July 16th, 2007
Day 14 of the old-coffee-in-the-keyboard trick.
Although I thought my adventures in Dell-land were through, I just received an Email message from one of Dell’s systems asking me to return the battery that they kept at the depot. If you’d like to refresh your memory on this exciting adventure, please read the following posts.
The old coffee-in-the-keyboard trick
Day 2 of the old coffee-in-the-keyboard trick
Day 3 of the old coffee-in-the-keyboard trick
Day 6 of the old coffee-in-the-keyboard trick
Day 10 of the old coffee-in-the-keyboard trick
Since Dell kept my battery when they returned the machine having a on-site, next-day service contract, I was more than a bit surprised than they were asking me to return the battery they never returned to me back to them. Confused? So am I.
Although it took over 8 minutes to connect with a real human being when I used Dell’s online chat, I eventually found myself chatting with Scott, the same representative I spoke to on Day 3 of my adventure. He immediately understood what was happening but, told me that the best he could do was put a note in my file and pass me onto another customer service representative. Thanks, Scott!
After waiting another 5 minutes to be connected with another online support agent, I found myself chatting with Nishanth. I provided Nishanth with all of the numbers he needed to find me in their systems. He looked up the conversation that I had with Scott. After poking around in Dell’s computer systems, he came to the conclusion that I was speaking with the wrong support line and sent me off to another line.
After waiting another 5 minutes, I found myself chatting with Kelly. After giving him all of the necessary numbers, he was able to find me in his online system. This time, I was told that I shouldn’t have gotten the message in the first place. He also pointed out that I really should be talking with either Gold Support (that’s Scott) or Customer Services (that’s Nishanth). When I called Kelly’s attention to the fact that those folks sent me to him, he told me, that Dell’s systems know that I’m not supposed to return the part.
If that’s the case, I asked him, why did Dell’s systems send me a reminder to return the part that included language that I took as a mild threat to charge me for the battery if they didn’t get it returned quickly. I also pointed out that I couldn’t return to part to Dell. Dell already had the part at their repair depot. I was told not to worry.
Since I’d rather not pay for a battery that Dell never returned to me, I guess that it would be really wise for me to watch my credit cards to see if Dell charges me for the part they kept at their repair depot.
I have to wonder if Scott, Nishanth and Kelly were wearing Keystone Cops uniforms.
Daniel Kusnetzky is a member of the senior management team of The 451 Group. He is responsible for research and publications on a broad array of technology topics. He examines emerging technology trends, vendor strategies, research and development issues, and end-user integration requirements. You can follow Dan on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 07/17/07
