Adventures with Dell
I recently ordered a replacement Bluetooth module for my laptop computer from Dell. It was $26 and a few dollars for shipping. The order was processed quickly and efficiently and has promised delivery in three to five business days. On the fourth business day I arrived home and saw a large box on my doorstep. The module but I ordered was approximately the size of a quarter, so I didn't expect to see an 18 inch box on my porch. I opened up the box, and the shipping slip appeared to be correct, and a smaller box inside had a matching part number on it. What I didn't notice, until I opened this inside box, was the quantity marker. It appears that the person at Dell who was fulfilling my order went to the shelf, found a matching part number, and sent me the closest sealed box. In this case, it was a box of 75 Bluetooth modules.
Since I had only ordered one module, I figured I would be nice, keep the one unit that I ordered, and return the remaining 74 to Dell. I called Dell's customer service line and spoke with a very confused sounding customer service representative whose first language was obviously not English (it indeed sounded as if the call was being outsourced). It took about five minutes to get to this person, another 10 minutes to finally explain what had happened in a way that she could understand, and then another 30 minutes, most of it on hold, for her to process my return request (keep in mind, that I was attempting to return 74 Bluetooth modules that they didn't know were missing out of the goodness of my heart rather than eBay them). She offered to have UPS pick up the package, and I informed her that I would be able to leave the package on my doorstep. She told me (after obviously figuring out the value of the package) that I should not leave it on my doorstep. Instead, she promised that I would be e-mailed a return label so that I could take the package down to my local UPS store. Exasperated, I finally ended my call, feeling like I had done my good deed for the day.
The next day, I arrived home and discovered a UPS note stuck to my door indicating that they had attempted to pick up my package and that they would attempt to pick it up again the next day. Later that night, I received an e-mail from Dell indicating that they were expecting me to send back two packages, one for the Bluetooth module, and the other for my power supply that I had ordered from them last year.
So, I spent another 40 minutes on the phone attempting to clear up this matter, and was finally promised that I would not need to return my power supply.
On Thursday, I was home sick, so I was able to meet the UPS person. When she arrived, she expected two packages. Fortunately, I had the tracking number written on the package, so that it was clear which shipping label was necessary, so that Dell would know that I was sending a Bluetooth module as opposed to a power supply.
Today, I received email confirmation that my credit card had been credited $26. I'm tempted to call Dell back and let them know that I wasn't seeking a credit, merely to return the quantity of merchandise in excess of what I ordered, but I'm afraid of exactly how they would screw this one up. In about three days the package will arrive, and the folks at Dell are going to discover that I'm not returning one unit, but instead 74. Will they re-bill me the $26, or will they decide to credit my account for the 74 modules? Soon we will find out exactly how badly this can be screwed up.