I’m in the process of getting a technology quote together for a new athletic facility they’re building out here in Sunriver, and to save myself time and trouble, I’m just probably going to order through Dell (generally, if I had more time, I might build them all myself, but at this point, it’s going to be cheaper and easier to manage if I buy them all from a single point, and Dell is the cheapest). I’ve heard you can get the best deals on multiple system purchases (I need four desktops and a server) if you call in an order.
Does anybody have somebody there that they’ve dealt with a bunch in the past that’s been easy to work with so I have an extension? Basically, here’s what I need:
Desktops:
-512 Megs of RAM
-Celeron 2400 (at least)
-CD/Floppy
-15″ LCD (might by that at NewEgg.com, as it’s cheaper)
-Windows XP Pro
-Office 2003 Small Business Edition
Server:
-At least a 2.5ghz Celeron
-2x80gig Hard Drives in RAID 1 Config
-Windows 2003 Small Business Server with 5 CAL
-Tape Backup System
Anybody have any ideas on who to deal with? Or just call their number and have at it?
Update at 11:41 Talked to a Dell rep earlier today. She didn’t speak very good English, but after answering a few of her questions, I’m apparently being transferred to a higher-level account rep who can work with my budget a bit. Hopefully he/she will speak better English.
Update on 5/21: HP ended up giving me a great deal, and the sales rep I talked to was American and actually spoke good English. I never even heard back from Dell, so screw ’em — I’m getting an HP.
Comments
Wish I could sell you (cheap) the one I bought last year so’z I can get a Mac. What a piece of junque. Good luck and hope you don’t need it. Their quality control is not quite as bad as their customer service, but when it’s worse it’s horrible.
I would be concerned with the 15″ monitors. Sure the LCD will look great but 15″ is really small. To get the 1024×768 res. that is standard you’re going to have very small icons and fonts on the screen. Many older users wont be to happy with that. At my company we have many users over 50 who even on the 17″ and 19″ CRT monitors have the res. set at 800×600 so they don’t have to squint.
Im not a big fan of dell. If i had to choose a large pc supplier i would go with HP. Here is a link to some of thier business oriented desktops.
The prices are resonable and you will get great support (at least we do at st. charles).
Oh and here is a link to thier entry lvl servers:
I have one of the ML110 SATA servers here at home(the price was right).
I’ve had good luck with HP stuff, too, and if I had a bigger budget, I’d go with them, but their stuff is a bit more expensive.
I don’t think you want to go with Dell. We swtiched over from HP to Dell five years ago and their service has gone downhill since. We’re back to talking about building (about two hundred a year) our own.
hmm…i bet you called a rep from Etelecare located at philippines. They handle Dell accounts…
I like Dell machines, but their customer service is terrible. They’ve outsources a lot of it to India and the reps, even the ones with decent language skills, are not very adept at comprehending any sort of situation out of the ordinary. Read: they follow a script.
If you do go with Dell, I strongly recommend using any method of payment other than the Dell Preferred Accounts and financial services. They’re the worst of the bunch and currently undergoing several class action lawsuits.
Just my two cents.
I actually ended up going with HP, Rachel, because they gave me a good deal (and I’ve had good luck with their stuff).
Dell’s systems aren’t exactly getting better since they don’t manufacture system. Take their inspiron portables for sample. The Inspiron 700m is manufactured by AOpen (Acer). Don’t bad mouth the outsource it’s those under Dell you should fear. Lawsuits, you can’t sue soomeone who is halfway around the world or you don’t know the person in the first place.