I have been using Dell desktops and Notebooks for over 4 years now and I’ve enjoyed every machine that I have purchased from them. But actually getting the machine to me on time is something that Dell just hasn’t gotten good at.

I purchased a Dell Inspiron 1521 laptop around 4 months ago, and I love almost everything about it. Dell’s website makes it easy to customize your machine without confusion and helps you compare products. So I choose Dell to build my Notebook. I had so much fun choosing and building my machine and after the whole adventure, was eager for it to arrive.

I choose Next Business Day shipping and paid around $42 bucks for it! I figured it’s worth the extra cash to get it here in a jiffy.

After checking Dell’s order status website and telephone number obsessively every 10 minuets, it finally made it into the “shipping” stage. Boy was I excited! It was a Tuesday and that means it will get here, of course, on Wednesday. I mean that makes sense right? Next Business Day!

Well Wednesday came around and no computer! I called DHL and talked to a rep. They told me basically; Dell screwed you over. Take it up with them. (Not a direct quote by the way)

I called Dell and unloaded my frustration on their rep, and demanded a refund. They credited my account for $50 bucks and assured me, after many threats to stay away from their computers, that it would not happen again.

So fast forward to about 2 days ago. I’m looking for a new PDA and thought; why not choose Dell? Well that was somewhat of a mistake.

I choose, you guessed it, Next Business Day shipping and of course the shipment was delayed. I dialed the telephone and spoke with a rep who told me at first that it was “bad weather”. Well I live in the Cleveland Ohio area and I at first, was convinced that it was the problem. I mean if you know Cleveland, the weather can change in a second. But after looking out the window and noticing the thermostat and the clear sky’s, I assured the rep that it couldn’t be bad weather.

She put me on hold for around…EVER and the told me that I was right. Ohio wasn’t on DHL’s delay list. She refunded my account and, oh boy! Assured me that it would not happen again. Just like last time!!

So my PDA is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. And I guess for free shipping it’s worth the wait. But the whole point of this spiel is: Why can’t Dell get products to their customers on time? I checked with fellow Dell users and they too had complaints about the delays on shipping.

I hope Dell can get it together. They offer great products, but their service is less than satisfying.