Auri's Blog

Things to take away from this keynote:

• Windows 7 Beta "Officially" Available – He didn’t address whether the beta’s availability on torrents was coincidence, but hey, now we have the slick new OS to play with for ourselves. MSDN and TechNet subscribers can get it now. The public can download it FRIDAY, January 9. Cool – ready? I know I am.
• Windows Live Essentials Available – Windows Messenger, Windows Live Photo Gallery, and Windows Live Mail are now available. I’m guessing he means the new versions, which are pretty cool. Their interface has changed a little – a bit flatter. I was surprised he didn’t discuss Live Mesh and Live Sync and so forth. With all the talk about connectivity, that was pretty strange. Get it here. You should really get Live Writer, too – it’s awesome. I’m using it for this post! Oh, and Live Movie Maker appears to still be in beta… I hope they finish it soon, unless that’s just a site update issue.
  • I saw this link, too, so it may be related: http://home.mobile.live.com/home.mvc/ShowServicesIntroduction/Spaces
  • And another link: http://windowslive.com
• Windows Live Spaces Integrates with FaceBook – Now you’ll have an option for all Facebook updates to sync to your Live Space (http://spaces.live.com). He didn’t say it goes both ways. I wonder if they’ll buy Facebook.
• Windows Mobile Live Update – Not what we’ve been hoping for yet, such as Live Mesh and all, but hey, it’s a start. Get it here. BTW, this link wasn’t super easy to find.
• Windows Live Will Ship on All Dells – All new laptops and desktops will get Windows Live Essentials, which will help PC manufacturers compete with Apple’s iLife suite and give much more functionality out of the box. Also, all Dells will use Live Search by default. Cool for Microsoft.
• Long Term Partnership with Verizon – With over 11 new SmartPhones running Windows Mobile in the past year and selling over 1M units each, Microsoft is "committed to innovation" (paraphrased, yes) in the mobile space. No major announcements, though. For example, nothing again about Live Mesh for Mobile being available. Boy, I want that Mesh software for Mobile so I can auto-upload my photos and sync my docs across all my devices, just like the demos I’ve seen throughout 2H08! Let’s get out of the private beta, please!
• Bodu (sp?) Game Creator for XBox 360 – They showed the really cool XBox 360 programming tool for kids @ PDC. Microsoft’s taken it one step further and released a Game Creator based on the same Bodu system. We should all applaud Microsoft for this – there’s been practically zero innovation in teaching programming to kids and young adults, and this is absolutely a stunning breakthrough, and a wonderful gift to a society that needs more engineers.
• Yes, there was a demo of Windows 7. Yes, it’s cool. No, there wasn’t anything I haven’t already seen 😛
• Tip for better presentations in the future: Give links in your slides. If something’s available NOW, give the bloggers something to post right away!

>> Watch the keynote and get more info here.

Videos are coming…

Found this on Happy News today: http://happynews.com/news/162009/electronic%20nose%20knows%20quality%20coffee.htm

Ok, Dell called me today. They told me my order was still delayed, like I didn’t already know that. They also told me the reason is that the design AND the MOTHERBOARD are backordered.

Vijay, the Dell rep, gave me two options:

1. Continue waiting, or
2. Cancel my order and re-submit it.

Ok, so if I take option 2, doesn’t that send me to the back of the line? Well, yes, it would, said Vijay. Well, then WHY would I do that???

Actually, the two options are:

1. Continue waiting, or
2. Cancel the order.

Now, to add insult to injury, Vijay, after telling me about the two week delay, sends me an email saying my new estimated ship date is January 2. Wait, didn’t he just tell me over the phone, not ten minutes prior, that the parts were backordered 2 weeks? Well, apparently he didn’t remember that.

It’s too late for me to have a cool new laptop for CES. I placed this order on Dec. 2.

Anyone have ideas on what I should do next? I really want that design. I heard Dell’s going to have a Studio XPS line coming at CES, so if that happens, I’ll cancel my order for one of those.

Man, Dell sucks.

P.S.: They called me twice in the past two days, but I’ve been busy. They sent me an email as well, with a number to call. Yep, you guessed it – I called the number, and I was disconnected twice when being transferred. The third time I called – and this is my 20+ call to Dell, most of which have been disconnections – it didn’t transfer me to Vijay… it transferred me to an indefinite hold pattern on their order status line.

Michael Dell, are you listening?

Ok, I finally figured out how to NOT get an Indian guy if you’re trying to find out what’s up with your Dell order. Oh, and the Indian call centers apparently don’t have the tools to find out WHY your order is delayed.

Enter the ORDER MODIFICATION DEPARTMENT. Yes, these guys appear to be in the U.S., speak perfect English, understand sarcasm (SWEET!) and were able to tell me exactly why my order was delayed. That’s all I wanted to know! THANKS!

To reach them, call 800-247-2076. If Dell changes the number, just as for the department I mentioned above.

It turns out the reason my order hasn’t shipped is the design I chose for the cover. Apparently it’s out of stock. However, the nice guy on the phone explained to me my order is in PRIORITY 1 status – hopefully because of my letter to Michael Dell and Paul Bell.

Oh, and just to give you a bit more history on all the work I’ve put into this nightmare:

… Tracking the Order Status …

12/5 – 12/23: "In Production" According to Web Site

12/23: Build Stage according to Phone – says "In Production" and specifically "Build Stage", message about part shortages.

12/24: Build Stage according to Phone – says "In Production" and specifically "Build Stage", message about part shortages.

12/25: Build Stage according to Phone – says "In Production" and specifically "Build Stage", no more message about part shortages.

12/26: Called Customer Service and they said they’re missing parts for my computer. No other details. Said computer is scheduled to be to me by 1/5/2009, but that’s just an estimate. So, I’m not holding out much hope I’ll ever get this computer. Total hold time was about 10 minutes.

12/26, used online Unresolved Issues form, and sent the folling info:

"I’m not sure what to do anymore. This laptop is taking forever to get. I ordered it 12/2. It’s been in the "In Production" stage for weeks. When I call in, the pre-recorded lady tells me all the parts available. I received a phone call from corporate customer care, oddly in India, and they said all the parts are available. I called in today and I’m told parts aren’t available and they don’t know when my laptop will arrive. Now, I ordered *every* option on this laptop, even a four year warranty – it’s a $2,100 machine! But I’m treated poorly by scripting people I can’t understand, and they all work to keep me away from any managers. PLEASE HELP ME! I’m going nuts – this is a huge difference from my experience as a corporate customer!"

Redmond Developer News has an article about The Software Jedi, a guy who decided to write a new C# app every day for a month. Now that’s cool.

May the source be with you. Hah.

Check it out here.

Hahahaha – thanks to Steve for this one: http://www.sockandawe.com

Yep… wrote a letter to Dell CEO Michael Dell and received a phone call from the "corporate Executive Resolution Team." Where are they based? INDIA. Sheesh, didn’t know Dell had its corporate HQ in India!

I don’t like Dell anymore. They lie on their Web site about product capabilities, and then their own executives outsource serious customer service problems.

Note to Dell: Improve your customer service by making it clear you care about your customers. U.S. customers don’t want a call center calling them and saying sorry and that they can’t do anything to fix the problem. I don’t need a phone call to tell me you don’t want to do the right thing.

Here’s a copy of my letter to Dell:

December 6, 2008

FROM: Auri Rahimzadeh

TO: Michael Dell, CEO

To whom it may concern:

I recently purchased a Dell Studio 15 Laptop via your online system, order #554634398. I ordered practically every option on the device. However, I also wanted two additional features: Sprint Mobile Broadband, and Vista 64-bit. According to your Web site, these options are available for the Studio 15. However, according to your chat sales team, they are not. See below for what your Web site has:

<< image removed >>

So, I placed the order anyway, with 4 GB of RAM since your sales team said 4 GB of RAM would definitely work in Windows Vista, even though 32-bit Vista doesn’t support more than 3 GB.

After mulling it over a bit, I decided to call your sales team to find out if these options really weren’t available on the Studio 15. The nice lady I spoke with told me that indeed the options were available, and all I had to do was call your “Order Re-Entry” phone number. She transferred me, told them the story, and they started on changing my order.

Unfortunately, during the phone call, I was disconnected. The girl helping me was very nice, but she apparently couldn’t call back.

I called back and spoke to a gentleman this time. He tried changing the order, but your system wouldn’t let him add 64-bit Vista. It would, however, let him add the Sprint broadband card. He put me on hold to change the order, and two minutes later I was disconnected.

I called back a third time, reaching yet another gentleman. I asked to speak with a supervisor. He transferred me to a pre-recorded message about returns, and I was disconnected.

I called back for the fourth time, not including my initial call to sales. I reached another gentleman and asked to speak with a supervisor. He wanted to help me instead of sending me to a supervisor. I told him No, and he transferred me.

The supervisor answered, told me he could modify my order but couldn’t add 64-bit Vista nor could he guarantee the Sprint Mobile Broadband card. He also told me I could order the part separately, but that’s all. Oh, and if I canceled my order, I wouldn’t get it until after Christmas.

So, I called the parts department, and they couldn’t find the Sprint Mobile Broadband card anywhere in their system.

I really have a headache now. I have 1 GB more RAM than the system you sold me can use. I was disconnected four times when your team tried correcting the order. I still don’t have a Sprint Mobile Broadband card, even though your Web site says it’s an option on the Studio 15. I still don’t have 64-bit Vista, again even though your own Web site says it’s available.

So what do I do? I want an apology, that’s for sure. I don’t want to cancel my order because I really like the laptop design and options. I want that broadband card, but your system just doesn’t want to let me have it, whether it be an incompetent sales force or an order system that won’t allow items on your Web site to be ordered or a Web site that’s just plain wrong.

As a business owner, this makes me never want to buy another Dell product. Regardless of how good or bad the Dell product I [hopefully] receive this month meets my needs, I’m taking my business elsewhere.

Sincerely,

Auri Rahimzadeh
Dissatisfied Dell Customer
Editor, Consultant’s Corner, ASP.NET Pro Magazine
Author, 5 Books
Business Owner

We wrote the software that many law enforcement agencies across Indiana use…

The closing words from a nature documentary about the life-cycle of a Unit of Business Logic. Awesome.

http://secretgeek.net/life_is_upstream.asp

Enjoy!