Dell or Apple?

[nickelbackmac]

I have $1,500 for selling my ugly Dell, and now I want to buy a white MB, because the black one is 100 more with taxes and stuff. She says that Dell offers great service, and Apple makes you pay for any help they give you (like when I returned my MBP since it was broken, and since it was used they charged a 10% restocking fee) . So, I have to buy a Dell XPS M1210 and resell it for me to get an Apple. That's too much trouble! I asked her why and she said she has to pay the sales tax of her new Navigator (which I can understand since she bought the laptop in the first place) and she'll let me order a Dell off her account. What great services should I tell her about that might convince her to let me get an Intel Mac (I've only had an Intel Mac for about 20 minutes, so I haven't been with Apple too much )? I need to convince her that Dell isn't the only one that offers great service, just because it's warranty and safety (her laptop blew up and they shipped her a replacement free for customer safety) and because that's the only computer company she's been with. Thanks for your help!

 

[EricNau]

Who is "she?"

 

[Keebler]

wow nick..please don't take this the wrong way, but i just can't make sense of this post..

who is she?

what does a navigator have to do with it?

'she' is wrong about apple...buy applecare to extend the already 1 year warranty..they don't make you pay if you are under warranty (unless you drop it etc...)

lol wrt to the dell....they shipped her a free one because they screwed up having the type of batteries they had..this has been in the news lately. they just recalled a few million laptop batteries for just this reason. they sent her a free one to avoid being sued

reasons to get apple:
no or very few viruses
fantastic OS
fun to play with
includes tons of useful software

there are others, but that's a start.

 

[mkrishnan]

Shouldn't the word "bling" be sufficient justification to anyone who drives a Navigator?

 

[Chundles]

I'm guessing "she" is "She who must be obeyed" and that "she who must be obeyed" is holding the purse strings in this situation.

Tell her that Dell batteries explode and if she still wants you to buy a Dell that you'll use it in one of the Navigators (how many do you have now? 11? 12?) and set the bugger on fire.

If that fails, tell "she who must be obeyed" to stop telling you what to do and get back in the kitchen - make you some pie...

 

[nickelbackmac]

Darn... I thought I typed Mom. Yeah, our whole family uses this account, but I only post maybe once a week or two. My parents go on here and do business, while I read the Forums.

Oh and the Navigator's sales tax is 2500 and the laptop sold for 1500, and she has 1000 in stock sales, so it works out for her. She doesn't think Apple can finance it for _amount here_ a month, but they can and she won't believe me.

 

[Grimace]

Apple is (again) #1 in customer service this year. Dell is not.

 

[tipdrill407]

Yes I must say dell has about the worst customer/technical support available. I had a dell laptop a caouple years back and the motherboard failed and they sent me a motherboard and expected it me to install it myself!!! like WTF is that??? I finally convinced them to install it for me after spending 3 hours on the phone with 4 different managers.

 

[mkrishnan]

Oh and the Navigator's sales tax is 2500 and the laptop sold for 1500, and she has 1000 in stock sales, so it works out for her. She doesn't think Apple can finance it for _amount here_ a month, but they can and she won't believe me.

So you had an MBP, it had a defect, and you insisted on returning it for cash rather than getting it fixed.

Then you got some sort of Dell, and sold it.

Now you want a laptop, and you want to get a MB and your mother wants you to get an XPS.

Dude, my personal advice is ... just buy something -- anything -- that meets your needs and actually use it for more than ten minutes. This business of constantly buying and selling computers is such a waste of time and money....

 

[Sesshi]

Yes I must say dell has about the worst customer/technical support available. I had a dell laptop a caouple years back and the motherboard failed and they sent me a motherboard and expected it me to install it myself!!! like WTF is that??? I finally convinced them to install it for me after spending 3 hours on the phone with 4 different managers.

I think you're being economical with the truth, or didn't pay for Dell's equivalent of Applecare.

I have major issues with Dell hardware at the moment. Perhaps even more so than my abysmal experience of Apple hardware to date this year. The problems are linked only to the Precisions I ordered but and for that reason (these are very expensive "PCs") it's all the more serious for me.

However, Dell have come through on the support front always, but always, in the 10 years that I've been a Dell customer. Even recently when the machines have been terrible, the service has been excellent in this recent time. And over the 10 years while their hardware may wobble from time to time, I'd say the fix service has always been at the very least acceptable.

Apple on the other hand has been frankly laughable. Pickup service frequently botched, credit cards billed for spares which I've returned to them, and most of all the turnaround time - which would be funny if it wasn't impacting my personal productivity.

The difference seems to have been that since Apple purchasers historically treat their computers with kid gloves, they purchase Applecare. However Dell is driven by price, so people skimp on the service selection to the bare minimum in order to save on the purchase cost - and get upset when they aren't provided with the level of service they haven't paid for in the first place.

Being a 'tick all the boxes' sort of guy, I've seen both Dell and Apple's commitment to service with a fully paid-up service plan - and Apple is a joke. Combined with the relative unreliability of their hardware right now, it's something of an issue in my book. I'm guessing that their satisfaction figures next year might look a little different as more business/higher-end home-working customers contemplate the move to Mac - and realise the support issues.

 

[tipdrill407]

I think you're being economical with the truth, or didn't pay for Dell's equivalent of Applecare.

This happened a week after i bought the computer so it wouldn't of matter whether i purchased Dell's equivalent of Applecare.

 

[nickelbackmac]

So you had an MBP, it had a defect, and you insisted on returning it for cash rather than getting it fixed.

Then you got some sort of Dell, and sold it.

Now you want a laptop, and you want to get a MB and your mother wants you to get an XPS.

Dude, my personal advice is ... just buy something -- anything -- that meets your needs and actually use it for more than ten minutes. This business of constantly buying and selling computers is such a waste of time and money....

Story is that the Dell has been here longer than that MBP was born, and I thought "Well if I return it, I could buy another one with the money, but just a different config." So, my parents said to sell the Dell and buy a MB, so I was happy, so once I sold it, Mom said first I need to muy an XPS M1210 and resell it THEN buy a MB just because she thinks I'd like the Dell better. Yeah, I don't think so, or I wouldn't be here, I'd be in a Dell forum. I just want a MB, it's basically all I need, and Dell's are Windorks supporters, and I want to use Mac OS X Tiger, because I hate Windows.

 

[mkrishnan]

I just want a MB, it's basically all I need, and Dell's are Windorks supporters, and I want to use Mac OS X Tiger, because I hate Windows.

Nice.

Well, the data is pretty clear that Apple has a better track record for failure rate and customer service than Dell. But experiences clearly vary. And the Dell is a nice computer... much as I wouldn't buy it for myself. But then that's the thing. When I want a computer, I swipe my Mastercard, and at the end of the month, pay the bill. Ergo I make my own decisions. When I wanted an iBook, I bought it. When I wanted an iMac, I bought it. When I wanted an Axim, I bought it.

Since you don't have the ability to pay for your own toys:

1) The Macbook clearly has more elegant design and build quality
2) It is fairly cost competitive
3) Tiger is much better than XP, and Vista is not immediately available (and you will have to pay for it when it is released).

I personally wouldn't see getting a Windows PC until Vista is out. To me that's a very compelling argument. But that's me.

If that's not enough... she has the credit card. And she's offering to buy you a very nice computer in the XPS. If none of those things convince her, suck it up and get the XPS and don't whine about it... not very many kids get such nice toys from their moms....

 

[timswim78]

If you want OS X, it is obvious that you can only buy Apple hardware.

If you are interested in a Windows laptop, here is my advice:

Dells are OK, not quite as good as Apple in build quality.

I have been very impressed with the build quality of Lenovo Thinkpads and the Compaq V-series. Also, Acer's are pretty good.

Check out fatwallet.com's hot deals thread, and I think that there is a Core Duo Lenovo on there for about $600 or $700 dollars.

 

[bousozoku]

So you had an MBP, it had a defect, and you insisted on returning it for cash rather than getting it fixed.

Then you got some sort of Dell, and sold it.

Now you want a laptop, and you want to get a MB and your mother wants you to get an XPS.

Dude, my personal advice is ... just buy something -- anything -- that meets your needs and actually use it for more than ten minutes. This business of constantly buying and selling computers is such a waste of time and money....

Indeed. The computer carousel costs money each time you ride it but the results don't last long.

He needs to get something and live with it for a while, regardless of what it is.

 

[piltupso]

My experience with Dell is that they were trying to become a PC version of apple. By this I mean they take something like a PC which by nature is sort of generic and fill it up with proprietary drivers and software so you must deal with Dell only for upgrades or expansions. For example my roommate had a high end Dell laptop and wanted to update his video drivers he found had had to downlad them from Dell as the drivers on the manufacturers web site would not work. He called Dell and they said they were no longer supporting that card though he was more than welcome to buy new. I guess the point is if you want a machine where one company handles everthying whay not get it from the company that has always operated that way. Like Apple they control it from the OS on down.

 

[miniConvert]

Dude, my personal advice is ... just buy something -- anything -- that meets your needs and actually use it for more than ten minutes. This business of constantly buying and selling computers is such a waste of time and money....

I so completely one-hundred-and-fifty-squillion-percent agree with that