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August 07, 2006

A Pleasant Customer Service Experience With Dell

Although Dell sometimes gets slammed in the press for bad customer service at times, I must say that I just had a very positive experience dealing with one of their customer service reps. I have a Dell 2005FPW LCD display which I have had for almost two years. A few weeks ago, I noticed what appeared to be image burn-in lines on part of my screen. While I am pretty careful about such things - using a 15 minute power down setting on the monitor, and changing my backgrounds frequently, I tried to erase the burn in by running a random motion image for 72 hours with no positive results (this is the recommended cure from Dell). Due the the cost of this monitor when I bought it, I opted for the optional extended warranty, which has proved to be a worthwhile investment now.

After reading the FAQ's on Dell's support site, I contacted a support rep through the web chat interface. From the start, the rep was very nice, and after verifying my system info, I described the problem and the steps I had taken to correct it. The one thing I hate about most customer service reps, is that they usually have you go through a series of scripted resolutions regardless of whether you have already done them or not. The Dell rep asked me if I had the ability to take a picture of my screen and email it to him - which I did. As soon as he recieved my email, he immediately started the paperwork to ship me a new monitor and then outlined the possible causes of this problem. He very nicely pointed out that it appeared as if I had taken the correct precautions, as well as steps to resolve the issue, and appologized for any incovenience. The web chat was actually faster than going through phone support, and I am glad I tried it out.

Many people I have talked to have been oblivious to the fact that LCD monitors can easily suffer burn-in (in some cases much worse than old CRT monitors). Static images should never be displayed for any prolonged period, movies and videos should not be paused for extended periods, and video games should be not left running with the monitor on for extended periods if no one is playing them.

Although we often write about our bad experiences, I was quite impressed by my experience today with Dell, and want to thank the XPS support rep Roger for providing the kind of positive customer service which should be more commonplace.

Edit: 08/08/2006, 9 AM CDT
While I was impressed with the customer service I recieved from Dell yesterday, today I am totally blown away. A few minutes ago (less than 18 hours after my initial contact) a fedex truck delivered my replacement monitor! Now I am thoroughly impressed - this is what customer service means. While I know that some people may not have such a good experience, I have to say that this was truly the easiest problem resolution I have ever had.

Posted by jrfree1 at August 7, 2006 05:50 PM