Anyone think Dell's On-site service is any good?

[Felecha]

I've been asked to help someone get a new laptop. The usage is pretty basic - word processing, email, internet. So I really dont need to worry about performance, my main concern is reliability, and usability, and they are related in my mind.

I still have never even seen Vista. I am very happy with XP, but I know that there are precious few laptops for sale any more with XP. In fact, tomorrow is the last day that Dell will sell laptops with XP, according to the website.

I would cheerfully just go ahead and get him a Dell, I have used them at work, never had any issues. BUT he is going to be helpless if he needs service, so there is the Dell Next Day On-site Service Plan.

But several years ago I had to fight with Dell about coming out to my Mom's house for onsite service on a plan she had paid for, and the Call Center folks overseas just could not be persuaded to send in the work order, they insisted on putting Mom through the scripted checklist - have you tried this, tried that, do this and tell us what you see, and she got totally flustered, she doesnt know anything about computers. i was really unhappy - she had paid for the service and did not get treated well at all.

So - has anyone had GOOD results with Dell onsite service lately?

I could also get him something from Best Buy with THEIR service plan, but they only have Vista now, far as I can tell

So -

1) does it really matter that much, Vista vs XP, to drive a buying decision for a low level user?

2) if Dell with an XP machine is the answer to 1), is the service worth anything

Thanks

 

[HellAdmiral]

I may have had a bad experience but...
Dell has had the worst technical support/customer support ever. We had paid for a 4 year warranty with on-site support. They basically, instead of sending out a technician, told me to rebuild my computer in order to "fix" a problem with the noise. Ends up the only problem was just that the raptor was noisy (something I did not know at the time), but it took several managers to fix that out (keep in mind, I was not as tech savvy at this point). Worst of all, when my father (who had called tech support) was instructed to keep the power on WHILE removing extremely hot video cards. Thankfully, we had enough common sense to realize that probably wasn't the best idea. Because of all the bs they put us through, we returned the whole purchase (and for ~3500 you'd think you'd get better service). When they promise to call back and confirm the appointment, it seems they just forget about you.

Because of Dell, I've sworn off prebuilts.


1) XP would probably be better, just because it doesn't take up as much memory, but all in all, it's probably not THAT important. Vista isn't as perfected as XP, but it's not the horror that people try to make it out to be.

2) Hell no. Worst service I've ever had. They've even been sued by the attorney general in New York because of their awful lack of support- their "promised" support seems to never come out half the time, and there are way too many horror stories like mine- asking people to dismantle their machine to fix a problem that they should be sending a certified technician out for.

 

[Felecha]

sounds sorta like mine. We siblings had gotten mom the Dell for her birthday, and figured the onsite plan would help her a lot. The call center had her down on her hands and knees at the age of 85, to look at stuff in back that had NOTHING to do with her problem.

The kicker was the email I got a day or two later - "Thank you for using Dell Service! We want to make sure we give you the best possible service, so would you fill out the following survey and let us know what your Dell Service experience was like?"

 

[themisfit610]

Dell's home / small business support is _ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE_.

Their corporate support, however, is absolutely first rate. They show up and fix it. End of story.

~MiSfit

 

[mikeyes]

If you speak indian and have a lot of patience their small business support can work. When they have forced me to use a tech they have always been decent. I really look at it as an insurance policy for parts. 3 year warranties cost ~$130 and a motherboard and power supply will cost ~$300. If you have them go out then the warranty paid for itself. If everything is fine with the computer then its money down the drain. Its all a gamble.

I would stick with XP for now but your other option is to buy a Dell with Vista Business on it and downgrade to XP. That way you can use XP now and upgrade to Vista in a few years if (and this is a big if) it becomes viable.

Whatever you do never ever buy Best Buy support. They could not fix a computer if <insert favorite joke here> . If you do buy a computer from best buy (like an HP or Toshiba) take it home and contact the original manufacturer and buy a warranty directly from them.