Dell Computers Rate Higher Than HP, Compaq, Sony
In a recent survey of computer users, people are happier with their Dell computers than other brands, such as Hewlitt-Packard, Compaq, Gateway, and Sony.
Specifically, owners like the quality of Dell computers more than the others did, and only 12% of Dell desktop owners reported having a system with a failed core component (CPU, graphics board, hard drive, motherboard, power supply, or RAM), compared with a mean of 15% in this product category.
Who's The Happiest Of Them All?
Owners of E-machines appear to be the happiest overall, though Dell is just a fraction behind (due to lower scores in the categories of "phone hold time" and "overall phone rating").
What About Tech Support?
The study by PC World also revealed some interesting things about the customer service that computer owners receive after they get the computer home.Specifically, those who purchased their computer from a mom-and-pop store received better customer service than those who purchased directly from the major manufacturers. The main reason for this seemed to be the tendency for computer manufacturers to outsource their Tech Support department to foreign countries, as well as the tendency for locally owned stores to guarantee their products and bend over backwards for their customers.
Our Own Personal Experience
Personally, we bought 2 Dell desktop computers directly from the manufacturer within the past month, and we have nothing but praise for Dell's sales department (including their willingness to make the cost of the computer fit closer in our price range).Since both of our computers are running superbly at this time, we cannot specifically comment on Dell's tech support department, but we can highly recommend a Dell for quality, price, and their customer service on the front-end!
dell telephone systmns could not be any worse. its built to decourage .when you get some one chances are you will get disconected before the problm is resolved
Jim & Lynnette,
I have worked in a system support position for several years and I agree that Dell is hard to beat. There is complete system information on their support site for any unit sold and drivers, warranty info., etc. is easy to obtain using the service tag number that is on the machine. Some of the other brands probably have similar data, but I have been very happy with Dell. I have set-up many Dell work stations and laptops over the past year and couldn't be happier with the complete system of support functions available.