Ok Juile, now you have two posts with your name in the title. You're much more a celeb then Wesley.

I just got around to reading Jan CEPro, and found the guest editorial right on the mark. The story about the Dell people setting up your mom's computer reminds me of the typical satellite or cable installer doing the old channel 3 thing and calling the job done. It's a very common problem that I run into everyday.

So much infact that although I never market us as a computer experts, we're constantly getting calls from customers asking for computer help because they have no where else to turn to.

It should be noted that these aren't overly complex problems that people are having, but rather simple (at least form me) setup issues, and TONS of virsus/spyware/adware issues.

Although time is at a premium, I'll typically go out of my way to try to help those who are at their wits end simply because they have no other alternatives. These are people who aren't trying to setup an SQL server or code Java, but rather people who's soul goal is to send and receive email and browse the internet.

The part that I find to be the most frustrating is how these publically traded, well known and respected brand names can survive in today's competitve marketplace without suffering the consequences that anyone of us would suffer if we provided that type of service.

For example, I recently needed a replacement part for my Troybuilt string trimmer. Way ahead of the game, I dug out the owner's manual, leafed through the exploded diagram and wrote down the exact part number that I needed along with Troybuilt's 800 number.

After 10 tries of getting a busy signal, I finnally reached a recording that told me how important my call was. After waiting for 25 minutes, I reached a customer service rep who told me that she had no record of the part number that I gave her.

After being transferred to a customer service manager, I was told that since my string trimmer was one that they sourced from Ryobi, that I'd need to call Ryobi to try to find the part that I needed. At this point, I did like most people would do; I gave up and bought a new one.

I suppose that it's up to the end consumers to start demanding better service, but then again, in the age of Walmart and the lowest common denomnitator, maybe it's us who are the dinosaurs.

P.S. I noticed in your mom's picture that her CPU and monitor appear to be plugged directly into the wall recep. If she'd gone to Best Buy, she'd have had the same problems PLUS a $350.00 Monster power conditioner.

the guest article was a good one, sad, but true, and oh yeah Julie go see your mom :) but then again if you had, we may not have seen the guest editiorial.

I don't think the editorial is posted online. For those who missed it:

A Mother’s Plea: Just Fix It

by Susan Jacobson

I am not a stupid woman. Old, maybe, but not stupid. I can read Chaucer in Middle English, give you the area if you give me the radius, hold my own in a discussion of Renaissance art, and make a chocolate soufflé that will melt on your tongue. What I cannot do is install a home computer or troubleshoot even the most minor problem.
That is why, when I purchased a new Dell desktop computer, I gladly paid an additional $200 to have someone come to my home, unpack it, install it, and show me how to use it.
True to their word, my $200 installation guys were punctual, pleasant, professional, and fast. Very fast. I had been told the process generally takes about two hours, but my speedsters were done in 45 minutes. The optimist would conclude that my guys were especially good. I say I got a raw deal.

As they were ready to bolt, the techs informed me that my printer was missing its USB cable. All I had to do was purchase said cable and install it by following the directions that came with the printer. If I knew what a USB cable was, where to get one, and how to install it, why were these men in my house?

Okay. She’s up and running. Any questions? “How can I know without trying out a few things?” I asked.
“If you have any problems just call Dell customer support at 1-800-BUY-DELL. They’re there 24/7.
Two days later, I could not open emails because “OE has removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your mail.” So I called 1-800-BUY-DELL and listened to pre-recorded advertisements and announcements for some 25 minutes before learning that this was not the number to call for problems. So I called the “correct” number, held for another 20-or-so minutes until someone took the call and solved the problem. According to him, Zonelabs Anti-Virus is not compatible with McAfee, and that, “When you set up your computer you should have disabled Zonelabs.”
He did not seem fazed by the fact that a Dell technician set up my system.
I asked if there was an extension I could use next time to avoid being on hold for so long. He gave me the magic numbers, which I dialed the very next day because now that emails were getting through, they showed up one line at a time in a tiny little window.
As instructed, I dialed the tech support number, punched in the secret code, held a while, explained my problem, and was informed I had the wrong extension. Forty-five minutes later I again learned I did something incorrectly when I installed my computer, and again my explanation about paying Dell to install it was met with indifference.
The glitch took a short time to fix, but it was one that could have been prevented had the $200 guys bothered to inquire about my personal preferences, like, “Do you want to require a password in order to access certain documents?’ or “Do you want automatic updates?”
My final tech-support call lasted more than three hours.
The reason for the call was that I could not print anything. When I pressed “print” I got a window asking where I wanted to save the document. My daughter Julie tells me now that she could have fixed this “bug” in two seconds by having me uncheck the “Print to File” box.
Instead, Dell told me to reinstall the printer’s driver. The driver for this seven-year-old printer, I told them, was on a floppy disk and my new Dell only accepts CDs. “So how did you get it working in the first place?” he asked. “I didn’t,” I told him, “someone from Dell installed it.”
“It must have been done incorrectly,” he said. After a five-minute consultation with his supervisor he told me he could not solve my problem. But, software support can, he said. That number is blah blah blah…
More names and telephone numbers appear in my notes from that session than cover the walls of a men’s restroom in the town’s seediest bar (or so I imagine). Plus, I had to pay $39 for the privilege of speaking to them. (Silly me; I thought I had 90 days of free tech support. But the stern gatekeeper of software support admonished me to read my contract and I’d learn that free software support ends after 21 days.)
To add to my frustration the first of many specialists I spoke to had an accent so thick I could understand very little of what he said. Continually asking him to repeat himself nearly doubled our time on the phone.
They finally decided they could not help. My $39, however, bought me 72 hours of help with one problem; a supervisor would call me the following day at my convenience.
Next day I rushed home so I would be here when the promised call came. Wouldn’t want to miss that call; maybe it would come early.
Or not at all. Which was the case. But I did receive a lovely email dated the day the phone didn’t ring: Dear SUSAN JACOBSON, Thank you for contacting Dell Tech Support. It was a pleasure working with you to resolve the issue you had with your system…. If you need further assistance with your CURRENT ISSUE, please free to contact our team specialist. … And so on, and so on.
Meanwhile, Dell is calling for feedback on how satisfied this customer is. Not satisfied at all, I told them, suggesting a relatively simple and inexpensive remedy: give me the hour I never got for my $200 to address some of my questions and troubleshoot some problems. I’m low maintenance—really. Just a typical old granny trying to be a very minor participant in a very major industry. Gosh, you’d think some company would want to target the likes of me. I am, after all, the lady that happily pays for installation and support.
In the end, I had to resort to bothering my son-in-law, who fixed my printer problem in about three minutes.
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Susan Jacobson, mother of CE Pro’s Julie Jacobson, would not have to endure so many computer problems if her daughter would only visit more often.

lol


another good article form your mom, you might want to "use" her when you want to say the negatives on a product or company.

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I am not a big fan of Dell. But it does remind me of my own funny Dell story.

It was my BIL. He had told me he was looking for a PC, so I searched around and found him what I thought was the best buy. When he was in town, we went to the store and he asked if he can get it for the next day (not a name brand PC but one that will be put together). The guy told him that is impossible, and that it takes a week. Even though he was going to be back the next weekend he decided not to get it (it was a good price and good PC). Some time latter he calls and says he decided to buy a Dell and that it came with in house service. Well a few days latter there were problems with the PC, he called technical support and they guided him into taking it apart and putting it back together because something had become loose. Well the next time I talked to my sister she told me the story and how he was there taking things apart and putting them back together for three hours. So obviously my response was "no wonder it comes with in- house service, it does not make sense that you will bring it anywhere else if you are the one that has to do the work"

Julie, You are so lucky that your Mom has an 800 number at Dell to call. My Dad only has my number, and when computer problems occur, he can call me 4 times a day.
This gives me an idea...
You know how when you call some 800 support number, and the guy has the heavy Indian accent like Apu on The Simpson's, then he says, "Hello, this is Jim, how can I be of service to you?". OK, I want my own personal support line in India, complete with fake names, so I can forward my cell phone there, and have them answer, "Hello this is Bill, how are you today father?"..."No, really, this is your son, I can help you with your computer."
-Bill