Is it just me, or is Dell's image taking a hit.

[gibhunter]

Dell started off competing against Gateway, they quickly distinguished themselves building just as good if not better systems and with great tech support to boot. With greater sales they were also able to start offering the best prices.

That was then. Now their computers and laptops are neither that good, their tech support is absolutely horrible, they even went as far as remove their forums, the only reliable way of tech support they had.

Recently whenever I talk to people, from regular 50+ mothers to teenagers, I hear the same thing. Dell has an opinion of a good brand gone bad. Now they still are the #1 brand, but most of it is on price and I have a feeling it's changing.

Personally, I would and have chosen HP over Dell for both home (laptops) and business and I see nothing from dell that will change my opinion. HP's laptops are way beyond Dell in looks and quality and for business, I can buy HP's desktops with AMD Athlon 64 and WinXP Pro for less than $600. It also comes with Radeon X200 that has a VGA and DVI ports and 512MB of DDR Ram. For that price how can you go wrong? I could get a Dell with a Celeron and Intel's GMA with just a VGA out for that price. It would consume more electricity, have less performance and I'd have tech support straight out of 7/11 (local stores owned by people from India or Pakistan).

 

[AmberClad]

*shrugs* Dell's prices can be hard to beat with the various stacking coupons. Never had to deal with their customer service and I hope to God I never have to. I just visited their forums, they're obviously still there. I think they removed their specialized tech support forum, but the community forum is still there and their tech support people still post there. The community forum gets faster responses anyway. BTW, I don't recall ever seeing an HP/Compaq thread in the Hot Deals forum .

 

[CreativeTom]

I don't know, I happen to like the new Dell Latitude 810 I just got at work. The machine looks very nice, not as cheap of plastics use as the other machine I had, and very speedy!!

I would have to say HP offers a nice product, but the deals we can get on laptops through our business account with Dell it's just no comparison.

 

[dullard]

1) Their dekstop computers are basically the same as every other company. Same processors, same memory, same video card, etc. The only difference is the motherboard is slightly altered and the case is unique. So I don't understand how you or anyone else can say one companies desktop is so much better/worse than another companies desktop.

2) Their laptops work great, but their cases are flimsy. If you want a sturdy case, expect to pay double or tripple the amount you pay at Dell. That is your choice. But for those of us who like $600 laptops, there is no other option.

3) Dell's support did slip from #1 to ~#3-#4 on laptops. But on desktops their support is still ranked #1 (excluding Apple in these numbers).

4) Your $600 HP sucks. I just ordered two weeks ago a $634 Dell 5100 (shipping, handling, and sales tax included - the tax is the killer). What did $634 buy me? 64 bit 3.0 GHz P4, 512 MB memory, Radeon X600 video card (VGA and DVI), 17" monitor, 80 GB HD, speakers with subwoofer, and all the usual fixings. The computer came to my door 4 days after I ordered it (and I ordered on a weekend).

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: CreativeTom
I don't know, I happen to like the new Dell Latitude 810 I just got at work. The machine looks very nice, not as cheap of plastics use as the other machine I had, and very speedy!!

I would have to say HP offers a nice product, but the deals we can get on laptops through our business account with Dell it's just no comparison.

I don't know what kind of account you have set up with HP, but I have the exact opposite situation. The pricing we get from HP, Dell can't even touch. And let me add that I like the HP laptop models MUCH better than the Dells. And I've tested the following Dell laptops: D600, D610, D800, D810, M60, X300, and X1. I give them all the :thumbsdown: compared to HP's models.

 

[vegetation]

I personally prefer HP-Compaq over Dell but I admit that Dell pricing can be really sweet if you hit up the hot deals area. Support? Dell has a really nice integrated forum area where you can get hard answers quick. HP isn't quite so centralized but some specialized forums exist.

 

[Vegito]

Originally posted by: vegetation
I personally prefer HP-Compaq over Dell but I admit that Dell pricing can be really sweet if you hit up the hot deals area. Support? Dell has a really nice integrated forum area where you can get hard answers quick. HP isn't quite so centralized but some specialized forums exist.

Yeah... for the price.. can't beat it.. I had 2 notebook with water spills and they were replaced

 

[fightcancer]

Originally posted by: gibhunter
That was then. Now their computers and laptops are neither that good, their tech support is absolutely horrible, they even went as far as remove their forums, the only reliable way of tech support they had.

Recently whenever I talk to people, from regular 50+ mothers to teenagers, I hear the same thing. Dell has an opinion of a good brand gone bad. Now they still are the #1 brand, but most of it is on price and I have a feeling it's changing.

My gf just bought a new Dell laptop (from Dell) last November. So far, the Enter key and the spacebar have broken even though she doesn't use it that much.

Several friends (computer illiterate) have complained about the poor phone support they've received from India.

If you want to see how bad Dell really is, check out their customer satisfaction rating here:
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1867.html

 

[crimson117]

I just helped a friend set up a Dell 5100. It has an extremely flimsy case made of thin, squeaky metal. I swear when you rock it back and forth a bit (which shouldn't be possible) it squeaks like an old bed.

The hard drive is very loud when seeking, too. God I love my seagates

However, otherwise the computer is great. Plus, she probably won't be moving the computer out of its desk spot until she gets a new one, so I guess it fits her needs perfectly.

Still, the case quality was lousy compared to an Antec 1600 or 3700, and just complete crap compared to my P180

 

[Cheesetogo]

I like dell much more than HP, for 2 reasons. The first is the insane deals that dell has, and the second is the customization on dells. If you look at HP, they don't have many choices when you customize, and limit how much you can upgrade. For example, HP does not allow you to select more than 1 GB of ram (might be 2), while Dell allows you to choose up to 4 GBs of ram.

 

[CreativeTom]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: CreativeTom
I don't know, I happen to like the new Dell Latitude 810 I just got at work. The machine looks very nice, not as cheap of plastics use as the other machine I had, and very speedy!!

I would have to say HP offers a nice product, but the deals we can get on laptops through our business account with Dell it's just no comparison.

I don't know what kind of account you have set up with HP, but I have the exact opposite situation. The pricing we get from HP, Dell can't even touch. And let me add that I like the HP laptop models MUCH better than the Dells. And I've tested the following Dell laptops: D600, D610, D800, D810, M60, X300, and X1. I give them all the :thumbsdown: compared to HP's models.

Well we are all entitled to our opinions, and may I ask....do you test laptops for a living???

I happen to prefer Dell for the price advatage, I know this is something everyone gets all pissy about on here. I have owned both HP and Dell's in the past, I have enjoyed the Dell machines much more. I think Toshiba is making one of the best products right now, the Toshiba's blow away the HP machines right now.

 

[imported_Kensai]

I prefer custom rigs of all kinds.

 

[fightcancer]

I prefer custom too.

in light of Dell's questionable support and quality of goods, I tell friends to buy eMachines if they won't get a custom. eMachines are significantly cheaper than Dells.

 

[Saga]

Sounds a little like Newegg.

 

[CreativeTom]

Originally posted by: fightcancer
I prefer custom too.

in light of Dell's questionable support and quality of goods, I tell friends to buy eMachines if they won't get a custom. eMachines are significantly cheaper than Dells.

hmmm.. signifigant???? I don't think so, and I wasn't talking about the Desktop market.

 

[awmut]

The two times I've had to contact Dell I've been surprised.

The first one I called for a friend. The laptop was not charging, and the phone support did not help. So they sent someone out 2-3 days later and it was fixed on the spot. I'm pretty sure she had some kind of extra warranty with on-site support or something, but still, I was very surprised about how quick they came out.

The other time was my keyboard. A couple buttons stopped working (due to something sticky spilling on it I think). I talked to Dell support, and the support guy (from India) had me go through a lot of troubleshooting. At one point he tried to ask me something. I did not understand him (I still don't know what he said), and I asked him to repeat what he said about 4-5 times. Finally he says "Oh forget it I will send out a replacement keyboard." I got it in just a few days with all the tools required (just a little screwdriver) to replace it.

Maybe it was my luck, but I haven't had any trouble with the phone support. Granted sometimes you do have to wait for a while before speaking to someone.

 

[jose]

Dell's quality has gone down, imo.. I use to recomend Dell to customers, friends, etc. But price is not everything... You can't understand what "Robert" in India is saying.. And all the low priced systems that you see advertised are not good for gaming.

But people will buy there systems and then ask why they can't be upgraded ?

 

[Mavrick007]

Originally posted by: CreativeTom

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: CreativeTom
I don't know, I happen to like the new Dell Latitude 810 I just got at work. The machine looks very nice, not as cheap of plastics use as the other machine I had, and very speedy!!

I would have to say HP offers a nice product, but the deals we can get on laptops through our business account with Dell it's just no comparison.

I don't know what kind of account you have set up with HP, but I have the exact opposite situation. The pricing we get from HP, Dell can't even touch. And let me add that I like the HP laptop models MUCH better than the Dells. And I've tested the following Dell laptops: D600, D610, D800, D810, M60, X300, and X1. I give them all the :thumbsdown: compared to HP's models.

Well we are all entitled to our opinions, and may I ask....do you test laptops for a living???

I happen to prefer Dell for the price advatage, I know this is something everyone gets all pissy about on here. I have owned both HP and Dell's in the past, I have enjoyed the Dell machines much more. I think Toshiba is making one of the best products right now, the Toshiba's blow away the HP machines right now.

For cheap laptops, Dell is hard to beat, but Toshiba isn't a cheap model so it's hard to compare Toshiba to either Dell or HP. If you want to start putting any model out there, I would say that IBM Thinkpads trounce Toshiba even (and I have a Toshiba and an IBM Thinkpad) for a thin, solid lappy, but then again, they're also one of the most expensive too.

EDIT: I must say though, that Dell does have the fastest vid card in any laptop now that I've seen, and that's good if you're a gamer, but again, it holds a very high pricetag. They seem to adopt the newest hardware before the other companies do on laptops.

 

[Hacp]

Has anyone tried the live support from the internet chat thingy? Takes away the accent barrier...

 

[neutralizer]

Dell's price is cheaper .

I like their LCDs.

 

[NuroMancer]

I'm pretty sure that Dell can't compare to an Alien ware laptop my friend. Not in speed of adoption

 

[fightcancer]

I've NOT tried live support with Dell, but I have with my local ISP, Cox. I still get the same ignorant service, but they're much more curteous. For example, they don't say "Hang on, let me check." They say, "Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to better assist you today. Please hold a moment while I research your question," and stuff like that.

First tier support is still about as useless as talking to someone in a foreign language though, IMO.

Plus I don't care for the ActiveX (?) Control they install on your PC.

 

[halfadder]

Dell's quality has gone down quite a bit since 1998 when IMHO they were they quality leader. But look at the prices. In 1998 a middle of the road 266 MHz Pentium II Dell easily cost $2200. Today you can buy a 3 GHz Pentium4 Dell for $375 with stacking coupons. Dell makes their profit by selling lots of machines at a razor thin profit margin, they simply cannot afford to produce the quality they once had. 2% price markup on a $300 machine does not make nearly as much money as 4% price markup on a $2000 machine!!! IMHO Dell is slowly changing from a boring-stable-good "Sears" company into a boring-cheap-ok "Walmart" company. It's still way better than a lot of the crap on the market, but it's far from the best. If you want good quality consider Alienware or better yet, build it yourself with top quality components.

 

[w00t]

I want the dell 2005fpw when gateway starts making sumthing like that there gonna get just as much business.

 

[Thorny]

Originally posted by: Hacp
Has anyone tried the live support from the internet chat thingy? Takes away the accent barrier...

I've dealt with both live chat and phone and have had communication barriers with both. Even without the communcation problem, thier tech support isn't always very knowledgeable. I do like the fact that they always DO seem to care about your situation and they are quick to send replacements if necessary. I once had a faulty ink cartridge and they sent out 2 replacements overnight, saving me $90.

One beef I do have with dell is that they like to ship DHL, which I hate. Twice have they messed up shipping my product. Once I paid for overnight delivery and my package went 600 miles the wrong direction on the wrong truck, delaying delivery by 3 days. The worst was when they shipped my 800xl and dropped it at the wrong house WITHOUT getting the required signature. If it wasn't for the honesty of the guy that recieved it, I would have been fighting for weeks trying to convince them I never recieved it. Dell should use a more reliable shipper.