Dell's poor service : XPS L502x laptop EDIT: Got a late replacement

titana

titana

Adept
This is regarding poor service by Dell.

The hardware in issue is a L502x laptop, location : New Delhi.

The laptop had functionality issues with USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports and blue ray optical drive. The laptop is under warranty and hence a complain was filed to dell tech support. They made me install various drivers for USB 3.0 and asked to install latest firmware which was already in place. After this troubleshooting parts were ordered for replacement and a dell tech representative was scheduled for visit.

Dell repair visit 1:
Dell ( ?Wipro ) tech repair guy came and replaced USB 3.0 chipset board, motherboard and blu ray optical drive. The USB 2.0 and blu ray optical drive issue was resolved, However the USB 3.0 issue persisted. Dell tech support was informed about this by repair personnel and they scheduled another replacement.

Dell repair visit 2:
This time motherboard and USB 3.0 chipset board were changed again. Laptop did not boot , no display on screen either. So he tried older motherboard yet again which was just removed. This time there was burning smell from motherboard and few noticeable fumes. The tech repair guy switched off the laptop tried the new motherboard once again, but to no avail. No screen display or any booting up. This time they scheduled another repair visit. I called Dell tech care and asked them for replacement of entire laptop which was denied. Response was "they are not a company which provides replacement. " They insisted that in the next visit all the issues will be resolved whatsoever and asked to kindly cooperate.

Dell repair visit 3:
This time motherboard and USB 3.0 chipset board was changed. Still no display on screen, however there was some LED activity on laptop panel adjacent to power switch. This time tech repair person said it was screen problem and screen needed to be changed . A request was made to repair personnel to leave the HDD outside so as one can continue routine office work by retrieving files. this request was denied by repair person and he left.

After this i called Dell tech support and asked for the replacement of entire laptop. The call was transferred to an escalation team and they said they will return back to me within 2-3 days. As far issue of laptop HDD being handed over to me was concerned, i was told to got to Dell repair centre and get it done myself. After 2-3 days escalation team called me back and told that at this point they do not think they should replace the laptop and asked me to deposit the laptop in dell repair centre. Reluctantly that was agreed upon. However i was not able to visit Dell repair centre and i asked them to schedule the repair at my premises.

Dell repair visit 4:
After 4 days i.e today ( 11/06/2013 ) dell repair guy came. He changed the screen and booted the laptop. There was display and it booted into windows. However the keyboard was giving beeps when any key was pressed. USB 3.0 was still not working. Repair person contacted Dell (?Wipro) and was instructed to change motherboard. The motherboard and USB 3.0 chipset board were changed now for the fourth time and again no display on screen or any LED activity on panel of laptop. The previous motherboard which was working was again installed into laptop but to no avail, no display ( the new display ) or any booting activity on laptop panel.
Now tech repair guy has informed me that screen, motherboard, USB 3.0 chipset board and keyboard need to be changed. By the time the repair guy left it was 7:00 pm and there was no follow up call from Dell.

I think this entire ordeal of about three weeks had been enough. They have not been able to repair the laptop and have escalated the issue from non functional USB 3.0 port to an entire dead system. They have also refused to provide replacement of entire laptop. There was a post put up on Dell community forum by me regarding this issue which has been deleted from the forum. Dell escalation representative will call me tomorrow ( i suppose so ) and i am not sure what to say. The service experience has been very poor on behalf of Dell (?Wipro). The way i see it Dell is very poor at repairing laptop parts and even if it works again i will be stuck with poorly refurbished parts. All four motherboards and four USB 3.0 chipset boards they have sent have not worked, but have in turn damaged display screen twice and now the keyboard. I have had to leave from work early so as to entertain Dell repair personnel at my premises on all of these visits.

What are the options i have, the laptop has almost 1 year of warranty left.
How do i go about with the legal options i have. Anyone here having such experience please do let me know.
 
I faced the same exact problem a couple of months back except on the 4th visit they got it repaired but with a very old and dirty mobo with corroded ports, buggy sound card and a lose hdmi port:( Had to settle down with that as my work suffered. I had a brand new studio 1555 with a full hd display and all hardware upgrades.....i'll never buy a dell again:mad: ....btw am also from delhi.
 
this one too is with full HD display, i7 processor, nvidia graphic card, blu ray rom..was top of line when ordered.My work is not suffering as i retrieved my files from office server back up, though considerable time spent in transferring back ups and organizing them on desktop.
anyone here with experience in legal actions.
 
titana said:
this one too is with full HD display, i7 processor, nvidia graphic card, blu ray rom..was top of line when ordered.My work is not suffering as i retrieved my files from office server back up, though considerable time spent in transferring back ups and organizing them on desktop.
anyone here with experience in legal actions.
Click to expand...

If I am right they had a policy that the laptop had to be replaced if the same problem occurred 3 times i.e. if the laptop has to be repaired 3 times for the same issues, they have to give a replacement.
 
I have talked to them regarding the policy that the laptop had to be replaced if the same problem occurred 3 times, they did not deny it but have also not accepted it, the matter is already with escalations team.
 
Why don't you try to put a message in the DELL's facebook wall?

In USA, I used to swear by the DELL's exemplary service but here in India (after seeing the ordeal of a friend with DELL service) I find it no different from other vendors. Thank God in India, I have religiously adopted Thinkpad and have not yet have the need to visit service center. To be frank this kind of service is expected from all vendors in India - be it MNC or home-grown. Because after all it is the same/similar set of people with similar lackadaisical attitude who handle the customer service.
 
1. Bombard Twitter. - Try and get it retweeted, etc..
2. Bombard Facebook. - Get your friends to comment/like your post
3. Write an email to Michael@dell.com

BTW, the same person from Dell handles their FB and Twitter.

I just received a replacement for a laptop in which the MoBo was changed 6 times. Last Dell ever...and I would usually recommend Dell because of its after sales support to people.
 
Use Social media my friend. Really feel bad when one puts good amount of his/her hard earned money for a product and still faces issues repeatedly. Also I feel you must use the policy of 'replacement if more than 3 repairs' adamantly. Try get their positive stand on this in written form like E-Mail.
 
Well i posted on facebook, twitter and sent an email to michael@dell.com. The next morning there was a phone call from dell speaking in response to email. They agreed to replacement of the laptop. Today i have received the specifications of the laptop that they have offered. Its a refurbished L502x laptop 15 inch with no HD screen, lesser ram and no blu ray drive, hardware upgrades which were present in my laptop.
I have no words to say..:eek:
 
I went thru hell before I got a replacement for my Studio XPS 1645. They offered a XPS 1640 with terrible specs and all this with my laptop in their hands. Social media networks are your best bet. I posted repeatedly on various forums, facebook, twitter etc and sent the link to michael@dell.com. I finally managed to get a L502X with decent specs.
 
@titana

Keep bombarding them. These guys tried to downgrade me twice after approving a replacement. From now CC all emails to Michael Dell.

Also there Twitter and Facebook is handled by the same person. Savita something...

Threaten legal action.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
After more than approx. 1.5 months of ordeal, i finally received a replacement laptop today with similar configuration to my previous laptop and with some extra upgrades where they could not match my previous config. It seems they have phased out 1080p screen and bluray optical drives in india. I am satisfied with the replacement but the process could have been better. The replacement policy can be misused, but they should provide better service in cases where the repair process itself destroys the laptop. Hope this laptop works trouble free. Was not expecting this to happen and during this period i bought a desktop and a laptop, this process should have been faster.
How is the repair service/replacement policy of other laptop companies, anyone with experience. this might help people choose laptops with better knowledge of after sales services.

Thanks a lot to the forum members for helping and providing inputs.
 
titana said:
After more than approx. 1.5 months of ordeal, i finally received a replacement laptop today with similar configuration to my previous laptop and with some extra upgrades where they could not match my previous config. It seems they have phased out 1080p screen and bluray optical drives in india. I am satisfied with the replacement but the process could have been better. The replacement policy can be misused, but they should provide better service in cases where the repair process itself destroys the laptop. Hope this laptop works trouble free. Was not expecting this to happen and during this period i bought a desktop and a laptop, this process should have been faster.
How is the repair service/replacement policy of other laptop companies, anyone with experience. this might help people choose laptops with better knowledge of after sales services.

Thanks a lot to the forum members for helping and providing inputs.
Click to expand...

Great you got a replacement. What are the specs of the new machine?
 
You had got a lemon (happsns sometimes) and Dell wasn't willing to replace it. You should've arm twisted them and threatened them from the 4th visit itself to give you a perfect replacement, it would've saved you a lot of time and trouble.
 
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