Hi all, I'm currently in the middle of a neogotiation with Dell's Customer Care department about a problem I'm having with my Dell Inspiron 8000 Laptop, and I would like to run this problem and Dell's response by you guys .
I have owned my laptop for a few months now, and about 2 months ago I started to notice some black outlines/etchings in the middle of my LCD screen. I originally thought it was the common oil stain or whatnaut transfered from the keyboard, but it wasn't (Because this permanant etching cannot be cleaned off with cleaners, and it had a physical indentation.) The etching was basically an outline of the space key. This problem really bothered me because the damage was right in the middle of the LCD and it is really affecting my usage of the laptop. And note that I do not travel with the laptop, 95% of the time the laptop is just sitting on a desktop in its docking station.
Because this was not the normal oil-transfered-from-keyboard-to-LCD situation, I gave Dell a call, and their technitian suggusted me to send in my laptop for repair (I have the CompleteCare service). So I did. But a fews days after I have sent laptop for repare, I got a call from Dell's repare depot saying that there's nothing they can do to the LCD since the problem falls under the normal "ware-and-tare" category. I was VERY bothered by the fact that they labeled this problem under "normal ware-and-tare" because the LCD got damaged simply sitting on a destop in a docking station (with no traveling involved). But worst of all, because this is a normal ware-and-tear, Dell refuses to fix the problem, or even look into it. Not even when you paid extra for the "Complete" Care service waranty (what I have). I mean, this is NOT normal, the LCD is damaging itself just by sitting on a desk, and from what I read on numerious forums, this could later cause the anti-glare protection in that area to be worn away and later, the acutall pixel in the LCD could break and cease to function. After calling Dell's Tech support again, and again, two of their technitian admitted to me that the problem originated from a design flaw. The problem was that because the LCD is a 15" LCD, its own weigh will cause the LCD to concave in and crush itself on the keyboard. They said it was a matter of using a more ridgit material (like mixed Titanium by IBM), and the problem would've never occured.
So after hearing this from Dell's own Tech, I gave their Customer Care dept. a call again, they refuses to do anything to my satisifaction because, and I'm quoting here, "you should've done more research before you bought the laptop, it is common sense to ask about problems that could rise from a large LCD screen, such as its weigh and its affects. It is common sense, sir. Yes, it is a design flaw, but you should've done your research before making a purchse." EXCUSE ME?! They are blaming me for not doing my homework. I mean, how would I know to ask this question in the first place? I mean, the reason why I bought I Dell is because of its experience in the computer field. Shouldn't it be the other way around? The designer of the laptop forgot to do his/her homework about the bending of the LCD.
Dear friends, can you weigh in on the situation? Does Dell have a reasonable argument here? Is it my fault by not doing my homework before buying the computer? Or should Dell do something about it?
Please know that I did NOT write this message to flame Dell, I LOVE Dell as a whole, only this problem is bothering me. And I'm not writing this message to let off steam, I wrote this msg after a few days of consideration because, first, I want people to know that this problem existed, second, Dell's response to this problem, and third, Dell's most expensive Complete Care service isn't really "Compete".
Please let me know what you think about this situation, because this is a hardware issue, I'm posting in under the General Hardware thread.
Thanks all.
I have owned my laptop for a few months now, and about 2 months ago I started to notice some black outlines/etchings in the middle of my LCD screen. I originally thought it was the common oil stain or whatnaut transfered from the keyboard, but it wasn't (Because this permanant etching cannot be cleaned off with cleaners, and it had a physical indentation.) The etching was basically an outline of the space key. This problem really bothered me because the damage was right in the middle of the LCD and it is really affecting my usage of the laptop. And note that I do not travel with the laptop, 95% of the time the laptop is just sitting on a desktop in its docking station.
Because this was not the normal oil-transfered-from-keyboard-to-LCD situation, I gave Dell a call, and their technitian suggusted me to send in my laptop for repair (I have the CompleteCare service). So I did. But a fews days after I have sent laptop for repare, I got a call from Dell's repare depot saying that there's nothing they can do to the LCD since the problem falls under the normal "ware-and-tare" category. I was VERY bothered by the fact that they labeled this problem under "normal ware-and-tare" because the LCD got damaged simply sitting on a destop in a docking station (with no traveling involved). But worst of all, because this is a normal ware-and-tear, Dell refuses to fix the problem, or even look into it. Not even when you paid extra for the "Complete" Care service waranty (what I have). I mean, this is NOT normal, the LCD is damaging itself just by sitting on a desk, and from what I read on numerious forums, this could later cause the anti-glare protection in that area to be worn away and later, the acutall pixel in the LCD could break and cease to function. After calling Dell's Tech support again, and again, two of their technitian admitted to me that the problem originated from a design flaw. The problem was that because the LCD is a 15" LCD, its own weigh will cause the LCD to concave in and crush itself on the keyboard. They said it was a matter of using a more ridgit material (like mixed Titanium by IBM), and the problem would've never occured.
So after hearing this from Dell's own Tech, I gave their Customer Care dept. a call again, they refuses to do anything to my satisifaction because, and I'm quoting here, "you should've done more research before you bought the laptop, it is common sense to ask about problems that could rise from a large LCD screen, such as its weigh and its affects. It is common sense, sir. Yes, it is a design flaw, but you should've done your research before making a purchse." EXCUSE ME?! They are blaming me for not doing my homework. I mean, how would I know to ask this question in the first place? I mean, the reason why I bought I Dell is because of its experience in the computer field. Shouldn't it be the other way around? The designer of the laptop forgot to do his/her homework about the bending of the LCD.
Dear friends, can you weigh in on the situation? Does Dell have a reasonable argument here? Is it my fault by not doing my homework before buying the computer? Or should Dell do something about it?
Please know that I did NOT write this message to flame Dell, I LOVE Dell as a whole, only this problem is bothering me. And I'm not writing this message to let off steam, I wrote this msg after a few days of consideration because, first, I want people to know that this problem existed, second, Dell's response to this problem, and third, Dell's most expensive Complete Care service isn't really "Compete".
Please let me know what you think about this situation, because this is a hardware issue, I'm posting in under the General Hardware thread.
Thanks all.