Thursday March 03, 2005
I go to turn on my Dell laptop, hoping to do something productive on it (no joke) and lo and behold, nothing comes on the screen. I think to myself, oh crap it's the same shit as before. New video card is needed. So I go on www.support.dell.com and go to the live chat because most of the time when I talk on the phone, I cannot understand "Jim" or "Brian" who speak in a very thick English accent.
I am greeted by a customer service representative (CSR), and I present my problem. "Hi, my LCD will not display any images whatsoever. The computer powers on correctly, if I plug in an external monitor, the image will show up after windows loads up. I've had this problem and the video card was at fault. "
CSR: Hi, please turn the computer on and restart in safe mode.
ME: As noted above, nothing appears on my screen, I really cannot see what I'm doing at boot up.
CSR: Thank you so much, please connect the external monitor and run in safe mode.
ME: Also, as noted above, the image will only show up after windows loads, therefore I cannot see what I'm doing at boot up.
CSR: Thank you so much, please reboot the computer and press F12 to run the diagnostic tool. After you press F12 scroll down to video test.
ME: Am I talking to a fucken brick wall? I cannot see shit on the screen! How the fuck am I supposed to do this??
CSR: Sorry about that, you will need to reboot your computer and press F12 to run the diagnostic tool. This will take 5 hours.
ME: Holy mother of god.
CSR: Have a good night.
Now this was at around 2am and I had school the next morning so I decided to give up, as Dell support is dumber than a bag of rocks.
Friday March 04, 2005
After school I decide to call up Dell again and to resolve my issue.
ME: **Described the problem as stated above**
CSR: Hi, please reboot your computer and press F12 to run the diagnostic tool.
ME: Hello. I cannot do this because my LCD doesn't display anything. I'm very tired of all these damn diagnostics tests and I want a technician to come to my house to fix this already.
CSR: Sorry about that, it seems that the problem is with your motherboard.
ME: hmm...
CSR: So we'll schedule an appointment and get that fixed for you.
ME: Just in case, send the technician a new video card and flex cable.
CSR: But the problem is with your motherboard.
ME: I've had this problem before, trust me.
CSR: Ok thank you. A technician will be at your house within 48 hours.
ME: Thank you.
Monday March 07, 2005
Technician comes in with only a motherboard. Problem not solved. He goes back to order more parts from Dell.
Later that afternoon I get a call from the same CSR I talked to on Friday.
CSR: Hi, my computer here shows that your issue has been fixed today. How are you enjoying your machine?
ME: No.... nothing was fixed. I told you to send the video card and flex cable along with the motherboard, but you didnt.
CSR: Sorry about that, we will need to setup another appointment to get this fixed.
ME: When is that going to be?
CSR: The technician should be in on Tuesday or Wednesday.
ME: Well, it's not like I have any other choice.
CSR: Thank you, have a good day.
Wednesday March 09, 2005
It's about 6pm and no technician has arrived. I give a call to Dell. They have noooo idea what's going on. They set up another appointment for Friday.
I'm really pissed off by this point. It has been almost a week, and nothing has been fixed, Dell support is still dumber than a bag or rocks, and I need that damn laptop for school.
Friday March 11, 2005
I'm in my Computer Science class and I get a phone call. It's the technician.
TECH: Hi, Haris, it's the technician that is fixing your laptop.
ME: Hi, what's up?
TECH: Well, Dell has sent me 2 boxes full of stuff to fix the computer. They said if this doesn't fix the problem, they will give you a new system.
ME: OK, so what's going on?
TECH: I've replaced EVERY SINGLE PART excpet the hard drive and cdrom drive, and still nothing shows up on the screen.
ME: WOW... looks like I'm getting a new computer.
TECH: Well, abou that. I've just called Dell before calling you, and they are saying now they do not want to give you a new system. As of now, they're not doing anything to fix this problem.
ME: Thanks for notifying me, I'll be giving them a call and I'll see what's going on. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a new system.
TECH: Alright. I mean I've tried everything and nothing will work, and now Dell will not cooperate.
ME: No problem.
15 minutes later, I get a phone call.
ME: Hello?
DELL: Hi, this is Michael from Dell...
ME: Yes, I'll be expecting a new system soon.
DELL: Yes, actually that's why I'm calling.
ME: Good. You saved me an hour of bitching at your customer support in India.
DELL: Sorry about everything. We will be sending you your new system. This process takes about 7-10 business days. We will replace it with the same sytem, or one very similar to it.
ME: Well the model that I have has been discontinued for being notorious with motherboard and video card problems.
DELL: Yes, like I said this will take about 7-10 business day for the system to arrive.
ME: Thank you.
Monday March 14, 2005
Hopefully everything works out for the best. It's going to take over 3 weeks for my computer to get fixed from the inital problem date. Sucks alot, but what can I do?