From: Michael Sinatra (michael_at_rancid.berkeley.edu)
Date: Tue Dec 10 2002 - 01:21:56 PST
On Mon, 9 Dec 2002, Clyde Valdez wrote:
> Buy one of the Dell LCD projectors (even through TSW if you want)
> http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/products/model_proj_proj_3100mp.htm
I have never used a Dell LCD projector, but I thought I would relay a
customer service incident that my mother had with one. She's a financial
controller and computer guru for an elder-care non-profit in the
Philadelphia area. (Basically, they provide services so that seniors can
continue to live in their homes, rather than have to go into nursing homes
or assited-living complexes. Some of the services that they provide are
computer and basic Internet training seminars.) A couple years ago, she
purchased a Dell projector. At the time, her Dell sales rep urged her to
get a spare bulb up front, so that she would have an otherwise
hard-to-order part on hand. (It ideally shouldn't be hard-to-order after
the fact, but let's ignore that for now.) She agreed to order the bulb
and the Dell rep arranged everything for her...except he screwed up and
specified the wrong bulb on the order.
So when it came time to replace the bulb, it didn't fit. She called a
Dell rep, who said, yes, it's Dell's fault and they'll replace the bulb
and told her to call Dell Customer Care. But when she called Customer
Care, the person there said she was out of luck because more than 30 days
had passed since she bought the projector and bulb, and futhermore, Dell
didn't have the necessary part (the bulb) on hand anyway. She relayed the
story that the rep told her. The "Customer Care" person seemed to
acknowledge that it was Dell's fault, but indicated that nothing could be
done. My mom asked if she could talk to her supervisor. The "Customer
Care" rep said flatly, no. My mom then indicated that she would file a
complaint. This is a really good one--the "Customer Care" rep said,
"Okay, you can do that, but nobody ever reads them."
Imagine that! A company that never reads customer complaints! Even if
what the "Customer Care" agent said was false, it's particularly troubling
to me that she said it at all.
Now, you could argue that my mom should have tested the bulb within 30
days of purchase to make sure it was the right one, but the business of
not letting her talk to a supervisor nor resolving her problem, and *then*
telling her that nobody reads customer complaints is pretty ridiculous.
So I guess the moral of the story is, if you buy a spare bulb with your
Dell projector, even if it's the one specified by your Dell rep, check it
anyway and make sure it's the right one before the 30-day return period
expires. Otherwise don't expect any help.
michael
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