Speedy delivery and great online deals make Dell the one 4-me!
Written: Jul 28 '03
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----- Overview -----
I decided recently to aquire a computer system to use solely for spreadsheet and data entry. The small business I work for needed a committed system for record keeping, and for security reasons it would not have access to the internet.
I started looking for bare-bones systems available at most computer e-tailers, but hadn't found the right combination of components and value. I finally stopped by Dell's website to check their prices and packages. Anyone with a television has seen Dell swamp the networks with their "trendy" commercials. First it was Steve the "dude" with his super slippery advertising patter, now we have the Dell "interns" getting the company name to the people of this great nation.
Much to my surprise I found a great deal on a Dell that seemed perfect for my needs. I didn't want a monitor or printer, I have minimal performance requirements, and do NOT want a load of bundled shovelware installed on my virgin system. I finally tweaked and customized a Dimension 2400 Pentium 4 with 256 MB memory to my liking and proceeded to order. I was placing my order on the final day of a promotional offer, so I received free shipping ($100 value) and free CD burner upgrade ($60 value) for my system.
----- My ordering experience -----
I finalized my order and was pleased to find the total was under $500.00! Since I would be paying by credit card, I decided to use the online security feature of my credit card. This generates a unique card number and expiration date for each online transaction. I've used this card at many online stores before without any trouble... that was not to be the case with Dell.
I received an email later in the afternoon stating my card had been denied since the number did not match my account with the card company. The email stated that a simple call to Dell's credit center would solve everything. I immediately called Dell and was transferred to a customer service associate within one or two minutes. The associate was very helpful, but as the case has been every time I have called Dell, she had a very thick accent and was hard to understand. Since I was using the telephone, I gave her the actual card number instead of the number generated by my online security program. After asking her to repeat things several times, she informed me my account was cleared and the system would ship in the next 10 days.
Much to my surprise, the computer arrived at my house 6 days later. This time period also included a weekend, so the actual time from order confirmation to delivery was FOUR business days. I understand Dell stretched the quoted shipping date to 10 days to quell irate customers in case they are very busy, but that was acceptable to me since I was getting free shipping. To receive the system in less than a week really reinforced that Dell works hard to please even the little customer with a $500 order.
----- Computer satisfaction -----
The model I ordered (Dimension 2400) is a bare bones system, but it still comes with a 10/100 ethernet port, 56K modem, speakers, sound card, and a decent video card. After powering the system on I went through the Dell new-computer-user blather until I finally reached the operating system. As usual, Dell installed quite a few 3rd party programs such as Quicken, Realaudio Player, Quicktime Video, Musicmatch, Online Virus Protection, and others. These may be useful to some users, but to me they just take up desktop and hard drive space.
Aside from my minor complaints, the system works perfectly and is plenty fast for a home/office workhorse. I have matched the Dimension to an NEC LCD1860NX LCD monitor that I will be reviewing seperately. Together they make a great computer, and I would recommend both the monitor and Dimension as quality hardware.
I've placed Dell at the top of my list for the next computer I shop for. As long I keep receiving excellent service I see no need to go anywhere else. You can custom build anything from a office workhorse to a stonking fast game machine. The ability to choose your system and (more or less) hassle free online ordering make Dell a deservedly busy company!
Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!
Openroad
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Dimension 2400 Pentium
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