Re: Dell vs HP PC's
- From: "cranheim" <caranheim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:38:50 -0500
Ben,
The first time I needed a part (Mother Board) replaced in my Gateway,
they dispatched a tech to the house to replace it. Before the tech arrived,
I opened the case, and set it on a table with a ground mat under it. When
the tech arrived, he proceeded to tear things apart without the proper ESD
protection. I asked him to use a grounded wrist strap. When he said he did
not have one, I loaned him one of mine. Since then, I have learned I have
the option to have a tech to install any part they say needs replacing, or I
can replace it myself. Needless to say, I now replace parts myself. Back in
the days when Dell gave good service, they requested I call them when the
part arrived so they could be involved if something should go wrong. I had
no problem with that. After many years of servicing expensive IBM mainframe
components, we learned how easily components can be damaged via
ESD(electrostatic discharge). The biggest problem is that the damage may not
show up right away, but will show up weeks later. IBM used to do a very
close analysis of circuit card failures. They could see an "Internal Burn"
on some transistor junction from static discharge. Certainly, PC components
are not as costly as mainframe components, but why not do it right the first
time, without creating a sleeping dog to fight later on. Take care,
Charles Ranheim
"Ben Myers" <ben_myers_spam_me_not@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:7ig9k35ovnn00522kcsp2orgffr2juhv3n@xxxxxxxxxx
Let me state it differently this time. No matter whose tech support you
are
dealing with over the phone, you will have to convince them of your
competence
and knowhow before you get them to send out a spare part. Even then, for
various reasons, they may send you ANOTHER part. For example, a couple
of
years ago (pre-Lenovo), I had an IBM P4 box still under warranty and
obviously
not working. First thing I did was substitute power supplies. Still
nothing.
So I called IBM tech support, told the fellow I was a service provider and
told
him that the motherboard was bad. I even told him what I had done to
isolate
the problem. He insisted that they send me a power supply, because that
was
their protocol in handing systems that would not boot. The replacement
power
supply arrived the next day, and, of course, it did not work. I called
back,
provided the service call info, and was sent a replacement motherboard.
Naturally, the replacement motherboard worked perfectly, and I had to ship
back
the failed board to IBM pre-paid. The second power supply? They told
me I
did not have to return it, so I got an extra microATX12V power supply out
of the
deal.
Quite a few times, when dealing with Dell for service under warranty on
behalf
of my clients, who know from nothing about computers, I have REFUSED to
have
them schedule their service company to come out and do the repair. Why?
Because their service company would not commit to a day to do the service
and
either morning or afternoon, so I'd be stuck here waiting for them to show
up.
It was a far more effective use of my time to have them ship me the
part(s) and
for me to do the work in a matter of minutes. Either way, my client pays
for
my time, but why waste my time? And, oh, by the way, ALL the name brand
companies use 3rd parties to do the service, so you end up with yet
another
entity in the loop and comlicating things should you choose
vendor-provided
warranty service.
No matter which brand name you buy, dealing with tech support is always a
crapshoot. One time, you end up speaking with Apoo in India, and simply
stumble around together to solve a problem. Another time, you get someone
on
the line who speaks American English, albeit with a southern or western
accent.
You never know... Ben Myers
On Wed, 21 Nov 2007 21:59:32 GMT, "cranheim" <caranheim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"What service did you require from Dell? Hardware or software issue?"
I do not expect much, if any, software support. The past three issues I
had
with Dell in the past were absolute hardware problems, which I had to
prove
myself, even though my machine was under warranty. I did this by either
swapping out the part in another machine, or by buying the replacement
part
from a computer store. Even then, it took several more calls to finally
get
a Dell manager agree the part was defective. I do not want to continue
going
in this negative direction again explaining my past difficulties with Dell
service. I was only trying to determine two things: Has Dell service
improved like they claim it had since a year ago? Would an HP or some
other
PC be a better choice based on the wealth of knowledge and experience you
guys have? I just got started looking at HP because a "friend" said he
felt
they were much better than Dell, having had both. I have been around long
enough to realize a few bad experiences may not give the complete picture.
However, after many have replied to my question, it gives me a better
pattern of the way things are. For this, I thank all who responded in a
positive way. I appreciate your comments and observations very much.
Charles
Ranheim
.
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- Re: Dell vs HP PC's
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- Re: Dell vs HP PC's
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- Re: Dell vs HP PC's
- From: Ben Myers
- Dell vs HP PC's
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