While I was at work one day and my phone buzzed from an incoming text message. It was my daughter Taylor texting me to ask if I could work on her laptop tonight since it’s not working. I was not really concerned because I didn’t really know what the extent of the problem would be and her laptop is covered by a three-year Dell warranty. I’ve had other computers with Dell warranty and they had always been easy to get fixed.
When I got home, my daughter had left her disabled computer in my room to work on. After dinner, I pushed the start button and the computer fan started up. After some time, I saw the Dell logo and a login screen. I logged in and waited and waited. All of sudden the computer reboot and start up over again. Not a good sign! This is usually a sign that Windows has gone bad (a file is corrupted) or that the hard disk drive was damaged. I repeated this a few times and got the same results. I figured it was now time to call Dell for support.
I’ve always recommended that if you buy a laptop which you are going to carry around, that you also purchases a maintenance warranty package. Like I said before, it not if your laptop is going breakdown, it’s when it is going to breakdown? I like Dell’s warranties because they have both a hardware warranty and accidental damage insurance. The first one is an extended warranty (beyond 90 days/1 year) for things that may go wrong with the hardware (e.g. hard disk drive, keyboard, LCD screen). You can usually purchase the warranty for two, three or four years. The second one is insurance in case you accidentally damage your computer (e.g. drop it, spill water or coffee on it). They also usually come in a matching two, three or four year versions. Without a warranty service, you would be paying regular replacement prices (e.g. $1000 for a LCD screen, $200 for a hard disk drive). I seen many broken laptops being carried around by students because it would cost almost the price for a new laptop as to fix one that not in warranty.
I usually call the support lines late in the evening because it’s a less busy time for them. Dell tries to automate their support by getting you to enter in the code that identifies your computer type. They also suggest you check their website for help. However, for some problems, the only way to get it fixed is to speak with a help desk agent. More than likely you will be placed on hold waiting for the next available agent. Normally my wait is between two to five minutes. Once you get a live person, they identify who you are, verify your computer and check what type of warranty you have. Depending on your problem, the agent will walk you through a script that will get you to run diagnostic programs or to check hardware connections. They are very good at explaining to the lay person what to do, so no one should be afraid of calling and get help. The most you may need to know is how to use simple tools such as a small screw driver.
Another common way that Dell can help is to remotely access your computer. The agent will tell you to go to a support website and to load and run software that will connect the agent’s computer to yours. If you are able to get this done, the agent now can run your computer directly so you don’t have listen to their instructions on what to type in and tell them what you see on your screen. This is also usually a faster way to get your computer fixed because you now have an expert typing in commands like if you had brought into a shop.
If they determine that it is a hardware item needs to be replaced, they will create an order which will ship you the correct replacement part. That usually takes a couple days to arrive through some type of express mail. Once you receive the part, you can install it yourself or call back to the support line so they can walk you through the replacement process. In some cases, you will need to return the defective part to Dell so they can refurbish or recycle it. You just put the old part in the box the new part came in, place a pre-paid address sticker on the box and drop it off at the appropriate mailing location.
In my experience, this repair process has worked well for me. Most of the repairs were completed in three to four days. Dell is good about providing you all the necessary parts, software, instructions and live help. I have heard from people that they are afraid to speak with a technical agent (a lot of them are located in another country) but almost all the support agents that I have spoken to, are easy to understand and very competent. They are not perfect and I have encountered ones that didn’t really know what they were doing and just following the script in front of them but that is an exception, not the rule.
Your alternative is to take your wounded computer to a good local repair shop. These shops will take care of the entire repair with little to no effort on your part. Usually the drawback with doing this is the cost (it’s free only if you have a warranty plan with them) or the time that it will take to get your computer back. In most cases, they will need to order parts if required and most places have a backlog of work so it maybe days before they are able to even touch your computer. If you choose this option, I would suggest using a Road Runner Approved vendor such as Cowbunga computers.
So I hope that this gives an idea of what you can expect if you have a computer problem and want to fix it yourself through the manufacturer’s agent. Most major manufacturers have similar service warranties to Dell, so make sure to check it out before when you are purchasing a new computer.
Happy computing.
