Technical Support/ University ??

[alwayslove]

I'm going to university in September and I am looking to buy a laptop next week to take with me. I really want to buy a Macbook, but my Dad says that I would be better off getting a Dell, since they "supposedly" have better technical support. He has told me that Dell will come to you and fix any problems that you are having, for as long as you own the computer, but that Mac does not. This is my Dad's main concern about buying a Mac, since I will be away and he wants to know that I will be able to have any problems solved quickly and cheaply.

Does anyone know what the technical support for the Macbook is and how long it lasts? Or any ideas on how I can sell him on the idea of buying me a nice Macbook over a Dell?

Thanks a lot!

 

[kgeier82]

dells warranty process is overall better. FOR THE LIFE OF THE WARRANTY, they will come to you and fix hardware.

Software stuff is really up to you to fix, and dell charges per incident for that kind of stuff.

i believe for a macbook you can get the 3 yr warranty (which is mail in on internal parts) for about 185$.

i have a mbp, and wouldnt worry ever about what a university can do to help fix it. most of them are unhelpful at best.

whatever your decision, remember, the macbook is the SAME price as a dell, and IMO far superior in quality

 

[alwayslove]

Thanks for your help. I didn't realise that they are the same price... I'll have to mention that to my Dad.

 

[Brown Study]

Mention this, too.

"New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed a lawsuit against Dell, accusing the company of deceptive, fraudulent and illegal business practices," ABC News reports.
<snip>
"Part of the suit claims that though Dell gave the impression of an "award-winning service" available to consumers '24 hours a day, seven days a week,' consumers faced 'nightmarish obstacles' to get help and technical service for their computers. Cuomo said New York had received 700 complaints about Dell -- more than the number of complaints for any other related subject," ABC News reports. "Some Dell owners say when they sought help for their PCs, they endured a kind of Dell ****."

From the link provided at the above link:

Barbara Williams, a 67-year-old retiree who runs a crochet club from her computer, paid Dell for an "in-home" service plan that can cost up to $300. When her computer broke down, she called Dell thinking a technician would come to her home to fix it. Instead, the technician at the other end of the line told her to dissect her computer on her own.

"The guy told me to open my computer. And I said, 'For what?' He said, 'Well, you have to find the memory. I think it's a memory problem.' And I said, 'I don't know what memory looks like!,'" Williams said.

"He says, 'Well you have to troubleshoot.' I said, 'No I don't. I said I don't know what I'm looking at. I don't know what's wrong with this thing. I paid for in-home service.'"

Williams said she waited six weeks before a technician came to her home.

Another site's comment on a story about Dell:

The news report had an 80 year old man who was a victim of this scam. Dell had creditors calling him a couple times a day trying to get him to pay for the computer months after he had returned it.

 

[luckylukz]

if you are going university, when you get your acceptance letter you can use thing for the higher education agreement discount which is about 14%

also u get the 3year applecare warranty for £58 down from £199

id phone up apple and ask if the university you are going to is part of this arangement

 

[Stefan]

i second what luckylukz says - wait until you start uni then buy through Apple's higher education store. I did that and saved myself a couple of hundred quid or so.

i think everyone's experiences with customer service will be different and you can't say a company has an out right "good" or "bad" customer service based on a few examples. so if i was you id just look at the two machines and decide which would suit you best for university.

 

[alwayslove]

Thanks. I'm looking to buy it before I go to university though.