Dell, A Two Thumbs Up

I’m a Dell Computers supporter. I’m not a loyal customer of theirs because of their product’s look or style, but because of their relatively cheap price and their wonderful service personnel.

Close to a year ago, my home-built computer of three years finally gave its last whirling breath and died on me. I originally considered rebuilding a new computer from scratch, it definitely wouldn’t be a problem for me at all. However after careful consideration I thought that getting a laptop to replace and last me for my coming years of studies would be better. A desktop would be hard to bring to the States (back then things were more confirmed than now, or at least I thought so).

So I started trawling the Internet, checking all well known computer brands such as Asus, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard/Compaq and even Fujitsu. I’m not a computer geek, but I do generally know what parts I am looking for. And after comparing the specifications and price of those brands, I found that Dell offered the lowest price amongst them all.

Of course, there are some aspects to it that some people are turned off by. The Dell laptops were much cheaper, but they lacked the elegant design (I was then comparing the Vostro 1500 with the Acer Gemstone 5920) and the quick-launch/quick-keys that other laptops offered. Where the Gemstone had touch sensitive LED lit media buttons, the Vostro had a piece of matte furnished plastic cover.

The Vostro wasn’t fancy. It was large and bulky. It was black and heavy. No fancy glowing lights, no fancy fingerprint scanner (apparently the newer ones have them) and such. But it was a whole 600 MYR cheaper!

After thinking it through, I felt that I can live without those fancy items. I can always just “soup-up” my operating system itself (like mine is now). So I chose the Dell Vostro 1500, and have never looked back or event felt the faintest tinge of regret.

That’s just the product part about Dell that I love. What about the wonderful service I always speak off? Well to begin with, when I ordered my Dell they only offered a 160GB hard disk drive with Norton Antivirus. Two days after I placed my order, they changed it to a 250GB hard disk drive without Norton Antivirus. Now, Norton AV’s reputable and such but I also know it as the bane of computer performance. I wouldn’t mind trading it for a larger hard disk space. Which was what I tried and succeeded at doing. The sales personnel I spoke to was polite and efficient, within a day he got back to me and informed me that the changes have been made and I can expect to receive my laptop in a few weeks time.

Of course you can argue that “that’s just cause they want your money!!!” or something along those lines. To be honest that didn’t win me over yet. It was actually much later when my computer began to show signs of trouble that Dell really recruited a new loyal customer.

About a few months down the line, my computer suffered a lightning strike. The motherboard was FRIED. And hey, it wasn’t that I didn’t take necessary precautions. I had an Automated Voltage Regulator (AVR in short) and a lightning arrestor. My modem was plugged in to it and so was everything else. But anyway, it was terribly unfortunate for me that when the lightning struck, not only did my laptop die but so did my modem, extra monitor and external hard disk drive as well.

Oh that was a moment of absolute devastation for me. How am I to pay for the repairs? Well… Dell was kind enough and understanding enough to offer a replace and repair service. I know I have their full coverage warranty, but a lightning strike is something they can easily say “no” to. But as I’ve said, they were understanding enough and replaced my whole motherboard along with other parts that were damaged as well (hard disk excluding as my files were still there).

That wasn’t the end of my troubles though. A few weeks down the line, my hard disk decided to boycott me. I have a slight suspicion that the hard disk I got with the laptop was faulty, as there were click sounds that could be heard occasionally but I never gave it much thought. But one fateful day I found out that the click sound was a sign of a terribly faulty hard disk, and my laptop’s hard disk gave up on me. A hardware failure.

Dell replaced my hard disk immediately, free of charge (no I didn’t inform them that I got the laptop WITH clicking sounds). Unfortunately, they didn’t offer backup services and recommended me some other company’s services. Which costs an estimated amount of 1600-2400 MYR. As much as it pained me to lose all my family photos collected through the span of two years and all my own personal data… I had to give them all up.

A few months down the line my “Shift” key was found lacking in response. I had to press down hard on it for it to function. I contacted Dell through their online chat service and was just making an inquiry to see if it is possible to have a replacement made. The dell technician was friendly AND efficient, and immediately helped me place an order for a replacement. Two days later I had a new keyboard that worked perfectly fine.

I’ve had experience with Fujitsu laptops, Compaq desktops, IBM (pre-lenovo) laptops, Hewlett Packard computers and all their respective technical support. So far the best experience I’ve had is with Dell. Efficient, cheap and reliable.

Oh! And their promotions are always very attractive.

So if you’re new to computers and aren’t ready to build your own computer, or you’re just looking for a simple laptop/desktop that can satisfy your needs, I’d recommend Dell. Keep in mind that I’m in no way related to Dell at all. I’m just a very happy customer of theirs and this is just my honest opinion and my previous experience with them.