong chances are I can fix it for much less than the warranty would cost.

[Fidelity Select Fundranker]

I have owned Dell computers since 1999. I have never purchased an extended warranty. I've done fine with the initial warranty that was included with the price of the computer. I got great service from Dell on my 1999 Inspiron notebook computer when I did have to send it in for repairs. Dell paid shipping both directions, and it was out of service for less than a week. None of the other three Dell computers I've owned have needed service. Plus, Dell has never called to sell me an extended warranty. My next computer will be a Dell.

[Foobarista]

I never buy extended warranties. They fall into the "cash-flow insurance" category that is best addressed with a decent emergency fund.

My insurance strategy is to have "wealth preservation" insurance to protect against ultra-large expenses such as lawsuits and open-ended expenses like catastrophic health issues. Smaller expenses, such as fixing/replacing computers and electronics, are covered by the emergency fund.

Also, it helps that I used to own a computer store, and can do all my own computer fixing and parts replacement...

Fixing computers is actually far easier than fixing anything automotive, but I've seen guys who would think nothing about rebuilding car engines have meltdowns at the thought of opening up a desktop case and swapping out a dead power supply or cpu fan...

[Dell optiplex]

I have just had my second Dell. Thinking by spending £1500 this time I'd
would get someting really good. It's OK but that is about all. The keyboard
didn't light up when it came as per spec, so they sent a replacement part
which my IT guy fitted.
There are other issues but all Dell say arrgogantly is 'they don't supply faulty goods'
Now they ignore my emails.

This is what you call Marketing!!! First they sell their product and than by themselves they take out mistakes and try to sell you something else just to erase that mistake. I agree that when they are selling such an excellent system and Dell is known for their reliability than I think there is no use by giving a call to a customer and sell them an extra warranty

[Bob the Builder]

The desktops are ok,not the best but are pretty decent but it can be bad, I had an old Dell for 5 years, but it crashed and now I have a new one and it seems to be working fine. But the laptops are complete nightmares. I have a Dell laptop for 2 years now and it's constantly lagging and sucking the battery dry. What's worse is now half of the websites I go to don't load without me closing the internert and the screen gets darker when you plug it in to charge. I hate the costumer service though, Dell has HORRIBLE costumer service it's like it doesn't exist.

[DD]

I do. This is pretty ridiculous. I don't have any problems with dell computers either, so I never get the extended warranty. The only thing that ever does go bad is the laptop battery, but that's not covered in the warranty. Computer companies push really hard to get their warranties sold, even if it seems like they are insulting their computers. I don't think anything will happen to your computer.