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So one of my CAD guys needed a new workstation. I went on Dells website and found the Precision T3610 Tower Workstation, and at a reasonable price. But I needed more RAM, so I go to customize, but adding more RAM (in fact more of anything) is not an option. So I have to call. Now I go through the automated question and answer interrogation. I put up with that as I hope it will get me to the right sales person. Finally I get through so a lady who’s first language is not English and then starts to ask me the same dam questions. At this point I have been on the call for 3 minutes. If Dell make it this hard to buy a product, then I don’t hold out any hope for good service later. At this point I hung up.

Looks like I will try HP next. Since when has buying a product become so difficult?

@HP @Dell_Technologies

10 Spice ups
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We always spec out our computers with the intention of purchasing the RAM elsewhere because it’s almost always cheaper than buying from the OEMs. We get two workstations with two sticks each, then put all four sticks in one and buy RAM for the other one elsewhere.

5 Spice ups
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Dell’s streamlining their products by offering pre-baked tiers. Looks like if you need more memory, you have to go up to the next tier. The PC business is extremely low-margin and so they don’t want to stock a warehouse full of parts.

3 Spice ups
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Yea dell’s become increasingly frustrating to deal with since they reorganized the company. Went through something similar when I was looking at drafting workstations, ended up just buying a lenovo.

1 Spice up
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We do alot of CAD in my office,
We use mostly Acer’s Predator series.
I’ve been very happy with them so far.

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@Chris19delta we try to keep our standards to be Dell, as they are easy to manage and drivers easy to find. Sometimes tho its frustrating to find what you need.

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We too are having to spec up a new CAD machine, Dell’s offerings arent great and as such I’m looking at HP’s Z workstation range.

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We tried to buy a few machines from them. My boss got so fed up he literally told the guy “THIS IS ENTIRELY TOO F***ING DIFFICULT!”

Also, I was going to post a meme about Dell customer service but I am trying to remain politically correct.

1 Spice up
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Dell, as part of the re-org, has moved to a channel friendly model. They are expecting customers to go through the channel to obtain product, not to contact Dell directly.

3 Spice ups
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Have to agree. Have used Dell for years. Very happy with products and support but trying to make contact with someone now is almost impossible. Very off putting.

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Yup this right here. I have a rep with Dell that I go through and they customize whatever I want. Or at least they were. Have not ordered anything from them this year yet. We sort of were on a buying spree last year when I came on-board as a lot of things needed to be done but things seem to have stabilized.

2 Spice ups
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Perhaps try going through a reseller who offers Dell products instead of direct from Dell? Having worked with both a reseller and direct from Dell, I’d recommend the reseller path every time.

Even having a “dedicated” sales team with Dell, getting a purchase together is a pain. In the past year alone our company has been moved around to at least four different sales teams. Every quarter when we go to make a purchase it is with a different team of people…

1 Spice up
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The original reason why I liked to work with Dell so much was that the hardware was so customizable. In the last few months, I can’t customize hardly anything.

So, instead of bumping up the RAM for $40, I would have to bump up to the next tier for $250. That’s not cost effective for me at all, especially when I have a budget to adhere to.

Even though I’ve been a loyal Dell customer since the 90s, many of Dell’s changes lately have led to decidedly negative results for the equipment I want to buy, so I’m to the point where I’m seriously looking at other manufacturers since Dell is failing to meet my needs these days.

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Now purchasing a computer is like purchasing an iPad. But you do see how it solves Dell’s margin problem.

If you really want these Dells, what prevents you from just buying the lowest tier and upgrading the memory yourself? Is it like a crap load of PCs? If it’s only a handful of them, this might be the preferred route.

If they started doing this with servers though, it would be an all out riot and defection.

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I really don’t think 3 minutes on the phone is a big problem. I have always found Dell’s sales and support to be pretty quick.

As CJ noted, I by memory from a 3rd party vendor and upgrade post purchase.

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Yes, I could do that, but it is extra time and effort. This process used to be smooth and easy, and Dell is now instead making it difficult.

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Dell has driven me away from dealing with them directly. I did buy a pretty good volume from them and had very good pricing and service. I now get much better pricing from a reseller. The reseller sells other stuff besides Dell stuff too - so Dell loses out. HP and Lenovo come from the same Chinese factories as Dell…

My preference for Dell was based on service. That is gone. I am specing out a big VMware host and just buying a SuperMicro chassis and parts looks like a good option now - and it is on the VMware harware list too.

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So sorry to hear that you had a problem purchasing a Precision workstation. Please PM me your contact info and customer number and we will make sure to connect you to a Dell sales rep or a Dell Channel partner.

Thank you,

Ivan@Dell

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Just to clarify - 2 minutes of that was Q&A with a machine, and then when the call was picked up - the lady started to ‘review’ my answers. 3rd party vendors can rarely match Dells website advertised price. And yes I can buy the additional memory from a 3rd party, but whatever happened to Dell building the machine for you?

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Please note that if you need to locate your Dell sales rep or to be assigned to a Dell Channel Partner you can also fill out this form and someone will contact you: https://marketing.dell.com/social-media/contact-dell

Our customers are at the center of everything we do. Sometimes, in order to better serve customers for the long-term, it’s necessary to transition accounts. Our goal is to make these transitions as seamless as possible with comprehensive account planning and open communication with you throughout the process as we get your new team up to speed. At the same time, we’ve recently made a number of enhancements to our channel partner program to serve our customers even better.

Thank you,

Ivan@Dell