Using the Dell call center makes me feel like a genius.
The computer here died. It is less than a year old and is still clearly under warranty. I play with it for a few minutes, pull out some cords, put some back in, and claim that it is broken – the motherboard didn’t seem to be starting up. We decide to ring Dell support to get them to send someone out and replace the faulty part.
So the (Indian) guy in the call center goes though a frustrating sequence of tests over the phone. For at least half an hour he gets me to mess around with the video cables. I tell him the motherboard has gone. He gets me to switch the monitor on and off and tell him what color lights I see.
He eventually conceeds the internals might not be working properly, so he gets me to open the box. I do, and he is dead impressed when I do it in a minute. He tells me most people need 20-25 minutes of advice to get past that bit. Come on, it is two screws. Under instruction I reseat all the cards. I pull out and plug in each of the jumpers and cables. Even the disk drives. Why? God knows (this call center guy sure doesn’t). Another 1/2 an hour of messing around with the video card. After fully 2 hours of this madness, he suggests that the power supply or motherboard isn’t working and technician will have to come out and try to repair it. Really. Why didn’t I think of that?
What a great way to spend Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow I get to travel all day to St Croix. Back to the Virgin Islands.
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