Dell Continued

Well I've had a lot of response from others on the Dell Forums. There are some people who have ordered almost identical systems to mine only in "black" and they are receiving theirs in less than a week.

I was wondering if it made a difference between a personal and business account, it seems that it really doesn't. The one main problem is the color. Black and/or white are the 2 that are definitely available. All others will cause a delay. The most popular color seems to be the Midnight Blue, of course it was my original choice. But I'm actually more interested in the notebook than what color it is. When going to the on-line store and putting together a new IDENTICAL system, you get the usual 2 week delay before shipping. Before going to the check out, look at the colors, Dell now says that certain colors may delay your order. Click on the link and you will see that the Midnight Blue (at least when I last looked at it) was up to 15 days for a delay.

Now stop thinking also as a week being Sunday through Saturday. Dell is talking business days, Monday - Friday. So for a 15 day delay, you are looking at a 3 week delay, actually almost 4.

It's also appearing that the 1520 is causing a delay, most likely due to the processor. Those who have received their systems seem to be 1421/1521/1721.

I have to agree with the other comments. How can Dell offer at a discount a product that they can not deliver in a reasonable time. Dell has known for over a month that the systems are backlogged, so they can delay some of their advertisements. It's not right to offer a "Back to School" type of special, only to know ahead of time that, if a customer ordered a computer in any color other than Black or White, they will not get it in time for school.

Now don't get me wrong, I did see a special that they offered and it was only available in Black! So at least Dell did something right, especially if there are no delays in a notebook in black.

I created this blog so others can share their experiences with the "out of Dell's forums" potential customers, and hopefully someone in the news will want to do a story about this.

Want more information that this blog is posting? Go to the dell forums and create an account and do a search for Inspiron 1520/21 and look through the posts. You can also see posts regarding "delivery status", "delivery delays", the list goes on and on.

Now to be fair with Dell, AS SOON AS I GET MY COMPUTER!! I'll post whether the hype over the Inspiron 1521 notebook is really worth the wait. I'm no computer expert, and this will actually be my first notebook. I'll compare it to my 6yr old HP Pavilion. I'll also post regarding what we've all read about the notebook, and offer my own opinion about it.

If Dell can't handle a blog about their delivery status, they should do something other than confusing information for their customers who are patiently waiting.

What's more confusing is when you talk to Customer Service (or should it be Customer Confusion), that they not tell you that you can change your color with no problems, or change your display LCD type with no problems. They forget to mention that when you want to do this, you have to CANCEL your original order and start all over again!!!!!!!

It would be nice as well, especially with the technology that is out there, if a customer can know exactly where in the building process your system is. Like, is the mother board in the casing, the hard drive installed, etc. . . Don't tell me they don't know what's going on.

I understand that Dell outsources all the manufacturing of their computers, but they should still known where an order is every step of the way. If I read some of the old posts correctly, customers use to be able to see the progress being done on their order so they would know when they can better expect their systems.

I mean, really, "in production" doesn't tell you anything. Have the parts actually been bought? Have they even started putting things together?

As a small business owner, when I place an order with one of my wholesalers, if I'm told it'll be a few days before they get the order completely put together, I can call at anytime and see exactly what's been put together and what hasn't.

Let me hear your comments about your dealings with Dell. Only through the popularity of a blog can the word get out about the semi-poor to poor customer service that Dell provides it's NON-BUSINESS customers.

Dell Inspiron Notebooks

I originally ordered a Dell Inspiron 1521 Notebook with midnightblue color on July 3'rd with an estimated ship date of July 18'th. Well July 18'th came and a new estimated ship date of July 25'th was given to me. July 25'th came and a new estimated ship date of August 1'st was then given to me.

On August 1'st I had another estimated ship date of August 25'th. 4 weeks from now.

There are 2 major problems with Dell, one only Black and White colors are available, any other will delay your order. The second problem is that Dell says that the LCD for the notebooks is being delayed as well.

Dell keeps advertising these notebooks, and back to school offers, yet they can not deliver them in a timely manner.

Dell Inspiron Notebooks came on the market on June 27'th 2007 and other than business accounts, no individual has received theirs as of yet unless they are in black from what I can gather.

It appears that it is not on a first come first served basis when receiving your order. Business accounts are taken very well care of first.

So if you are looking for a great computer before school starts in a few weeks, I do not suggest the Inspiron Notebooks. Dell is a mailorder company and due to their manufacturers where they get their parts, there is nothing Dell can do but make us wait.

I have since cancelled my original order to see if I can get a Black one any sooner since they supposedly have the black casings in stock. The only other possible delay would be the LCD screens for the notebooks which according to what I'm told, should be delivered in about 15 days from now.

So when they come in, seeing my color is in stock, I should get my new order sooner than I would have gotten my original order.

Dell is showing very poor business practices. They advertise for a product that they can not deliver on time!

Speak out and post your comments and let's get the word out about Dell!!