DELL-iberate farce!!

When my mom-in-law asked me to get a new PC for the house a few months back, I straight away went to the Dell website to look for a cheap system. I'm not really a fan of Dell computers, having had TERRIBLE experience with them during my IT Manager days at the office. However, for a small fee they do have a comprehensible warranty package, which covers EVERYTHING for 3 years, including accidental damages.

So, AS EXPECTED, the brand new Dell PC failed to work after ONLY a few months. Switch it on, and NOTHING happens, apart from a louder than usual whirring of the cooler fan. This was the time then to make the extra dosh spent on the warranty pay. Unfortunately, it happened on New Year's Day. Called the number, Answering Machine Man said that they're not available on public holidays. Didn't call them them on Friday as I forgot to bring the PC serial number with me to work, so tried again on Saturday. Guess what? Answering Machine Man says that they're not available on weekends too. So far so bad. Called them again on Monday nevening after work. Voila! This time wasn't Answering Machine Man at the end of the line but Mr Technician Guy (TG from now on). Explained the problem to TG, and he asked me to carry out some diagnostic tests on his behalf.

At first, the tests were simple enough - switch off the PC and on again (DUH!), disconnect everything bar the monitor cable and see again if the problem persists. Still no change. Next test then - set the CPU on its side, OPEN the casing, and remove both sticks of RAM!!! The whole reason I opted for the full warranty was that it would make it easier for my mom-in-law and my wife's zero-technical-expertise siblings to simply call Dell whenever there's a problem with the PC, so that they won't be too dependent on me. HOW ON EARTH would you expect a 50+ year old lady or worse, a 12-year-old child, to open the CPU casing (using a screwdriver which Dell do not ask you to have beforehand) and remove the all-too-fragile RAM sticks? Thing is, I doubt most people even KNOW what a RAM stick is in the first place, let alone remove the safety and (gently) pull it out!! Of course, this was bread-and-butter for me, but I did inform TG of my concern. What if the RAM is removed wrongly, or inserted again the wrong way, and it breaks? "Oh, don't worry, the warranty will cover that", was the answer. Okayyyyy, but what if something worse happens, say the wrong components or wires are pulled out, resulting in the user getting an electric shock!!?!?!??

Why can't the technician just come over once a report has been made, without all this fuss? "Oh, we need to run the tests so that the technician can bring the required items", TH replies matter-of-factly. B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T. You know EXACTLY what components I have, down to the individual serial numbers for all the components, so I see no reason why the technician can't just come over with spare parts for ALL the components, do the tests HIMSELF, and replace whatever needs replacing. The call lasted quite some time, including time spent to look for a screwdriver, remove the screws, restarting the PC numerous times, and putting everything back together again. And in the end the problem was not resolved over the phone, AS EXPECTED, and TG put in a request for a technician to come over. But oh, as it was already in the evening after the cut-off time, the technician could only come over IN TWO DAYS!!

Anyway, the PC's okay now. The problem? Needed a new PSU.