Dell support service can't tell between a 720p and a 1080p monitor
I bought an XPS 13 ultrabook with 1080 monitor, i7 and 8GB of RAM and ProSupport service for 1 year (https://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-l321x-mlk/pd) from the Italian Dell online store at the end of January.
After a few weeks I noticed a tiny lighter spot (aka ghost spot) on the monitor that was clearly noticeable with a light background. I called the ProSupport service and they sent a guy at our office to replace the display. After the replacement the pc didn't work (8 beeps from the motherboard) so he came again after a few days with another replacement part but the problem persisted. He made me talk by phone with some people from ProSupport that suggested me to send the laptop to the laboratory in Germany to figure out the problem. After a month and many many phone calls all I know is that they were putting a 720p on my 1080p XPS and they don't have any ETA because they don't know when the replacement part will arrive to the lab.
Dell is taking more than one month with my laptop in their lab just to replace a display. I don't know what else to do in order to have my XPS back so I'm writing this post. So here's an advice for you: DON'T, EVER, send your Dell laptop to any laboratory even if they tell you it will take just a few days.
At the end of January I bought an XPS 13 ultrabook with 1080 monitor, i7 and 8GB of RAM and ProSupport service for 1 year (https://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-l321x-mlk/pd) from the Italian Dell online store. It's very cool and I was very happy with that. I waited very long before ordering it because I wanted the 1080p version that was announced at CES (http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/dells-xps-13-getting-a-1080p-screen/) so the first day it became available in Italy I ordered it. It costed 1400€, not so cheap but that laptop is definetely worth it (apart from the support service).
After 2-3 weeks of usage I noticed a very small lighter spot (aka ghost spot) on the display that was clearly noticeable when I had a light background (I noticed it using Google Docs, for instance), while it was invisible with a dark background.
I contacted the support service and they told me that's a quite common problem that it's usually due to some bumps during the shipping and that they would send a guy at our office in order to fix it ASAP. He came after 1 or 2 days with a new display and it took half an hour to replace the old one. Unfortunately when he switched it up the laptop kept beeping (8 beeps), he called the support service but they didn't know anything about the problem, they concluded that the replacement part was broken so he put my old display back and came after a few days with a new replacement. He changed it again but the problem persisted: two broken monitor in a row it's definetely not likely, so we talked a bit and I tried to tell him that I bought the laptop the second day the 1080p version was available in Italy so it may be that they were using an old 720p monitor, but he told me that he didn't know, Dell just ships the replacement parts and he just changes them to the customers. He didn't performed the order and he was sure that the company knew which was the right replacement part.
He phoned to one of the managers of the support center and they talked a bit, then he passed me the phone and I talked to this guy from the support centre. He told me that that was a strange case, they didn't know which was the problem and that it might have been in my computer, so it was better to ship it to their lab in Germany to figure out the issue. He said it would have taken maximum 10 days, but usually they solve the problem in 3-4 days, so I accepted. I shipped my laptop to the lab on 2013-03-13 and the next day it was in the Dell lab (I had the UPS tracking code).
I waited a few days but after a week I called the support service to know what they were doing and if they found the problem: they told me that the lab was waiting for a replacement part and from the call center they didn't know anything else. So I waited a few days more and after the 10 days passed I called again: they told me that the replacement part arrived and that they didn't know anything else. I called after other few days and they told me the same story: they were waiting for another replacement! WTF?!
After some other calls in the last week of March where the support service told me "don't worry, I'll perform a check and I'll call you back" and I never got any call, I finally found a guy that performed a check "on the fly" so I waited 10-15 minutes on the phone and in the end he told me that the lab found the problem: THEY WERE PUTTING 720p DISPLAYS ON A 1080p LAPTOP!
I don't want to know how many displays they tried before starting to think that maybe the problem was not my laptop nor the broken displays. -.-" Anyway he told me that in a few days they would solve the problem. I waited a few days, then I called again: the guy told me that the work on my laptop was finished but he dunno why it had not been shipped yet. He told me he would have called me back (but he didn't). So yesterday I called again, they told me that the lab was WAITING for a new 1080p display! And they didn't have any ETA!! WUT?! I asked if it was a joke or what and I asked to speak with a manager. He called me back and he apologized for the troubles but he didn't know anything about my laptop. He said that he will wait until Monday for news from the lab but if they will not know anything he will start the procedure to send me a new laptop.
So, WHEN I WILL GET MY LAPTOP BACK? I think that a month it's definitely not acceptable for a big company like Dell, their support service (in my case) was awful.
I'm a developer, I need my laptop and I'm even considering to buy another laptop (not Dell) and sell my XPS when it will come back eventually (if it will come back).
In conclusion: don't EVER send your laptop to a Dell lab.
UPDATE 2013-04-08: I got a phone call from a recorded voice that said that my laptop have been shipped and I would get it in 24h.
UPDATE 2013-04-09: I got another phone call from the Dell support center that confirmed the shipment but they said that may laptop have not been fixed. They are shipping it as it was a month ago!
They are sending me a new laptop in about 2 weeks and in the meanwhile I can keep my old one. I asked if they were sending me some sort of gift or a refund for all the trouble but they said that, as they're a support center, they can't and if I want I can send a letter to their lawyers. Another terrible story from Dell support service.
UPDATE 2013-04-09 (afternoon): A package arrived at our office around 3p.m. My laptop was in there! YES! I opened it but it had a bad surprise, the monitor was new and it had wrap on it. I turned it on and it beeped. THEY SHIPPED MY XPS WITH A 720p DISPLAY ON IT! It's completely useless, I can't use it in the meanwhile (as the guy from the call center told me this morning). I'm seriously thinking Dell is making fun of me.
UPDATE 2013-04-12: The order of my new laptop has been processed, the Dell website reports that the estimated delivery date is 6th of May 2013. I asked Dell if they are offering a discount, an extension of the support center or something else in order to apologize for all the trouble I passed but all the people I talked to said that they were not authorized to do that.
UPDATE 2013-04-19: The delivery of the replacement laptop was scheduled for today. A colleague of mine had his Lenovo fixed and was also waiting for hers, both packages arrived the very same day at the very same time in Koeln (Germany) with UPS, then at the very same time in Venice and in the end in Trento (where our office is located). Around midday the doorbell rang, the Lenovo was there but there was no trace of my XPS :( I was a bit sad, but the package was in Trento so they could have put it in another van, I thought. After some time I checked again the tracking service and there was an alert: UPS couldn't deliver the package because the reported address was incorrect. WTF?! I called the UPS office and they told me that the shipping address was wrong, DELL WROTE THE WRONG CIVIC NUMBER! (I'd like to remark here that the support guy came to the right address two times, my first XPS was picked up and delivered again at the right address).
Luckily a friend of mine came to work by car so he gave me a lift to the UPS office. I got the package and I opened it as soon as possible: I couldn't believe it! There was a brand new XPS inside with a perfect display. No more ghost spots, no more waiting :)
UPDATE 2013-04-20: I restored my backup and everything seemed fine apart from some troubles connecting to the home wifi network. I tought that maybe the new XPS had a different wireless card that was playing well with m Gentoo box, so I tried to solve the issue. After some time without any significant result I tried booting a pendrive with Ubuntu that was working well on the "old" laptop but the wifi was not working. So I boot up Windows 8 in order to surf the net, looking for some hints: the connection was not working there neither! I googled a bit and I found various people that had issues with the wifi connection and had their XPS replaced.
UPDATE 2013-04-22: I called the support service and they are sending a technician to fix my laptop tomorrow. Let's see if Dell can build a pc that actually works.
UPDATE 2013-04-23: The Dell guy replaced the wifi card and everything seems working fine! Are all the trubles over? I hope so :)
Oh, ehi! I'm writing this with my brand new XPS!
