Ding Dong Dell…

my laptop’s unwell. Actually it’s not my laptop, it’s for my mother. We’ve ordered at least four Dell systems online in the past, with good results. The one time we had an issue they responded quickly and helpfully. So what’s changed?

Last week we ordered a new laptop for my mum. Ordered Sunday, arrived Thursday, everyone’s excited. Except it landed dead in the water. Well, part of its operation is dead at least… dead enough that we need it replaced. Sure, it’s frustrating but you know, they they even provide on site service the following day (apparently) so it’ll be okay.

Except it’s not.

Five attempts to contact and interact with Dell’s customer service has resulted in no response to any of the online requests for help. And of the two conversations with their customer support staff one resulted in a promise to send us software to upgrade the problem (even though we tried to explain it’s obviously a hardware fault)… regardless we never received the promised software, or any other subsequent contact from them. Several online requests and tickets ensued… I even completed their email survey asking if my order and delivery was a good experience. Even replaying in the negative didn’t prompt a response. And our last attempt today resulted in a promise to call back within two hours and some 10 hours later we are still waiting. Lucky it’s not life or death… since the thing’s dead anyway.

Oh well, ding dong Dell… they sure do smell. And no more purchases from me.

Meanwhile, the attempt at contact continues…

Hippie Chick vs Techno Grrl

Technology… it’s like having a devil and an angel on my shoulders when it comes to technology. Hippie Angel says don’t do it, get back to nature, your soul will be the better for it. But Techno Devil is alluring with all kinds of shiny, bobbly gadgets. Mostly I want to be Hippie Angel but also know that I’m weak when it comes to technology. I don’t pretend to understand the complex technological workings of these gadgets. I just want them. In fact I can’t live without them. Computers, electronic diaries, digital cameras, heart rate monitor, computer accessories… but it’s the mobile phone that has my Hippie Angel and Techno Devil really battling it out.

I don’t need a phone. I actually resisted a phone for as long as possible. I don’t need a camera on my phone and I sure as hell (sorry Techno Devil) don’t need to buy the extra cabling required to remove photos from my phone. I do, however, need to own a phone. There’s a real thrill in unpacking it and setting it up and resisting the need to read the manual by just pushing all the buttons until something happens. I like the shiny sleekness of a new phone, and transferring my phonelist, and setting up the personal options… but that’s where it ends.

As a technological gadget the mobile phone must be the most annoying piece of technology ever.

People will risk their lives and those around them for the ‘right’ to talk on the phone while driving, they insist on texting me and then laugh at me because I can’t type out a response in 0.25 nanoseconds, they get annoyed at me because I refuse to meld it to my left hand like an extension of my arm to have it in all places at all times to be always contactable. But most of all it annoys me on the train. I don’t want to hear what exciting and funny ringtone you currently have, I don’t want to hear the high-speed clickety clack of your texting as I try and relax on my way to or from work, and I am really, really sure I don’t want to hear your conversation. Can’t you wait until you get to work to call your colleague? After all, you’re going to be there in another 15 minutes anyway. Can’t you wait until you’re with that person to tell them you love them? Do you really need to be gossiping about your friend behind their back at 7.45am.

I am really unconvinced by two things about the mobile phone… firstly that the companies selling these gadgets are really selling us something we need. It’s a ‘need’ they have created with clever marketing and the inability to buy a simple product that doesn’t have unnecessary options attached to it. And secondly, that anyone feels the need to talk about personal or awkward or highly complex business issues in public, whether it be on the train or in a restaurant or standing in line in a shop.

Isn’t it all about vanity because who really thinks that what they have to say is that important or interesting that we all want to hear them talking about it? When it comes to mobile phones I’m afraid I don’t want to hear what someone else has to say, or be always and forever contactable. I’m afraid Hippie Chick wins out…

Until I can get my hands on an iPhone that is.