Last month I helped my father-in-law order his first computer. Even though my wife - his daughter - has a Dell and I should know better, I went ahead and ordered him one. Never again. First of all, the Dell.ca site had the SKU for the power bar I ordered him wrong. So instead of getting a TrippLite Surge 7 Surge Bar he got a laptop surge protector with a whopping 2 outlets. And it's portable. Perfect for the desktop computer he ordered.
Of course, right after I ordered his system a new Dell catalogue arrived in the mail (with my name misspelled - I always appreciate that touch) and it offered his system with twice the RAM for a lower price. I called Dell Canada and was told that they couldn't honour the new price because the computer market is constantly fluctuating and prices are dropping, and they'd lose money. Sure. What about doubling the RAM anyway? Nope.
They also had the speakers he wanted on backorder, and were kind enough to offer them for $50 more than they retailed for elsewhere. We cancelled them and he picked up a pair locally for less than half the price. Don't get me started on their delivery fee - they must make a decent profit on that.
Since Dell doesn't support the software they sell with their systems - to the point of not being willing to replace a damaged Windows install CD - I decided there was no point in ever going with Dell again, and I broke a promise to myself. Well this time I mean it - never again.
LOL. Sounds like the Dell system rocks! ...Not.
I also heard they now farm out all their Technical Support to India, to top off the Dell experience.