Sometimes it is very hard to undo what is embedded in the matrix. Some hotels still have my old AMEX number from my previous company over 6 years ago. When I check in, they say something like, "This card is showing up as invalid." When I check the number against my actual card, I can tell it's the old, and long-ago canceled, card. Each time they say, "I'll take that off your account and put the new one on," but that apparently doesn't do anything.

Stop buying these mass-manufactured PCs. They build them out of the cheapest parts they can find with the idea that it's cheaper to replace the 10% that go bad. Learn how to buy 8 simple components: CPU, motherboard, memory, hard disk, case, power supply, video card, and DVD drive. It's easy to put them together and the individual NAME BRAND parts last much longer than the unknown parts you get from Dell. And you don't have to guess which drivers to get - you know your model number of the motherboard and video card, so you go right to the manufacturer's website.

Buying quality parts means that they rarely go bad and you don't have to spend hours on the phone with techs in India that don't even own a computer themselves.

Hope you like the new Mac. =)

@billbobbins: I think the problem is that most people buy laptops now and those are vastly more difficult to build yourself. I built my own desktop, but I bought a laptop from Toshiba. If you do your research, you won't wind up with Dell and their horrific "customer service."

@billbobbins: While I agree with your sentiments and do exactly as you recommend all the time, I find your comment out of place here. She needs some replacement CDs shipped to her. Further, it also pays to remember that nearly every business on the planet is going to buy pre-built systems and will also want them to be marginally-reliable. I do not recommend Dell for that (although my office is all Dells -- except for our Sun Ultra45's) but it's a fact of life.

@nicemarmot617: Good call (cross-post with mine) and, in the interest of full-disclosure, I'm typing this on a company-bought Dell laptop (but running Xubuntu).

Since when does Dell charge to talk to tech support?
That said, what sort of incompetent system does Dell run?

As someone who worked for Dell QA I know what the problem is. The idiots they have answering the phones are just not doing things right.

The software which Dell uses for notes has 2 spots for address when you're sending things to a customer. I would guess a high percentage of the agents on the floors update the address in the wrong spot. (This is partly due to a major flaw in the software)

When sending an item to the customer the shipping information is pulled from the main account header, but when you select an item to be shipped out it presents editable address fields. These don't get sent to the shipping company though.

This is one of the things QA could send to the supervisor for the agent doing wrong and the same agent would continue to do it incorrectly.

@billbobbins: Where can I learn that? You make it sound so easy.

It took me hours to find what kind of RAM to buy to extend mine. And after I discovered, that my cpu won't even detect all 4 Gb.

So where can you can get SIMPLE info?

@ameyer: Dell charges to talk to tech support for anyone that's out of warranty. But this should not apply to anyone requesting replacement OS disks.

@Victo: It's actually a huge pain in the ass to build your own, at least the first one. You'll learn a lot, though. But is it knowledge that most of us want or need? And it's not for the non-technically inclined. billbobbins is being a little unrealistic, I think.

@billbobbins: Generally, buying a pre-made PC instead of building a frankenclone means you have a company to call when things go wrong. Snapping the parts of the PC together is easy enough, but you forgot the whole "installing Windows can at times be a complete pain in the ass," and "when something goes wrong, you better know what you're doing" parts.

Forces of Light and Goodliness: 1
Forces of Dark and Badliness: 0

And. PC build-it-yourself guys? Bravo. Really. Honest!
But recognize that many people don't want to burn the cycles. They simply want something That Just Works. Similar to hobbyists who like fixing up their car on weekends versus those that want to spend that time playing with Teh Kittehs and lounge at the beach. To each, their own. So let it go, huh?
And, the whole point of avoiding Dell, Acer, and the many PC mfrs that have worse consumer satisfaction rati... is that they don't skimp on parts to "save" $50 only to leave you cursing over the next five year of life of your computer. Apple offers value over price, a smarter choice for many.
Let it go. :)

All that heartache and then completely switching platforms just to avoid Vista? Really??

I betcha she would've loved the OS has she just given half a chance.

Will the expanding marketshare that Apple is getting nowadays, I'm really looking forward to them facing the exact same problems that MS faced in the 90's (the anti-trust, security issues etc etc).

Oh, Elizabeth - if you have any questions transitioning from PC to Mac, drop me a line on my profile page.
www.apple.com/getamac is a good place to start.

If your Dell worked (cough) then I'd suggest bringing it in to a local Apple store, and they'll seamlessly move your files, bookmarks, etc to your new Mac and give you a one-on-one tutorial (for gratis, 'natch). Err, if it worked. :(

Enjoy!

@Trai_Dep: Aha, and couple of $K of difference.

With all Dell/Gateway cpus I had, I had on one problem with the sound card and one problem with DVD writer.

Even replacing these, costed me much less that a mac, and all 3 are still running smoothly afterward.

Plus I can ran more games, than on a mac.

So buying a mac, is only worth, if you have extra money to throw at a machine. Which would be outdated in couple of years anyway.

@Trai_Dep: I would like to know where to get extra 2k$ to pay for a mac? Especially, that inflation and gas are going up, and up, and up.

My advice, if going with Dell go to the business side of things.

Better technicial support, faster replacements, and standard 3 year warranty. Sure you have to spend a bit more on the machine, but it's an investment that definitely has a return on it.

I have gotten replacement parts next day and could get a technician out on site next day for no charge.

For those people who buy cheap bottom of the line residential laptops, expect crappy customer service for the low low WalMart price.

@ottawa_guy: Or get a dell from Costco. They give you a free 2 year warranty and phone support.

Dell screwed up the OP's address...so she switched to a Mac? That sounds a little extreme and an overreaction.

It's like saying, "Yeah, Saturn kept sending my bill to my old address...so I'm buying a Toyota now."

Love my Dell laptop. Planning on buying a new one next year too (I've had this one for at least 6 years). My wife loves hers too. And she loves her Dell desktop. I loved my Dell desktop until it finally gave up the ghost after 6 years (and then had a buddy just build me a new desktop). Great customer service and great computer quality.

Is there any company out there whose customer service has taken a bigger nosedive than Dell's?? If so, please let me know so I can avoid them too.

@Victo:
yes, and you can see how well that phone support is working here.

macbooks start at $1100, you don't need "an extra 2k$" so lets not be dramatic ;) you get what you pay for, and that includes the customer service that comes with it. some people are willing to pay a premium for that, others aren't.

I'm all for building your own PC, it's all I've ever done, but it's definitely not for everyone. In some ways it's much more complicated now than it was back when I started out (jumpers excluded). Does anyone else remember when you could put an Intel, AMD or Cyrix CPU in the same motherboard?

That being said, I have pointed many a friend and relative towards Apple, Dell, HP and other brands when they ask for advice about a new computer. It comes down to support, and the fact that I don't want to support it :)

A similar thing happened to me as well. I had to send my Dell in to be repaired. They sent the box for me to ship it back to them to my correct, new address, but when they sent it back after it was repaired they sent it to my old campus address. When I saw that the delivery was confirmed and signed for they said they didn't even know the address to which it was shipped. I went into panic mode. Luckily...I still knew the people who were living at my old address and they called me and told me they had the package. They certainly have some issues with their address system.

Don't order replacement CDs. As long as you have the serial number, you should be able to install from ANY CD of the same version of Windows (at least, you can with XP). Just bittorrent that shit, or get a friend to make a copy of theirs. No dealing with lazy and/or stupid Dell employees.

@billbobbins:
The only thing to really seriously worry about is the power supply (because it can take out everything else in the system, and will USUALLY take out the motherboard).

And while you'll get a system of known quality if you build it yourself, you don't get the volume prices the major manufacturers get, so even if you buy cheap parts, once you figure in the Microsoft tax, you're going to be significantly higher priced than them...particularly when looking at low-end systems.

I noticed my dad bought an HP desktop without consulting me today. I will advise him to get a replacement power supply at his earliest convenience. (His last two systems were built by local shops, that used brand-name parts)

@JayDeEm:

Buying the right components IS more complicated. Everything else is WAY easier.

@edicius:

What should she have done? Stuck with a company that can't fix a simple mistake with multiple tries? Life is too short to spend on hold with retards.

"Welcome, Elizabeth, to a new, better world."

Are we talking about Apple? A company that once lost my MacBook after repairing it? A company that ships all product ordered off the website from Shanghai - regardless of whether it would be cheaper and more efficient to send it from a local Apple store?

I ask because Apple is a lovely computer company that is so adept at programming computers that evidently if you need to send your Apple product back in for repairs makes you make a follow up call to be sent a box.

A story about building a PC: My neighbor's boy wanted a computer. He was 13 years-old at the time and knew exactly nothing about them -- this is in rural Nebraska, mind you. I thought it might be fun to show him how to build his own. We decided that I'd buy all the parts in exchange for lawn care for the whole summer.

We sat down at my computer and hand-picked every part based on price/value and reviews. We spent the better part of a month waiting for free shipping and sales and the odd rebate but we were left with a very nice system for, IIRC, about $300. As the parts arrived, we stacked them until the inevitable time when we could start the assembly. When I say "we", I really mean him as I was very hands-off but talked him through everything. Once done, we put Ubuntu on the system and went through the installation and talked about what was happening. He tried a couple of other versions and then decided to install XP as he has friend who gets (legitimate) deals. He did that install with no assistance.

Over the months and years, he learned to do dual-boots and tried other Linux variants. He has now helped out other neighbors for three years straight to include picking all the parts to build another system which worked flawlessly at first boot.

Here's the thing, though. He needed the initial help. He really did. Things that seem simple to him now -- like matching the right RAM to the MOBO -- wouldn't have made sense if he did it all alone. There is nothing that we did that couldn't be taught as part of a high-school computer class in a day or two. Instead, though, the fall following our system build, he came back from his first day griping that all they learned how to do in his much-anticipated computer class was, "how to turn it on!!"

If nothing else, this is a financial consideration. He has had parts go bad and known how to fix things now. I'm sure many of you know somebody who's computer wouldn't turn on so they bought a new one (especially an out-of-warranty systems). My neighbor's boy know likens that to throwing out your lawnmower because the pull-cord broke. It would be fantastic if everyone out there could find a helpful, knowledgeable person to get them started -- and for them to teach their children.

I'm sure I left out many things I wanted to write during this ramble so, if something I typed really didn't make any sense, feel free to call me out on it.

I had the same problem with Dell, except they had my laptop and had the wrong address to return it to. Bad motherboard made my computer into a paperweight.

In all, I spent THIRTEEN HOURS on the phone with eleven customer service reps and nine "supervisors" who all assured me they'd taken care of the problem. I finally got ahold of a guy who did it in five minutes.

When I got the laptop back - SIX WEEKS LATER - it had not even been opened and/or repaired.

This was the Inspiron 5150 with the class action lawsuit filed on it, too. I can't imagine how they treat customers who don't take them to court. They later replaced it with a brand new loaded Vostro and I STILL will never, ever own another piece of Dell anything again in my life.

Where are you that there is a 24/7/365 Apple store???

@billbobbins: Why are people so pompous? This suggestion is as ridiculous as the posters who gave someone hard time a while back when she got a bad oil change. Not everyone can learn how to do everything. Do you grow your own food? Wire your own home? Perform your own root canals?

Welcome, Elizabeth, to a new, better world.

Amen to that! A new, shiny one! Hope you like your Mac!

Dell also shipped my laptop to my billing address rather than my shipping address. Luckily, my billing address was my parents' house. However, my parents opened the package to see if everything was in order, and then Dell said that because the package had been opened they were no longer responsible for it. Hours of phone calls later I got them to pay for it to be shipped to me, but my parents still had to take it to Purolator in person.

@ReidFleming: You're right, not everyone gets this level of support. I can be qualified as advanced user, but still cannot build my own desktop. Everything that's available online is very specific, and there is no step by step guide.

And to get there, where I am, I basically destroyed 4 school's computers, by experimenting with different configurations.

So a knowledgeable person, is a big help to start.

@Victo:

32bit versions of MS Windows can't recognize 4 GB of RAM. It will show as 3.25 GB. You need to install a 64bit version of Windows XP or Vista to get to use all 4 GB.

@Trai_Dep:

LOL

Apple mostly uses the same hardware components just wrapped in a nicer package. The only company that still sells a computer with no DVD burner included as standard. Yet even the cheapest PCs come with one. So yeah I would consider a Mac if they were about 50% cheaper.

@Victo: Pound for pound, spec for spec, Dells cost the same as Macs. And with iLife and all the other fully functional, useful and just plain snazzy software that's included, you come out ahead going Mac. Not even getting into the dizzying combo of vital software that PC users need to get the thing going. And the headache of stripping out the bloatware. And. And. And.
Although, back in the day, there was a price premium, so I understand your confusion. It's just your info is out of date.

Real life example. A friend was in the market so I suggested a Powerbook for under $899 (school discount). Point. Click. Grin. He said, "Too expensive!!" So he spent over two hours on Dell's site, ending up with a $1,400 system (but with FREE laptop fan unit!!). Received it 1.5 weeks later, and the damned thing won't sit on a flat surface without wobbling. Seriously. Could have gone MacBook Pro and not had a wobbly, brand-new laptop.
That's Dell's model: bait & switch, throw in worthless freebies then chuckle as that "$700" system transmorgifies into a $1,399 one. While collecting $$ on the side from loading useless trial software that takes a half-day to strip clean.

And, Macs are dual-boot, so if Blizzard, Maxis, Activision, EA etc., aren't enough to meet your gaming needs, you can boot under Windows to play Valve games. Or (are you listening, Gabe?) use bittorrent to download the cider emulation of Half-Life 2, play to your heart's content for free and cut Valve out of the action (which: bad. but boycotting OS X: worse).
Since PCs can't reliably dual-boot into OS X, you're buying half the computer, looking at it that way. :)

It's been a while since you probably compared them. You should take a second look. :D

@ottawa_guy: Oh yeah, forgot that part about Dell. Really, for hardware reliability or decent support, you can't go thru their consumer channel. Or go "naked" as far as support plans go. Which pushes the price point even higher, by several hundreds, making it an even less attractive comparison vis Macs.

This doesn't make sense. She's not mentioning some very important details, or she got put in the 0.8% people who get extremely unlucky calling Dell and catch people who slept through training and have been on the floor for a week. :|

Welcome to the MAc world. I priced a comparable Dell laptop to a macbook and the Dell was $50 cheaper. But when you add in the extra virus and malware software you need for the Dell the mac turns out cheaper. =)

@Victo: "To get where I am, I basically destroyed 4 computers."
Geezus. Great advice you gave to Elizabeth then, huh?
/sarcasm

Please, you folks who can't be bothered to learn what's in a PC by building your own or at least learning a little bit about what goes on in there (Again, Google is your friend) need to stop complaining about getting ganked by Geek Squad and/or Firedog or the lousy customer service of Dell/Gateway/whoever. If this is not "knowledge you want" then you cannot complain when you must PAY SOMEONE ELSE who has the knowledge. And buying me a crappy pizza when I come over to visit/hook up your new wireless router does not count (sexual favors might, see store for details).

Not that I'm bitter or anything.

Oh, and @OMG! Ponies!: Is there some inherent need you have that I don't that requires 3 1/2 paragraphs of bold text?

@Trai_Dep: I have no idea what anything costs with an education discount as I don't get one, but retail-wise equivalent Macs laptops are double what PC laptops are. On Apple.com, I can get a supper basic model for $1100. I have seen $399 PC laptops that have better specs (but maybe cheaper housing) than that Mac. I bought a cheap laptop for $600 several months ago, that looks equivalent in specs to a $2000 Mac Pro laptop.

Sure Macs are great to use- I use one at work (also use Windows and Linux boxes), but they are pricey. As for software, I use mostly open source or free at home, so it doesn't add much to the cost.

Right now Dell has a glitch on their website, where when you make an order, if you have previous addresses still stored on the site, sometimes it will assign wrong addresses to things automatically and you can't change it.

A Dell support forum said to log in on dell's site and clear out all of the previously used addresses except for the one that is correct, THEN place your order. When my mom's address was showing up as my default shipping address, I logged out, logged back in, cleared out all of the past addresses, and set my order back up. Viola, problem fixed.

Sounds like the OP never took her old address out of their systems, therefore stuff was messed up. Either that, or this could be a DHL screw-up (DHL around here sucks). Either way, I love my Dell and have never really had any major problems with them at all. And my laptop is awesome, thanks. *shrugs*

@doctor_cos: If he was OMG!Stallions then perhaps he wouldn't need to overcompensate? :P

@jwissick: I know the Apple Store, Fifth Avenue in New York City is open 24/7/365 (except for the occasional closure for one reason or another). FWIW, if Elizabeth lives nearby that one, she's rich.

@Trai_Dep: I recall there were PowerBooks that wobbled because they warped from the heat.

@ReidFleming: That's an awesome thing you did for the neighbor kid. Kudos.

Iwonder if billybobbins builds his own home and cars. It is cheaper and assures you get the highest quality workmanship and quite honestly a computer is disposable compared to a HOUSE. If you enjoy building your own computer, then go for it, but to suggest others should and its easy devalues their time. YOU may have time to build a computer, but I guarantee when i walk into a store, tell them what I want and need, I will have mine by the time I leave the store, while you will have had to go to the store to pick up what you want, spent TIME building it, and then "tweaking it". I put a dollar value on my time, as should all people. I bet I could buy 2 cheap ass Presario's for what it costs you to make one, and still have it do what is needed.

Simply put, it's easy to put eight basic components together, but it's not easy to get them to work together. They have to be compatible components in the first place, not the eight cheapest components or the eight closest components or even the eight best components.

@doctor_cos: What a very creative way of blaming the victim, because that is what it is all about. Whether the customer knows everything or nothing is 100% irrelevant. Whoever the customer goes to should be providing the service paid for, period.

I'd just keep having Dell ship out replacement CD's. Eventually, someone's going to notice that 1000 CD's are going to one person and start asking questions (and in the mean time, Dell's out several hundred bucks).

My advice...get back on the phone. When a CSR gets on the line, first off ask them AGAIN for their full name, name of their manager, and employee IDs for both.

Then tell them what is going on.

Ask them THREE TIMES to confirm the delivery address to you. Do not give it to them three times. Give it to them once, and ask three times during the call to make sure they get it right.

If it doesn't get shipped to the correct address this time, contact the BBB and state that either a partial refund in the amount of a Vista Business license w/ XP downgrade option, or some real discs, are the only appropriate solution.