Dell sucks

If you want it done, do it yourself!

I had a lousy weekend. On Saturday morning I did my usual routine. Got up, switched on the coffee machine and my computer. Only I couldn't connect to my wireless network. So I did what most people would do. I called Orange, my provider, who told me the network signal was strong and that they couldn't see any problems. And since I couldn't connect they couldn't check my computer remotely. Step one.

Step two was to contact my neighbour to ask for a computer. He's in the business, so have several (this I know since it's not the first time he comes to my rescue). Only he was out and not home until Saturday evening. But then, as I suspected, my network worked fine on his computer. Conclusion, the problem lies with my pc.

Browsed the Dell website and found a phone number, 0848 335 562, but only open Mon-Sat 8-20. Had to wait until this morning.

So called, got the "Welcome to Dell" routine, bla-bla-bla, and press 3 for English. Wait. Then I stated my "service tag No" to somebody, described the problem, and was routed to an "expert". Again I had to describe the problem and provide the service tag No. And then to my surprise he said "you're calling from the UK, right?". No, from Zürich. "In Switzerland?". Sigh, "yes". "Oh, sorry, then I cannot help you". Asked for another number to call, waited like 5 minutes, while he was browsing their own website, only he couldn't understand German so couldn't give me a number. Hung up. I cannot believe so called "service desks" haven't come any further.

Back to checking for another number and found 0848 335 559. Same routine, described the problem and provided the service tag No twice. "You're calling from South Africa, right?". Sigh. Didn't even bother to wait for another number.

Called again 0848 335 559. This time I cleverly pressed 1 for German, and hurray, when providing my service Tag No they found me! Then I again was routed to "an expert", but after having waited around 10 minutes, listening to elevator music, a recorded voice told me to call again later.

Can you imagine my stress levels by now? I was ready to throw the friggin computer out the door!!! Then and there, I decided never to get a Dell again. You hear Dell? You are losing a customer. Like you care.

So I decided to have a go at fixing the problem myself. After having spent about one hour finding a site that was at least a little bit helpful, I did a system restore.

And heureka! It works again!