5 ms·

I just ordered a (non-2-in-1, Kaby Lake) 13" XPS yesterday. To be honest, I was against ordering from Dell after reading about all of the quality control issues

by kohanz 10y ago

I just ordered a (non-2-in-1, Kaby Lake) 13" XPS yesterday. To be honest, I was against ordering from Dell after reading about all of the quality control issues (just see the Dell subreddit for the sheer volume of problems), but got sucked in by a very good sale price (am paying CAD ~ $2000 including taxes for a 13", 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, 4k Touch). I haven't even received the laptop and I'm already regretting my purchase. My order was "held up" and I had to call in to speak with a Dell sales rep for about an hour to get it to go through. What I discovered later by doing some reading is that essentially what happened is that my order was of high enough value that it was flagged, such that the sales rep could cancel the online order, replace it with a new one, and collect a commission on it. I'm more than slightly annoyed by this because in doing so, he invalidated a rebate of about $200 that I would have collected on the initial purchase (through ebates.ca). I know it sounds outlandish, but this happens consistently to people in forums that I have read. The sales rep even half-admitted it to me that the order was flagged because it reached a certain price threshold. This is Dell Canada, so other countries may have different experiences. Super shady business practice, if you ask me. I know I'm saving a ton of money over a similarly-(but still inferior)-spec'd MBP (would run me about $2600 Canadian all-in, with no touch bar), but I already have such a bad taste in my mouth that unless the machine is flawless on delivery (the odds of which seem low, based on reading other people's experiences), it's getting returned and I'll take my business elsewhere.

r00fus 10y ago
How is this not different from a bait and switch?
- kohanz 10y ago
  It's not, really. The salesman claimed no affiliation with the Ebates site/company, which is of course true, and that I was getting the machine as close to "at-cost" as possible (I call BS), but I'm fairly certain this wouldn't have happened if my purchase total was, say $1200 instead of > $2000. I was very close to cancelling my order right then and there, but I guess I'm holding out on the small chance that the machine itself is great and I don't ever have to speak to a Dell rep again. I've been consistently confused that many sites have rated it the "best Windows laptop" of the past year or so, but users are reporting a huge number of quality control issues (coil whine, backlight bleeding, bad WiFi, etc.). Some people appear to get ones that have no issues, and I've read several glowing reviews from HN users, which is a source I trust, so I'm hoping I win that lottery.
  - slantyyz 10y ago
    Wow. Thanks for sharing this info. To be honest, if I was in your boat, I would have cancelled the order. You showed way more restraint than I would have. I'm in the market for a new laptop (I'm also in Canada, looking to spend >2K on a Dell/Alienware and I was going to use ebates also). I've had good results in the past with ebates + Dell, but I only bought monitors, which were under 1K. So what is going to happen with your eBates - do you have to file a claim with them?
    - kohanz 10y ago
      I was very close to cancelling and probably should have. I guess I'm greedily hoping the machine is fine and if it is, at that price, I can't complain too much. I'm assuming the ebates is a lost cause. I may try to briefly pursue it, but I don't expect them to give me anything. I mean if it goes through properly, I expect that Dell pays some sort of affiliate commission to Ebates and since that won't have happened, they likely won't want to credit me the $.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
danieldk 10y ago
That sounds awful! I know I'm saving a ton of money over a similarly-spec'd MBP (would run me about $2600 Canadian all-in, with no touch bar), I bought a MBP 2016 last Saturday. It was defective (basically, the kernel would panic in a couple of minutes, probably bad memory). We called Apple support on Sunday (they actually called us within two minutes on request, no need to call and wait). Although they gave us the incorrect advise to make a genius appointment, we went to the store the next day, got the option to either get the money back or get a new machine. No questions asked. I didn't even have to show the defect. MacBooks have a pretty large margin, but you typically get it back in service.
- kohanz 10y ago
  I totally agree, my current machine is a 2013 MBP and other than me outgrowing it, I've had no complaints. And it was a refurb to boot! If this doesn't work out by some miracle, I'll happily pay the Apple premium. In a moment of weakness I was seduced by the idea of saving $600-800.
- pierrebai 10y ago
  Frankly, I don't know where you live in Canada, but in Quebec, anything you order that arrives defective can be replaced at no cost. It's not good consumer service, it's the law. (Lemon law.) I've bought tons of stuff at NewEgg and never got problem getting either refund and replacement. I bought a refurbished Acer V3 13" (Skylake, 6GB RAM, 256GB SSD, full HD touch screen) for 700$. Works flawlessly.
  - kohanz 10y ago
    This is true, but the hoops you have to jump through to prove a defect and get said return varies greatly between companies. I think the point of the Apple story is they do it without asking any questions. From what I've read, Dell for example will have you spending at least an hour or two on the phone or in a chat with someone who may end up arguing with you about whether something is an actual defect or not. There's a big difference in how customers are treated.
  - danieldk 10y ago
dkersten 10y ago
I had a similar experience where the laptop arrived a month after the expected date and it took two weeks of calling dell to sort it out. Given that I can get a new apple product delivered in three days, hassle free, I will never ever buy dell again and tell anybody who will listen not to either.
- kohanz 10y ago
  Did you keep or return the laptop? If you kept it, how do you like it?
  - dkersten 10y ago
    I kept it because at that point the hassle was over and returning it would have been more hassle. I didn't cancel it before it arrived because I really needed a laptop. However, I switched jobs a few days before it arrived and got a work MBP so ended up not using the Dell and selling it a few weeks later. It was the 2015 model and it was a nice laptop. A friend of mine also got one (same model) and still loves his. My impression is that they (or at least the 2015 models) are great laptops, but I have no desire to ever deal with Dell again. Interestingly, I'm looking for a new laptop right now and was briefly excited for this one, but then remembered my ordeal and read others' here. I will probably get a MacBook instead unless I find a decent non-dell alternative. It has to be a good bit cheaper than a MacBook (any) otherwise I may as well just get that instead.
    - kohanz 10y ago
      Thanks for responding. I found out today that the 2016 MBP is now in the refurb store, which brings it down to my price point. I called up Dell and tried to cancel my order, but since it is already "work-in-progress", they cannot guarantee that they will be able to cancel and I might still receive the laptop. Either way, I think I'll be cancelling/returning the XPS and getting a non-touch refurb MBP with same specs, except the i5 instead of the i7, which I don't think will affect me much.

by kohanz 10y ago

r00fus 10y ago

How is this not different from a bait and switch?

kohanz 10y ago
It's not, really. The salesman claimed no affiliation with the Ebates site/company, which is of course true, and that I was getting the machine as close to "at-cost" as possible (I call BS), but I'm fairly certain this wouldn't have happened if my purchase total was, say $1200 instead of > $2000. I was very close to cancelling my order right then and there, but I guess I'm holding out on the small chance that the machine itself is great and I don't ever have to speak to a Dell rep again. I've been consistently confused that many sites have rated it the "best Windows laptop" of the past year or so, but users are reporting a huge number of quality control issues (coil whine, backlight bleeding, bad WiFi, etc.). Some people appear to get ones that have no issues, and I've read several glowing reviews from HN users, which is a source I trust, so I'm hoping I win that lottery.
- slantyyz 10y ago
  Wow. Thanks for sharing this info. To be honest, if I was in your boat, I would have cancelled the order. You showed way more restraint than I would have. I'm in the market for a new laptop (I'm also in Canada, looking to spend >2K on a Dell/Alienware and I was going to use ebates also). I've had good results in the past with ebates + Dell, but I only bought monitors, which were under 1K. So what is going to happen with your eBates - do you have to file a claim with them?
  - kohanz 10y ago
    I was very close to cancelling and probably should have. I guess I'm greedily hoping the machine is fine and if it is, at that price, I can't complain too much. I'm assuming the ebates is a lost cause. I may try to briefly pursue it, but I don't expect them to give me anything. I mean if it goes through properly, I expect that Dell pays some sort of affiliate commission to Ebates and since that won't have happened, they likely won't want to credit me the $.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

danieldk 10y ago

That sounds awful! I know I'm saving a ton of money over a similarly-spec'd MBP (would run me about $2600 Canadian all-in, with no touch bar), I bought a MBP 2016 last Saturday. It was defective (basically, the kernel would panic in a couple of minutes, probably bad memory). We called Apple support on Sunday (they actually called us within two minutes on request, no need to call and wait). Although they gave us the incorrect advise to make a genius appointment, we went to the store the next day, got the option to either get the money back or get a new machine. No questions asked. I didn't even have to show the defect. MacBooks have a pretty large margin, but you typically get it back in service.

kohanz 10y ago
I totally agree, my current machine is a 2013 MBP and other than me outgrowing it, I've had no complaints. And it was a refurb to boot! If this doesn't work out by some miracle, I'll happily pay the Apple premium. In a moment of weakness I was seduced by the idea of saving $600-800.
pierrebai 10y ago
Frankly, I don't know where you live in Canada, but in Quebec, anything you order that arrives defective can be replaced at no cost. It's not good consumer service, it's the law. (Lemon law.) I've bought tons of stuff at NewEgg and never got problem getting either refund and replacement. I bought a refurbished Acer V3 13" (Skylake, 6GB RAM, 256GB SSD, full HD touch screen) for 700$. Works flawlessly.
- kohanz 10y ago
  This is true, but the hoops you have to jump through to prove a defect and get said return varies greatly between companies. I think the point of the Apple story is they do it without asking any questions. From what I've read, Dell for example will have you spending at least an hour or two on the phone or in a chat with someone who may end up arguing with you about whether something is an actual defect or not. There's a big difference in how customers are treated.
- danieldk 10y ago

dkersten 10y ago

I had a similar experience where the laptop arrived a month after the expected date and it took two weeks of calling dell to sort it out. Given that I can get a new apple product delivered in three days, hassle free, I will never ever buy dell again and tell anybody who will listen not to either.

kohanz 10y ago
Did you keep or return the laptop? If you kept it, how do you like it?
- dkersten 10y ago
  I kept it because at that point the hassle was over and returning it would have been more hassle. I didn't cancel it before it arrived because I really needed a laptop. However, I switched jobs a few days before it arrived and got a work MBP so ended up not using the Dell and selling it a few weeks later. It was the 2015 model and it was a nice laptop. A friend of mine also got one (same model) and still loves his. My impression is that they (or at least the 2015 models) are great laptops, but I have no desire to ever deal with Dell again. Interestingly, I'm looking for a new laptop right now and was briefly excited for this one, but then remembered my ordeal and read others' here. I will probably get a MacBook instead unless I find a decent non-dell alternative. It has to be a good bit cheaper than a MacBook (any) otherwise I may as well just get that instead.
  - kohanz 10y ago
    Thanks for responding. I found out today that the 2016 MBP is now in the refurb store, which brings it down to my price point. I called up Dell and tried to cancel my order, but since it is already "work-in-progress", they cannot guarantee that they will be able to cancel and I might still receive the laptop. Either way, I think I'll be cancelling/returning the XPS and getting a non-touch refurb MBP with same specs, except the i5 instead of the i7, which I don't think will affect me much.