TheBanyanTree: Dell Hell

[NancyIee at aol.com]

I bought my friend a new computer for Christmas (and birthday and mother's 
day and groundhog day, and all the holidays for 2005)

I bought a Dell, ordered online, as it's the one she wanted, was looking at 
in the Dell catalog and turned the page back so I'd be sure to notice.

It came, not for Christmas, but at least for New Year's.  Backordered, they 
said.  It came in many boxes, the printer cable first in a box of it's own.

"What's this you bought, a printer cable?" She waved it about like a lariat.  
I told her, "there printing cable for Christmas, the other stuff as it comes."

It came, and we started to hook it all up.  A marvelous machine. It will copy 
and burn two CDs at a time, edit and enhance all your photos, play the tv 
soaps while you work, and call you when dinner is ready.

"Will it make me look beautiful?" I asked.

"Don't press your luck," she replied.

We got it all hooked together and she signed on . . . .nothing happened.  We 
spent another hour trying to read what we did wrong, to right what we might 
have hooked up wrong, and long after midnight we realized the awful truth. There 
was NO MODEM.

"You have to order that special," the techie replied when I finally got 
through to Dell at midnight Friday.

"What do you mean, order it special? I thought it came with it."

"Oh, no, that's extra."

"Well, I'm ordering it special, and I want it now."

I never heard of selling a computer and not including the modem. Yes, the 
photo and CD burner stuff, and the other bells and whistles, but the modem? What 
good is a computer without being able to communicate to my famile, friends, 
etc?And Cheers. What about Cheers?

"You have to order that special," he said.  I suspected it was a recording.

"I'll connedct you with purchasing," he said.

"No. don't .. don't put me on hold . ..  ."

Too late. I heard music.  I waited, and after an opera or two, another fella 
came on line.

"Our hours are from nine to five, Monday through Friday . ." the recording 
said. .  .. 

(sigh)