Dell’s suckitude continues. A few years ago I swore I wouldn’t buy from them again because their customer service was so bad, but now I need a new server and after shopping around a bit I’ve reached the inescapable conclusion that their prices are lowest.
So I went to their web site, chose a server, and tweaked two things: the processor and the memory. No big deal. I stepped through the rest of the order process, clicked “submit”, and went on my way. Then I received the e-mail notification about the order and noticed the price had jumped more than $300. Hmm. It looks like they didn’t give the special discount being offered right now.
With a heavy sigh, I called their customer service and asked what was happening. Apparently there’s “a problem with the order”, although the guy I spoke with had no idea what the problem was. This isn’t the first time I’ve used their online order system, tweaked one or two minor things, and had the order go haywire. Three cheers for their sucky web site!
I can’t check my order status online, even though it’s “in the system”. More suck points!
Now I’m chatting with a “technical server rep”, since the first-tier customer service guys can’t do anything except redirect calls. To my complete lack of surprise, he goes through the whole online order process (just like I did) and says, “Huh, you’re right.” Thank you, Mr. Wizard! Now he’s sorting through some internal system to place the order, and when I asked if I could get free shipping for all my trouble, his answer was (shockingly) “Gee, we’re selling these servers at cost, so we can’t do that.” Yeah, right. That’s how Dell stays in business: by selling everything at cost.
So once again, Dell sucks. If only I could find cheaper stuff elsewhere…