Computer Customer Service: Dell Versus Lenovo, Who is Better?

Customer service is often considered highly when deciding which brand of a computer, laptop, or PC to purchase. I myself have experience with buying a computer from both Dell and Lenovo (IBM) which are two of the most popular computer brands. The differences of the hardware of the laptops I have purchased aside, I will discuss the customer service experiences I have with both companies.

I have been dealing with Dell customer service for many years. When I first purchased my laptop, it was sent to me broken and it did not boot up. I called Dell and was asked a few basic automated questions. I was then directed to a customer service agent. I was able to have a new computer sent to me and I sent the old one back. The conversation and phone call took around an hour to complete.

I also did not receive any drivers or the windows XP operating system CD. I told Dell that I wanted the CD incase anything went astray. They did not have a problem with this and I received the windows operating system CD and system drivers in 3 days. I actually received these disks, several days before I received my replacement computer.

This occurred back in the summer of 2005, several years ago. I had purchased a 3 year, complete service warranty which covered accidental damage. About 9 months after receiving the laptop, I dropped it and I cracked the side of the computer. I called up Dell and again had a similar experience where I eventually got through to a service representative and told them what had occurred. They told me they would send out a box. The next day I received the box and was told to call DHL after I placed my laptop (without the hard drive) in the card box I received. I also had to adhere a shipping label to the box. DHL promptly came the same day I received the box. To my surprise, the laptop arrived, two days later and fully fixed. This was a great experience.

I have also had other problems with the laptop. At one instance I cracked the screen on the laptop and the metal hinge that holds the screen to the laptop had a few loose screws. I sent the laptop to Dell in a similar fashion as before and they fixed it. In another instance I had several keys on my keyboard that were not functioning. Instead of sending the computer back Dell told me they would send someone out to fix the keyboard. A few days later a repair technician came to my house and gave me all new keys on my keyboard within a half hour.

Since I was satisfied with my customer service experience with Dell and had some problems with my laptop I decided, after Dell called my house, to upgrade my warranty for another 2 years for $250. I also received a $75 Dell coupon code for the upgrade. I used this to purchase a new webcam and USB controller for only $14 with coupon. This was a nice addition.

The only problems I have with Dell customer service is that sometimes you can reach a representative who is difficult to understand. This is because their call center is located in India. Recently Dell has changed the way they handle customer service. When you call the call is automated and you have to push a few buttons on your phone. After this, you talk to another individual who will direct your call. Then, you talk to the customer service agent. After you talk to the customer service agent they will usually ask you if you want to talk to their manager. I usually agree and talk to the manager to make sure the agent has everything correct. This can take some time, so if you do plan to talk to customer service at Dell make sure you set aside enough time. Occasionally, they will not understand what you are saying so you may need to speak to a manger or someone else. They usually are polite and friendly and tell you thanks for choosing Dell.

On the other hand, I have not had quite as pleasant an experience with Lenovo. However, I only recently purchased a laptop from Lenovo and have not dealt with them for over 3 years like I have with Dell. The first thing that really upset me about Lenovo is that they did not send me a windows operating system CD Rom when I purchased the computer. I called them up and requested one and they told me they wanted $45 for the Windows Vista CD. I did not want to pay this price. They told me I could make my own recovery CD and did.

Problems arose several months later with the computer. It would not boot and load Windows. Neither safe mode nor normal mode would work. I loaded the recovery partition that was preinstalled and attempted to reinstall the operating system. However, this would not work. I then inserted the recovery CD I had made and tried. However, it seemed as if the burn did not work as this would not work either. Thus I needed the Windows CD. Again I called Lenovo and was told I was being routed to Atlanta, Georgia. The calls to customer service went through to a service agent quickly. Even so, they would not let me have a complimentary Windows CD which I thought I should have and needed to fix the computer. This was frustrating so I told them I was going to send it back to them to fix since I was under warranty. Of course this will cost them more money than sending me a Windows CD. However, the customer service agent's incentives did not align with the company of Lenovo. He did not care if the company had to pay more money to ship and repair my computer rather than just shipping a Windows CD. This is because he is payed an hourly salary. This I received a card box and have sent the laptop back to Lenovo free of charge, just like Dell, but this time via UPS.

When it comes to customer service I would go with Dell. This may come as a surprise to some and even did to me. However, the benefits of dealing with a U.S. based customer service agent or a foreign one do not always make a difference. Having a Windows Repair CD is absolutely essential for any computer owner. It is a shame that Lenovo will make you pay for it but Dell will send it once for free. It can be necessary to repair your computer like it was for me.