Dell Computer no longer honoring Warranty

[Nelson37]

ROF, did you read my post?

The request for the Data transfer was as a COMPLETELY SEPERATE transaction from the Dell-supplied Hard drive installation, Dell has no objection to this and clearly states they will not pay for it, there is no conflict of interest or liability issue, Dell is not involved in any way. The tech does not work for Dell, he is merely a subcontractor, and he clearly stated he "does not know how to do it". That is a direct quote from the customer, per her recent conversation with him. Dell's contractual agreement is clear on performing other work while on-site, it must be made clear what Dell will pay for and when you are no longer on Dell's clock. I used to literally finish Dell's work, walk out the front door, turn around, ring the doorbell, and come back in as a rep for my PC company to do the additional work. I was paid the company rate for all work, so I did not care what the company was paid. They did work for Dell to fill up the day with billable hours, as they paid the techs the same for sitting in the shop as out in the field generating billable hours. The companies relationship with Dell was terminated by the company after only a year or so, just was not worth the hassle.

Now that I am an independent technician with my own company, I am not doing the install because I have no wish to work for $35.00 per hour. I charge more than double that, and at that rate I am one of the least expensive techs in my area. Many are over $110.00 per hour.

[ROF]

Now that I am an independent technician with my own company, I am not doing the install because I have no wish to work for $35.00 per hour. I charge more than double that, and at that rate I am one of the least expensive techs in my area. Many are over $110.00 per hour.

With that you have proven the point of others on the cost of repair. BTW, when people think you charge too much can you give them my business card? I do not charge per hour. I charge per repair which in most cases is less then $35 even if it does take me more than hour. No wonder why there is only one other local computer store in our area. There used to be several but because of their(your) pricing model they are no longer in business.

Also, you are still taking the wording of the customer who can't even get Dell to perform a service call? Since he is performing a repair for Dell and Dell is not in the business of making such data transfers because of the liability involved. As a former representative of Dell you should know that he can lose his Dell credentials by doing so even if he does know how. If a customer persisted I would tell I didn't know how to do that too.

[Nelson37]

No, that is not correct about Dell's Policy. As I stated, they have no problem with making additional repairs as long as it is made ABSOLUTELY CLEAR that the additional work is a separate item, seperately billed, seperate from Dell.

Nothing personal, but the only people in my area who work for $35.00 are clowns who do not know what they are doing. I get a lot a business as a result of these guys screwing things up.
Cheapest pros in my area are at $50 to $65, limited experience and they don't tend to stay in business long. Companies in business more than two years are mostly at $110 to $125, plus a $15 dollar travel charge.

Note for those who think my rate is high, that is the billable hour rate, you do not bill 8 hours a day. 3 to 5 is typical, and 0 often happens, as well.

Anyway, the Dell drive finally arrived. The Dell guy actually works for a company who subcontracts to the company who subcontracts to Dell to do the Warranty work. He also does TV's and other items. He had some of the history on the account and was astonished at what had gone on. He also confirmed that they did not need the serial number of the drive, and that he was not required to leave with the old drive and the customer had 10 days to return it, as has always been Dell's policy.

I have recommended my last Dell. Their only advantage is low cost, and locally-made PC's from my parts supplier are again a reasonable consideration. Warranty is a walk-in and ask for the part, everything standard and good quality. A few bucks higher, but comparable. The problem with these is that I am not and do not wish to be in the PC sales business, I sell them at cost and bill the labor. When people buy one from me they tend to expect any service at all to be covered under Warranty, such as when they can't find the "any key".

[ROF]

Nothing personal, but the only people in my area who work for $35.00 are clowns who do not know what they are doing. I get a lot a business as a result of these guys screwing things up.
Cheapest pros in my area are at $50 to $65, limited experience and they don't tend to stay in business long. Companies in business more than two years are mostly at $110 to $125, plus a $15 dollar travel charge.

In my area it is just the opposite. These guys come out with all these great ideas thinking they are highly trained technicians who deserve somehow to be overpaid for the service provided. They usually screw up which is when the customer calls someone like me who simply does repairs and fixes products because I care and actually enjoy what I am doing without worrying about taking a 70 year olds entire social security check just to repair their email device just so I can fatten my wallet and inflate my ego.

I still recommend Dell as a good computer company, but with my recommendation comes warnings about what to buy and what to watch out for. I still say the customer would not have had such a big issue with this warranty repair if one person at a time handled the calls to Dell. Once you get more than one person trying to get something fixed under warranty(aka for free) the company has an obligation to it's shareholders to make sure that the company is not being taken for a ride.